Chapter 212

"YES! YES! YES! This is the feeling! THIS IS THE FEELING!!!"

Igor raised his head to face Atid, his palm covering one half of his face. Even as blood leaked out of his mouth, his singular visible crimson eye did little to hide his excitement.

"Give me more…"

His power spiked up even more.

"Give…me…MOREEEEEE!!!!!!"

GRUUUUU!

.

|DxD|

.

A few moments earlier…

.

High up in the skies, Nandi and Shiva watched Igor, the former with obvious intrigue while the latter seemed to be in contemplation. Truth be told, not just them, but everyone observing this fight was quite astounded.

Both these boys were less than twenty-years-old, yet they already achieved a level of power that took most of them hundreds or even thousands of years to obtain. No matter how the other Supreme Class entities tried to keep stoic faces, their awe and surprise could not be hidden.

For the rest of the surviving army observing, they were thankfully protected from feeling the overwhelming power those two released, especially Igor. This type of pressure wasn't something they could withstand, but the lack of it did not prevent the admiration every survivor felt.

"Oh my. This is such an intriguing state. Don't you think so, Lord Shiva?"

"..."

Shiva didn't reply immediately. Instead, he quietly observed Igor. He looked past the redhead's manic appearance and peered into his body.

And what he saw surprised him.

"He's growing stronger."

"""?!"""

The people surrounding them couldn't help but feel shock at Shiva's words. Many of them didn't look deeply. But once they did, their eyes widened even further. It was true. Igor was getting stronger, and he seemed to get stronger with every hit he received.

"He is indeed growing stronger, my lord. If this rate continues, his power might very well double within the next hour. As for whether it will be a permanent increase, we can only wait."

"..."

Shiva knew Nandi already had the answer. But he was indeed curious. As it stood, he could infer that…

[Dimori's power was already twenty-percent higher than his previous state. The increase is slow, but it jumps slightly whenever Atid strikes-]

"[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]"

With slightly widened eyes, Shiva watched as Atid achieved a transcended state of speed.

[Oh?]

He could see Atid landing numerous punches all across Igor's body. No matter how fast Atid was, Shiva could see him perform each of those punches before finally retreating to launch one final punch to Igor's heart.

Shiva watched as Igor began to stagger forward, the redhead's eyes growing lifeless.

[Hmm. I doubt Dimori will come back from…this…]

Logically, Igor shouldn't have survived this. That punch, while it didn't obliterate his heart, completely shut it down. But out of nowhere, the surging demi-ki in his body suddenly flooded his heart. Not only did it repair it, it also made it stronger.

[Evolution?]

Not just his heart, but his entire body grew stronger. Just from this, Shiva knew that Atid's previous attack would not work as well if he used the same intensity. But the most surprising thing that Shiva saw, something that almost made him throw away his dignity as a god, was how Igor's power suddenly jumped to 160x his base power from the previous 120x.

GRUUUU!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It wasn't just him who saw it. Everyone else did. Some of them couldn't hide their shocked gazes.

"Give…me…MOREEEEEE!!!!!!"

GRUUUUU!

"..."

Shiva was glad he did not voice his doubt of Igor surviving.

.

|DxD|

.

"[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]"

It grated Atid to admit it, but Igor was adapting and if it continued, his defeat would be imminent. Over ten minutes had gone by since Igor's power increased and after using [The Zone] two more times, its effectiveness was diminishing.

[Damn hack.]

His stamina had increased numerous folds compared to three years ago. But it still didn't equate to this stamina freak in front of him.

"[BOOST!]"

It didn't mean he would give up.

Psshuuaaa!

With the thrusters behind him working at their maximum efficiency, he rushed forward at speeds Igor couldn't react to.

Su!

[One last try…]

"[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]"

Atid's power surged as it increased a thousand times over. He could only hold this much power for a few moments at best so he had to be quick.

[I am one with the world.]

As he entered the Zone, Igor's elbow that was coming for him suddenly froze. Without hesitation, he struck him.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

He didn't hold back. With complete ruthlessness, he struck Igor in all his vital spots not with the intent to incapacitate, but to kill him. It certainly wasn't because he hated Igor, but because he knew that nothing short of death would put him down.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

He stretched out the duration for as long as he could, each hit becoming more powerful than the next. As he neared his limit, he reeled his fist back. But this time, he didn't aim for the heart.

Suuuuuuu…

He aimed for the neck.

Gu! …*SHATTER!*

As the colour of the world began to fade in, Atid felt confident in his victory, especially as Igor remained frozen on the spot, trails of blood leaking through his lips.

Slowly, Atid felt the remainder of his boosted power fade away. Out of no desire for any last-ditch surprises, he placed a few hundred metres of space between them.

Su!

But he was assured of his victory. Igor's aura was weak. The injuries were so grievous that it would be easier to resurrect him than heal him.

