Chapter 51: An Unfair Fight in a Fair Fight

Whooooosh!

Hargod swung the crimson chain, lifting three people off the ground at once. He had enough strength to spin them above his head.

"Get out of here! You’re not worthy of fighting me!" Hargod exclaimed, flinging them aside.

With a crash, they slammed into the wall and collapsed to the ground. It was a painful experience, but nothing the three Hunters couldn’t handle.

At least, that’s how it seemed at first glance.

’Hmm? Why aren’t they getting up?’ Kreyn glared at him.

Groza tried to stand up, but as soon as she braced herself on one knee, her legs trembled, and she collapsed to the ground.

"What the...?" Groza muttered. Her eyelids felt unusually heavy, and her body wouldn’t obey her. "Why am I so weak?"

Garius and Kalysa were in a similar situation.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Hargod’s arm muscles trembled, growing larger and larger. Soon, he nodded with satisfaction and flung the chain aside.

Kreyn turned his gaze toward him.

"I didn’t expect this from you. Of all people, you’d be the last I’d suspect. Our lover of fighting strong opponents knows how to absorb the powers of others. Sounds like a bad joke."

Hargod waved his hand as if trying to shoo away an annoying fly.

"I know. You don’t have to tell me, it’s a total shame. But I didn’t choose this ability. It just happened that way."

"Sure."

Kreyn squinted.

"Did you absorb all their power, or just a part of it?"

"Come on, are you really interested in that?" Hargod shrugged. "About 30% from each of them. So, if it makes you feel any better, I’m roughly one and a half times stronger now. Satisfied?"

Strangely enough, Kreyn nodded.

"Yes. Now I know your punch will break my arms, no matter what I do."

"Hahaha! That’s true!"

Hargod laughed, but something was bothering him.

For some reason, he didn’t see any fear in Kreyn’s eyes.

’He’s clearly not crazy if he managed to get this far. So... Why does he still believe he can win?’

"I want to ask you something. That chain from your eye. What’s the maximum number of targets you could grasp?"

With a broad grin, Hargod held up three fingers.

"I left you on purpose. After all, I said from the very beginning that I wanted to fight someone strong!"

"I see."

Whooooosh!

Kreyn lunged forward, for some reason staring at Hargod’s chest.

Hargod didn’t expect things to start so abruptly, but he quickly braced himself for the attack.

’I can see it!’ Hargod’s eyes widened as Kreyn raised his leg.

The kick was precise, heading straight for Hargod’s side.

He was ready to block both the kick and the stone pillar that was supposed to follow, until... Kreyn simply let his leg go.

’What...?’ Hargod was caught off guard. ’Was that a feint?!’

Step.

Kreyn stopped to Hargod’s right as the silver ring on his finger shone brightly.

In the blink of an eye, the cross-shaped white blade pierced Hargod’s heart, passing effortlessly through his chest.

In a panic, Hargod’s pupils shrank as his massive fist lashed out like a whip, throwing Kreyn aside.

CRASH!

Kreyn crashed into a column as Hargod rushed to check on the damage.

"Is that...? What is that?"

Instead of a wound or blood, he saw a line of flickering light. The line led straight to Kreyn.

"You mean this?"

Kreyn smirked, showing the Phantom Soul Blade.

"Huh. You see, you can’t defeat an opponent stronger than you if you fight clean. That’s especially true when your opponent is beating up your allies and stealing their power for himself."

His tone grew more menacing, and it was clear he was enjoying the moment.

"It’s precisely at moments like this that you need to start fighting fair!"

THRUST!

Without hesitation, Kreyn plunged the blade into his own heart as it shone brightly and exploded into particles of light.

[Phantom Soul Blade

[Type: Product

[Description: A blade so fragile that it has no solid shell, yet so hard that only death can shatter it. Once this blade pierces two hearts, a balance is established between them.]

TREMBLING!

The white line trembled as Hargod felt his strength beginning to fade.

"You... Did you have the same ability?"

"No."

Kreyn’s even voice came from the side.

