So that's how it looks from the outside, huh?
"Ah, no, I just meant as a sage-style sorcerer, I find destroying nature kind of painful to watch. Didn't even have vampires on my mind."
"—Kuh! Kuhahahahahahahaha!!"
At that, he looked blank for a second—then burst out laughing.
"My apologies. So your concern for vampires ranks even lower than grass and animals, does it? I think I now understand why people say you show no mercy to your enemies. There's that saying, isn't there? 'The opposite of love isn't hatred—it's indifference.' You're certainly no hero."
"Well, I am supposed to be an evil mastermind, after all—definitely not a hero."
"That's… not exactly what I meant, but—well, it's not wrong, either."
With that, we each launched ourselves high into the sky.
Euclid radiated an enormous aura—his silver aura fused with the Red Dragon Emperor's crimson glow. In contrast, my aura looked like the corrupted mud from Fate's tainted Holy Grail: a chaotic swirl of pitch black and blood-rust red.
"Then let's make it interesting: a fake showdown between the 'Oppai Dragon' and 'All-Evil.'"
"Yeah? Well, come back after you can sing the entire 'Oppai Dragon Song' from memory."
And with that, we clashed.
Far off in the distance, I could also sense the start of a battle between Kuroka and Ladon.
For now, I blocked Euclid's fist with a Balance Breaker-forged sword—but just as I expected, a single blow cracked the entire blade.
He's got way more raw power and speed than I do.
"How about it? I'm much stronger than your friend, the Red Dragon Emperor, am I not?"
"I won't deny your base stats are higher, that's for sure!"
As I repaired the broken left blade Tawrich, I slashed with my right sword Zarich, but Euclid, backed by his overwhelming aura, chose to dodge and widen the distance.
"Your attacks can cut through even Grendel's scales, which are said to be the toughest among evil dragons. I don't share that dragon's masochistic fetish for being sliced, so I'll just keep dodging. With my current power and speed, I doubt you'll get a real opening to strike back."
With that, he unleashed a barrage of dense magical blasts and charged in after them at high speed.
I retaliated with spiritual energy bullets infused with Izuna's youki and touki, but it took two or three of mine just to cancel out one of his. I focused only on deflecting the most annoying ones, dodging the rest—but parried one too hard with my Sacred Gear and opened up a huge gap.
"Found an opening. Let's start with a solid hit."
BOOM!
He drove his fist into my midsection, causing a shockwave that would've left a massive crater if we'd been on the ground.
Still, I managed to regain my stance mid-air.
"...That should have been a good one. So that's the defensive technique that stems from aura control? Still, even the slightest miscalculation and your body would've been torn apart. I couldn't do that—not with my nerves."
Euclid may say he couldn't do it, but I'm not exactly fearless either.
But as long as I can predict where the hit is coming from, I can suppress the fear. I can concentrate my aura into a specific part of my body—even without armor or a weapon, that's enough to defend. Plus, Euclid is wearing an Armor-Type Forbidden Balance Breaker, which makes reading his aura a lot easier.
Even so, it's tough to counterattack. With his current strength, he could easily dodge even a well-timed counter just on reflex.
Euclid looked down at the hand he'd used to punch me.
The gauntlet on his armored fist was slightly blackened.
"I see. Your aura manages to corrode even mine—a dangerous curse indeed. If I had punched you barehanded, I would have taken the damage instead. However—"
Before he finished, he purged the blackened piece and regenerated the armor with its repair function.
"As long as I don't stay close to you, your threat level drops. Unlike the Red Dragon Emperor's host, I excel in mid- and long-range magical combat. That's how I'll proceed."
Ugh, what a pain in the ass.
He's stronger at range, and faster in close combat. I can't even close the distance, and most of my techniques are close-range.
Well, I guess if sword techniques were all long-range, it'd feel kind of broken.
Sure enough, once the bombardment battle began, I was steadily pushed into a corner.
No direct hits yet, but the heat from nearby blasts was steadily wearing me down. My aura was draining fast, and the mental fatigue was piling up even faster.
My focused, pinpoint spirit bullets couldn't land hits, and my foxfire (evil aura version) spread too thin to overwhelm Euclid's massive aura. They were easily blown away.
"Gah!"
Damn it! Took one in the right shoulder.
Even though Euclid isn't as relentless as Kuroka, I had to pour way more power into defense, which slowed me down.
"Finally landed a hit. I thought the same during your fight with Grendel—you have truly admirable evasive skills. If this were Shalba Beelzebub or Creuserey Asmodeus, bloated with power from Ophis's snake, they'd already be in tatters."
"Appreciate the compliment."
My aura control wasn't quick enough—my shoulder's been scorched. Without Asia around, this burn might leave a hell of a scar.
