Chapter 795: King vs. King
That sword shattered Daemon's concept of Absolute Defense?!
An Zhiyuan knew the Second Seat of Destiny was a guy whose strength surpassed most Sovereign Monarchs. Although he didn't have any record of killing a Sovereign Monarch, in the previous cycle, he had repeatedly forced the Sovereign Monarchs of the South and North Districts to retreat in defeat within primary worlds.
The concept of absolute defense existed in many worlds, but most of them didn't even come close to the true power of a Concept.
The Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven of the Hyuga Clan in the Naruto world, the Shield of Shukaku of the Sand Spirit, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit in the One Piece world, the Limitless technique in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, the AT Field in the Evangelion world, and so on.
But almost all of these abilities were still subject to the influence of magnitude.
An Zhiyuan had yet to see an ability capable of absolutely ignoring magnitude. But the so-called conceptual level is precisely the essence formed by the collapse of power after it reaches a certain degree.
This is the power system closest to ignoring magnitude.
The [Absolute Defense] held and comprehended by Daemon was a true conceptual-level ability acquired with the amplification of his special privileges as a Chosen One.
Daemon never dodged in combat. No matter how powerful the force, striking his body was like hitting a non-existent wall.
No currently known attack had ever broken his defense.
This was the fundamental reason why Daemon could become the strongest Chosen One below the King of Destiny.
He was practically invincible by default. Aside from some abilities with special affinities, any frontal combat ability would find it very difficult to defeat him.
But today, An Zhiyuan witnessed the end of this record with his own eyes.
The East District's newly ascended King of Monsters shattered Daemon's defense head-on, sending this powerful Chosen One flying to who knows where.
The white sword in the opponent's hand was entwined with a power An Zhiyuan had never seen before.
It wasn't Ki, it wasn't Magnetic Field Rotation, and it certainly wasn't the Surge of Murderous Intent. It was some even more terrifying Authority!
An Zhiyuan recalled the results of his divination before the Little Garden mission: Mercenary Tao would fuse with the Demon Lord of Absolute Evil, Azi Dahaka, and be defeated and killed by Izayoi Sakamaki.
Azi Dahaka...
That is... [Irreconcilable Enemy]!
Mercenary Tao has mastered the Authority of the Demon Lord of Absolute Evil?!
This discovery caused the world lines and images in An Zhiyuan's mind to rapidly shift. He suddenly realized that after Mercenary Tao replaced Sousuke, returned from the Little Garden world, and could no longer be stopped...
He should have changed his stance.
For the sake of the grand scheme of the world's future, he should stand behind this new King.
Especially since the other party had already begun to be unobservable by his destiny-type abilities. Only by following him could he keep track of Mercenary Tao's latest power developments at all times.
This was the only way to obtain a more accurate picture of the future.
Kaito Shirogane raised his right hand high, looking at the longsword radiating white light. This was something that naturally appeared from his body after throwing that exhilarating punch.
This weapon, resembling Azi Dahaka's [Irreconcilable Enemy], contained the power of the Third Star Particle, capable of destroying all Gifts.
This power allowed Kaito Shirogane to directly shatter Daemon's indestructible defense even without intentionally unleashing a Martial God's Strike.
Kaito Shirogane looked at this sword. According to Daemon and An Zhiyuan's explanations, being able to break Daemon's defense meant this sword could cleave through the Space's barriers and creations...
With this, Kaito Shirogane had truly touched upon a corner of the Space's power.
The rules of the Space could no longer be considered unsolvable or unbreakable.
As long as one was strong enough or possessed the corresponding essence, battles could probably break out inside the Infinite Dimensional Space, it could be invaded, and even... destroyed.
The star particles within Kaito Shirogane's body were successfully activated and utilized. He felt incredibly exhilarated, and subsequently slashed a sword toward the direction Daemon had flown.
He could feel that the strike just now had only cleaved through that layer of Absolute Defense and hadn't slashed his physical body.
Moreover, creatures like Reincarnators, once reaching the top-tier stage, possessed terrifying survivability. Ordinary attacks wouldn't easily kill them.
Screech!
After his Martial Arts Mastery broke through to Lv12, even though he had never used a sword before, a casual slash from Kaito Shirogane already possessed the demeanor of an ordinary swordsman-type Reincarnator.
Amidst a resounding sword hum, the silver-white sword pressure cleaved the air, instantly imprinting itself upon the charred forest in the distance.
Pfft~
The next moment, the earth was sliced open like a block of tofu. Accompanied by a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar, the black forest stretching over thousands of meters sank directly, the ground beneath completely disintegrating.
