Futile resistance! - Black Wasp's killing intent

A few minutes ago.

"This is bad… This is very bad…"

Black Wasp's mocking words seemed to rock the ship, the ninja's head in his hand showering the deck with a red rain.

"Jack and Will!" Moraine shouted out of the blue, Mana exploding from her armor as a Claymore appeared in her hands.

They couldn't care about getting assigned the role of temporary Protector. Not anymore.

Aloof and Blade Singer brought William Turner to Kai and Moraine and put him down near Jack Sparrow. The four Contestants surrounded the two Characters from four directions.

"Hahaha!" Black Wasp burst out with a peal of laughter.

Suddenly, a chill ran down all Contestants' spines. 4th-floor Contestants felt it, 5th-floor Contestants felt it, and 6th-floor Contestants felt it as well. It was the same for all of them.

The chill of impending death!

Black Wasp had killed Hadoken, who wasn't much weaker than anyone on the Interceptor. If they didn't work together, then there was almost no chance of them surviving this doom. They all knew this, especially the Protectors.

Hisss!

Blood mist escaped Kai's mouth like a steam engine whistling out puffs of steam. His entire body squirmed, squeezing out every ounce of strength it could muster. In his hands, Afro's Tachi and Murasame trembled, and from the soles of his feet, Selene returned to her master, ready to petrify all at one command.

Crack!

Thunder roared as a bolt of lightning struck Kai, and Coridite armor covered his upper torso except for his left hand and head. Afar, Ensui's wielder, and Shinken Blue's bodies trembled, recognizing the Blue-skinned demon.

Even Black Wasp narrowed his eyes at Kai, his laugh vanishing.

To Kai's left, dense Breath churned, as Blade Singer brandished her sword, Ryoku Sui. The very space around her seemed to bend as her feet wobbled with a mysterious rhythm.

Suddenly, a chant reverberated out of nowhere around her.

Ton, Tan Tan. Ton, Tan Tan!

All things became still for Blade Singer, letting her see the very drops of sea hammering at her face.

"Kyou Kai's Priestess Dance from Kingdom World," Black Wasp worded out, shocked. "Hmm… You don't seem to have broken the Soul Territory…"

To Blade Singer's left, Aloof's eyes rolled back in his head. His short orange hair lifted at their ends, and the wood beneath his feet shattered, a shocking might of Telekinesis fluctuating about him with unmatched ferocity.

"Mob Psycho 100 World's power…" Black Wasp mumbled, letting go of the head in his hand. It tumbled down and landed on the deck with a distinct, squelching thud.

To Aloof's left and Kai's right was Moraine the Elegant; her Mana densest and richest than all. A blinding light exploded out of the circle over her chest, making everyone squint inadvertently.

And then the color of rainbows washed over all like the most gentle wave.

Large, but extremely beautiful, butterfly wings manifested on Moraine's back, shining with seven colors. The wind howled and ghosts screamed along with it.

"… Wings of Grim Butterfly from Inuyasha World," Black Wasp almost exclaimed. "Impossible! That existence is… No, wait! Those aren't the real wings granted by the Grim Butterfly. Heh! So that's how it is… You have a Blessing! No wonder."

Kai's mind shook as he heard the word "Blessing" and the origin of Moraine's Wings. But he couldn't think over them. The moment Black Wasp finished his sentence, letting the strongest four bring out their power as if eying a show, yellow light shone around him.

It was also the moment everyone's heart palpated. The wind was high, but their backs had already got drenched with sweat. The tips of their fingers throbbed, and their toes went taut, ready to kick the wooden ground underneath.

"How naive!" Black Wasp sneered, and… disappeared.

"Ahh!"

A scream rang out on the deck and all saw a head flying in the air, still screaming.

"No!"

"Ugh!"

"…"

No matter where Kai saw, he just couldn't find Black Wasp. Only a light trail of yellow could be seen, and wherever it passed, it left behind headless corpses as a mark of its presence.

It was then that Kai's eyes widened, his pupils becoming the size of a needle.

All sounds, screams, howls, and senses vanished from his mind.

Someone was coming at him from his right. A blade was aimed at his neck. He was going to be beheaded.

Words appeared in his mind as facts.

Kai's long white hair swayed and time paused… Black Wasp appeared where Kai had perceived he would, but the speed of the 7th-floor Contestant was so fast that he hadn't even blinked, his heart yet to beat a second time.

Move… Move… Move… Move…. MOVE!!!

"Arghhh!" A profound will exploded as a beastly growl exploded from Kai's throat. His body couldn't move, but his thoughts were faster, and he had already seen Black Wasp coming… somehow.

From right, his thought pulled Moraine toward him against her will, forcing her to act as a shield. From left, another thought snatched Blade Singer off her feet, the chants still ringing about her.

When Black Wasp's blade, Moraine's armor, Blade Singer's blade, and Coridite armor made contact, only then did the world regain life.

Boom!!!

Wood cracked as a resounding boom threw everyone off in all directions. The Coridite armor on Kai's body shattered instantly, becoming One Half of the Power Sword. However, it didn't remain a sword for long, and it too shattered, becoming points of ethereal light like stars in a starry river.

