Of course, although the current Leo Ash felt a little apologetic about mentally confusing Yuno with words, apologies were apologies; he had no intention of holding back at a time like this.
The opponent, even if mentally confused, was still a genuine Herrscher.
A mentally confused Herrscher would indeed lose some of her ability to think, but at the same time, she would no longer hold back her power and would begin to attack Leo Ash with full force.
Leo Ash chose to talk her down because he wanted to seize her opening, but this didn't mean the threat Yuno posed would decrease just because of a few words.
According to Leo Ash's calculations, after Yuno's defense was broken by Leo Ash, she would likely enter a brief period of mental blankness.
But after this blank period, she would surely begin to launch even more ferocious attacks on Leo Ash, just like when she discovered she had been deceived.
And for the current Leo Ash, whether he could suppress Yuno depended on whether he could find her weakness during this blank period and launch a targeted attack.
Yuno, clutching her head and wailing in agony, indeed, just as Leo Ash had envisioned, didn't notice that Leo Ash was still fusing the two powers of Honkai Energy and mana at his fingertips and continuously charging up.
For Leo Ash, who often trained in the dreamscape, he had long since compressed the time needed to condense energy and charge up for skill releases.
Therefore, this skill, which should have required some charging time, naturally became a quick-release skill in Leo Ash's hands.
"Special Beam—Cannon!"
After releasing the power at his fingertips towards Yuno, Leo Ash immediately rushed forward without stopping.
The Special Beam Cannon, a move that requires charging, may leave the user with a huge opening in a one-on-one fight, but with such a major restriction, its destructive power is naturally terrifyingly enhanced.
Moreover, this move developed by the ki-using warrior Piccolo not only has powerful destructive force but also a special characteristic.
After the user concentrates power at their fingertips and fires it at the enemy in one go, the energy transforms into a spiral light cannon with extremely strong penetration, easily piercing through the enemy's body and injuring them directly.
Against this kind of Imaginary Barrier, which had a large defensive area that spread its defensive power thin, the attack style of the Special Beam Cannon could even be considered a counter.
And just as Leo Ash had predicted, after he fired the light cannon and it hit Yuno's Imaginary Barrier, it actually pierced right through it.
However, perhaps because the energy intensity of the light cannon was too high, or perhaps because the shattering of the barrier surprised Yuno too much,
the moment the barrier shattered, Yuno actually endured the headache and began to frantically dodge to the right.
In an instant, Yuno, having completed her dodge, successfully avoided the fate of being pierced through.
But looking at the flesh on her lower ribs that had been directly 'vaporized,' she still felt that this attack was too surreal.
She had seen Leo Ash use this move to sneak attack the Joyce clone during their duel.
At that time, the move hadn't produced any terrifying results, but now, this same move had almost seriously injured her.
This... how is this possible!
However, the shocked girl had no time to react again.
That Yuno could manage to dodge was, for the most part, within Leo Ash's calculations.
He knew his opponent was no pushover, so even if she showed an opening, Leo Ash didn't dare to be careless.
Leo Ash, after firing the Special Beam Cannon, rushed out directly for this very reason.
If Yuno was truly talked down to the point of being unable to dodge, he could just rush in to finish her off.
If Yuno was able to dodge, then with the barrier completely shattered and Yuno unable to quickly create another one, she was clearly at her weakest.
Of course, no matter how weak Yuno was, she was still a genuine Herrscher. Her authority and Honkai Energy intensity would not disappear or decrease just because her barrier was broken.
But the enemy had shown an opening, and if he didn't pursue, letting the hard-won opportunity slip away, Leo Ash felt he would probably die with regrets if he ended up being killed because of it.
Just as Yuno noticed her flesh had been vaporized, Leo Ash had already appeared in front of her, slamming a punch into her body.
"Sea Tiger—Destructive Punch!"
Leo Ash, who had struck Yuno with a single blow, now caused both mana and Honkai Energy to detonate inside Yuno's body.
Although Leo Ash could see the wounds on Yuno's body from the explosion being rapidly repaired by the authority of [Rebirth], he was already very satisfied with this result.
If Yuno were still in her original state of 'I think I'm fine,' then facing a Yuno who hadn't realized she was being guided by the God of Honkai and whose mind was still relatively clear during battle, Leo Ash felt that she wouldn't have given him a chance to charge and fire the Special Beam Cannon at all.
Even now, Leo Ash's tactical planning still hadn't changed significantly.
Winning against her would be great, but the difficulty was too high.
Compared to daydreaming, he felt the most important thing to do was still to stall Yuno as much as possible while ensuring his own safety, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
And now, after Leo Ash started beating Yuno with his fists, an undeniable hatred finally appeared in Yuno's eyes.
"Human, you have angered me!"
"Oh, so you're finally dropping the act, huh."
Watching the Herrscher before him begin to directly gather her authority, Leo Ash didn't hesitate to use Sea Tiger Destructive Punch again, slamming a punch into her abdomen.