Daemon tilted his head and leaned sideways, dodging this sword strike with an awkward movement.
His expression became incredibly focused. The wound on his chest had healed, but his black turtleneck sweater was torn.
The unprecedented crisis of death didn't cause Daemon to lose his cool; instead, it granted him an experience he had never had before in the face of this rare danger.
He had almost begun to forget the feeling of walking the line between life and death.
A silver-white data stream appeared in Daemon's eyes. The ability of Future Sight was also elevated to a realm it had never reached before at this moment.
He merely saw the silver sword pressure branded between heaven and earth, and chose his evasive movement following the trajectory of the sword pressure. Thus, he avoided this sword strike that even a Sovereign Monarch specializing in agility might not be able to unleash.
Hum~
Amidst the roaring of the air, dozens of images appeared consecutively in Daemon's eyes.
Mercenary Tao was attacking him with different movements: sword slashes, punches, elbow strikes, hand chops...
Almost every method and angle of attack was completely different.
Daemon's eyes trembled as he found that those images ultimately completely overlapped, forming an inescapable cage.
With his physical capabilities, it was impossible to dodge this strike no matter what...
Daemon was enveloped in the intent of death. He seemed to see a faint Destined Death binding him.
Daemon's body shuddered, and then he curled up completely. The power of Absolute Defense appeared once more, and divine power flowed through his body.
He chose a method of evasion that discarded most of the flesh and blood on his body almost instinctively.
After this strike, more than half his body would be shattered by Mercenary Tao, but his most vital internal organs and head would remain.
He had a high probability of surviving. As long as Mercenary Tao's instant-death power didn't trigger, he could survive!
Furthermore... that King would not sit by and watch him die here. This was not the future he desired.
Under Kaito Shirogane's somewhat appreciative gaze, Daemon curled up his entire body, and then Kaito Shirogane, who had activated Setsuna, swept past him.
Hum~ Bang bang bang bang!
A series of attacks landed almost simultaneously. The silver sword pressure shattered the conceptual defense, and each subsequent strike shaved off a portion of Daemon's body.
As Kaito Shirogane came to a halt, Daemon, left with only a head and less than half a body, fell from the sky and was caught by Kaito Shirogane's outstretched hand.
At the same time, a pale hand materialized out of nowhere and grabbed Kaito Shirogane's wrist.
"You've crossed the line, newly ascended King."
The woman's voice was full of magnetism. On her face, which was almost identical to Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, a faint smile played.
Kaito Shirogane's pupils instantly turned into a myriad of colors, and the Limit-Break Spiral behind him also activated simultaneously.
Taking advantage of his height, Kaito Shirogane looked down condescendingly at this mysterious [King of Destiny].
Among the three [Supreme Kings], this King of Destiny was the one he knew the least about.
He had heard many rumors about the King of Destiny. Some said He was an old monster who survived from the previous infinite era. Others said He wasn't human, but an existence similar in nature to the Black King.
Some even said that this individual had a hand in the birth of the Black King, and even the appearance of the King of Souls.
After all, Reincarnators with destiny-type abilities were inherently suited to hiding in the shadows and employing various underhanded methods. And this guy, standing at the apex of all destiny-type Reincarnators, was the most fitting candidate to be the final boss in these conspiracy theories.
Kaito Shirogane's understanding of the Supreme Three Kings already surpassed that of most assemblies. Those top-tier Reincarnators might not have even interacted with these Kings as many times as he had.
He had even personally slain one of them.
The King of Destiny with Brunestud's face looked up and met Kaito Shirogane's gaze, seemingly able to see through his thoughts, and slightly raised her chin.
"As that guy Aizen's most outstanding masterpiece, are you this eager to interact with us Creators?"
Her words seemed intended to provoke Kaito Shirogane's emotions, but he showed no reaction, merely grabbing the other party's arm in return.
Kaito Shirogane casually tossed Daemon, who was now practically just a head and a heart, onto the ground.
If he had wanted to kill this guy, he could have done so in that instant just now.
But Daemon's reaction at the final moment earned Kaito Shirogane's recognition of his value.
Trading a valuable Reincarnator like this for a few attribute points, or letting the Space extract his information to bestow upon someone unknown later—Kaito Shirogane considered that a bad deal.
He wanted to eliminate the Reincarnators who lacked value. Those who possessed value would be given a chance by him.
Of course, if Daemon hadn't found this sole path to survival at the final moment, his fate would have been to be torn to shreds and die at Kaito Shirogane's hands.
