Chapter 92: White Star Radiance vs Ramorous II
Silence fell for a heartbeat.
Even though they felt a slight sense of relief and expectation, Elton and the others knew that things were far from over. Suddenly, they sensed movement.
From the dust walked Ramorous—bleeding and burned. His axe cracked and aura flickering.
But grinning.
"You almost made me kneel," he muttered, spitting black blood. "I haven't had this much fun in a while."
Elton's breath came ragged now. Zoro's shoulders heaved. Erica's magic circle was dimming. Shayleaf's lips were pale.
Christy crouched behind cover, eyes glowing.
"He's bleeding… but he's not weakening," she muttered to herself. "How much more do we need to do to get rid of this thing!"
Elton raised his sword again. His gaze didn't waver.
"Then we'll just cut him down until there's nothing left."
Every breath came with the smell of scorched bark, burning Ki, and fresh blood. The ground was soaked and cracked. Trees lay shattered like broken teeth. In the distance, faint sounds of battle echoed from the other squads—Ramiro and Joe-Pine still locked in their own desperate clashes.
But here—this was Ramorous's killing field.
"Come on!" the demon howled, dragging his half-cracked axe across the dirt. His wounds oozed thick black blood, but his muscles pulsed with demonic power. "COME ON, WHITE STAR RADIANCE! IS THIS ALL YOU'VE GOT?!!"
He shot forward like a cannonball.
BOOM!
Zoro raised both blades but was launched back with a crushing uppercut that bent the air. His body skipped across the battlefield like a stone across water before crashing through a dead oak.
Elton moved—Star Lightning Steps flashing his figure forward, blade in hand.
Their weapons collided again, filled with intense pressure.
Elton gritted his teeth. His speed form was faltering. The Star Aura from his third meridian flickered. He was starting to over-expend his Ki and Magic power.
Still, he struck.
—First Light Pierce!—
Ramorous turned his shoulder into it. The attack landed deep in his collarbone, black Ki spurting out. But he grinned, eyes flashing red.
"Good hit. Now it's my turn."
CRACK.
A sharp elbow slammed into Elton's chest, knocking the wind out of him. The demon kicked upward—Elton barely crossed his arms in time before he was flung through the air.
"EL ONYEM!" Erica screamed, casting a bolt of lightning that crashed against Ramorous's arm. He staggered—but didn't fall.
Then, three of the weaker beast-like demons descended on Erica and Shayleaf, snarling.
"Hold them back!" Zoro shouted, stumbling to his feet. Blood dripped from his lips.
Shayleaf summoned vines again, gritting her teeth. "Vine Entanglement!" Thick green limbs surged from the broken terrain and wrapped around two of the beasts, flinging them aside and subtly crushing their bodies. But the other one kept coming.
Christy intercepted it in a blur, her hands glowing with Ki.
SMACK! A spinning kick caught the beast in the neck. As it turned, she ducked under its claws and drove a powerful palm strike straight into its gut, sending it flying backward with a burning red light slowly ripping through it.
Her glowing eyes narrowed. "That one's done… but we can't keep this pace up. Not with that Hobgoblin demon still pushing."
Erica stood her ground, flames swirling around her feet. "Then we change the pace."
—Homing Fire Missiles!—
—Static Bullet Storm!—
Dozens of fireballs, smaller than before but faster, launched in succession. Each one curved in midair, tracing Ramorous's movement. Sparks of static Ki rained down like a storm, blinding and sizzling against the wet forest floor.
Ramorous ducked one, batted another, and roared as several struck his side and back, burning him.
"ENOUGH!"
His Ki surged again—then exploded.
—Demonic Body: Bone-Plate Ascent!—
His skin thickened. Veins pulsed visibly. Hard, pale bone-like armor grew across his shoulders, chest, and arms—horned plating like that of a beast king. His axe, half-cracked before, was now reforged mid-battle by his Ki into something heavier and jagged, crackling with dark lightning.
Zoro stood, panting. "Damnit..! So he had such an ace up his sleeves, eh?"
