Before I knew it, the advantage in our exchange of blows had completely shifted. Time and again, my arm was grabbed and broken. The pain from the blows and the fractures made my consciousness nearly slip away. Damage accumulated, and my body went numb and stopped moving. I instantly healed it all with plants and magic, but my bones were already shattered. I was barely moving my body by forcing wood through the gaps where bones should be. Burst blood vessels were held together only by wooden fibers. My body, teetering on the brink of collapse, was held up only by roots anchoring the soles of my feet to the ground.
I was punched and punched and punched, relentlessly pounded, until finally, Kanami’s right fist struck the center of my face. The cord that had bound my long white hair snapped, sending it flying out like a lion’s mane.
Then, seeing me still standing, Kanami’s expression changed. Through my shattered glasses, I sensed my enemy wavering. I saw the blood making Kanami’s fist slippery and his stance faltering. This was the opportunity for a counterattack I’d endured everything to reach.
“I’m not downed yet!” Even as I was being beaten, my right fist slammed brutally into my enemy’s cheek.
“Guh!”
Kanami must have thought a counterattack was impossible in this state. He must have stolen all my variant martial arts techniques and let his guard down. It was precisely because it was an attack without technique that it connected.
“It’s not over yet! It’s not over, Kanami!” Screaming my enemy’s name, I abandoned my defense and charged forward with the trees within me.
Kanami responded in kind. Dodging my fist, he tackled me, wrapping his arms around my waist. Then, with the force of uprooting a giant tree, he shouted my name back.
“Ide!!!”
Apparently, he didn’t like having my roots anchored in the ground. As if demanding I stand on my own two feet and fight, my body was wrenched from the earth, lifted up, and carried all the way to the wall of the great hall before being slammed against it. My head struck the wall, my vision went white, and I felt it shatter against my back. I entered the guest room at the back of the great hall—then broke through another wall, entering yet another guest room deeper inside—repeating this process, my body carried ever farther into the depths.
When it came to a battle between Essence Thieves, artificial walls were practically nonexistent. Feeling myself grow stronger and more resilient, I unconsciously clenched both hands together and swung them upward.
“Kanami!!!” I slammed my clenched fist into my enemy’s back with all my might, halting our movement.
Kanami was slammed down from above, cracking the guest room floor. Of course, he immediately rose and charged in for close combat once more. I met him head-on. It wasn’t over yet. My variant martial art technique persisted. In a brawl while healing, I still held the advantage.
My recovery magic vastly surpassed Kanami’s. Above all, being able to heal without leaking magic externally was crucial. That way, only Kanami the Founder would be targeted by the De Liffide trees infesting every corner of the castle. So we kept trading blows. I wouldn’t fear the enemy’s fists. I would take the hits while landing my own. I would take a hundred blows just to land one counter. I would heal a hundred times before the enemy healed once, and victory would be mine.
“It’s not over yet!” I shouted. I could no longer keep up with my enemy’s martial arts skill. His fists were invisible.
My body screamed in agony. I’d surpassed my limits. My magic power was being consumed at a terrifying rate for recovery and repair. It was nearly depleted. But I was almost there. Just a little longer. Please, heart, it would be fine if you stopped. But just for a little while longer, pretend to keep beating.
Praying to the gods like this, I kept fighting. Even as I was struck, I fought back desperately. Believing that as long as my spirit didn’t break, there was still a chance to win, I endured the enemy’s attacks again and again. In the end, it was Kanami the Founder who retreated first.
Unable to pursue the retreating enemy, I stood gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Kanami contorted his face, complaining about my tactics.
“What a zombielike way to fight, Ide.”
I’d...won. I’d prevailed in the back-and-forth of damage and recovery. Honestly, the visible difference in our conditions was stark. Kanami’s face remained flawlessly beautiful, while I was covered in blood on top of fractured bones and bruises. But his beautiful face had turned pale. The poison I’d planted in him beforehand was taking effect. The seeds forced down earlier had grown, now pressing against his lungs. The damage was far worse than met the eye. Even if he called me a zombie, if this tactic continued, surely victory would be within reach.
“Don’t get cocky just yet, Ide...”
As I was rejoicing in the turn of events, Kanami poured cold water on my hopes. Then, he used a magic he hadn’t employed in ages.
“Distance Mute.”
He wrapped high-density magical power around his right arm and smiled at me.
“What the—?! You already proved that magic doesn’t work on me.”
“Ah, I know. That’s why I’m changing my approach slightly. If it won’t work on you, then the target is...me.” Kanami thrust his glowing right arm into his own chest and began probing inside with an unprecedented level of concentration. This didn’t seem like mere dimensional interference within his body. The absolute seriousness of the task made me realize his intent.
“No way!” It was healing, not with recovery magic but something else entirely. “So that’s it! I thought you weren’t using magic, but you’ve been deploying Dimension inside you this whole time! You intend to perform surgery right here?!”
The unwavering movements of his hands made it clear the surgical procedure was already mapped out.
“All right!” Kanami uttered a phrase suggesting success and extracted two magic stones from his body.
Both stones were green. As the Thief of Wood’s Essence, I could faintly discern their nature. Those were poison and seed magic stones. The Thief of Dimension’s Essence could petrify anything he disliked, even intangible things.
“But you’re not fully restored yet, are you?! Above all, that magic is full of openings! Your magic power is leaking out! De Liffide, everyone, now!” Cursing inwardly, I calmly summoned plants from the surrounding area. Without a doubt, Distance Mute was a top-tier spell. Using it created significant openings.
“Sorry, but there’s no opening. I thought it was safe now; that’s why I’m using magic. I’m—” Kanami didn’t cancel Distance Mute. Instead, he plunged his right arm back into his own body, performing the same surgery as before, while dodging the trees advancing from the floor and walls.
As I was calling plants, I’d counter his dodging with a punch using my variant martial arts. Yet, even so, the attacks on Kanami were...
“Oh, they’re not hitting?” Despite the countless plants and my own fists, not a single one even grazed him. What should have been effective just moments ago had become utterly meaningless in mere minutes.
Kanami calmly spoke while I remained stunned by that unreasonable learning ability. “Through our battles so far, I’ve figured out how to fight you. And how to deal with these plants too.”
“Impossible! Even if I could, preparing countermeasures for every plant inhabiting this place is impossible! You prepared like that, spent years building—”
Suddenly, the plants surrounding Kanami were severed all at once.
“Huh?”
Kanami’s left arm, still thrust into his own body, now clutched a sword. Moreover, the blade extending from it appeared to be created by the skill Magic Materialization. His attire had also reverted to its pre-duel state.