Chapter 282 ·Turning Point (45)

Turning 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󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂Point (45)

"Ku, huk...!"

I forced out every last breath I'd been holding in from the pain that squeezed my heart as though wringing it dry. I couldn't help it. It was unbearable.

Kiiiing—

My vision warped. Maybe my blood vessels had burst because of the excessive effect of the drug coursing through my system, but even my sight turned red.

The space filled with dust and snow, ice and creep, bio-tissue and eyeballs had always been saturated with a reddish hue, but now it was a complete crimson. The difference was just in the subtlety of the shade.

KOONG━━!

A sensation—not a heartbeat, but as if a giant bell had been struck with a great hammer—slammed directly into my brain. The moment I felt that, I canceled the words I'd been mumbling just a second ago. Had I taken two from the start, I wouldn't have even made it to this point.

'Insane...!'

The only reason I was still conscious was entirely because my body was already under the effects of the stimulant. If I hadn't had a single round of tempering, I might have fainted from shock. Actually, just fainting would have been lucky.

I wouldn't have even known I'd been killed by Cystus. My nervous system would have been destroyed, and I'd have died without even knowing what hit me.

'Hold on.'

I couldn't help partially thinking I'd only been injected a second dose. After experiencing it myself, I understood why Carrot had been so insistent.

Its effect wasn't an addition, but a multiplication. I never imagined the compounded effect would be this severe, and now I was paying the price. Though, honestly, even if I had known, I would have done it anyway.

'Hold on!'

I grit my teeth. With all my remaining strength, I lifted my head. Time had slowed to its absolute limit. Within that, a scene as mysterious as a miracle unfolded.

Eyeballs spawned from the staff scattered, then froze. They stopped mid-glare at me. A new spire began to rise, then stopped. Afterimages, which had been whipping up a storm, also halted right where they were.

「Kr-a-a——」

Cystus, now one with the grotesquely shaped staff, let out a monstrous scream that gradually lost its shape and finally drew out into nothingness. The debris scattered all around, the enemies, the environment, everything I could see was frozen as if looking at a photograph.

'Hold on!!'

I was just as frozen. My consciousness remained, but my body wouldn't respond to it. Yet, amid all that, one sound still rang clear.

The sound of my heartbeat, broken the moment I was injected. It thudded in my head as if being beaten like a drum. It was so intense, I thought my heart might burst.

The die was already cast. If my heart burst, I would kill Cystus before it happened. That was the only way I could escape this wretched ice satellite. At this point, that was all I thought about.

So—

'Move!'

I took a single step forward in frozen time. Even that alone made my muscles scream, but if I had planned to stop after just one step, I wouldn't have even bothered trying.

A single slow step. A second, faster stride. A third, pushing off the ground. Somehow, before I knew it, I was running.

As if Cystus wasn't just a mutated monster, he tried to catch up to my movements, and, as always, his power recognized and surged toward me even faster than he could.

Because of the combat stimulant, my vision narrowed. Things were so blurry it was practically opaque. All I could see was Cystus at the center.

Defying the pressure of countless gazes, dodging the sweeping black hands and the storm of afterimages, I closed the several-meter gap in an instant.

A blink here was truly but a blink of a blink. Even if Cystus foresaw me with precognition, if he couldn't keep up, all he could do was "see"—not block me.

I looked up at Cystus, whose form had grown abnormally large and whose appearance had become monstrous. Just as I read his actions, he read mine. And that was all.

'It's like when I killed Blue-Eye.'

That random, fleeting thought crossed my mind. Back then, Blue-Eye also had this dumbfounded expression, like he never imagined I could get this close.

I thrust my spear at the monster. Cystus, aiming for the opening, swung his now-massive arm to smack aside my rushing spearhead.

It was at that point our mismatched sense of time aligned. I gained momentum, and his reactions sharpened as well.

The ensuing clash. Telekinesis at its limit sent out shockwaves that canceled the force restraining my body. The eyeballs glaring at me exploded.

「Heretic–!」

"Heh... Hehahah... Hehahahah!"

I burst out laughing without meaning to. My body screamed in agony, but for some reason, I couldn't stop giggling. A strangely vivid sense of liberation took over me. Right now, I felt like I could do things I'd never have dared try otherwise.

