I Became the Strongest With The Failure Frame【Abnormal State Skill】As I Devastated Everything-Chapter 410: Carving Through Time

<Sogou Ayaka POV>

[GERAGERAGERAGERA!]

Wormungandr spread both arms wide and looked up at the ceiling, laughing loudly.

Meanwhile, I stood face-to-face with the Divine Servant, drenched in sweat.

[Hahh…… haa, hahh……!]

Piki!

A sound rang from within my body.

The sound of my muscles being strained to its limits.

I had been fighting Wormungandr for a long time now.

Was it a misfortune that no one else had shown up here?

Or perhaps———-

[Gerarara…… Looks like you're about to reach your limit in that state.]

Turning his face towards me, Wormungandr scratched his temple with a fingertip.

[The unconscious state you were in is basically a state of hyper-focus…… But the fact that you've been able to maintain it this long is already abnormal. Geragera…… You're a real monster, young lady.]

[Hahh, hahh……!]

I didn't even have the luxury of wiping away my sweat anymore.

The exhaustion was terrifyingly severe.

I had struck Wormungandr countless times.

Again and again, I had wounded him.

Again and again.

I had made him bleed.

And yet———-

Wormungandr still wouldn't fall.

[I'd say you're the first human to make me spill this much blood. You've even forced me to use up a decent chunk of my regeneration capacity…… Kuku…… for a human to hang on this stubbornly. Gerarara…… nothing could make me happier…… isn't that right, Vysis……]

(Kuh…… he's right…… my focus is……)

With my sweat-soaked hand, I tightened my grip on my unique sword.

And at that moment, I suddenly remembered.

Before the assault.

I had spoken with Seras Ashrain.

We had discussed our combat capabilities.

We had talked about battle———- about strength.

(Sustainability……)

Seras had said this:

"From what you've told me, Ayaka-dono, it seems that you, like me, can only maintain your peak state for a limited time. And this…… may be our greatest weakness."

"Seras-san has the burden of your Origin Regalia…… while I have my finite MP and the strain of my Limit Break……"

Now, on top of that, I had also been in the "unconscious state" that Wormungandr mentioned.

All of them——— finite.

"He's already dead, so I'm speaking this merely out of intuition…… but whether it's my Origin Regalia or Ayaka-dono's Unique Skill and Limit Break, we might be able to rival even that Civit Gartland in strength. No, perhaps———– we might even have a chance to win."

"You're talking about that "Humanity's Strongest"……"

"At the very least, with our current selves, I don't believe we would be killed in a single blow."

Seras had suggested that we might be able to match him.

But at the same time……

"However…… I have also realized that the true strength of "Humanity's Strongest" lay elsewhere."

"His true strength?"

"Yes. As you may know, there was once an incident in the Bakuos Empire where the Emperor's younger brother, a Duke, rose in rebellion against him. At the time, most of the Bakuos nobility sided with the younger brother, who was widely admired."

A struggle for the throne between two brothers.

The Emperor was at a severe numerical disadvantage.

Yet the war ended in his overwhelming victory.

"The current emperor…… the elder brother had Civit Gartland on his side. Civit wasn't just overwhelmingly strong. He was unpredictable, striking at any time, day or night. No one knew when he even slept, as he launched relentless attacks on the rebel army for days on end, taking the heads of their commanders each time."

"This, I believe, is where Civit's true strength lies." Seras continued.

And at that point, I was beginning to understand her point.

"Compared to us, whose strength is finite, Civit could be said to be nearly infinite. Unlike us, he didn't rely on temporary enhancements to maintain his peak state. He could fight continuously, barely needing sleep or rest…… When Touka-dono faced him, he didn't have the opportunity to fully demonstrate it, but that sustained combat ability may have been his most terrifying talent. However, on the other hand———"

"My and Seras-san's "strongest states"…… are finite……"

"Yes." Seras nodded gracefully.

"The "strongest" we have reached is finite…… In this battle, we may need to be acutely aware of that limitation at crucial moments."

[…………………]

But no matter how much I was aware of it.

Against Wormungandr, I couldn't afford to hold back.

