"Damn it! Why is this old Tohno scoundrel's skin so hard after going mad!"
With a fierce Mana Burst, Tohno Shinkyu was almost completely driven into the ground by Rin, but to her surprise, Tohno Shinkyu was not only unharmed but counterattacked with a claw.
Just after Tohno Shinkyu's testicles were crushed by Rin, Rin had thought the battle was over and was about to deliver the final blow when she suddenly felt a chill of crisis. She instinctively dodged backward, and Tohno Shinkyu, whose testicles had been crushed, seemed perfectly fine as he lunged at where Rin had just been.
What's going on?! Even a beast that has lost its mind should find it difficult to move after such intense pain, or even pass out from it.
Tohno Shinkyu, whose testicles were crushed by Rin, seemed to have a switch flipped. His entire bodily tissue underwent a complete transformation: his skeletal shape, his skin—he had almost lost all semblance of a human. His crimson skin was like a demon that had crawled out of hell, his two eyes stared like bronze bells, and subtle horn-like protrusions appeared on his forehead and scalp. It was as if Rin's recent brutal torment had instead awakened his demonic blood!
Could this be, in the true sense of the word... "awakening"!
Damn it, all those other anime protagonists are so weak! Awakening, awakening, what kind of awakening is it if the seed doesn't burst!
Leaving aside other things, just the punch Rin landed on his face when he was on his knees—anyone else would have had their head explode with the first punch, let alone a whole series! To be smashed into the ground by a fist, Tohno Shinkyu's skull must be at least as hard as a diamond.
Damn it, did all those strong blows to his head, plus the excruciating pain from crushing his testicles, completely drive him into an unconscious state, causing his demonic blood to awaken and rush to his brain!
Fists hitting his crimson skin produced a series of metallic clanging sounds, and Tohno Shinkyu, who was sent flying backward, received no decisive damage.
Completely losing his human form, Tohno Shinkyu moved on all fours like a beast, crawling up a load-bearing pillar, watching Rin like a beast scrutinizing dangerous prey.
Damn, the more I abuse him, the stronger he gets. This "awakening" is truly a protagonist's skill. I've indirectly and forcibly "passed on my power" to that old scoundrel. Standing below the pillar, Rin looked up warily at Tohno Shinkyu, breathing heavily as she cursed under her breath.
At this point, Rin had been fighting Tohno Shinkyu continuously for nearly two hours. From initially dominating Tohno Shinkyu and pressing her advantage, to now being evenly matched, the non-stop high-intensity combat had made it difficult for Rin to sustain. The regular operation of Mana Burst consumed very little, but burning mana to further increase its power was not so easy. Several attempts to use external mana release for attacks in between also consumed a lot, but unfortunately with little effect.
Should I use Phantasm Collapse? Damn it, if I use it and still can't deal with him, then I'm finished. It's frustrating that I still can't freely control mana outflow.
Facing Tohno Shinkyu, who had now completely transformed into a demon beast, Rin's weakness was exposed once again: the limitations caused by her control.
It can be said that in conventional combat, no matter the opponent, Rin could only choose to use Reinforcement Magic and Mana Burst for close-quarters combat. Because the concept of the magical formula itself was different, only with such buffing magic that enhanced herself could Rin control the output of mana. Once she cast an external release magic formula, it would be a decisive moment of victory or defeat. The ultimate magical formula, which automatically completed itself, was indeed powerful, but the amount it consumed was also unbearable for Rin. Small magic spells within one process were fine, but at this point, a one-process magical formula would clearly have no effect.
The more I fight, the more energetic you get, are you a Saint Seiya?!
Rin cursed inwardly. And just as Rin was momentarily distracted, the demonized Tohno Shinkyu acutely sensed an opportunity and pounced down like a flying demon! Rin, reacting somewhat hastily, barely managed to duck to the side. The demonized claw grazed Rin's leather jacket on her left shoulder, leaving three bloody claw marks on her pale shoulder.
Before Tohno Shinkyu could get up from his prone position, a mighty punch once again landed on the back of his head...
"Boom!"
With a decisive punch, like a falling onion, Tohno Shinkyu's head was smashed into the ground. Unfortunately, Rin had repeated this process countless times. Logically, even if Tohno Shinkyu's skull couldn't be shattered, his brain matter should have long since been shaken out of his orifices. But the fact was, Tohno Shinkyu was completely unharmed.
To overpower the now demonized Tohno Shinkyu, Rin had to constantly maintain Mana Burst with three times the normal amount of mana. To conserve mana, Reinforcement Magic only enhanced her physical strength and reaction speed.
Grabbing Tohno Shinkyu's demonic head, Rin slammed it against the ground twice. Quickly realizing this was useless, Rin hardened her heart. Her right hand, burning with double the mana for Mana Burst, firmly held Tohno Shinkyu's head in place. Her left hand's index and middle fingers separated, curved like silver hooks, and plunged into Tohno Shinkyu's eye sockets!
No matter how hard you are, I don't believe you can be hard here! Her fingers curved and dug, her arm strained and pulled!
Tohno Shinkyu's two blood-red eyes, like headlights, were gouged out by Rin! The beast, stimulated by the intense pain, immediately went wild, its brute strength surging. Rin suddenly felt a burning pain in her left shoulder. As half of her body went numb, she could no longer control the wildly struggling Tohno Shinkyu.
She barely managed to roll aside, dodging a frantic claw, and leaned against the back of a pillar. She turned her head to look at Tohno Shinkyu, who had lost his sight and thus his target, and whose judgment was impaired by excessive pain, causing him to rampage wildly through the hall.
Rin looked down at her left shoulder, only to see the three claw marks, just inflicted by Tohno Shinkyu, faintly smoking. The wounds were spreading at an extremely slow rate, and the muscle tissue exposed beneath the broken skin was an abnormal crimson, just like Tohno Shinkyu's current skin color!
Corrosive assimilation, damn it, are you a zombie!
Rin cursed inwardly, knowing she couldn't hesitate now; even a moment's delay would have unimaginable consequences. Gritting her teeth, her right hand condensed mana into a dagger. With a flash of the blade, she swiftly cut off all the damaged parts of her left shoulder wound! Instantly, blood flowed freely, but such a wound was actually reassuring.
One-Process Healing Magic
The fluorescent light of the magic with powerful healing effects passed over the wound, quickly stopping the bleeding and suppressing the pain. However, the cut flesh could not grow back immediately and required some time to recover; for now, her left arm was not functioning properly.
Taking advantage of the rare free time, Rin leaned against the pillar, contemplating her current strategy.
The claw attack after complete demonization actually had an infectious effect. It seems the Tohno Family's demonic blood truly leans towards Dead Apostle-like power. And looking at Tohno Shinkyu now, he should not be able to recover. Even if he were left to rampage like this, in not too long—half a day, a day at most—he would die from exhaustion of his life force. But it's hard to guarantee there won't be any deviations, so it's still necessary to deal with him now. Since it leans towards Dead Apostle-like power, then that item should...
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