Musou Knight: Crow of Cinders-Chapter 25: Crow VS Zoli Diripio

Chapter 25 - Crow VS Zoli Diripio

"WHOEVER YOU ARE, DIE!"

Zoli sneered and charged toward me, brandishing his hammer like a wrecking ball.

Protecting my precious wine, I counter-charged. As soon as I closed the distance, bullet time activated. My perception sharpened, stretching each second into an eternity.

I saw Zoli’s movements clearly. His slow bulk raised the steel hammer to smash my head. Though my body wasn’t faster, the heightened awareness was enough.

With all my strength, I thrust my sword, aiming at the fat neck that merged with his head.

Zoli’s eyes tracked the blade. He tilted his neck, and my sword only grazed flesh.

His hammer descended.

"HAH!"

As my sword pierced his skin, I unleashed a musou burst. A dome of flame erupted, engulfing us both.

"HOW DARE YOU!?"

Zoli roared and released his musou energy. Our powers collided, repelling each other.

The shockwave blasted me backward. My shoulders slammed into the floor, and I rolled until I reached the edge of the stage. My nails scraped against the rough stone, but I managed to cling to the platform.

Zoli stood firm, my sword lodged in his flesh. Flames licked his body, while his fat fueled the fire. The flame spread to Zoli’s armor.

Normally, he would have shrugged it off. But here, he faltered. He peeled all the burning armor pieces off himself. Still, the flame originated from the neck wound, which came from the spawned sword.

It didn’t melt. I took a mental note for future reference and fights.

The arena trembled. Caerulex ore veins glowed, emitting a piercing sound that stabbed our eardrums like needles.

I collapsed to my knees. My vision blurred, and Zoli in my vision multiplied to five. Zoli also wobbled but remained upright.

"You bastard! What did you do?!" he growled.

I was surprised he could still talk. My hearing was gone, replaced by the shrill resonance.

Ignoring him, I searched for my wine jar. Fifty meters away, it sat untouched. I staggered toward it.

Zoli stepped forward, then fell flat on his stomach. He rolled sideways. He, too, could no longer stand straight under the effects of Caerulex’s resonance.

My plan was working.

Caerulex ore had two unique traits. First, musou energy resonated with it. Activating a musou power would result in the absorption of musou energy, followed by a sound-type musou attack directed at the source. The higher the knight’s rank, the worse the effect.

I was level 2, and it felt like a stroke. For Zoli, it must have felt like dying.

I waited for the second side effect. I stare at the burning neck of Zoli and prayed.

"YOU SON OF A HARLOT!"

Stop yelling in caps. Fatherpegger.

Zoli hadn’t realized it yet. He kept exuding musou energy to repel my fire and the sound waves from the ores, worsening the resonance.

Unfortunately, the sound waves hit me too. I collapsed beside the wine jar. My bleeding hands reached for the container and scooped wine into my mouth.

Did I have an alcohol addiction? Maybe. But water couldn’t refill my musou gauge. When was the last time I drank water again?

The metallic taste of blood snapped me back. I lifted the jar, chugged another mouthful, and filled my musou gauge. My head and chest burned with a feverish sensation, along with the feeling of having an upset stomach and acid reflux. It got so bad that I wanted to puke.

Enduring the Caerulex’s effects, I stood up. I opened my palm and focused. Bullet time refreshed.

I turned to Zoli.

As expected of the main villain. That fatty had achieved the rank of a great general not because of his political schemes alone. He recovered fast.

By the time I shifted my attention to Zoli, his hammer was already in front of my chest.

"DAMMIT!"

Taking advantage of the bullet time, I ducked.

The slowed hammer shone. Zoli also kicked the ground. A dark dome manifested from him, which engulfed the entire arena, and my bullet time shattered.

Domain expansion is cheating! Screw you, developers!

"YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THAT POWER, INSECT!"

Everything was too sudden.

The hammer changed direction mid-air and smashed into my chest. My insides cracked.

The blow hurled me against the cavern wall. My head slammed hard on a rocky surface.

My vision blurred. My body got so heavy and cold.

Did I just lose?

Why was I fighting Zoli again? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Why did I even bother?

Is this enough? Can I just close my eyes and rest?

No.

NO.

NO!!

NOT YET!!

’I can’t die. Not now.’

I forced strength into my arms, grabbing the hammer that glued to my chest.

"Light me on fire, hammer!"

Flames erupted around me. I slid down, falling from the platform. My body hit the ground, and I lay on my side.

The resonance continued, but it didn’t affect me anymore. My hearing slowly returned. However, I couldn’t move my limbs.

My chest caved inward. My lungs barely drew air. My throat clogged. My body went numb and cold despite being on fire.

Still, my eyes rolled upward. I still had little strength to check my surroundings.

The hammer detached from my chest, flying back.

At the edge of the stage, Zoli’s silhouette loomed. His neck was still burning, but he pressed on the wound. Fire licked his hands, but his dark aura protected his flesh.

As expected, my firepower wasn’t enough against a level 5 tank. My teeth clenched in frustration as I realized I didn’t get to activate the dragon seal and spam musou attacks as I had strategized.

"HA! JUST AN INSECT! DIE THERE LIKE A DOG AS YOU ARE!"

You were just lucky that your power countered mine, fatty. If I were at level 5 like you, you would have been unable to cancel my bullet time.

He reclaimed his hammer and disappeared from view. His voice echoed.

"THAT INSECT IS DEAD! HE IS JUST A DECOY! GO SEARCH OUTSIDE!"

For the nth time, stop yelling in caps.

I stared forward, waiting. If his soldiers checked, that would have spelled game over for me.

I lay in silence, biding my time. The fire slowly mended my wounds.

Footsteps faded. The stage crumbled into dust, burying me alive. The fire died.

My musou energy was also depleted along with my fire. My malnourished body lacked energy. The broken ribs ached. My spine seemed dislocated. My lungs were bleeding.

At this rate, I might die for real.

Was this fated? Would there be a new game+ system the next time I came back to life?

"CAAA!!"

Cow-Cow appeared in front of me.

’I guess no new game+ system.’