Chapter Nineteen: Disintegration

‘If I can block his attacks and punch at the same time…’ I thought, but it didn’t work. No matter how much water I disintegrated, he summoned more.
As I desperately continued punching, a sudden steam burst blocked my view.
To avoid the worst, I immediately shifted behind him while he threw a punch at the empty spot inside the steam…
His mind was completely focused on the other side of the steam, so I waited until he landed a wasted punch and then… “NOW!”
SUMMONING
I quickly summoned him to me.
“Reset Punch!”
As he appeared to my right, I gripped his neck with all my strength and landed a RESET PUNCH.
“Hah Hah Hah”
The punch sank in perfectly; he coughed out green smoke and faltered, though his eyes still glinted sharply.
Holding him back prevented the attack from flinging him away, magnifying its impact.
CONSECUTIVE PUNCHES
In his reset state, I unleashed a barrage of punches as fast and as precise as I could.
I didn’t think he’d stay in reset longer than five seconds and the dam of water in the sky was closing in on me.
SPIKES
From that dam above, swordlike spikes began raining down.
Time’s up…
Before the spears could reach me, I shifted far away into a desert territory of City 6 and landed.
I made sure to shift at least fifty kilometers away from the city or any inhabited area to avoid crossfire.
I could use the sand to counter his water, if only it would work… Only sand from a god can counter his water.
Preparing for another attack, I stretched a little and took an offensive stance.
“Summoning!”
I summoned him again, but this time he was ready.
The moment he appeared, he ducked and fired an uppercut at me.
“That won’t stop me!” I yelled.
And with my speed…
GZZIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGG
I laced both my hands with Zinertia, blocked his fist with my elbow and delivered a super punch with my right.
“Super……… PUNCH!”
I felt the impact — the force carved a huge crater into the ground with him at its center.
I have to hurry before………..
BLOB
Just as I moved in for the finishing blow, a mass of water consumed me.
….………………………….. How……….?
The floating water was like jelly and, worst of all, I couldn’t move inside it.
I’d been through this before — I’d just re-summon myse….
Before I could re-summon myself, kicks faster than light assaulted me from every direction.
And then, in front of me, he stood. He’d already climbed out of the hole he’d made and into the water… no, he transferred!
It hurts, I can’t move!
STEAM
Devoured by the agony of his attacks, the entire body of water in an instant turned to steam.
THUD
I collapsed to the ground, badly burned — my skin red and raw.
“I’m amazed you are still alive after that; most gods disappear with the steam.”
Is he talking? All I could hear was a muted “SHHH.”
He picked my head up with one hand and stared into my eyes while I hung there defenseless.
“Too bad I can’t use my right hand because of you, but my left is plenty enough… be grateful I’m your opponent; Malkeria would have gotten rid of you easily. The princess only managed to defeat her because of the cracker staff. Your Zinertia is useless against air…….”
Useless, huh? That reminds me of LV.
I told her to stay away when she defeated that god and tried to enter me… so Malkeria was her name?
What am I thinking in a situation like this? If he steams me again I’m dead.
“Now human! This is for my clan…!”
GZZIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGG
Another reflexive reaction.
Before he could release steam, my body became encased in Zinertia like living armor. Because he was clutching me, it began devouring his hand.
He quickly let go, and I began sinking into the ground. My Zinertia ate into the earth and I couldn’t move.
SUMMONING
With my right hand beneath me as I sank, I summoned him.
He immediately punched me skyward, ejecting me from the earth and losing his fist in the process.
Because I couldn’t move, I figured I’d only get dragged deeper, so I had him punch me into the sky.
The dam of water still hovered below; he could make another one whenever he wished. If I wanted to defeat him, I had to destroy his water first.
But… I can’t move… Malkeria, was it?
He’s coming…
Without giving me a moment to rest, he leapt at me from below.
With my last shred of strength, I needed to finish this.
While still unable to move, his momentum drove him closer and closer to me.
Not now — there’s still too much water left.
As he closed the distance, I stepped on air and managed to stand.
Seeing that, he slowed and approached with extreme caution.
KLIIIIIN
He created two swords of water and attacked.
Losing my balance, I barely dodged but fell.
I lay flat on air, looking up at him above me. This was the perfect chance for him to finish me.
And just as I thought, he charged full speed.
“Now!”
I’d been waiting for this. I summoned every scrap of strength to stand.
I’d been gathering all the water he created around me and compressing it into my right hand. I’d trained with LV to learn how to summon large objects into smaller forms, but right now I was copying Malkeria.
As he came at me like a meteor, he threw weapons continuously while steering his fall toward me.
If I didn’t dodge this, everything would be for nothing.
But I was so weak I couldn’t evade.
He landed a punch that hurled me toward the ground, but I resisted the pain and braked midair.
I twisted my neck to absorb the blow, but I couldn’t do that twice. It was now or never.
“SUMMONING!!”
I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Before I summoned him, I formed a ball of Zinertia in my left hand and shoved the compressed water from my right into it. With that, I perfectly summoned him into my Zinertia sphere.
GZZIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGG
“Water god Wa’e’rrut… You were a terrifying opponent.”
“Zinertia ball!!!”
Completely trapped inside my meter-radius Zinertia ball, he sought escape.
Unfortunately for him, even the slightest touch to Zinertia would disintegrate whatever made contact.
With him contained, I focused and released every ounce of energy at once; Zinertia’s force swelled exponentially.
Slowly, I clapped my hands together — and he vanished.
A smile? He smiled at me before disappearing into nothingness.
So long… Wa’e’rrut.
“HAAAAH”
With no reason left to resist, I drained of strength and fell toward the ground.
I plunged into soft, warm arms.
LV…? It seems all she ever knows how to do is catch me after a fight. But because of that… I keep fighting.
At the time, none of us expected the disaster that would arrive in only three days.