Now then, what to do… I still have Ittou Shura and Verg Avesta up my sleeve, but it's too early to play those cards. Euclid's just test-driving his new power—he'll probably withdraw before dealing any serious damage.
But if he leaves now, that's basically a win for him.
And I really don't like that.
…But with the techniques I've got now, I can't break through his defenses—
"Wait. Maybe I can."
When Euclid punched me earlier, the aura on his gauntlet was partially corrupted. That means my own aura, which may be higher in quality if not quantity, can gradually corrode even his.
But he won't let a spirit bullet or foxfire land so easily.
So if pinpoint and spread attacks fail, the answer is volume—make the entire space itself into a weapon.
Controlling life energy isn't the only aspect of senjutsu.
Controlling the natural energy of the world—that's what a sage is best at!
We're high up in the sky, so I merge my aura into the surrounding atmosphere and seize control.
Essentially, I become a wind manipulator.
Of course, just hitting him with a gust won't mean anything. But what if that wind carries evil aura?
"Hm? What is this!?"
Euclid looked startled. But unlike foxfire or energy bullets, this isn't something you can see coming. It's more like diffusing poison gas—you can't block it.
It spreads slowly, yes—but it seeps into the armor, and if he breathes, it enters his body too.
It's like giving the battlefield a passive poison status effect.
"So, what'll it be? Do we keep going until your body breaks down from the inside, or until one of your magic blasts finally lands clean and ends me?"
At the very least, I've evened the odds.
"This is similar to that poisonous mist used by the nekomata fighting Ladon. Even I can't stay in this area much longer. Most opponents wouldn't stand a chance."
"I did absorb 'All the Evils of the World' after all. For someone like you—dragon, noble, handsome, talented, devil—you're basically swimming in targetable evil. Should work nicely."
"...That's impressively indiscriminate."
"Humans wrote the book on being indiscriminate."
Didn't I say something like that to Sairaorg once?
And because this technique only uses the evil aura as wind, there's not much active control needed. I can focus elsewhere.
My detection range can cover an entire town—so in theory, I could turn one into a fog-drenched, curse-infested hell.
Sounds terrifying, but it's not that overpowered. It's useless in group fights due to friendly fire, and Demon Lord-class beings can wipe out whole towns in a single blow anyway.
Its only real advantage is that it attacks from all directions and all types of malice, making it hard to resist.
But there are counters: a sacred aura or purifying flame could easily keep the evil energy out.
Now then, what should I name it?
Simple and accurate… but doesn't roll off the tongue.
Maybe something like the Secret Sword series—or Amaterasu, named after the sun goddess.
Diseased wind makes me think of epidemic gods… or maybe plague, like the Black Death. But if I use "plague," it overpowers the evil aura theme.
Coming up with original move names is hard. Why is it that light novel protagonists, even the academically-challenged ones, suddenly become fluent in foreign languages when naming moves?
Anyway, what else? I'd just self-destruct from the cringe.
How about a spin on Jajanken—wasn't that originally based on "Evil Fist" (Jakken)?
Actually… that might work. I don't want something too chūni, but borrowing some vibe gives it style.
"Hm. Any longer in this space and the damage may linger. Let's end this here. I just got a signal—Lord Rizevim has begun the final act of his chaos plan for this vampire nation. Time for me to go—Ladon, we're leaving."
Sounds like Rizevim finally turned those modified vampires into evil dragons… though I doubt he expected them all to be knocked out already.
Euclid disappeared using teleportation magic. Ladon, after receiving the signal, followed him through a dimensional gate.
I dispersed the corrupted wind and flew toward Kuroka's location.
"Good work. How'd it go on your end?"
"That damn evil dragon's barrier was too strong, nya! It had multiple layers, and every time I broke one, another appeared. Plus, they kept trying to trap me with barriers too—I was dodging nonstop, couldn't get through."
Sounds like a classic stalemate—offense vs. defense.
Senjutsu and youjutsu aren't exactly built for brute-forcing layered defenses.
"They mostly used containment spells, so I'm not hurt. But that burn on you, Ikki—that looks nasty. Let's go find Asia and get you healed."
Agreed. Healing with senjutsu would take at least a full day. I'm suppressing the pain right now, but it's like running on anesthetic—I don't like it.
"Then let's hurry back to Tepes."
"Yup, let's go nya~"
And so, the two of us flew back toward the town of Tepes.
"…Oh yeah. Almost forgot—Verg Avesta."
As a little parting gift… I left him a dose of retribution.
======
Note: Since ancient times, disease has often been blamed on evil gods or demons.
Congratulations, Ikki! You're one step closer to becoming one yourself.