Chapter 302

Chapter 302: Chapter 302

"I may not be good at much else, but I’ve always been pretty confident when it comes to fighting."

Kiriya did not stand on ceremony.

He tossed his sheathed sword to Jeanne and rolled his shoulders, loosening up as though he were about to begin an ordinary spar.

Then something occurred to him.

"You just finished a fight. Want to rest first?"

"No need."

Esdeath dismissed the suggestion without a second thought.

"That little bit of fighting didn’t affect me at all."

Having spent years hunting and battling all kinds of Danger Beasts across frozen wilderness, Esdeath had developed extraordinary stamina and endurance.

When it came to fighting for extended periods, she had absolute confidence in herself.

Ryuu’s expression darkened when she heard that, and her fist unconsciously tightened.

’This woman... is irritating.’

"Fine. Come on, then."

Kiriya raised one hand and beckoned her forward.

At the same time, his eyes quietly transformed into the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Even with his current strength, Esdeath was someone he had to take at least somewhat seriously.

Whoosh!

Before his words had even finished, Esdeath crossed the distance like a gale.

Her slender fist came straight at him with the force of a siege cannon.

BANG!

Kiriya extended his right hand and caught it cleanly.

His body shifted only slightly from the impact before becoming completely still.

And without Esdeath noticing, a Flying Thunder God mark no larger than a grain of rice had already been imprinted on her palm.

"What?"

Esdeath tried to wrench her hand free.

It did not move.

Kiriya’s fingers clamped around her wrist like an iron vise.

’The difference between our strength is this large?’

For the first time, Esdeath’s considerable pride took a genuine blow.

"That’s it?"

Kiriya smiled faintly and released her, casually gesturing for her to continue.

The sheer contempt packed into that simple response instantly filled Esdeath’s anger meter to the top.

"Hah!"

"Haah!"

Her entire body kicked into motion, transforming into an efficient machine built solely for battle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists, palms, elbows, knees, kicks—

Every strike carried enough force to crack stone and shatter rock.

Driven at full power by Esdeath, the attacks merged into a relentless current of destruction, enough to overwhelm almost any ordinary Level 5 fighter.

Ryuu watched with growing alarm.

’She was still holding back that much when she fought me?’

But Ryuu was hardly the only one astonished.

Esdeath was equally shocked by Kiriya.

The boy looked around the same age as her, yet his movements were frighteningly seasoned and refined.

And those eyes...

They seemed almost capable of seeing straight through a person.

Again and again, Kiriya read her intentions before she could fully commit to them and moved first.

She launched a lightning-fast straight punch.

He slipped past it effortlessly.

Esdeath spotted an opening and began whipping a leg toward him, only for Kiriya to tap the top of her foot before the kick had even properly started, breaking her balance and ruining the attack before it formed.

It was as though... every move she made had already been predicted.

"You really are strong!"

The longer they fought, the more astonished Esdeath became.

But rather than discouraging her, the suppression only drove her fighting spirit higher.

’Yes. Exactly like this.’

Her smile widened.

’The stronger the opponent, the more worthwhile it is to defeat them.’

Just imagining Kiriya lying beneath her foot while she thoroughly dominated him made Esdeath tremble with excitement.

If she wanted to win, then she would simply have to squeeze more out of herself.

Not enough strength?

Increase it. Refine the movement. Concentrate the force more efficiently.

Not fast enough?

Move faster!

Her timing was lacking?

Then observe every detail of her opponent’s movement, focus harder, and predict his next action!

Faster.

Stronger.

More precise.

Esdeath’s hand-to-hand combat ability was visibly improving as the battle continued.

"We really did run into someone extraordinary."

Jeanne could only smile helplessly.

’She’s actually this talented?’

A fierce determination rose in Ryuu’s heart.

’I absolutely refuse to lose to her.’

Kiriya kept a perfectly calm expression.

Internally, however—

’What the hell?! Is she cheating?!’

Watching someone improve at such an absurd speed, Kiriya suddenly found himself wondering which one of them was supposed to be the person with the unfair advantage.

