829 The False Endless [Pt 1]
According to what Ater told him, there were nine different applications of the Hollow Technique within the Chaos Art.
The higher the number, the more powerful the application was.
Hollow Technique #2 was [Shadow Slave] and Hollow Technique #6 was Compound Corpse; both of which were techniques that Ater had used in the past.
As for the one that was used on Justin… it was Hollow Technique #7
"[False Endless]."
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'This guy…'
Kar'eena closely observed Justin as he brought out a thin blade seemingly from out of nowhere.
'... His whole vibe has changed.' The glow in his eyes had a mix of blue and red, creating a kind of purple glint within them. His hair was dancing with the slightly growing updraft, and his threatening presence was slowly climbing as he began to advance towards Kar'eena.
'Based on what the Belle girl said, she's the one with the Anti-Projectile Item, which means Dragon Breath will work on him.'
Using it now would be too predictable, but she didn't see how his approach indicated any form of caution in the slightest.
He was open in multiple areas, and while she was yet to see his full speed, she doubted he would have enough time to react and avoid her blast if he kept approaching her in such a careless manner.
'There's only one way to find out!' With her priority being to protect the students, and also conserve as much energy as possible, she opted for the most minimalist option at her disposal.
'[Dragon Breath: Lightning].'
The result?
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
In an instant, Kar'eena's powerful breath razed everything in its path, including the approaching human. He was utterly eviscerated.
She used this chance to direct the remnant blast at the human girl, but once again, her Anti-Projectile Item completely shielded her from the threat. 19:02
'Tch! Looks like it's still no good. Still, though…' Kar'eena took a good look at where Justin previously stood and gave a big smirk.
'... Looks like I got one.'
A part of her had feared that he had some kind of trick up his sleeves, which was what made her hold back her big guns, but it seemed he was just an idiot who overestimated his abilities.
Now that she thought about it, the girl was probably also the same.
'Strange, though…' Kar'eena looked at Belle with a slightly confused expression. Even after her partner was completely destroyed, she remained perfectly calm—almost as if she expected this to happen.
'Why would she be—?'
"That was… very painful." A voice appeared from the very area that Justin would have been if he wasn't already blown to bits and fried till he turned to ash.
'W-what?!' Kar'eena returned her attention to that exact position and she found the boy standing right there… completely naked, though shrouded in what appeared to be flashes of black and purple.
His body seemed perfectly fine—albeit a little pale—and not too long after, the black energy around him formed clothing that clung tightly to his body.
He had a pitch-black top, accompanied by raven-black trousers and a long cloak that flapped with the wind. Small black veins appeared around his eyes, as well as on his neck—almost as if some kind of dark liquid was flowing through his body.
The whites of his eyes turned dark, before returning to normal. The dark veins also vanished, and before long, he had returned to his regular state.
"As expected, I shouldn't have turned off my Pain Nullification." 'W-what is he babbling about?! Why isn't he dead?!' Kar'eena thought to herself, already generating another blast as she watched him try to get close.
'He's supposed to be dead! I saw it with my own eyes.'
Perhaps she missed something. Perhaps there was a Spell or Skill he activated right before the blast hit him. Kar'eena saw no such thing the last time, but perhaps she could now.
'This time for sure…!'
"Don't bother. There's no use in—"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
The air shivered as the thunderous blast of lightning charged towards Justin, who was too busy drawing out his blade to consider evading the attack.
'T-this time for sure! I'll see everything!' Kar'eena kept her eyes peeled as she watched Justin ger rammed with the explosive power of her Dragon Breath.
However, unlike last time…
"W-what in the world?!" … He was perfectly fine after taking the hit.
Indeed! He wasn't even the least bit damaged by the raging lightning and the incredible pressure that would rip anyone to pieces several times over.
He simply kept walking in the thunderstorm that was her Dragon Breath.
'H-how is he doing this? Some kind of defense Skill that I'm unaware of? Did he also have the Enchanted Item? Is he resistant to Lightning? No… even at that…!' Kar'eena tried to make sense of what she was witnessing, but there was no definite answer entering her head.
As she struggled to comprehend this, she realized he was saying something, even while being bombarded by millions of volts of energy.
What was he saying? She wanted to know.
She had to know!
~FSHUUUU…~
As the blasted energy dissolved, a soft hissing sound filled the air. Little buzzes of sparkling electricity in the air echoed occasionally, but the loud explosive crackles had ceased.
Justin stood among the red-hot wreckage, his eyes fixed on her as hers were on him.
'He really… isn't damaged at all!'
"I'm immortal, miss." He announced. "Even if you hit me with your strongest attack, I won't die."
'What? A human? Immortal?!' Even if she didn't see him as a human in the conventional sense, he was still ultimately one.
Even Dragons couldn't claim to be immortal, yet this fool was claiming it.
"I also adapt to any attack that hits me once, so I won't be receiving any damage from that Dragon Breath Skill of yours."
It all sounded absurd—like he was bluffing—but the look that Justin gave her didn't seem like that of a liar.
He was being completely frank with her.
"And now that we have the pleasantries out of the way… it's time for me to kill you."
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
Welp… looks like we need one more chapter. Still, Justin has gotten a lot more interesting, hasn't he? Hehe…