The Boosted Gear took time to deliver boost after boost, so I had to be patient to reach a level of power that would allow me to carry out my plan to kill Raiser.
With a scornful laugh, Raiser swooped down on me, his flaming wings leaving a trail of fire in the air. He was fast, faster than anything I had ever faced. Even with my reflexes heightened by the power of the Boosted Gear, I barely managed to dodge the second time.
He clicked his tongue and dragged his feet on the ground as he landed.
"You can't run forever, Leonard." Raiser said in a more serious tone, pointing to my right shoulder.
At that moment, a small flame started on my school blazer. So I took off my blazer and just wore a white tank top and for the first time I showed those devils a bit of my physique.
My body was more muscular than I usually let on. My shoulders were broad and there was a good amount of muscle in my arms. I had trained hard for many years at the Academy of Compulsory Education to excel in every way, not to mention that my life as an explorer had me climbing mountains, hanging off cliffs between ruins, and living on a restricted diet of almost rotten monster meat and mushrooms, as those were the only things I could find in the forest.
Even Raiser was surprised by my physique, but unlike the others, he clicked his tongue again and said:
"Tsk! I'm starting to think you're just trying to draw attention away from me."
I threw my blazer on the floor and raised my left hand to show the Boosted Gear.
"The way you talk is stupid. The Sacred Gear I own is the most powerful, in my opinion, so I'm only using you to set an example for all the nobles here."
"{That's how you say it, kid! Boost!}"
Raiser had had enough of me. He reached his right hand forward and unleashed a burst of fire. I jumped back and lifted a plate off the ground, using it as a shield against the intense fire.
Raiser laughed. "You look like a fly trying to escape a spider's web. No, it's worse! You're like a rat running from a phoenix! There's no comparison between us!" he sneered. "It doesn't matter if you have great power if you can't use it!"
He seemed to be enjoying himself, as if he was joking, but the truth was that this battle was already over for him. It was me who hadn't given him a chance.
"{Boost!}" Ddraig's voice sounded again, and my attributes increased.
My strength increased exponentially, but I needed more.
Raiser tried to take advantage of my lowering the plate to advance and strike me, but my reflexes were at their peak, and I dodged to the side, feeling the ground shake from the force of his explosive blow.
"You're starting to annoy me, Leonard!"
Raiser was beginning to lose patience, and his attacks were becoming more and more uncontrolled. If I could continue to dodge and increase my strength with Boosted Gear, I'd have my chance soon.
"{Boost!}"
I was almost there. Just a few more thrusts and I'd be ready to do what I wanted.
Raiser launched another attack, his wings outstretched and his body engulfed in flames. This time, instead of dodging as I had done before, I moved just a little to the left and grabbed his right wrist, the very wrist of the hand that was trying to grab me.
Raiser finally managed to grab my collar as well, which may be why he only realized a second later that I had let him do it.
"What... you...?!" He stared wide eyed at my hand that was gripping his arm.
Raiser tried to pull me away, but like an ancient stone, I didn't even move.
"{Boost!}"
The gauntlet glowed with a blinding red light, and I felt my power reach a new level. As I saw the greenish glow of the Boosted Gear Gem become almost blinding, I felt my power reach a new level.
I'm almost there!
Raiser's flames tried to engulf me, but my Constitution attribute was greater than ever.
Something pulsating within me seemed unshakable, like an impenetrable wall. Was it the power I had received from Draig? Or was this the first time I felt her presence, the Red Dragon Empress?
"{Boost!}" Ddraig's voice sounded again, stronger and more authoritative, almost overpowering the roar of the flames that surrounded me.
"Now it's my turn to fight back," I muttered, feeling the power in every fiber of my being.
With a war cry, I delivered a devastating blow to Raiser's stomach, sending him staggering backward.
The blow didn't seriously injure Raiser, so Raiser's accelerated regeneration didn't kick in.
"You're just a pathetic human with Sacred Gear who can't understand," he growled, his eyes burning with rage as he got to his feet. "On the other hand, I'm a Phenex, immortal and invincible! You may have strength or whatever, but nothing stands in the way of immortality."
"{Boost!}"
Raiser stood, and as he threw back his shoulders, an armor of pure fire completely enveloped him. He advanced at breakneck speed to normal eyes, but I was faster, appearing behind him like a ghost in the blink of an eye and grabbing his flaming wings with both hands.
"Son of a... Wait, what are you doing?!" Raiser tried to ask.
I felt the intense heat of the flames trying to burn my hands, but the adrenaline and power flowing through me was enough to override the pain.
"{Boost!}"
The accumulated energy was at its peak. It was time to release it all at once.
With a ferocious roar, I pushed Raiser to the ground and stomped on his back with my foot.
"It's time to end this, Raiser!" I yelled as I aimed the Boosted Gear at his back. "Explo... No, that's the name of Megumin's attack. Then I'll use: Supreme Self-Destruct Obliterator!!!"
"W-WHAT...?"
At that moment, all the energy I had accumulated exploded in a flash of red and green light, engulfing the entire battlefield in a wave of destructive power that spread out in all directions in the shape of a sphere.
The explosion was so powerful that everyone felt the ground shake beneath their feet, and the pillars of the small pocket dimension where the duel was taking place began to shake.
The area of the explosion was so vast that the magic barrier around the arena was the only thing that contained it. However, the magic barrier soon began to crack under the internal pressure of the explosion as it tried to expand further.
For a moment, a shrill scream of pain could be heard above all other sounds. It was Raiser's scream.
The barrier quickly cracked, and everyone's eyes widened at the sight of such a huge amount of pure power.
There was a moment when the magic barrier could no longer hold after so many cracks and finally broke, enveloping not only the entire arena but also the stands and stages in smoke, dust, and wind. Everyone's hair and clothes were blown back as the destructive greenish energy slowly retreated back to the epicenter from which it had originated.
"This power... who could survive it?" A high-ranking noble demon whispered, his hair bristling from the storm that raged in every corner of the arena.
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NEXT CHAPTERS:
Chapter 37 - Explo... sion?!
Chapter 38 - Devastation of Destruction
Chapter 39 - Gremory Mansion
Chapter 40 - System Update
Chapter 41 - Your chances? Very High! (R-18)
Chapter 42 - Asia Deep Throa... Khum! (R-18)
Chapter 43 - My First Time with a Nun (R-18)
Chapter 44 - Rhythms & Poses (R-18)
Chapter 44.5 - Asia Argento POV (R-18)
Chapter 45 - Attribute Points
Chapter 46 - Welcome Back
Chapter 47 - Collecting Artifacts
Chapter 48 - New System Challenge!
Chapter 49 - Heating Akeno (R-18)
Chapter 50 - Tight Walls (R-18)
Chapter 51 - Arara~ (R-18)
Chapter 52 - Smell of S*x (R-18)
Chapter 53 - Dawn
Chapter 54 - Artifacts
Chapter 55 - Disguise