’As expected of the undisputed monster at the top of this world. Esdeath really is ridiculous.’

BANG!

That brief lapse in concentration created an opening.

Esdeath’s fist landed squarely against Kiriya’s chest and sent him flying backward.

"You actually let your mind wander during a fight?"

Esdeath showed no trace of mercy.

"You really don’t know what the word ’death’ means, do you?"

That was simply how battle worked.

Once an opponent stumbled, you pressed the advantage and beat them down before they could recover.

Esdeath raised her right leg high overhead and brought it down like a battle-axe.

CRACK!

Her heel smashed into the ground.

Ice, dirt, and shattered stone erupted upward like a breaking wave, while the tremendous force split open a crack as wide as a man’s waist that stretched far into the distance.

Yet there was no satisfaction on Esdeath’s face.

For one simple reason.

She had missed.

"So you were still hiding something."

Esdeath slowly turned toward the young man standing behind her.

Her voice became low.

"If I’m not mistaken... you haven’t been fighting seriously this entire time, have you?"

The burst of speed he had just displayed was so fast that she had been completely unable to react.

It was on another level entirely compared with everything he had shown before.

Which meant that during their earlier exchanges, he had not merely been holding back.

He had been holding back an absurd amount.

The realization infuriated Esdeath.

Ever since leaving her tribe, she had fought countless battles both large and small.

She was always the one to toy with her prey.

Since when did anyone get to toy with her?

But that anger was immediately followed by an unprecedented surge of excitement and desire for domination.

"Yes... that’s exactly what makes it worthwhile."

Esdeath slowly licked her lips, like a predator staring at particularly tempting prey.

"The stronger and more dangerous you are, the more satisfying you’ll be to conquer."

Her eyes gleamed.

"Seeing you like this only makes me want to dominate you even more."

Something about her tone and expression sent an involuntary chill through Kiriya’s lower back.

’Of course you’d react like this. You realize how huge the gap is, and your first thought isn’t to run—it’s that you want to conquer me even more?’

"That’s right."

Esdeath lowered her stance, every muscle in her body tightening like a leopard preparing to spring.

"That’s who I am."

She grinned.

"If you have more power, hurry up and show me. Otherwise, you might not get another chance."

"Well, if you insist..."

Kiriya smiled.

"Guess I’ll have to show you something real."

His gaze sharpened.

"Careful now."

"Don’t die."

"Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder—Open!"

"What are you talking ab—"

Esdeath’s reply was cut off as a violent storm blasted into her face.

Her eyes widened.

"This..."

She stared at Kiriya.

Blue energy burned around his entire body like blazing flame.

Esdeath began trembling.

That sensation of danger.

That overwhelming strength...

Whoosh!

Kiriya vanished.

The next instant, he appeared behind her.

Esdeath reacted purely on instinct and spun with a crushing punch, driving her fist straight through Kiriya’s figure.

"This is... an afterimage?"

The realization had barely entered her mind when another terrifying presence appeared behind her.

An unprecedented sense of danger raced up Esdeath’s spine like an electric current.

She whipped around—

and saw only a fist rapidly filling her entire field of vision.

For one surreal instant, it felt as though the entire world itself were crashing toward her.

Then—

Everything shattered.

ROOOAR—!

A deafening roar tore across the frozen wilderness as the force of Kiriya’s punch erupted forward.

Wherever the resulting blast traveled, whether it was the thick ice covering the land or the soil and stone buried beneath it, everything was ripped apart, blown away, and pulverized into nothing.

The destruction continued all the way to the edge of sight.

Only when the last pieces of dirt began falling back to the ground did Esdeath finally come back to herself.

She slowly turned her eyes toward the fist stopped only inches beside her.

"What kind of fist technique... was that?"

Kiriya grinned.

"You wanna learn it?"

"I’ll teach you."

Esdeath slowly turned around.

Her eyes followed the several-meter-deep trench stretching across the frozen earth until it disappeared into the distant horizon.

For a long moment, she said nothing.

Then she let out a quiet sigh.

"I lost."