Snowbloom was just as strong as an Azure Wall, which no one had ever penetrated, yet Redge had sliced through it like butter. The durability did drop when it was formed into a blade instead of a wall, but at this point, that sounded like nothing but an excuse.
“The only difference between bravery and recklessness is whether or not one is successful in the end. You made no mistakes... except becoming my opponent.” Redge raised his silver blade once more.
A new shade of despair washed over Yukihime. “Azure Wall!”
As he watched her flounder, the respect for her that had started to show in his eyes was replaced with disappointment. Yukihime’s frantic attempt at resistance proved futile, for Redge cut through her last defense with ease.
The shattering sounded so clear and pure. It was the sound of her own despair.
Redge was right. There was nothing he couldn’t cut through. Yukihime’s unbreakable defense was no more, and there was no longer anything to stand in the way of Redge’s blade.
A wound that ran from Yukihime’s shoulder to her hip split wide open, decorated with a splatter of blood. The pain burned, but thanks to the Azure Wall, the wound was a shallow one. She had barely escaped instant death. If she had taken the full brunt of that sword, it would have easily severed her torso from her body.
Am I going to lose? As the pain brought her to the brink of unconsciousness, a single thought floated up in Yukihime’s mind. In this war, loss means death.
“Kokuya... I’m sorry.”
What am I apologizing for? Losing? Failing to protect everyone?
Yukihime possessed two Level 1 Prohibited star sorcery spells. The first was Azure Judgment: Starpiercer, while the second was something that might kill her if she used it in a weakened state. No, I’m sure it’d kill me if I used it now.
It was assured suicide, but it would be better than dying silently.
Redge got in position for an upwards strike. If that hit her, it would surely mean the end.
In response, Yukihime unleashed a product of abstract star sorcery – the most powerful spell she possessed.
“Absolute Zero.”
Time stood still. In the simplest of terms, Yukihime had frozen time itself.
In good condition, she could keep this spell active for ten seconds, but currently, she would only be able to maintain it for five. This was the star sorcery she had used to defeat Kokuya and the Ruinmaker – the ultimate star sorcery, which could surpass the goddess of ruin herself.
Ice slid out from the broken end of Snowbloom, recreating its blade. It wasn’t as durable as an Azure Wall, but that didn’t matter at this point. She first needed to be able to defend herself before she worried about breaking another weapon.
Yukihime raised her ice blade towards Redge. He was wide open.
She never regretted not using this from the start. Absolute Zero would always be dangerous, no matter the state she was in. After expending a considerable amount of star power in her battle with Elemia, she had completely given up on using it.
Yukihime swung her blade down – and instantly, her mind flinched. She stumbled, and her blade faltered. The wound was too shallow.
Yukihime tried swinging down her sword again. Suddenly, Redge’s right hand reached up and grabbed it.
How? It hasn’t been five seconds yet. Did I use up too much star power? Did I miscalculate the amount of time–
“You dont get it, do you?” Redge snapped the blade he held in his hands. “There isn’t anything I can’t cut... even time itself.”
“If that’s true, how did you do it after I stopped time?!”
“Just before you activated that time stop star sorcery, I sensed a different type of star power. I merely emitted some of my own star power in sync with it, and mimicked it.”
Redge had created a star sorcery that automatically reacted to his opponents’ star power, which allowed him to counter abstract star sorcery with mimicry. It was so ridiculous that Yukihime couldn’t even muster up any sense of shock. She had played her last card, and she was all out now. No, it was more like every last one of her cards had been ripped up into unrecognizable shreds. He was on a completely different level, and had utterly defeated her.
“Farewell, Yukihime. You reminded me how uplifting a true battle can be. I am proud to know that the glory of Khaos Schwartz will rise to new heights thanks to warriors like yourself.”
Praising the battle, Redge raised his silver blade high, then brought it down one final time.
But just before the sword could slice through Yukihime’s body–
“I don’t think so!”
A black-haired boy suddenly appeared and sent a lighting fast fist straight toward Redge. Before it collided, Redge yanked back his sword and deflected the punch, which sent the Dark Emperor skidding back from his prey.
Clearly, this battle was far from over.
Right after defeating Grom, I headed back to the monitor room. As I watched Yukihime fighting Elemia on the screen, I happened to notice another red dot pop up nearby. It was far larger than Elemia’s, Grom’s, and even Yukihime’s.
“What kind of a monster is that?” Not only did it possess a massive amount of star power, it was also heading straight toward Yukihime.
“Towa, I need to get to Yukihime!”
“...I’m going, too.”
“But...”
“Remember what I said? I’m joining in this time. Yukihime said that I can’t hesitate when the time comes. And that time is now!” She clearly had no intention of stepping down.
“Fine... Let’s go!”
With a wild punch, I managed to knock back the man with the massive star power. I probably hadn’t hurt him, though.
Towa was hiding in the shadows behind me. I needed to get a solid hit in and then rescue Yukihime, so I hadn’t used any of Towa’s unpredictable powers.
I managed to rescue Yukihime, but...
“Hey, Yukihime! Who is that guy?! I’ve never seen anyone with so much star power!”
“I know someone... You, when you use Towa’s powers.”
“You mean he’s as strong as the Ruinmaker?”
For a moment I thought that he was the one who wielded their world’s Ruinmaker, but they were here in order to steal ours, so that didn’t make sense.
“That’s their leader...” Yukihime muttered. “Redge, the Dark Emperor of Khaos Schwartz... Kokuya, listen carefully.”
Yukihime quickly explained to me what had just happened. Spatial teleportation, invisible slashes, and powerful attacks that could even cut through Azure Walls and nullify Absolute Zero.
“But that isn’t fair...”
“That doesn’t matter now. We need to defeat him, or we’ll never win this war!”
“So he’s the last boss, huh?” I took a step forward. “Get some rest.”
As far as I could tell, Yukihime had used up way too much star power. There was no way she could go on fighting, and the silver-haired man named Redge was already heading our way.
“I thought I felt Grom’s star power dissipating,” he said.
“Yeah, I just fought him.”
“...And your name is?”
“Kokuya Kurono. I’m the second strongest in the world, next to her.” I motioned toward Yukihime with my right thumb.
“Then you have no hope of defeating me.”
“Sometimes people still need to fight, even if they have no hope.” I knew I was no match for him, but I also knew that I couldn’t just run away. “Here I come...”
The moment I started running toward Redge, he disappeared. Is this what she meant by teleportation?!
Suddenly, he appeared right in front of me. I swung out my right fist – and missed. Redge teleported again. This time he appeared to my immediate right, with his sword raised high.
The glowing silver sword came whooshing down. I heard a sickening slice, then watched as it chopped through my right shoulder. My right upper arm fell to the ground with a loud thud.
“The end.”