The Wandering and Nascent

They charged towards each other, the towering beastman and the slender corpse, their sizes vastly different.

Bang!

They collided, a raw clash of brute force, no finesse or technique!

Both stumbled back, the Stranger slightly off balance, but only marginally losing ground.

The Hunter's claws swiped down; the Stranger met the attack with its right hand.

The ground beneath them cracked under the force. The Stranger was pushed back, its feet digging furrows in the ground.

Suddenly, a white glow enveloped the Stranger's black body.

Reinforce Body! Full coverage!

Using its entire body for a high-intensity Reinforce Body, combined with the Stranger's already powerful physique, its body bulged slightly, its legs coiling before exploding with force.

The Hunter's arm was caught and twisted, sending it tumbling!

Unified Sense, the first hurdle for believers, was about expanding miracle releasing organs, not increasing miracle power. It didn't inherently increase combat strength.

At least, that's what Mithra had thought. She could only use miracles with her left hand, yet she could easily defeat Nie Hong, who could use both hands.

But after experiencing the sensation of using miracles with her entire body, she realized she had been naive.

Expanding the miracle releasing organs allowed for a more dynamic flow of sense power.

Unified Sense, connecting all senses throughout the body, was essentially the process of unleashing the full potential of one's sense.

Awakening one's sense was like waking up from a deep sleep, while Unified Sense was like getting out of bed and stretching.

The total amount of sense and sense power didn't change, but the difference in miracle usage due to activation was only truly apparent after achieving Unified Sense.

The Hunter rolled across the ground, creating distance between itself and the Stranger with surprising agility.

The Stranger extended its long, thin left index finger. Reinforce Body surged into it!

Using its entire body to activate Reinforce Body, it focused the power into a single point, compressing and firing a Shockwave Punch!

Bang!

A small, translucent white projectile, the size of a bullet, shot across the distance, timed perfectly for the moment the Hunter regained its footing. But the Hunter reacted, raising its greatsword in defense.

The explosion sent dust and debris flying through the tunnels, raining down like applause.

The Stranger crouched, its limbs touching the ground.

A blue light shone through the dust.

The Night Hunter, holding its sword with both hands, its left side partially obscured, one of the Night Eyes on the blade positioned directly over its left eye.

The Night Hunter knights' Night Worship Swords were imitations of this greatsword. Their ritual was a salute, a prayer to this hunter before the hunt.

When the Hunter took this stance, it meant the true hunt was about to begin.

As the light erupted, the Stranger stared at it. Suddenly, the light was all it could see, everything else beyond its senses, both physical and spiritual.

It felt itself enveloped in a gentle night, no need to struggle, no need for anger, just peaceful slumber...

In its daze, the Stranger suddenly reached into its thin abdomen and pulled out the broken stone hammer. Reinforce Body surged into the hammer as it swung it forward.

Bang!

The sound shattered the false night. The greatsword struck the Stranger, and the stone hammer struck the Hunter's sword hand.

The Hunter stumbled back, the greatsword leaving a deep gash in the Stranger's body.

"Aaargh—!" The Stranger roared in pain.

There was no gentle night. Its own night was long gone.

It threw the hammer. The Hunter parried the hammer with its sword and then leaped away, its tall figure moving swiftly across the tunnel walls, too fast for even the Stranger's enhanced vision to follow. It casually swung its sword, unleashing massive arcs of blue sword energy.

But the Stranger didn't see the sword energy.

The true form of Invisible Blade, even more mysterious and undetectable than its imitations, left no trace for others to see, not even disturbing the air as it moved.

So it simply ignored them.

It continuously stacked Reinforce Body, strengthening its body to withstand the unseen attacks.

Each sword energy left deep gashes, almost severing its body, but the Stranger endured them all, the gruesome wounds rapidly regenerating.

Even without Stabilize, the Stranger didn't flinch or falter from the pain. The injuries only fueled its resentment.

Intense red energy gathered in both its hands, Ki swirling and boiling. A large Ki pattern appeared on its body. It slammed its hands into the ground.

Boom!

