Life Hunter 179 ''Last Round''

"This body is already an undead apparently" The dragon muttered "That's why I can't change into a skeleton, huh?"

"{Yeah, you don't need to do that. You would only lose the advantages this dragon form can give you, Malum}" Night said.

"I'm just used to a skeletal body… Well, I can work with this" Malum laughed and the coc.o.o.n created by the Second Blue Art burst open. His eyes sharpened and glared at the dark fire which was fading away.

The first thing that got out was a huge golden bell "…That's the Bell of Mictlan" The dragon muttered as he looked at the big object.

"{What is that?}" Karma inquired.

" 'Mictlan' is the lowest and northernmost section of h.e.l.l in Aztec mythology" Malum answered "The G.o.d of Death, Mictlantcuhtli, would ring it when his enemies were too strong or too many. The Bell had the power to break anything with its sound but the problem was that it affected everything around it. And to ring it, you have to be next to it"

"In the end, the Bell will help you destroy your enemies but will damage you at the same time" Malum snorted "It isn't that strong against individuals, but it can control the dead and most importantly, it's capable of destroying magic. For example, 'Dark Nova' should've killed him but he managed to break out thanks to that Bell"

As he said that, the Bell rung once again and made him frown. Just after, the dark flames of the Art spread far and wide and filled Malum's entire vision.

A golden light then suddenly broke through it. Malum's grin widened when he saw that. A giant claw emerged from the flames and the rest of the fire was blown away by a single flap from the pair of humongous wings.

Fafnir was back with an even scarier appearance. His size couldn't even be taken as a joke anymore; he already went over one thousand meters in height. His eyes were full crimson and his scales were even shinier than before. As if they truly were thick plates of gold.

"This is gonna be fun" Malum laughed and said. Fafnir seemed to have lost even his ability to talk and inhaled before directing a 'Dragon's Breath' toward Malum.

The latter snickered and waved Karma. The katana changed into a huge greatsword "Big guy, don't underestimate the Berserker's Path" Malum sneered and flapped his wings. He didn't chant anything and lightning just gathered around his sword as he swung it at the large fire breath.

Thunder roared and Malum cut through the flames and dispersed them with the shockwave alone. He continued his momentum and reached the golden dragon's head. He grinned and punched the huge dragon right between his eyes.

Like before with Layla, Fafnir shouldn't have had any problem taking a physical blow from someone much smaller and weaker than him but Malum's punch not only was painful, he even was sent flying. Malum smirked and caught up with him at an incredible speed, he then kicked him in the back and the golden dragon roared as he couldn't resist the knockback.

Malum didn't stop and continued that for a long time, he started playing with Fafnir as if he was a ball and he was playing some sort of game. It was a really an odd sight. You just had to imagine a small insect making a human fly in all directions and you could understand the absurdity of the situation.

"{Hey, Malum!}" Night shouted at some point and Malum abruptly stopped punching and swinging his sword. Fafnir seemed to be in a bad state and considering his size, huge amounts of blood, enough to fill an entire river, were already flowing down.

But the one who was the most injured wasn't him but Malum. His entire body was cracking weirdly and blood was flowing from every muscle. His veins had burst while he was pounding the giant dragon and his muscles had been torn apart.

"{If you continue like that your body will not last long}" Night reprimanded and Malum clicked his tongue.

"That's why I prefer a skeletal body…" He muttered.

"{Idiot}" Night immediately retorted "{Without the flesh, your bones would have received all of the toll and broken ages ago}"

Malum grunted and Night sighed "{You and Arima have such a lucky state where even if you use the Berserk's Path, the other will be able to use it with a clear mind. You are the most compatible with this, so use it well}"

"I know, I know" Malum responded with an annoyed face "Why am I supposed to listen to you anyway?"

"{Because without me, you'll do something stupid}" Night uttered and Karma laughed.

Malum snorted "I'm not even going all out. The Berserker's Path can go much farther"

"{I know. But don't use it. Focus on Fafnir now. If you can't control your strength, use the Arts. Your magical output is also affected by the berserk state so be aware of that too, don't use them too much}"

Malum rolled his eyes in exasperation. He had too many restrictions for this fight "It's annoying…" He muttered as he observed the golden dragon convulsing while getting even bigger "How strong does this guy want to get until he's satisfied?" He frowned.

Fafnir roared and Malum's body automatically bent by instinct. His eyes narrowed and the next thing he knew, he had received a blow which sent him flying through s.p.a.ce. He coughed blood and groaned.

He used his wings to stop his momentum and lifted Karma "What was it again…" He muttered and swung the great sword at the giant claw falling on him "[Aeterna]" He chanted and the wave of lightning exploded.

The effects of the Berserker's Path were showed as the explosion was a lot bigger than with Arima. But Malum hands bled and his magic circuits suddenly overheated. The worst was that Fafnir only suffered a scratch and still made his claw connect with Malum.

"[Fourth Destruction Art, Vashta Nerada]" The latter conjured a wall of darkness and the Art even managed to absorb the physical force. And one more time, Malum felt all of his magic circuits trembling.

But it only saved Malum temporarily, Fafnir used his Manifestation and teleported right beside him "Oh s.h.i.t, I forgot!" Malum exclaimed and used Karma to protected himself as he was struck.

