This is an uphill battle!
With my strength, I am honestly doubting I can last a minute against Noir. Unlike mindless demons like before, the opponent is human, after all. Outsmarting him would be difficult.
"Then all I need to do is go agll out from the start!"
I lit the Fla of Evolution on my right palm and the Fla of Regression on the left. As soon as both flas roared, they covered my body and started providing with an almost bottomless amount of energy.
'But the amount of karma I have to burn will last half a minute at most! 40 seconds if you add the ti before the flas disperse!'
That was still twenty seconds short of what the girls needed, but we're not alone here anyway. Given 40 seconds, Blanc and Alpha should finish patching up Zeshion, letting him return to the fight.
I waved the sword forward, smashing the tentacles that were approaching. At that mont, I could feel several buffs landing on . Hekate, who finished her part with the shell, was providing with support.
"Thanks!"
Although it's like a drop in an ocean, her buffs could make last a few seconds longer, I hope.
At that mont, Noir's tentacles attacked two targets simultaneously. The majority of the tentacles were clustered against the god tars, while only a few dozen were attacking Fatima and the girls. He must've noticed that we're preparing sothing to take him down with.
"Not on my watch!"
Of course, I didn't stand by and let the tentacles reach them. Minerva did set up a psychic barrier, but that wasn't enough to stop the tentacles' attacks.
I took a large step forward and swung my sword, tracing a circular path and leaving afterimages of the sword around . The afterimages multiplied in numbers, creating a large array of ard swords floating around. They then started taking on a physical form and flew straight to the nearest tentacles, slicing and dicing the tough crystals covering them.
"Myriad Phantom Blades, Second Form! [Sword Peacock]!"
I was reluctant to use these sword moves, but right now wasn't the ti to be picky. While the phantom swords were attacking the incoming tentacles, I gathered a large part of my energy from my legs and arms, jumping forward and closing the distance between Noir and .
"You brat! You've destroyed my plans over and over; now, it's ti for you to die!"
Noir, as expected, could still follow my movents even after I used my fastest dash. As proof, three crystallized tentacles quickly intercepted, aiming for my head, heart, and thigh.
"You'd need more than that if you want to land a hit on !"
I waved the sword, imbuing it with as much energy as possible, and sent it flying forward with a horizontal sweep. The energy wave went forward, destroying everything along its path, including the tentacles, and further flew toward Noir's face.
"...!"
With a slight panic, Noir waved his hand and made the ground before he surged upward, creating an impromptu barrier to protect him.
*BOOOOM!*
The wave and the wall t, causing a large explosion and sending fragnts flying here and there. The entire dungeon shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
Before the dust and smoke settled, I reached Noir's side and swung my sword down, aiming to cut his head in half. However, just as he couldn't see my figure clearly, the sa applied to . Other than the large energy signature that was surging inside his body, I had no other landmark to identify his location with low visibility.
*CLANG!*
And just as I thought I hit him, the sound of my blade hitting sothing hard reverberated. My hands felt slightly numb from the impact.
"Fool, did you think I didn't know about how you can see energy?!"
Noir's voice echoed, and a mont later, I felt chills running down my back. I let my body move out of instinct, waving the sword a few tis around and sending the attacking tentacles crumbling down to nothing.
'The tentacles have no energy signature?!'
I was surprised upon noticing this change. Before, I could still predict their path by observing the changes in the energy inside them, but now they're completely invisible to my eyes.
*SHIIIK!*
And suddenly, a fleshy sound echoed. I was clueless at first, but noticed it a second later as the pain started spreading all over my mind.
"ARRRGH!"
A tentacle, covered in rough crystals on its surface, was piercing through my body. I, who was used to pain, actually couldn't hold back my voice as I scread in agony. This pain wasn't simply from the wound but also from the curse-laden crystals covering the tentacles!
I urged my hand to move, slashing the tentacle poking through my back and through my stomach. Although I quickly shattered the tentacle, it left a gaping wound where blood was flowing like a river. Like this, I would die in less than a minute!
"Kuh!"
