Chapter 441: Time Is About to Reverse

Chapter 441: Chapter 441: Time Is About to Reverse

Chapter 441: Time Is About to Reverse

Shining Starlight slashed down in Yuuki Asuna’s hands.

A wave of sword energy erupted instantly.

A thin crack first appeared along the center of the already sunken ground. The tiny particles of dust floating through the air split cleanly in half, and even space itself seemed to be torn apart by the strike.

Then...

"BOOM!!!"

Blinding light engulfed an area several kilometers long.

The radiance expanded rapidly, compressed downward for a brief instant, then erupted into a devastating explosion.

Its once beautiful brilliance transformed into pure destructive force. Even the thick clouds overhead were pierced by the energy fluctuations released from the sword strike.

"Hoo..."

When the light finally dissipated, Fujiwara Chika and the others looked ahead.

Yuuki Asuna remained standing only by driving the tip of Shining Starlight into the ground and using it to support her swaying body.

Blood slowly dripped from the fingers of her right hand.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably.

The backlash from forcibly using Flash Thrust while completely stationary had destroyed her remaining combat ability. Even staying on her feet now required every ounce of strength she possessed.

"Violet!"

Kato Megumi immediately rushed forward and caught Yuuki Asuna.

Only then did she realize that Asuna’s normally clear and radiant eyes had become dim. Even her gaze was beginning to lose focus.

"Ny... Nyx..."

Yuuki Asuna placed one hand on Kato Megumi’s shoulder.

Although she was on the verge of losing consciousness and could no longer see clearly, she still forced out a faint question.

"Did... did I do it...?"

"Yes."

At that moment, someone gently supported Yuuki Asuna’s other arm.

A familiar voice reached her ears, bringing immediate comfort.

"You did it, Violet."

"Next..."

Asagiri looked toward the final remaining Nyx Incarnation.

Shido Masayoshi’s golden outer shell had been completely stripped away, leaving him as a bloody, skinless figure.

Asagiri spoke slowly.

"Leave it to me."

"Wait. You... you..."

Yuuki Asuna’s right hand tightened around Asagiri’s black sleeve.

Although her consciousness was already fading, she still forced herself to ask,

"Your body..."

"Don’t worry. I’m fine."

Asagiri replied with a smile in his voice.

He raised his left hand and gently stroked Yuuki Asuna’s head.

"Phantom, take Violet somewhere safe."

"The task of protecting the rear is up to all of you."

"Mm..."

Kato Megumi responded with a complicated expression.

Like Kaguya Shinomiya and the others, she had already noticed that Asagiri’s entire right arm was gone, severed from the shoulder.

"You people..."

Shido Masayoshi clenched his fists.

Fragments of gold still clung to his body, but his appearance could no longer be called human.

He resembled a towering mass of twisted flesh, nearly two meters tall.

Seeing that he still retained enough strength to fight, Kaguya Shinomiya and the others felt their hearts grow heavy.

Only Kato Megumi, Kaguya Shinomiya, Hayasaka Ai, and Sakurakawa Rikka could still barely continue the battle.

Kato Megumi and Kaguya Shinomiya had already used their exclusive abilities and could not activate them again for the time being.

Their physical and spiritual energy had nearly reached its limits, leaving them incapable of sustained high intensity combat.

Hayasaka Ai’s exclusive ability focused on disguise and was useless in a direct battle. Her class was not combat oriented either.

Sakurakawa Rikka knew she was the only one who could still provide meaningful assistance.

However, although her exclusive ability was extraordinarily powerful, it carried a cost and could only be used once.

"You don’t need to do anything."

Just as Sakurakawa Rikka hesitated over whether to activate it, Asagiri seemed to read her thoughts.

"Leave him to me."

"You only need to protect the rear."

"Shadow, you bastard..."

Hearing Asagiri’s calm tone, Shido Masayoshi’s bloodied face twisted even further.

"Why?"

"I hold every advantage! You should be drowning in despair right now!"

"Why are you still so calm?"

"You should be crying, wailing, begging me to spare you!"

"Don’t make me laugh."

Facing Shido Masayoshi’s deranged shouting, Asagiri merely replied in a flat voice.

"From beginning to end, my true enemy has only ever been Nyx."

"As for you, Shido Masayoshi?"

"You abandoned everything, even your will as a human being, and reduced yourself to one of Nyx’s tools."

"Even after all that, I have never considered you worthy of my attention."

"You!!"

Shido Masayoshi’s arrogance could not endure such contempt.

No.

It was not even contempt.

Asagiri simply did not acknowledge him at all.

Consumed by rage, Shido Masayoshi charged forward at terrifying speed, his swollen body tearing through the air.

"Die!!!"

"Bang!!"

Asagiri’s left fist collided with Shido Masayoshi’s right fist in midair.

The shock wave created by their pure physical strength made the surrounding ground tremble.

"Persona, Human Asura!"

Asagiri summoned Human Asura once again.

