Chapter 16: Martial Arts and Techniques
Hikigaya remembered how Ena had described Luo Hao's disciples: supreme in lightness skill, marvelous in palm techniques.
In other words, Luo Hao herself must also excel in these areas.
After crashing through an unknown number of palace rooms, Hikigaya finally came to a stop in midair.
It hurts like hell...
Streams of green light flowed across his body, and his injuries healed in an extremely short time.
Then he jumped out from a pile of rubble and looked around, realizing he had been blown quite a long distance away.
How could I have forgotten? She's basically a walking wuxia template.
Relying on experience is going to get me killed.
What the heck was that palm technique? Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms? That force was way too savage!
He sighed.
Luo Hao's appearance was clearly the graceful and delicate type, but her martial style was more fierce than even most men's.
Thinking this, Hikigaya stomped the ground and shot up into the sky with a boom.
Beneath his feet, the ruins of the collapsed building crumbled completely.
With a sweep of his eyes, he locked onto the location of the stable.
There, a dense and nearly tangible aura of magical power rose like a tornado from the ground, sweeping up the buildings around it into the sky.
This place was similar to the Netherworld—its air was not the same as that of the outside world.
Here, air could almost be considered a form of magical power itself. And to create such a phenomenon in this environment—only a god, or the two God-Slayers here, himself and Luo Hao, could manage it.
Hikigaya's body paused momentarily in midair. A violent gust formed beneath him and propelled him toward the stable like a bolt of lightning.
Only from above could he grasp how vast this palace complex really was.
Below him lay a giant city enclosed by massive, lengthy square walls, filled with countless buildings. The city walls were tall and broad, with watchtowers the size of city structures lining their expanse.
In the blink of an eye, Hikigaya had entered the heart of the tornado.
The two opposing air currents clashed yet canceled each other out. Hikigaya shattered the wall-like barrier of magical energy in one blow and plummeted toward the ground.
He crashed straight through the roof of the stable, creating a huge hole.
But just as he landed in a pile of hay, he noticed a golden-furred monkey nearby looking at him with great interest.
The expression on its face clearly said, "You're pretty entertaining."
"Are you back to help me groom my fur?" the Monkey King said, his face full of gratitude. "You're such a nice guy."
Nice, my ass!
Hikigaya figured it was probably better for this guy to go back to being his crazy self.
He looked around and saw that Ena and Mariya Yuri were already lying on the ground. But they didn't appear injured—just unconscious.
Luo Hao and Mariya Ikari, however, were nowhere to be seen.
He also didn't feel any residual wind energy in the area.
Then he felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning his head, he saw a monkey face full of eager anticipation.
The hell do you want!?
"My head's itchy," the Monkey King said, shaking his head in front of Hikigaya. "I don't mind—help me scratch it!"
Screw off!
"Quit messing around!" Hikigaya said, face darkening, as he shoved the Monkey King's head away. "I'm looking for someone."
"Looking for who?" the monkey head pushed in again.
Hikigaya shoved it aside again, more forcefully this time. At last, it stayed away.
Because at that moment, the monkey had an expression like it had discovered some breaking news.
"Wait, I got it!" he said cheerfully. "You're looking for that woman who blasted you away."
Hikigaya ignored him and walked out of the stable.
He checked on Ena and Mariya Yuri, confirming they were just unconscious, before standing and trying to sense Luo Hao's presence.
Though Voban hadn't provided him with any crucial info, he had shared quite a bit in other areas.
Among the seven current God-Slayers, Luo Hao's starting point was said to be the highest.
According to European lore, by bloodline, she was a witch like Mariya Yuri and Ena—someone who possessed the blood of a divine ancestor.
Even before becoming a God-Slayer, her martial prowess had already placed her among the elite of Chinese martial artists.
In the centuries that followed, while she did slay a few gods, those were chance encounters. She never actively sought them out like Voban did.
Her preferred methods had never been divine powers (Authorities), but rather the martial and mystical arts she had diligently trained in since her human days.
After becoming a God-Slayer, she used her supernatural talent to hone those originally human skills to a level nearly equal to Authorities.
Such an opponent couldn't be judged by ordinary logic—not even by the standards of God-Slayers.
Hikigaya couldn't sense her presence at all. He looked up at the sun and borrowed the power of light to activate his spirit vision.
There, in his eyes, appeared a beautiful, ethereal woman.
So that's where you are!
Grinning, Hikigaya dashed forward with an Iron Mountain Step, charging toward an empty area on the left.
This was a move from Martial Demon God of the Nine Fists—"Lance of the Moon."
"So you also know our country's martial arts?" came a voice from the air.
That slender hand that had previously blasted Hikigaya away appeared again, catching his charge.
As the air distorted, Luo Hao's figure appeared, with Mariya Ikari standing beside her.
But Ikari didn't look right—her eyes were dazed, lips murmuring something, and her katana had already been drawn.
Hikigaya moved around Luo Hao and reached out toward Ikari.
"That won't do," Luo Hao said. In an instant, she and Ikari switched positions.
One palm struck toward Hikigaya while her other hand waved, sending Ikari floating all the way over to the Monkey King.
Hikigaya had thought of grabbing her, but Luo Hao's palm strike—though seemingly simple and without much variation—always forced him into a position where he had no choice but to dodge.
This was no longer within the realm of martial technique.
Hikigaya had no choice. He responded with a jujutsu move, placing a hand on her wrist and hiding within it the shockwave power he'd stolen from Poseidon—waiting for her to walk right into it.
Authorities—everyone uses them differently. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
That tornado from earlier was likely one of Luo Hao's Authorities.
Hikigaya didn't believe for a second that she was someone who just practiced martial and mystical arts while ignoring her divine powers.
After hundreds of years, even if she didn't consciously value them, her Authorities had already become instinct—like eating and drinking, completely fused into her fighting style.
But as soon as his hand touched her, Hikigaya knew something was wrong.
Luo Hao's palm power fluctuated—strong then weak, flowing then halting. He couldn't redirect or borrow any of it.
Without thinking further, he released the shockwave that had already been stored in his palm.
A deafening boom exploded between them, soaring into the sky. This time, both were blasted back by each other's power—or so it seemed. Not even close.
"What kind of martial art is that?" Hikigaya asked after landing, staggering back several steps. His entire arm was numb.
Luo Hao's palm strike had far exceeded the previous ones.
It was indeed an Authority.
Luo Hao had been using her Authority through martial techniques.
That overwhelming force wasn't just martial skill—it had to include her divine power. Otherwise, there was no way it could stand up to his own Authority.
It was clear she had focused all her divine power into that one point just now. But the degree of concentration surpassed his own.
Hikigaya didn't mind—she had centuries of practice over him. That kind of advantage was to be expected.
"Sis, we can't fight properly here. Let's go somewhere more open."
Luo Hao didn't reply.
Instead, with a strange footwork, she rapidly approached Hikigaya and grabbed his shoulder in an instant—he couldn't dodge in time, his arm was still half-numb.
In the next moment, the world spun.
The two of them shot high into the sky together.
Hikigaya didn't resist much during the ascent.
Because, as Luo Hao had said—it really was too cramped to fight here.
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