A vacuum of deathly silence instantly enveloped the mountaintop shrine.
Without air, sound could not travel, leaving only a heart-stopping, absolute stillness.
Hashimoto Yoma's charging figure suddenly froze, his lungs tearing with pain from the internal and external pressure difference, his eyeballs seeming to bulge from their sockets, and all the blood vessels beneath his skin grotesquely engorged!
He could feel himself about to boil; a large amount of heat, unable to dissipate through the air, was constantly accumulating within his body, making him hotter and hotter, little by little.
At the same time, oxygen deprivation caused his consciousness to blur, and the internal and external pressure throughout his body became imbalanced, making him feel as if he was about to explode.
Kishibe Rohan watched all of this with indifference; the 'tile pistol' in his hand was already raised, its muzzle aimed at Hashimoto Yoma, who was stiff with pain from hypoxia and expanding internal gases.
He pulled the trigger; there was no gunshot, because without air to transmit it, only the faint vibration of the firing pin striking the primer and propelling the bullet was transmitted through the gun body.
The gun he had modified contained enough oxidizer to fire without air.
Several bullets, with a muzzle velocity exceeding the speed of sound, silently shot towards Hashimoto Yoma's head in the vacuum!
It was as if, in the next second, they would directly pierce his head, killing him completely.
In this moment of life and death, the divine power of Hermes within Hashimoto Yoma erupted with unprecedented intensity!
Golden light, like a tangible substance, jetted from every pore, thoroughly dyeing his muscles golden; his body temperature stopped rising, and the strength of his flesh increased by another notch.
A thin, golden membrane of light even reflected on his body's surface, maintaining his life form.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The bullets struck the light membrane, neither penetrating nor being repelled, but instead sinking as if into viscous golden resin.
Their speed sharply decreased, eventually floating eerily about an inch in front of Hashimoto Yoma's forehead, trembling slightly, unable to advance another millimeter, just like a small insect fixed in amber by hardened resin.
"Ho... ho..." Hashimoto Yoma let out an inarticulate roar from his throat, not from suffocation, but from extreme fury!
His golden pupils locked onto Kishibe Rohan, his gaze as if to say, "How dare you... use such despicable methods!"
Hermes, as a god who crosses boundaries and travels between realms, his divine power inherently contains an extraordinary adaptability to 'environments' and 'rules,' even a desire to conquer them!
Vacuum? This was merely another 'environment' to be conquered by muscle and speed; as one blessed by Hermes, his flesh had undergone further transformation and was already beginning to adapt to the vacuum.
Hashimoto Yoma no longer tried to breathe; he began a new round of evolution, his body, supported by divine power, forcibly entered a mysterious state of internal circulation, becoming a kind of space organism.
All his muscles wildly pulsated, compressed, and released with a rhythm that defied biology, mixing the residual oxygen and divine power within his body to complete a full circulation, rapidly restoring his condition.
Excess heat was converted into muscular power, body temperature stabilized, and although the internal and external pressures were still different, they reached a stable state through the protection of energy, bringing his condition back to its peak.
There was no sound, but his roaring will exploded like a shockwave on a spiritual level!
He moved; in the absolute vacuum, a frictionless environment, his manipulated body moved easily, and the fleshy wings behind him began to flap.
It was just like before, even easier and faster; he directly threw a powerful punch, adjusted his posture, planted his feet on the ground, and pushed off with force.
The ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered again from the immense force of his push! He was like a human rocket, hurtling directly towards Kishibe Rohan, ready to simply ram him to death.
As he adjusted his posture, the bullets suspended in front of him were flung out, directly targeting Kishibe Rohan's head, but he casually transformed them back into floor tiles.
Alertness rose in Kishibe Rohan's eyes, but fear had completely vanished.
He hadn't expected his opponent to not only survive in a vacuum but also unleash such terrifying breakthrough ability, but it also indicated that Hermes would not personally intervene, which meant he had a chance to win, as the mountain god was not as powerful as Hermes.
However, he had already undergone the baptism of the mountain god's divine power, while his opponent was only in the process of changing towards that state, not yet fully becoming a divine spokesperson, so he still had hope, but the facts slapped him in the face.
He once again waved his scepter, attempting to write new rules.
But Hashimoto Yoma's speed was too fast!
No, that's not right, his speed was being controlled and slowed down by his opponent, and his opponent seemed to be controlling his perception of speed!
But by the time Kishibe Rohan reacted, it was already too late.
It was so fast that before the words in his mind had fully coalesced, that golden fist, wrapped in golden divine power and bulging with veins like dragons, had already traversed the short distance and slammed fiercely onto Kishibe Rohan's hastily raised scepter!
Boom!!!
A silent collision erupted.
Golden light flashed wildly on the scepter, emitting a mournful cry! Kishibe Rohan felt an irresistible, brutal force transmit through the scepter; his entire arm instantly went numb, his bones creaked under the strain, and he was once again blasted away, slamming hard into the black giant rock!
"Crack!"
This time, the cracks on the black giant rock visibly widened and spread, as if it could completely disintegrate at any moment!
Traces of an ancient, angry, yet slightly startled will faintly emanated from deep within the rock.
Hashimoto Yoma pressed his advantage, giving Kishibe Rohan no chance to breathe.
He followed like a shadow, instantly catching up, his fists falling madly like a pile driver; each punch contained the power to shatter mountains, slamming fiercely into Kishibe Rohan, who was embedded in the rock!
Kishibe Rohan could only desperately wield his scepter to block, while continuously modifying the perception of the soldiers in space, thereby changing reality.
"Density increase!"
"Space folding!"
"Damage transfer!"
But in the face of Hashimoto Yoma's power, which fused Hermes's divine power and was utterly insane, these modified realities were useless; against his flashy rules, Hashimoto Yoma simply broke all laws with brute force.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dull thudding sounds echoed in the vacuum, transmitted through solid objects and divine power fluctuations.
Kishibe Rohan's mouth and nose bled, beaten severely by his opponent, but his physical constitution was astonishingly strong; he hadn't been beaten to death yet.
The light from the scepter in his hand rapidly dimmed, and even tiny cracks began to appear on it!
"Your god... cannot save you!" Hashimoto Yoma's will, like a cold blade, pierced into Kishibe Rohan's mind, "Your rules... your manga... in the face of absolute power, they are all trash!
Now, I will punch you to death, then destroy all your manga, and proclaim you the worst mangaka... Don't worry, after you die, everyone will remember you, as the worst mangaka in history."
Hashimoto Yoma laughed maliciously; his voice could not be transmitted through the air, but it struck directly into Kishibe Rohan's mind along with his fists.
Hearing this, Kishibe Rohan's veins bulged; he grabbed the scepter, which was once again trying to write text, his five fingers like forged diamond, and exerted force!
Originally, he had intended to fake his death after a beating and let the matter pass, but now it seemed he had to truly fight for his life.