The grotesque Domain continued expanding across the ocean.
Without looking back, Yuki sprinted at full speed toward the edge, desperately trying to escape before it completely formed.
"Just a little farther...!"
Suddenly—
One of the fake Illmans stretched its arm.
The black limb shot across the frozen sea before wrapping tightly around Yuki's ankle.
"...!!"
Yuki lost his balance.
Crash!
He fell hard onto the ice.
Looking up, he watched the massive Domain rapidly sealing itself.
His face immediately turned pale.
"Damn...!"
Without hesitation, Yuki pulled a dagger from his storage.
Slash!
The stretched arm was severed instantly.
He didn't even pause.
The dagger was immediately thrown back toward the fake Illman.
The creature was forced to defend itself instead of grabbing Yuki again.
That single opening was enough.
Yuki immediately escaped the creature's reach.
"I made it—"
Then—
Someone appeared directly before him.
The real Illman.
"...?!"
Yuki froze for a fraction of a second.
Without saying a word...
Illman gently placed one hand against Yuki's chest.
Then—
BOOM!!
The seemingly light push carried unbelievable force.
Yuki was blasted backward.
Straight into the closing Domain.
Before he could recover...
The barrier sealed shut.
Silence.
Yuki slowly stood up while observing his surroundings.
His expression darkened.
"Limited space..."
"Running away isn't an option anymore."
"Now I have to fight three Illmans..."
"Inside this cage..."
"...Damn."
Before he could finish thinking—
Something moved beneath his feet.
The frozen sea cracked.
Dark fungi slowly emerged from beneath the ice.
Like living creatures...
They began crawling toward his legs.
"...?!"
Yuki immediately jumped away.
The fungi continued chasing him wherever he landed.
Without wasting time, he threw his sword directly toward the real Illman.
The sword flew perfectly.
But—
Illman merely stared at it.
His body dissolved into black dust before the blade could touch him.
The attack passed through empty space.
Yuki frowned.
"Again..."
To avoid the spreading fungi, he leaped high into the air.
All three Illmans simply watched him.
None of them moved.
Yuki's eyes sharpened.
"Then..."
He raised one hand.
"Kema Core..."
"...One Thousand Sword Pins."
The sky suddenly filled with countless glowing swords.
Thousands of blades descended simultaneously.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
The entire Domain shook violently.
The two fake Illmans were struck countless times before disappearing into black smoke.
Only the real Illman survived.
The instant the attack began...
He had vanished once again.
Several moments later, he quietly reappeared far away.
Yuki clicked his tongue.
"Tsk..."
"He escaped again..."
"At least the fake ones are gone..."
"But..."
"How am I supposed to kill this monster?"
Before he could think further—
The fungi returned.
Once again they crawled across the frozen sea toward his feet.
"...These annoying things!"
Yuki continuously jumped from one place to another, barely avoiding them.
Although he hadn't suffered any life-threatening injuries yet...
The prolonged battle...
Combined with the poison from the insects...
Had begun taking its toll.
"Haa..."
"Haa..."
His breathing grew heavier.
His movements had noticeably slowed.
"If this keeps going..."
"The poison will finish me before Illman does."
"I need to end this..."
"Fast."
He continued avoiding the fungi while carefully analyzing every movement Illman had made during the battle.
"Wait..."
"I can't kill him from long range..."
"And every time I get close..."
"He runs away."
Yuki's eyes widened.
"He doesn't let me fight him at close range..."
"Could that mean..."
"Close combat is actually his weakness?"
He replayed the battle inside his mind.
Every attack.
Every exchange.
Every movement.
"Now that I think about it..."
"He hasn't fought me directly even once."
"No punches..."
"No proper close-range combat..."
"Everything has been..."
"Long-range techniques..."
"Summoned creatures..."
"Or attacks through something else."
A faint smile appeared on Yuki's face.
"I finally found something."
Even so...
Closing the distance remained nearly impossible.
Yuki continued advancing while dodging the fungi.
Far away...
Illman slowly floated backward.
He was deliberately maintaining the distance.
Seeing that...
