Translator: Haruto.

The enemy before me possesses the kind of imposing presence that is so distinctive of the strong.

A chill runs down my spine.

The general is in a different league compared to the enemies I’ve encountered. His title isn’t just for show.

A leaf touches the ground, marking the start of the battle.

He closes the distance between us in the blink of an eye and lands a clean hit on me.

I’m sent flying ten meters away. I’m alright, though. I saw it coming so I was able to react in time.

I softened the blow by taking a defensive stance.

The months I’ve spent fighting for my life in the forest haven’t been for nothing.

I can do this!!

Alright, now’s my turn.

I activate Demon Dance, followed by Circular Slash, and I hit the general with a barrage of attacks. He’s too late to react to the sudden acceleration of my movements.

Using Circular Slash, I move out of his sight and attack him from his blind spot with Ethereal Beauty. A moment later, I return to the front to continue my assault.  

Ethereal Beauty’s slash is infused with murderous intent.

If you suddenly lost sight of your opponent and sensed murderous intent coming from behind…

You’d turn around, right?

“Chaotic Dance!”

“What?! You bastard! When did you…?!!”

My attack leaves a wound on the general’s body.

In response to the sudden increase of the speed and power of my attacks, a grimace of rage appears on the general’s face.  

“Know your place! Asperitas Clouds!”

Wh-?!

Are you kidding me?! He’s got skills too?!

The general pushes me back with wavelike swings of his sword.

I manage to endure his assault with Chaotic Dance and Circular Slash’s movement boost.

The general’s attack is far from over, though.

I also continue striking him with my blades to avoid losing Demon Dance’s buff.

“Hmm, that dance of yours… Demon Dance, was it? It forces you to keep attacking endlessly to keep the skill’s buff active, correct?”

There goes my secret.

“Yeah, but so what?!”

The clash of his sword and my divine arms echoes through the forest like a sort of melody.

I’m not sure how long has it’s been since the fight began.

My mental fatigue keeps increasing…

In contrast, the general hasn’t even broken a sweat.   

That’s a rank-three calamity for you.

It feels like I’m challenging the final boss at level one.

His next attack falls on me, leaving me no time to ponder.

He’s unleashed multiple skills that increase the speed of his sword swings, create invisible slashes, etc.

“Lightning Strike.”

Nah, that’s definitely “Lightning Speed”!

More importantly, though, I can’t dodge it.

I jump and twist my body in an effort to avoid it but it isn’t enough.

“Divine-Blood Strengthening: 100%!”

I surpass my limit for a brief moment and my body is overwhelmed with power.

I dodge Lightning Strike by a hair’s breadth and land on my feet.

“Haa, man, using 100% of my power takes quite a toll on me.”

I can only use it one more time before my life energy reserve is completely depleted.

Hopefully, the next time I use it won’t be to dodge but to attack.

I break into a sprint and the battle resumes.

Chaotic Dance, Chaotic Dance, Chaotic Dance…

It doesn’t matter if I don’t put much power into my attacks right now.

58, 76, 84, 99, 100…

I land the 100^th strike.

My divine arms shine faintly.  

It’s time to end this.

“Divine-Blood Strengthening: 100%! Demon Dance! Circular Slash!”

Divine-Blood Strengthening boosts my raw power, Demon Dance buffs me and Circular Slash accelerates my strikes.

My equipment’s buff activates thanks to my current speed, and its bonus multiplies my 101^st attack’s damage by…

10.

“Ethereal Beauty! Chaotic Dance!!”

Ethereal Beauty’s damage depends on the user’s power level.

In other words, if the user’s power level rises, so does the skill’s damage.  

This time, however, I won’t try a pincer attack.

I’ll put all my strength into one single strike.

Our attacks collide.

It is my strongest one yet.  

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

The general swings his sword with no hesitation whatsoever.

“Ghaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

A shockwave spreads through the forest, knocking down the trees around us.

Sparks begin to fly as our weapons grind against each other.  

“I won’t lose!!”  

The battle that seemed to last an eternity reaches its climax at last…

And as for its outcome…

“I win, cursed general! Cough. Haa, Haa…”

I’ve exhausted my life energy.

“Haa, Haa, agh.”

I can’t even lift a finger.

“It was quite a strong strike; I’ll give you that.”

“…?!”

H-He’s still alive? I’m sure that should have killed him.

“I’d be dead without my underling’s help.”

“D-Damn it, don’t tell me you…”

The bastard forced his underling to merge into him when he was about to die and that allowed him to endure my attack.

This is bad. Get up! Get up or you’re screwed, damn it!

“I commend you for cornering me at such a tender age.”

He raises his sword.

Crap! Move!!!

“Die.”

If I don’t move, that’s it—I’m dead!  

“N-No way in hell…”

I force my body to move.

But it’s still not enough.

Is this the end?

I’ll die?

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

I don’t want to die!!

Thump!

I feel a pulsing sensation coming from my divine arms.

My blades begin to absorb all the malice in the air.  

A dark aura envelops them and then it flows into me.

It’s dark life energy, but it differs from malice itself.

It spreads rapidly through my entire body.

It runs wild within me, similar to raging waves.

The overwhelming power allows me to stand up.

I stop the general’s attack with one hand.

“Dual Blades Special Battle Skill: Divine Dance.”

The general’s arm disappears.

He can’t comprehend the child’s sudden change.

The brat that was at death’s door a second ago has now severed his arm.

He possesses a kind of power no man should ever wield.

He’s a monster.

The general starts to regenerate his arm in a hurry.

And in that split second that he let himself get distracted; the brat closed the distance between them.

H-He’s dangerous. He’ll certainly become a hindrance for us in the future. I must kill him.

So slow.

It feels like the general’s attacks are coming at me in slow motion.

My divine arms have enlightened me on how to wield the power welling up inside me.  

“The Divine Dragon of Water’s Frenzy: 100%.”

As if I was possessed by the Divine Dragon, I become the embodiment of destruction.

I cut through the general’s body like a knife through butter.

One more push.

A feeling of omnipotence swells up in me.

All the pain I’ve suffered until now disappears like it was never there.  

“Dual Blades Secret Skill: Dual Blades of Rainfall.”

Just like droplets of water, strikes rain down on the enemy, spelling his inevitable doom.

A blade is directed at his neck as if it was being lured in.  

His head falls.

The enemy is no more.

His body drops to the ground, scattered like heavy rain descending from the sky.

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