Chapter Eleven: Defending The World

{aus… Ylaus!}
My mind drifted in and out of consciousness. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. 
In that state, a voice called to me. The pain reached a point where it no longer hurt—it simply engulfed me.
The wind sighed and he floated half a meter above the ground, looking down.
“This is boring. I wouldn’t waste my time on a weakling unless I was promised elevation. What a shame, princess. The gods had high hopes for you. I expected an interesting fight… boring! I’m so bored!”
Everything blurred.
I was trapped in a pocket of stone—my body pinned under rubble, immobile.
“Do you know why that punch is called a reset punch? Of course you do—you’re living it. It resets the battle around you by striking a vital with surgical precision. Since you are human, its effect is tenfold. I’ll give you one human minute to rest. It’s no fun if you can’t move…”
“HAHAHAHAHA.”
I laughed, though I did not know why.
“Kill me… If you don’t kill me now you’ll regret it.”
Provoking him might fuel his arrogance and give me more leeway—so I baited him.
“Hmm? Are you trying to provoke me? Fine. I’ll take you up on that. I wouldn’t want the princess to surprise me.”
LV…? Who is faster?
{He’s faster than you. But you’ll become much faster once you defeat him.}
You know what? “Reset punch” fits his attack perfectly. My mind was clear.
I pushed through the pain and rose out of the rubble.
“I see you have some strength left, but…”
He glanced at a rock and it bent like rubber, transforming into something like a giant tire.
Was he planning to restrain me?
All the rocks began to float, wobbling like jelly.
I see—his power changes matter.
{Yes. He is called the God of Matter. His final move will likely be to turn you into liquid or gas so you cannot fight. He underestimates you; it’s time to show him what a true god is.}
“Take this!”
He flung the jelly-like stones at me, but I moved before they reached me.
“You fell for it!”
He launched a punch as I moved.
I barely dodged—a sliver of metal grazed my cheek.
In that moment, I saw him clearly—just a flicker during the attack.
{Good. Now that you can see while moving, we begin. I’ll link my vision directly to yours. I can read his motions; you will see them too.}
I understand. Let’s do this, LV.
I stopped, listening to LV’s guidance, searching for him.
He had already adjusted—he expected me to be shaken by the last exchange.
{He didn’t expect you to dodge that last strike. He’s cautious.}
Too late for him.
My body ached from every wound; I needed to finish this quickly.
I hadn’t used a proper attack yet. For my first strike—
“SINK PUNCH!!”
“Iyaaah!! Haa!!” I roared as I drove a summoned figure into the ground, then struck before it landed with a punch meant to propel an enemy deep into the earth.
His body rebounded like a ball because of his matter-shaping ability.
{You did great. Don’t worry if he didn’t sink. Only an attack from a god affects another truly; he won’t feel the full pain like a human.}
“You caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.” He remade his form.
Really?
“SINK PUNCH.”
BAAAM.
This time I added speed and force; he slammed deep into the ground.
“Impossible!! How—Just how!!?”
“Never underestimate me! I’ll defeat you…and ascend above the gods!!”
“You didn’t move before. Where does this energy come from!?”
I closed for another strike while he staggered—he dodged.
“Don’t get cocky, HUMAN! You won’t get lucky again.”
Luck had nothing to do with it.
He leapt and hovered above me.
I couldn’t float—but that wouldn’t stop me.
{My bad. We should have practiced walking on air during training.}
Walk on…air?
You mean “I can do that!”
{Of course. You only have to survive this fight. You are a god, after all.}
A wave of nausea rolled through me—the pain returning in jagged arcs.
I aimed and lunged at where he floated.
{You shouldn’t have!}
“Whip lash!”
He dodged and kicked me back, but I landed on my feet.
“Whip lash”—a leg whip that cracked like a whip through the air.
{You’re getting good at this. I knew you could.}
“I’ll never lose… not now… NOT EVER!!”
I leapt again. He readied a counter, but I did not hesitate.
“Fool!” he shouted, preparing to strike.
“No! You are the fool!!”
In midair I turned, exposing my back to him. It looked reckless—but it was a feint.
“Summoning!… Super punch!!”
I summoned a minion beneath where I flew, sent it into him, and struck with everything I had.
BAAM.
He slammed deeper into the earth than before.
Before he could recover—
“Summoning!… Super punch!!”
Again. And again.
BAAAM.
The ground below shattered. A vast crater opened—half a kilometer across.
I landed in the crater and charged.
“So tell me, god… what do you think of me?”
“Wh-Wh…” He stared at me, disbelief plain in his face.
“This is only the beginning…”
I had not even used Zinertia yet.
“HAHAHAHA! Interesting—very interesting! This is fun!”
He laughed, sprawling inside the pit.
I wouldn’t let him rest.
I launched with my right leg to stomp, but he vanished.
{Where did he go!?}
Nice, LV. I sensed where he would reappear.
He thrust from the earth toward me, punching. As he passed, I clenched my fist—
SUPER PUNCH.
My blow sent him upward.
“Spurt!” A green smoke burst from his mouth.
{That’s his life—his strength in the human world. When that fades, he will no longer be able to fight.}
Just like in games.
“And now to finish this!”
I leaped to meet him midair.
“Hahaha! Human… dance for me~!!”
Huh?
FLOAT. FLOAT.
I was floating—he used his power on me.
My body thinned like paper and I drifted down like a feather.
If I was as light as this, would it hurt when I was struck?
