“BUWAAAHHH! GEH-CHUUUUUN!”
The sudden, booming sound was a colossal sneeze from Adams. A single exhalation shattered the surrounding ice blocks, blasting them into the distance and even shaking the ground. It was no longer a sneeze, but the breath of a colossal dragon.
“BAGGHHHYYUUUUNNNNHOOOOOON!”
However, hay fever was not so merciful as to end with a single sneeze. The sneezing continued, two, three times. If they were in the midst of a pollen-filled area, an endless chain of sneezes would begin. Adams was presently in precisely that worst-case scenario, with powerful blasts of wind occurring repeatedly.
(Nuuu, what is this…?!)
The terror of hay fever that attacked Adams did not end there. In addition to the sneezes from his mouth, the release of moisture from his eyes and nose would not stop. Moreover, it continued to flow out in an abnormal volume and at an unusual speed, forming a large puddle at his feet in just a few seconds. Yet, the outflow showed no signs of stopping. Even accounting for Adams’s enormous body, he had surely surpassed the limits of the general amount of moisture a being could retain.
(I see, this is the fabled hay fever…! I had heard it was an incurable disease for humans and quite painful, but I never imagined it would be this severe…!)
Adams, who had descended from his divine throne and, for all intents and purposes, become a mortal creature, could never have dreamed of experiencing the terror of hay fever at this very moment. However, this particular hay fever was of a rather peculiar kind, leading to death solely through dehydration… Regardless, Adams feared hay fever in that instant. That, at least, was an undeniable fact.
—*CRACKLE!*—
As a result, the last shadow covering Adams’s face shattered, finally revealing his true face to Kelvin. One might wonder if hay fever was a suitable deciding factor, and someone might even retort from the sidelines, but as there were no spectators for this battle, that concern was unfounded. In any case, Kelvin finally faced Adams with his true face.
(Hmm, hmmmmm, it seems all the shadows have peeled off… but with the tears streaming from my face, I still can’t see it…)
…But unfortunately, due to a string of misfortunes, he still couldn’t see.
(I cannot secure my vision. My coughing will not stop. The combination of this with [my previous] headache worsens it. Furthermore, as a mortal being, I am drying out. Kukuku… Terrifying, terrifying hay fever! But that is precisely why I, a mere mortal, can feel alive!)
Facing the strongest slime, under the worst possible conditions… Even in such a situation, Adams joyfully accepted and confronted this reality. Perhaps because of this, he was able to evade the attacks launched by Kelvin and Kuro.
“Hey, hey, are you using True Sight or something!?”
“I don’t know. My mortal body is telling me about the flow of air. No, it’s telling me more than just that. This is…”
Even with his vision blinded by tears, sealing his hyper-vision, Adams completely avoided the irregular pursuit attacks from his remaining tentacles. Simultaneously, new flowers were shot out from Kuro’s slime body, but it seemed he could see their trajectories as well. It was all his body was telling him.
(So, these tears are coming from a trembling heart…! Hmmm, I, a mere mortal, am moved to tears! By this bodily inconvenience! And by the existence of you, who can stand on equal footing with me, and your birth!)
(I feel like my thoughts are full of things I could comment on, but if it makes you stronger, then so be it!)
Amidst this emotional moment, both the attacking tentacles and the shadow hands began new movements from beneath the ground (ice blocks). This was because their respective roots were docked with Kuro. Kuro was the strongest spear, the strongest shield… and also an expansion device for other creations. Through this, the tentacles were infused with new power via the strongest Kuro, undergoing further enhancement.
“Fuhaha! The pattern has changed somehow!?”
But even that, Adams saw through it clearly. Seeing through it, he now struck directly with his fist.
(A direct attack? Even if he can break through physical reflection, Sera’s blood and ability degradation are still active. Why suddenly do something like this…?)
Ignoring Kelvin’s questions, Adams continued to swat away incoming threats with his physical body. The tentacles, newly imbued by Kuro with ‘Impact Immunity’ and ‘Indestructible,’ were not destroyed, but they were blown away by the immense shock they received. Each time, a path opened towards Kelvin and Kuro, and they advanced forward with all their might. Before he knew it, Adams had approached very close.
“That’s strange? Neither the blood nor the degradation seem to be having any effect. What kind of magic trick did you use?”
New attacks. Countless arms formed by the slime body emerged from Kuro’s body, with the Blood-Dye Knight King equipped upon them. Behind them, Bogga’s ‘Volcano Physique’ manifested even afterburners for the fighter jets, and these were sent flying in all directions. The slime arms, equipped with all manner of techniques, including Aikido learned from Kuon, all transformed into Sera’s fists.
“I’ll say that the sweat and tears, such crystals of effort, have borne fruit!”
“Liar! How can just sheer willpower do anything like th—”
Just as he was about to say that, Kelvin reconsidered. Adams never lied. Were his current words not an exception, and was he not speaking the truth?
As mentioned earlier, Adams was currently in a state of constant release due to the effects of hay fever. Normally, this would be fatal, a decisive bad status that could end the battle on its own. …But.
(Could it be that he’s using the moisture released by his hay fever as a membrane!?)
Yes, Adams was even using these adverse conditions to his advantage. By shrouding his fists with tears, he was avoiding the effects of ‘Blood Dye’ and the like. In other words, he was doing the same thing that Gordiana did when she fought Sera, cloaked in aura, during the Beast King Festival.
“…C, Cucu, Cuhahahaha! You’d think you’d be mummified by now, how much moisture are you storing in that body?! Did you just pour an ocean into your enemy’s well?”
“A foolish question. You do not know the amount of alcohol I consume in a single day?”
“I don’t know,” Kelvin reflexively thought. However, he vaguely imagined Mel’s food intake and converted it to alcohol consumption, finding himself convinced. Ah, it wouldn’t dry out, he thought.
“Hmph!”
Even as numerous fists flew towards him, Adams continued to respond solely with his physical body. It was as if he were saying, ‘Power to the techniques,’ a brute force approach. He was directly receiving and breaking through Aikido, joint locks, and even orthodox techniques, then devouring them. It was like the advance of a king… No, even in Adams’s actions, techniques that resembled actual skills began to appear. When he received Aikido, he countered with a technique resembling Aikido. When a joint lock was applied, he learned how to escape it, and he received orthodox techniques with insatiable curiosity, enjoyed them, and then assimilated them. Adams’s movements were no longer solely reliant on his body; they had evolved into something based on principle.
“What the heck, is he still getting stronger?! And is this just the starting line now, a bit too late!”
“For a while, I’ve survived on just this body! I, a mere mortal, am just now beginning to awaken to my awareness as a living being!”
“Is that so? I wish you’d realized it sooner! But what is this growth speed, it’s incredible! Are you planning to openly steal Sera’s techniques?! You bundle of potential!”
“And you too, your offensive and defensive coordination with that slime is truly impressive! If you’re there, you won’t be affected by pollen and can concentrate solely on attacking! It’s well thought out!”
Throughout the subsequent exchange of blows, the two of them were shouting non-stop. Perhaps they were simply overjoyed to discover that they meshed well with an opponent they recognized as a strong rival. Their gazes, clashing across Kuro, seemed unlikely to part anytime soon.