I didn't bother to stop myself from being flung aside, instead spinning my body with that force. Using the spin, I launched a second stab.

Pitch-black hands, like they'd just crawled out of hell, crossed to block the spearhead. It looked similar to before, but there was one difference: now there was an actual moment to contest brute strength.

Normally, the moment I confirmed my thrust was useless, I'd have to withdraw or evade. That was the only way to avoid being shredded by the black hands and afterimages lying in wait.

But now, I didn't bother. To be precise, I made it so I didn't have to. The second combat stimulant made me feel like the core in my chest held boundless energy.

In truth, I was just forcibly extracting that energy, but whatever the case, based on that overflowing feeling, I was deflecting Cystus' attacks. With senses pushed beyond the limit, I shot down each assault as it came.

Kakakakang—!

My head felt like it might burst, but since it hadn't yet, I consoled myself. I kept swinging, stabbing, parrying with my spear, reminding myself I wasn't being hindered in this fight because of that. Sparks flew like fireworks.

The longer the duel continued, the more relentlessly the eyeballs dotting Cystus' body exploded. Everywhere the spearhead passed split open, exposing writhing, quivering flesh.

Even when it almost immediately regenerated, I didn't give up; if swinging the spear wasn't enough, I'd simply rip the flesh off with my hands. I never stayed still, not even for a second.

Cystus didn't just take it either. He raked my forearms with claws sparking black. Blood spurted. There was no time to use advanced-rank medical supplies to heal, so I let the blood flow freely.

Whenever our attacks missed each other, the aftermath was visited upon the environment. Spires that managed to get back up crumbled, and wherever our blows landed on the ground, the surface cracked wide open, sending shards of ice and creep flying in all directions. Debris and dust shot skyward.

Crash! Kwang!

A clash that seemed never-ending suddenly came to a halt. Slowed time abruptly sped up. My body, unable to withstand the strain, spewed blood almost at the same instant. The effect of the combat stimulant wasn't over, but my body, objecting further abuse, forced an involuntary shutdown.

My hands trembled violently; my vision spun. My heart still pounded like mad, my breathing kept catching, I felt like screaming for help. That clamor pounded ceaselessly in my head.

Just moments ago, I couldn't stop laughing—now, no more. It felt like my skull was splitting. Like snapping out of a hallucination.

Frankly, I'd considered using up to three if I got desperate. I realized it now: that would have been arrogance. That would have killed me for sure.

While I faltered for a moment, Cystus opened his mouth.

「Heh... Heretic, you look in pretty bad shape. A body dependent on stimulants is slowly crumbling.」

But Cystus wasn't doing well either. Each time I stabbed him, I'd burst telekinetic energy inside, stirring his insides and making it clear his regeneration had slowed. Even now, he couldn't rapidly heal the writhing muscle bundles I'd exposed.

"... When a human is hunting a monster, this is nothing."

「You call yourself human? Don't make me laugh. Look around you. I'm not the only one responsible for this mess.」

I glanced around. It was true—nothing was undamaged. But what did that matter? That had nothing to do with being human.

It's not like you're only human if you're weak. A person isn't defined by that. It's about the mind that calls itself human, or humanity, amongst other things. I summed up all of that and replied:

"This conversation's going on too long. You seem shocked that, even in that state, you still can't kill me in one shot?"

Cystus drew ragged breaths at my jeer, even though he looked like he could survive without breathing anymore.

'I can go in one more time.'

I could only enter that slowed time once more. Any more and my body wouldn't last. Even now, my condition barely permitted it, but for now, the stimulant let me postpone the aftereffects. I was selling the future to move in the present.

Not my favorite way, but what could I do? There were no alternatives. I readjusted my grip on the spear, even as my hands tried to go limp.

Cystus was using that moment's stalemate to recover his body. Near-infinite power was flowing into him from the staff, which had transformed him entirely into a monster.

With a constant hum, the staff seemed to gather ambient energy and channel it to him. The staff itself possessed strength as well.

I couldn't let time drag out. Just as I was struggling to move, so was Cystus. The more time passed, the worse it became for me. My core's remaining energy was finite—Cystus didn't have such a cap.