Yuki became even more certain.
"Bastard..."
"He knows exactly what I'm thinking."
"Then..."
Without warning—
Yuki summoned a spear.
He threw it toward Illman.
The spear completely missed.
Instead, it embedded itself deep within the frozen sea beside him.
Illman quietly watched the weapon.
Then...
His hollow eyes slightly narrowed.
He immediately understood.
"So that's your plan..."
Unfortunately—
He realized it too late.
Yuki smiled.
"For you..."
"...it's already too late."
"Kolambia."
Space distorted.
In the next instant—
Yuki disappeared.
He instantly teleported to the spear.
When he reappeared...
He stood directly before Illman.
This time...
He wasn't holding any weapon.
Only his fist.
Without hesitation—
Yuki threw a full-powered punch.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact exploded throughout the entire Domain.
Illman's body was launched backward like a broken doll.
He crashed directly into the Domain wall.
CRACK!!
Large fractures spread across the barrier.
Yuki stared at his own fist.
"...What?"
"That..."
"That was just one punch..."
"I know Precious trained my body..."
"But..."
"Sending someone like Illman flying with my bare hands..."
"Am I really that strong?"
Chichi immediately answered.
"No."
Yuki blinked.
"...Huh?"
"That wasn't your strength."
"When Illman pushed you into this Domain..."
"Your passive skill..."
"...Sokku Saktoo..."
"...stored the force behind his attack."
"The power released automatically through your punch."
"So..."
"That wasn't your own physical strength."
Yuki's shoulders immediately dropped.
"W-Well..."
"You didn't have to tell me the truth that honestly..."
"...That actually hurts."
Meanwhile...
Illman slowly rose from the shattered section of the Domain wall.
Despite taking such an overwhelming blow...
He showed no sign of pain.
His movements were disturbingly unnatural.
Almost as if a corpse were standing back up.
"...Eugh..."
Goosebumps spread across Yuki's entire body.
Illman silently stared at him.
Then...
He slowly floated upward.
His head tilted to one side.
A grotesque smile slowly spread across his face.
His broken voice echoed throughout the Domain.
"Ni~ce..."
"...pu~nch..."
Those simple words sent a chill straight through Yuki's spine.
For the first time during the battle...
He instinctively took several steps backward.
The moment Yuki took a step backward...
Illman vanished.
"...?!"
Yuki's pupils contracted.
He immediately twisted his body.
Illman had somehow appeared directly behind him.
Without hesitation, Yuki leaped sideways, barely avoiding the attack.
But before he could regain his balance—
Illman disappeared again.
"...What?!"
Yuki was still suspended in midair.
Then—
Illman reappeared behind him once more.
"Again?!"
Yuki instinctively spun around and threw a punch.
His fist sliced through empty air.
Illman had already disappeared.
Yuki landed on the frozen ground.
Silence.
The entire Domain became eerily quiet.
Illman was nowhere to be seen.
Even the fungi had stopped chasing him.
Yuki slowly turned his head in every direction.
His senses were pushed to their absolute limit.
"Is he teleporting...?"
"Or is he simply that fast?"
"I can't tell..."
"No..."
"He's trying to break my concentration."
Before Yuki could react—
The entire Domain suddenly trembled.
Rumble...
The walls surrounding them began shrinking inward.
The space around Yuki rapidly became smaller.
Chichi's voice echoed inside his mind.
"Do something."
"If this Domain completely closes..."
"...you'll be crushed."
"I know that!"
Yuki shouted anxiously.
"But what am I supposed to do?!"
He immediately summoned countless weapons.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Daggers.
One after another, he hurled them toward the Domain walls.
BOOM!
CLANG!
CRASH!
Nothing happened.
The walls didn't even crack.
Chichi calmly spoke again.
"You're attacking the wrong place."
"The crack..."
"The one Illman created when your punch sent him flying..."
"Attack there."
Yuki immediately looked toward the damaged section.
"...Right!"
Without wasting another second—
He drew a sword.
Then another.
Then another.
Again...
And again...
And again.
He relentlessly struck the cracked section with everything he had.
