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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Ruby
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Yuma quickly organized his thoughts.
First, he needed to evacuate everyone in the imperial palace toward the outskirts of the capital.
“Brigitte, move all the palace people to the outskirts of the capital. If they can retreat even further, that would be better.”
Brigitte looked at Yuma with her blue eyes.
“…Understood, Yuma.”
Brigitte had a lot to say, but she decided to trust Yuma for now.
Yuma came out of the imperial palace.
Behind him, Bell rushed out with her blue hair fluttering.
“Yuma!”
“Stay right here for now.”
Bell slowly stopped walking.
“…I’m in the way, aren’t I?”
Bell asked in a low voice.
Yuma hesitated briefly.
He might be disappointing Bell.
But right now, disappointment was better.
Far better than risking death if things went wrong.
That’s how transcendently powerful Barbatos appeared through the magic scout just now, stronger than any enemy they had faced before.
The level floating above Barbatos’ head as he descended toward the empire:
That ridiculous number proved his strength.
Yuma slowly nodded in response to Bell’s question.
Bell stopped in her tracks.
Her head hung low.
Comforting Bell would have to wait until after he safely finished this task.
Yuma walked forward.
“Ethan.”
He called for the griffin Ethan.
Screeeech!
Yuma mounted Ethan without hesitation.
He had realized that the [God of War and Struggle] Barbatos was targeting the Astes Imperial Palace.
If that attack landed without mercy, the palace would instantly become a wasteland.
A vast empty field.
The few structures that had been in the outdoor training ground were completely cleared away for reorganization after the celestial invasion a week ago.
Swish…
Yuma took out the magic amplifier that he had kept in his spatial pocket since receiving it from the Eldrie magic tower lord.
Yuma put the amplifier to his mouth.
The reason for using the amplifier was simple.
It was to minimize unnecessary casualties.
‘I think provocation will work on him.’
According to Yuma’s judgment, this Barbatos had uncharacteristically human aspects for a god.
Just from what he heard through the magic scout earlier, his pride in martial arts seemed exceptionally high.
Even more than humans.
All he needed to do was provoke him enough to make him come down here.
The outdoor training ground was surrounded by mountains on all sides.
An environment where damage could be minimized even with a major disturbance.
Yuma opened his mouth.
“Over here, Evil God.”
“If your business is to kill me anyway, come down here quietly.”
“If you respect martial arts, stop being dramatic and come here.”
Pride.
Yuma had sensed pride in martial arts from Barbatos’ voice in the scout’s vision just now.
And every martial arts manual in this world contained words about respecting the way of martial arts.
Even manuals of evil arts that contained malicious energy techniques and forms would have words about respecting martial arts.
Because even they wouldn’t openly intend to practice evil arts.
It was a provocation that exploited Barbatos’ behavior, which seemed to highly respect martial arts created by mortal humans.
And that provocation worked very well.
A black meteor fell in the center of the outdoor training ground.
Step—
With his [Search Eye], Yuma watched a man walking out of the hazy smoke.
Barbatos slowly opened his mouth.
Crack Slowly tilting his head.
“Are you the one who killed Incrinew?”
Barbatos slowly walked toward Yuma.
Yuma nodded.
“Yes.”
Barbatos took another step forward.
“Hmm.”
Barbatos released a fierce aura throughout his body.
Kugugugugugu—
Black energy currents rose like flames all over Barbatos’ body.
“I can’t feel anything from that body of yours.”
Barbatos concentrated strong energy in his right hand.
He recalled what the evil god Malphas, who was watching from the divine realm, had said:
“He deflects attacks, or uses defensive techniques remarkably well. And he fires quite powerful attacks. At first glance, it seems like he’s just reversing attacks, but the power of the attacks he fires is too great to dismiss it as just that. It seems like a technique he developed separately.”
‘Deflects attacks?’
Barbatos couldn’t easily visualize what Malphas meant.
Malphas said he had sent a summoned being while in a divine state.
‘Such a mere summon’s attack could be deflected, Malphas.’
Barbatos intended to make him pay for daring to speak of martial arts to him.
“Since you mentioned martial arts with your mouth, I won’t kill you in one blow.”
Barbatos stomped the ground.
Crash—ooooong!
A whirlwind surged from Barbatos’ feet.
Flash.
It was a brutally fast speed that could only be described that way.
Yuma saw the end of that attack.
Reading the trajectory of the attack.
Reading the distance.
