Chapter 246: Woman Like a Dragon (Part 3)
Blood splattered, and the air was filled with swirling blood droplets.
There was fresh blood spewed by Shiki, and there was blood brought out from Araya's body by the knife.
Both Araya's kick and Shiki's blade carried deadly force, but despite the formidable strength of the two far surpassing that of ordinary people, their lives were not taken away. They endured the impact on their bodies and continued the brutal exchange of attacks with a self-sacrificial momentum.
At this point, neither of them had any room to hold back.
In Araya's eyes, perhaps Shiki's body would become tattered, but it didn't matter how it looked on the outside. As long as he could maintain a body that allowed him to move, he only needed the body connected to the "Root." In contrast, his own body could be discarded. As long as he left his head and replaced it with Shiki's body, it would suffice.
On the other hand, in Shiki's view, Araya's life was resilient, unlike that of a human. Under the premise of enduring multiple fatal injuries without dying and in a situation where the "line of death" couldn't be captured, the only hope of truly killing this terrifying man was to leave as many wounds as possible.
To kill you!
No words were spoken, but the meaning was conveyed through their gazes, movements, willpower, and spirit.
A blade, colder than the moonlight, embedded itself in Araya's left shoulder.
Araya's remaining left hand struck Shiki's right shoulder.
Accompanied by the distinct sound of bones cracking, powdered blood splattered abundantly, soaking the magus' black robe and staining the girl's pure white kimono.
Driven by bloodlust, the old man and the young girl exchanged one arm.
Shiki gripped the knife with her left hand. Although the speed of her attacks was not as swift as before, her swordsmanship remained undeniably precise. She aimed to dismember Araya before her.
Souren Araya showed no intention of retreating. With his hands gone, he still had his legs and his head. More importantly, he had a final bounded field in place.
Perhaps this last bounded field couldn't stop the ancient blade with its long history, but as long as it could delay Shiki's movements, even if it was just for a second, it would be enough for Araya to secure the victory.
Although this might be the worst possible way to handle things, in the end, the actions taken are the same—it's just that when failure comes, there's no insurance left. But it is precisely because of the fear of taking real action that one becomes weak. If both Shiki's had been killed from the beginning, it wouldn't have come to this point of being hunted.
At this moment, Araya had already forgotten the presence of anyone else around him. His eyes were fixed solely on Shiki Ryougi.
Golden, floating Sanskrit rings appeared beneath Araya's feet as the final bounded field opened.
Shiki's foot happened to step on one of the Sanskrit rings, inevitably affected by the bounded field. Although the bounded field was quickly cut apart by the sharpness of the Kanesada Kuji, it was too late to stop Araya's movement.
The tip of the black leather shoe firmly collided with Shiki's knee, at the connection point between her thigh and calf, immediately shattering the fragile patella.
Without the support of her knee, Shiki could no longer maintain her balance. She swayed and fell forward, presenting her abdomen to Araya's feet.
Araya didn't waste the opportunity he had obtained after much effort. Like a kick breaking through the sky, he mercilessly struck Shiki's chest.
Even in such dire circumstances, Shiki didn't forget to counterattack. She swung one final slash.
This slash poured all of the Shiki's strength into it. It cut into Araya's right chest and continued to his right abdomen, almost severing Araya's body in two.
The old and the young, man and woman, black and white, magus and swordswoman, all tumbled to the ground.
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A monster emerged silently from the shadows and struck Alba's lower back.
The monster didn't appear large, but its strength was formidable. With just one collision, it sent Abla, weighing at least 70 kilograms, off the ground, reaching a height of three meters.
Alongside the sound of impact, there was also a faint "crack," as if a bone had broken.
What bones are in the human waist?
The answer is only one—vertebrae. The shadow monster mercilessly shattered Alba's spine.
Don't forget, that Shinji and Sakura are disciples of Scáthach. Although their main focus is on rune magic, they haven't skipped the hellish training that Scáthach's disciples must go through, which includes getting beaten up now and then.
By enduring numerous beatings, they naturally learn which parts of the human body are resilient and which are vulnerable. The waist and abdomen, which lack rib protection and contain various vital organs, are the most difficult to defend and highly fragile areas.
An injury to the waist and abdomen can range from hindering movement to direct death, making it an ideal target for defeating enemies. Having embraced Scáthach's teachings of "victory above all," Sakura has long abandoned naivety and weakness. She struck without hesitation, inflicting severe injuries on Alba and eliminating any thoughts of escape.
Due to the existence of magic circuits and magic crests, a magus' vitality is much stronger than that of an ordinary person, and their pain tolerance is similarly enhanced.
Despite having his right hand twisted and his spine shattered, Alba managed to stay conscious. He struggled to focus his vision, wanting to understand what was obstructing him.
However, once he saw clearly, he would have preferred to remain ignorant and simply faint. That way, he wouldn't have to endure another blow.
"That, that is... a shadow creature... Shadow Apostle!!!"
As one of the modern magus who primarily focused on rune magic aside from their reverence for ancient magecraft in "Wandering Sea," Alba was well aware of the magecraft Sakura was employing.
The Shadow Apostle is one of the high-level rune magics.
The classification of rune magic is mostly determined by the runes used. Low-level rune magic spells, such as "Rainbow Missiles" or "Ice Pillar Blade," are composed of the "Derivative Twenty-Four Runes." High-level rune magic requires the inclusion of the "Original Eighteen Runes," while grand sorceries surpassing high-level magecraft must consist entirely of the "Original Runes."
Since the incantation includes the Original Runes, the effect of the magecraft is naturally much stronger.
The principle of the Shadow Apostle is to invoke and command shadow creatures using rune symbols imbued with special power.
The creature Sakura manipulates, resembling a jellyfish, is one of the most common types of shadow creatures, with a strength equivalent to an elite Dragon Tooth Warrior. However, due to the unique nature of shadow beings being able to lurk within shadows, the practical evaluation of the Shadow Apostle exceeds that of Dragon Tooth Warriors, and the difficulty of magecraft is likewise increased.
To Alba's knowledge, there is no runic magus in this world capable of using Shadow Apostles.
"Ahahaha, impossible, impossible. I must be dreaming."
Cornelius Alba, who hasn't even fully mastered the "Secondary Twenty-Four Runes" and can't even perform the most basic rune magic, was completely devastated and finally began to escape from reality.
Sakura ignored Alba's pitiful state. This loli, who stood at the pinnacle of rune magic but was completely unaware of it, focused on commanding the Shadow Apostle. In the instant Aruba landed, she followed up with another collision, which is the only attack method of the jellyfish-like creature.
"I promised Touko-nee and Big Brother that I would teach you a lesson with the new magecraft I learned, you hentai(Stalker). And I did it!"
Alba's eyes rolled back, and he almost passed out.
PS: Shadow Apostles are similar to ordinary assassins. They excel at surprise attacks from behind but are not particularly formidable in combat. If Alba had time to prepare, one or two fire magic spells would be enough to deal with them. But who made Alba get beaten by Touko first, then by Fujino, and just when he finally managed to escape, he got hit by Sakura. It's even worse than Tokiomi.
PS2: Alba, why did you have to provoke the whole family of designated seals? Couldn't you have picked someone else to mess with?
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