To live is to fight, and to fight is to truly feel alive. The two, sharing such a belief, were engrossed in the battle atop this summit. Kelvin, each attack he launched weaving a new tactic and adding further color to his authority. Adams, absorbing each clash of movements and techniques, evolving as a creature. The two continued to fight without losing their smiles, appearing as children showing off their prized toys. They had completely forgotten their positions and the passage of time, solely immersed in the fight.
“How about this!?”
“Nngh, this is wonderful too…! In that case, I, too, shall offer my gratitude!”
“Kuh, this is unbearable too! However, I feel there’s still room for growth!”
“You must be more than that! Use your imagination more!”
The more attacks Adams landed, the more polished his techniques became. As if not to be outdone by such a worthy rival, Kelvin also honed his mastery of his authority. It could be called a synergistic effect of growth; the two were enhancing their fundamental strength at an astounding speed, separate from the system’s level-ups. Adams was on the verge of mastering Gordia, and Kelvin could now even deploy multiple instances of the strongest type of Kuro. How great it was to have an opponent who demanded no holds barred and could withstand everything.
Furthermore, Kelvin’s ‘Shura’ had a nature that allowed him to exert his abilities more the stronger his opponent became. Thus, it proved to be a very compatible outcome in that sense as well. Although he couldn’t win in pure power, he succeeded in almost catching up to Adams’ shadow by utilizing various support effects for speed. Facing such a Kelvin, Adams’ competitive spirit burned even brighter—In any case, they were in a situation where they were taking all the best aspects of a rival relationship.
However, both were also exhausted. It was natural, of course. They had been continuously engaged in a genuine, all-out battle, one they weren’t accustomed to. The dehydration from his hay fever was also becoming serious, and the magic power stored in Mel’s ‘Self-Consumption’ was being rapidly depleted. In fact, there was only a little time left before the “Wait a moment” timer ran out. Yet, for these two, even that was a trivial matter. How to savor this time was their absolute top priority. The result—
“I’ve finally grasped it! This is my Gordia!”
—Adams successfully mastered Gordia.
“Oh, you did it! Alright, let’s test its durability first!”
Kelvin presented Adams, who was clad in a red aura, with a “Super Magic Compressed” beam as a celebration gift. And yet, Adams repelled these thick beams approaching from all directions with just the thickness of his aura.
“This is magnificent…!”
Adams seemed deeply impressed by the practicality of Gordia.
“Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to learn such an ultimate technique. Once again, my heartfelt thanks, my one and only friend, Kelvin.”
“Come on, saying that now just makes me embarrassed. I just did what I wanted, and it’s all thanks to you—”
“—I deeply apologize for interrupting your conversation.”
A sudden telepathic message, from Efil, who had been silent throughout this battle.
“Master, it’s almost time. The mechanism to notify you of the time limit will activate in a few more minutes.”
“Huh, is it that time already? …Whoa, seriously? It’s cutting it really close. I mean, there was a possibility of this happening, but to be this engrossed… Ah, I’m glad I entrusted Efil with the role of timekeeper. I almost exceeded the time limit.”
“No, I fully expected this to happ— Ahem! More importantly, shall we proceed with the final attack as planned? I received a grace period of just under an hour, so my preparations are complete.”
“Yeah, do that. I’ll draw Adams’ attention as much as possible. Well, if that leads to victory, that’d be best… but somehow, I don’t think it’ll be that simple.”
“Sera’s intuition, is it…? Understood. I will also do my best.”
The telepathic communication ended. Kelvin pondered for a moment how to approach their conversation, but quickly let go of the unnecessary thought, deciding that a natural approach would suffice. He was confident that his one and only friend would respond.
“—It’s the result of your effort. Truly, you make for a worthwhile companion.”
“Hmph, don’t praise me like that. Now that I’ve revealed my true face, my expression is completely transparent. You’ll know I’m blushing.”
“Well, it’s your true face, but it still feels like I can’t see your expression, or rather, I’m sorry about your hay fever… More importantly, the time limit is approaching.”
“What, is that true!? Nngh, time truly flies when you’re having an enjoyable time. However, if it continues like this, it will end in a draw.”
“It will. And so, I think this: after spending such a meaningful time, it feels a bit unsatisfying for the match not to have a clear winner at the end.”
“Indeed, I feel the same. Now that we’ve come this far, I want the final outcome to be clear.”
Adams nodded deeply, his red aura rumbling. It seemed his feelings were the same as Kelvin’s.
“Then, how about this? Through this time, we’ve enhanced each other’s strength. As the culmination of our training, let’s simultaneously unleash our strongest techniques. After we fire them, it’s free to receive or dodge. Well, since I’m inside Kuro, I’ll preemptively declare that I’ll be receiving it.”
“…Kukuku, you are truly amusing. Then, I shall also declare: after receiving your strongest, my strongest will defeat you!”
“Haha, well said, my best friend!”
Kelvin formed a great scythe from within Kuro, shrouding its blade with immense destructive power. In response, Adams transformed his red aura to pitch black and adopted a martial stance befitting a fighter. And then, the moment arrived.
“Tenkai!”
Kelvin’s final chosen technique was Gerard’s ultimate move, ‘Tenkai’. However, instead of merely imbuing the greatsword with slashing energy, he fused it as if merging with the slash released by the great scythe, dissolving into it. Capable of cutting anything, capable of petrifying, and possessing the ultimate in pure destructive power—combining the most insane with the strongest, he reasoned, would be the best. Furthermore, these fused slashes, passing through Kuro as a launchpad, were imbued with both ‘Expansion and Enlargement’ and ‘Compression and Ejection’. As a result, upon exiting Kuro, they reached unprecedented speed and power.
“Nuun!”
Facing such absurdity, what Adams unleashed was—amazingly, a simple straight punch. His every movement was done in a flash, and though he was enveloped in a pitch-black aura, it was nothing more and nothing less than a straight punch. This brawl, which began with the words “Let’s settle this with the culmination of our battle,” had reached its climax with a basic punching technique, a fact that Kelvin, the battle maniac, would have found surprising. However, he was not the type to let his guard down; he redoubled his resolve to give his all, believing there must be a reason for such a move.
—And then, the moment of resolution arrived.
“…To think you’d hit me, surpassing Kuro.”
As if to show that his attack had landed, a large hole had been torn in Kuro’s body. Kuro, which possessed complete resistance to impact and myriad defensive functions such as ‘Indestructible.’ And above all—Kelvin’s physical body, the area from his chest to his abdomen, had been completely obliterated by the impact of Adams’ attack.
“— ‘Hikkyo’. This is an ultimate technique possessed by a man who came closest to my domain when I was a god. As expected, a mere imitation, a superficial skill, is completely beyond my ability to replicate perfectly in my current form. However… Kelvin, it seems it was enough to defeat you.”
