I block Luca’s strike. The attack, imbued with the power of the evil god Agra, is deflected by my shield filled with divine light.
I meet Luca's red, bloodshot eyes with my own.
He won’t understand. He can’t comprehend.
Why I don’t fall apart.
Luca, tainted by the power of the evil god, overwhelms me in every way.
His physical strength is on a level that makes comparisons meaningless.
His speed is at a point where it’s hard to even track with my eyes.
Each of his strikes carries such power that I’m certain I wouldn’t be able to keep up even if I lost an arm.
So, from a logical perspective, facing Luca in direct combat should be impossible.
It’s something that shouldn’t even happen.
But...
"If you're going to play with me, do it properly.♡ If you keep it this monotonous, it's boring, you know?♡ Is your brain so small that thinking is hard for you?♡"
Reality is reality.
Clang!
Luca’s attack is once again blocked by my shield.
Ugh. It really feels like my life is shortening in real-time.
The thought that I might be smashed by that axe with a single mistake is truly horrifying.
A boss where every pattern is a one-hit kill!
This game is such a disaster, isn’t it?!
And while I’m responding to every attack, I can’t really complain, but at least give it some balance!
You useless god! This is for you to hear!
Clang!
A slight shock passes through my shield.
Did I mess up the timing a bit?
Damn it. The power is gathering, and it seems to be strengthening further.
Objectively, what I’m doing right now is a kind of circus act.
A balancing act on a tightrope with no safety net.
A perilous stunt where the moment I stumble, I’ll fall to my death.
And the rope beneath my feet is gradually getting thinner with time.
...How much longer can I hold out? How much longer can I keep up this act? How long will it take to reach the end, which is still out of sight?
Suppressing the growing anxiety, I focus on the spearhead flying toward me.
The energy gathered at the tip, waiting only for the moment to explode.
And then, it happened.
A sudden shift.
The energy gathered at the spearhead wavers.
As a result, the sharpness of Luca’s attack dulls.
I use the shock from the strike to leap back, my gaze turning to my surroundings.
Adri, shouting in triumph as the control over the commander’s power has been returned.
The Void followers, thrown into confusion.
The darkness surrounding us slowly fades.
Without adding any more power, my divine light spreads naturally.
Has the sleeping prince in the forest finally awoken?
Seems like after pretending to sleep for so long, he finally realized no one is going to kiss his stinking lips.
I chuckled as I shifted my gaze back to Luca.
The darkness that had been lingering around him was gradually disintegrating.
The magic circle that had been maintaining the Void’s power was losing its strength, and as a result, the power granted to Luca was fading.
Agra’s anger hasn’t dissipated, so the evil god’s power still clings to Luca, but that’s all.
Right now, Luca isn’t the overwhelming force he was just moments ago.
Thank you, Armadi. I appreciate the quick balance patch. Now, it’s much more fun to play with him.
"Why are you standing still?♡ You said I would be your trial, right?♡"
I lowered my shield slightly and gave a wide grin.
"Is the pathetic, petty loser Agra running away and getting scared?♡ A useless fool who can’t do anything alone?♡"
As the barrier crumbles, the Void followers are collapsing. The remaining focal point is no longer them, but Luca.
If I take down that bastard, who’s empowered by Agra, they’ll disband completely.
"So, what now?♡ Could it be that you think the trial is something you, the clueless, pathetic, premature, perverted idiot, shouldn’t be mocked for?♡"
I provoke him. I get under Luca’s skin again. I disrupt his ability to think, make him act without using his brain.
How should I provoke him? There’s no need to think about it. No matter where I touch, he’ll be enraged.
"Ha ha ha!♡ If that’s the case, you’ll never pass!♡"
As the darkness fades, Luca’s eyes, now visible, are bloodshot, veins running through them.
"I’m sorry~♡ Pervy professor~♡ I’ve lost~♡ Your trial was too difficult, I can’t do anything!~♡"
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Luca’s hands, veins bulging, grip the halberd.
