CHAPTER 37

Master and Pupil

He probably used Full Haste because, before I even realized it, Mash had transformed into an Emperor Dragon and was standing right in front of Seiya while holding Igzasion high in the air.

“Interesting. Your speed and power have increased even more than last time. I expected as much, though. I should be able to easily keep up if I raise my Berserk level.”

And yet, he uses two swords to block Igzasion like last time. He calmly fixes his eyes on Mash while being gradually pushed back.

“Let me ask you one thing before we begin. How, exactly, did you prepare for our battle since we last met in Nakashi Village?”

“‘Prepare’? What the hell does that mean?”

“You had plenty of time to come up with a strategy based on my size, move type, and countless other factors.”

“Coming up with strategies is pointless when you have the ultimate power of Igzasion!”

Grass suddenly rustles faintly in all directions. While Mash smugly continues to swing his sword, a few fire salamanders creep up on him. Mash clicks his tongue, then leaps away from Seiya before running Igzasion through the attacking fire salamanders’ bodies.

“I may have sent the townspeople away, but that doesn’t mean I’m your only enemy. You have to always watch out for monsters when you’re outside of town.”

“Stop running your mouth and fight me!”

Mash charges at Seiya once more while swinging Igzasion with incredible force. The air roars with each swing, but it’s obvious even to me that his attacks are lacking in precision, as if his rage is getting the better of him. Seiya continues to dodge each wild swing as he says to Mash:

“You were bragging about Igzasion’s abilities when we first met, too. That was a bad move. You should always keep your best cards a secret until the moment you use them.”

Seiya ducks while evading Igzasion, then sweeps Mash’s legs and drops him on his rear.

“Y-you little…!”

“If you had suddenly used Full Haste in the middle of close combat, even I would have had a difficult time dodging. You might have even left a scratch on me.”

“Are you stupid or something?! I showed you because it doesn’t matter! This isn’t everything, you know!”

Mash then leaps back and audaciously smirks as if he’s had a surge of confidence. I get a knot in my stomach and a chill down my spine.

Wh-why is Mash so confident?!

“I like to slowly drive my prey into a corner before torturing them to death, but if you’re gonna keep running your mouth like that, then I guess I’ll just show you the true power of Igzasion—no, of Elulu.”

The tattoo-like dragon crest covering his body glows, and an oppressive aura bursts out from Mash’s body and Igzasion!

“Combining the powers of Igzasion and the Emperor Dragon’s Full Haste creates…Giga Haste. In another second, your head’s gonna be flying through the air.”

“Oh? You’re even going to tell me where you’re aiming? How kind of you.”

“Die!”

“S-Seiya!”

An even better version of Full Haste?! So Mash really was hiding an ace up his sleeve!

I turn completely pale before Igzasion’s true power and Mash’s ever-growing battle aura. But that’s when I realize something: The area is filled with a pitch-black aura that’s the exact opposite of Igzasion’s holy aura! The instant Mash casts Giga Haste, countless hands of darkness audibly sprout from the ground and grab his legs!

“D-dammit!”

Mash begins cutting away at the hands after realizing he can’t move, but there are simply too many of them. The hands of darkness continue growing from the ground and reaching for his legs faster than he can cut. It isn’t long before the entire field is overrun with them. Cerceus shrieks:

“How terrifying! That move is pure evil!”

H-he’s right! There are hundreds—no, thousands—of them! It’s like something you’d expect to see in hell!

Seiya, who unleashed the nonheroic move, calmly observes Mash desperately struggling to remove the hands of darkness.

“Of course, I expected Giga Haste to have these sorts of changes, but it doesn’t matter what move you use if you cannot move your legs.”

Seiya nonchalantly continues while sealing Mash’s movement, and thus his ultimate move as well.

“Showing me Full Haste when we first met naturally allowed me to guess at what kinds of ability could be derived from it, which is why showing me the move was the worst thing you could have done. That’s why I said you should have kept your best cards a secret.”

“Don’t you dare underestimate me! Igzasion, deactivate the enemy’s ability!”

Mash thrusts his sword into the ground, creating a circular rainbow around it, which instantly reduces the thousands of Phantom Hands into dust!

Igzasion’s deactivation ability! I completely forgot Mash could do that!

“What’d ya think of that?” asks Mash with a smirk. However… Seiya is already right in front of him with his arm fully swung back.

“Gwah?!”

Seiya’s fist furiously buries itself in Mash’s cheek before sending him flying back.

“There’s around a two-second delay after you deactivate your opponent’s abilities before you can move again. If I hadn’t used my fist, it would have been your head flying through the air.”

H-he figured that much out during our last scouting mission?!

Blood drips out of Mash’s mouth after taking a fist to the cheek, and his devilish expression makes his uncontrollable rage no secret.

“You may think you have the advantage, but this ends now. The ability deactivator’s effects haven’t gone away! Your dark magic is sealed!”

“And…? I was simply laying the groundwork for our battle with that.”

