Elated with his win, Dadaneuph looked around for the exit: he still had a world to burn.
SPARKLE!!!
Spotting blue sparkles flowing upward, he looked down to see the minotaur lying face-first in his own blood, his sword shining brightly as if declaring that he was still in the fight.
Dadaneuph was a little taken aback. He had won this battle, yet his opponent remained stubborn to the very end. Deciding to show his full power as an honor to that effort, he transformed into his final form.
Fire burst out of his armor, wrapping around him and forming a sphere of flame. The blazing sphere shrank smaller and smaller, the flames turning bluer and more intense. When it reached a diameter of seven feet, the blue fireball fizzled away revealing the transformed demon.
Dadaneuph now wore full-body plate armor, a crack on his chest exposing the blazing blue core within. His head had taken the shape of a dragon's, fire pouring out from his eyes and mouth.
Lowering his altitude, Dadaneuph landed. As his feet touched the ground, the stone beneath him melted into magma. Taking a few steps forward, he stopped beside the fallen Asterius.
The scorching heat from his armor ignited Asterius's body. The blue light on the minotaur's sword began to fade — his magic was spent.
"That was a superb display of strength," the demon intoned coldly, "but in the end, you are still just a mortal. Don't worry, you won't be alone in death. The people of this world will soon follow you."
The monotonous voice of the demon carried the sound of an apocalypse.
Dadaneuph could sense massive magic deep underground, as well as the civilization above. Deciding to destroy the surface before descending, he turned toward the tunnel from which heat was escaping upward.
-----------------------------------
Twilight Manor
"That… that monster can talk…" Raul stammered, astonished. This was far bigger than anything he'd imagined.
DANG DANG
The chime of the bell atop Twilight Manor drew his attention. In the bell tower, an archer waved two torches to send a signal.
"I have to go to Babel Square to fight. You should get inside, Akira-kun. The rain isn't good for your health—" Raul stopped mid-sentence. The atmosphere had changed.
The heavy downpour suddenly weakened and then stopped altogether.
Akira crouched, touching the ground. The pavement was dry and warm. He lay down on the warm stones, hands behind his head.
"Akira-san, what are you doing?" Raul asked, frustrated by his calm attitude.
"Take a seat, Raul-senpai. You don't need to fight this round. After all," Akira smiled, "I believe my rival won't go down so easily."
TREMBLE!!!
A massive pressure descended upon every mortal in Orario, forcing them to their knees. The entire city quaked as if the world itself were trembling.
Raul collapsed, barely managing to brace himself with his hands. The pressure wasn't just physical, it clawed at his mind. His nerves froze in terror, sweat pouring down his face. Even in this state, he forced himself to check on others. Veins bulged on his neck as he grit his teeth and turned toward Akira and what he saw shocked him.
Akira was grinning, eyes locked on the screen, unbothered by the crushing pressure. "As expected of my rival. Now show me how much you've grown."
While mortals suffered, the gods remained unfazed instead, they leaned forward in excitement, feeling the a tingling sensation in their souls as they watched the screen.
On it, Dadaneuph faced a massive pillar of red magic. He could sense a familiar presence within but it was wilder, more brutal.
Feeling a long-lost thrill of danger, his flames surged. Fire seeped from his armor, melting the ground around him.
Swish!!!
The red pillar vanished and with it, the crushing pressure. It revealed a transformed Asterius.
His body was covered in white, bone-textured armor. A gaping hole still remained in his chest, from which black stripes stretched toward his shoulders. His face was masked by the same bone-like material, his mouth replaced by jagged fangs locked in a permanent grin, his eyes nothing but dark voids.
The biggest change was his weapon. Gone was the oversized kitchen knife now replaced by a long, thin, straight black katana, a chain dangling from its hilt.
"ROAAAR!" Asterius howled, revealing the void within his maw.
"Come on…" Dadaneuph growled, gathering fireballs in his palms, all attention focused on his revived opponent.
RING!!
PUCHI!!
In the blink of an eye, Asterius appeared in front of him. Dadaneuph looked down to see Asterius's arm was buried elbow-deep in his chest.
"You bastard…" Dadaneuph snarled, thrusting his palm forward and unleashing a torrent of fire that blasted him backward.
Sliding to a halt, Dadaneuph glanced at the scorched trail of magma he'd created but his opponent stood unharmed, holding his sword horizontally. A swirl of black magic surrounded the blade.
