Kae stood there without a single visible wound.
All three Devil Busters were stunned.
They had never stood a chance against a perfect Kae.
Dai (thinking): What kind of hax was that? This shouldn't be possible. When we attack the soul, it disables almost all haxes. Why is he alive?
Zara (thinking): Was that an advanced resurrection technique? No. My attacks disable such Sorcery once the ritual begins. This is something else.
Shirin (thinking): Perhaps... it is a trick connected to his Class. What exactly is his Class?
Kae giggled softly.
[Kae]: Do not trouble yourselves with speculation, my children. If you are wondering about my Class, it is Supreme Deity Class. And I have fully mastered the standard ability I selected from it.
The moment those words left his mouth, the three Devil Busters understood.
This had never been a battle.
It had been a one-sided massacre from the very beginning.
Supreme Deity Class was among the rarest Classes in existence.
Many considered it the second-rarest Class in the Living Verse.
It was also regarded as the most powerful.
Fighting a user of such a Class was little more than suicide.
[Kae]: Do not be afraid. I shall grant you mercy by ending this quickly. I assure you, the pain will be brief.
[Zara]: Don't get cocky!
Zara launched herself forward.
Millions of slashes poured toward Kae.
The instant they entered a ten-meter radius around him, every slash vanished.
The sight only deepened the trio's shock.
[Kae]: That was rather delicious. A fine meal.
Kae maintained his calm smile.
[Zara]: Duo Collide Formation!
Dai instantly appeared beside her.
Their swords collided with all the force they could muster.
The result?
An overwhelmingly destructive soul-crushing slash.
Yet the moment it entered Kae's ten-meter radius, it disappeared as well.
[Kae]: I must admit, that was a remarkable attack. Had Pikra not contained it, thousands of universes might have been destroyed.
Zara and Dai stared in disbelief.
For the first time in their thousand years of life, they felt fear.
Not fear of death.
Fear of the monster standing before them.
Shirin suddenly laughed.
[Shirin]: I see. I think I understand one of your tricks.
She sighed.
[Shirin]: It is the Yeta Shield Defensive Mechanism Technique, isn't it? The technique that erases attacks within a ten-meter radius around your body.
For the first time, Kae looked genuinely interested.
[Kae]: Aren't you perceptive?Yes.That is exactly what it is.I replicated it recently.Sir Gomo was truly a prodigy to devise such a technique centuries ago.I still take pride in having once been his student.Even now, he remains alive and serves as the General of the Immortalus Society.
What?
The trio's shock deepened.
He had been the apprentice of the legendary Gomo Taka?
The longer the battle continued, the more hopeless it became.
Shirin forced out another laugh.
[Shirin]: Then you made a mistake by admitting it.I know how to bypass the Yeta Shield.Either by clashing it with another Yeta Shield or by concentrating a five-hundred-universe-scale Reality Wrap around it.Am I right?
[Kae]: Entirely correct.
Kae answered cheerfully.
[Shirin]: Then I shall defeat you.
She closed her eyes.
[Shirin]: Range Shiftling, Driod Scenezo.
A malicious aura poured from Shirin.
The moment it touched Kae's invisible shield, the Yeta Shield shattered.
[Kae]: That is quite a frightening power to possess.
The shield collapsed.
Immediately, Dai and Zara unleashed another soul-crushing slash.
The attack split Kae in half.
The remaining force tore through Pikra's ground for fifty quintillion light-years.
Even Pikra's legendary terrain suffered catastrophic damage.
Yet the moment Kae was bisected, he reappeared completely unharmed.
Dai (thinking): Impossible! This defies all logic.
Zara (thinking): How absurd can one being be?
[Kae]: That was admirable.You have earned my respect.
Dai rushed forward.
This time he fought barehanded.
The power of his Fate Class coated his fists.
Any successful hit could temporarily nullify the Class abilities of his target.
Zara immediately understood his intention.
She closed the distance.
The moment Dai landed a punch, she would strike.
The problem was simple.
Kae kept dodging.
It wasn't a fight.
It was an adult casually avoiding the swings of a child.
Dai felt utterly humiliated.
[Dai]: Just stand still already! Damn it!
[Kae]: As you wish.
Kae stopped moving.
Dai's fist finally connected.