Elton wiped blood from his mouth, his sword pulsing dimly.
"He's starting to take us seriously," he said.
"Good," Christy muttered. "Because we've been serious since the moment he touched down."
But it wasn't enough.
Ramorous leapt again. In a flash, he shouldered past Elton's slash, knocking the boy off balance, then hurled his axe at Zoro.
Zoro raised both blades—
CLANG!
The impact launched him backward again, the twin swords sparking furiously in his hands.
Shayleaf barely managed to shield Erica from a strike from another demon. Her green Ki flickered, veins in her temple pulsing.
Elton rose to a knee. Blood trickled down his temple. He stared at Ramorous as the demon stalked closer, footsteps loud, deliberate, echoing off the shattered trees.
The battlefield trembled under Ramorous's next step. Bone plating jutted from his shoulders like jagged mountain ridges. His eyes gleamed with malice. The reforged axe in his hand crackled with black lightning, screeching with every twitch of his wrist.
He pointed a clawed finger at Elton with a taunting smirk.
BOOM!
He burst forward in a blur of demonic speed. Elton only barely managed to dodge with Star Lightning Steps, the impact cratering the earth behind him.
Zoro intercepted him next—both black katanas raised high.
—Two Sword Style: Black Shadows Decapitation!—
A flicker—afterimages danced across the battlefield. One blade cut from the left, a ghostly double struck from the right. Ramorous roared as the right cut sliced across his ribs, but his plated armor held—barely.
He retaliated with a vicious backhand that Zoro deflected—but not fully. The blow slammed him to the ground, carving a ditch beneath him.
"ZORO!" Erica screamed, unleashing a salvo.
—Lightning Strike! Static Bullet Storm!—
Bolts of white-hot energy hammered into Ramorous's flank. Sparks flew—his body staggered. Erica wasn't done.
—Homing Fire Missiles!—
The missiles curved through the air in chaotic spirals—slamming into Ramorous's back and detonating with fiery bursts. His black blood splattered, steam rising off his back.
But his rage only grew.
"RAAAAGHH!"
With another explosion of force, he dashed straight at Erica.
"Move!" shouted Christy, intercepting with a surge of speed.
Her eyes locked on his vital points. "There—above the collarplate!"
She weaved under his swing, twisting around his hulking form.
—Twin Palm Destruction!—
Her hands glowed with bright red Ki as she struck his exposed nerve cluster. He winced—but still swung his axe.
She ducked, barely missing a decapitation. The wind from the swing alone knocked her back.
"Christy!" Shayleaf shouted, raising her hand.
—Reinforcing Vines: Root Armor!—
Thick green vines burst from the ground, wrapping around Christy to absorb some of the impact as she hit a tree. She gasped for air—but stood.
"I'm fine…!"
But Ramorous was still coming.
He leapt skyward, axe raised—ready to bring it down on all of them.
Elton's voice roared across the battlefield.
—Second Bright Brilliance Sword: Dazzling Horizon Cut!—
A radiant wave of blazing white Ki swept upward—like a sunrise cutting through stormclouds. It clashed with Ramorous's descending form.
BOOOOOM!!!
The shockwave shattered nearby dead trees and blew a hole in the already cracked earth.
Ramorous was knocked back, part of his bone plating scorched and broken. His body skidded across the battlefield, smoke rising from his limbs.
Elton landed hard, panting, but raised his sword once more.
"I'm not done…"
Zoro appeared beside him, black Ki swirling violently around him.
"Neither am I."
Ramorous rose again, slower this time—his grin twisted, blood pouring freely now.
"Hahahaha! You rats are only delaying the inevitable!!"
Shayleaf dropped to one knee, gasping. "I… can't hold on much longer."
Erica placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then focus on one thing… just one."
Christy stood, blood dripping from her knuckles. "Buy Elton time. He's about to use a powerful skill."
Elton's sword pulsed with light.
His aura grew stronger—lightning swirling like a storm trapped in human skin.
"Alright, Demon…"
He raised the blade to the sky.
"…I'll show you the true Radiance of my sword."