Chapter 344: An Expert on Monsters!
"Unreachable… huh."
Ouma looked at Luke.
He could easily judge Luke's current condition.
It was not because Ouma was especially strong, nor because his observation skills were especially good.
It was because Luke was already so exhausted that he could not even perform the most basic concealment.
Looking at the two vicious wounds on Luke's chest, and the dense sword scars covering his entire body, Ouma fell silent.
Even though they were gradually healing under the effect of the elixir, Ouma could still judge from the remaining traces how fierce that battle had been.
He thought of his battle with Tyrant in the past, then thought of his battle with Stella just now, and once again looked toward Luke.
"So-called 'despair,' so-called 'fear'… are they actually things that can be crossed so simply?"
Luke saw the complicated expression on Ouma's face.
He smiled, pointed at himself, and said,
"The example is right here, isn't it?"
"Swordsmanship, martial arts, even Blazer abilities and the mighty power of the Desperado realm—none of them are any different to me."
"If I can reach the Desperado realm, that would naturally be best. But if I can't, that doesn't mean I have to stop moving forward."
"No one ever said a sword can't cut open fate, right?"
After saying that, Luke had no intention of continuing.
He continued stepping forward, walking toward the aura that rose wildly into the sky in the distance.
"You're dragging that body to fight a 'monster'?"
Ouma's voice came from behind him, but this time, Luke did not stop.
He only waved his hand behind him.
"I hope the next time we meet, you can make my fighting spirit burn."
…
Dry earth.
Burning flames.
Within this environment that seemed like a lava hell, only Ikki was still barely standing.
Rampant flames danced in the air, like giant dragons formed from fire.
And the girl surrounded by those dragons was the creator of the miserable scene before them.
Whether it was Hagun Academy's group or Akatsuki Academy's group, everyone was now collapsed on the ground.
Even the previously arrogant One-Armed Swordsman Wallenstein had now been burned into charcoal, lying nearby with his life or death unknown.
Only after truly fighting her did everyone understand what a "monster" was.
Even with everyone joining forces, they had failed to cause Stella even the slightest injury.
Ikki looked at the girl, who seemed like the incarnation of "invincibility," and tightened his grip on the Device in his hand.
He still had a trump card.
It was an all-out strike that surpassed the limits of humanity.
But facing the girl before him, who had already transformed into something inhuman, even Ikki could not be certain whether his ultimate technique could kill her in one blow.
He had been delaying time all along, hoping to wait for reinforcements.
But now that everyone else had fallen, and he was being stared down by the giant dragon, it was unlikely that he could continue delaying any longer.
The only choice left to him was to risk his life on one final attack.
The Device in his hand, Intetsu, was brought to his waist.
Ikki wrapped his left hand in mana and gripped the blade, using it in place of a sheath.
The stance he took was an iai stance.
It was completely different from Luke's and Touka's.
It was the crystallization of Ikki's current swordsmanship secret.
After one strike, if he failed to defeat Stella, everyone present would probably suffer.
When they had begun fighting here earlier, no one had expected Stella to chase them.
Ikki, who had seen the girl rampage once before, understood very clearly that Stella had no reason at all right now.
Logically speaking, she should not have chased after them.
It was precisely because of that that Ikki had felt reassured enough to get entangled with Akatsuki Academy's group here.
However, what they had not expected was that after the dragonified girl defeated Ouma, she would be attracted by Wallenstein's sudden aura and directly chase after it.
"No matter what, I have to stop her now!"
His aura gradually rose.
Ikki gathered his spirit, energy, and focus together, pouring all his strength into this final strike.
Faintly, weak sword intent quietly emerged from Ikki's body, causing his entire aura to suddenly rise by a level.
Facing this strike that might threaten her, Stella, driven by instinct, also stared solemnly and fixedly at Ikki.
Ikki and Stella.
A swordsman and a giant dragon, locked in confrontation.
Just as everything was about to erupt—
"Hmm… Did I arrive at just the right time?"
The sudden words that entered the battlefield interrupted the confrontation between Stella and Ikki.
At the same time, a sharp aura flashed and directly cut the tense atmosphere in the air to pieces.
The intense sense of danger made the dragonified Stella's heart jolt.
She took a large step back and looked warily toward the direction of the voice.
Completely opposite to Stella, Ikki let out a direct sigh of relief after hearing Luke's voice.
With a relaxed smile on his face, Ikki did not turn his head and did not lower his guard.
He only glanced slightly and spoke.
"You finally came back."
"Was your opponent that difficult this time? Even you were delayed for this long."
"I thought something had happened to you."
"Hurry over and help. First, we need to stop Stella… Huh? Luke, what happened to your injuries?!"
Because he had been wary of Stella, Ikki only realized something was wrong with Luke's condition after saying several sentences.
Those injuries, which would have been enough to kill an ordinary person, and the severe weakness that could be sensed even without deliberately checking, stunned Ikki.
In his impression, someone in this state was practically no different from being on the verge of death.
Yet Luke had actually managed to walk all the way back to Hagun Academy, and he still had the strength to intervene in the standoff between him and Stella.
And from the looks of it, Luke even planned to drag that body into stopping the rampaging Stella?
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Ikki directly cried out in shock.
In his eyes, this behavior was no different from courting death.
More importantly…
"I'll hold Stella back. Get out of here!"
"If she notices that you're in a weakened state right now, then…"
The Stella currently driven by instinct could not distinguish friend from foe.
And once she noticed which side was weaker, she would prioritize concentrating her firepower to eliminate that side.
The moment Luke appeared, he had stimulated her with his aura.
Ikki could be certain that in just a few seconds, once Stella confirmed Luke's poor condition, she would charge straight at him.
That was why he anxiously reminded Luke to leave immediately.
However…
It was already too late!
Heaven-reaching flames suddenly rose.
The girl stomped the ground with force and instantly charged before Luke.
Her fist, flashing with dazzling flame light, mercilessly smashed toward him.
At this moment, the terrifying power of the giant dragon erupted completely!
Facing this power that seemed capable of destroying everything in the world, Luke did not choose to retreat.
With the smile that often appeared on his face, he likewise swung his fist under Ikki's dumbfounded gaze.
Boom—!
Fist against fist.
Head-on collision!
A heaven-shaking sound exploded violently.
The others who had originally fallen unconscious on the ground were also awakened by the deafening roar.
Then, under their disbelieving gazes, Stella, who had still been crushing everyone with unmatched momentum just moments ago…
Was sent flying backward.
"When it comes to facing 'monsters,' I'm an expert!"
As Luke spoke, a certain ability hidden within the Falna on his back was silently taking effect.
…
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