You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"Drink!"

On the verge of death, Tony still had some strength left. He unleashed a ferocious burst of brute force, and the demon sword increased its power again, but instead propelled him backward.

Flying backwards for dozens of meters, Tony slid down the crystallized pit wall, barely stopping with a crack in the ground, and suddenly looked up to glare at Iori.

"What is that? My sword... is so useless..."

"Whether it's a sword or a fist, they are just forms of concentrating one's power and applying it more efficiently in battle."

You should not blame your sword, for a wild dog, whether with its claws or its fangs, cannot reach the moon in the night sky.

Its only mistake wasn't being born weak, but simply failing to see how vast the distance between itself and the moon truly was.

"..."

Tony remained silent for a long time, but an almost tangible flame ignited in his eyes.

He didn't argue, but simply ignited the remaining magical power within his body, allowing the concept of the "demon sword" to expand continuously.

He can turn everything he touches into a "magic sword," not just tangible steel, rocks, and branches, but also ever-changing water and wind, and even light. The only problem lies in his perception of things—whether he can "grasp" them.

At this moment, he had entered a state of mental transcendence, where he no longer cared about common sense and abandoned all knowledge within the rules. He had only one thought in his mind, and thus he was "omnipotent"!

"I—will not allow anything I cannot sever to exist. The sword of the sky that cleaved the earth is now firmly in my hand!"

"it is good!"

Iori's eyes lit up, and she patted her chest, indicating that as soon as the movement was completed, the spell engraved on her body was activated like a trigger. The dark patterns connected with each other, and her hands and feet were surrounded and restrained by red light.

"You have guts... If you survive, I'll give you a chance!"

The power of the spell is boiling!

At the same time, his physical abilities improved dramatically in a short period of time.

A single charge caused the atmosphere to groan; without any other aids, the sheer force of his physical body alone unleashed a chaotic surge of air currents.

A flash of red light appeared in her eyes, and the urge to destroy overwhelmed her reason. Iori unleashed a binding fist powerful enough to shatter a small mountain!

His movements were so fast that even Tony had difficulty keeping up; it was practically divine speed. Tony could only rely on his experience and intuition to wield the demonic sword with god-level swordsmanship.

"The torn silver hand!"

"break!"

Bang——! ! !

The terrifying power, like a flash flood, was concentrated at one point. The explosive flames devoured everything, yet the silver light managed to remain sharp as it sliced ​​through Iori's body, leaving a trail of blood before flying into the distance.

It did break through Iori's defenses, but it was only to the extent of superficial wounds. Even for an ordinary magician, it wouldn't be considered serious, and for Iori, it was even less significant, disappearing in an instant.

The blond youth couldn't even hold his own in this confrontation; he was instantly blasted away by the direct impact.

At that moment, perhaps out of instinct, the runes reappeared, significantly reducing the damage he was taking.

But this is not over yet!

Iori grinned, cutting through the air to arrive ahead of Tony's trajectory, raising his right leg and slashing down like a battle axe—

"break!"

boom! ! !

The earth seemed to have collapsed completely, and from above, it looked like a huge void was swallowing everything.

The shockwave, which showed no signs of weakening, destroyed the desert along with Tony's body. Everything in sight collapsed in an instant, and the sand dunes, which resembled golden waves, were blown away and flattened!

As the literal meaning—

The sky is falling!

Chapter 391: The Joy of Acquiring a Husky.

Alice waited outside with a hint of anxiety. Although she had great faith in Iori's strength and knew that he was a super-powerful demon king who could defeat both the Martial Arts King and the Monkey King at the same time, she still felt a little uneasy.

The power of authority was too great for a human magician like her to measure, so she couldn't accurately judge the difference between Iori and the other Godslayers. Furthermore, the Sword King was renowned for his overwhelming offensive power, and in terms of sheer destructive force, he was probably the strongest Godslayer (excluding Iori), which inevitably made Alice uneasy.

Seikiin Ena, standing to the side, appeared calm and unconcerned.

She is the kind of person who is simple and direct in both her thinking and actions, and relies more on her intuition. In her mind, Iori's achievements all along prove that he is an invincible being in this world, and neither gods nor demon kings can shake him in the slightest.

If you simply weigh Iori and the Sword King on two sides of a scale in your mind, you will immediately and without hesitation side with Iori!