RING!!
Again, Asterius vanished and reappeared before him, slashing. Dadaneuph leapt back out of range, only to face a roaring wave of black energy.
Crossing his arms, he braced himself. The impact hit like a train. The softened ground beneath his feet gave way, and the raging magic drove him back.
BANG!!!
He was smashed deep into a wall. When the black magic dissipated, Asterius stood motionless.
BURST!!!
The wall began to melt, turning into a curtain of lava. From its molten depths, Dadaneuph burst forth, his flames now raging completely out of control now his true form was fully unleashed.
RING!!!
Asterius appeared again, his hand reaching for Dadaneuph's face.
"You should just surrender," the demon said coldly. "It's useless to fight when you can't even touch me."
As Asterius's palm reached him, it evaporated into steam.
Asterius didn't even react, he pushed his arm forward. A new palm regenerated from his wrist and clamped around Dadaneuph's face.
Dadaneuph was astonished. No one had ever reached him without using magic. But he had no time to think, Asterius lifted him by the face and slammed him into the ground.
A massive crater erupted around his body, but Asterius wasn't done.
Pushing Dadaneuph deeper into the earth, Asterius jumped forward parallel to the ground, dragging him along and carving a long gully with his body. Reaching the wall, he spun, throwing him upward.
As Dadaneuph scraped across the wall, Asterius gathered a massive surge of magic on his sword.
BANG!!!
Dadaneuph collided with the roof and came to a stop. His body dislodged from the wall and turned horizontally as he began to fall.
RING!!!
Asterius appeared before him, his body also perpendicular to the wall. A massive whirlpool of black magic wrapped around his sword. Digging his legs into the stone for support, he swung his sword with one hand, launching a Getsuga Tenshō straight at Dadaneuph's chest.
Click! Click! Click!
The plates on the back of Dadaneuph's armor shifted and rearranged. He bent backward at a perfect ninety-degree angle, dodging the slash by a hair's breadth.
Click! Click! Click!
Straightening up mid-fall, he swung a punch straight down toward Asterius.
CLANG!
Asterius blocked it with his other arm, sliding back but digging his feet deeper into the wall to stop himself.
Feeling the steel-like skin under his fist, Dadaneuph decided to hit harder. He let gravity pull him forward, loosening his punching arm and letting it bend back. As their faces came inches apart, both understood it was time: Asterius drew back his sword arm for another strike, but Dadaneuph moved first.
The armor around his elbow shifted, molding into a nozzle. A blast of fire erupted from it, propelling his punch forward like a rocket.
The explosive force was too much, Asterius's grip on the wall broke. Pushing more magic into the rocket punch, the nozzles narrowed, and Asterius was launched into the ground with a sonic boom.
BANG!!!
Nozzles flared under Dadaneuph's feet and along his back, stabilizing him in the air. Hovering, he looked down into the dust cloud, knowing his opponent wouldn't go down so easily.
RING!!
Asterius appeared in front of him again, sword swinging. Dadaneuph twisted his body in impossible angles using his thrusters to dodge the attack. Glancing at Asterius's arm the one he'd hit earlier he saw not even a scratch.
As Dadaneuph straightened his posture, Asterius was already coming in with a backswing.
'He got faster', Dadaneuph thought, but it didn't matter because he was still faster.
Activating the nozzles on his elbows, he unleashed a storm of punches a blinding barrage raining down like a machine gun.
Asterius was stunned as his steel-like skin began to crack under the relentless blows.
"Phew," Dadaneuph exhaled, stopping his assault as the nozzles around his elbows melted. Asterius's head dropped, body falling.
BADUMP!
Asterius suddenly lifted his head. His white skin bubbled like liquid, filling the cracks before solidifying making it as good as new. It all happened in a fraction of a second, leaving Dadaneuph astonished.
SLASH!
Asterius completed his backswing, cutting a deep wound across Dadaneuph's chest. A nozzle opened on Dadaneuph's torso, firing a massive beam of flame. Asterius raised his palm, splitting the beam in two. When it ended, he swatted the lingering fire magic aside.
Dadaneuph's armor began to heal slowly, but that didn't concern him. As long as his core moving throughout his body was intact, he couldn't be killed.
'But that slash… it was right where my core was a second ago', he thought, touching the gash on his chest. 'It doesn't matter. It moves too fast to hit. Now… how do I break his defense?'
