Moen turned around, staring at the "intact" Buze with an extremely strange expression.
"You're not dead?" he said, somewhat surprised.
The scene was bizarre. Just a second ago, Buze's entire upper body had been blasted away, and Moen had watched his corpse fall. Yet now, the slightly pudgy youth stood before him once again, completely unharmed.
It was as if he had never been injured at all.
Facing Moen's confusion, Buze said nothing, but the fury etched on his face was enough to convey his current state of mind.
He had dared to face a legendary god alone; why would he fear a "mere" saint-rank archmage?
Buze lunged forward. His crimson, violent mana suddenly expanded like a ball of raging fire as he charged straight at Moen.
A flash of surprise crossed Moen's face. He clearly hadn't expected the boy to have the courage to counterattack. After all, the gap between them was wider than that between a cat and a mouse.
He didn't take Buze's strike seriously. In his eyes, Buze's lucky escape wouldn't change the outcome. If one kill wasn't enough, he would simply kill him again.
Like an archer who misses the bullseye on the first shot, he would just try a few more times.
He nonchalantly raised an arm infused with mana. Buze's flawed swordsmanship wasn't even worth mentioning; a simple lift of his palm would be enough to block it completely.
But just as he thought that, Buze's blade suddenly shifted direction, tracing a beautiful arc through the air that perfectly bypassed Moen's defense.
That elegant, spinning arc even left a brilliant trail of golden light in its wake.
Moen's expression finally shifted. He couldn't understand how this was possible.
"Perfect Rotation! This is my Power of Perfect Rotation!"
Buze let out a hysterical roar, pouring every ounce of his strength into this single strike.
After asking Grinya for the secret to becoming stronger that day, Buze had returned home and meditated for a long, long time.
The terms Grinya had used—which sounded like nonsense at first but grew more profound the more he thought about them—lingered in his mind, refusing to leave.
He had originally thought Grinya was just teasing him with a half-hearted response.
But recalling her always calm, cold expression, he began to wonder if there was a deeper meaning hidden within.
Why did Grinya say the secret to getting stronger was only two words, yet provide so many different answers?
Was it redundant, or was she just playing with him?
Buze pondered for a long time without finding an answer. Eventually, he stopped overthinking and threw himself back into the grueling training required to defeat Grinya.
He practiced until sweat soaked his entire body and his muscles throbbed as if they were about to explode.
Outside, the starlight dotted the night sky, while he remained alone in the empty dojo, training for an unknown amount of time.
In that moment, he suddenly understood why Grinya had told him the secret was only two words while using so many other terms.
She was telling him that while there are countless ways to become strong in this world, in the end, only one would truly fit him.
As long as he held the conviction to grow stronger and was willing to work for it, he could achieve it.
The secret he had been chasing had been within him all along. That was what Grinya wanted him to know.
By desperately seeking the secrets of others for a path he was already walking, he had unknowingly taken a long detour.
But taking the long way is the shortest shortcut to success.
And this was what he had realized—the Power of Perfect Rotation!
He had worked hard to get stronger so he could defeat Grinya, but it was because of Grinya that he could become this strong.
This sword strike shattered Moen's defense and sliced into his shoulder. Blood sprayed out like a ruptured bag, leaving a gruesome wound on Moen's right shoulder.
Buze excitedly licked the corner of his mouth.
Humiliation and rage were the next emotions to erupt from Moen after the brief shock.
He, a saint-rank archmage, had actually been wounded by a top-tier brat!
This was an absolute disgrace, an unspeakable insult!
He had to kill Buze to vent his fury!
"How dare you?"
"How dare you!"
He screamed hysterically. His saint-rank Life Crown title once again erupted with brilliant light, sweeping over Buze's body. Buze froze, his body once again becoming stiff and unable to move.
"This sissy's Life Crown talent seems to be able to forcefully control lower-level mages."
Buze realized this, but he found he had no way to counter it.
His level was too low. Against a high-level mage, he was essentially powerless.
Being able to wound his opponent just now was purely due to an extraordinary display of skill and the element of surprise caused by the other's carelessness.
Moen looked at him coldly, as if looking at a corpse, and then suddenly clenched his fist toward him.
Immediately, the air nearby plummeted, and everything around them began to collapse inward frantically.
Air, light, and sound were all forcibly dragged into a vortex. Buze felt as if he were being squeezed by an invisible giant hand. His bones let out a strained, popping roar, and the blood vessels across his body began to burst.
"I want you to die in the most miserable, most painful way possible!" Moen shrieked, his face contorted.
"Boom!"
The compressed destructive power exploded instantly. Buze's body disintegrated into a mist of blood, like a mosquito being swatted. Chunks of flesh and gore fell like rain.
The powerful shockwave rippled outward, causing the entire plains to tremble.
Looking at the non-existent Buze and smelling the thick scent of blood in the air, Moen laughed happily.
He was certain that this time, he had killed Buze for good.
After all, bits of the boy's blood and flesh were still clinging to him.
He couldn't be any deader. Even if a god descended, it would be difficult to resurrect someone who had been so thoroughly destroyed.
"Do you see? This is what happens when you cross me," he said with a smug smile, his lips curling upward.
A second later, his smile vanished.
Because that annoying Domain of Honor still hadn't disappeared!
His body suddenly felt itchy. It was the blood and flesh clinging to him—they were trembling slightly!
Moen froze in place. He watched in disbelief as all the blood and flesh in the vicinity began to move. They crawled and merged together into a pile of sickening meat paste, then began to twist and take shape...
Until a brand-new Buze stood before Moen once again!
"I told you, before my domain extinguishes, I can keep fighting you."
Buze gritted his teeth against the agonizing pain, baring his teeth at Moen as he spoke.
Rate on N.U.
