NOVEL NEXT Chapter 913
<913 – Dark Shadow vs Dark Shadow (22)>
Ishtar, marked as a betrayer by Forever More, realized that her body could move again.
In the distance, Forever More looked at her with cold eyes and went to stop the Demon Army circling the battlefield.
– “I’ll give you one more chance. Rookie. Prove why you are a Warrior.”
The appearance of the God of Death and the unexpectedly equal fierce battle unfolded, giving her a chance again, as she had lost her will to fight, abandoning her duties as a Warrior.
“Aha ha. I’ve been fighting hard without sleep all week, and in the end, I couldn’t trust Oknodie and became useless again. Should I quit being a Warrior…?”
Even in her loss of will, a Warrior’s power was anathema to the dead.
She stopped a part of the army wave that even the Jigoku Pirate Ship’s cannons couldn’t fend off.
“You are…”
“Am I useless to you too?”
“…No. I’m not in a position to say that.”
The Black Knight Mob, always clad in full armor.
Seeing him, pressed in wrinkled armor without a single groan, Ishtar felt as if she was looking at herself.
Her self-destructive desire to punish herself was manifesting in a manner that tortured her without pouring mana into the armor that could automatically recover.
The two silently slaughtered the enemies.
Whenever the enemies used tricky tactics, they thought of the trickiest opponent they knew.
It was always Oknodie.
Even now, it was Oknodie’s techniques that saved them from the crisis.
The teachings and theories of Oknodie informed them of the most suitable responses at every moment.
But Oknodie no longer wished to see them digesting those teachings.
Even the desire to be noticed by him had now become a sense of guilt.
“Right. I can only live quietly in my place like a mere mob. For the sake of Oknodie, who I wronged. And for the sake of the Oknodie who sacrificed for me.”
The Mob found the reason to fight.
Seeing him, Ishtar also realized.
That even she had those who looked up to her and followed her from behind.
And that, still, there was a plan Oknodie had left for her someday.
The Mob was over, but she was not finished.
She still had a role to fulfill for Oknodie and, someday, for the Demon King’s subjugation.
“You’re too much. Just to toy with the toys I carefully raised, are you trying to mess with them?”
But what was this?
Why was a Shinigami calmly speaking?
Why was this Shinigami emitting a dark purple aura instead of the usual black energy?
A chill ran down her spine.
Thoughts she was about to push away were forcibly held in place.
“!”
Ishtar understood.
It was because this was a strong enemy that her body was crying out in fear.
“Cowardly Warrior, step aside. The Shinigami is my prey!”
A nameless Fourth Year dashed in fiercely, trying to crush the Shinigami with a charge.
Even knowing the existence of the Shinigami’s scythe that could sever souls, he had the audacity to charge in.
The monsters and demons dodging in the path of the running senior ricocheted with a loud bang bang bang.
Bouncing away
It was the function of a double bounce achieved by the senior.
One could easily imagine how arduous and difficult the training he underwent to bounce back even what a person couldn’t.
He might have even succeeded in the incredible feat of bouncing back the Shinigami’s scythe.
If the prey were a normal Shinigami.
‘This’ was certainly not an ordinary Shinigami.
“Another rude one breaking my toys has appeared. Good. I’ll deal with whoever comes first.”
The Unique Shinigami raised its scythe and struck its own arm.
Even the reckless Fourth Year senior, charging forward, felt the ominousness and slowed down.
At the moment the power of annihilation tore through the Spirit Barrier enveloping the Shinigami’s body, Ishtar realized the meaning of that action in horror.
It was a situation where the Shinigami used its very soul as a kind of sealing barrier to imprison other beings, and now used the scythe to break that seal.
Figures with various shapes gripping all sorts of weapons appeared from the ominous dark blue mist emitted from the wound.
Three. Seven. Twenty-two. Forty-five.
Terrifying numbers multiplying at a frightening speed.
Those countless souls attacked the senior all at once.
The defense succeeded.
However, the ground sank.
Blood flowed from the senior’s mouth.
‘The power is overwhelming enough to not be fully bounced. That level of strong’s soul was absorbed. That Shinigami… had such abilities even in life!’
Before the senior had a chance to oppose it, he was overwhelmed by dozens of different attacks.
As he bounced back ten and resisted twenty, he got pummeled by thirty and shattered by forty, bleeding profusely as he shouted.
“Help! This one, absolutely must not reach the front line!!”
“I know it’s strong, but why not? If the capable ones on the front line won’t handle it easily.”
“This guy absorbed my power. If he’s cut, my strength will be taken!”
“!!”
“Do you understand? The power of that guy, the subordinates he just accumulated. It’s enemy-neutral absorbing type power that works even when cutting the ‘allies’!”
A being that converts and collects whatever it cuts.
With the enemy’s forces overflowing everywhere.
No matter what fatal blow it took, as long as the troops existed, that Shinigami wouldn’t perish.
If it recovers by cutting allies, that’s all there is to it.
Imagining it alone was dreadful.
Once they entered such a brutal war of attrition, it would be the Academy Students who would fall first in these energy-draining battles.
“It would make a good collection. Warrior. I will specially ‘devour’ you whole.”
Ishtar joined before the senior completely fell.
But as her attacks were bounced back by Bouncing Away, she felt pain as though her wrist would break and could only grit her teeth.
Because with that brief exchange, she had already made a new function her own.
‘The senior’s judgement was wrong. Instead of fighting back, I should have brought reinforcements. If I allow even one clean hit to that guy…’
Holy Mirror.