This time, he failed to stop in time and crashed on a planet and even went through it just with the momentum given by Fafnir's a.s.sault. Malum only stabilized after he emerged from the planet's underground on the opposite side.

He then grinned and laughed loudly "That's how it should be!" As expected, the battle excited him even more than Arima.

Two golden hammers appeared around him and tried to crush Malum at the same time. The dragon snickered. He threw Karma in the air and extended his arms outward. He slammed the two hammers on each side with his palm and stopped them with his physical strength alone.

His arms made some loud cracking sounds and even more veins burst "{Hey!}" Night called but Malum ignored him. His fingers pierced the hammers' surface and he pulled the giant weapons so that they would spin. When the handles were facing him, he immediately grabbed them.

The two weapons tried to return inside Fafnir's 'Vault' but Malum used another Art "[Fourth White Art, Upper-Layer, Digillum Aeterna]" White chains coiled around the two hammers and forced them to stay in Malum's hands. At the same time, another section of Malum's magic circuits became overloaded and made him go through horrible pain.

Fafnir teleported right next to him just after. His expression was even more twisted than before. He seemed to be enraged that someone was trying to take his possessions. He inhaled and gathered fire in his throat.

Malum inhaled too as black flames gathered around him. The two dragons roared simultaneously and the gold and dark breaths clashed together and exploded.

"[Accelerando]" Malum chanted and channeled his magic around his body. Different circuits broke again and he appeared right behind Fafnir with even more speed than Arima. He contracted his muscles and swung the two hammers he carried.

At that moment, Malum's limiter had been completely released. His body was now exerting 700% of its normal capability. The berserk dragon roared and hit Fafnir with both hammers at full power. The two hammers broke through the golden dragon's scales and propelled him inside a nearby burning star, slightly smaller than the sun.

Malum dropped the two hammers and raised his trembling arms. He caught back Karma with his right hand and pointed his left palm at the star "[Second Destruction Art, Cavum Nigrum]" A small black bead formed in Malum's palm and was thrown toward the star.

The small marble cracked and exploded to let place to the giant black hole. The dark ma.s.s instantly covered the entirety of the star and consumed it in no time. Malum gritted his teeth and closed his hand into a fist.

The black hole abruptly stopped attracting the nearby asteroids and planets and disappeared as fast as it came. When it was gone, the star that it had 'swallowed' with Fafnir inside was nowhere to be seen.

Malum panted heavily just after and howled in pain as some strange, glowing cyan fissures appeared on his body, starting from his chest area. His heart, to be exact "{I told you to not overdo it!}" Night scolded him again.

"That's…" Jorga was astounded as he watched from afar. If he had to be honest, the moment Fafnir came out of the Second Blue Art's confinement, he thought that Arima was going to be overwhelmed. But when he saw the black dragon beating Fafnir around like it was nothing, he became utterly shocked.

"That's not Arima" Layla remarked "It's Malum; his counterpart" Jorga's eyes widened "The technique he's using right now is the Berserker's Path. In theory, if you abandon all of your emotions an let your bloodl.u.s.t and rage take the upper hand, you can destroy every limit of your subconscious and fight like an enraged beast"

"Malum and Arima can more or less stay sane because they are separated and can help each other…" Layla explained and Jorga listened gaping.

"But there are of course some big disadvantages. The first one is the self-harm caused by this technique. Malum is already in tatters right now. 80% of his injuries are because of himself" She said.

"But the worst thing is not that" She added grimly.

"…Are you talking about his magic circuits?" Jorga asked "It's obvious that there's something wrong with them from what I can see"

Layla nodded "Magic circuits are like roads you build for your magic. When a powerful magic is cast and goes through those 'roads', they damage it a little. And if you cast the same magic again, it will use the same 'road' and then destroy the magic circuit. That's why some magic can never be used twice a day, a week, a month or even a year"

She sighed and squinted her eyes to look at Malum "Right now, Malum is in a berserk state; both physically and ethereally. Each one of his magic generates a huge power. In this state, every time he uses a specific magic like the Kind Demon's Arts, he will not only suffer great pain but the circuits will burst and overheat"

"In this fight," She paused "He's only able to use a particular magic once" She declared and Jorga's expression darkened "Fortunately, the Kind Demon's Set is special and uses different circuits for each Art but except that, Malum is only able to use a magic of one type once"

"For example, since he used a fire breath earlier, he actually lost the ability to use basic fire magic anymore" Her voice became graver and Jorga fell silent.

"{You already used two of the Destruction Arts and don't even think about the First, or even all of the others Arts which are ranked First, you will die by just using them. You are also far from having the same control as Arima. It's the same thing for the forbidden Arts}" Night was quite irritated and spoke to Malum whose body was shaking uncontrollably.

Night sighed "{I understand now. You will just go all out no matter what… How long can you hold out?}" He inquired.

Malum grinned "Five minutes" He answered "That thing is getting stronger. It may not be obvious. But I know it. I had to raise my strength several times to keep up with him and that's how I kept the balance. But it won't last long. I will soon have to let the place to Arima again" He honestly replied.

"{Go ahead then}" Night said "{Five minutes}" He declared and connected with Jorga through telepathy. Just after that, a fissure in s.p.a.ce opened and a golden claw, bigger than before by at least a fold, emerged.

"Last round" Malum laughed and said.