C85
'Hehe. Is this a human's fist?'
A fist that could be compared to magic. Moreover, it wasn't just a single strike. Ethella held her breath and threw her fists out in succession. Each time she struck the heavy darkness, her wrist would throb, but the shock received by her opponent was several times greater.
Arcane gritted his teeth and collected his mind. Ethella's fists are powerful, but the nature of her impact is unique. It didn't destroy the surface but instead generated shockwaves inside. The problem was the interference effect that occurred as the shockwaves overlapped. (Haki. IS IT HAKI?!)
'It's a wave-type attack. This is dangerous.'
Geuaaa!
As the Dark Golem writhed in pain, Ethella's eyes shone as she continued her barrage. aking one step closer, she struck the golem's vital point with her palm, creating a huge ripple of approximately 400 interference effects. This meant that a shockwave was 400 times more powerful than Ethella's original attack exploded inside.
The golem shuddered as if it had swallowed a bomb, and its black body swelled up. It looked like it would explode sooner or later.
“Keueueu!”
Arcane scowled and supported his spirit. If the Spirit Zone broke, the Dark Golem would collapse. As the golem's trembling subsided while struggling with the shockwaves, Ethella bit her lip.
'Did I not do enough? I should have overlapped it more.'
Yin-Yang Wave Fist is a martial art that uses water waves to create ripples on the opponent's body, then pushed in a powerful wave to cause an explosion. The downside is that it takes time to reach the peak, but once the final blow is in, the amount of shock is terrifying.
But Arcane managed to endure. The Dark Golem received a shock 400 times greater than the strike from a Schema martial artist, but the Archmage Arcane's mental power was not to be trifled with.
"Not bad, kid."
"The next round won't end like this. Give up now."
"Kukukuku! So, you still have some strength left. That's good. I'll stretch my body properly for the first time in a while."
When Arcane raised his hand, all the Dark Spiders began to permeate into the Dark Golem's body. The Dark Golem, which gradually grew in size, eventually pierced through the ceiling of the underwater palace (?), blocking the sky.
Ethella’s mind felt dizzy. The Dark Golem now visible was the infamous identity of Arcane's confrontation with numerous countries. A small to the medium-sized city could be wiped out in a matter of days.
"How about it? Isn't it magnificent? Whether it's a wave fist or something else, you'll have to hit it hard. The abyss of my golem is deeper than the sea."
If it was a giant golem over 10 meters tall, it was questionable whether the shockwave could spread. But Ethella clenched her fists enough to pierce her palm. She must be the light of the world. Even if death awaited her, she had to move on.
Keuuaaaa!
The Dark Golem roared and approached. Despite its increased size, its speed remained the same. The fact that it could move at the speed of thought was the biggest reason why the minions of darkness were classified as Over Powered.
Bam!
The Dark Golem's fist slammed down where Etela stood. As the earthquake wave occurred, trees fell, and the ground seemed to be split as if hundreds of moles were passing underground.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The fist struck repeatedly. Shockwaves shook the earth, turning the surroundings into ashes. At the moment the sixth fist struck, Ethella changed direction and climbed onto the golem's forearm. She then ran up to its shoulders and crossed her arms as she jumped. At the same time as the fall, a punch so fast it was invisible struck the golem.
Deudeudeudeu!
The Thousand Hands Guanyin, the fifth technique of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist. (음양파동권의 오의인 천수관음 번뢰격이었다.)
“Keueu!”
Sparks continuously erupted from Arcane's brain. Over 30 shocks per second were rushing in. Assuming there were roughly 300 shockwaves per second and it took 2 seconds to land, 600 shockwaves would spread. This alone would cause about 3,000 shockwave. However, the essence of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist was in the final strike, the long-range technique. If allowed to reach that point, what would happen? Considering the properties of shockwave, refraction, and reflection, the number of shockwave occurring 2 seconds later would be a staggering...
'68,000 times.'
The impact would be amplified 68,000 times more than Ethella's strike, causing an explosion from within. Arcane's hair stood on end. However, contrary to his emotions, the corners of his mouth were grotesquely raised.
“Kukuku! I feel like I'm back now.”
There was no thought of running away. If the enemy was strong, all he had to do was crush them with even greater force. How much he had longed for this moment. The glory of the past, competing with numerous geniuses, flashed by like a revolving lantern.
Geuuaa!
The Dark Golem twisted its waist like a snake. Ethella, who had landed on the ground, also pulled her hands to her sides. The energy of the Strong Thunder Palm, the final technique of the Thousand Hnad Guanyin, rushed into the palm of her hand. As the Dark Golem's fist swung forward, Ethella clenched her teeth and held out her two palms.
'Strong Thunder Palm!'
Pooooooong!
A mushroom cloud rose from the middle of the mountain range.
Trees within a 20-meter radius were all uprooted, turning the once dense forest into a wasteland.
---------------------------
The stars in the night sky were twinkling. Ethella blinked her eyes in the starlight pouring through the branches.
"......"
How much time had passed?
No, how far had she flown?
The trees where she had flown were all broken.
At the end of the gruesome trail, Ethella, sprawled out, couldn't move a single finger. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, regardless of her will. There was no feeling at all in her fingertips and toes.
'Master......'
Ehtella was incapable of combat.
'Archmage is really strong.'
Even with the fifth technique of the Yin-Yang Wave Fist, it was not enough to block the power of darkness cast by the Archmage.
Was this what near-catastrophe magic was like?
The sense of shame at not being able to destroy evil tormented her heart.
