Chapter 346: The Vitality of a Mythical Creature!
Luke retreated a full three steps before completely dispersing the force.
There was no helping it.
Unlike Stella, who had lost all reason and gone berserk, Luke needed to pay attention to his injuries.
At most, Stella was currently overdrawing her body.
Physically, she had not suffered too many injuries.
Ouma, Pierrot, and the others, including Touka and everyone else on Hagun's side, had failed to cause Stella even the slightest injury aside from the One-Armed Swordsman Wallenstein and Ouma at the very beginning.
But Luke was different.
Before this, he had truly suffered extremely serious injuries.
Recovering from injuries required consuming a large amount of energy inside the body.
Elixirs were still fine, as the medicine itself would provide part of the energy needed for healing.
But self-healing was different.
Although Luke's physical ability was powerful, it had not yet risen to the level of a conceptual physique.
The energy needed for physical movement and self-healing was supplied by himself.
Now that his condition was at rock bottom, he had to avoid injury as much as possible.
However…
Looking at everyone from Hagun collapsed on the ground, Luke could not help shaking his head helplessly.
In order to prevent them from being caught in the aftermath, the ways he could respond were limited.
At the very least, dodging was no longer an option.
The Starfall Sword could not be materialized, and using Ser-Veresta required a large amount of Prana.
With his Prana nearly exhausted, Luke might not even be able to maintain the most basic deployment for long.
Because he had to find the right chance before drawing his sword, he was actually forced to fight Stella with only his body for the moment.
However, do not underestimate Luke because of that!
Bang—!
After stopping his retreat, Luke faced Stella as she closed in again.
Without the slightest hesitation, he directly punched out.
Fist against fist.
After blocking the girl's attack from the front, Luke used his other hand to sweep aside Stella's other incoming fist.
Then he lashed out with a whip kick, striking the girl hard in the abdomen.
Bang—!
The massive impact made Stella's entire body curl forward, and the offensive posture she had maintained was instantly destroyed.
Seizing this chance, Luke ignored the pain of being burned by the flames.
He stretched out his right hand and accurately, swiftly grabbed the girl by the neck.
Then, without mercy, he slammed Stella's head straight into the ground.
Boom—!
The earth instantly shattered, and broken stones and dust flew into the sky.
But in the next moment—
Bang—!
With her entire head shoved into the ground, Stella supported herself with both hands and fiercely kicked Luke's shoulder with one leg.
Ignoring his shoulder, which had instantly swollen, Luke maintained his grip around Stella's neck.
With both hands, he suddenly exerted force and pressed her firmly to the ground.
At the same time, he shouted to Ikki, who had already been prepared.
"Do it!"
Whoosh—!
The Device Intetsu turned into a flash of sword light and instantly slashed toward the girl Luke was holding down.
The highly condensed mana even formed visible mana flames.
That was the effect produced when Ikki activated his Noble Art, Ittou Shura.
His extremely poor mana amount meant that when facing many outstanding Blazers, he could not even break through their defenses.
In order to surpass those Blazers who had talents far beyond his own on the path of Mage-Knights, Ikki concentrated all his power, including his ability "Physical Enhancement," into a short one-minute burst.
During this one minute, he, who originally could not even pierce defenses, could display strength surpassing that of an A-rank knight.
This concentrated burst caused Ikki's physical ability to increase countless times.
His body, which was already far beyond that of ordinary Blazers, now approached Ouma's level of "abnormality."
Not only that, the high concentration of mana also gave Ikki terrifying lethality and extreme speed.
If this strike landed, there was no doubt it could pierce Stella's mana armor.
And reality was indeed so!
Slash—!
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh echoed beside Luke's and Ikki's ears.
According to the experience the two had gained from subduing Stella last time, as long as they dealt enough damage to her, the girl would break free from this irrational rampage.
Ikki's strike was enough.
That was how it should have been.
Looking at the wound that appeared on the girl's body, Luke's and Ikki's expressions suddenly changed.
Even in shock, the two of them did not hesitate at all.
They exerted force beneath their feet and retreated backward at full speed.
The scene that followed proved that Luke's and Ikki's judgment had been correct.
Boom—!
A massive pillar of flame shot into the sky from Stella's body.
If the two of them had not retreated decisively, they would probably have been caught inside it by now.
However, what made Luke and Ikki feel surprised and troubled was not that the girl still had the power to counterattack.
The problem lay in the slash wound Ikki had caused.
On Stella's body as she stood up along with the pillar of flame, that wound was extremely obvious.
Clearly, Ikki had understood the seriousness of the situation and had not intended to hold back.
However…
Not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.
Not only that, the massive wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
An unbelievable self-healing ability.
It even far surpassed Luke's own self-healing speed.
Theoretically, this should have been impossible.
But do not forget.
At this moment, Stella was the incarnation of a "giant dragon."
In any mythology or legend, creatures known as giant dragons possessed extremely powerful vitality.
Even "dragon blood" was an extremely precious life-giving medicinal material.
In myths and legends, there were many heroes whose bodies transformed after bathing in dragon blood.
Therefore, for a giant dragon, injuries other than fatal wounds simply did not count as much.
Under a giant dragon's incomparable vitality, minor injuries could recover in an instant.
This time, Stella's manifestation of the concept of a "giant dragon" was more complete than last time.
Even the near-immortal vitality of dragons from legend had been reflected onto her own body.
Ordinary wounds could no longer be called "injuries" to her.
"This is… a little troublesome."
Luke frowned.
At this moment, he truly felt that things had become difficult.
If he were in peak condition, Luke naturally would not mind having a battle with Stella in this state.
But the current him was practically exhausted to the limit.
Stella's body also could not be allowed to continue squandering itself like this.
Once it exceeded a certain degree, she would likely need a long period of rest after the rampage ended.
With the Seven Star Sword Art Festival approaching, that result would almost certainly mean Stella would lose her chance to participate.
Looking at Ikki beside him, who also had a grave expression, Luke knew they could not delay any longer.
Ikki's Ittou Shura could only last for one minute as well.
Once that time passed, he would have no combat power left.
So…
"We decide it in one strike!"
"Ikki, prepare that move. You take the left, I'll take the right. Go all out. Don't leave anything to chance."
"One of us has to hit her."
Luke adjusted his posture.
As he poured in the last of his Prana, Ser-Veresta awakened once more.
After hearing Luke's words, Ikki also nodded solemnly and took the same iai stance he had shown before Luke arrived.
Their auras gradually rose.
Perhaps because she sensed something, Stella, who had lost her reason and only had instinct left, also stopped roaring.
For a time, a serious and heavy atmosphere appeared between the three of them.
However, just as everything was about to erupt—
Buzz—!
A massive gravity suddenly pressed down on everyone present.
At the same time, a voice came from behind Luke.
"Oh my, looks like I made it just in time."
…
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