"I don't know if my guess is correct."
"But, whether you've merged with Yuno's normal personality or are just hiding in her body, it doesn't stop what I'm about to do."
The Herrscher, struck again by the Sea Tiger Destructive Punch, not only had her attempt to activate her authority interrupted, but the original, unrepaired injuries on her body were made even more severe by the explosive nature of the punch.
Under these circumstances, the resentment in this Herrscher's heart clearly grew more intense.
Leo Ash's guess was not wrong.
After the core of the Gem of Serenity entered Yuno's body, Yuno's personality and the Herrscher's personality did indeed begin to merge.
It was because of this that Yuno, despite not wanting to harm Leo Ash or other innocent civilians, would unconsciously act according to the Honkai's judgment.
Before Leo Ash started his verbal assault, It would certainly have felt that the girl's Yuno side was more suitable for destruction than the Herrscher of Death side, which lacked tactical thinking and flexible use of its authority.
But now, because Leo Ash had pointed out the truth Yuno didn't want to face, the originally aggressive Yuno had completely shut down.
She wanted revenge, yes, but that didn't mean she was willing to be manipulated by the Honkai.
With Yuno's consciousness receding, the Herrscher of Death had no choice but to be pushed forward by the will of the Honkai to control this body.
As the chosen apostle of the God of Honkai, the Herrscher of Death side of the girl's personality was much stronger in terms of authority condensation speed and Honkai Energy intensity than her own Yuno personality side.
But—this all came at the cost of intelligence.
If it were Yuno, Leo Ash was sure that his comrade, who could constantly think of countermeasures while holding back a strong enemy, would have already started using the authorities of the Herrscher of Death and the Herrscher of Poison.
But now, the Herrscher of Death, who had taken two Sea Tiger Destructive Punches, could only glare in impotent rage after being beaten.
The damage Leo Ash's Sea Tiger Destructive Punch dealt to her seemed high, but in reality, thanks to the power of the [Rebirth] authority, the moment she started bleeding, the wounds were already seventy to eighty percent healed.
To put it simply, it looked like Leo Ash's two punches had seriously injured the Herrscher of Death, but in reality, the damage was probably only a little better than a scratch.
However, while the damage from these wounds was not severe, the insult was immense.
Damn it, I am not like that weak Thunder—how could I possibly lose to this man!
Combat, in the end, comes down to ability and Honkai Energy intensity, and I have a huge advantage in both aspects.
Under these circumstances, how could I possibly lose to him!
"Heh, it seems you're still not convinced."
Watching the girl who was continuously bleeding, a net of woven mana suddenly appeared on Leo Ash's right hand.
"Wha—"
After throwing the energy net in his hand towards the Herrscher of Death who had just managed to stand firm, Leo Ash let out a disdainful sneer and pointed to his temple with his left finger.
"Fighting is mainly about what's up here."
However, the Herrscher of Death, who was being mocked by Leo Ash at this moment, had no time to be angry.
Although she had no idea what this energy, different from Honkai Energy, was, it didn't stop her from sensing that this energy net was very dangerous!
Dodge!
I must dodge!
With this thought, the Herrscher of Death began to continuously try to retreat.
And then, her body, in this empty battlefield, actually bumped into something and was forced to stop.
Although the Herrscher of Death broke through this object with her withering black mist after a moment's pause, being distracted, she still failed to avoid the energy net thrown by Leo Ash.
The moment she came into contact with the energy net, the Herrscher of Death felt her energy intensity and Herrscher authority being weakened slightly.
And at the same time, this energy net actually covered her body, becoming a binding lock that pinned her directly to the ground.
Feeling her energy intensity continuously dropping, the Herrscher of Death began to desperately release her black mist.
Having been beaten to this point, no matter how inexperienced she was, she realized that the withering black mist was not just a weapon, but also armor.
Normally, no one would want to come into contact with this black mist, which would cause any other living being to be continuously and chaotically decomposed until they were completely annihilated.
In other words, as long as she released a large amount of black mist, even this terrifying man should not...
"Ha, withering black mist, what a terrifying power."
Huh?
Then, the Herrscher of Death, who had just released the black mist, saw Leo Ash, wearing dark red Honkai Energy armor, charge directly towards her, tackling the net-wrapped Herrscher to the ground.
"Guah..."
The Herrscher of Death, her power weakened, finally felt her body couldn't take it anymore after another heavy blow.
Alright, in conclusion, the damage she took was still just so-so.
But although the Herrscher of Death's personality was mixed with Yuno's, after Yuno herself went into seclusion, the Herrscher of Death, who had taken control of the body, was, in a sense, a newborn.
To this unlucky baby, the expressionless Leo Ash, who had put away his mocking look and was charging over in his Honkai Energy armor, was like a fearless mad dog.
She could see that the withering black mist was indeed causing the Honkai Energy armor to rapidly decay, but the other party had no intention of retreating. Instead, he directly swung his fist and once again slammed it viciously towards her body.
