CHAPTER 55

Power Overwhelming

Deadly Bandages spread out and target Seiya from all directions. He dodges the attacks with his extraordinary berserker speed while using his fire-type magic sword as a shield to burn the bandages. Although completely focused on defense, not even Seiya would be okay if Chain Destruction hit him.

And yet…

“Two hundred and forty percent.”

…Seiya continues charging his attack.

“Hero! Don’t you think that’s enough?!”

“Yeah!! Get on with it!!”

“Two hundred and sixty percent.”

D-don’t tell me he plans on going up to five hundred or even a thousand?! Give me a break! Jonde and I were frustrated at first and yelling “Hurry up!” but the longer we wait, the more our yelling turns into praying.

“P-please, Hero…! Please use the move!”

“I’m begging you, Seiya!”

“Two hundred and eighty percent.”

But he still doesn’t budge. Even Sirrusht seems to be getting frustrated. After taking a step back, he unleashes countless Deadly Bandages from all over his body like snakes.

“S-Seiya…!”

From above, below, and the sides—Seiya manages to slice and burn the deadly bandage attacks with his killer sword. While I’m relieved…seeing him do nothing but defend still has me on pins and needles. The onslaught does seem to have greatly increased Seiya’s charged attack, however.

“Three hundred and twenty percent.”

“H-he passed three hundred!”

“Magnificent! The time has finally come!”

Clenching our fists, Jonde and I yell:

““Pleeeeeeeeease!!””

It’s as if our prayers have been answered. Seiya finally says:

“Here I come. Drain: Charged Attack.”

Yes!! Finally, it’s the explosive attack we’ve been waiting for!!

Seiya’s body glows, and another powerful shock wave rocks my body! Sirrusht, who was right in front of Seiya and mid-attack, is blown dozens of meters back! While flying backward, he glares at Seiya with his yellow, cloudy eye.

“I do not know what you are planning, but nothing you do can surpass Permanent Rot’s regeneration speed.”

Sirrusht is all confidence, but both Jonde and I are confident as well. We know the move that Seiya charged and charged…and charged…will be able to break through the Death Emperor’s defense!

“Look at the Hero’s radiant aura! You can see that he’s practically bursting with all the energy he charged up!”

“Yeah, you really can!”

I nod at Jonde with a smile, then eagerly wait for Seiya’s special move. But all too soon, I have to doubt my own ears because Seiya quietly mutters to himself:

“Suspend.”

Immediately, the blinding aura wrapped around Seiya’s body fades.

“…Huh?”

A moment of silence passes, and then…

““Whaaaaaaaaat?!””

…Jonde and I scream.

“‘Suspend’?! What does that do?!”

“D-does that mean he isn’t going to even use the move after all that charging?!”

“Th-this can’t be happening! Why?! Seriously?!”

“This doesn’t make any sense! What is…that Hero…thinkiiiiiiiiing?!”

We scream, utterly thrown by behavior so far outside the realm of rational thought. Regardless, Seiya ignores us and grabs the two swords that some earth serpents brought over, then deeply exhales.

“Berserk: Phase 2.7 and Mode: Dual Ultimate Eternal Sword—Phoenix Drive.”

The berserker aura explodes out of Seiya’s body, mixing with his fire magic to create a searing wind, which draws Jonde’s and my attention back to the battle.

“Hmm…! A-an aura of fire as well?! What is this move with an extremely drawn-out name?!”

“Th-those are Seiya’s most powerful moves! He combined all of them with his Berserk Mode!”

Seiya’s eyes lock on Sirrusht like a hawk.

“Here I come… Max fire power…!”

A dark-crimson trail streaks in Sirrusht’s direction! I can barely see Seiya’s sword move as numerous crimson geometric patterns appear right before the Death Emperor’s eyes. Once a pattern disappears, Sirrusht’s flesh tears open and is engulfed with flames. Despite being on fire, the Death Emperor creates new bandages and tries to regenerate the wounds, but Seiya carves another pattern into his body before the regeneration takes place.

“Impossible…,” Sirrusht groans in agony.

Over a dozen flaming patterns surround him before vanishing, followed by a blast of fiery winds. Every bandage on his body is scorched, revealing his glowing eyes and undead, rotting flesh.

“My regeneration is not quick enough to keep up…! Is this truly something a human is capable of?!”

The Death Emperor moans as his necrotic flesh is ravaged by all-consuming flame.

“U-unbelievable…!” Jonde mutters.

Seiya creates an even larger fiery fractal with his blades right in front of the Death Emperor. And then, another earsplitting explosion. Only the charred, limbless body of the Death Emperor remains as it floats in the air.

Seiya faces the body to deal the final blow and casts Maximum Inferno. Then, the floating corpse explodes into nothingness.

D-d-did he win?! I—I can’t believe how powerful that attack was! W-wait… Then what was the point of charging that other move for so long?!

Seiya stares at the empty space. The flames looked like they disintegrated Sirrusht’s body, but…there’s still something floating in the air. It’s a ball about the size of a fist, and it’s emitting an ominous aura, almost like it’s being protected by some sort of outside power.

“A spell stone?!”

After I scream, the ball shapes itself into a writhing skull. It opens its tiny mouth.

“Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Cemeteryyy: Night Againnnn!”

After mockingly cackling, the skull cracks and unleashes a toxic mist, which promptly assumes a humanoid form! Jonde gawks.

“Th-the Death Emperor is resurrecting?! Impossible!”

Wh-where was the Death Emperor hiding part of his body?! Did he make it so the spell stone would resurrect him on the off chance he was killed?!

Jonde and I swallow our breath as we watch the mist transform into a monster. The pitch-black skeleton with horns emits an ominous aura for battle. The bare skull’s mouth slowly opens.