Both Mash and I look around suspiciously…then shudder. The Phantom Hands are nowhere to be found, but in their place are terrifying plants wiggling around in each and every direction.

“Seiya?! What are those?!”

“The field’s weeds absorbed the Phantom Hands’ nutrients and grew.”

“Do you mean you gave dark mana to the plants?!”

“Precisely. This isn’t magic or a move. These are new life-forms, which is why Igzasion can’t deactivate them.”

Vines from plants with faces coil around Mash’s legs. He swings his sword, but no matter how many disgusting, otherworldly plants he cuts, they immediately grow back.

“Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit, damn it all!”

Seiya’s plants curl around Mash’s body like snakes. I look at Seiya, who completely sealed Mash’s Giga Haste, and gasp.

I-it’s like an adult playing with a kid! Despite the Emperor Dragon’s and Igzasion’s powerful moves, the difference in skill between Mash and Seiya is just too much!

“You’re dead! I’m gonna kill you no matter what!”

Seiya glares at his bloodthirsty opponent with a stern eye.

“You need to be far more cautious.”

Huh…? Seiya…?

This is a battle to the death. They’re trying to kill each other. And yet, Seiya is talking as if he’s trying to teach Mash how to fight. Mash angrily swings Igzasion, but the plants still continue to regrow no matter how many times he tries. It isn’t long before he bellows in rage:

“You cheap piece of shit! I’d kill you in the blink of an eye if you didn’t have these!”

“Oh? You would, would you?”

Crimson flames shoot out of Seiya’s hand, engulfing Mash. I figure he’s adding insult to injury, but after a few seconds go by…I can’t believe my eyes.

“Then let’s see you do it.”

Seiya isn’t using fire magic to attack Mash! He’s using it to burn all the plants around him!

“S-S-Seiya?! Are you sure you should be doing that?!”

Cerceus is panicking, and of course, I’m no different. Because Mash is going to be able to use Giga Haste if Seiya gets rid of all the plants! Eventually, every last plant is destroyed, leaving only a burned field and nothing left to stop Mash.

“Heh-heh-heh… You’re fooling yourself. This time, you’re dead.”

Mash gets into a forward-bent posture with Igzasion.

“Giga Haste!”

And he vanishes into thin air! My heart begins to race!

S-Seiya let his guard down?! Is he really going to be okay?!

…Sparks fly in empty space, and the high-pitched sound of metal clashing against metal echoes around the area. Mash and Seiya are now in opposite positions from where they were a second ago, and in the blink of an eye, they disappear once more. Countless sparks shoot wildly into the air. They must be moving so quickly that I can’t even see them, but at the very next moment I see them, Mash swings Igzasion, then stands in utter astonishment.

“Th-this can’t be happening! There’s no way anyone can keep up with Giga Haste’s speed!”

But I have already figured out the trick. Seiya’s aura isn’t a dark red even though he’s in Berserk Mode. It’s every color of the rainbow.

“That’s the Joker’s mimic ability! He’s mimicking Mash’s Giga Haste!”

“Ha-ha! He didn’t lower his guard at all! Seiya just knew he had a hundred-percent chance of winning in close combat!”

Cerceus smiles in relief, but…something isn’t right! Normally, Seiya would have fought without burning those plants to make certain of his victory! He must be trying to…!

Seiya charges at his irritated opponent and swings both of his blades. Mash uses Igzasion as a shield but isn’t able to defend all the attacks, and his body is slowly cut, albeit shallowly, all over.

“I can’t see your sword! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Eternal Sword. It’s a move I learned from some creepy goddess in the spirit world.”

That’s Adenela’s ultimate move! …Wait. Was it really necessary to call her creepy?!

Mash promptly creates some distance between them to escape the endless tornado of blades.

“Igzasion’s power is unrivaled, but you’ve relied too much on its attack power, causing you to neglect perfecting your swordsmanship and skills.”

“Shut up!”

Mash’s expression is overcome with rage until he notices the cracks in Seiya’s swords as he gets back into stance. He smirks.

“It looks like your swords can’t keep up with your skills and speed.”

“Yes. And I already know that from past experience.”

“Yeah? So what? Knowing that’s not gonna help you when you can’t block Igzasion’s attacks any longer! It’s over!”

Mash lifts his sword high into the air, then lunges at Seiya. However, I don’t hear the sound of a sword slashing. Instead, I hear the dull sound of something breaking. Igzasion drops out of Mash’s hand and hits the ground with a clank, for Seiya’s fist has pierced his armor and is lodged deep inside his torso.

“The First Valkyrja: Shattered Break.”

“Gwah…!”

Spare swords suddenly fall from the sky before piercing the ground. Automatic Phoenixes must have been carrying them in their mouths just like when Seiya fought the Great Mother. Mash painfully glares at Seiya slowly drawing a sword.

“A punch…? Tsk… Are you not a swordsman…?” says Mash, withdrawing a pace.