At that exact moment, Zara's blade pierced through Kae's heart.
Without the Yeta Shield and with his Class suppressed, Kae was no longer untouchable.
Blood trickled down his chest.
Human blood.
Zara (thinking): What...?
He isn't a true Asura?
But he belongs to the Asura Community's rulers...
How?
The answer came in the form of her own death.
Zara had made a Contract with Death.
In exchange for power capable of piercing even Asura rulers, she swore never to strike anyone outside the Asura bloodline.
Kae was not an Asura by birth.
He was human.
He had merely joined the Asura Community fifteen hundred years ago or so.
The contract was broken.
And contracts with Death demanded payment.
Kae's death was erased.
Zara's life was taken instead.
Dai stood frozen.
Mortified.
Kae walked behind him.
The wound in his chest disappeared.
[Kae]: Look at what you have done.
His voice was gentle.
Almost kind.
[Kae]: One careless wish.One childish demand.And now your companion is dead.Had you not insisted on proving yourself, she would still be alive.Can you see her?Can you feel the silence she left behind?
Silence~
[Kae]:Was this not your plan?To suppress my Class and allow her to finish me?Look carefully.This is the result.
Dai's body trembled.
Tears streamed down his face.
[Shirin]: Don't listen to him, Dai!He's manipulating you!He's a master manipulator!This wasn't your fault!
Kae leaned closer.
[Kae]: I was your enemy from the beginning.Yet I did not kill her.Your plan did.The companion who stood beside you for centuries.The one who trusted you.Tell me, Dai.
Kae added more weight to his words.
[Kae]: Do you truly wish to carry that burden for the rest of your life?
Dai collapsed.
[Dai]: That's not it! He's right! I caused her death! If it wasn't for my arrogance, she would still be alive! My life isn't worth anything anymore!
Dai raised his blade.
A single motion.
His head fell.
Silence.
Kae approached Shirin.
Her power required a full minute of concentration to reach maximum reality-wrapping output.
Only 10^-5 seconds had passed since the battle began.
She glared at him with absolute hatred.
[Shirin]: You knew Dai was the emotional one.You exploited that weakness.
Kae nodded.
[Kae]: Many of their techniques required perfect cooperation.That level of synchronization is only born through trust.Through centuries spent together. I merely tested a theory. Unfortunately, my prey possessed a fragile heart.
[Shirin]: You're disgusting.
[Kae]: That is reality.
His answer came instantly.
[Kae]: Reality is rarely fair. Even the Buster Community you serve so faithfully was built upon oppression, sacrifices, and buried truths.A history that erased the greatest hero of its era.
Shadow Lord. You know nothing of him because history itself was rewritten.
[Shirin]: What will you do to me?
[Kae]: You have learned too much. About me. About your Community. Even if you returned, they would eliminate you themselves.Your fate already points toward death.I am merely arriving before it does.
His smile never faded.
[Kae]: Do you have a final wish?
[Shirin]: None.
[Kae]: Very well.
In the next moment, Shirin turned to dust and scattered across the wind.
[Kae]: A rather sad ending.
Kae turned away and began walking through the darkness.
[Kae]: Should I announce the Pikra War already?No.Not yet.There are still five years remaining.Five years from now should be sufficient.That will leave the Sorcery World five years to prepare.
His green eyes shone faintly across the ruined battlefield of Pikra.
To be continued...
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EXTRAS:-
BEST HAND-TO-HAND COMBATANTS
Krishna — Master of numerous martial arts. He can transition between styles effortlessly during combat, making his fighting unpredictable and fluid.
Arun — Knows even more martial arts than Krishna. However, switching between styles is not as seamless and usually requires a brief opening.
Kae — Having lived for over two thousand years, he possesses immense combat experience. He has sparred extensively against fellow rulers to refine his skills.
Shayya — Emperor of the Asura Community and its strongest warrior. Over ten thousand years old. Once rivaled Ashoka, the first leader of the Immortalus Society.
Gomo Taka — The current General of the Immortalus Society. Once regarded as the greatest hand-to-hand fighter of his era. Though slightly past his prime, he remains terrifyingly skilled. In his prime, he could surpass the current Krishna in pure hand-to-hand combat. He is over 4,500 years old and appears around 45.