Kai's chest almost exploded, making him cough out several mouthfuls of blood, and this was when others had already reduced the damage from Black Wasp's blow by more than half. With a bang, his back hit the hull, bringing closure to his momentum.

Bleeding, and experiencing tremendous pain, Kai lifted his head and looked at the spot where his Item had vanished, and he frowned. For a long time, One Half of the Power Sword had remained with him, assisting him in battles like a loyal soldier. Then, it was gone, just like that.

One blow… One blow was all it took for a top-level 7th-floor Contestant to bring Kai and other Protectors to this state.

Far from him, Moraine's state wasn't any better. The Iron Man armor around her waist was gone, and her ribs were protruding out, flesh hanging off her like hideous threads.

The Wings of Grim Butterfly on her back fluttered once, secreting multi-colored powder. Suddenly, the howling and screaming ghosts took form out of nowhere, becoming Yokai from Inuyasha World. As the powder touched them, they disintegrated, and melted in Moraine's wound, making it glow with seven colors. Her flesh regenerated at a visible pace, but even then she failed to stand up, falling on the deck helplessly.

Opposite her, Blade Singer's blade-wielding hand was twisted at an odd angle, a bone sticking out of her arm like a bone spear. She was still standing, her face pale. Breath was fluctuating about her like never. The chants were growing stronger and louder, her feet kept dancing rhythmically as if they weren't in her control.

In the middle of these three stood Black Wasp, looking at Kai with a gobsmacked glint in his eyes.

Kai, Moraine, and Blade Singer had survived their fates, but Black Wasp was still holding a head. In his right hand was a short dagger, glowing sinisterly. And in his left hand was a head with orange-color hair, its eyes rolled back into the head.

"Who are you?" Black Wasp asked, stepping toward Kai slowly, wood cracking under his feet. "Just who the fuck are you?"

Black Wasp was one of the fastest Contestants of the 7th floor, allowing him to call himself a top-level Contestant. No one… just no one under 7th-floor could hope to survive his assassination.

For Kai to achieve this mind-boggling feat meant only one thing.

'He saw me coming!' Black Wasp's thought, astounded. 'He saw! He… must die!'

Kai's grip over his swords tightened, and a touch of demonic grin surfaced on his lips as he saw Black Wasp coming at him. He still had many tricks up his sleeves, but the enemy was just too powerful; too fast.

He… lost.

"Haha!" The thought made Blood Demon laugh like a maniac. Kai pushed himself to his feet, blood squirting off his chest, becoming a puddle. Interceptor was still sailing, bobbing up and down, forcing him to stagger. But Kai had got sea legs long ago, allowing him to straighten his spine and look into Black Wasp's eyes.

They were just too close.

"No one." Kai's answer came out with a silly grin.

"Fool…" Black Wasp dropped Aloof's head and lifted his right leg, his entire body glowing yellow. This time, there won't be any more unexpected scenarios. This time, this white-haired Contestant would definitely die.

The moment Black Wasp's right leg touched the wooden floor, it was also when the Supreme-Protector created a hurricane, surrounding himself and the Shadow Lord.

Moreover, Red Sun's thoughts seemed to have taken time, but they hadn't lasted for even a fraction of a second.

Just as the hurricane appeared, and the quick conversation between two 9th-floor Contestants ended, was also when Robin hurled out the Beast Ball.

A mountain-worth of pressure fell upon Contestants, pressing over them like heavy boulders stacked upon each other.

"RizeGreymon!"

The shout reverberated from one end of the Inheritance Land to another, and two more words followed it, echoing far and wide. "Trident… Revolver!"

Kai couldn't even lift his head, his back bent, his knees almost touching the deck.

And the moment the Digimon fired three bursts of shots out of the revolver, it was like instantly doubling the pressure everyone had been experiencing so far.

"Cough!" Kai coughed out even more blood, a touch darker than before. He wasn't alone in it, though.

Moraine's head was pressed into the wooden floor, blood pouring out of her mouth. Blade Singer's dance paused, making her face turn blue, and her eyes losing sign of life, bit by bit.

Even Black Wasp, the top-level 7th-floor Contestant, was no different, coughing out blood like all others, his entire body trembling like twig amid a storm.

Some 4th-floor Contestants, who had just ascended the 2nd Set, even lost their lives in an instant, their necks breaking with a distinct snap.

Luck at two extremities! Kai's mind roared, recalling the theory he had come up with.

If Black Wasp's arrival and his singling out Blood Demon was Kai's misfortune, then the 9th-floor Contestants acting out against each other was Jack Sparrow's Luck influencing the events because of the proximity between him and Kai.

Kai's Luck was bad, but it wasn't even that bad for it to bring certain death upon him. It was Jack Sparrow's presence that had turned it worse… and better.

Even now, bleeding and clenching his teeth, this reasoning brought out a smile on Kai's lips. Resisting the might of Mana ripples falling over him like several boulders, Kai lifted his head to look up at the sky, his muscles screeching and his skin rupturing with every inch of movement.

The 9th-floor Contestants were too high for him to see them, but Kai did see three fiery scarlet dots, spinning, and rushing toward the distant hurricane, like meteors.

And the moment they hit the target…

… the world lit up, welcoming a red sun!

************

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