Saymon was a swordsman with black hair and eyes. His clothes closely resembled the classic attire worn by samurai. Everything about him represented darkness, except for his fair skin. And with that, I arrived at the conclusion of how I should fight.
With the same attack plan, I confronted Saymon, exchanging a few sword strikes. Meanwhile, Ui took advantage of the openings to attack. As Saymon moved away, Idalme shot her fire arrows.
It was working. I hadn't used any explosive slashes yet and was waiting for the right moment. When his sword remained pressed against mine for more than a second, that would be the moment. Causing a big explosion in a blade was more complex.
However, the enemy seemed to be aware of the explosive abilities, which made things more challenging. My strength was close combat, but against someone with such expertise, it would be tough.
"Useless. All your plans will be cut by the Fuma blade."
"Fuma? Funny name."
"Xixixixixi! Indeed."
"Fuma, show them. Activate!" The wind started to blow strongly, gathering around his sword. "Open. Another dimension. Release the empty world."
Something wasn't right; my body was warning me that it was dangerous. But could we escape? It didn't matter. We would run.
"Run!"
"Okay."
"Yes."
We began to run, but the floor started disintegrating in front of us, and when we looked down, we were surprised to see clouds extending as far as the eye could see. It was as if we were on top of the world, running at the edge of an infinite abyss of clouds.
'Clouds? Aren't we in a building?'
"Don't fall!"
"It's futile to run. You're all under my dominion."
"What? Dominion?"
"Mito didn't have this ability," Ui shouted.
"Idalme! A rope!" I yelled.
"Yes."
Idalme prepared an arrow with a rope and shot it at the ceiling. We all grabbed onto the rope, and the floor collapsed completely. We managed to escape that situation. It was unfortunate for Ui's friend, but we wouldn't allow his suicidal trick to work on us.
"Your resistance is useless. Fall again."
"That voice? It's coming from above," Idalme said.
"It can't be."
"Mito was never this strong."
Saymon walked on the floor above, and as he approached, more and more places where he stepped began to crumble. Every step he took seemed to leave a trail of destruction, making our path even more perilous and unstable.
'I see.'
No matter what we did, there might be more floors we could rely on, but Saymon would always be there, watching us, ready to sabotage our efforts. Each time we found a safe spot, he managed to turn it into treacherous terrain.
'Invincible. We're all going to die.'
"I'm sorry, but I think it's the end."
"Don't say that, Max," Idalme said.
"But no matter what we do, the moment we fall, we die."
"No!!!! I won't accept it!" she shouted. "I haven't had the chance to do anything with Izumi. I haven't had my first kiss. I can't die a virgin!!! Haaaaaaa!!!"
Ui started climbing the rope rapidly, leaned on me, and jumped. In a burst, she kicked the wall and crossed over.
Even if she tried to fight, it would be futile. The building was doomed to fall, and we would all die, no matter where we anchored ourselves.
Every corner of the building seemed ready to collapse, and it was impossible to beat Saymon, who had mastery over the situation. I couldn't see any possibility of victory. None of us could fly, making the idea of winning even more impossible.
"No matter what you do. It's impossible to win."
"Max!" she yelled. "The man I fell in love with. It's not this failure. Bring him back, imposter!"
Failure? I? What did she mean? Was I giving up? No, I wasn't giving up. I just thought it was impossible to win. Wait, impossible?
I really was giving up on victory. Every part of the building seemed about to crumble, and Saymon continued to be an insurmountable threat. However, the word 'impossible' made me face reality. I was about to give up, but something changed within me at that moment.
"I'm sorry, Idalme."
"Yes."
I couldn't keep lamenting defeat. I needed to be like Izumi, who, even when wounded, kept fighting the demons and never gave up. Even after defeating the demon on the second floor, he arrived with his clothes completely destroyed, but he didn't give up. I wouldn't give up either.
"Thanks, Izumi."
"Izumi?"
"Leave everything to me."
I didn't know what was happening up there, but Ui was certainly giving it her all. I needed to cast aside the fear that haunted me. Even if my body exploded into pieces, I was determined to win, just as Ui was demonstrating incredible effort up there.
— Partial Explosive Mode!
It was a name that came to me in the heat of the moment. I used my explosion continuously on my hands and feet without stopping. I had no idea how long it would take, but I was willing to face the consequences.
"Wait for me here, Idalme."
"Yes."
I began by using the explosion constantly to try to fly. It was challenging to control, but I knew I only needed to use it to reach the next floor.
"Where's Ui?"
"She fell to her death."
"What? It can't be."
"You're next."
I drew my sword again and used the continuous explosive thrust. I rushed toward Saymon, and our swords clashed in a duel that lasted more than a second.
"Die! Explosive Slash!"
Boooommmm.
The explosion was much more intense than I had anticipated, and the floor collapsed completely, sending me plummeting into the void. During my fall, I saw Idalme, who was clinging to the third-floor ceiling, but with the force of the explosion, she was also pulled down and fell with me.
"Idalme!!!" I shouted, looking around.
"Useless."
"What?"
I was falling at high speed, but when he spoke, I saw an almost invisible attack tearing through the sky, a trail of destruction cutting through the clouds. It was a close call, but I managed to use an explosive boost in one of my hands and dodge that nearly invisible, deadly attack.
"Idalme!!! Ui!!!!"
I kept calling their names, but no one was responding. Looking around, I realized I was in a scene that resembled the sky, but I couldn't see its end. It was an endless expanse of clouds, clouds upon clouds, and a sense of loneliness overcame me.
"A waste of time. The moment I deactivate my dominion, your companions will die."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just die."