Chapter(19)

Episode(19): Boss Fight(5)

SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(19)

*Boom*

The ground cracked and rattled under the force of Nagisa's advancing footsteps.

Before a second had properly passed, Nagisa was already above the monsters head ready to carve down with his sword with all his might.

Nonetheless, the wolf had a deep smile etched on its despicable face. Seeing such blatant contempt made fury ignite in Nagisa's heart and he increased the power of his strike using his anger as the fuel.

Nagisa didn't care what skill it had, this time for sure he would tear through it with his sword.

As if materializing his fury, a gale swept through the entire forest and an explosive surge of energy condensed into the sword as it drew a downward trajectory. As soon as it touched the barrier, the tough barrier shattered and was easily sliced in half.

It couldn't even withstand the strike at all.

However before Nagisa could rejoice, the shattered barrier quickly began to repair itself to his utter dismay.

Nagisa opened his eyes wide. What was happening before his eyes? However now wasn't the time to question it. 

Instead, he swung his sword as quickly and with as much power as he could possibly release. Yet, it made no difference whatsoever. Every time the barrier was destroyed it would repair itself as quickly as it was broken.

'Tch'

Annoyance flashed in Nagisa's eyes as he clicked his tongue.

If it continued in this direction, then unless he could completely destroy both the barrier and artifact simultaneously then defeating the wolf king would be a day dream.

'Then, that only leaves dragging it off the throne'

But Nagisa had no idea how to do that since the wolf king hadn't made a move all this while.

However it wasn't all bad. Thanks to tearing open the barrier Nagisa's perception finally got a rough estimate of the wolf boss's power and level.

From what he sensed, its power far surpassed anything he'd ever faced before. He wasn't sure of its exact level but in any case it had to be over 100 from what he had felt.

In short, this beast was just an abomination that had a high possibility of ending his life. Nagisa almost felt like crying tears. Why was such a strong monster just sitting there and not doing anything? 

Did it like seeing him suffer like this? Was it some sort of pervert?

At any rate, Nagisa felt like his chances of victory were low at best.

However, the very moment he had stepped through that dungeon door. No, the very moment he defied his fate and stood against death Nagisa was no longer a pawn in a game of chess.

No, he was a genuine player now so how could he give up in the face of adversity? So what if the odds were against him? All he needed to do were destroy those odds and make them bow in reverence to his might!

Ever since he died and came back to life Nagisa realized that he had a thing for fights that he could lose. It just made the victory sweeter than the sweetest pie in the world. 

Nagisa wanted to indulge in the feeling of a life and death battle and gain endless enlightenment for his future development!

His heart trembled like a girl feeling butterflies after talking to her crush for the first time. The excitement in his heart was almost overwhelming to the point that even he couldn't control himself anymore!

[Die!!]

On top of the throne, the boss monster was slightly affected by Nagisa's passion and frowned slightly. Seeing the detestable human that killed all its subordinates rush over with such excitement, an unquenchable anger surged and it attacked as well.

Right now it wanted nothing more than to send this human to meet his maker.

Nagisa deflected the strike, but as if it had known Nagisa would do this it used more force as the two clashed. The power was too strong causing Nagisa to take a step back as he grunted. He struggled to keep his balance but before he could even make a counter move the wolf twisted its body to the side and slashed its claws at his chest.

Its attack came so quickly that Nagisa could only barely step back. Yet, blood splattered as a wound caused by its claws dug out his flesh. 

Touching the wound, it was painful but thankfully he reacted and managed to escape the brunt of the attack. It was too strong. 

'Of course, it's a boss monster so there's no way it'd be your regular scrub'

Nagisa felt like the reapers blade was pressed against his neck. It was as if he was facing a dance of death. Yet even so, a smile crept onto his charming face in that moment.

He felt like walking on such a tightrope was the only way to improve his abilities in a short span. Take for example all the moments he almost died. Just looking at the gains he had at the end, there was no way Nagisa would shy away especially now that he was harder to kill.

However mere brute force wouldn't work in this case where the wolf boss was literally stronger than himself.

Nagisa shot forward as he thought this. Although his mind was in a frenzy he didn't completely lose himself. It could be seen since his attacks were all still precise without any hint of error.

Woosh!

The katana curved up through the air slicing towards the wolf. Nagisa's speed was no less that the wolf and could even be said to be somewhat faster, however its power far surpassed himself. As a result, the wolf met his attack with its claws deflecting the attack and causing him to stagger a few steps back.

'Heavy!'

Nagisa felt like he had just struck a wall. A very huge and sturdy wall that even his sword couldn't chip in the slightest.

Thanks to this, a gap was created before Nagisa could correct his stance. The wolf monster saw it and immediately took action. How could it let go of such a great opportunity?

It stomped on the ground creating a deep pit then thrust its claws straight at Nagisa's neck. On the other hand Nagisa had no time to focus on regaining his balance. Instead, he used his crumbling balance to his advantage and spun his body pivoting with the sword using all his might.

The clash of weapons echoed in the forest. Both the wolfs' claws and Nagisa's sword collided in a forceful clash creating a force that sent both of them flying back.

