Both sides were locked in a standoff.
But the situation on each front was different.
Kaizen was restraining the fallen mummy entirely on his own. The creature couldn't escape, and yet, it couldn't defeat Kaizen either.
One person versus two monsters.
The mummy flailed like a kite tangled in its own strings—completely powerless before Kaizen.
All it could do was watch itself be whittled down.
...
Elsewhere, the younger fallen warrior was being held back by Tessia and the others. Thanks to the A-rank Gourmet Hunter forcing the activation of a second cursed silver coin, the fallen's aura had greatly diminished.
Time crawled by.
Both the young degenerate and the mummy were growing more frantic. They had no trump cards left.
Meanwhile, more reinforcements would soon arrive from Gourmet Paradise.
And once they did, the fallen were finished.
Maggots squirmed across the fallen mummy's decaying body.
It had less than half of its aura remaining.
"Damn it..."
The mummy glared viciously at Kaizen.
Then it dove headfirst into the sea—choosing flight over a futile fight.
But Kaizen wasn't about to let it get away.
He moved at the same time as Uchiha Sasuke.
"Chidori Stream!"
Blinding lightning raked across the sea's surface, paralyzing the mummy's body. In that moment, Natsu burst forward.
"Fire Dragon's Fist!"
His blazing punch launched the mummy skyward.
Though its face twisted in pain, the mummy didn't linger—it adjusted midair and darted into the distance.
Kaizen pursued.
The mummy glanced back and sneered.
...
The younger fallen also abandoned the fight, breaking away from Tessia and the others to flee.
They gave chase.
As he ran, the young fallen closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the mummy's situation.
"I didn't expect someone this strong among them... One-on-one, he's actually suppressing my mummy."
He scowled.
"But if Linne hadn't interfered with my cursed silver coin, none of you would've stood a chance. If I'd made a serious move, you'd all be dead. No question. You're only winning because of her. On your own, you're nothing. Trash. A brat like you... acting so smug? Hmph. No matter. Even so, if I want to leave, there's no way you'll stop me."
He glanced back at Tessia and the others receding behind him, his face full of disdain.
But when he checked in on the mummy's side again, his expression twisted.
"Still chasing?"
"He's kept up this whole time?"
"This guy... is relentless."
"But how long can you keep it up?"
"My mummy's defense is on a whole other level. No matter how many times you attack, it won't be fatal. Keep chasing. Let's see how long you last. From now on, my mummy won't fight back. It'll just run. You won't break through its defense. And I'll win the war of attrition."
...
Kaizen noticed it too.
The situation had changed.
When the fallen wanted to kill him and the others, time was on Gourmet Paradise's side—reinforcements would arrive.
But now, the fallen were trying to escape.
In that case, reinforcements wouldn't necessarily be able to catch up.
And strength-wise, the fallen still had the advantage.
Even divided, they were on a different level entirely.
"Incredible defense," Kaizen muttered, eyes locked on the mummy.
He'd tried everything—
The Hexflare Bomb.
Natsu's fire attacks.
Sasuke's Fire Style and Lightning Style.
But nothing pierced the mummy's hardened aura.
Only the Rotten Knife had any effect.
The parasitic maggots had drained a good deal of its aura too.
"In that case... let's try this."
A thought flickered in Kaizen's mind.
A pink silhouette materialized beside him.
"Killer Queen."
A large, glowing bomb emerged from Killer Queen's wrist—and instantly launched toward the fallen mummy.
It moved fast.
The mummy turned and sneered.
"A mere bomb? You think gunpowder can hurt me?"
But then it sensed something.
Nen.
Powerful nen radiated from the bomb.
The mummy's eyes widened.
It immediately jumped, trying to dodge—but the bomb shifted midair and pursued him.
"It's tracking me?!"
His face paled.
Just like the cursed silver coin Linne had turned against him... unavoidable.
There was no time to dodge.
Just like before, all he could do was brace for impact.
The mummy zigzagged across the sea in a tight S-curve.
Dashing, diving, springing through the waves—
But the Bomb was locked on.
And closing in.
No matter how far he dove beneath the water, no matter how high he soared through the air—it followed.
And then—
Boom.
The bomb touched him.
A brilliant explosion erupted over the sea.
The water sank in, concaving violently from the impact.
Waves surged outward.
The thunderous sound echoed across the sky and sea.
Kaizen halted midair, staring at the epicenter of the blast, silent.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)