The ground trembled. A terrifying Ki quickly enveloped the wide area of the corpse pile, rocks, bodies, and tools slowly rising into the air under its control.

The Stranger roared, the intensity of the sword energy increasing, then suddenly raised its arms!

A layer of the ground, along with the piled corpses, was lifted by the Stranger's Control Object and thrown upwards.

The Hunter was instantly engulfed by debris, swinging its greatsword to escape.

But before it could break free, the Stranger clasped its hands together, focusing Control Object on the debris surrounding the Hunter, tightening its grip and slamming it down.

Crash!

The Hunter was dragged from mid-air and thrown to the ground. Rocks, wood, corpses, and tools rained down, no longer controlled by Ki.

Seizing the opportunity, the Stranger retrieved its hammer, repeatedly activating Reinforce Body. Holding the hammer in its right hand, it charged, using its other three limbs for locomotion.

The Hunter swept aside the debris and swung its greatsword with immense force.

Hammer and greatsword clashed, each impact sending ripples of white and blue energy outwards, shaking the entire mine.

Crack…

Amidst the violent collision, cracks appeared on the hammer.

It was, after all, just a crudely made stone hammer. It had served Mithra valiantly for a long time and was reaching its limits. Without the constant reinforcement from Reinforce Body, it would have been shattered by the Hunter's greatsword.

The damaged hammer caused the Stranger to falter. The Hunter, of course, didn't hesitate. A single blow knocked the Stranger to the ground. It raised its greatsword again and, before the Stranger could get up, plunged it down.

Swish!

The Stranger shrieked in pain as the powerful sword pierced through its back, pinning it to the ground.

The Hunter growled. Its strength had only recovered slightly. This body had been with it for too long, weakened and suppressed for too long. And with the beast tooth taken, it had lost its chance to regain its full power.

Now, it couldn't even easily defeat this weak being.

Suddenly, four swords erupted from the impaled Stranger.

Intense Ki surged into the blades. The bloodstained swords drew chaotic red arcs in the air, then pierced the Hunter's limbs.

Inferior imitations.

But still sharp swords.

The four swords pierced the Hunter's fur and flesh, then, under the control of Ki, began to spin, twisting deeper!

Intense pain shot through its limbs. The Hunter reached for the Stranger's head with its claws.

If it could just crush its head, it would all be over!

But before its claws reach the Stranger's head. They were caught by the Stranger's suddenly raised left hand.

The Night Hunter: ?

Red light flashed. Ki Absorption Hand activated!

The Night Hunter's Ki was rapidly drained, flowing towards the Stranger!

It tried to pull back, but the Stranger raised its other hand, a vortex appearing in its palm. Ki Attraction pulled the Hunter closer, the powerful force preventing it from retreating.

And the spinning swords in its limbs didn't stop!

Despite being pinned to the ground, the Stranger launched a desperate counterattack.

"Roar!"

"Aaargh!"

Both screamed, neither yielding.

But despite the Hunter's ferocious display, it was still at a disadvantage.

The Stranger, despite being impaled, was unaffected. This piercing wound was nothing!

The Hunter gripped its greatsword tightly, blue energy surging through the blade. The Night Eyes flickered, the blackness spreading from the eyes, making the blue even deeper.

The Hunter lowered its head, its gaze meeting the Stranger's.

Their empty eye sockets seemed to communicate silently.

Finally, when the four swords had completely pierced the Hunter's limbs, it unleashed the power stored within the greatsword.

Boom!

A blue explosion shook the entire mine, almost causing a collapse.

In the silence that followed, faint footsteps crunched on the debris.

The heavy panting of a beast echoed.

The Stranger, half of its body missing, was regenerating. It hadn't been caught in the explosion, tearing away half its body and escaping the blast radius just as the greatsword's power was unleashed.

Ahead, the Hunter was supporting itself with its sword. The four Night Worship Swords were still embedded in its limbs. Its body seemed drained.

The body, newly formed from human flesh, was too weak. Having lost a significant amount of Ki to the Ki Absorption Hand, it was severely weakened.

The outcome of the battle seemed clear.