Admittedly, the Sword King is a very troublesome enemy. Just one glance is enough to feel the intimidation of the invisible sharpness. As a martial artist, Hui Na knew very well what this meant—the opponent's swordsmanship was far superior to her own, even to the point of being overwhelming.

But Ena still doesn't think Iori will lose, because the newly crowned Demon King is in no way inferior to the Sword King in this aspect, and may even be better!

Hui Na had received personal instruction from Iori, so she was well aware of just how outrageous and monstrous the lord she served was.

Sure enough, after what felt like an incredibly long time to Alice, the dim light under the streetlights distorted, and then a figure leaped out of nothingness and landed lightly on the ground.

Alice and Huina looked over and immediately breathed a sigh of relief:

Iori's expression remained normal, and even his clothes were not disheveled. In his right hand, he was carrying a tattered corpse that had been roasted until its skin was torn and its flesh was torn apart... Perhaps he had just fainted.

"Lord Aizen, congratulations on your victorious return."

"As expected of Lord Aizen, I knew this would be the outcome!"

One was relieved, the other excited, while Iori waved his hand to retrieve the [Map of Mountains and Rivers] that had disappeared into the night, and at the same time threw the completely unconscious human body to the ground.

"No need for congratulations. Cheers only have meaning after achieving something, but clearly there's nothing to be proud of in this battle."

Iori shook the filth off her hands and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing to worry about."

"……clear."

Alice was deeply impressed.

"Have someone carry this guy inside. He doesn't need any treatment. Although he looks lifeless, his soul hasn't dissipated yet. With the physique of a god-slayer, he'll probably wake up on his own after a while."

After saying that, Iori smiled slightly at the two girls: "You've been waiting for so long, thank you for your hard work~ Let the kitchen prepare a midnight snack."

……

Iori doesn't need to get nutrition from the outside world, but the desire for food is a basic human desire. He has never been an ascetic or a Puritan and does not restrict his enjoyment in all aspects.

On the contrary, he pursues fine food, wine, and beautiful women, and enjoys adventure, glory, and passion. Despite having an endless lifespan, he is a person who lives in the present.

Salvatore, who had been defeated by him, ultimately survived. The Sword King's life was not in danger; he merely entered a state of suspended animation.

Since he had actually survived that attack, Iori naturally wouldn't lay a hand on a defenseless shell... After all, there would be no reward for killing a god-slayer.

On the contrary, Tony didn't possess any overly deep cunning; he was simply a pure sword fanatic and battle maniac. Like Esdeath back then, except compared to the single-minded Sword King, Esdeath was practically a master strategist…

(In a sense, Iori is quite good at taming this kind of person.)

In this world, Godslayers are both the pinnacle of power and overlords who rule their respective regions. Eliminating one would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar. Conversely, if a Godslayer could be brought under one's command, Iori's influence would reach a new level.

Has nothing like this happened before?

That's because while there are differences in strength among the god-slayers, the disparity isn't too great, and none of them can subdue their own kind, body and soul.

However, even among the proud and arrogant Steel Heroes, some are willing to follow the Last King. Each of them is a formidable figure, but Rama's position above them allows them to follow without complaint.

Why?

—Overwhelmingly powerful!

The strong are those who can rise above the weak. Both god-slayers and disobedient gods accept this logic, just as they feel justified in ruling over humanity.

Of course, personality factors should also be considered.

If it were just a matter of using force to oppress, none of the god-killers would be spineless and would never succumb to violence.

But what Iori wanted to do was not to make Tony bow down and submit to her, but simply to exercise the power of the victor.

As for the specifics... well, that depends on whether this kid knows what's good for him after he wakes up.

It's worth mentioning that Tony's "Steel Protection" is indeed an extremely powerful ability. It can not only greatly enhance the body's hardness and physical resistance, but also allow him to enter a "suspended state" in extreme environments.

This state can be said to have increased durability to the limit. Although you will lose consciousness and be unable to move, your survivability will be greatly improved. You can avoid fatal attacks, and generally no one can detect it.

Iori's attack brought him to the brink of death, but he survived. As a result, he suffered countless broken bones all over his body, and large areas of his skin and muscles were rotten. He remained in a coma for a whole week before waking up from his suspended animation.