"I’m not taking your power. You’re simply giving it to me."

"ARH?!" Hargod growled in irritation. "What difference does it make if the effect is the same?!"

Kreyn shook his head as he got up from the ground.

"No. There is a difference. If I were stronger than you, I’d have to give you part of my power. Get it?"

His fingers trembled with excitement as he held his hands out in front of him.

"Now, our powers are equal, Hargod. This will be exactly the fair one-on-one fight you wanted so badly! The only thing that will decide the outcome is the willpower of the two of us! Whoever stops fighting first loses!"

Hargod grimaced. He wasn’t used to his opponent being equal in strength to him. Usually, he outmatched his opponent.

But it was too late to back down now.

"Fine."

Hargod’s smirk slowly widened as a fire ignited in his eyes.

"Great! That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear! Come at me, you little bastard!"

Kreyn lunged forward, and soon their fists collided.

Now, they were on par with each other. Kreyn’s mutation and Hargod’s transformation balanced themselves out as well.

Unfortunately for Kreyn, he couldn’t use his second mutation. It put too much strain on him, and he hadn’t fully recovered from the last time.

But he was going to win in a different way regardless.

If there was one thing he knew how to do well, it was to fight to the very end.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Groza looked up as their figures were reflected in her shocked eyes. The fists slammed into their chests, stomachs, and faces, blood spurted out, and even the ground beneath them shook slightly as none of them had taken a step back yet.

"We... We have to help him!"

Garius’s hand tugged at her shoulder.

"Stay here."

"Ah?"

His gaze grew heavy. "Now... We can’t stop them. We’re so weak we can’t even stand on our own feet. We have to hope he succeeds, believe in him."

BAM!

Another of Hargod’s punches slammed straight into Kreyn’s nose, breaking it with a loud crack.

"Hahaha! What do you have to say now?" Hargod laughed smugly, but the excitement on his face quickly turned to shock.

Kreyn’s stone boot struck his right knee at an angle, breaking it just as easily.

Hargod leaned to the side just as Kreyn’s punch was already on its way.

Their fists collided, but this time, Hargod couldn’t keep his balance and crashed to the ground.

Knowing what awaited him next, Hargod hurried to get back up, ignoring the pain in his knee, and that was his greatest mistake.

THRUST!

Kreyn’s leg plunged deep into Hargod’s stomach, and since it was a bottom-up strike, a sharp stone pillar followed, slamming into the same spot.

"GHA!"

Blood gushed from Hargod’s mouth, flooding the ground beneath him.

The next kick came immediately, as Kreyn struck him in the face, sending him crashing back to the ground.

Before Hargod could react, Kreyn was already on top of him as his fists rained down on Hargod with full force.

"NO!!!!" Hargod roared, putting up a block.

Even though their strength was now equal, Kreyn’s mutated arms could barely pierce the iron ones, leaving only scratches.

But one sliver after another flying off to the side quickly made it clear to Hargod that soon, Kreyn would get to him.

He had to do something if he wanted to survive.

’I have no other choice!’ he cried inwardly, thrusting his arms out.

Hargod lowered his guard to kill Kreyn as his massive fists clamped down on Kreyn’s neck, choking him.

"DIE! YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!"

A fleeting glint ran across the claws of the mutated arms, reflecting in Kreyn’s hazel eyes.

Thrust!

The claws sank into Hargod’s throat, as the two hands touched knuckles before Kreyn swung his arms in opposite directions, tearing Hargod’s throat to pieces.

In a matter of seconds, Hargod choked on his own blood as his arms inevitably went limp and crashed to the ground with a thud.

The bruises on the neck didn’t bother Kreyn at all as he sighed heavily, lowering his own arms.

Groza, Kalysa, and Garius, lying motionless off to the side, exchanged glances in disbelief.

It couldn’t be true, it shouldn’t be, but... They won.

No.

He won.

"Yes..." Kreyn smirked, staring upward. "I won..."

And, right now, he was looking at his reward.

[The Grand Soul – obtained.]