And now———— perhaps, the moment had finally arrived.

The moment I reached my limit.

Wormungandr raised his chin, looking down at me with those ever-smirking eyes.

[Geragera…… Well, I suppose we could call this a draw. Not only do my Anti-Deity Enhancements not work against you, but someone on your side also seems to have set up some kind of Deity-weakening ability…… That said———- for this Wormungandr to have been pushed this far by a human. This is beyond my expectations. No doubt, you're the strongest human I've ever fought. Kuku…… I was ordered to run around the labyrinth, wiping out your allies one by one, but because I was so caught up fighting you, look at what happened. I haven't managed to kill a single one yet. Geragera, isn't that hilarious?]

Wormungandr exaggeratedly clapped his hands together three times.

Was that———– supposed to be applause?

And then———-

[But———– this is where the curtain falls.]

I…… steadied my breathing.

He's strong.

Truly.

Out of all the opponents I've faced so far, he's on a completely different level.

The gap between us…… The gap as warriors is overwhelming.

Are the other Divine Servants this strong too?

[The state you were in before, that wasn't something you could enter at will. It only happens unconsciously when the right conditions are met. And now, you've finally dropped out of it. You put up a good fight, but——— this is as far as you go.]

I exhaled slowly.

—————Ryyiiiiiiiiiiiiiin—————

At that moment, with his expression looking as stupid as before, Wormungandr's eyes widened.

[Ahh?]

Once again———– I fell dazed into that sound.

Wormungandr’s right arm, which had been lazily scratching his forehead with his fingers, droops limply.

It looks as if it fell by itself, unconsciously.

[……For real? You’re telling me you can "enter" that state at will……? Oi, oi…… this human———]

Bshuu!

My slash, launched from below at an angle, cuts through Wormungandr from his waist to his shoulder.

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A strike so close, it happens faster than the blink of an eye.

In an instant, I had already leaped into the best possible range————- just within striking distance.

"A perfect distance."

His eyes roll down, glaring at me as I stand beneath him, my unique sword raised high.

……crickle, crackle……

Dark cracks, like fractures, spread across Wormungandr’s white face.

The lines grow thicker and thicker.

[Correction…… This ain’t over yet. Gerarara…… Alright, human…… That’s how it should be.]

By the time Wormungandr finishes speaking, I’ve already moved on to my next action.

I slip to his flank, aiming to cut through his body.

His hardened backhand swings toward me, but I block it with my own weapon, focusing all its hardness to a single point.

Killing intent.

It scorches my skin———- my senses.

Intense like raging flames.

Scorching hot, pure murderous intent.

I can no longer see Wormungandr’s figure clearly.

He’s moving too fast.

Instead, I rely on the feeling of his killing intent burning through me, tracking his movements by instinct.

I parry an attack from behind without turning around, blocking it with my unique sword.

Even the act of turning would create an opening in this battle.

I don’t blink.

Against Wormungandr in his current state, even the fraction of a second spent blinking could lead to death.

I cannot allow the flower of my death to bloom here.

I grit my teeth.

Wormungandr, too, has stopped speaking.

A clash between two warriors, their senses honed to the absolute limit.

A battle of wits.

A dance where all unnecessary elements are stripped away, leaving only the chosen attacks, defenses———— evasive maneuvers.

Perhaps, to an observer, this fight might even resemble an art form.

On this battlefield———–

One misstep means instant death.

It’s a battle like threading a needle through the tiniest hole.

Keeping that fragile thread from snapping as long as I can———-

I dive even deeper.

Until that thread breaks———– I run.

My throat burns from the searing pure killing intent.

My throat.

My eyes.

My skin.

My mind.

They sting———– burning hot.

Pure scorching heat.

Even as my senses and body are scorched by the inferno of killing intent, I swing my blade.

I believe……

Even if I cannot win……

As long as I can keep Wormungandr tied to this battlefield, even for a little longer———-

I believe that this time will become the time that saves my comrades.

I will…… protect them…….

That's why———

I will carve through time.

Even if only for a second longer.

▽

That battle, "nailed" in more ways than one————- was finally nearing its end.

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