[Raul PoV]
He launched a punch toward my head with incredible speed, but I rushed to use Accel magic and ducked to evade.
— Swooshh!
I could clearly hear the gust of wind from his punch passing just above my head.
"Temper..."
Activating strengthening magic in my right hand, I struck his knee hard with my fist. However, the two-meter-tall giant didn't budge at all.
"Hahaha! That attack of yours only tickles me!"
Looking up, the enemy I was fighting gave me a deathly grin as he raised both hands, joining them together like an axe. I scrambled to dodge the strike he was about to unleash.
"Axe Fist!"
The man brought his joined hands down to crush my head. Fortunately, I managed to dodge far to the side just in time using Asphalt magic.
"Hoo~ You can use that magic, I see..." Adrien muttered, sounding impressed. "At such a young age, there are two destinies you shall walk: either you die by my hand before your potential blooms into something terrifying, or you kill me and become a figure renowned for your combat prowess one day."
What he said was true. Usually, only talented individuals destined to shine one day can master this magic before reaching the age of 20. However, I wasn't doing this because of Raul's raw talent, but because of my knowledge of the magics I developed myself as the creator of the magic mechanics in this world.
"Very well, I won't insult you by holding back!" Adrien shouted, shifting into a Brawler's stance.
His hands and feet began to emit particles of red light...
In the blink of an eye, the enemy was already in front of me, poised to land a blow.
"Phantom Impact!"
I immediately activated Repel to absorb part of the damage and tried to dodge using Asphalt again.
— Bam!
However, I was shocked to find that I could already feel his attack even though his fist hadn't made direct contact with my body yet. After taking a heavy hit, my body was sent flying until I slammed into the wall of a nearby building.
"Ughhh... That actually hurt," I groaned in pain, clutching my shoulder as I tried to stand up. "If I had been a second late in activating Repel, that impact would have crushed my shoulder."
But what exactly happened just then?
My temporary theory was that his Mana Spectrum was so vast that he could strike an enemy even before his fist made physical contact. If this was true, he could utilize a Mana Spectrum spanning thirty centimeters! That is ten times wider than that of the Holy Knight I fought previously.
It seemed this man had specifically trained his fighting style around the Mana Spectrum. That was the only reason his could be this formidable.
"Don't lose focus while fighting me!"
I had no time to continue analyzing; the man dashed toward me again using Asphalt. Drawing my sword and coating it with Avilar magic to sharpen the edge, I also lunged toward him to conduct a small experiment.
"Phantom Impact!"
The giant launched a diagonal hook from bottom to top, while I countered with a diagonal slash from top to bottom.
— Tang!
Our attacks clashed, even though my blade hadn't touched his massive hand yet. My body was propelled into the air due to the massive gap in our strength. Looking back, I saw the 30-meter-high earth wall created by the mages to trap the Draconian forces.
I twisted my body and stabbed my sword into the earth wall to prevent myself from falling. However, I saw Adrien smashing the ground beneath him with his hands, breaking it into smaller chunks.
I swung my body and leaped to the top of the wall to prepare for the next attack.
"Meteor Rising!"
The giant began hurling those earth chunks up at me. Activating Temper on the sword I held, I began destroying the projectiles streaking toward me, slicing them into small pieces.
But the next thing hurtling toward me wasn't a chunk of earth—it was the giant man himself, wearing a wide grin as if he were having the time of his life.
"Meteorite Punch!"
I tried to dodge, but the Mana Spectrum around the man's hand brushed against the sword I was holding, forcing it out of my grip and sending it tumbling down. Now, I stood face-to-face with Adrien atop the earth wall.
"Ghost of Cataluna," Adrien called out, smiling at me. "Do you like flying in the sky?"
I remained silent, not responding as I focused entirely on his next move. Sometimes, people ask their enemies questions just to make them let their guard down and lose focus so they are easier to attack.
The moment I saw his leg twitch, I immediately jumped backward. Sure enough, Adrien lunged forward with lightning speed, reaching out to grab me with his massive hands.
"Cih!"
He looked annoyed at failing to catch me. However, his assault didn't end there. Both his hands and feet glowed again after activating Temper and Accel. He then began attacking me with a rapid-fire barrage of punches.
Left, right, right, and left. I tried to evade his strikes as quickly as possible to avoid his wide Mana Spectrum.
"How about this! Liger Bomb!"
He launched a straight punch toward my face, faster than before. I ducked slightly to evade and delivered a Counter Punch toward his solar plexus.
— BAM!