However they were both experts and quickly got back to their feet before starting to clash yet again.

It was a deadlock and neither of the two had the upper hand. Even so Nagisa couldn't help but smile at this moment.

What in this world could be absolute? There was always two sides to a coin.

It was the same for the battle. Just as Nagisa may die, the wolf could also end up dying as well.

It wasn't that he was just foolishly hoping for victory, Nagisa just believed in that chance. The possibility created by his skills. When that moment came he knew that he could take advantage and end this monster before him.

'Only then will he see growth!'

Not growth determined by the system but true enlightenment granted through his own power.

At the same time the two figures kept clashing throughout the forest. Trees had already been severed and destroyed by both sword and claw yet there was no apparent outcome.

Every time the clashed, the force would cause Nagisa to lose his balance but after clashing and clashing he had long gotten used to this and he could now even counter from the trickiest of trajectories while losing his balance.

Even so, Nagisa still didn't smell the sweet scent of victory. Although he could feel his growth throughout the battle it was nothing compared to the wolf boss's current advantage in strength.

The only reason Nagisa could even continue clashing with it this moment was because unlike him, the boss had no technique. It only had a massive amount of physical power but no way to properly utilize it.

Otherwise, Nagisa was sure he would have long since been cleaved into pieces by its claws.

Still, even without technique. Its high level alone made it a difficult opponent. It was that very feeling of certain death that made the fight all the more worth it in Nagisa's eyes. Otherwise how could he continue improving?

[Come on! Make it more exciting!]

Hahaha

The feeling was so exhilarating that the laughter escaped his lips and echoed in the forest. Followed by the boom and clashing of weapons it was like an exciting event was taking place in the center of the forest.

As if to answer his words, the wolf king roared and all of a sudden its speed increase. Nagisa only blinked before he saw the wolf at his side. He hurriedly swung his sword but the next moment the wolf had appeared behind him and threw out its claws.

Nagisa was nearly flustered but kept his calm flinging his body around. At this moment he couldn't care less about how wild and erratic his movements were as he only wanted to survive.

As soon as he turned around to meet the attack, Nagisa held the sword down as a shield. The claw struck causing Nagisa to step back a few steps but even then the wolf boss didn't stop his attacks. Nagisa had no choice but to defend again deflecting its attack away.

But as a result he was expending energy at a much faster rate trying to keep up.

'Forget finding a gap....ensuring my survival is difficult against this broken monster!'

His eyes could just barely catch a glimpse of the wolf before it arrived and even then it was mostly due to luck that he could react. If there were some other factor that made his luck invalid then even if he had the skill he would still unlikely fail to react.

On the other hand, seeing the human struggle. The wolf boss didn't fail to use the moment and moved quickly.

Squelch!

Blood splattered as its claws dug deep into Nagisa's side. This time he didn't even get the time to react because the boss barely had a time lag between its attacks.

His armor had already become scrap metal at this point so it couldn't stop the attack at all. Thanks to this the wounds was serious and if not for his 'Reluctant' skill then it would have definitely been severe.

It was painful nonetheless. But Nagisa held down the urge to yell curses and gripped his sword before swinging it before the wolf could attack again.

The wolf boss was obviously surprised at Nagisa's sudden burst of speed, but a moment later it didn't even try to defend. Nagisa thought it was too confident but he soon got a shock. 

His blade slashed towards the wolfs neck, but instead of the scene where its head separated from its body, the blade couldn't even make it past the fure.

[Wha--what the hell?!]

He was stunned and in disbelief. Nagisa added more strength thinking the strike was too weak but the outcome wasn't much different.

'W-What the hell is this?!'

Its defense was comparable to the strongest metal being hit by a n*rf bullet. Are you okay in the head?

Nagisa clicked his tongue in wonder. Just when he was about to retreat however, he felt something behind him. Sharp claws struck at him out of nowhere leaving him stunned. He glanced at the wolf boss making sure that it was still before him before he hurriedly moved away.

He was stunned. Another ordinary looking hell spawn appeared out of nowhere like a ghost.

'Where was this wolf until now?'

If he wasn't going crazy then that either meant the wolf had been here all the while or the boss had summoned it. However the wolf boss showed no indications of using such a skill meaning it was already here from the start.

Then, how did it escape his perception>

Nagisa looked at the simple looking wolf with questions. It didn't seem to have any special qualities but when he used perception on it, his hair stood on ends.

What was that feeling? Nagisa couldn't tell but at the very least he knew that this beast was a hurdle he needed to get rid of sooner rather than later.

Nagisa didn't hesitate. He bent his knees and used all his strength. This variable that could cause him to lose wasn't one he was willing to let live.

The wolf also shot forward and swung its claws the moment it's closed the distance.

Unlike the wolf boss, Nagisa could easily follow the attacks of this wolf with his eyes.

'No trouble!'

He easily avoided the strike then swung his sword. The blade cut through the air before slicing through the wolf's eye before it could react. A moment later, a massive amount of blood sprayed from the wound creating puddle of blood on the ground.