Illman stood several dozen meters away from Yuki.
The monstrous being remained perfectly still, his unnaturally wide smile stretching across his decaying face. It was the kind of smile that could freeze anyone in fear—a smile that belonged to something no human should ever witness.
Across from him, Yuki stared back.
His body was soaked, his breathing ragged, and every muscle screamed in exhaustion. Despite that, his crimson eyes burned with unmistakable rage.
Killing intent.
There was only one thought left in his mind.
I have to kill him... no matter what.
"..."
The battlefield fell silent.
Yuki blinked once.
"...!"
In that single instant—
Illman suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
"Wha—?!"
Yuki's eyes widened in shock. His mind froze for only a fraction of a second...
...and that single mistake was enough.
Illman grabbed him by the throat and hurled him high into the sky.
This wasn't an attack.
It was simply brute force.
Because of that, Yuki's passive skill couldn't store any impact.
His body shot upward like a cannonball.
Before he could regain control—
Illman vanished again.
He reappeared beside Yuki in midair, caught him once more, and this time slammed him toward the ocean below.
BOOOOOOM!!
Yuki crashed into the water with tremendous force.
"AAGHHH!!"
Pain exploded throughout his entire body.
His bones felt as if they had shattered from the impact.
Before he could even recover—
Illman seized him again.
No...!
Yuki gritted his teeth.
I still have stored force left!
Using every ounce of remaining power inside his passive skill, he instantly summoned a sword.
SLASH!!
The blade carved across Illman's chest.
A deep wound opened through the monster's body.
"..."
For the first time in several minutes—
Illman retreated.
That brief moment allowed Yuki to stabilize himself.
Earlier, when Illman had grabbed him, they had been hovering just above the ocean's surface.
As Yuki's enchanted boots touched the water...
CRACK...
The sea instantly froze beneath his feet.
He landed on the newly formed ice.
His clothes were nearly destroyed.
His boots were torn.
Blood dripped from every corner of his body.
Yet he refused to fall.
"..."
Silence returned once again.
Then—
Illman disappeared.
Yuki had expected it.
Without hesitation, he twisted his body.
At the exact same moment—
A sharpened hand pierced toward where his back had been.
He's behind me!
Yuki narrowly dodged and immediately counterattacked.
His sword flashed toward Illman's neck.
It was only centimeters away from severing his head...
...when Illman raised one of his half-severed arms.
CLANG!!
The arm blocked the blade.
The impact completely sliced off the remaining portion of Illman's arm—
—but at the same time...
CRACK!
Yuki's sword shattered into pieces.
Fragments scattered across the frozen sea.
Neither of them stepped back.
Neither admitted defeat.
One second, it looked like Illman would win.
The next second, Yuki gained the advantage.
The battle had already lasted for more than an hour...
...yet neither side could finish the other.
Without weapons, they threw themselves into brutal close combat.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Every strike carried enough force to shake the frozen ocean beneath them.
Although Illman had already lost most of his arms, he still used what remained to block Yuki's attacks, while relying primarily on his legs to retaliate.
Then—
As always...
Illman abandoned any sense of fair combat.
The ocean suddenly erupted.
ROOOAAARR!!
A gigantic undead shark burst from beneath the water and lunged toward Yuki.
"Damn!"
Yuki barely dodged.
Its massive jaws grazed his leg, tearing through flesh.
Blood splattered onto the ice.
Ignoring the pain, Yuki immediately summoned a bow.
Without hesitation—
TWANG!!
A glowing arrow pierced straight through the shark's skull.
The undead beast collapsed instantly.
But Yuki didn't stop there.
The bow vanished.
In its place...
An assault rifle formed entirely from Aura.
An AK-47.
He squeezed the trigger.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
Hundreds of bullets rained toward Illman.
Yet...
The monster simply stood there.
Every bullet disappeared into his body...
As though he were eating them.
"...Tch."
Yuki clicked his tongue.
"Right... I forgot."
"Long-range attacks are almost useless against him."
Without wasting another second, the rifle disappeared.
Instead—
A massive war hammer materialized in his hands.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
With a furious roar, Yuki charged straight toward Illman.
With a furious roar, Yuki swung the massive war hammer with all his remaining strength.
Illman calmly stepped aside.
The hammer crashed into nothing but empty air.
As Yuki continued advancing, Illman retreated with smooth, effortless movements, avoiding every strike.
"..."
Then—
Something unexpected happened.
"Huh...?!"
In the blink of an eye, Yuki suddenly appeared directly in front of Illman.
There wasn't even a single meter separating them.
Before Illman could comprehend what had happened—
BOOOOOM!!
Yuki brought the hammer crashing down onto Illman's head.
The impact was devastating.