He had tried brute strength. It hadn't worked. This time, he would use magic. The tips of his fingers began to glow with heat.
RING!
Asterius used Sonido, thrusting his sword forward. Dadaneuph parried with his armored arm and swung his other.
SLASH ×4!
Though his palm never touched Asterius, four parallel gashes appeared across the minotaur's chest. A heartbeat later, the ground behind him turned into molten magma. Four thin fire beams had been fired from Dadaneuph's fingertips.
Asterius countered instantly with a wide Getsuga Tenshō, the blast blowing Dadaneuph away. As the energy cleared, Dadaneuph saw the flesh around Asterius's wounds still bubbling as his fire magic lingered, hindering Asterius's regeneration.
Igniting the thrusters on his back, Dadaneuph launched forward. The battle between them turned into a pure test of endurance and skill.
Every strike from Dadaneuph liquefied the ground; every swing from Asterius tore it apart. The floor was a battlefield of magma and shattered stone.
To lower-level adventurers watching from afar, all they could see were streaks of black and light blue comets colliding across the floor.
Dadaneuph used his vast experience to stay ahead, dodging and parrying dozens of attacks but Asterius was learning. He was adapting, predicting, evolving like a predator born for this very fight.
Dadaneuph unleashed another flurry of punches, but this time, the result was different. Asterius blocked them all with his sword alone.
As Dadaneuph's speed faltered, Asterius went on the offensive.
Dadaneuph tried to retreat, but Asterius was already on him. The black and blue comets clashed wildly across the floor, melting and tearing through everything in their path.
They crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater of lava.
Asterius swung his sword, swirling with black magic. Dadaneuph's thrusters reignited; he aimed a punch at the incoming blade.
TING!
The sword flew from Asterius's grip, spinning away. He clenched his palms and drew back both arms.
Dadaneuph recognized the stance and crossed his arms in defense.
Asterius unleashed a storm of punches, hammering him into the molten crater. Each strike was heavier than the last, his fists unrelenting. Dadaneuph could only defend as the lava around them churned and expanded.
CRACK! CRACK!
His armored arms shattered under the pressure, and the next blow drove Asterius's fist straight into his chest, cracking it open.
When the assault ended, Dadaneuph was broken. His arms were gone, his chest armor torn apart. Golden molten metal poured from his body, yet the blue fire in his eyes still burned calm and defiant.
The lava rushed in to fill the crater. Asterius grabbed him by the throat and rose into the air. At ground level, he summoned his sword back and it flew into his hand. Swinging, he cleaved Dadaneuph from shoulder to waist. Still, the blue fire in his eyes burned.
Then, a blood-red energy began to gather between Asterius's horns.
Seeing that, Dadaneuph's blue flames flickered. He could sense the immense power building and, strangely, felt fulfilled. To be defeated by such a monster one that would surely bring a greater calamity than him was an honor.
Asterius threw him upward and fired the Cero. The massive red beam engulfed him completely.
-----------------------------------
Above ground, the air was dry from the heat. Akira could feel his lips dry out.
When the Cero fired, his instincts screamed. He could feel the heat crawling up his spine. Flipping forward, he grabbed Raul by the collar and dragged him five steps back.
"This should be enough."
"Akira-san, what—" Raul began, but was cut off as a massive red pillar appeared at the spot they had just stood.
The beam pierced through the barrier, soaring into the clouds. A second later, it vanished.
BOOOM!
A massive blue fireball appeared at the top of the pillar, clearing the dark clouds. Like a second sun, its brilliance outshone the first then shrank, fading into a clear blue sky.
Akira stepped forward to the edge of a fifty-meter-wide crater. Peering down, he saw the glow of magma and at its center, a black speck. Asterius.
Akira opened his palm, ready to summon his spear. He could feel Asterius's gaze even from here.
On the screen, Asterius looked up at the hole in the roof and roared. Hot wind surged from below, blasting across Akira's face. Still, he didn't draw his spear. His instincts sensed no threat.
He was right. With a faint ringing, the screen shifted to a scene of a massive waterfall. Hovering above it, Asterius's mask cracked and fell apart. The white armor receded into his chest, sealing the hole.
Losing his power, Asterius fell into the waterfall and with that, the broadcast ended.
"…Well, see you later too," Akira murmured.
......…...
You can Support me on p@treon: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
I mainly translate other fanfics on there.