Dozens of jet-black rhinos surrounded Yuki from every direction.
Sword in hand, he remained perfectly still, waiting for one of them to make the first move.
At the same time, another thought weighed heavily on his mind.
Where is Illman...?
The silence lasted only a moment.
Suddenly...
Every rhino turned its head toward him simultaneously.
"...!!"
Yuki instantly sensed danger and leapt high into the air.
The moment he did—
Black vine-like tendrils burst from the backs of every rhino, shooting toward him with incredible speed.
They wrapped around his legs.
"Tch!"
Without hesitation, Yuki swung his sword.
Slash!
The vines were severed instantly.
He landed safely on the ice, immediately drew another spear, and looked ahead.
The rhinos were charging.
Yuki hurled the spear.
It pierced directly through the forehead of the leading beast.
The rhino collapsed instantly.
But the others were already too close.
Yuki had no choice but to retreat.
He sprinted across the frozen sea while continuously creating spears from his inventory.
Turn.
Throw.
Kill.
Another turn.
Another spear.
Another rhino fell.
Again.
Again.
Again.
One after another, the monsters collapsed until the battlefield finally became silent once more.
"Haa..."
"Haa..."
Breathing heavily, Yuki slowly looked around.
He searched every direction.
"...Where did that monster go?"
No answer came.
Then—
A silver sphere suddenly dropped from the sky.
"?!"
Yuki raised his sword to block it.
The sphere exploded before contact.
Instead of fire...
A thick, sticky white liquid splashed across his body.
"...What?"
Yuki frowned.
It didn't seem dangerous.
Ignoring it, he looked upward.
Illman stood high above the ocean, silently staring at him.
Yuki pointed his sword toward him.
"Coward!"
"What are you doing up there?"
"If you've got the courage..."
"Come down here and fight me!"
Silence.
Several seconds passed.
Then...
Illman slowly descended onto the frozen sea.
Both fighters stood face to face.
Only ten meters separated them.
Yuki possessed countless weapons and powerful skills.
Illman possessed countless years of experience...
And unknown magic beyond imagination.
Without warning—
Both disappeared.
They collided in midair.
BOOM!!
Their kicks smashed into each other.
Shockwaves raced across the frozen ocean.
Cracks spread beneath their feet.
The air itself trembled.
The ocean churned violently beneath the ice.
Kick after kick collided in rapid succession.
Neither gave an inch.
Then—
Another clash.
But this time...
The instant their legs collided—
Yuki grabbed Illman's neck.
For the first time...
Illman looked surprised.
Yuki spun his body with incredible force and slammed Illman across the frozen ocean.
"Khh...!"
Illman's body skipped violently across the ice before crashing into the sea.
Although every bone and nerve inside his body was already damaged from countless illnesses...
The impact still caused him pain.
Even so...
He calmly stood back up.
As if nothing had happened.
Yuki didn't give him time to recover.
He rushed forward and drove another kick straight into Illman's chest.
The impact launched him deep beneath the ocean.
Moments later—
Illman burst back out of the water and charged directly toward Yuki.
His arms suddenly stretched forward.
Yuki immediately slashed.
Both arms were severed.
But...
New arms instantly regenerated from the stumps.
They wrapped tightly around Yuki before he could react.
"...!!"
Illman closed the distance in an instant.
Then...
He slowly opened his mouth.
A thick green mist escaped.
The smell alone struck Yuki like a physical attack.
"Ghk...!!"
His stomach twisted violently.
He immediately vomited.
Illman released him.
Yuki collapsed onto the ice, coughing uncontrollably.
"...That..."
"...That smell..."
"It's the worst thing I've ever experienced..."
Illman gave him no time to recover.
A brutal kick slammed into Yuki's stomach.
Blood burst from his mouth.
Yet only seconds later...
SAHITYAK restored the damage completely.
Illman watched the regeneration...
Then smiled.
A deeply unsettling smile.
Just looking at it filled Yuki with instinctive dread.
For a moment...