The Domain continued shrinking.
Although its speed had slowed...
It still hadn't stopped.
Sweat poured down Yuki's face.
"Come on..."
"Break already..."
"Break!"
After countless strikes—
The crack finally widened.
Crack...
CRACK!!
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The Domain wall shattered into countless fragments.
Fresh ocean air rushed inside.
Yuki immediately dashed toward the opening.
But—
Standing directly beyond the broken barrier...
Was Illman.
"...!!"
For a brief moment...
Yuki froze.
Illman didn't.
Without giving Yuki even a single moment to react—
BOOM!!
His kick landed squarely against Yuki's abdomen.
"Cough...!!"
The impact sent Yuki flying hundreds of meters across the frozen sea.
He violently crashed into the ground before rolling across the ice.
Blood immediately spilled from his mouth.
His internal organs had clearly suffered severe damage.
"Haa..."
"Cough..."
"Cough..."
His entire body trembled.
Even breathing had become painful.
Yuki forced himself onto one knee.
Just as he tried to stand—
Illman suddenly appeared beside him.
"...?!"
Before Yuki could even lift his guard—
A fist buried itself deep into his stomach.
BOOOOOOM!!
"EEAAAGHH!!"
The force behind the punch was monstrous.
Yuki's body shot into the sky like a meteor.
Higher.
Higher.
Until he reached the clouds themselves.
Then gravity took over.
His body plummeted back toward the ocean.
"W-What the hell...?!"
"I don't have..."
"...any flying skills...!"
Panic filled his eyes.
The frozen ocean rushed toward him at terrifying speed.
Instinctively...
Yuki shut his eyes.
"This is it..."
But before he struck the ice—
Illman appeared once again.
Right in front of him.
Without expression...
Without hesitation...
He drove another devastating punch directly into Yuki's face.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The impact dwarfed even the previous kick.
Yuki's body became nothing more than a crimson blur as he was launched across the battlefield.
Hundreds...
Thousands...
Of meters away—
He crashed into a towering hill of ice.
KRAAAAAASH!!
Enormous cracks spread throughout the entire glacier.
Chunks of ice collapsed around him.
Yuki slowly slid down before collapsing onto the frozen ground.
Blood covered every inch of his body.
His clothes were soaked.
His white hair had turned crimson.
For several long moments...
He couldn't move.
Every breath burned like fire.
"Cough..."
"Agh..."
"How..."
"How am I supposed to defeat..."
"...this monster...?"
His trembling lips slowly curled into a bitter smile.
"Precious..."
"You damn monster..."
"If I die here..."
"I'll haunt your dreams forever..."
Another violent cough escaped his mouth.
Fresh blood stained the ice beneath him.
He desperately tried to stand.
His body refused to obey.
"My legs..."
"My arms..."
"My ribs..."
"Everything..."
"Everything is broken..."
"Cough..."
"I don't even know..."
"How I'm still alive..."
Tears slowly welled up in his eyes.
His thoughts drifted away from the battlefield.
His father...
His mother...
Tiara...
His child...
His friends...
One after another...
Their faces appeared within his fading consciousness.
He wasn't crying because of the pain.
He wasn't crying because of fear.
He simply couldn't accept dying without seeing them again.
Tears quietly rolled down his bloodstained face.
Like a flowing river.
Even so...
Yuki still forced his broken body to move.
His shattered legs trembled.
His broken arms barely responded.
But he continued trying to stand.
As long as even the smallest glimmer of hope remained...
He refused to give up.
He pushed against the frozen ground.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But...
That tiny light of hope disappeared.
A familiar presence appeared beside him.
Illman.
Yuki slowly raised his head.
Fear.
Shock.
Despair.
All of those emotions filled his trembling eyes.
Yet...
Illman's expression remained impossible to read.
He wasn't smiling because he was enjoying the fight.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't excited.
He wasn't bored.
His face showed no emotion that Yuki could understand.
It was an expression beyond human comprehension.
An existence that couldn't be measured by ordinary feelings.
Only one thought remained inside Yuki's mind.
"I'm doomed."