But very soon Yukino understood what Hayashi was warning her about.
"Ga ga..."
The bone-grinding sound echoed, and Yukino felt a terrifying chill rise from her spine.
"Impossible!"
She only had time to let out this startled cry. Yukino subconsciously turned her head, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the monster that should have been dead extending its skeletal claw toward her!
At this moment, its skin, flesh, and internal organs had all vanished, turning into ice crystals, yet its bones remained completely unscathed.
At the same time, the moment it reached out to grab her, Yukino clearly saw countless blood threads spreading across its smooth bones.
It... was reconstructing its flesh and blood, as if resurrecting.
Yukino was absolutely certain that it had died just now, but…
Its bones were problematic! They could resist her authority, and it could also resurrect and regenerate!!!
'I was too careless!!'
Thinking this in terror, Yukino felt some regret. This was the first time she had encountered a creature in reality that could resist her authority.
No, it shouldn't be complete resistance. Rather, after dying, because its bones were exceptionally tough, it could resurrect using them.
'This monster, a miscalculation!'
Unlike Hayashi, Yukino couldn't use her cursed tool authority as easily as moving her own arm.
Just as she was despairing, Hayashi's punch arrived.
'Bang!'
Just like when he saved Asuna earlier, Hayashi sent the white-boned creature flying with another punch.
"I was saved..."
Watching Hayashi's figure, Yukino's legs went soft, and she collapsed onto the icy ground. Her heart pounded, and her expression shifted, containing both hidden anger at her own carelessness and gratitude for Hayashi's timely rescue.
"They really are two monsters!"
Completely different from Yukino's recent 'elegant' judgment, the battle between Hayashi and 096 was extremely bloody.
That was a collision of pure physical strength!
Bang—!
Amidst the roar of fists, the fairy-tale ice and snow kingdom became a fierce battlefield. Human fists and monster claws intertwined, and everything in the world seemed to be made of paper.
Collapsing buildings, accompanied by ice crystals, kicked up thick smoke and haze.
Wherever they passed, the ground cracked, covered in spiderweb-like fissures.
In the collapsed buildings, steel bars flew and broke into smaller fragments, and concrete blocks scattered like bullets.
It could only be said that it was fortunate this was a high-end residential area near the suburbs, and there were no skyscrapers; otherwise... the thought alone was terrifying.
From afar, Yukino led Asuna and her mother to hide in the distance.
"So... so strong! When did Hayashi-san become this powerful?!"
Asuna tried hard not to look at Yukino's pretty face, which still held a trace of embarrassment and annoyance, forcing herself to forget Yukino's momentary blunder.
She exclaimed in amazement while looking at the battlefield where Hayashi was fighting.
"The Gambling Authority. The power boost he gains is by gambling his life against himself..."
Putting away her embarrassment and annoyance, Yukino tried hard to keep her voice calm as she spoke.
"Ah..."
Gambling his life against himself? Hearing Yukino say this, Asuna immediately recalled the scene in the previous instance where Hayashi gambled his life against Yumeko.
His fearless appearance when facing terrifying anomalies and the courage to unhesitatingly point a gun at his own temple and pull the trigger.
'Gambling his life...'
Murmuring inwardly, Asuna clutched her chest, feeling a heavy weight there.
She didn't know why Hayashi appeared here.
She only knew that in the memory fragments she had 'foreseen,' she and her mother died terribly because no one came to save them.
'Such kindness, Hayashi-san... how should I repay you…'
Her mind was filled with countless thoughts, but soon Asuna's attention returned to the battlefield, as the danger was not yet fully resolved.
Buzz—
The air current generated by their bodies blew away the smoke and dust, revealing the figures of Hayashi and 096, both completely unharmed.
Especially upon seeing 096's figure, Asuna's pupils contracted in terror, and she exclaimed.
"Yukino-san, that monster, it! It recovered just like that!! It seems Hayashi-san can't completely suppress it..."
Looking at 096's body, which had regrown flesh and blood, Yukino also wore a solemn expression.
Extreme speed, nearly invincible defense, and extremely powerful regeneration ability.
What the heck is this monster?
If she remembered correctly, Hayashi had shot himself twice in order to quickly rush to Asuna's location.
According to the information provided by Yuki, Hayashi's Gambling Authority boosts his physical fitness sixfold with one shot.
So two shots make it thirty-six times?
But looking at the disaster-like scene caused purely by physical bodies.
Yukino thought, could this effect be achieved with 36 times the physical fitness of an ordinary person?!
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Therefore, Hayashi's base physical stats must be excellent.
Although Yukino didn't know about the tenfold physical fitness Hayashi gained after containing the ghoul.
But at this moment, she could roughly estimate that Hayashi possessed at least a hundred times the physical fitness of an ordinary person.
Such power still couldn't completely suppress that monster... Her expression shifting, Yukino took out her phone, intending to call Elysia.
In her opinion, only inviting Elysia could subdue this monster.
And just as Yukino pulled out her phone.
She suddenly noticed that Hayashi had pulled out the revolver carrying the Gambling Authority again.
'That lunatic doesn't intend to...'
Before this thought finished forming in Yukino's mind, the next moment she saw Hayashi unhesitatingly fire another shot at himself!
This attitude of "If the power from one shot isn't enough, then take another shot" made Yukino's eyelids twitch and her beautiful eyes tremble... She felt she had truly seen something new today.
A monster whose bones could withstand her cursed tool's authority and resurrect, and a lunatic who was determined to win and only knew how to go all-in!
Yukino truly didn't know what to say!
However, she put the phone down.
Because she saw that Hayashi's shot... didn't fire! So he won the gamble again?
'Is the Goddess of Fortune his maid?!'
This thought flashed through her mind.
Yukino then saw Hayashi's boxing style change. If Hayashi's battle with the monster just now still utilized some form of boxing or perhaps Bajiquan, then now... the technique had been completely abandoned by Hayashi.
She only saw him gripping the monster's head with one hand, smashing, smashing, smashing it repeatedly into the ground... Under absolute brutality and absolute power!
Again and again, blow after blow.
Even Yukino and Asuna, hiding far away, felt as if they weren't standing on the solid earth but on a high-pressure spring.
That terrifying tremor... was even scarier than an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.
"So brutal..."
Watching this scene, Asuna said it was terrifying but felt a deep sense of security in her heart.
"Lunatic, lunatic!"
At this moment, Yukino, who was usually extremely well-mannered, felt for the first time that her vocabulary was somewhat lacking, unable to find stronger words to express her shock.
Editor's notes:
Forgot to update…
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