[That again?! I won't fall for the same trick!]
The knotted tail from the back of Satsuki's head lashed through the air at high speed, its blade-like tip aiming to pierce him.
Yet, even though the tip seemed to hit Renya, it passed through. It seemed to have skewered him, but
[What?! A genjutsu!]
Indeed, it was merely an illusory image created by god-speed. There was no way Renya would honestly use the same trick. After closing the distance with Flash Step, he baited Satsuki's counter, then used another Flash Step to leave an afterimage.
So where was the real body? The question arose but was quickly answered.
SLASH!!!
A silver flash ran horizontally. Satsuki's severed head, flying through the air, saw behind its own motionless, paralyzed body, left on the ground the figure of Kurosaki Renya, holding his finishing stance after having swung his spear.
Yes, the young man had used consecutive Flash Steps to get behind Satsuki.
Satsuki's body, convulsing from the unexpected death, eventually lost strength and collapsed forward.
Witnessing this, Renya relaxed his stance and turned to face the rogue mage, who had been merely observing.
"So, what now? That was your trump card, it seems, but it doesn't look like it can fight anymore, does it?"
"…There's nothing to worry about."
The rogue mage showed no sign of agitation at Renya's words. It wasn't a bluff; he genuinely believed there was not a single reason to panic.
As if to prove this, magical power overflowed from Satsuki's body, which should have been dead.
"That's right! The almighty artifact that grants wishes! Satsuki, having incorporated it, will never die until it fulfills my command!"
Suddenly, Satsuki's corpse, ignoring all physical laws, rose from its prone position by itself, like a puppet pulled by strings.
"Satsuki is indestructible! It can revive any number of times!"
Just as he said, Satsuki, having regenerated and restored its severed right arm and neck, revived. Its appearance was like that of a Phoenix, a demon embodying immortality.
'So defeating this thing is meaningless. Well, it could drain the caster's magical power, but that's not efficient. In the first place, is magical power even consumed when using the forbidden artifact?'
Probably, for a mage of this rogue's level, Satsuki's regeneration wasn't much of a drain. The forbidden artifact must be bearing the cost.
Conversely, the drain from defeating this combat magic insect was greater, making a prolonged battle overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
"And furthermore! I can also double Satsuki's combat capabilities!"
Not stopping there, the rogue mage quickly deployed a magic circle and discharged even more magical power.
"Secret Art! Magic Insect: Steel Body Transformation!"
Satsuki's body emitted light, and its physique grew by more than a full size. Its possessed energy also doubled, shaking the atmosphere and bending the trees greatly.
[I am grateful, Master. This surging power... I shall surely use it for your sake!]
Satsuki dashed forward from its spot, closing the distance in an instant, and brought its fist down.
Renya dodged by jumping sideways, but the missed punch shattered the ground, and the shockwave alone, running in a straight line, split the ground in its path and destroyed trees.
Such was the destructive force that the phenomenon continued for dozens of meters, finally ceasing only when a part of a mountain in the distance crumbled.
Without stopping to watch, Renya, upon landing, immediately sprinted past Satsuki's side. He judged that dealing with the combat magic insect, essentially a familiar, was a waste of time and decided to take down the caster, the rogue mage.
[I won't let you lay a single finger on my master.]
However, seeing this, Satsuki swiftly gave chase to Renya. Despite its increased size, its speed hadn't diminished. No, it seemed even greater, which was natural since a larger body meant more muscle mass and greater leg strength.
A hammer-like fist was brought down towards the back of the felon, attempting to harm its master.
Renya, turning around, was about to unleash a flash, but a blast of frigid air slammed into Satsuki, sending it flying.
Though sent flying, Satsuki had used its attacking arm for defense and absorbed the blow, remaining unharmed. It landed a dozen or so meters away, regained its stance, and confirmed the being that had pushed it back.
Standing on the ground a dozen or so meters ahead, glaring at it, was Elfaria.
"I won't let you hurt Renya-kun any more than this! O shadows of ice, o snow spirits, lend me your breath, let him freeze colder than death itself…"
"Frozen Shade!"
Invisible cold air, released with Elfaria's anger, froze Satsuki in an instant.
[S-something like this.]
Satsuki tried to break the ice restraints, but they wouldn't budge. Even if the surface broke, it was immediately covered by ice twice as thick, and it couldn't escape at all.
Normally, "Frozen Shade" would freeze a wide area, but by concentrating its range on Satsuki, the ice had become more solid and thicker.
"What?! C-come near me, you damn lovey-dovey couple!"
In that opening, Renya closed the distance to the rogue mage in an instant.
To the rogue mage, who saw Renya suddenly appear before him as if from nowhere, he tried to thrust out his staff in a frenzy, but couldn't even manage that, as his head, throat, and heart were pierced by the spear faster than the blink of an eye.
THAAWHK!!
The deadly triple thrust, delivered with certainty, severed the rogue mage's life, crushing his head and throat to prevent even a desperate last spell, ending his life without leaving anything behind.
[M-master!!!!]
With its master killed, Satsuki roared. Normally, it should have disappeared upon the caster's death, but perhaps due to the forbidden artifact's power, it continued to maintain its existence.
"...Can't be helped."
Murmuring this, Renya faced Satsuki, who, though encased in ice, was rampaging, desperately trying to break free.
Yes, it couldn't be helped. It would have been good if he could have recovered it, but things having come this far, he had no choice but to give up.
Renya decided to destroy Satsuki, which had begun self-modification and self-evolution with the forbidden artifact's power, along with the artifact itself.
Renya cast a cold gaze at Satsuki.
"Destroying the vessel of an abomination like you is indeed meaningless. But what if I destroy the soul within?"
Saying this, Renya muttered something under his breath. It wasn't runes, but seemed like some kind of mantra.
"I will take your life…"
Satsuki's rage, which had been like burning heat, froze over like extreme cold.
Death. It would die. It wasn't clear what he intended to do, but Satsuki had a conviction-like premonition.
[Sto…]
Was that Satsuki's word, or perhaps words forced out by the forbidden artifact?
Faster than it could utter anything, Renya moved.
Channeling magical power into the spear, he lightly tossed it into the air. As it spun and descended, he twisted his body, timing it perfectly, and kicked the back of the spear with all his might.
"… Gae Bolg: The Spear of Mortal Pain that Pierces the Void – Akasha!!"
It was the name of that legendary spearman Cú Chulainn's demonic spear, and also the name of a throwing technique, the ultimate secret of the Land of Shadows.
Renya had been taught the latter by Cú Chulainn, and by adding the Sanskrit word for voidAkashaas a mantra to his kick, he had created his own original technique. It pierced through space, allowing neither evasion nor defense, transforming into a sure-hit, sure-kill strike against even the normally uncatchable soul. A desperate magical skill that shattered both body and soul.
The Demon Spear, unleashed at hyper-sonic speeds accompanied by a shockwave, caught Satsuki like a hound seizing its prey, allowing neither escape nor resistance, piercing through its heart.
Simultaneously, the spear, having pierced the forbidden artifact that maintained Satsuki's existence, released the power imbued within, ripping the body and soul to shreds and pulverizing them.
With unimaginable agony coursing through its body and even its soul, Satsuki, or rather the forbidden artifacta replica of the Holy Grailscreamed with a sound not of this world and vanished along with its delusions.
Normally, if a replica of the Holy Grail were destroyed, its curse would have overflowed.
However, because its very existence was shattered by Renya's demon spear technique, it couldn't even make a final desperate struggle, and the replica of the Holy Grail vanished from this world, leaving behind only a tiny fragment.
Thus, the battle that had begun with the reunion with Elfaria came to a close.
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