Though he was wearing the overlapping [Magic Armor] taken from the high elf Luinerif and the [Divine Protection Armor] from the god Incrinew’s divine sac, it was best to minimize the possibility of taking any impact.
Yuma’s body blinked backward.
Barbatos grinned and continued extending his arm.
He had strong confidence it would reach.
And Yuma had another confidence.
Strike.
Yuma aimed the side of his foot at what he identified as the parrying point—the center of the purple strong energy swirling around Barbatos’ right fist—and struck it at an angle.
Parry.
Keeeeeeeing!!!!
Golden wavelengths spread violently.
Barbatos blankly stared at his own fist, which had extended upward, deviating from its original trajectory.
‘What is that technique.’
The principle of parrying.
Barbatos had no time to rack his brain to figure it out.
Kugugugugugugugu——!
“—!”
Because a fierce energy engulfed his entire body.
‘Something is coming.’
From the primordial war god until now, called the God of Battle.
It was a sensation he had never felt before.
Pressure.
The feeling that even the powerful body of a god could be crushed.
This was a signal to leave this place immediately.
He had never felt such an unpleasant sensation before.
‘What are you.’ What the hell are you.’
Barbatos widened his eyes and bent his knees.
To leap away from this place at once using the elasticity of straightening his knees.
All these thoughts occurred in an instant.
And the absolute counter-attack had already been activated.
Black energy flashed above Yuma’s shoulder.
The fist that Barbatos had just extended was the Soul-Shattering Fist.
A fist that crushes even the soul.
It was a fist technique he created after reading tens of thousands of martial arts manuals.
Martial talent.
Living much longer than humans and learning much more, Barbatos’ fist technique could only be flawless.
The ultimate fist technique unreachable by humans.
And what surrounded that fist was pure divine power accumulated by hunting three gods.
Ten times that ultimate.
Of course, Barbatos did not know the nature of what was approaching him.
Death.
He could only feel something unimaginable and impure for a god approaching.
Kwarrrrrrrrung!!!!!!
Black light enveloped Barbatos’ body.
Barbatos bulged his red eyes.
Sensation was disappearing from his toes.
It was an incomprehensible attack.
His magical power was pierced through.
Barbatos raised his divine power to the maximum.
And he deployed all of that maximum divine power as spiral defensive barriers.
One layer.
Two layers.
Countless defensive barriers were completed beside Barbatos.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash!
And they were all pathetically crushed.
‘…!’ —
Crack.
And his body was swallowed by black light.
A body burning in fire.
His right arm completely burned away.
Barbatos’ red eyes flickered like flames.
Crack.
Half of his body was blown away.
The Soul-Shattering Fist contains soul flame.
A flame that completely annihilates the being it hits.
Without the soul flame, it would have ended with half his body being blown away.
But the soul flame that Barbatos himself had created was now trying to completely annihilate his own body in reverse.
Above the head of Barbatos, who stood firmly on one foot.
Tick————tock
A purple clock moved its minute hand.
The power of God of Wisdom and Magic— Rockmentum.
Tududududuk!
It happened in an instant.
Barbatos’ body, which had lost half, was restored to its state just before taking the [Absolute Counter].
With his limbs intact and in perfect condition.
Barbatos examined his muscular, firm body with a hardened face.
The activation condition for [Time Reversal] that Barbatos had set was- Just before the loss of body or soul occurs, Time Reversal is activated.
Yuma looked at the purple clock with his search eye.
There was a number written on the clock.
1/3 One-third.
Yuma inferred.
Nothing around had changed.
That was a time reversal that applied only to that god himself, the God of Battle, Barbatos.
And the number of times was limited.
Barbatos stood still.
Despite his powerful body being restored without a scratch, he had no thought of immediately rushing at his opponent.
“What are you?”
He could only voice his question.
Toward that human who had dared to sprout the emotion of fear in him, a god, and who was standing before him with his head held high and nobly.
“What the hell was that attack you just unleashed?”
Yuma slowly moved his steps.
Step.
Provocation was necessary.
He needed to reduce the number of times Barbatos could use that ability as quickly as possible.
It was time to bluff.
“Martial arts .”
“Martial arts…you say?”
The black-haired, red-eyed god, Barbatos, slowly shook his head.
“Such an attack does not belong to the path of martial arts that I know.”
Yuma tilted his head.
“Perhaps you haven’t studied martial arts enough.”
To that obviously visible provocation, Barbatos had no choice but to react.
Barbatos’ ego.
In that ego, what stood above even gods was one who walked the path of martial arts.
Barbatos’ face twisted like a demon.
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