Chapter 157 : Hell, Ice, and the Tyrant's Decision

Esdeath's smile, filled with sadistic joy, was the last thing I saw before the world around me became a sea of blue fire and shattering ice. Our fight had begun, but I knew this was no ordinary battle. This wasn't about winning or losing. It was about surviving and, if possible, creating a miracle.

In the midst of the hell Endeavor had created, I felt a power I had never imagined coursing through me. My Incursio armor, which had previously been just a shield, had now become a furnace, drinking the heat from the Prominence Nova attack and converting it into pure fuel. Red veins all over my armor glowed like magma, and hot steam hissed from its every joint. I no longer felt pain or fatigue. I only felt limitless power.

I looked at the giant ice sphere in front of me, inside which Esdeath was protecting herself. I raised my hand, now glowing red with heat. I didn't need to hit it with brute force. I just needed to touch it.

I shot forward, my speed now surpassing anything I had ever achieved. I was like a reddish-black meteor. I placed my armor-clad palm on the surface of the ice sphere.

There was no explosion. Just a deafening hissing sound, as if thousands of snakes were angry. The super-dense ice that should have been able to withstand artillery fire now vaporized into thick steam under my touch. Esdeath's absolute defense melted like snow in spring.

As her ice shield shattered, she leaped backward, landing gracefully on the molten rocks. She looked at me, and for the first time, the smile on her face was no longer just filled with amusement, but with genuine and dangerous admiration.

"Incredible!" she exclaimed, her voice joyful. "You not only withstood the fire, you absorbed it! You turned my weakness into your strength! What a beautiful adaptation!"

She wasn't afraid. In fact, she looked more excited than ever. She drew a thin ice rapier from thin air. "In that case, let's see if your new power can keep up with my skill."

Our real fight began. It was a dance between two opposing poles. She was the embodiment of absolute cold, every movement precise, graceful, and deadly. She created ice spears in the air and launched them at me, she made the ground beneath me suddenly freeze to trap my feet.

I, on the other hand, was the embodiment of heat and brutal strength. I no longer fought with complex strategies. I fought with instinct. The dragon's instinct within me, now amplified by limitless energy, took over. I shattered her ice spears with simple punches. I melted her ice traps just by standing near them. Every punch I threw carried not just physical force, but a wave of heat that made the air around it seem to warp.

Inside the U.A. underground command center, everyone stared at the thermal screen with their mouths agape. They saw two extreme temperature anomalies dancing all over the island. One incredibly cold blue dot, and one incredibly hot red dot.

"What kind of power is this?" one of the technicians whispered.

Ryukyu stared at the screen, her hands gripping tightly. She saw the hot spot that was her protégé now shining brighter than Endeavor's hot spot had before. "He... he has surpassed us all," she muttered. "He's no longer a student or a hero. He's a force of nature."

On her speeding motorboat, Akame saw the horizon ahead. The sky above the island was now split in two: half illuminated by a cold blue ice light, and the other half by a burning red firelight. She gripped Murasame tighter. "Faster," she hissed to herself. "I have to be faster."

Esdeath realized that her long-range attacks were no longer effective. She smiled wider. "Very well. In that case, let's dance closer."

She charged forward, her ice rapier aimed straight at my heart. I parried it with my gauntlet, and our fight turned into a brutal close-quarters duel. She was an unparalleled swordmaster, every thrust aimed at the smallest gap in my armor. I, on the other hand, relied on the enhanced strength and durability of Incursio, blocking her attacks and retaliating with punches that could crack mountains.

It was then that she did it again. She created a momentary distance, and her eyes shone. Mahapadma.

The world around me froze. The roar of the lava stopped. The wind stopped blowing. Everything was silent. I could feel my own body locked, every molecule in the air around me frozen in time.

But this time, something was different. The dragon's heartbeat in my chest, now pulsing with the power from Prominence Nova, roared in defiance. The overflowing hot energy within my armor created a small ripple in the frozen space-time. I couldn't move freely. But I wasn't completely paralyzed. With tremendous effort, I managed to move my arm, little by little, to place my gauntlet in front of my chest.

Esdeath appeared before me, a victorious smile on her face. "This time, you won't be able to run." She plunged her ice sword.

But she was shocked when her sword stopped, blocked by the gauntlet I had managed to move. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You... moved?"

Just then, the time-freeze effect ended. The world started moving again. Taking advantage of her surprise, I channeled all the remaining hot energy in my arm. Tyrant's Breath!

A blast of superheated air exploded from my palm, hitting Esdeath directly and throwing her backward. She managed to create an ice shield at the last second, but she was still thrown dozens of meters.

I stood panting. I knew this absorbed energy wouldn't last forever. I had to end this now. She knew it too.

We both stood in the middle of the ruined island, staring at each other. No more games. No more tests. This was the final attack.

She raised her hand, and all the remaining ice and moisture on the island gathered, forming a giant ice spear above her head, an Ice-Storm Hammer large enough to destroy a battleship.

I, on the other hand, focused all the remaining hot energy within Incursio into a single point. I felt the echo of the original Tatsumi's soul, the legacy of his knowledge. I was no longer just creating a sword blade. With a roar that shook the heavens, the armor on my arm changed shape, elongated, becoming a perfect, jet-black war spear, its tip glowing with the heat of the sun. Neuntote.

"THIS IS THE END!" we both screamed in unison.

We charged forward, two forces of nature colliding for the last time. Ice spear against fire spear. Absolute cold against absolute heat.

I saw her eyes as we approached. In them, I saw no hatred. I saw pure joy. The joy of a warrior who had finally found her equal.

I plunged Neuntote forward, piercing through her Ice-Storm Hammer, and continued onward. The glowing tip of my spear stopped just one centimeter from her neck. Her attack was shattered. She was defenseless.

I had won.

Tyrant's rage in my mind screamed. 'Finish her! Destroy her! Prove you are the strongest!'

But another, quieter voice—the voice of my Earth-born self, and the echo of the original Tatsumi's kindness—spoke louder. I looked into her eyes, which now showed shock at her defeat. I didn't see a monster. I saw a very strong and very lonely woman, who had never known anything other than domination.

Slowly, I lowered my spear. The glowing manifestation of Neuntote dimmed, then disappeared into particles of light. I extended my now-unarmored hand, my palm open.

She looked at my hand, then at my face behind the helmet, completely confused.

"It's enough," I said, my voice hoarse with exhaustion. "No one else has to die today."