I steadied my quivering body. My mind did not waver. At first, I'd thought him impossible to defeat—but no longer. I could see it. I saw what now resided in Cystus' eyes as he gazed at me.

Kiiiing—!

The moment I kicked off the ground, time itself seemed to slow. That was the signal for the battle to resume. Now, the only presences I could sense were me and Cystus.

No matter how fierce the battle elsewhere, how desperately someone called to me over communications, what would happen if I lost—none of it registered in my head. I recalled only one thing.

'I will win.'

That alone.

「Die!」

Cystus raised his arm. Afterimages converged, forming a single massive shape. It wasn't layered, but I could tell it was no ordinary afterimage.

Even as an afterimage, it cast a huge shadow on the ground. The dust clouds swirling around Cystus and me hadn't even settled. Whenever they tried, another clash would stir another storm.

「Die, I said!」

The massive afterimage crashed down at me. His will to kill me clung to my ankles. I could see he meant to crush me flat; there was no way to change the setup, no chance to coax a different composition. There was no dodging it.

Which meant I could only block—or rather, pierce through it.

Kang—

The rotating spearhead, wreathed in plasma and telekinesis, shone blue like it was wrapped in flames. It met the giant afterimage.

Kang—!

From where spear met afterimage, the latter seemed to become corporeal and shimmer. Then, another huge afterimage overlaid it. The moment they overlapped, the transferred shock multiplied many times over.

Kaaaang—!

With the third afterimage overlapped, I felt as if my body was shattering. I thought I'd break into hundreds, thousands of pieces and leave no trace. My consciousness wavered, threatening to scatter, then clung together again. The shockwave raked my insides; blood dripped from between my tightly clenched teeth. I couldn't breathe.

But I deflected it. I repelled that enormous afterimage, the layered silhouettes, the mass like a meteor.

Ka-ang—!

Unable to withstand the recoil, my spear flew from my hand as the giant afterimage disintegrated into blood-red particles. My hands were shredded, but my legs advanced regardless.

「... This can't be. This can't be—! Why won't you die! Why!!」

Cystus howled. He'd used so much strength, yet now even more power—no, a greater force—gathered around him. Despite our clear difference in strength, he wasn't reassured; his desperation matched mine.

He knew it too. This would be our final clash.

「You trampled my pride! If not for you! If only you weren't here—!」

Even as that beastly cry shook the air, I recollected the spear which had bounced high and was now falling, using telekinesis. Without pause, I drove it in.

Wooong—

The eyeballs attached to Cystus' body instantly regenerated, and the spear's trajectory bent. The spear still traveled straight, but within the field of vision those eyeballs focused on, space had warped.

Covered by a powerful defensive field from the stimulant, the spatial distortion enacted by the eyeballs wouldn't affect me. Even if it did, it couldn't stop me. So apparently they aimed for the spear's outer trajectory.

'You can't block this.'

If space was warped, then I'd just use that. I made the spear's shaft bend with the stored momentum, adjusting the angle of the tip as needed.

As the spear bent and flexed, its tip followed the distorted space, tracing a sinister, snake-like arc.

"... It really is fascinating. I can finally see what you're controlling."

The spear I thrust broke through the spatial distortion and pierced the part I was aiming for: Cystus' head, which acted as a core managing his energy. Even after mutating, his eye socket remained a vulnerable spot, and the spear passed through it straight into the back of his skull.

「Kraaaagh...!」

Had I struck his weakness? Cystus' reaction was more intense than ever. He howled in agony, his huge hands flailing. Seeing that lumbering giant do so was almost pitiable. Pathetically clumsy.

Wham!

I grabbed the hand Cystus tried to seize me with. I matched him in raw power. I thrust the spear deeper, deeper still, aiming to shatter the staff within him.

「I will not die like this! I will not die like this!」

Cystus' bloodshot eyes flashed. The harder he squeezed, the harder it was for me to breathe. I hadn't yet pushed the spear in far enough to break the staff, and my hand gripping his arm was being pushed back.

「I swore to God! That I would bring about an age of purity! That I would never retreat, and that I would protect both our pride!」

"That damned pride!! All because of that damned pride!!"

