"No karma...?"
At first, I was confused, but then I belatedly realized that the two flames were still raging around my whole body. Fang was also burning with the Flame of Regression, but a dash of the Flame of Evolution got onto her, burning away her good karma.
'But why would the Grim Reaper act like that just because I ran out of karma...?'
Honestly, I was worried about what could happen if I ran out of both good and bad karma. But now, I was thankful for it, seeing that this state of mine, with absolutely no Karma left, was able to fend off his attack for unknown reasons.
"So if Fang ran out of karma too...!"
An idea appeared in my head, and I observed Fang's state. Although she was unable to move, as she was now extremely weakened after I used [Soul Recall] on her, she was still holding on to her consciousness and was watching me fight with the Grim Reaper in a daze.
Now, I could finally see the finale of this dead-end road. As long as I can last long enough for Fang to burn off all of his good and bad karma, then this old man will be unable to lift a finger against her. In other words, [Soul Eclipse] should work perfectly against the Dragon King's avatar with no risk as long as we endure!
I placed the gun against my shoulder, staring at the Dragon King, who was still squirming in the air.
"Mr. Grim Reaper, I beg your pardon, but I think I'm busy right now. You can go."
"Cheeky brat!"
The old man gritted his teeth, revealing a pair of fangs. He was burning with rage and attacked me again, but as if the world itself didn't permit it, he got bounced back violently this time.
"Stay still; I wouldn't want you to get injured~!"
I taunted further as I aimed at the Dragon King's eye. After making sure that I had the target locked on, I pulled the trigger.
*BANG!*
The bullet flew at a speed faster than sound. In just an instant, it was already before the Dragon King's eye, and he drilled deep inside it, sending a spray of blood from the tiny puncture wound relative to its gigantic body.
*GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!*
Losing concentration for a moment from my attack, the effect of the red moon's light over the avatar was becoming stronger, while the one over Fang weakened greatly.
"Great! It's working!"
If I knew beforehand that physical intervention works too, then I wouldn't have needed to risk encountering this stubborn old man.
"...! Hey, hands off my woman!"
I realized that he switched targets, trying to go for Fang, who was lying down a little distance away. I quickly went forward and jumped in the way of his weapon. The scythe, after touching my body, got sent back by a powerful impact.
"You little...!"
As he was reeling from the powerful push of the mysterious force, his face turned red in anger. Although I think it was my imagination, I thought he was burning in rage with flames covering him, similar to mine... No, he really was burning!
The Flames of Evolution got to him, bathing him in a baptism of fire that ate away all of his good karma. Upon realizing what was going on, the Grim Reaper panicked and tried to put out the fire but failed.
"Remember this, you brat! I'll come back for you again!"
He muttered those words before he vanished into a puff of black smoke. Like an illusion, as the smoke faded, he was long gone, vanishing from the spot he was standing before.
"... Did he escape?"
It was a little underwhelming, given that he was an immortal being. But I guess because he's immortal, having his good karma gradually burned away was scarier.
I turned to Fang, who was beneath me, and she was already able to push herself back up. Her pained expression eased up a little, but she was still under the control of the red moon.
"D-Did he go away...?"
Fang asked. Although confused, she knew that whoever that man in black was was the reason why she was feeling excruciating pain after using [Soul Eclipse]. I smiled, reassuring her while patting her head.
"Don't worry, he's gone and won't be back anytime soon."
I don't know how he intends to diffuse the Flame of Evolution, but whatever method he plans to use, it will surely take quite some time.
*ROAAAAAAAAAH!*
Just as I was soothing Fang's worries, the Dragon King's Avatar suddenly raised a loud howl full of agony as it fell to the ground. Its gigantic body was able to cover an entire volcano easily, making it a grand sight.
*BAM!* *RUMBLE!*
The ground shook as it fell with a loud thud, creating a huge wave of magma, almost like a tsunami, that splashed all around it. Fang and I were pretty far from the spot, so we weren't affected much. Only the blast of wind from the large mass crashing down was able to ruffle our hair.
