The eyes that had closed in fear of death opened once more, and the body that had been unable to move due to severe injuries could move again.
The moment Subaru—no, Tsukasa—opened his eyes, an overwhelming pressure swept through the entire tavern.
The blade Elsa thrust toward the abdomen stopped abruptly an inch from the skin, as if striking an invisible wall. At this moment, no matter how much force she applied, the blade could not advance even a fraction of an inch.
Even more startling was that those originally brown eyes had been replaced by pupils as blue as the clear sky. The moment she was gazed upon by these eyes, Elsa felt like an ant facing an ancient beast.
She instinctively retreated ten meters away, her body trembling completely out of control, yet at the same time, a frantic desire ignited within her—she desperately wanted to know what kind of exquisite specimen the bowels inside Subaru's body would be.
At this moment, Tsukasa, occupying Subaru's physical body, slowly stood up, moving this female body with a hint of unfamiliarity.
While Subaru's sobbing voice echoed in his mind, he said softly, "Though I'm not used to a female body, fortunately, there aren't too many burdens."
"I am truly sorry, Tsukasa. I could only do this much." Subaru retorted with a sob, though her tone was no longer one of excessive fear.
Hearing Subaru's gradually recovering tone, Tsukasa smiled and said, "I understand. Leave the rest to me."
To the side, Emilia watched this scene, dumbstruck.
This pressure far surpassed even that of Roswaal, the Kingdom's greatest Magic Caster. The power made her tremble involuntarily.
"Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert."
Just then, the black-robed woman suddenly announced her name.
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow in thought, 'Could this be the etiquette of another world?'
Thinking this, he responded calmly, "Mm. The Strongest, Tsukasa Tokito."
"The Strongest?"
Elsa chewed on the words, inevitably thinking of the legendary Sword Saint, Reinhard.
She forced a smile and spoke, "Then let me see if you are worthy of the title 'The Strongest.'"
The corners of Tsukasa's lips curled slightly. "In that case, please be sure to hold on for a little longer."
Before his voice had even faded, his figure had already vanished from the spot. No afterimages, no warning, he just appeared abruptly in front of Elsa.
A plain and unadorned punch was thrown.
Boom!
Elsa, along with her shattered internal organs, crashed through the roof and soared into the sky.
Only then did she realize with shock that her abdomen had been pierced through, as intense pain surged like a tide.
What terrified her even more was that Tsukasa was already floating by her side at some unknown point, as if he had been waiting there all along.
The internal tissues and blood constantly falling from inside finally made her body react. Violent pain filled her entire body, she didn't even know when Tsukasa had appeared before her, as if—
"As if I just teleported out of thin air, right?" He chuckled and grabbed her by the neck.
"Come on, don't make me too bored."
Accompanied by the roar of a sonic boom, Elsa crashed back into the tavern like a meteor. The entire building collapsed under the impact.
When Elsa was sent flying into the sky, Tsukasa had already signaled Emilia to evacuate the wounded.
He then slowly landed on the ruins, looking at the blood-stained debris and yawning, "Hey now, Subaru is watching. It won't just end like this, will it?"
"Tsukasa! Please don't let a girl watch such a disgusting scene!" Subaru's sharp scream echoed in his mind.
Just then, the ruins suddenly exploded.
Elsa, holding her Kukri, burst from the ground and flew toward him, followed immediately by a fierce whip kick.
However, all attacks came to a halt an inch away from Tsukasa.
Seeing this, Elsa hurriedly retreated. She had originally thought that Tsukasa had a Divine Protection that granted immunity to any weapon attack, but she seemed to have been mistaken. It might be a Divine Protection that grants immunity to any incoming attack.
But at this moment, Elsa still did not give up, thinking, 'Then, if an attack that does not fall into the category of 'enemy' falls, can it also be blocked?'
She threw her Kukri again to block Tsukasa's vision while simultaneously kicking through a massive crossbeam. The wooden beam crashed toward Tsukasa with a roar, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Just as Elsa thought she had succeeded, a playful voice sounded from behind. "Where are you looking?"
When she turned her head in shock, she saw Tsukasa standing leisurely behind her. With a dull thud, Elsa's head was separated from her body.
"The second time."
Tsukasa nonchalantly kicked the remains away and crushed the head in his hand, and the red and white fluids immediately fell onto Subaru's body.
"Tsukasa... that's too gross..." Subaru's protest sounded in his mind.
"You'll be unconscious after we swap back, so just bear with it." Tsukasa soothed upon hearing Subaru's protest.
Before his words had even finished, the blood-covered Elsa rushed out from the ruins again.
"You really are too delicious."
"You can still stay alive? Interesting." Tsukasa smiled playfully, his fist entwined with blackish-blue mana.
The moment Elsa rushed in front of him, he swung his fist to meet the Kukri.
Crack!
The blade shattered at the impact, and disintegrating along with it was Elsa's body.
Ten seconds later.
Watching Elsa stand up from the ruins once more, Tsukasa couldn't help but sigh, "You really are persistent."
Glancing at the remaining seven-minute time limit, he decided not to delay any longer. If the opponent realized that this body would swap people in ten minutes, things would become troublesome.
Tsukasa pressed his left index and middle fingers together, the corners of his lips curving into a smile. "In that case, please do your best to stay alive."
A pale blue light sphere condensed at his fingertip, and the surrounding air began to distort. Rubble and debris were drawn by an invisible force, converging toward the light sphere.
Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!
This light sphere could generate a black-hole-like gravity and also trigger violent spatial explosions at designated coordinates. Considering they were in the city, he deliberately controlled the output power, but—
"It's already enough."
The light sphere shot out, and everything in its path disintegrated. The ground was torn apart, and the ruins were turned to dust within the gravitational field.
Elsa's eyes reflected this destructive power, and internally, she had already given up on the idea of continuing her attack.
Boom!
Amidst the deafening explosion, the already dilapidated tavern was completely reduced to nothingness.
After the dust settled, only a massive crater remained in its place.
Tsukasa hovered in mid-air, staring at the empty center of the explosion, the smile on his face gradually vanishing.
"The next time I see you, I will definitely kill you."
At the moment before Blue hit, Tsukasa, who thought Elsa was surely dead, didn't expect that she would actually escape using some kind of unknown magic tool.
At that same time, Emilia walked over from a distance, looking up somewhat timidly at the figure in the sky and asking, "You... are you Subaru?"