BOOM!!!
The ice crystal spear slammed viciously into the shaft of the spear in Shu's hands!
The immense impact sent violent tremors through Shu's arms. To steady himself, he was forced to stomp half a step back.
The ice surface, already swept clean of snow, crumbled thunderously beneath the foot Shu used to brace himself.
And [Shu]'s counterattack was like a storm—merciless!
Before the residual force of the first javelin's impact had fully dissipated, his right hand grasped at empty air again. A second ice crystal war-spear, seemingly even more condensed with energy and more hideous in form, had already taken shape.
Almost without a pause, it was hurled out again!
Aiming straight for Shu's abdomen, left slightly exposed by his parry!
Shu gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing his discomfort. He wrestled control of his frost spear, which had nearly been vibrated out of his grip, and swung it hard to knock away this second strike.
But in exchange, the stance Shu had just steadied became increasingly staggering.
The third spear followed hard on its heels! Aiming for his head!
Passive! He was completely on the defensive!
Shu's teeth made a grinding sound only he could hear.
Block... counter... avoid the edge...
He knew he should be calm right now.
But his emotions were like boiling magma!
He refused to continue just blocking, dodging, and retreating like this!
As [Shu] threw the fourth spear, aiming for the right shoulder exposed by the continuous blocking, Shu once again made a crazy move that made [Shu]'s eye twitch.
He made no further attempt to block or dodge.
Under [Shu]'s gaze, he turned slightly, completely dropping the defense on his left side, and let his left shoulder forcefully take that screaming energy ice spear!
You could even say he actively moved to meet it!
SHLICK—!
A tooth-aching sound of penetration rang out.
The ice crystal spear pierced through Shu's left scapula without obstruction, half of the blood-stained spear tip protruding from his back.
Agony swept through his body like a high-voltage current. Shu's face twisted in pain, but what escaped his mouth was a roar mixed with agony and resolve!
Taking the hit intentionally allowed him to instantly regain control of his body; he didn't even sway an inch from the impact!
Now—!
Shu's right hand, stained red with blood, erupted with the strength he had accumulated by tanking the hit. He hurled the multi-colored spear in his hand toward [Shu], who was only a few meters away!
Trading injury for offense again!
He wanted to forcibly level the playing field again!
However, [Shu]'s gaze remained cold, without a ripple of emotion.
Having learned from the headbutt earlier, he was already on guard against Shu's "mutually assured destruction" style of fighting.
The moment the fourth spear left his hand and he confirmed it hit Shu's shoulder, [Shu] didn't even look at the result.
His hands slapped together in front of him, and Honkai energy mixed with [Hope] poured out like floodwaters from a broken dam!
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!!!
A gale sprang up!
Countless prisms mixed of ice and energy rose from the ground, instantly condensing into a rain of deadly cold light in front of him!
The sheer number of them almost obscured the vast space before him!
The burning multi-colored spear Shu had thrown at the cost of injury crashed headlong into this newly formed "storm."
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!!
For the next few seconds, the entire ice plain was completely drowned out by a continuous, deafening chain of explosions!
The multi-colored spear collided with countless flying ice blades, annihilating them, or even causing explosions!
Every collision detonated a turbulent cloud of multi-colored sparks and azure ice crystals.
Shockwaves spread madly in rings, peeling up thick layers of ice from the ground, tearing them apart, and vaporizing them!
The hard, ten-thousand-year-old ice cap was blasted into countless craters of varying depths, cracks spreading frantically like spiderwebs.
After throwing the spear, Shu endured the agony of his pierced left shoulder. His still-mobile right hand waved frantically, likewise condensing massive amounts of ice spikes and energy bullets, pouring them toward [Shu]'s direction!
[Shu] stood firmly in place, his hands moving like a symphony conductor, constantly generating new ice crystal storms to collide with and negate Shu's attacks.
The short distance of a few dozen meters between them turned into a forbidden zone of death.
Countless energy constructs clashed at speeds invisible to the naked eye.
Dazzling and lethal multicolored lights flickered madly, illuminating the dim, snowy world with erratic flashes.
The roar of explosions merged into a single continuous sound, like thousands of heavy cannons firing at once, or two volcanoes erupting in each other's faces!
The violent energy turbulence even distorted the surrounding blizzard, forming a visible vortex of chaos.
It was as if both sides had had enough of parrying moves; at this moment, they unanimously began the purest, most violent exchange of firepower!
Like two arrays of Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) with all limiters removed, frantically sweeping the incoming meteor showers fired by the other!
Every explosive interception was a violent clash of ideals.
Every ray of light extinguished was a cruel excision of the self.
Shu forcefully pulled the spear from his shoulder and threw it into the chaos before him.
Multi-colored radiance began to repair the puncture wound, expelling the strands of energy left by his opponent.
The pain receded rapidly under the wash of light, though it had never shaken his resolve in the slightest.
Whether it was the agony from before or the strange sensation of healing now, they were merely inevitable scenery on the road to the end.
He had to win...
He must win!
This thought screamed in his mind, which buzzed from the pain and the shock of explosions.
Having repaired the wound, Shu slowly raised his other hand.
Finality...
That was a supreme power that not even two "Shus" could hope to contend with.
He knew his own weakness well. He knew that in the face of the Honkai torrent sweeping through civilization, his little bit of power, his schemes, his struggles... were utterly insignificant.
When the true Finality arrived, he, Shu, would probably still be unable to do anything, forced to watch helplessly as everything marched toward its destined conclusion.
You are the same.
This cold thought was not directed at the enemy, but at the self in the mirror.
You are the same...
We are all the same... Faced with Finality, we are but ants.
You are the same.
...You are the same...
...
So... what would such a future look like?
——
[She lay there, the stain of blood marring the pristine white. He reached out, the only way he could, tearing at himself to touch her cold hand.]
That kind of future—he had already seen it!!
"Urrghh AAAAAHHHHHH—!!!!!!!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!!!!!"
Two completely synchronized, shrill roars that sounded less than human exploded from their throats!
Like the final howl of a dying beast, filled with endless sorrow, rage, unwillingness, and despair.
The roar of every explosion was instantly drowned out by their screams, which echoed madly across the empty ice plain, even triggering the rumbling response of distant glaciers!
Accompanied by these heart-rending screams, the energy fluctuations erupting from both of them climbed steeply!