Blood immediately flowed from his eyes.

His spiritual power had already been overdrawn, yet his gaze remained unwavering.

That complete absence of fear or respect enraged the arrogant Shido Masayoshi even further.

He raised his left arm and blocked Human Asura’s powerful punch, but the impact still sent him sliding several meters backward.

Using that brief opening, a mass of deep gray nanoparticles condensed around the severed stump of Asagiri’s right shoulder.

Walrider compressed its nanoparticle form into a replacement arm.

Because its full volume had been concentrated into a single limb, the resulting arm was even denser and more solid than Walrider’s normal body.

Seeing this, Shido Masayoshi’s arm muscles swelled violently.

A layer of golden material once again spread across their surface.

"God’s Hand!"

His fists tore through the air with such terrifying force that cracks appeared in space itself.

Human Asura immediately moved in front of Asagiri and used its own body to withstand the attack.

"Don’t use your puppet to obstruct me!"

Shido Masayoshi forced his way past Human Asura.

His golden left hand reached directly toward Asagiri’s chest.

Asagiri tried to evade, but the instant he placed force on his left leg, a crisp cracking sound echoed.

The leg bent at an unnatural angle.

"Have I finally reached my limit...?"

No matter how powerful Asagiri’s will was, his shattered body had reached its absolute limit.

"Die!"

The dazzling golden hand drew closer.

Fanaticism spread across Shido Masayoshi’s face.

As long as he tore out Shadow’s heart, no matter how tenacious his life force was, he would surely die on the spot.

Shadow’s corpse collapsing at his feet would serve as proof of submission to Shido Masayoshi.

"Clang!!"

At the critical moment, a woman in a business suit appeared with a katana in hand.

Her blade intercepted Shido Masayoshi’s hand and protected Asagiri.

"You..."

The moment Shido Masayoshi saw Miwa Ashikaga standing in front of Asagiri, his expression changed.

"You finally arrived."

Asagiri smiled.

"If you had been any later, I would have needed to find a way to self destruct with him."

"You’re this badly injured, yet you still have the energy to talk."

Miwa Ashikaga replied blandly.

Only then did Shido Masayoshi notice the hundreds of Players rapidly approaching from every direction.

Within moments, they had formed an impenetrable encirclement around him.

"Every available combatant has arrived."

"You can’t kill him," Asagiri said softly.

Then he added,

"But you can help me drain his stamina for one minute."

"One minute, huh?"

Miwa Ashikaga immediately understood what Asagiri intended.

A faint smile appeared on her normally stern face.

She pointed the tip of her katana toward Shido Masayoshi and spoke calmly.

"In that case, let our deaths pave the road to your victory."

The moment her words fell, hundreds of Players launched their attacks simultaneously.

Although none of them possessed strength on the level of Asagiri and his companions, the combined assault still carried tremendous power.

Shido Masayoshi was already severely wounded.

Faced with the overwhelming barrage, he could only condense another golden outer layer around himself and focus entirely on defense.

...

Only fifty seconds later, hundreds of Players had been slaughtered.

As a Nyx Incarnation, Shido Masayoshi existed on an entirely different level from them.

The four members of the White Suit Team, Miwa Ashikaga, and hundreds of other Players lay scattered across the battlefield in pools of blood.

Asagiri looked at their bodies without any change in expression.

Shido Masayoshi, despite already panting heavily and needing all his strength to take each step, still revealed a hideous grin.

"Have you gone numb from fear?"

"You’re next."

"This is the end."

"This is my victo..."

"Nyx."

Asagiri interrupted him.

He looked directly into Shido Masayoshi’s eyes, yet his words were not meant for Shido Masayoshi.

They were a declaration to the existence beyond him.

"The next battle will be the last."

"We will destroy your true body."

Shido Masayoshi froze for a moment, then burst into manic laughter.

"What are you talking about?"

"Can you not accept that you’re about to die?"

"There won’t be a next time!"

"Time..."

Asagiri extended his right hand.

An illusory Tarot card bearing the image of the Universe appeared within his palm, symbolizing Asagiri himself.

Under Shido Masayoshi’s bewildered gaze, Asagiri crushed the card.

"Is about to reverse."

The moment those words left his lips, everything within Shido Masayoshi’s vision, including his own body, began moving backward.

It was as though someone had pressed rewind on reality itself.

The dead Players rose from the ground.

Their wounds vanished.

The devastated terrain restored itself.

Time had been forcibly returned to one minute earlier.

However, none of the stamina or spiritual power Shido Masayoshi had spent during that minute returned with it.

"How is this possible...?"

Before Shido Masayoshi could react, agony tore through his chest.

Asagiri’s deep gray right arm, formed from Walrider’s nanoparticles, had already pierced into his body.

The hand dispersed into countless nanoparticles.

Then they erupted from within.

"Bang!!!"

Shido Masayoshi’s body exploded into a rain of blood.

Amid the falling crimson, Asagiri spoke softly.

"It’s over."

....

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