As Kiana's figure completely vanished into the white light in his peripheral vision, Shu and the Demon King erupted with dazzling light almost simultaneously.
Cold black light and soft, multicolored light instantly filled the world, forming a clear dividing line between them.
A piercing shriek emanated from the point of impact, an unbearable sound for any human.
Shu flinched at the piercing sound, clicking his tongue in annoyance before taking the initiative, raising his sword.
The multicolored light showed no restraint. Just as the current Shu wouldn't bother with too much strategy, he would only think of crushing his opponent head-on.
The dividing line above was shattered by a massive sword beam, which reached the Demon King in an instant.
The Demon King raised its hand to tear the sword beam apart, but before it could, in the split second before the beam reached it… a huge wound suddenly burst open on its chest.
The immense impact sent black smoke billowing from the Demon King's body. It stumbled back several steps, gritting its teeth and preparing to raise its hand again to block the still-advancing sword beam.
But the sword beam suddenly vanished. The expected blow never came. The Demon King froze, looking up in bewilderment. The sword beam had indeed dissipated, right where it had been a moment ago.
No… the sword beam did hit!! It's just that it hit… when…
Before the Demon King could figure it out, Shu was already upon it, sword in hand, swinging down in a great arc.
Black flames surged. The Demon King raised a hand and grasped the pseudo-Xuanyuan Sword. The moment it made contact, a powerful resistance from its hand, and indeed its entire body, jolted the Demon King awake.
Authority?
The confrontation wasn't between Honkai energy or physical strength, but between their respective authorities! Complete authorities!
Using "Wish Fulfillment" to fight "Dreams Come True"!
The Demon King was pondering this, but Shu didn't need to. He already knew what they were fighting with. In the Demon King's moment of hesitation, Shu flipped over and delivered a vicious whip kick to its head.
The Demon King raised its other hand to block the attack.
But this time was different from catching the sword. Shu's foot seemed to lose its physical form, passing right through the Demon King's hand and, to its stunned surprise, kicking it squarely in the head.
The kick deformed the Demon King's head, sending its entire body spinning away like a top.
Shu landed on one foot, slowly lowering his raised leg, then frowned at his sword.
The blade was tainted with black smoke, the aura from the Demon King. He was attacking it with his authority, and naturally, it was using its own authority to attack back.
Its ability was still troublesome. If he hadn't reacted to the erosion of its authority, he might have suffered severe damage himself.
It seems I have to…
End this quickly!
Be careful? Defend?
He had been careful for so long, splitting every ounce of [Hope] in two! Even when using a [Wish], he had to be stingy, picking the smallest, least valuable ones to use first…
He had calculated every step, held back for so long, and now you want me to be this careful and calculated?
Then wasn't the price I paid for nothing?!
Wait, what was the price again?
Who cares! This power is useful, that's all that matters!
Before the Demon King could get up, Shu charged again, delivering another unexplained sword strike. The Demon King defended hastily. The sword beams it shattered splashed around, instantly cleaving open huge gashes wherever they landed.
Wound after wound, spewing black smoke, appeared on the Demon King's body. The speed of Shu's sword swings grew faster and faster.
Strangely, sometimes when there was no attack, a wound would inexplicably appear on the Demon King. Other times, when the Demon King seemed about to block an attack, it just couldn't. The attacks would land on it in all sorts of unbelievable ways.
Finally, as Shu's sword pierced its arm, the Demon King could no longer withstand fighting Shu in close quarters. It leaped back and shot into the sky.
At the same time, another wound appeared on its back. Shu's sword missed. He looked up at the fleeing Demon King and was about to give chase when it flung a handful of black dots down at him.
The dots fell from the sky like a meteor shower, raining down on Shu. He frowned and swatted one away. A violent explosion erupted beside him.
He turned to see a mushroom cloud rising from the ground.
Shu was shocked. He hadn't expected these small dots to have such destructive power. Looking up again, the sky was like a downpour, a dense rain of dots falling indiscriminately upon the entire world.
Shu whipped around, no longer caring about the fleeing Demon King. He turned towards a blank area of the world and clenched his fist.
Pure crystals suddenly "grew" from the ground, entwined with thorny vines. Large swathes of crystal emerged from the earth, enclosing the blank area.
The black dots exploded violently against the crystals, the massive vibrations shaking the entire world.
Crystal shards flew everywhere, but when the explosions subsided, the thick crystal wall still stood!
Shu turned and pointed his sword at the sky, cursing, "Is this all you can do?!"
The Demon King didn't answer. It was only focused on escaping, still unable to comprehend how it was being wounded.
I clearly blocked it… why am I getting hurt? Where are these wounds appearing from thin air coming from? How is he hiding his attack trajectories?
Suddenly, it sensed a streak of light chasing it from behind. It didn't need to look back to know it was the flying sword Shu had thrown.
The Demon King dodged sideways, but a sword wound still uncontrollably appeared on its body. Black smoke billowed out, slowing its escape by a step.
That one step was all Shu needed. He had already caught up from behind, his hands accumulating multicolored light, while in front of him, the flying sword had turned around!
An unavoidable pincer attack!
The longsword pierced the Demon King's chest, and Shu's fist smashed into its face. The opposing forces tore and deformed its body.
Shu's other hand grabbed the hilt, pulling out the Xuanyuan Sword and, in a swift turn, brought it down squarely on the Demon King's neck.
The blade cut through the Demon King's surface, embedding itself at the junction of its head and body.
An unprecedented resistance came from the Demon King's neck. Shu tightened his grip and pushed the blade in another inch.
He had a feeling. If this strike succeeded, victory would be his!!