“The Death Emperor has died and been reborn. This is my final form—the fusion of flesh and soul—an indestructible body that is half matter, half spirit.”

Sirrusht’s body appears blurry to the naked eye, almost like we’re watching a distorted broadcast.

A-an indestructible body that’s half matter, half spirit?! Wh-what is that thing?! Don’t tell me that neither physical nor spiritual attacks will work now!

Never did I even imagine that Sirrusht would have a second form. The first thing that pops into my mind is, Is it even possible to defeat this monster?! I instinctively sense this is going to be a hard battle…and that’s why I didn’t even realize what was happening almost simultaneously with his transformation until the very last second. I have no doubt that Jonde is just as lost as I am. Seiya is already floating in the air right over Sirrusht’s head with his sword held high.

“Resume Drain: Charged Attack.”

Seiya’s body is once again engulfed in a radiant light, which concentrates around his right arm!

“Power overwhelming… Ghost Buster: Overdrive!”

The instant the swinging sword hits Sirrusht, the area is swallowed by a blinding light as a powerful roar causes the very land to quake. It’s so loud that I even lose my hearing for a bit. Yet, somehow, I manage to look ahead while struggling to keep myself from being blown away by the blast wave.

The physical attack power of Drain: Charged Attack that Seiya charged and charged, combined with Ghost Buster’s spiritual energy, turn not only Sirrusht but the strip of land nearby to dust. The only thing left in front of Seiya is a wide fissure carved into the sand. There’s no sign of the Death Emperor anywhere. I scramble over to Seiya.

“S-Seiya! Where’s Sirrusht?”

“Gone, most likely.”

“‘Gone’? You mean that single attack…?!”

“We still can’t let our guard down, though.”

Seiya continues staring at the spot where Sirrusht once was. Jonde’s lips quiver.

“A-are you telling me you were saving that charged attack to defeat the Death Emperor’s second form?! Impossible! You knew he had a second form?!”

“No. I couldn’t see his status.”

Unable to keep silent, I chime in:

“Then why did you save the charged attack for later?!”

“That was the last of the four leaders of SS-ranked Ixphoria. I figured it might try something on the verge of death, so I saved the move for later. If it ended up not having a second form, I would’ve been fine with that, too.”

“W-wouldn’t that have made charging the move a waste of time, though?”

“It gave me peace of mind. That isn’t a waste.”

““…?!””

Seiya sounds just like an insurance salesman, much to our surprise. Then, in a slightly annoyed voice, he bemoans:

“I wish I could’ve charged it to one thousand percent, but any more than three hundred and twenty percent would have destroyed my body, so I had to stop there and store what I had.”

“Th-that’s more than enough! Don’t charge so much that your body explodes, okay?!”

During our exchange, Seiya does things like staring at empty space and placing a hand on various spots on the ground, but…

“It appears there’s no third form.”

He was still concerned Sirrusht was going to resurrect again. After wandering around the area for a bit…

“Good. It looks like the monster has been completely destroyed.”

He then sheathes his sword. Standing next to me, Jonde looks at Seiya like he’s just witnessed something horrifying.

“I can understand what the Hero is saying. Saving your most powerful attack is a good strategy, but seeing someone able to do so in actual combat…”

“Hmph.”

Jonde lets out a short breath, then mutters to himself:

“He’s amazing.”

I watch Seiya’s back as he stands a short distance away. He doesn’t have a scratch on him. If I hadn’t seen the fight, I would have thought it was an overwhelming victory for Seiya.

But what if he used Drain: Charged Attack before Sirrusht entered his second form?

Who knows what would’ve happened after the Death Emperor became a half-physical, half-spiritual being. Not only that…but what would have happened if Cemetery: Night Again had actually resurrected the upgraded versions of Grandleon, Oxerio, and Celemonic along with a whole army of the dead? It would have been the toughest challenge Seiya had ever faced. Thanks to his hypercautiousness, he was able to prevent all of these disasters before they came to pass.

We might never have been able to defeat the Death Emperor if we’d fought normally. This victory was a miracle, and perhaps only Seiya—only Seiya after becoming cautious—could have done it.

I feel my heart swell as I look at him, but the victor himself doesn’t seem happy at all. He wears an indifferent expression while staring at something. It’s Kiriko. She’s hunched over and staring vacantly at the sand in her hands. Seiya approaches her. Noticing him, Kiriko looks up and shows him something.

“This…is the pendant I made with Kurio…but it’s gone now. The town, Kurio, the memories—nothing’s left.”

Kurio was the first friend Kiriko ever had. It’s impossible to even imagine the pain she’s feeling right now.

“Kiriko.”

Seiya speaks up, but just when I think he’s going to say something considerate for a change…

“Get ready to go. We’re leaving.”

I’m actually weirded out by how normal he’s acting.

“O-okay…,” Kiriko listlessly replies as she stands.

Seeing her so despondent tears at my heart. Those lost will never return. We defeated the last high-ranking monster of Ixphoria…yet it doesn’t feel good.

“H-hey, Seiya. Don’t you think you could say something to Kiriko that’s a little more…heroic?”

As I approach him, though, I notice…Seiya’s face looks unusually grim.

“…I’m right back where I started.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I don’t understand, but Seiya doesn’t explain.

“Rista, we should be able to return to the spirit world now that the Death Emperor is dead. Open a gate.”

“O-okay.”

There’s no longer a white wall when I open a gate and check inside.

“All right, we’re returning to the spirit world.”

While this may be Seiya’s usual routine for preparing, I think this could be great for Kiriko as well…and not just her. I want to rest and refresh myself, too. I’m sure Jonde feels the same. A dark cloud hangs over our hearts, painfully reminding us of the lost townspeople. We silently follow Seiya’s instruction and return to the spirit world.