A portal transcending space allowed the Shinigami’s scythe to rapidly collect power and souls.
Behind it was a complete Shinigami and the invincible, omnipotent Shinigami’s havoc waiting.
The more types of powers collected and the larger the scale of the amassed power, it would soon become applicable even to Professor Level beings.
This battlefield bore a clear possibility of ‘great disaster’.
Divine Wind
Mirror Shooting
Dodging the fierce onslaught with divine movements and clearing the thorns rising from the ground with her Holy Mirror, she leaped from the edge of the mirror.
Pierce
Mirror Shield
All the throwing spears flying towards her were pierced through her Holy Mirror and at the attack timing, she removed the mirror and struck the spear thrower’s subordinates.
Forced Purification
Mirror Wave
While dealing with the most threatening subordinates, a small Holy Mirror flew around to scatter hundreds of fragments in response to the all-directional attack coming for her.
Each fragment of the Holy Sword, appearing fragmented at every defensive point, intercepted every attack with a single swing and changed its position organically in line with the following barrage.
Drip drip
Blood flowed from Ishtar’s nose due to surpassing her limits in mana handling.
She couldn’t hold on.
Concentration, mana, and the durability of the Holy Sword.
The moment one of these ran out, it was the end for Ishtar.
[Has the opportunity for growth ended? Too bad it has. However, the time given to me shall not be in vain.]
The spirit of the Taboo Emperor Pake Hiuqmag who followed Ishtar gathered more than half of the subordinates targeting Ishtar in a single blow and merged them.
As their hands and legs moved chaotically, while being tortured by pain linked to performing each one of those actions, countless subordinates became ineffective all at once.
“That’s cheating. Stay away for a while.”
[You’re pathetic. Do you really think a banishment spell will work on me?]
Pake Hiuqmag was composed even in front of the powerful banishment spell.
He had summoned enough power and subordinates from the Death Zone throughout the weekly event.
As his will directed, the souls of the undead that had been used as subjects by the students screamed and were banished to another dimension.
“Then how about this.”
[…You coward. Targeting a Warrior, are we?]
“It’s just you I’m targeting. If you leave, there won’t be a case of the Warrior being banished. I don’t want to lose my ‘collection’ to some inferior spirit.”
The banishment spell approached the already confused Ishtar.
If the fragmented Holy Mirrors vanish, she would fall prey to the plan.
[Endure, human. The Pake Hiuqmag, pursuing the ultimate of this taboo magic, will surely return alive.]
A foreboding dark purple door opened as the essence of the Taboo Emperor was banished to another dimension.
“Now, it’s a transference. How much longer can you hold on?”
“Leave the Warrior alone!”
“How disappointing. Haven’t you run away yet?”
The Fourth Year senior finally broke through to stand beside Ishtar.
Seeing Ishtar risk everything to make up for the mistake she made, the senior’s blood was boiling, and he gathered more strength to help her.
However, the already consumed Bantam had been blocked by a massive shield-bearing subordinate.
Even the advancement was a trap.
From all directions front, back, and sides.
Walls made of Bantam were erected everywhere they could face.
He was in mortal danger, crushed beneath superior uses of powers born from his own functions.
“How unfortunate. That power, it goes ‘like this’. It’s too good for you. Watch and remember the taste of defeat while maintaining the proper usage.”
“It’s not over yet.”
From the despairing Fourth Year senior’s back, a Black Knight rushed forward clad in heavy full armor.
Boom!
Kyaaaaaah!
The deadly burst of mana released became increasingly intense due to the clash of Banat’s impact.
Ignoring the roar of the collision and the ominous vibrations of weapons, the Black Knight poured in more strength, shocking the Fourth Year senior.
“Are you crazy?! You’re taking the full force of Bantam head-on!! If you do that, your body…!”
“Do you know how someone without talent fights? You overcome it with your body. I’ve lived my whole life like that, scraping together my meager talents, and now, I’ve been endowed with excessive talent because of an exceptional relationship.”
“You intend to die, don’t you?!”
He would attack himself with the power he unleashed.
That’s a painfully dirty thing to do.
Pushing in the impact through the Bantam.
The burden that would return to him was enormous.
If he repeated this just a hundred times, his arm would be crippled.
But if he could strip away all durability of Bouncing Away before the Bantam could shatter his arm.
If he could just endure the pain.
He might be able to produce a miracle by defeating one subordinate of the Shinigami through invincible bounce.
Crack!
But it was just one.
The Fourth Year senior saved his life, but he too, like the Black Knight Mob, ended up in tatters.
The Unique Shinigami observed with curiosity at having lost just one subordinate.
“What are you? With nothing to your name. How on earth did you break my subordinate with nothing special to offer?”
“I know that the pain of stopping when hurt and being unable to trust is worse.”
“Impressive. I’ll take you as a subordinate.”
The scythe of the Unique Shinigami swung toward Mob’s neck.
And then it was rebuffed by the same scythe.
It wasn’t just the Unique Shinigami who found interest in the brutal fight against Ishtar.
“Hehe. This is fun. It seems that the ‘Man’s Representative’ has insight even into collections that aren’t gods. But you are ‘the latecomer’. How amusing that you dare to disturb the specimen my daughter has been observing for twenty years.”
Another Unique Shinigami.
Even one who had regained ‘memory’.
The Director of the Foundation.
The man once called First Wahyhiemhai smiled ominously as he joined the Oknodie Army.