Chapter 137 : Poison Versus Stress

Akame's sword scratch on Re-Destro's heel seemed utterly insignificant compared to the giant size of the monster. Re-Destro himself laughed, a heavy sound that echoed like a rockslide. "A scratch that small—"

His sentence was cut short. He looked down. From the nearly invisible scratch, purplish-black lines that looked like sick veins began to creep up his leg, which was made of solid stress energy. He felt something foreign, something cold, starting to spread within him, trying to extinguish the fire of his anger.

"Poison...?" he growled, more to himself than to us. He tried to focus his stress to "push" out the poison, and for a moment, the spread of the purple marks slowed. But it didn't stop. "What kind of sorcery is this?!"

Akame landed lightly beside me, her red eyes fixed on Re-Destro. "He's fighting the curse," she said, her voice calm yet laden with urgency. "His regeneration and raw energy from stress are too strong. Murasame's poison is working, but it will take time to reach his heart—or whatever serves as its center. We have to hold him off until then."

That statement changed the battlefield. This was no longer a fight to defeat. This was a fight for survival. A race against time. We had to dance with a dying god of death, making sure we weren't dragged into his grave with him.

"You heard her!" I yelled to Mirko and Edgeshot. "We don't need to beat him! We just need to keep him busy! Stall for time!"

"Stalling for time while dancing with a building-sized monster?" Mirko replied with a wild grin. "Now that sounds like a real party!"

And with that, our final dance began.

Re-Destro, now realizing he was being slowly poisoned, was no longer playing around. He went on a rampage. He no longer cared about strategy or efficiency. His goal was just one: destroy all of us before the poison finished its job. He swung his giant arms, shattering ice pillars and cave walls, creating a deadly rain of debris.

Mirko became our white ghost. She no longer tried to land powerful blows. She became the main distraction, darting around Re-Destro with bewildering speed. She would appear on one side, launch a quick kick to his knee to disrupt his balance, then disappear before Re-Destro could retaliate. Then she would appear again on the other side, kicking a large boulder toward Re-Destro's head. She was a very fast, very strong, and very annoying mosquito that couldn't be swatted. Every one of her movements forced Re-Destro to turn, swing, and waste his precious energy.

Edgeshot, on the other hand, became our scalpel. He no longer attacked directly. He used the chaos created by Mirko and the collapsing cave to his advantage. He would thin himself, hiding in the cracks in the floor, then reappear to stab at Re-Destro's less protected joints, slowing his movements bit by bit. Each of his attacks was a small nuisance designed to make the giant more stressed and more reckless.

Akame was our shadow dancer. She moved with a silent grace, her sword always ready. She didn't attack blindly. She waited. She observed. Every time Mirko or Edgeshot managed to create a split-second opening, she would dart in, her sword would flash, and a new scratch would appear on Re-Destro's body. Each new scratch was a new dose of poison injected into his system, accelerating his inevitable demise.

And I... I became the shield. I stood in front of the unconscious Ryukyu and Geten, as well as the still-weak Nejire. I manifested my chest plate and gauntlets permanently, the faint heat aura from my adaptation constantly burning to ward off the remaining cold in the cave. My job was to block all undirected attacks. Car-sized chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling, and I would shatter them with an armor-clad punch. The shockwave from Re-Destro's blows would sweep toward us, and I would plant my feet, becoming an unyielding fortress. Every impact sent a sharp pain through my body, but I endured it. I saw the backs of my new comrades fighting, and I knew I could not fall.

The fight felt like an eternity. Minutes felt like hours. The ice cave had now become a ruined hell, filled with steam, dust, and the unceasing sound of impacts. We were all starting to reach our limits. I could see Mirko's movements slowing slightly. Edgeshot could no longer maintain his thin form for long. And I... I could feel my stamina being rapidly drained to maintain my armor.

Re-Destro felt it too. The poison had now crept up to his chest. His movements became slower, heavier. The black energy around him began to flicker. He knew his time was almost up.

With one final roar filled with ideological rage and desperation, he gathered all his remaining stress, all his remaining power, into his right fist. The entire arm enlarged to twice its size, pulsing with a dense black energy. He was no longer aiming for the heroes dancing around him. He was aiming for the only stationary target. Me.

"IF I MUST FALL," he roared, his voice shaking the remnants of the cave. "I WILL TAKE THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR HOPE WITH ME! FOR LIBERATION!"

He ignored Mirko and Edgeshot, and charged straight at me with his final, desperate attack.

"TATSUMI!" Mirko and Akame yelled in unison.

I saw the car-sized black fist coming at me. I knew I couldn't dodge. I couldn't block it. My partial armor would be shattered to pieces. I had no energy left for a full manifestation. I only had one choice.

I didn't retreat. I stepped forward, placing myself further in front of Ryukyu. I focused every last ounce of my will, every echo of the original Tatsumi's soul, every hope of my friends, into both my arms. I wasn't trying to create a weapon. I just needed a shield.

I crossed both my arms in front of my chest. With a scream that tore my throat, I called upon Incursio one last time. Not just gauntlets. Arm guards, shoulder plates, everything overlapped in front of me, forming a thick, imperfect, emergency shield. It was my most desperate, final act of defense.

Time seemed to slow as the giant fist met my shield.

As the car-sized black fist slammed into my fragile shield, my world didn't go dark. Instead, it exploded in a sea of pain and blinding white light.