Gradually, Igor fell on one knee. Atid admired his tenacity and desire not to lose, but it was hopeless. He had…wait a minute.

"..."

Why was his aura not…fading?

Su Su Su Su Su Su Su! Su! Su! Su! Su! Su! Su!

It wasn't getting weaker. In fact, it was getting…stronger?!

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

He survived that?! Atid couldn't let him stand up. If he stood up, then …

"NO!"

"[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]"

Psshuaaa!

Rushing at full speed, Atid intended to deliver one last attack. He couldn't let him get up again otherwise, his chances of winning would completely evaporate. He had Igor on the ropes. If he could use his Zone technique again, he was sure he would be able to fell this stubborn behemoth.

[Just one more! One more!]

Unfortunately, he was too late. Just as Atid got within three metres of him, he was repelled by a rapid surge of power.

GRUUUUU!

As Igor's power rose once more, the force of the pressure he exerted sent Atid flying backwards. Flipping back in midair, Atid landed on his feet, but the damage had already been done.

"No…"

Igor's power was skyrocketing. The massive amount of energy he was releasing acted like a powerful barrier that would prevent anyone from getting close.

"Damnit…"

Blood covered Igor's chest like someone threw paint on him. His entire jawline was dyed red all the way to his neck. Several parts of his body had splotches of red beneath the skin, a sign of internal bleeding.

SU SU SU SU SU SU SU SU

But as his power grew, those injuries faded like they never existed.

"HAAAAAAAA!"

He shouted towards the skies as a violent curtain of crimson shrouded him. His power had increased over 200x his base state, yet it showed no signs of stopping. Having endured such a devastating attack and survived triggered his evolution multiple times over.

"No. I can't lose. I can't lose!!!"

Atid's grievances aired themselves out in the face of this predicament. He didn't hate Igor. He hated his weakness. He hated that after all the work he did, after all the resources he's been given, and after all the guidance he's received, he still came up short.

"I'm unwilling!!"

A green aura flashed around him as the emerald gem on his left hand glowed ominously. In the face of Igor's rising power, Atid refused to acknowledge defeat.

Gritting his teeth in mild fury, he took a glance at Igor before resolving himself.

"I…I who am about to awaken-"

{Don't do it, son.}

"..."

Atid momentarily froze as he heard Indra's voice in his mind. He did not expect his father would interfere like this. But…even if his father was advising him to stop, what was he expected to do against the figure clouded in a violent storm of energy?

{Son. Your state of mind is not suitable for the Juggernaut Drive. You will lose yourself the moment you enter it and not only will Igor eventually defeat you, you will lose at least a century of your lifespan. Do truly want to take such a needless risk?}

"..."

Atid had no reply. It was true that if he wasn't focused, he would lose himself to the power. But he was desperate. He needed the power brought by the Juggernaut Drive.

{What do you expect me to do then, father? Without it, then-}

{Son. I believe in you. Trust me when I tell you you're so close to a change you don't even realise it. Believe not only in your gear's strength, but in yours as well. I promise you the results will please you.}

With those words said, Indra cut off contact with his son. Whether Atid followed his words or not would remain to be seen.

"..."

Down below, Atid looked at the ground in contemplation. He seemed uncaring for the world around him, his mind processing Indra's words. The silence seemed to stretch on forever as he battled his inner turmoil and all his insecurities.

Igor was strong, much stronger than. But Indra believed in him.

"Father's right…"

Slowly, golden energy surrounded his scale mail as he raised his head.

"If he believes in me…then I'll believe in myself."

Gradually, the golden aura around him surged as it flowed all the way into his left hand. All the while, he locked eyes with the sinister gaze smiling at him.

"I won't lose to you, Igor."

A surge of power swelled around him as his armour glowed once more.

"You hear me?!?!"

He shouted with fervour.

"I. WON'T. LOSE!"

"[VELOCITY ASCEND!]"

Pa!

In an instant, golden lightning struck Atid, resulting in a bright yellow flash surrounding him. The strike was violent, the power behind it unmistakable. Hidden beneath the yellow flash, Atid's figure seemed to be remolded once more as his power reached new margins.

Zuuuuu…

Slowly, the bright flash faded. Atid stood tall, his eyes imposing and unwavering. His scale mail now had evolved to become more angular and aerodynamic.

Instead of only two jet-like wings, two more pairs formed beneath the first pair, making him have a total of three wings, each pair with varying lengths. Expanding from his rear was a very long tail over twice his height.

With his new form, his power peaked. It was time for the second round. This time, Atid would give it his all.

"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"

.

AN

.

Sorry for the late update. I was saddled with internal family matters I won't go into. Thank you for your patience in waiting and I hope you will enjoy the next three chapters. I will do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again.