BOOM!
The fireball exploded and released its heat upon the land, scorching everything below like a wave of fire from a nuclear weapon. A barrier formed around the Pan Suppression Sect that resisted this after-effect, saving the lives of everyone within and making them feel deep fear.
This battle had already become something beyond their knowledge and expertise, and they had never felt so weak before, especially the various powerhouses of both continents. As for the itinerant cultivators, lying on the floor in fear was business as usual, so they were even chatting casually while it happened.
Gunner rushed through the dispersed fireball and punched towards his foe once more, causing the sky to crack and a shockwave to billow from it. Shin Hikuri was already sued to this raw power and calmly avoided it while appearing on another side.
He once again made hand signs and released another ninjutsu to strike Gunner, this one being the Wind Style series. Once again, Gunner simply received it head-on while trying to attack his slippery foe, missing once more but definitely damaging the world at large.
The two then flashed about throughout the sky, one attacking and one counterattacking, but neither of them could really do anything to the other. Shin Hikuri's goal was to wear Gunner down as he refused to believe that this kind of boosting technique could be maintained forever.
This was true and Gunner began to lag a bit when his MP was almost out. He took out his flask and took a swig and his Mp was instantly refreshed, allowing him to continue fighting as he pleased. Shin Hikuri saw this and his expression became dark.
However, it would be foolish to complain and speak about fairness in a fight like this. In fact, the entire time, Shin Hikuri was unsure. With the current power he possessed, he understood many things he did not before.
If this group led by Darius could easily give him an item that could explosively increase his power like this, then didn't that mean others could too? Didn't that mean that they could too?
Until one reached the heights he did and possessed the power he had right now, they would never understand. What Grandmaster, he could pinch every Grandmaster in the world to death with his current power and Gunner who he was currently fighting could easily do the same.
So what was the goal here? Just a casual fight for fun? Shin Hikuri did not think so. With the power Gunner had and what Darius displayed earlier, they would have been dead in seconds. So what did they want?
Shin Hikuri was furiously thinking about this the entire time he was here and his mind was mostly focused on this. Due to the speed gap between him and Gunner, he was not too worried about the half-giant.
If he wanted, he could enter a realm of speed that Gunner could not match and strike him a thousand times before Gunner could even blink, but with Gunner's endurance, it was pointless to do so. No matter how fast the Flash was, he could not beat Superman to death.
Gunner also knew this, so he continued to exert himself against his foe without stopping, seeking ways to make a breakthrough in his power without relying on updating his stats mid-battle. Of course, this was easier said than done as he had 800 points of Speed and Shin Hikuri had over 5000.
If Gunner wanted to win, there was only one way. He had to trap his foe with a fatal attack that even the greatest speed could not save him.
Gunner's eyes flashed as he battled and allowed Shin Hikuri's guard to fall as he got lost in the rhythm. Then when he charged forward to punch again, as Shin Hikuri was about to casually dodge he stretched his hand out once more and activated the effect of his Soldering Gauntlets!
As long as Gunner had a higher Power stat than his target, they would be dragged over into his grip from afar. The range and speed of the grab depended on the difference in the Power stat of the two, and Gunner's 20,000 points far outstripped Shin Hikuri's 2990 points.
Shin Hikuri was shocked as he was dragged over at the speed of light. However, the moment his body twisted, he activated his speed and entered a realm of slow motion where he was moving fast enough that the rest of the world almost seemed paused.
In this realm, he quickly calculated everything and paled, realizing that this was a severe life-and-death situation, he roared and shouted as he did everything he could to break free, using different ninjutsu, shadow arts, and even trying to use genjustu on Gunner.
Unfortunately for the last one…
[Spirit Barrier - Level 250 Skill
Grade: Basic
Cost: None
Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of manipulation of all things soul related, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others. Currently, this skill disperses 250% of all incoming spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]
However, it was pointless. Gunner was unfazed by everything and even grabbed him by the neck, masking Shin Hikuri's face became red as his eyes became bloodshot from fear and struggle. To everyone else, it seemed like he had been standing in one place one second and was dragged into Gunner's grip super fast before he could even react.
However, you could be damn sure that for every picosecond until he enter Gunner's grip, he did everything he could to escape. However his skillset was limited to what a ninja possessed and he had no spatial-related abilities, so how could escape?
"W-Wait, I-" Shin Hikuri wanted to submit, as that was the conclusion he reached. he would indenture himself to Darius and co in order to maintain his life and seek the higher power of the universe rather than be two small-time ninjas.
However, since when did Gunner care about such things? He simply squeezed his fist and blew open the head of Shin Hikuri, killing him immediately as his body went limp. Due to the nature of the potara earrings, they remained on the body even after death.
Gunner collected the corpse because Darius could likely learn something from it. If he could discover the truth of potara fusion, he could create his own merged bodies right from the get-go.
When the cultivators and Houto powerhouses witnessed the death of Shin Hikuri, their faces collectively paled greatly. The Houto powerhouses remembered the agreement, they could only live if Shin survived.
However, now that he was dead, what would be their fate?
They did not dare run because they could not move faster than their captors. Where would they go and hide? As such, their faces became like dead ashes while the cultivators heaved sighs of relief that they had decisively withdrawn.
Gunner appeared beside Darius with the corpse of Shin Hikuri. Xela cringed at it while Luna observed it with interest, wondering if she could learn those ninja techniques as they seemed quite useful.
Darius snapped his finger and had a maidbot collect it on a stretcher and take it to his lab in the inner section. Meanwhile, he glanced at the remainder of the powerhouses with a smile as he glanced at Luna and Gunner.
"Luna, take down the guests from afar, and Gunner, clear out the cultivators."
Darius spoke softly but everyone could hear him pronounce death so easily. What was even crazier was that his two aides did not even hesitate, disappearing from where they stood and appearing near their targets, striking out with fatal blows immediately.
Luna first attacked the lightning-affiliated onmyoji, Sakura, who was still pale after being hit by Darius' attack and healed. She could not even find the time to react when Luna appeared before her and cut her head off with a simple slice of her dagger.
Sakura's expression was still locked in one of surprise as she heard Darius' words, not even realizing she was dead until her head hit the ground. By that time, Luna had already moved on to attack the fire element onmyoji, Yui, who was taking a step back from fear.
Meanwhile, Gunner had appeared before an Immortal King whose expression was slowly beginning to change as he heard Darius' words. Before he could even react, Gunner grabbed his head and smashed it down into the ground, bursting it open like a balloon of water.
Just because Gunner had been outsped by Shin Hikuri did not mean that these cretins here could follow his speed when they barely passed 200 points themselves.
Xela shook her head and looked away, not wanting to watch another slaughter while Darius was solely focused on the True Supreme System before him, checking the prompts that had come up.
