Chapter 151

CHAPTER 63 Transcendent The Demon Lord who now stands before Seiya is a new life-form that can only take physical damage. “Dark Assault.” Ultimaeus draws back his fist, which is enshrouded in a black mist. It’s clear his arm is infused with Chain Destruction. While I expected such a large monster to move sluggishly, I blink, and he’s already standing before Seiya with his arm raised. Wh-what speed! Seiya…! But Ultimaeus only passes through air. Seiya has vanished as well. “He dodged…,” Ultimaeus mutters. I follow his eyes and see Seiya off in the distance, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. “Berserk: Phase 2.7.” He’s raised his berserker phase to its highest level! He becomes cloaked in a dark-red aura overflowing from his body. “Oh? Your aura has grown even stronger. So that’s how you defeated Grandleon.” Seiya and Ultimaeus face each other, waiting for a chance to strike…and then, they both vanish. A clash rings out in the distance, causing Kiriko and me to jump. I can only see snippets of their battle. One moment, I see Seiya dodging Ultimaeus’s punch. The next, I see Ultimaeus blocking Seiya’s fist with his arm. With every passing blow, their attacks become faster and faster until all I can see are two clashing red and black blurs. Then, after a particularly loud crash, they snap back into view and face each other from separate parts of the room. Confirming that Seiya is okay with my own eyes, I let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Ultimaeus’s arms seem to have turned a dark-reddish color. “I’m impressed you were able to damage my body, even with its iron defense. How did you do it?” “I applied moves I learned from the Goddess of Destruction, which work only after surpassing the target’s defense.” “Interesting. Very interesting. It appears I’ll have to get serious, then.” Ultimaeus’s body starts to change! The skin below his arms begins swelling until two new, bloody arms tear their way out of his body. Our eyes shoot open wide at the sight of the four-armed beast. “Tsk…! The Hero was already struggling, yet the Demon Lord wasn’t even using his full power!” I get a bad feeling in my stomach as Ultimaeus fiercely charges the Hero! Seiya…! As the two auras meet once again, I hear a collision unlike any other. My heart pounds against my chest as I wait to see what happened. The first to come into view is Seiya. Th-thank goodness he’s okay… Wait! Is that…?! I’m shocked by what I see in Seiya’s hand. It’s a silver, glittering sword with a saw-like blade. That’s Seiya’s killer sword. “H-he did it!” Jonde, standing by my side, marvels at the sight, so I look back at Ultimaeus and see…he doesn’t have a head! It’s rolling on the ground by his feet as violet blood spews from his neck. I can’t believe it! Seiya cut off Ultimaeus’s head with the killer sword! …Wait! He used a sword?! Ultimaeus said this was supposed to be hand-to-hand combat! W-well, if the sword worked, then it worked! Who cares about some silly rule the Demon Lord made? “Heh-heh-heh. What a cruel man you are.” In spite of everything that’s happened, the Demon Lord laughs, which causes fresh goose bumps to dot my skin. The head rolling on the floor cackles as it speaks to Seiya. The headless body then picks up its head and places it back on its neck. The flesh seamlessly knits itself back together. “What…?! Are Seiya’s attacks not affecting him?!” I scream. Aloof as always, Seiya replies: “I’ve already killed the Demon Lord several times, but he possesses multiple lives.” Ultimaeus only had two lives last time! Now that he’s more powerful, it seems he has even more! Seiya continues speaking like it isn’t a big deal. “The number of lives you have matters little.” “Hmph. You’re rather confident, I see. I will offer three lives to the Dark God, then.” Wh-what?! He’s going to transform again?! “Stage Three—Defined Domain: Ghost.” The flesh melts off Ultimaeus’s muscle-bound frame until he is nothing more than a jet-black skeleton with horns. His new form looks extremely familiar. In a way, it looks almost identical to the Death Emperor Sirrusht’s final form. “Only spirit attacks will affect me now… Oh, and let me increase my domain another stage so you won’t be able to use the same trick on me.” Huh?! Wh-what did he just say?! The Demon Lord raises his skeleton hand high into the air. “Furthermore, I shall offer four more lives to the Dark God.” Ultimaeus’s sternum opens up with a creak, revealing another horned skull inside! It’s as if he combined the Death Emperor’s appearance with the Vengeful Empress’s wickedness. The skull inside his sternum cackles. “Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! Stage Four—Defined Domain: Curse!” “Hmm.” Seiya grunts while looking at his killer sword. Thousands of years seem to pass by in seconds as the blade rusts and starts to disintegrate. The rot travels down to the grip until the entire sword turns into dust. “Destroy, destroy, destroy! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! All your weapons have been destroyed!” The skull in the chest continues cackling. “S-Seiya’s sword…!” “Don’t worry, Goddess! The Hero has many spares for this sort of scenario!” “O-oh yeah!” “I’ll grab you another!” Jonde turns to fetch the Hero a fresh weapon, but Kiriko is already behind him shaking her head and shaking the item pouch while holding it upside down. “J-Jonde, all of the swords… Even the spares’ spares’ spares are gone!” “Impossible…!” “Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! I told you all of your weapons have been destroyed! That’s what Defined Domain: Curse does! Ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!” “A-an ability that makes all weapons disappear?! How cheap can you get, you coward?!” I scream, unable to hold back, but it isn’t the skull in his chest that responds. It’s the Demon Lord himself. “Heh-heh-heh. That’s payback for earlier.” He then gets into his attack stance, extending his skeleton arms at Seiya. A dull sound echoes as both arms transform into sharp blades. “I still have a weapon, though. These are the swords—the Bone Glaives—I will use to end you, Hero.” Ultimaeus takes an offensive posture after his arms finish transforming. Sweat drips off my cheeks and lands on the floor. Seiya used Drain: Charged Attack, then Ghost Buster Overdrive to defeat the Death Emperor’s final form, but he won’t be able to use it this time without a weapon! Can he even fight like this?! As Ultimaeus charges toward the unarmed Hero, Seiya swiftly raises his right arm into the air. “Fourth Valkyrja: Astral Break.” An Astral Chain emerges from his palm. It extends while forming multiple arches as it floats around Seiya’s body to protect him. “Using spiritual magic to defend, hmm? However…” Ultimaeus closes the distance between them before swinging his arm like a sword. While the chain ends up saving Seiya from a direct attack, the Demon Lord’s blade easily cuts through it like butter.