During this week, Iori witnessed firsthand just how abnormal the Godslayer's physique was, able to slowly recover even from such severe injuries. Especially after waking up, the speed of recovery was frighteningly fast, and within a few days he was bouncing around again.

However, Iori's "soul materialization" goes even further than that, so she is destined not to enjoy this advantage.

……

"I'm so sorry for causing you trouble!"

A well-dressed middle-aged man bowed deeply, his face covered in cold sweat, and said with a mixture of unease and regret, "I shouldn't have let that bastard trick me and let him do such a rude thing!"

His name is Andre, a close friend of the Sword King Tony before he became a Godslayer. After Tony transcended, Andre became the only link between the Sword King and human society. Therefore, he holds a very high position in the world of magic. Although he is just an ordinary Grand Knight, even the elders of various factions have to show him respect.

It's important to know that Tony has always been someone who can't understand human speech, and this has only worsened since he became a godkiller. He's basically a walking nuclear bomb-level brat. Although he doesn't have the same malice as the Marquis, he will act out of "interest" and "excitement," and he doesn't care about the lives of others either.

Andrei is the only suppressor of the Sword King—although the effect is minimal, it is better than nothing.

...Judging from the fact that Andrei could curse without any restraint, the two of them were indeed on good terms.

As for why he's so scared now... is it even a question? His little rascal went to fight someone for no reason—and he didn't even win!

We lost, that's the important thing!

To be honest, although he loathed Tony's personality, he also admitted that Tony was a guy with exceptional execution skills and astonishing strength, who had never suffered a loss even when fighting veteran god-slayers. To be completely crushed like this, a one-sided victory... was a first for him.

On his way here, he thought he was going to stop Tony from causing more trouble, but it turned out he was here to apologize to Tony.

To put it bluntly, at this moment, his and Tony's lives were in Iori's hands, so he couldn't help but be nervous.

Iori sat comfortably on a beach chair, basking in the sun, indifferent to Andrei's apology. The middle-aged man grew increasingly uneasy until a nonchalant voice came from inside the mansion, which brought him some relief.

“Andrei, don’t worry. If he wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t have spared my life that day.”

Tony, still bandaged up like a mummy, walked over in a suit and trousers he'd somehow gotten his hands on. His appearance was completely out of place, but he didn't seem to care. He casually sat down on another deck chair opposite Iori, enjoying the comfort of the sun and sea breeze.

Alice, who was standing next to Iori, signaled to the maid to prepare drinks and fruit.

Andre apologized to Iori again, and then rudely pressed Tony's head down, forcing him to bow his head as well.

"Don't you understand anything about human relationships? This time it was clearly Lord Lan Ran who spared my life, so don't act so lazy!"

"Okay, I know~ I promise I won't do it again next time~"

Tony's words were clearly dismissive, but he always had a cheerful, smiling face, which made people feel both annoyed and helpless.

It's like seeing your husky looking at you expectantly after it has destroyed the house...

"What kind of relationship do Iori and I have? Why would I care about such a trivial matter?"

Tony shamelessly launched into a lengthy and presumptuous speech.

According to him, since the two had fought, they were now in a close relationship that could be described as "friends" but "enemies," and would become inseparable, love-hate buddies from then on.

Iori couldn't help but smile, but she didn't really have any ill feelings towards Tony. This kind of simple-minded creature, who doesn't hold grudges or have complicated thoughts, honestly has its charms; after all, being straightforward and cheerful is a virtue.

"But I did lose after all, so you probably won't let me leave like this, will you?"

"No, you can leave anytime you want."

Iori replied calmly.

Andrei, who was scolding Tony, turned around in surprise, while the blond youth also paused slightly before grinning and saying, "Then I won't be polite. See you next time..."

Tony stood up, turned around and walked away, but after taking two steps he slowed down and hesitated to leave.

His brows furrowed, and he rarely showed an expression of deep thought.

At that moment, Iori's voice rang out again: "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"There are some things I can't let go of..."

Tony returned, stood to the side, his gaze intense as he leaned down to look at Iori: "Why were you able to block my sword? But I couldn't even withstand a single punch from you?"

"this one?"

Iori smiled, sat up from the deck chair, and gazed at the white sand beach and the ever-moving waves in the distance, bathed in sunlight.

"You should know the answer to that question very well."

"..."

Tony fell silent.