However, this was not trembling due to fear. Perhaps due to fighting in the various matches and against Vali, Loki and other strong opponents, I neither feared nor faltered at the sight of my opponent entering Balance Breaker. --After all, the one I trained against every day was Kiba, the one whose Balance Breaker was the holy demonic sword. Boom... I clenched my fists, my back boosters shooting out magical power to accelerate as I charged at the enemy! Swinging a left, I lunged at the man, attacking with great speed--
Slosh...
My attack passed right through his body! The man's body scattered like smoke or mist, and at the moment of impact, there was no feeling of the punch connecting! My opponent looked completely unhurt... The feeling was like penetrating mist. I swiftly turned around, charged at him and sent a flying kick at his back. Slosh! Again, this kind of attack simply passed right through his body! Returning to my starting position, I adjusted my stance... My opponent was still totally unharmed. "Don't bother directly attacking this shadow armour, it's useless." The man spoke with mocking tones. I see. Due to the shadow armour covering his entire body, directly attacking him was ineffective. Though I understood that fact, my only strength was direct attacks! I sprayed the area with a series of Dragon Shot attacks! My Dragon Shot disappeared when it touched the man's body! It did not attack him directly, but seemed to be sucked into him... I instantly had a premonition -- that's the guy's original ability! By the time I was aware, my own scattered Dragon Shots were being fired back at me from various dark corners of the station! The sound of my Dragon Shots approached me! "Bastard! So that kind of ability remains unchanged!" During that battle, our attacks were also absorbed by the shadows, and then released from shadows elsewhere. I picked up Kunou in my arms, and either dodged or kicked away all the Dragon Shots as I parried away! If I get taken out by my own attacks that would be too shameful! The sound of more rustling...! --! The shadows in the station swarmed towards me as if they had minds of their own. The shadows formed into sharp blades to attack me... But too bad for them, my armour was very sturdy. This level of attack was completely not a problem. However, Sairaorg-san could shatter this armour with his bare fists, now that kind of attack power was like a monster's! Just as I felt confidence, a shadow entangled my left leg, and was wrapping itself around and around to tie me down. At the same time, a large number of shadows in the form of sharp spears were advancing. I summoned Ascalon and slashed apart the shadow on my leg! Swiftly jumping back, I adjusted the stance of my body. ...How troublesome. A technique type. To me it was the most difficult type to dealt with. I hate those unconventional attacks which defied common sense, and defences that made direct attacks ineffective. This guy had both. "Hahahaha...! Very good. As expected of the Sekiryuutei. But your attacks are useless against me. In a battle of attrition, I have the advantage." Oh oh, he really knows how to talk. Well, he's right. A battle of attrition will cause my armour to release when the time limit is up. What should I do, I'm being countered. The magic-wielding Rossweisse-san would be better suited to handle this guy after all. "Eh!" Kunou, who I was carrying in one hand, pushed forward with both hands and attacked the man using a fire ball technique. A very tiny fire ball. The man made no effort to evade, and smothered it in his clenching fist. "This is the little fox princess? This is fox fire? This level of heat cannot work against me, you know? Not hot enough." "Damn, damn it." The man laughed in mockery. Kunou's face was full of regret. ...Eh? Not hot enough? So in other words, he can feel heat despite wearing that armour? This form of attack gave me an idea, and so I spread out my dragon wings to cover Kunou. "Ddraig, please keep Kunou safe under your wings." [ No problem, but partner, what are you thinking? ] Ddraig asked. I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with air. And then I lit a tiny fire within my belly. -- I will win, Ddraig! Boosted Gear Gift -- Transfer to the fire in the abdomen! [ BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost ]
[ Transfer!! ] Forming massive flames in my belly, I expelled them out through my mouth! Boom... The gigantic flames engulfed the entire station platform, and the whole underground space was filled. The shadows could transfer fire but the entire platform was all in flames now. Though the shadow armour protected your whole body from direct harm, but you can still feel the heat from inside, right? "This is the fire learned straight from the former dragon king. I can guarantee its heat completely. --Evaporate!" "Bastard~~! Sekiryuutei~~!" The flames formed a vortex around the man. Defeated by the heat from the fire, the man screamed as he painfully rolled about on the ground. Even if you can avoid direct attacks, you cannot evade heat from the massive flames filling up the subway station. I possess the Sekiryuutei's armour. Dragons are not afraid of heat. After all, dragons can withstand the fire from a phoenix. "...Dragon fire..."
From underneath the dragon wings, Kunou spoke softly--
Smoking intensely, the subway station was scorched all black. It looked like they didn't replicate the fire extinguishing system. Maybe I went a little too far. Luckily, it's not the real Kyoto. The man was lying smoking on the ground. ...The shadow armour had been released and his body was covered with severe burns. The presence I felt up till now had disappeared. Let alone entering Balance Breaker, he likely couldn't put up a fight any more. "...Too strong. Even though I reached Balance Breaker... I couldn't defeat the Heavenly Dragon..."
-- Shaking, the man tried to stand up. "Still want to fight? You will die." I tried to warn him for his own good, but the man's body shook as he repeatedly tried to get up despite falling over many times. "...If I die, so be it. For that guy... to die for Cao Cao is my wish." I could tell he was sincere. "You didn't get brainwashed?" "That's right... I followed Cao Cao with my own will. Why do you ask? Cough cough..."
The man was breathing painfully as he spoke. Clearly his throat was also scorched by the heat, but he still continued. "...You cannot be unaware of the tragedy faced by Sacred Gear possessors." I understood. Asia was also caught in tragedy because of that. "...Not everyone can live a happy life relying on the power of the Sacred Gear they are born with... What do you think would happen to a kid like me who could freely manipulate shadows...?" The man spoke in self mockery as he continued. "Fear and oppression from others. Due to this power, I couldn't even live a normal life... But that man told me it was great to have this power." -- Cao Cao.