"Heh, I didn't use this punch earlier because I was worried about knocking you too far away and giving you a chance to breathe, but now..."
At this moment, Leo Ash, who had successfully pinned Yuno down, spoke in an expressionless tone that was deeply unsettling.
"I can finally let loose."
"One-Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter!"
"One-Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter!"
"One-Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter!"
Right now, her body was still continuously being repaired automatically.
And at the same time, the armor on her opponent had been all but destroyed by the withering black mist.
But at this moment, along with the young man's roars, the Herrscher of Death, whose body was being relentlessly beaten, felt the fear of 'death' for the first time.
It wasn't that she was being overpowered in terms of strength.
But the aura that Leo Ash was erupting with now had thoroughly terrified the Herrscher of Death.
Using the Phantasmagoria's characteristic of weakening enemy energy intensity, Leo Ash wove a mana energy net and attached a small Phantasmagoria to it.
And the object the Herrscher of Death had bumped into was also an energy block condensed by Leo Ash from the energy generated during the previous battle.
As for the dark red Honkai Energy armor on his body, it was essentially Leo Ash using the [Holy Shield System] of [Zero Knight: Moonshade] to create Honkai Energy armor, and then layering a Phantasmagoria on top to weaken the withering properties of the enemy's black mist.
It sounds complicated, but what Leo Ash was doing now was, to put it bluntly, crazily stacking armor and then charging in to relentlessly beat this Herrscher.
The key to these operations was to have an ridiculously high level of precision and proficiency in energy manipulation and condensation.
Only when these two metrics were met could Leo Ash successfully apply the [Debuff-type Ability] to his armor, achieving a powerful synergistic effect, rather than the awkward internal conflict of the Phantasmagoria weakening his own armor's strength.
Fighting up to this point, he actually saw a considerable chance of victory.
The Herrscher of Death was different from the Herrscher personality inside Mei.
Essentially, Mei's Herrscher personality was the will of her Stigmata.
Unlike the Herrscher of Death's personality, Mei's 'Herrscher Personality' had awakened long ago, so she naturally wouldn't be like this little baby who started getting scared after a few punches from Leo Ash, with such a fragile heart.
Conversely, because this new Herrscher personality had been born not long ago, her mental state was truly... very weak.
To win a fight, you don't necessarily have to completely overpower your opponent.
As long as you can completely overwhelm them with your aura and let fear dominate their body and mind...
—The current Leo Ash might actually be able to completely suppress the Herrscher before him.
As for the power of the withering black mist being too strong, not only destroying his Honkai Energy armor and Godsbane Armor, but also continuously destroying his body...
Compared to death, this pain is something I can just endure!
Leo Ash, who had long since entered the Mind Like Still Water state, immediately began to cast Powerful Healing Spell on himself upon feeling the pain in his body.
If Powerful Healing Spell is used with an instant-cast method, it can consume less mana and instantly cast a healing spell, providing the target with a moderate amount of healing.
For Leo Ash, who was in the Mind Like Still Water state, beating the enemy while healing himself was obviously not a problem.
The biggest problem for him now was whether he could completely beat the enemy before him into a mental breakdown before his mana ran out.
However, Leo Ash had forgotten one thing.
When he's cornered and driven to desperation, he can unleash terrifying potential.
But the talent for being cornered is a universal talent mastered by all creatures.
At this moment, under immense fear, the Herrscher of Death was not controlled and dominated by her mind.
Looking at the man before her, a mix of calmness and a hint of madness, the cornered Herrscher of Death, due to her fear, had her will to survive raised to its peak.
"You—get off me!"
Blowing away the man before her with pure Honkai Energy, two butterfly-like wings of pure black appeared behind the Herrscher of Death.
"Ha... ha... ha... I am an apostle of God, an apostle meant to cleanse this filthy world!"
"A mere maggot actually thinks he can kill me!"
To be honest, Leo Ash, who had been sent flying, could clearly hear that her voice lacked strength, a clear sign that she was still terrified of him from the earlier beating.
But the problem was, the Herrscher of Death wasn't just a paper tiger.
She was genuinely strong; she just didn't know how to use that power.
In this battle, it seemed as though Leo Ash had been suppressing his opponent the whole time.
But Leo Ash knew very well that he had always been the weaker one.
In the one or two seconds since he was blown away, the wounds on her body had been significantly healed by the authority of [Rebirth].
And on his side, although he had forcibly suppressed his injuries with healing spells, Leo Ash, having lost the opportunity, could no longer suppress his opponent with the same tactics as before.
Less than two minutes had passed since they started fighting.
The reinforcements could arrive at any time, and I've pushed this one to the brink.
Sigh, the first phase of the plan failed. It seems I have no choice but to use the second phase plan that I didn't want to use.
At this point, there's no need to worry about the consequences of using this move anymore.
Everything can wait until after I survive.
.....