Chapter 10: So This Is What True Strength Is?

"Ha ha ha! It's time for you to see what faith can actually do, Kurai."

"Meh, come at me or whatever. It's not going to end well for you."

[29 minutes remaining on Kurai's neuro-lever limit release]

They locked eyes, tension crackling between them. Two of the strongest people in Star City—no, the world—stood at their pinnacle of strength. The being himself watched with fascination, eager to see what their true selves could actually do.

Kurai raised his arms. Two massive black holes spawned on either side of him, both the size of buses.

This guy is really monstrous, Maikaru thought, genuinely surprised as cars and debris began flying everywhere, pulled toward the gravitational vortexes. Why do I really have to fight someone like this?

A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. Tsk, what was that? Doubt? Fuck it! Faith—nothing but faith! Let me take this fight seriously!

Maikaru spawned a sword that bent light around it like before, but this time a spiral of space encircled the blade—more precisely, a vacuum of space looping around the light. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. "Oh God, thank you for lending me your sword," he whispered.

Then a shield appeared in his other hand. "And oh God, thank you for lending me your shield."

This was no ordinary weapon. It was a replica of what one of the original humans had used—Adam himself. The shield looked peculiar, otherworldly, slightly grotesque—like depictions of astral beings. It appeared to be a living mass of flesh and eyeballs, intertwined with roses from the garden.

Even with his deadpan expression, Kurai was visibly thrown off. Why would a clownish guy like Maikaru have such serious weapons? And what could they really do?

Kurai sent the first black hole hurtling toward Maikaru, who thrust his shield forward. When shield and black hole met, they collided with the force of an imploding star—space itself seemed to ripple and tear at the point of impact, light bending impossibly as reality screamed. Then the black hole launched right back at Kurai.

He absorbed it into his hand and stared Maikaru dead in the eye. It reflected a black hole?!

Maikaru began monologuing in princely fashion, his delusion fueling his ridiculous amounts of faith. "Well, with my cursed shield, you can't touch me! It reflects any and everything—and more. Can you actually handle a fight against someone like me, Kurai?!"

From the shield, a miniature sun spawned and shot a blast of fire so massive it tore across the street straight toward Kurai. He moved the massive black hole to block it, but Maikaru appeared right in front of him immediately afterward.

He prepared to kick, and Kurai spawned a black hole near his side to intercept. But Maikaru pulled the kick at the last second and slammed the shield into Kurai's chest instead, sending him flying through a building.

[25 minutes remaining on Kurai's neuro-lever limit release]

The building began to crumble onto Kurai after he landed. He grunted, annoyed, then started to growl. Black holes spawned above the rubble, and he controlled them with such precision that all the debris began orbiting around the gravitational wells.

I really need to take this guy seriously.

He spawned about ten medium-sized black holes. With his limit released, he could control even more black holes than normal—and with perfect precision. The medium-sized ones came at Maikaru in rapid succession, while the massive one lagged behind.

Maikaru prepared himself, deflecting some with his shield, dodging others, and batting away a few with his sword. Then the massive one came at him. He prepared his shield, but a mini black hole struck his hand at the last second. He dropped his shield, and the massive black hole hit him directly, sending him flying across the city and massively bruising his arm.

[15 minutes remaining on Kurai's neuro-lever limit release]

Kurai jumped into the air and landed on two black holes, changing their gravitational force to use them as launch pads. He shot toward Maikaru while his opponent was still regaining composure.

He placed black holes on his arms and at the soles of his feet. The moment he appeared in front of Maikaru—just as he was getting up—Kurai slammed a kick into his stomach and started beating him down. Right hook. Jab straight. Then a kick to the face. Maikaru was getting slammed from every direction. Kurai didn't want to give him a second to think.

He grabbed Maikaru's head and began kneeing him in the face, black holes amplifying each strike.

One! "You fucking bastards just won't fucking leave me alone, huh?!"

Two! "And you just won't let me be, huh?!"

Three! "Why won't you fucking leave me the fuck alone, huh?!"

He ended it with a roundhouse kick—but before it even landed, Maikaru smirked. The air around his stomach cushioned the kick. He was unfazed. He looked at Kurai contemptuously, raised his head, and fixed his hair with his hand. He spat blood on the floor, then looked at Kurai with a crazed expression—a look you wouldn't think you could see from a guy like him.

"Speed... speed like a god... speed like no other."

He teleported behind Kurai and hit him with multiple punches so fast the eye couldn't track them—like the Flash incarnate. Then a final kick to the gut.

[5 minutes remaining on Kurai's neuro-lever limit release]

Maikaru grabbed Kurai by the head. "Strength like no other."

He sent him into the air, then prepared a punch while Kurai was falling back down. When he swung that punch into Kurai's gut, three black holes appeared to cushion the blow. Kurai shot mini black holes to disrupt Maikaru's footing, then spun in midair with a black hole on his foot and slammed it directly into his opponent's head.

Maikaru blocked it with his hand.

They both looked at each other and thought the same thing simultaneously: Why won't you die?!

[2 minutes remaining on Kurai's neuro-lever limit release]

They both started thinking: How do I beat this guy?

Kurai decided it was time to leave. He shot mini black holes at Maikaru's feet, then escaped using a wormhole. In his released state, he could create wormholes that allowed him to teleport anywhere.

He looked back at Maikaru one last time. To think I underestimated someone like you.

Then he vanished.

"Aww man, that was a tease! I wanted to see them go all out!"

The being was at the edge of his seat but disappointed at the outcome. Just how strong were the people with strong essence?

He moved his attention right back to Ren and Kuroshi.