If only she had overlapped the waves a bit more, if she had perfectly mastered the fifth technique of Thousand Hands Guanyin, if she had further increased the power of the Strong Thunder Palm.
“Heuk. Heueuk….”
Ethella raised her trembling arm to cover her eyes. Hot tears streamed down like a waterfall.
"I'm sorry, Master."
Etela's sobs echoed through the mountains.
Battle (1)
Shirone and Canis did not miss each other's position even in the complex terrain of the forest. The battle was more cautious than intense and had a stronger focus on psychological warfare than firepower. Due to the contrasting properties of light and darkness, a delicate balance could be broken and the tide of battle could shift instantly. It was a matter of who would throw the first punch.
It was Canis who felt the pressure more. Due to the nature of dark magic, they are aiming for counters, but Shirone never gave up a gap and created tension with only tactical movements. Through brainwave exchange, Harvest's thoughts came over.
- He’s definitely impressive. Not everyone can be this composed in a battle situation..
- Should we play along and engage? We need to create some variables. We can't be dragged along like this.
- Hmm. It's a mirror chess situation.
In this strategy, you move your pieces in the same way as your opponent, and the difference in power doesn't widen until the mid-game. When the opponent can't withstand the pressure and makes a mistake, you immediately exploit the gap. However, if the opponent maintains their pace until the end, they'll fully reap the benefits of giving up the first move.
'He doesn't even show any signs of shaking. If we continue like this, we could end up in danger.'
Canis thought it would be advantageous to take the first attack. And he communicated his will through mental channels.
- Harvey. What do you think?
- Huh? Oh, yeah. As time goes by, we'll be at a disadvantage. Let's be more proactive.
When the thoughts coming through the channel were slower than usual, Canis created distance with Dark Port and asked.
- What's the matter?
- No, I just felt a seismic wave earlier. It's about 2 kilometers away from here.
Harvest, who had a highly developed sense of feeling vibrations, could see, hear, and even distinguish taste through vibrations.
- Seismic waves?
- It's still being transmitted. With this level of shock, it can only be Arcane. It seems like he cast Shackle of Darkness.
- Master? But Shackle of Darkness is a secret weapon. What does this mean?
- It can have a good meaning and a bad meaning. The good meaning is that the state of the inspiration is extremely lively. The bad meaning is that he have encountered an opponent strong enough to cast Shackle of Darkness.
- A strong opponent... could it be Alpheas?
- For now, it would be reasonable to think so. Anyway, we have to move now. If Arcane found Alpheas, we'd better clean up this place too.
- Got it. Let's start.
Canis closed the gap and went in. Contrary to expectations, Shirone also didn't back down and collided head-on. Immediately catching the change in the flow and maintaining control was akin to beast-like response.
Canis cast the Power of Darkness. The shadow's form had the unique personality of a mage, and Canis's was a double-edged saw blade specialized in attack.
As Shirone fired the Photon Cannon continuously, the Power of Darkness was whittled away like a rock weathered by wind and rain. Certainly light was the nemesis of darkness, but Canis adhered to dark magic. All of the basic magic of each series could be used, but it was not at the level of skillfully handling them.
'Let's hold on. They can't cast magic of this power forever. If we can withstand it, the flow will definitely change.'
As expected by Canis, Shirone's mental fatigue was accumulating moment by moment. No matter how advantageous they were in terms of attributes, the defensive power of dark magic couldn't be ignored.
'I need more power.'
Since photons are so active, losses inevitably occur. Therefore, Shirone compressed photons faster than the loss rate, increasing the mass. It was a mentally exhausting method, but the power was much stronger, and the white ball of light grew in size, swaying dizzyingly..
Canis immediately sensed the change.
- What's this?
- The power has increased. I'll receive it.
Harvest, who blocked Canis's path, took a posture that gave strength to its abdomen. As the huge Photon Cannon hit his stomach, he pressed down on the photons with both hands. However, the photons did not break and instead made a hollow sound as Harvest's body penetrated the forest and flew away.
Canis's face turned into an absurd expression.
- Harvey. Are you okay?
- So-so. It's damn heavy. This is a murder weapon.
Shirone floated a Photon Cannon above his head. Subsequently, photons were also created on both of his shoulders. As the three Photon Cannons swayed with enormous mass, Harvest stretched out his arms and shouted as if he would not be pushed back by his momentum.
"Kikikik! That tickles! Is this just your ultimate skill?"
"No. It's just practice until now."
"......"
Harvest's voice cut off. As the Photon Cannon, at least twice as powerful as the first, was fired, the trunks of large trees where the flash passed had their sides blown apart. Harvest's thoughts flowed as Canis' mental channel sped up to the limit.
- Canis. Let's dodge this one.
- Once we start dodging, we'll lose the initiative. This is a fight we can't back down from.
- I don't think I can block it!
- You can block it. Absorb my mental power.
- Damn it! You're really a pain in the neck!
After absorbing Canis' mental power, Harvest's body swelled enormously. With his stomach opening, the shadow transformed into a beast's maw and roared toward the three beams of light.
"Kwaaaaaaa!"
Light struck the darkness.
--------------------------
Creas was a warm southern city. And now it was summer. However, a snowstorm of the polar region was raging at the top of the impassable bridge.
Iruki and Nade fastened their collars. The snowstorm obscured their vision, making Sienna and Lucas's figures blurry.
"Ugh. It's freezing cold. What happened? Why did Teacher Sienna cast magic?"
“Maybe she have come back to her senses? She might have awakened when she fell off the cliff.”
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