{He used his power to control you.}
Crap. I’d been careless.
He descended slowly, smoke curling from his form.
“I didn’t expect you to be this strong. From what I see, you can’t use Zinertia yet, am I right? I must finish this before I disgrace my clan.”
As I fell, he clamped both hands to my chest.
“MATTERLESS!”
IIYAAAAHH!!!
Pain unlike any before—my body began to change as if clay in a potter’s hands. He molded me.
It burned—my brain couldn’t bear it.
“I’ll mold you into a pie!!”
He squeezed, reshaped me. I was losing myself.
AAARRRGHH.
I am going to die!
{It hurts!!!!!}
I had to endure. I could not lose.
MOLD—MOLD.
My form shrank—my body reduced to the size of my head. It was now or never.
GZIIIING.
He was completely focused on shaping me, blind to what I had planned.
LV had warned me about this final move; I had avoided using Zinertia so he would let his guard down. Now he believed I was defenseless.
GZIIIING.
I redirected everything. I concentrated Zinertia into the small mass that remained of my body—into the size of his fists.
BURST.
His hands disintegrated in a flash. My form snapped back to original.
{The brain controls everything. When it fails, abnormalities follow.}
“AAAARRRGGGHH!! What have you done!!? I’ll make you pay!!”
“In your dreams!!”
While he screamed, I closed in at high speed and cut across his body with Zinertia formed into a sword.
“No!! I can’t lose to a human! Never!”
He writhed as smoke poured from his wounds—his form falling apart.
{This is the perfect time to finish him!}
You don’t have to tell me twice.
I vaulted into the sky.
“Gods! I hope you are watching! This is the fate of those who oppose me!”
I pointed upward.
“Summoning.”
I drew the twisted god—still wracked with pain—above my head.
He still had energy enough to escape if I hesitated.
“Ha’e’rrut!! This is your end!!” I cried as I named him and he opened his eyes.
{I see. That’s one of his weaknesses… Lower gods crave attention. They will do anything to be noticed.}
“With this… I end this bout!”
I positioned myself directly beneath him.
“Lingering Death Slash!!”
I slashed again and again until his body disintegrated into green smoke and disappeared.
{You did it! You did it!} LV celebrated inside me.
“Yes… I did it…”
I lost consciousness and tumbled to the ground.
THUD.
…...
{You were only out for ten minutes. Looks like you still have strength left. You did great.}
I couldn’t move.
{It’s over. You can rest now…}
SMOKE.
BAD-UMP. BAD-UMP.
I fought to open my eyes as green smoke spiraled above me.
It can’t be…
{He’s back!?}
“Cough! Cough! It will take more than that to defeat me… NOW I’LL SHOW YOU!!”
He reformed into human shape and readied another attack.
After all that slashing… it still wasn’t over?
{Don’t think that. This last attack will be deadly. We have to evade it. Use all your strength to counter!}
FLOAT.
Before I could gather energy, he made the ground beneath me float toward him.
“This is the end, human! Princess! YOU ARE MINE!!”
He crouched, both fists cocked for a combined strike.
Two-fist punch? That would be devastating.
“I’m tired of this useless fight… COME BACK WHEN YOU BECOME A HIGHER GOD!!”
I summoned every reserve and charged.
I will finish this.
“Come at me! Human!”
“IYAAAAH!!”
“HAAAAA!!”
GZIIIIIING.
I brought out Zinertia and shaped it like a plate, sharp and biting.
“When I’m done with you there will be nothing left but dust!! Summoning!!”
I feigned summoning as he readied his strike.
Then I turned, facing the ground as I flew toward him—the same trick I had used earlier.
He fell for it. He rotated his body upward to counter a summon from below.
This was the opening I had been waiting for.
“IYAAAH!!”
Momentum flung me at him: a super punch to his ribs. I seized his neck and held on even as the force carried us both.
“HUH!!?? Wait! Weren’t you going to summon me—from below!?”
“That’s your mistake!!”
His change in trajectory left his back exposed. I clinched his throat and swung my left Zinertia hand.
GZIIIIING.
“UWAAAA!!”
I disintegrated both his legs.
“What are you doing! You can’t defeat the gods! You are just one human! AAAAAGGHHH!!”
GZIIIIIIIING.
My left Zinertia sliced through to his waist—his lower half vanished.
“Stop!! I don’t want to become a miserable god. Stop!!”
Everything Zinertia touched turned to green smoke and dissipated.
“Say your prayers!! God!!”
GZIIIIIIING.
I pressed upward to finish the disassembly. His cries devolved into pathetic whimpers.
{Hurry—before he changes form again.}
Summoning every last ounce of energy, I reached his neck. All that remained was his head.
“You’ll never defeat the next god! I curse you! Curse you…!!!”
He began a string of curses but I clutched his head in both hands.
“Take a message to the gods for me… FEAR ME!!!!”
I held and watched Zinertia eat him away.
POOF.
Where his head once was, there was nothing.
It all happened in an instant, in midair. I began falling, held aloft only by the grip I had kept on his body; with him gone, there was nothing to keep me up.
Aaaaaaa— I felt a surge of relief. My body ached in every joint, but elation washed over me.
My eyes fluttered closed.
…Hahaha… I did it.
I fell until someone caught me.
Huh? Hands—someone holding me—
“That was wonderful. You sent an excellent message to the gods.”
“LV…? I can see you… very clearly…”
“Sheesh. I’ll take care of the rest. Close your eyes and rest.”
I see.