84 Chapter 84: Lord versus Lord (1/2)
The skeletal wings sprouting from Takeda's back flared ominously, shrouded by blinding purple mana.
”I'll adjust the properties of these bones of mine…”
Spreading his hands on either side of him, Takeda proclaimed.
The skeletal appendages reared over him and pointed toward me like spears.
”They don't do any damage.”
With a swing of his arms, he unleashed a fearsome barrage of bone spikes from his wings, botting out the dark skies with a hail of bones.
”But if you get pierced by them, you'll be robbed of your ability to move.”
I narrowed my eyes as I watched the incoming bombardment of bones. Using Absolute Appraisal, I calculated the trajectory of each and every skeletal projectile.
As they homed in and closed on me, I made my move. Blood appendages burst out of the ground and intercepted them, and at the same time I moved under the cover of my bood barrier, dodging the individual bones that easly pierced through the blood appendages.
While I evaded, I noted how the bones easily pierced my Blood Ghouls and caused them to implode, returning to formless droplets of fluid.
Sliding across the sea of blood, while using my blood appendages to deflect further attacks, I raised my head and smirked.
”You were testing to see if your attacks could destroy my Blood Ghouls, right?”
Even as the bony spikes protruded from the ground, with the red sea lapping at the bottom, the Blood Ghouls regenerated and reformed, the blood taking human shapes once again and solidifying. Worse, they crawled and scrambled over the bony spikes and began to devour them, using them as nutrients to strengthen their fluid constitutions.
Takeda watched the gruesome scene grimly.
”Looks like they possess unimaginable regenerative power. There's no way to destroy them completely, and even if I do obliterate them, they will keep coming back…as long as you have that sea of blood.”
While I widened the distance between myself and the fearsome lord of the Iron Knights, Takeda smiled, impressed.
”But you aren't too bad yourself, Tanaka-kun. When you evaded my attack, you were also scouting the region near the intercontinental ballistic missile launcher to see if there are any traps.”
His smile widened and he spread his arms in a seemingly harmless manner. Behind him, the bony spikes trembled, even as the reforming Blood Ghouls surrounded them, otherwise unharmed. It seemed their presence hadn't set off any traps, even when combined with the onslaught from the bony spines.
”You should know by now…there is no such thing.”
I shrugged in response. ”Always good to make sure.” Straightening myself, I fixed my eyes on the intercontinental ballistic missile laucher. ”I guess that means I can charge right in then.”
With a raise of my hand, I commanded my Blood Ghouls to march forward.
”You're really underestimating vampires if you think regeneration is all we're capable of.”
Red mana swirled and raged around the black demonic sword in my right hand. Gathering it to the point of my sword, I aimed the accumulating orb of red and black mana at Takeda. A maelstrom of dark, chaotic energy whipped around my blade, almost turning into a tornado.
”Oh…it seems that it isn't just my blood magic that's enhanced by my Blood Dragon Sword. Even my other dark spells too…”
Such as Doombolt. While I casted the spell and accumulated more of the dark mana, I was shocked by how the current Doombolt was on a completely different level from before. Getting Nishida to reforge Minamoto's sword had been an excellent choice indeed.
”And one more thing…it seems you've forgotten that like you, I'm someone who has been summoned from another world and is on the same level as you heroes.”
I aimed the incredibly enhanced Doombolt at Takeda.
”That is true.”
Takeda closed his eyes and admitted grudgingly.
”But it isn't your blood magic and vampire skills…it's your other techniques that I'm worried about. The special abilities that you were granted when you were first summoned to this world along with us. Your original, unique ability.”
I grinned. ”And what ability do you think I originally have?”
”I wonder. At first I thought it might be that Summon ability. But now that I think about it, that ability formerly belonged to Kijima Takeshi, didn't it? You must have taken it from him somehow. Then your unique ability must be something else…something similar to mine that allows you to steal abilities from other heroes.”
”I'm afraid you might be mistaken on that.”
I chuckled.
My original, unique ability was far too mundane and not as glamorous as Takeda's Plunder or the Devour ability I gained after defeating the cockatrice.
No, it was Adamantium Will. The same Adamantium Will that allowed me to resist Yonebashi's Demonic Fear. While it wasn't a very flashy ability, it was a vital one that contributed largely to allowing me to resist the Iron Knights.
”The truth is often very…boring.”
I took another step toward Takeda. He frowned when he saw a blood-red mist shroud around me, and the next thing he knew…
He disappeared?!
I was no longer in front of him.
So fast!
Takeda was astonished by my speed. Even without looking, he could tell that I was making a beeline for the intercontinental ballistic missile launcher, blasting past him without even bothering to attack him.
He summoned a dragon bone dagger that glowed purple around his hand. Spinning around, he slashed with the dragon bone dagger at the spot he estimated I was at.
I can only force myself to sense his location…
Blood spurted into the air as he slashed a Blood Ghoul apart, only to blink in confusion.
I was still standing several meters away, with my arms folded, laughing at him.
”What, you think I'm Lu Shu Yin or Riku Suigin or something? Nah. Of course not. I don't have incredible speed like him. No, no. I'm fighting this battle my way.”
Takeda's jaw dropped when he saw the horde of Blood Ghouls surrounding him. He narrowed his eyes and slashed a bloody swathe through the horde, turning them into fine red mist that rained down on his black, purplish armor.
”This is…”
”A diversion.”
The moment he smashed a hole through my Blood Ghouls, he exposed himself to the tip of my sword, where I had been gathering a lot of mana for.
Doombolt!
I unleashed the enhanced Doombolt, which slammed into Takeda and exploded. Black flames soared high into the air as they ravaged the rooftop, burning ominously in the night sky. Lowering my sword, I glared at the epicenter.