I put all my strength into my fist this time. However, his body didn't budge, as if he hadn't felt my attack at all.
"Hey, don't you have a strong special attack or something?" the giant in front of me asked.
Ughhh... This is because I made this Raul character too weak. Besides, it's not that my attack is too weak, it's that your body is incredibly tough.
But while I was retorting in my head, I suddenly felt an excruciating pain in my right ribs. The man kicked me so hard I was sent flying, crashing through the wall of one of the town's buildings.
"Cough! Cough!"
I spat blood onto the floor of the building. None of my attacks were working. He seemed to have a Profound Codex—a sort of powerful defense protecting his body from external attacks. Furthermore, his strikes were fast and lethal. If I took a direct hit from his punch, the injury would be fatal, likely shattering my bones.
To bypass that defense, I had to use the Mana Spectrum in my attacks, it seemed. My Mana Spectrum was still incredibly small, but there was no harm in trying rather than being pummeled continuously. I had to get used to using it in a real fight like this.
— CRAASSHH!
The roof of the building where I was suddenly collapsed. A massive man with a thick beard landed right in front of me.
"Come on! Show me your true strength so this fight gets more interesting!"
Ptooey!
I spat the blood that had gathered in my mouth onto the floor and stood up to face him again. He smiled once more; his hands and feet glowed, signaling he had activated Accel and Temper.
I did the same and stared at him coldly, signaling that the real battle was about to begin. We both dashed toward each other.
"Gloria Punch!"
Adrien launched a rapid five-punch combo at me. Although his attacks were lethal, his speed was still below Elena's slashing speed. I evaded his punches with large strides, as I also had to stay clear of his Mana Spectrum.
"Arrrghhh! Liger Bomb!"
He launched the same attack as before. I evaded again by ducking my head, then tried to close in and launched an Uppercut toward the giant's chin with a small hop.
— BAAMM!
This time, he actually stepped back from the impact. But he recovered quickly and stood tall as if nothing had happened.
"Hahaha! I felt it! I felt it!" He laughed uproariously, looking at me with an ecstatic grin. "Even if it was just a little..."
Though the impact was small, at least I could wound him with my tiny Mana Spectrum.
"Even if your Mana Spectrum is amazing, your Unreality Field seems very weak," I told him.
A person's Unreality Field can minimize the impact of Mana Spectrum attacks or enemy magic received. That was why, even with my small Mana Spectrum, my previous attack managed to affect Adrien.
"I don't need an Unreality Field because I have a strong defense!"
Adrien dashed forward again. I raised both hands, clenching them at nose-height like a boxer.
"Dragon Lariat!"
He swung a right hook at me, but I nimbly dodged and moved quickly to the right side of Adrien's body.
— Bam! Bam! Bam!
Three times I struck his left ribs with my right hand, making Adrien grunt slightly. However, I couldn't afford to be greedy and immediately dodged, as Adrien spun his body, intending to crush my head with a left-hand Back Fist. I avoided it by crouching low.
"Radical Blow!"
I launched a combo of strikes at him. He took all my punches as if they wouldn't wound him at all. I ended the combo by hitting his chin as hard as possible with an Uppercut. After receiving the barrage of blows, the man was pushed back.
But I wasn't done yet. Activating Asphalt and Temper in my legs, I ran toward him at full speed and leaped to launch a Flying Kick to the man's face.
— Bam!
His body was sent flying out through the building's glass with a loud crash, falling from the top of the structure.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Both my hands were throbbing with pain, even though I was the one who hit him hard just now. His body was so tough it felt like I was punching a giant boulder. I was certain that last attack wasn't enough to defeat him.
Walking toward the shattered glass, I saw both sides still fighting fiercely. However, I couldn't find any sign of Adrien as far as the eye could see. Could he have switched targets to the Imperial forces here?
Given his personality, it seemed unlikely he would flee from a fight. I jumped from the building and landed on the ground; the sounds of battle were everywhere. I looked at the spot where Adrien should have fallen; a hole had been created there, making me suspicious.
"Could he be—"
I turned around. The enemy I was fighting earlier emerged from the ground, reaching out his hands to grab me. I tried to dodge using Asphalt, but I was too late; the man managed to grab my left leg.
"Got you!"
The giant then lifted me up and slammed me into the ground with immense force. My body felt crushed, as if I had been hit by a truck from my previous world.
"Not yet, not yet!"
He then slammed my body into the walls of the surrounding buildings. My vision began to blur from the repeated impacts to my head.
"Are you enjoying this, huh!?"