The spear burrowed deeper. The movement was jerky but it definitely advanced. I forcibly rotated the telekinetic energy wound around the spear, forcing the breach wider.

Fragments of the suit that had armored Cystus got twisted and ground away, and his outer shell ripped apart, sending out dark-red fluid. My helmet, which had protected my head, had long since shattered. Since it crumpled instead of my head, it did its job well.

Just a little further and the spear would penetrate Cystus completely. Cystus, desperate, cried out:

「I will not die here! The one who dies here will be you! That is your fate! We have been promised! If we return this tainted world to purity, if we return our tainted flesh and soul to purity, we will be reborn into beings of purity and attain eternal life! We have waited for that day, we have gladly sacrificed ourselves so that day may come!! Now is that moment!!」

Cystus forcibly moved the arm impaled by my spear. My hand, oozing pus from a burn, couldn't maintain its grip and was forced back. With the spear still embedded, Cystus swung his fist.

Vooom—

A heavy whoosh as his punch tore through the air. I hastily formed a telekinetic defense field to block it—Clang!—but the destructive force shattered it instantly. I collected the scattered energy and wove it like a rope.

Doing my best to keep it from snapping, I wrapped it around his wrist and then yanked it downward to anchor it to the ground. His massive body toppled sideways.

Then Cystus opened his mouth wide, ready to devour me. His jaws spread so far they tore, energy gathering within. The ominous flow made the surroundings shudder.

GOOOOO—!

Red particles and black sparks gathered together, amplifying their force. I could sense what was coming.

It was the energy cannon that Blue-Eye, Chimera, and Maker had used before. Now Cystus was recreating it. At this range, there was no way to dodge. I'd been caught.

I gathered every last bit of strength left in my core. I forced together every frayed strand of muscle fiber and wrapped them in telekinesis. Even if my body wouldn't obey, my will could still move it.

A small orb formed before Cystus' gaping mouth. My instincts screamed at the compressed energy inside—it was deadly.

Uncompressed black sparks leaped around the orb at the same moment—

KWAaaaaaaaaa━!

A red particle energy cannon fired. Its overwhelming destructive force shot forward at full speed, even within slowed time. There was no chance of a head-on defense. All I could attempt was a slight deflection.

I hurled my fist, now containing all my remaining strength, a mass of telekinesis compressed to the limit, at the incoming energy storm.

The two opposing forces met.

'Bend.'

Telekinesis is the power to control. Whether it's an object or a phenomenon, it doesn't matter. But everything has its own resistance, so forcing my will takes a toll—usually more stamina than moving my body physically.

'Bend.'

Telekinesis is the power to control. That's all I needed to think about. If I willed it, it would happen.

'Bend.'

Telekinesis is the power to control. As friction between the two energies turned the air crimson and spread aftereffects in every direction, I wished, with all my being, that my cracking, reforming telekinesis would bend the incoming, straight energy torrent.

Suddenly, blue mingled with the world reddened by my flowing blood. My core, which I thought couldn't output any more psionic energy, suddenly stabilized and output surged.

It was only temporary—I knew that. But because of it, I could take one more step.

"Bend—!"

The massive energy torrent, about to not just push me aside but vaporize my whole body, began to waver with my scream. The anomaly turned to a crack.

The stronger the force, the bigger the crack when it falters.

Twhack—!

The uncontrollably twisted energy beam missed me, shooting skyward instead. Even though the orb hadn't expended all its force, the beam never returned to its path.

The beam pierced the clouds at high altitude, then exploded with a deafening boom and a blinding flash.

Due to overheating, heat waves shimmered in the area. Ice covering the tundra all melted at once and white steam billowed, while Cystus' eyes filled with horror.

His eyes now screamed wordlessly that he should have killed me when we first met, that his arrogance back then had led to this outcome. That I had trampled his pride.

"I was curious, whether your body or mine was tougher."

「I—I am—the ruler of a new era—Purebloods like us will be reborn as beings of purity, immortal—!」

"... Looks like my body's tougher. Now, die."

「You monster—bastard—!」

I brought down my fist on Cystus' head, now in a temporary groggy state after expending too much energy.

Pung—

That was the end.

Not only his upper body, but even the staff within was blown away with an insignificant sound.

"... I'm a human, because I think so."

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