”Still not good enough, huh…”
Takeda emerged from the flames, totally unscathed. Cinders and sparks danced away from his gleaming armor, which didn't even smolder despite the vicious explosion earlier. With a wave of his hand, Takeda caused the raging mana from the unleashed Doombolt to dissipate.
”Ho…that was powerful. If your opponent was someone other than me, you would have finished him off with that strike.”
I felt a bead of perspiration roll down my face.
”That's quite the formidable armor you have.”
”Indeed. As you know, Nagano-san forged it for me. And she's quite the excellent swordsmith.”
I scratched my cheek as I glanced at the intercontinental ballistic missile launcher. Maybe I should have aimed my Doombolt at that damned thing instead. But it was meaningless to just destroy it. Takeda and Nagano could always just build another.
No, to enforce my will over them, I had to subjugate them through force and defeat them in an actual battle.
Dashing forward, I summoned a bunch of blood appendages from the sea of blood and directed them at Takeda, who wasn't able to dodge because of his cumbersome armor. Relying on sheer, brute strength, I smashed him to the ground with my blood appendages.
”…kuh…!”
Takeda grunted as he found himself pressurized under the bulk of my blood appendages. Clenching his gauntleted fist, he changed the shape of his gauntlet into a purple, skeletal blade and sliced through the blood appendages.
It didn't matter. By then I had reshaped the remaining appendages into a battering ram and slammed the iron-hard weapon into Takeda, throwing him into the air.
”Not bad…”
Takeda dropped back onto the ground, having flipped his body in midair to land on his feet. The tremendous weight of his armor left a crater, and he slowly stood up. The skeletal wings spreading from the back of his armor flared up again.
I dashed at him and slashed him with my sword, but he caught my blade with his gauntlet. The skeletal wings bent and whipped toward me, seeking to pierce me, but blood appendages burst out from the sea of blood that covered the rooftop and deflected them away. Clenching them into a single, thick club-like appendage, I smacked Takeda away.
”Heh, I see…”
Takeda skidded away, still on his feet, and chuckled. I frowned, not sure why he was still feeling so confident.
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”!”
I instinctively jumped away, only for several bony spines to lash down at me. Doing my best to evade, I threw up my blood appendages to knock away. Several of them got through my defenses, only for my Redwood jacket to resist them.
”Oh, I forgot all about that. You have quite the troublesome equipment, don't you?”
Takeda studied me…or rather, my Redwood jacket curiously.
”That grants you impenetrable defense. Twelve barriers, which constantly regenerate whenever they're broken. Add that to your innate Regeneration, you're practically immortal.”
I shrugged sardonically. ”That's a good thing, or I would have died when Kobayashi and his goons tried to murder me long ago.”
”Yes, indeed. It's impossible to kill you.” Takeda smiled. ”But fortunately, the goal isn't to kill you.”
”?!”
Several dragon bones burst out of the ground. I was a little slow to react, having mistakenly believed that I held the advantage over the ground now that I had carpeted it in a sea of blood. The bones tore my Blood Ghouls apart instantly, returning them to the red sea.
It didn't matter. I could just regenerate my Blood Ghouls again…
”…!”
Too late. I had underestimated the bones. While I was too focused on regenerating my Blood Ghouls, the bones had slammed into me. I frowned and tried to cut through them – after all, despite their sharpness, they weren't able to penetrate the twelve layers of defense that Redwood jacket provided.
But as Takeda said earlier, his goal wasn't to kill me. Or even to hurt me.
”Whoa!”
The bones wrapped themselves around my limbs, immobilizing me and locking my movements. I struggled, but the flexible bones curled and coiled around me like a serpent, restricting my moves and preventing me from escaping.
”This is…!”
Normally the bones would have crushed and suffocated me, but my Redwood jacket had prevented that, the barriers resisting the tremendous pressure. However, even if I had impenetrable defense, I didn't possess worldbreaking strength. I wasn't able to break free out of the skeletal grasp, no matter how much I struggled.
”Finally caught you.”
I glared at Takeda's triumphant expression and defiantly attacked. The Blood Ghouls lunged at him, but with a single swing of his arm, he obliterated all of them, turning them into red mists of droplets that hung in the air, suspended for a brief period before returning to the sea.
”Go ahead, regenerate them.” Takeda smiled. ”We can keep at this forever.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated.
”Hmm? Have you finally given up?”
I replied by creating a gigantic blood lance from the sea of blood and directing it at his smug face. However, Takeda's reflexes were equal to it. He blocked the colossal lance with his right hand, deflecting it away from his face.
”Kuh!”
Even so, I was satisfied to hear him grunt in surprise. The lance wasn't just any lance. Even as the titanic blood lance shattered in the collision, the Blood Dragon Sword within was revealed. With a silent roar, the demonic weapon bit into Takeda's armored arm before exploding in a black and red blast of mana.
”Ugh!”
Takeda staggered, winded from the blow. His once-pristine armor was finally smoldering, having suffered damage from my last-ditch attack. The tremendous impact had shattered his right gauntlet, exposing his hand. Waving it, he shook his head.
”I don't believe it. You actually managed to destroy my gauntlet…the armor that Nagano-san forged for me.”
Takeda watched the fallen Blood Dragon Sword warily, the demonic weapon having pierced the ground and just standing there emanating bloodlust.
”That Nishida…I can't believe he was capable of creating a weapon of such immense power.”
”You know what the problem is?”
I shook my head, amused. Takeda turned to stare at me with a frown, but he didn't seem worried. After all, I was still locked up and immobilized by his skeletal restraints. At this point, anything I said sounded like the barking of a sore loser.