Damn, he's incredibly talkative for a fighter.
He didn't stop there. After weakening my body by slamming it against the buildings, he threw me into the air. Below, he settled into a stance, preparing to strike. His hands began to glow; this was going to hurt.
"Roaring Tiger Blow!"
As my body leveled with him, I activated Repel and my Unreality Field to absorb part of the attack.
— BAAAAMMMM!!!!
His punch hit me squarely. My body was sent flying far, smashing through several buildings. I could feel my right shoulder and several toes break from that powerful strike.
The Unreality Field minimized the damage from the magic he used and the Mana Spectrum, while the Repel magic reduced the physical impact on my body.
All my attacks had no significant impact on the man. Even using all the power I had, it meant nothing if I couldn't wound him at all. This was one of my weaknesses—lacking the powerful attacks common to most protagonists in a story. I supposed I'd have to find Evelyn—the sword that would suit me later—so my attacks could wound people with strong defenses like him.
However, I at least had to unlock my Awakening to seize the sword I wanted from the woman guarding it.
— CRAASSSHH!
I saw the man land from the sky at my location.
"Hey, are you dead yet?" the man asked.
I tried to get up; my right arm hung limp, completely unmovable. There were only two ways I could defeat him in this fight.
The first way: attack him with Reject Impact so he couldn't use magic and deactivate his Profound Codex, which made his defense so strong. However, if I did this, I wouldn't be able to use both my hands. It was impossible to win against a high-level Brawler like him using only my legs. I would only die if I forced the fight.
The second way had a high success rate for killing him but also a high failure rate. It would be a Win or Die situation where I had to risk everything.
But I had made my decision.
"Hooo~ Even in that condition, your fighting spirit hasn't faded, young man," the man said, settling into a stance again.
I had to bait him into using the strongest punch he had.
I started running away from him, but he didn't chase me at all; instead, he focused on gathering Mana in his massive hands. It seemed he was going to launch a long-range attack... A shockwave produced by his punch, perhaps? Or would he use his Earth-natured Mana?
"Galaxy Impact!"
He threw a punch toward me from a distance. I rushed to leap far forward using Sartaxio magic to evade.
— BOOOMMM!!!
A violent gale was created; the buildings behind me were leveled by the giant's attack. But he didn't stop there, settling back into his stance to launch the same attack again.
"Galaxy Impact!"
Again, I struggled to evade his attack by jumping to the side. The deafening roar of buildings collapsing from his strike filled the air.
"Cih, you're quite agile despite your condition," he remarked, sounding annoyed. "In that case, I'll beat you with my strongest punch directly."
This is it...
Unique vapors suddenly poured from his body. The muscles and veins in his arms began to bulge, as if he had activated a powerful buff.
"RAARRGGHHHHH!" He roared while focusing a massive amount of Mana in his right hand.
His hand began to emit a blood-red Mana aura. His appearance now was like the final phase of a video game boss.
"Cast Off My Wrath..."
I began chanting to use one of the Profound Codices I possessed.
"Clothe Me With Rage... And Turn My Enemy Into Nothingness..."
My left hand began to be shrouded in a black Mana aura.
"Hah! No matter how much you increase your power, your attack won't affect me!" the man shouted, ready to strike. "The attack you receive from me this time will kill you instantly, even if you try to block it with your Unreality Field and weak defense magic!"
He then dashed toward me with incredible speed using Asphalt. I did the same, running toward him to launch my attack.
30 meters...
20 meters...
10 meters...
The distance was so close I could feel the immense Mana pressure from his right hand. However, I had to stay focused so the plan I made to defeat him could succeed perfectly.
"Die! Dynamite Punchhh!!!"
"Full Vengeanceee!!!"
We both launched a punch, but I shifted my body slightly to the left. My fist struck the area near the man's elbow, causing his own right fist to pivot and slam directly into his own left chest.
— BAMMMMMM!!!!
The armor he wore shattered, and his right hand pierced through his own left chest, sending the giant to his knees. Blood began to pour, soaking his weakening body.
"My attack might not have affected your strong defense..." I muttered.
— Brak!
His body then collapsed completely, unable to withstand the wound he received from his own strike.
"But your strongest attack could destroy your own body..."
My plan... succeeded...
I... won...
"Hahaha... What a terrifying monster..." he muttered weakly. "You didn't even use all your strength, yet you could still defeat me, young man..."
He then closed his eyes and breathed his last breath in this world.
"It was an honor to fight you, Ghost of Cataluna..."