I narrowed my eyes as one of Ashura's three heads turned in our direction—its blue iris locking onto me, the jaw curling upward in a feral grin. The pressure of his gaze alone felt like gravity had tripled.
"Zalario, tell all your fellow angels to step behind me."
Zalario glanced at me, his sharp eyes reading my intent before I even spoke. Without hesitation, he turned to the other angels—Feldway, Dino, and the rest.
"Everyone," he commanded, his tone absolute, "step behind Velsun."
They looked confused, even hesitant—especially Feldway. The leader of the Primordial Angels, but something in Zalario's voice told him this was not a moment to question. One by one, they moved behind me.
I raised my right hand slowly into the sky, my index finger pointed toward the heavens. A grim smirk formed on my lips.
"Show me what you've got."
I concentrated above my finger; a miniature sun, glowing with radiant, destructive brilliance, began to form.
It was only the size of a boulder—but that was all it needed to be.
Because we all knew what a sun, even at this size, could do to a battlefield full of monsters.
Behind me, I could feel their awe.
Even Feldway stood in stunned silence, eyes wide.
Zalario, though, at first widened his eyes and then just smiled faintly.
He knew.
He'd seen it before.
"Burn," I muttered—and then I launched it.
The miniature sun flew through the sky, its trajectory aimed perfectly into the heart of the giant army. The moment it made contact, a blinding explosion burst forth—brighter than anything.
Even from here, the shockwave blew back our clothes and hair.
When the light cleared, what remained was a charred wasteland.
From an army of countless towering giants… only around twenty thousand remained.
And they were shaken.
"Holy hell…" Dino muttered. "Was that... a sun?
"A real sun!?" Cornu gasped.
"Such power…" Feldway whispered, barely audible.
I lowered my hand, letting out a slow breath.
I crossed my arms, my expression hard and solemn as my eyes swept over the charred battlefield. The remaining giants were visibly shaken. Their numbers had been cut to a fraction.
But amidst the trembling, amongst the stunned silence, one stood unfazed.
Ashura, the Giant King.
His left face twisted in anger, veins bulging, teeth grinding in rage.
His right head was roaring in fury, its eyes glowing with wrath.
But the middle face, Daguel, the future Demon Lord, was grinning his grin filled with bloodlust.
"That sun… was beautiful," the middle head said in a voice that echoed across the battlefield. "Finally… finally, something interesting!!"
He started walking forward with his massive body.
Zalario landed beside me, his expression grim. "He's serious now."
I didn't say anything. My arms still folded, I stared directly at Ashura's central face.
"Interesting..." I muttered.
Ashura let out a bellowing, triple-voiced laugh. "You strong warrior, I recognize your strength. Let's see if you can entertain me!"
Zalario glanced at me. "What should we do?"
I smiled at the heat of battle.
"Zalario," I said with quiet confidence, "take the other angels. Handle the remaining giants."
Zalario's expression shifted into understanding. He gave a firm nod. "Understood, we'll clear the field for you."
He turned and flew toward the other angels. "Angels of the Cardinal Heavens, with me! Leave the Giant King to Velsun—our duty is to purge the rest!"
In unison, six wings of divine light spread out, and the sky glowed with holy radiance as the Primordial Angels surged into battle.
Meanwhile, I stood alone.
Facing Ashura, the Mad Giant King.
"Come at me!!" he rumbled, his voice like a thousand mountains colliding. "Give me a fight worth remembering!"
I lifted my hand, magicules spiraling around me, shaking space itself. My true dragon haki clashed with his aura, clashing in the air like invisible blades.
"Yea yea, shut up already," I said, stepping forward as the wind cracked around my feet. "Let's get this over with."
I shot forward like a thunderbolt, fist cocked back, aimed directly at the grinning middle face of Ashura.
But—
CLANG!
A massive, stone-like palm caught my fist.
The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling outward like a sonic boom.
Ashura's middle face grinned wider, teeth like obsidian daggers. "Good hit, felt like a tickle."
"Tch..."
His right face let out a bellowing laugh, and suddenly he twisted, swinging his massive arm like a battering ram. I quickly pulled back, flipping into the air as his strike demolished everything in its path.
Chunks of terrain shot into the sky. Craters formed like meteors had landed.
Midair, I calmed my breath and narrowed my eyes.
As I hovered mid-air, tension thick in the sky, Mimir's voice echoed in my mind, cool and sharp like a blade through mist.
"Lad, don't go trading brute force with him head-on. Fight smart, not hard. He'll overwhelm you if you just keep punching."
"Any plans?" I muttered under my breath.
"Listen well. His three faces aren't just for show. The right face represents the destructive and feral aspect. The left face the skill and technical aspect. But the middle… that's his true self, representing the defensive and holy aspect."
I absorbed the information carefully. Ashura's right face roared, hurling a boulder the size of a fortress straight at me.
I vanished midair using light mode, reappearing to the left as the boulder shattered behind me, and in one motion formed a blazing crimson spear in my palm. The heat bent the very air around it.
With a flick, I hurled it toward Ashura's right arm—but it was a trick.
The second he raised his hand to block it, I moved behind and slammed my open palm into his side with my punch coated in sun magic.
BOOOOM!
A deep shockwave rippled across his side; the impact was strong enough to shatter mountains itself.
"That's it, lad! You got in clean!"
Ashura's face growled for a second, but when the dust cleared, there was no damage at all.
My eyes widen in shock. "WHAT?"
"Lad, calm down; it's not the time to panic. Ashura has used his ability called hardening, which makes his skin tougher than any known material and perhaps even a true dragon's scale. and your magic was canceled out when it was nearing contact due to his magic nullification ability. and only hit him with a pure physical punch, which did some damage but was quickly restored due to his regeneration."
"HAAAAH..."
"How am I supposed to beat this guy?"
"Dammit, lad, calm down. I know how; first you have to hold him for a while. I will begin by analyzing the exact atomic frequency of the 'hardening' effect. Using all of creation, it comprehends the target's molecular structure and the underlying laws governing its density. Then I will utilize Alteration to reconstruct your solar magicules at a particle level, converting them into pure kinetic energy and gamma radiation. By bypassing magical constructs and utilizing "natural laws," these particles slip through magic nullification, which only recognizes magical energy signatures."
"And lastly, with my help, we will vibrate your physical form at a frequency that perfectly offsets the target's 'hardening.'" Instead of a concussive palm strike, you phase through the molecular gaps, delivering the kinetic energy directly into the target's internal structure.
Still looking at Ashura. I nodded... "Alright, how long do I need to hold him?"
<<..."Hm... I don't know, maybe 1 hour or so?" >>
"ONE HOUR....."
_______
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