Illman's body slammed across the frozen ocean, skidding over the ice at terrifying speed before finally crashing to a stop.
Yuki refused to give him even a moment to recover.
The hammer disappeared.
A sword instantly materialized in his hand.
He lunged forward, aiming straight for Illman's neck.
This ends now!
Just as the blade was about to sever his head—
Illman suddenly rammed his own forehead into Yuki.
The unexpected counter forced Yuki backward.
Illman immediately rose to his feet.
Without hesitation—
SLASH!
Yuki cut through one of Illman's legs.
The limb separated cleanly from his body.
For the first time...
Illman's expression changed.
His eyes narrowed with unmistakable fury.
It was as if they were screaming—
"How dare you?"
Yuki couldn't have cared less.
He charged again.
Suddenly—
A blue light gathered inside Illman's abdomen.
"...?!"
The next instant—
A concentrated beam erupted from his stomach.
Yuki instinctively dodged.
The beam missed his heart...
...but grazed the side of his abdomen.
"..."
At first...
Nothing happened.
No pain.
No explosion.
No wound.
"...What?"
Then...
Everything changed.
The countless bacteria composing the beam began invading his body.
They devoured both harmful and beneficial bacteria alike.
His internal organs rapidly weakened.
His nervous system began shutting down.
Yuki collapsed onto one knee.
"...I..."
He tried to stand.
His legs refused to move.
"My... lower body..."
His breathing became uneven.
"I... can't feel it..."
There was no unbearable pain.
Only terrifying numbness.
His body was slowly dying.
Silently.
Efficiently.
Without mercy.
Illman slowly walked toward him.
Step...
Step...
Step...
The monster stopped directly in front of Yuki.
Then...
He crouched down.
Their faces were only inches apart.
Illman's enormous eyes stared directly into Yuki's.
His twisted smile widened.
That horrifying expression completely filled Yuki's vision.
Nothing else existed.
Not the ocean.
Not the battlefield.
Only...
That smile.
"...Ah..."
Yuki's thoughts froze.
No...
No...
No...!
Too scary...
Too disgusting...
What... is this monster...?
His mind teetered on the edge of insanity.
Then—
His fingers tightened around his sword.
"I..."
"...I'll..."
"...kill..."
"...this thing..."
Without warning—
SHIIIIING!!
His sword flashed faster than sound itself.
Illman's head separated cleanly from his body.
For the first time...
The monster's smile froze forever.
His severed head splashed into the ocean.
Slowly...
It sank beneath the dark water.
Even as it disappeared into the depths...
That same unsettling smile remained on its face.
Its lifeless body collapsed onto the frozen sea.
"..."
The strange bacteria inside Yuki immediately vanished.
The numbness disappeared.
Although completely exhausted, he could move again.
His sword slipped from his trembling hand.
Clang...
It landed softly on the ice.
"..."
Tears slowly filled Yuki's eyes.
His entire body trembled.
"I..."
"I... won..."
A weak laugh escaped his lips.
"...Finally..."
"I won..."
"Oh... gosh..."
"I... I can't believe it..."
"I survived..."
"...that hell..."
"...I actually survived..."
His tears overflowed.
"Tiyara..."
"I'm coming home..."
"Mom..."
"Dad..."
"I'm coming back..."
His voice broke.
For the first time since entering Illman's domain...
Yuki cried.
Not from pain.
Not from fear.
But from overwhelming relief.
He lay motionless upon the frozen ocean, sobbing as exhaustion consumed him.
Beside him rested the lifeless corpse of Illman.
Everything was finally...
Over.
...
Or so it seemed.
A faint twitch echoed from Illman's corpse.
Rip...
The skin around his abdomen slowly split open.
Thick, discolored blood seeped onto the ice.
Then—
Something crawled out.
It was unbelievably small.
Far smaller than a millimeter.
Almost impossible to notice.
At first glance, it resembled some kind of parasite...
Yet it was unlike any parasite that could exist.
Its tiny body was white.
Soft.
Almost pillow-like.
Fine white hairs covered its surface.
Behind it trailed a thin crimson tail, smooth and hairless.
It possessed no visible eyes.
No mouth.
No ears.
No recognizable facial features.
Silently...
The tiny creature crawled across the frozen ice.
Slowly...
Patiently...
It reached Yuki's foot.
His boots had been torn apart during the battle, exposing part of his big toe.
The tiny organism slipped beneath his toenail...
Without making a sound.
Without causing pain.
Without leaving even the slightest trace.
Yuki never noticed.
Completely unaware of what had just happened...
He continued lying on the frozen sea, tears streaming down his face as he mourned, celebrated, and thanked fate for allowing him to survive the most terrifying battle of his life.
End of Chapter 308