Having no choice, I utilized half of my energy to heal myself. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped imdiately, but the wound refused to close. The curse was preventing from completely healing it!
So this is what got Zeshion too, huh? It feels weird that the wound refused to close, but I have no choice but to resu fighting. Not even 15 seconds had passed, and I was already at a clear disadvantage.
The tentacles didn't stop attacking even while I was healing, so I had to focus my attention on the incoming attacks, especially those coming from my blind spot. One after another—no, it was more like five at once—anyway, I waved my sword tirelessly as I resisted the incessant attacks.
After the twenty-second mark passed, two more tentacles managed to slip through my defense, landing a hit on my right shoulder and my left thigh. I fell to my knees from the pain, causing to be open to attacks.
At that mont, a congregation of tentacles appeared right before my eyes, aiming to smash my head to bits. My right arm refused to move from the damage to the bones, muscles, and tendons, so I passed the sword to my left hand and blocked the incoming attack.
*PING!* *CRASH!*
A resounding echo, followed by my body slamming hard against the wall. Air was knocked out of my lungs, making lose concentration for a brief mont. In that instant, four tentacles landed and pinned my arms and legs against the wall.
Rather than the pain, I was more concerned that, like this, I would be unable to block the next attack!
As if to prove my worries, more crystallized tentacles ca aiming for my head. Having no choice, I used all the defensive skills I had, hardening my face, and even focused all my energy there in hopes of surviving the attack.
The tentacles rged before landing a direct hit on my nose. I felt like my head would be squished like a pancake or explode like a waterlon, but I was only embedded deeper against the wall. My last-ditch effort at defending paid off!
However, at the sa ti, I could feel death knocking. My nose was smashed, my vision was blurry, and even my ears were ringing. My senses were all out of whack, making it impossible to dodge if another attack from Noir ca.
Furthermore, before I noticed it, the combination flas died out, stopping the almost infinite flow of energy I had. This situation is really bad. Wouldn't I die from this...? No... I can't die yet!
At that mont, even though my ears were ringing, I heard the loud and clear but indifferent voice of the system.
[System ssage: Imminent Death confird.
Checking for credentials... System's Crowned Successor confird.
Activating the System's 20th Function: Life and Death Simulation... Success.]
At that mont, my vision started fading to black...
When my consciousness returned, I was already in a different place than the dungeon. All around was nothing but darkness, which seed to spread infinitely in all directions.
"This place..."
For so reason, I felt the place was extrely familiar. It was as if I had been here before, for an extrely long ti.
"Ugh..."
A dull pain was felt in my head, making feel dizzy for a mont. Just as I thought it had passed, the pain suddenly escalated.
"IT HURTS! Argh! AAAAAAAAAAH!"
My head felt like it would burst; the pain was enough that I felt dying would be a good choice. No, it seems like I did die from the pain—not once, but multiple tis in a row.
I lost track of ti, but a while later, the pulsing pain in my head faded. In exchange, a flood of mories appeared in my mind. Rather than unfamiliar, I could feel that all those mories were sothing I had before but got sealed away to protect my mind. In an instant, it felt like I beca a different person altogether.
"Millions of deaths..."
Against those stupid worms, I died millions of tis before I could get out. I turned behind , where a mixture of green and red letters started mixing, creating an unbelievable sight. Noir, along with the dungeon's wall, was recreated fully.
"This ti, I'm against a god tar with no flas? It looks like a recipe for a billion deaths."
It took hundreds of years to conquer those worms. I wonder how long it would take for to get out this ti?
Without giving a chance to rest, the sa crystallized tentacles ca attacking. However, now, with my full mory of training over millions of deaths, the attack seed too slow and full of openings.
I clapped my hands.
At the sa mont, the tentacles crumbled like they were made of dust. I tilted my head in wonder upon seeing this happen.
"Wait, that's it?"
Maybe I wouldn't be stuck here as long as I initially estimated. I saw how the tentacles faded into nothing with a single clap. However, despite all that, one problem remains.
"My mory of this place would probably get sealed again..."
Like that, most of my experience would end up being forgotten once more. I need to let my body recall the senses instead, even without my mind recalling them!
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