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Boom! Boom! Boom!
Endless divine thunder roared like a torrential downpour, relentlessly pouring down upon Kasugano Haru, engulfing him in an ocean of lightning in the blink of an eye.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion echoed, and a massive cloud of dust spread out, within which a figure stood straight and unwavering.
The silhouette waved a large hand, the movement slicing through space and stirring up a tempestuous gale that scattered the dust cloud instantly.
Haru reappeared before Rama, completely unharmed. Not even a thread of his white shirt was torn, a massive, translucent, slightly oval-shaped barrier enveloped him.
"That is..." Rama was shocked as he gazed at the 'barrier', a phantom image of the Earth woven from azure blue, emerald green, and earthy brown hues.
Upon the Earth's phantom image, the landmass representing the Eurasian continent radiated dazzling golden light.
Then the barrier dissipated, leaving only the Eurasian continental plate, which slowly shrank and wrapped around Haru's body. From the exposed skin on his arms and neck beneath the white shirt, one could see that the continental plate was engraved onto his body like a tattoo.
Haru clicked his tongue, glaring fiercely at Rama before him. "An attack that can't even penetrate my external defense, don't bother embarrassing yourself with it. Or is that the extent of your power, Rama? Not even enough to scratch an itch!"
Rama stood silently before Haru, squinting his eyes. He raised his right hand high, and the Mandala arrays in the sky instantly contracted, transforming back into the Sacred Sword of Salvation, returning to Rama's hand.
"My apologies, Haru. That was my oversight. From now on, I will fulfill my duty to vanquish the Devil King with all my might! To uphold my vow as a hero, please be prepared."
Haru's figure instantly vanished. The force of the world enveloped Rama's body. His right fist, carrying the mass of a continental plate, smashed toward Rama's face. The sky was torn apart by the trajectory of his fist, revealing thin black fissures, the wounds of space cleaved open by his punch.
The sudden binding left Rama momentarily immobile, but only for an instant. The terrifying magical energy within him, a hundred times that of a godslayer, surged rapidly. His physique was strengthened to the extreme.
Forcing movement within the air that had been compressed to a density surpassing steel, he swung his right hand, wielding the Sacred Sword to slash at Haru's head.
However, the sudden increase in density ultimately affected Rama's movements. Haru slightly tilted his body, easily evading the slash of the Sacred Sword of Salvation, and his right fist smashed heavily into Rama's left cheek.
Rama's left cheek caved in deeply, his head deforming from the impact. His feet were lifted off the ground by the force of the punch, and he was blasted away into the distance.
Numerous buildings constructed of gray stone were pierced through by the rapidly flying Rama. The sound of explosions echoed one after another, culminating in a final loud boom.
After being blasted three kilometers away by Haru's punch, Rama was embedded midway up a massive golden pillar hundreds of meters tall and dozens of meters thick.
As the pillar slightly shifted, amidst the deafening roar, the golden pillar halted Rama's flying divine body.
The golden pillar served as the central mechanism of the aerial palace, a divine artifact crafted as the axis bearing of the palace built jointly by the gods. As the core of the gods' combined construction, it naturally possessed qualities nearly immortal and indestructible.
However, at this moment, under Rama's impact, numerous cracks appeared on the surface of the golden pillar.
The so-called indestructible divine artifact of the gods had been cracked extensively under the residual force of Haru's punch, which carried the mass equivalent to a continental plate.
Gritting his teeth, Rama struggled. First, he pressed his hands against the surface of the golden pillar, then pulled his head out of it like pulling a radish.
As his body gradually separated from the pillar, Rama grasped onto the cracks, anchoring himself on the pillar. Looking down at the buildings on the ground a hundred meters below, he hurriedly summoned a chariot.
Because Rama himself lacked any ability to fly, he needed the assistance of a flying chariot. Now, standing atop the chariot, he looked at the aerial palace below, relief flashing in his eyes.
Then he raised his head, gazing at Kasugano Haru, who was floating before him by manipulating gravity.
"Indeed, summoning the Vimana was the correct choice. If our battle had involved the world below, causing countless lives to perish, I would have felt somewhat guilty."
Rama displayed a weary and sorrowful expression. Each time he manifested, he had to take the life of one or more Earth Mothers.
Fighting the Devil King would annihilate the vitality of a region. His mere existence would cause the destruction of ecosystems. For a hero who chose to descend for the sake of salvation, this was a bitter irony.
Haru frowned, looking at Rama before him, who was silently grieving.
"I see. Heroes like you, who haven't been consumed by madness, are guardian Gods who prioritize the people. Because of your character, you were praised by the ancients as the Hero of Salvation?"
Haru shook his head slightly, grinning wickedly. "A hero slaying the Devil King, what a third-rate plot, yet it's happening in reality. So, Rama, did you know? In reality, heroes often meet a tragic end at the hands of the Devil King."
As he finished speaking, Haru stepped forward into the void. The air beneath his feet exploded with a loud bang. In the blink of an eye, his instantaneous speed surged to twenty times the speed of sound. Raising his steel-like fist, he charged toward Rama.
At that moment, a pair of bow and arrow appeared in Rama's hands.
"O hero's arrow that shot down the nine suns! Please grant me this miracle!"
It was a pitch-black bow and arrow. Both the arrowhead and fletching were jet black. Rama drew the equally dark iron bow, and at the moment he readied it, the aerial palace trembled.
Merely lifting the bow caused an earthquake equivalent to magnitude four. Coupled with Rama's spell, it was clear, this was Houyi's bow! What Haru was about to face was the legendary Sun-Shooting Arrow from myth.
Rama placed the pitch-black arrow onto the iron bow and drew the bowstring to its fullest. Then the dark arrow silently vanished.
By the time Haru noticed, the arrow emitting a dark radiance was already before him, less than ten centimeters from his forehead. The pitch-black arrow carried the power of solar black spots, pressing in.
His pupils contracted sharply. The force of the world explosively outputted, entwining around the arrow and binding it tightly. Simultaneously, the golden core within him spun wildly.
The Earth's authority instantly enveloped Haru's body, raising his defense to unparalleled levels. While enhancing his defense, Haru extended his hands at maximum speed. In a split second, he clasped his palms together, clamping the arrow between them.
Ding!!!
The pitch-black arrow fiercely rubbed against his palms, sparks flying. At the critical moment, the arrowhead pierced one millimeter into his brow before Haru stopped it.
Buzz!
Rama, riding his chariot, instantly appeared behind Haru, swinging the Sacred Sword of Salvation down in a direct slash.
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