Chapter 540: Re battle with Atostana, Gates of Heavenly Prison!
Soon, the clash between the two reached a level that felt almost unreal.
No one could even follow their movements anymore.
All that remained was the pressure.
That terrifying, crushing energy that made the air itself tremble.
"I don't get it," Kuina muttered, still staring at the sky. "Everyone trains every day, but we still can't keep up with the captain's growth!"
They usually practiced together as a group.
Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, often looked like he was just watching the show and munching snacks, or thinking about what to do next, or simply taking a break.
Yet his strength kept rising anyway, as if the rules did not apply to him.
"Brother Ryuunosuke's strength is a mystery," Akame said quietly.
Then she clapped her hands, as if deciding something important.
"Also, we don't seem to have anything to do right now. Come on, Kuina. Let's go cook for Brother Ryuunosuke."
As she spoke, Akame grabbed Kuina and pulled her away.
It was not that Akame was careless.
She simply believed Ryuunosuke would win.
Still, watching this kind of battle for too long always left an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
If she was going to be nervous anyway, she might as well cook.
…
High above, the two figures were locked in midair.
"Captain Ryuunosuke," Atostana called out, voice strained but steady. "With strength like yours, your goals should be different from ours."
"If you need something, why can't we cooperate?"
Atostana's confusion was real.
Ryuunosuke was stronger than before, only slightly, but even that slight growth was absurd at their level.
For people like them, a tiny increase in power could take countless years.
But Ryuunosuke improved like it was breathing.
"Cooperate?" Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed, and he smiled like he was amused.
"My target right now is Lilith."
"But I also don't think Adam is a good person."
His tone turned playful, almost teasing.
"Can you guarantee that when you leave this world, you'll take him with you?"
Atostana's expression answered before his mouth could.
He could not accept that.
"Then there's only one choice," Atostana said softly, almost regretful.
"Captain Ryuunosuke has to disappear from this world."
He sighed, as if it truly pained him.
"It's a shame. I would rather be friends with you."
"What a pity…"
Then his voice dropped.
"The Gates of Heavenly Prison!"
Atostana drove the Heavenly Cloud Flow Fire Blade in his hand straight into his own body.
Crimson flames erupted instantly, lighting up the entire sky like a bleeding sunrise.
A blood red gate slammed into existence across the heavens, massive enough to blot out the clouds.
Chains hung from it, reeking of a cold, bloody stench.
They swayed without wind, clanging with a sound that felt like a death sentence.
"This…" Ryuunosuke frowned.
"A man who calls himself a champion of justice is using something like this."
"That's really impressive."
The leader of those Evictors truly was not a good person.
Just this power alone made that obvious.
Atostana was already fully decided.
He was here to kill.
"Justice?" Atostana's voice sharpened.
"I represent the justice of my side."
"It's just that you're not standing where I wanted you to stand."
He raised his head toward the crimson gate.
"The Gates of Heavenly Prison, open!"
Another long sword appeared in his hand.
The chill that gathered above was so extreme that even the air froze, becoming pale mist and brittle frost.
He plunged that second sword into his body as well.
The price to open and use the Heavenly Prison Gate was clearly terrifying.
Click click click…
Splash…
The doors creaked as they slowly opened.
Chains rattled as if they were being dragged through a grave.
From within, an aura of death and destruction poured out, thick enough to make the world feel heavier.
Puff…
In the next instant, a massive hand shot out from inside the gate.
Its target was Ryuunosuke.
"Beyond the Boundary, Ze!"
A terrifying aura burst from the twin blades in Ryuunosuke's hands.
Space in front of him twisted and compressed like paper being crushed.
The ghostly hand rushing toward him was annihilated instantly, shredded by warped space.
Puff puff puff…
Ryuunosuke was about to counterattack.
Then chains pierced through his body in a blink, locking him down.
"Once the Gates of Heaven are opened, there's no turning back," Atostana said coldly.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, you might as well die."
"Don't worry."
"I won't attack the Dragon Hunter Pirates unless they come looking for revenge."
"My goal is only to protect Adam."
As he spoke, Atostana drew his twin swords again.
He forced the blood in his body to surge wildly.
The chains drank it.
After absorbing Atostana's blood, the Heavenly Prison chains instantly retracted, snapping back like satisfied snakes.
At the same time, a second arm emerged from the gate.
Its aura was the same as the first, equally murderous, equally absolute.
"Locked targets can't be changed?" Ryuunosuke's lips curled into something strange.
"That's really interesting."
He tilted his head slightly, smiling wider.
"I wonder how many times you can use this, Mr. Atostana."
That smile made Atostana's heart tighten.
Because he knew what this gate meant.
The Heavenly Prison Gate was supposed to be an unsolvable problem.
To open it, the user had to sacrifice thirty percent of their essence.
They also needed enough strength to gain the gate's recognition.
If they failed, they would lose thirty percent of their origin for nothing, and still summon nothing.
And Atostana had already been weakened before by Ryuunosuke.
He could use this gate at most twice.
A third time would absolutely fail.
So when Ryuunosuke smiled like that, a ridiculous thought flashed through Atostana's head.
The Heavenly Prison Gate might be powerless against him.
But that made no sense.
Ryuunosuke was clearly bound by chains, trapped under the Asura hand.
"Mr. Atostana," another voice said calmly, cutting through the tension.
"Next time you designate a target, you should look carefully."
"Is it possible the gate grabbed the wrong person?"
Atostana's eyes widened.
A second Ryuunosuke stepped forward.
"A physical clone," Atostana hissed, understanding instantly.
The one chained inside the gate was just a clone.
"Mr. Atostana," the real Ryuunosuke said, smiling.
"Next, it's my turn to perform."
"You remember our last fight, right?"
"You know the time limit hasn't expired yet."
His smile turned even more unsettling.
The health bar card he had used before lasted three months.
Atostana had come back so quickly, he was basically volunteering as experimental material.
Atostana immediately recalled what had happened before, when Ryuunosuke had reduced his source energy.
A hint of retreat finally appeared in his expression.
In this situation, forget taking Charlotte Linlin.
He might not even escape with his own life.
He was not afraid of dying.
But dying for nothing was not his choice.
"A Song of Ice and Fire, Storm!"
Atostana unleashed a wide range attack, forcing the battlefield to explode outward in chaos.
He did it because he could not be sure the Ryuunosuke in front of him was real.
If it was another clone, then even if he sacrificed himself to summon the Heavenly Prison Gate again, it would be meaningless.
So he used the storm to block Ryuunosuke's advance.
Then, without hesitation, he activated his ability and vanished.
Even after Atostana disappeared, the Heavenly Prison Gate remained, towering in the sky like a scar.
"What a powerful force of rules," Ryuunosuke said quietly.
"But…"
He pressed the two swords in his hands together.
Beyond the Boundary was released again.
Space folded.
Yet the gate still stood unmoving, as if it existed outside the rules of the world in front of him.
"Not in this space?"
"If it's not there…"
"Then I'll create one!"
"Invisible Boundary, Twilight!"
Ryuunosuke raised his sword.
In an instant, a space enveloped his vision, separating the world like a curtain dropping.
Then the other side was released once more.
Roar…
A piercing scream tore through the air.
The chains began to crumble inch by inch.
Blood seeped out from the shattered links, dripping like something alive had been wounded.
Finally, under Ryuunosuke's relentless force, the Heavenly Prison Gate cracked.
Then it shattered completely.
And the clone was freed.
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