He survived, therefore he possessed value. It wasn't merely because he possessed value that Kaito Shirogane granted him the chance to live.
"Creators? Is that how you see yourselves?"
Kaito Shirogane gradually applied pressure with his hand. He found that the physical body of this King of Destiny wasn't stronger than Daemon's, roughly equivalent to about 60 attribute points.
This was considered quite good for an ordinary Reincarnator, but in front of him, it was incredibly weak.
Crack, squelch!
With a squeeze from Kaito Shirogane, the woman's arm immediately shattered.
But the next moment, Kaito Shirogane frowned. He found that the arm in his grasp was still perfectly intact. His palm could clearly perceive that the temperature of the flesh beneath the other party's white knit sweater, and even the texture of her skin, were exactly the same.
This isn't regeneration, this is... time reversal?
The smile on the corners of the Brunestud-like woman's mouth became even more distinct.
Tick.
An abrupt sound occurred, and heaven and earth instantly froze. The world seemed to be dyed in a cyan-grey hue in an instant.
The collapsing small town, the sinking Black Forest, even the violent atmosphere and dissipating elements—everything was frozen.
The woman leisurely admired Kaito Shirogane's arrogant face and the clear wrinkles on his brow.
She slowly pulled her arm out, gently shook it, and then walked aside to pick up Daemon's body, which was also frozen.
Light flashed in her hand, and then Daemon's body gradually restored itself.
Below that heart and head, Daemon's body became perfectly intact. Even that black turtleneck sweater regenerated.
The King of Destiny then waved a hand towards the shattered earth's crust, and it began to restore itself as well. She was like a meticulous sanitation worker, bit by bit repairing everything Kaito Shirogane had destroyed.
"What a restless little fellow. It seems he has already broken free from the thread I buried within him. Hmm... truly worthy of being the miraculous masterpiece Aizen created using so many good things."
"I should bestow a new destiny upon him. Since that person is unwilling to accept his own destiny, perhaps I should bestow that destiny upon him?"
"A beast that brings destruction and demise, yet simultaneously harbors the hope of saving everything... sounds like a pretty good script."
As the King of Destiny muttered to herself, her body suddenly froze.
She sensed something unusual.
The King of Destiny whipped her head around, only to see that in this entirely frozen world, the eyes of the arrogant man in the dark green trench coat were moving bit by bit, following her actions.
He can move?!
Hum~
A low, almost imperceptible sound, like a massive amount of violent airflow trapped in a pressure cooker. The sound was almost completely muffled, yet it induced a vague sense of unease.
This is... immunity.
The immunity [Ki] brings to Mercenary Tao?!
RUMBLE~ BANG!
Before the terrifying howl could completely erupt, she saw the dark green, arrogant figure explode into minced meat with a bang out of thin air.
Blood even splattered onto the King of Destiny's face.
She wiped away the blood, the violent power surging within it making her feel uneasy.
This was another transcendent power.
Just how many transcendent powers are contained within this masterpiece of Sosuke Aizen's...
Spiral power, Ki, Limiter, Third Star Particle, Power of Miracles...
Is this also within that guy's calculations?
Countless images instantly began to appear in the King of Destiny's mind. But she didn't notice that in this frozen world, a new Kaito Shirogane had appeared almost instantaneously.
With just a single step, Kaito Shirogane arrived in front of the King of Destiny and directly gripped her throat.
Surging intent of death and the power of the Underworld emanated from the King's Left Arm, while Irreconcilable Enemy in his right hand already rested against the King of Destiny's neck.
The Supreme Three Kings had long lost their absolute, insurmountable ability to dominate Kaito Shirogane.
Behind Kaito Shirogane, two layers of stairways manifested one after another.
Especially the second layer, where the illusory Authorities of Miracles and Destiny flickered continuously.
Because Kaito Shirogane had encountered and interacted with the King of Destiny, he could already lock onto her as the target of the [Lock of Destiny].
Neither party could evade the other's attacks in any form.
Destiny-type, time-type, causality-type—none could evade it!
The King of Destiny snapped back to reality, seeing Kaito Shirogane raise his fist high.
"You can reverse time? Then die here once and try reversing it again~"
A phantom appeared behind Kaito Shirogane.
Terrifying Ki soared into the sky, and an exaggerated sense of presence completely erupted in just an instant.
[Lock of Destiny] + [Key of Miracles] + [Serious Punch]!
Pfft!
The King of Destiny's body shattered thunderously into a pool of blood mist.