"... Is it dead?"
I muttered unintentionally before blocking my mouth with a hand. It was a flag and something that I don't really welcome. As if to prove my thoughts, the Dragon King's Avatar raised its gigantic body with difficulty, staring straight in our direction.
"...!"
A bad premonition swept over my body, making the hair on both arms and the back of my neck stand on end. Without waiting to confirm the reason, I quickly grabbed Fang, lifted her up, and ran as fast as I could.
"D*mn it, come on! Faster!"
I cursed at my legs, moving so slowly that it was agonizing. Using all of my computing power, I refined the timing of moving my leg muscles until we slowly gained more speed. A few seconds later, I was running even faster than what I believed was my top speed.
"Tsk!"
I quickly realized the reason, though. Manually controlling everything means there's no subconscious limiter that's stopping me. I was able to exert more power than usual, but the cost was that my muscles, joints, tendons, and everything else were experiencing an extreme burden. At my current pace, I guess it would only take a minute before my hamstring would snap.
The problem was that I couldn't use any skills. The Flames might be providing me with infinite energy, but the "gas" ran out. I didn't want to risk trying to use an energy-intensive skill like [Shadow Skip] only to end up falling due to running out of energy.
At that moment, I could feel a searing heat approaching my back. From my peripheral vision, I could see the surroundings get painted in a layer of orange. Even without turning around, I could tell that a large fireball was already on our tail.
With our current speed, even if I continue forging ahead, the explosion's radius would easily turn the two of us into charcoal. I wracked my brain as I ran, but only one solution surfaced in my muddled head.
"F*ck it all!!!"
I roared as I stopped in place, turned around, and faced despair face-to-face. The fireball was larger than before, about three times as large, and it was not alone. In a straight line, like a barricade, a dozen similar-sized fireballs greeted the two of us with a warm embrace.
"[Shadow Skip]!"
I had no intention of waiting to see that land, though. I quickly used [Shadow Skip], praying that I didn't run out of energy. As soon as I appeared, about ten kilometers away, I quickly breathed a sigh of relief. The Flames covering my body didn't fade, meaning that the "fuel" was still burning pretty well.
Making sure that we were safe, I took Fang on three more consecutive skips, which ended us in the air somewhere in the middle of the red ocean. With a wave of my hand, I took out something like an airbed and placed it below the two of us.
*SPLASH!*
The red water parted as we crashed, but the bed was buoyant enough to prevent us from sinking. I was worried it would pop, but thankfully, it was tough enough to endure the impact.
As I was wondering what would happen next, the flames around my body vanished. It was fortunate that they both vanished simultaneously; otherwise, if the Flame of Regression remained, only death would await us in this godforsaken place.
*VUOOOOOOM!*
A powerful shockwave swept through, making me feel like my insides had been violently shaken. A moment later, a powerful blast sound reached our ears, powerful enough that it was deafening despite the distance.
Looking behind us, the twelve fireballs exploded simultaneously, combining into a single, extra-large mushroom-cloud explosion. The mushroom cloud pierced through the clouds, probably reaching outer space if this God Domain was connected to the outside.
Soon, the waves became violent, shaking the airbed-cum-boat that we were on top of. I just grabbed Fang, laid her down beside me in the middle, and waited for the turbulence to calm down.
Suddenly, the scenery cracked. It happened without warning. Even without thinking, I knew the reason already.
"... The Dragon King died!"
If a God-tier monster dies, their God Domain will vanish alongside them. In short, if Fang and I didn't manage to escape in time, then we'd basically vanish too, stuck in the gaps of spacetime.
"(Master! Jump into the portal, quick!)"
Suddenly, a nostalgic voice echoed together with the appearance of a blue portal, radiating golden arcs of electricity, appearing before Fang and me. Without hesitation, I threw Fang into it before I jumped in, leaving the slowly cracking God Domain behind.
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