“All you have are your fists once you lose your sword, so obviously, I’ve learned unarmed abilities as well.”

I suddenly think back to the battle against Deathmagla when I hear Seiya’s words. Mash feared Dark Firus’s overwhelming power and lost the will to fight. It was only because of Seiya’s cautiousness that he got it back. And right now…

“Wh-what the hell…are you…?!”

Mash appears to fear Seiya, but that’s when the blood-soaked arms appear around his shoulders from behind.

“Mash, pick up Igzasion and kill the Hero.”

The wraith latches onto his body and repeats:

“Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!”

“…Shut up.”

Mash ignores Elulu’s ghost and walks over to Seiya while leaving Igzasion behind, and her expression seems to resemble sorrow.

“Mash…”

“Just slicing you in half isn’t gonna cut it anymore! I’m gonna beat you to death with my own two hands!”

Seiya seems to be the only thing Mash can see anymore. Mash lunges toward Seiya and throws a punch so quickly that it looks like he teleported.

“H-he’s fast!” mutters Cerceus after seeing him punch. Seiya is dodging the flurry of punches with his upper body, but I continue to grow nervous every second that goes by. Because even a single punch that powerful would be fatal.

He doesn’t even have Igzasion’s Blessing anymore! And yet, his power and speed are…!

Seiya just barely dodges a roundhouse aimed for his head. Mash clicks his tongue in frustration, but Seiya actually seems somewhat surprised.

“Oh? So you can use unarmed skills as well? I’m impressed.”

Seiya backsteps until he creates some distance between them, sheathes his sword, then begins shaking his arms and legs.

“I guess I can spare a few minutes to humor you.”

“Tch…!”

Seiya beckons to Mash, and the taunt only makes him even more furious. He throws multiple punches to Seiya’s upper body, and he’s not punching randomly. Mash focuses on the upper body before suddenly throwing a low kick to Seiya’s leg. His combos are varied. Nevertheless, the berserker Hero dodges each and every attack as if he could see them coming from a mile away. Mash grows impatient and throws a haymaker, so Seiya uses this opening to throw a punch of his own. Mash’s fist grazes Seiya’s shoulder while Seiya’s left fist finds its way to Mash’s nose.

“Whoaaa! Did you see that counter?!” shouts Cerceus in excitement.

Mash staggers, but he grabs onto his knee and manages to stay standing.

“I have transformed into an Emperor Dragon… I’m far stronger than when I defeated the Demon Lord…so why…? What in the world is he…?”

Mash seems to be more mentally damaged than he even is physically.

“I am the King of Gaeabrande! No one can defeat me!” screams Mash as if to fire himself up, and a brilliantly shining aura wraps around his fist, which is pulled far back. My heart jumps in fright at the sight of the dense aura. It’s as if every last bit of his life energy is condensed inside it.

“Cuélebre Roar!”

Mash steps forward while simultaneously throwing a palm strike. The movement is so powerful that the ground cracks under him, creating a cloud of dust and making them invisible.

“S-Seiya?!”

…They’re having a bare-knuckle brawl, which isn’t something Seiya normally does. I have no idea how the battle is going to end, so all I can do is swallow my breath and wait for the cloud of dust to settle.

“I-impossible…!”

When the dust settles, Mash is clearly crestfallen. Seiya blocked the palm strike with his right arm, which is covered with the same dragon crest as that of his opponent. Mash’s expression is stricken with fear or something like it.

“He used Mimic to copy Mash’s aura and cancel out the blow!”

“I-it’s not over yet!”

I didn’t realize it until Cerceus said that, but the crest of the dragon is coiled around Seiya’s left arm with a brilliant light as well!

“Cuélebre Roar!”

Seiya throws a palm strike into Mash’s solar plexus, folding his body and causing him to drop to his knees like a marionette whose strings have been cut.

“He canceled out the attack with his right arm, then struck with his left! He used Mimic to combo!”

“Damn! That was insane! I had no idea he could do that!”

Mash spits up gastric juices mixed with blood onto the ground with a self-deprecating smile.

“You’re strong… Is this really the power of an inferior race—of a human…?”

He tries to stand, but he staggers once more and collapses. The match is clearly over…but out of nowhere, the wraith appears behind Mash once more.

“Mash, go pick up Igzasion and kill him! Now! Go, go, go!”

“Shut up, Elulu. You’re pissing me off.”

“You can’t beat him without Igzasion! Hurry!”

“I told you. I’m gonna kill him with my own two hands. Don’t get in my way.”

Mash is covered in cuts and bruises after a barrage of attacks. He was absolutely no match for Seiya, and yet it’s as if the life in his eyes has finally returned.

“Mash, why…? Why, Mash…?”

Meanwhile, Elulu’s ghost sorrowfully lowers her gaze, but when she lifts her head back up, her face is menacingly twisting.

“Well then, it looks like I have no use for you anymore.”

She opens her mouth widely, split from ear to ear, revealing countless needlelike teeth, and bites Mash’s neck.