The wind of the Breaking Army—arrogant and untamed.The mountain of the Giant Gate—steady and steeped in indolence.
Now that Ren Kuroda had become the embodiment of humanity's negative emotions—the Ultimate Evil—his techniques were saturated with dense, corrosive negativity.
Their destructive force had risen dramatically.
And beyond raw power, the emotions infused within them—rage, despair, envy, malice—were enough to erode the minds of the weak-willed, driving them into corruption or madness.
Of course, Az·Daka'ha was himself a Humanity's Final Trial—the great villain who embodied Absolute Evil. Such negativity barely affected him.
But there was no denying it—
Ren's Fūrinkazan techniques had all ascended to the level of ultimate arts.
—
When his shadow blades were repelled, Az·Daka'ha did not look surprised in the slightest.
In fact, had Ren fallen so easily, he would have been disappointed.
From the standpoint of what they represented, Ren's "Ultimate Evil" indeed carried a higher conceptual weight than his own "Absolute Evil."
But Az·Daka'ha had stood as a Humanity's Final Trial for countless years. He was a veteran Demon King who had battled over a million divine hosts.
Ren, by comparison?
A promising newcomer at best.
Az·Daka'ha's hundred-meter-tall body loomed like a walking catastrophe. A single arm was as thick as a commercial skyscraper.
When that colossal fist crashed down toward the ground—
The earth trembled.
The land fractured.
Compared to his present size, Ren's figure wasn't even ant-sized.
The fist's impact zone alone spanned nearly ten meters around Ren's position. And despite expanding to such absurd proportions, Az·Daka'ha's speed and strength had not diminished—
They had grown stronger.
With such a ridiculous attack range and reach, this was no blow that could be dodged with simple footwork.
Frankly speaking—
One casual step from Az·Daka'ha was the equivalent of Ren running a marathon.
The gigantic fist descended from the heavens. The towering black mountain Ren had conjured moments earlier was pulverized inch by inch beneath the crushing force.
"BOOOOOOM—!"
A thunderous detonation shook the battlefield.
In an instant, a colossal crater dozens of kilometers wide scarred the land.
One punch.
A single strike had reshaped the terrain with the force of a natural disaster.
For ordinary beings, escaping ten kilometers in a split second was impossible. Even fleeing several kilometers would not spare them from the shockwaves.
Was flattening a ten-kilometer radius with one punch absurd?
For most—yes.
For the current Az·Daka'ha?
It was routine.
—
As dust and debris settled over the collapsed earth, Az·Daka'ha gazed down at the site where his fist struck.
There was no satisfaction in his expression.
Because he could feel it clearly.
Ren Kuroda was not dead.
Not even injured.
Maintaining his fist pressed into the crater floor, Az·Daka'ha felt something beneath it—
A powerful force steadily lifting his arm upward.
Veins bulged along his massive limb as he exerted more strength. The ground collapsed again in a secondary cave-in as he attempted to crush Ren with even greater force.
And yet—
His fist rose again.
Like pressing down on a sponge.
This was not because Az·Daka'ha was holding back.
It was because an unbelievable power beneath his fist was matching him head-on.
—
Deep within the crater, Ren stood with one arm raised—his single fist locked against the gargantuan punch of Dragon's Afterimage-enhanced Az·Daka'ha.
After ascending to Humanity's Final Trial, Ren's skill "Monstrous Strength" had naturally evolved as well. His raw physical power had increased tremendously.
In pure strength, he might not surpass Az·Daka'ha.
But he would not be crushed outright.
Feeling the terrifying pressure surging through his right arm, Ren calmly reached his left hand toward the hilt of the Divine-Blessed Blade at his waist.
Just as Az·Daka'ha prepared to apply even greater force to obliterate him—
A pillar of black flame suddenly erupted from beneath the dragon's fist.
"Fūrinkazan Style—Third Form."
"Fierce as Fire—Wrath of the Greedy Wolf!"
The surging black flames spread like creeping ivy—aggressive, invasive, unstoppable—racing up Az·Daka'ha's enormous arm at astonishing speed.
Even Az·Daka'ha instantly recognized it.
The flames were ominous.
And extraordinarily dangerous.
As they prepared to surge from his arm toward his main body, he endured the searing agony—
And violently tore off his own arm.
Despite his hundred-meter stature appearing solid, this body was merely the manifestation of Dragon's Afterimage.
It was shadow given shape.
Tearing off an arm inflicted little true damage to his original body.
But he had acted without hesitation for a reason.
He had sensed how terrifying those black flames truly were.
And his judgment proved correct.
The severed arm, once detached, was rapidly engulfed. The black fire consumed it at a visible pace, melting it away as the blaze intensified.
Even after losing Ren's direct control, the flames showed no sign of extinguishing.
As the arm was devoured, Az·Daka'ha felt something else.
His Gift—Dragon's Afterimage—
Was incomplete.
The portion being burned away was not merely shadowed flesh.
Those flames were devouring the very Gift itself.
They were burning supernatural power.
They were burning a Blessing.
—
"Sharp instincts," Ren said coolly.
After becoming a Humanity's Final Trial, the power of "Fierce as Fire" had not increased as dramatically in sheer destructive output as his other techniques.
But in terms of danger?
It was among the most troublesome.
"These flames feed on humanity's anger," Ren continued. "As long as human wrath endures, the black fire will not fade."
"It will burn until there is nothing left to consume."
"Even if what it burns… is a Gift."
The Divine-Blessed Blade, still wreathed in black flame, flickered as Ren gave it a slight shake before sheathing it smoothly.
He then stepped out from the depths of the crater.
Above him, Az·Daka'ha watched the black fire completely consume the severed arm within mere breaths.
For perhaps the first time since their clash began—
A trace of wariness appeared in the dragon's eyes.
..
Want to unlock up to 60+ early-access chapters and exclusive novels and NFSW CONTENT ALSO? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon.com/denji21