Fear threatened to consume him.
But this time...
Yuki refused to let it.
He stood back up.
A chestplate formed around his body.
Without hesitation—
He rushed forward again.
Using the force stored from Illman's recent attacks, Yuki accelerated even faster.
In the blink of an eye—
He reached Illman.
He threw a punch.
Illman blocked it with both hands...
But was forced several steps backward.
Greenish-white blood dripped from both of Illman's palms.
His expression changed slightly.
Only now was it revealed what had truly happened.
At the last possible moment...
Instead of punching...
Yuki had summoned a golden sword embedded with a crimson crystal.
He sliced through both of Illman's hands...
Then followed with the punch while his guard was open.
For the first time...
Illman had suffered visible damage.
Moments later...
The bleeding stopped.
His wounds regenerated.
However...
His severed hands did not immediately recover.
Then—
Something activated.
The sticky white liquid from the silver sphere earlier...
It suddenly reacted.
Black mist began rising from Yuki's body.
"...?!"
His entire body became unbearably hot.
"It's...!"
"It's too hot...!"
His muscles weakened.
His head grew heavy.
He struggled just to keep his eyes open.
His legs gave out beneath him.
He collapsed onto one knee.
His breathing became painfully heavy.
Nothing made sense.
He didn't know what was happening.
Why it was happening.
Or how to stop it.
His body felt impossibly hot...
Unbelievably heavy...
Even lifting a weapon had become impossible.
Throughout all of this...
Chichi remained completely silent.
It was almost as if she didn't exist.
Yuki's vision slowly blurred.
He felt himself slipping toward unconsciousness.
Then...
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
Footsteps echoed across the frozen ocean.
Growing louder.
Closer.
Illman walked toward him.
He stopped only a few steps away.
Silence.
He simply stared at Yuki.
Only Yuki's weak groans disturbed the quiet.
Suddenly—
BAM!!
Illman punched him directly in the face.
"AAAAAH!!"
Another blow struck his stomach.
Then another.
His neck.
His legs.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each strike was powerful enough to cripple him...
Yet never enough to kill him.
Meanwhile...
SAHITYAK quietly absorbed every impact.
Storing the force.
Healing the damage.
After several more hits...
Illman stepped back.
He smiled again.
Almost...
As if he were enjoying himself.
As if he understood exactly how Yuki's skill worked.
Rather than killing him...
Illman deliberately continued feeding power into SAHITYAK.
Healing him...
So the battle could continue.
Perhaps...
Madness itself was just another illness that belonged to the Lord of Disease.
Several moments later...
Yuki slowly stood once more.
His body felt light again.
His vision became clear.
His mind regained its sharpness.
Even his body temperature rapidly returned to normal.
He stared at Illman with a serious expression.
"What's wrong with him...?"
"Does he know I can heal?"
"Or... does he not?"
"Either way..."
"This is another chance."
"And I won't lose this time."
A spear appeared in his hand.
Then—
He vanished.
There was no teleportation.
His speed had simply reached an unbelievable level.
The next instant—
He appeared behind Illman.
Illman continued smiling.
Yuki drove the spear straight through his back.
Without stopping—
He disappeared again.
His stored force propelled him faster than ever before.
When he reappeared...
He stood directly in front of Illman.
The smile was still there.
Yuki ignored it.
He gathered every remaining ounce of stored force into a single fist.
Then—
He unleashed one devastating punch.
BOOM!!
Illman was launched hundreds of meters across the ocean, carving a massive trail through the frozen water.
His entire face was covered in greenish-white blood.
Even his eyes disappeared beneath it.
Yet...
He never sank.
His body simply floated upon the ocean's surface.
Then...
In an unnatural motion...
He slowly stood back up.
Like a corpse whose strings were being pulled by an invisible force.
His smile widened.
Even wider than before.
He silently stared at Yuki.
Yuki could only stare back.
A chill ran down his spine.
His hands trembled.
"W-Why...?"
"Why is he still smiling...?"
"This... this is terrifying..."