"So what are you going to do now?♡ Are you going to force your perverted preferences on me?♡ Heh♡ I’m so terrified seeing you eye me with those red eyes, I can’t do anything!♡"
Luca assumes the same stance as his first attack. It’s the same stance I remember.
"Wow♡ You get all excited just because I adjusted to your taste?♡ Pervy~♡ Disgusting♡ Go die already♡"
I raise my shield and prepare to face his attack. I remember the past. I think back to the me that was on the other side of the monitor.
I recall the effort I put in back then.
And soon enough, the sharp sound of metal rings in my ears.
With a successful parry, I dive into Luca’s exposed side.
Looking at the confusion in his eyes, I raise my mace high.
Alright, Luca. I’m going to make you the first test subject for this newly acquired skill of mine.
Consider it an honor.
Given your hidden masochism, I’m sure you’ll still be smiling even after enduring the bear-like strength I’m about to unleash.
Right?
As I decide to use my skill, an immense strength, far surpassing that of a human, flows into my arm.
Without dulling it even a little, I channel all of that power into the mace and swing it.
Even as Luca tries to block with his arm, his human limbs can’t withstand the beastly strength.
The blow tears through his flesh and breaks his bones. For a moment, Luca is sent soaring through the air.
Luca, free from gravity for an instant, soon crashes to the ground, rolling several times before lying still.
...He’s not dead, right? That would be troublesome!
Even though he’s the type who deserves to die, there are still things he needs to see!
I rush over to Luca and check to confirm he’s still breathing, letting out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. I almost left him to die, thinking I had won mentally.
Change in Focus to Joy's Realization:
The first person to notice the change was Joy.
She had been working tirelessly to interpret and enhance Erginus’s magic circle, and she immediately sensed the change in the circle.
The massive flow of energy that had been pouring into the magic circle stopped.
Why? What happened? Did I touch something wrong?
For a moment, Joy hesitated, planning to pump more magic into the circle, but then stopped.
No, there’s no need to maintain the magic circle anymore.
The magic circle is currently empowering the Void followers.
If it collapses, the immense energy sustaining the Void followers will disappear as well.
Realizing this, Joy actively worked to help the magic circle crumble.
She destroyed the structure of the magic circle, disrupted the emergency power that kept it running, and erased the core components.
Under normal circumstances, with her abilities, Joy wouldn’t have been able to break down the magic circle, and even if she did, it would have quickly been restored. But not this time.
The magic circle, now devoid of power, couldn’t resist its collapse, and it crumbled rapidly.
The change it brought about was evident, but the most noticeable was the barrier.
The barrier.
The barrier that had surrounded the entire Soul Academy.
The barrier, once stained black with the power of the Void.
The barrier that had been giving its power to the evil god and failing to protect the students.
It began to crack from the top, slowly but surely. Shards of magical energy fell from it as it crumbled away.
Soon, the warm light of the sun poured into the academy, pushing the darkness back.
"No!"
Seeing this, the Void Apostle desperately tried to hold onto the barrier, but the cracks only grew.
"No!"
The Apostle, who had been nearly omnipotent due to Erginus's magic, could only watch as everything crumbled.
"Good work, Lady Patran."
Uden, bathed in sunlight, said with a relaxed voice, and the Void Apostle’s veins stood out in frustration.
"No! It’s not over! The judgment sent by the Void is still here! We haven’t lost yet!"
Uden listened to the Apostle’s words with one ear, looking upward. The Apostle was right.
The black-scaled dragon was still in the air.
But the energy coming from the black-scaled dragon was nowhere near as strong as it had been before.
The dragon, sustained by the evil god’s power, had lost everything. Now, it was just a creature.
"That thing?"
And if it’s just a creature, a lizard who has lost most of its power, it cannot become a trial for Uden.
In the gradually brightening landscape of the academy, Uden drew her sword. She poured everything she had into it.
The Sword Saint Uden’s technique. The ultimate strike created to clash with the strongest man she knew.
Her sword, imbued with her entire life’s energy, severed the dragon’s neck with the clouds.
"So now, it’s over?"