Boom!

Kashi gritted his teeth and decided to risk it all. The daeben's fist glowed with a green light as he utilized [Gaia], a skill that imbued his fist with earth energy. The daeben had never really used this skill as it did not really add much power to his blows, but right now, he did not have a choice.

Kashi needed to squeeze out everything he had!

Kacha!

Something seemed to break within Kashi's soul, and his fist suddenly burst with a magnificent, blinding light.

Light clashed against all-consuming darkness as the daeben's fist struck the glaive!

BOOOOM!!!

Kashi and the centaur flew in opposite directions, launched by a deafening explosion that rocked the earth. Kashi groaned as he crashed into the ground, and then pushed himself into a low crouch. The daeben clutched his right hand, wincing in pain as the shattered bones screamed in protest.

Luckily, between Kashi's dragon bloodline, Ferulic's Spirit Technique, and Yggdrasil's potent healing aura, the bones had already begun a quick recovery. Assured that the hand was not out of commission, Kashi looked over at the centaur.

To Kashi's surprise, the centaur was staring at the spear with disbelief, shock, and a hint of fear in its eyes. The daeben looked at the spear and soon understood the source of the centaur's strange disposition.

The ki which previously surrounded the blade had been destroyed, eaten up by a strange green aura. It took the centaur a few tries before his ki successfully eliminated the aura and once again shielded the blade.

Kashi looked at his fist in shock. Was [Gaia] always that powerful? The daeben recalled using [Gaia] when he first got it. It did indeed boost his attack by a few points and had an additional bonus earth damage, but it had never been the type of ultimate attack move it just displayed.

Furthermore, [Gaia] seemed to have an attribute that countered the demon's ki. Kashi did not understand why this happened, so to soothe his curiosity, he clenched his fists, activated [Gaia], and then closely monitored his body.

Usually, when Kashi activated [Gaia], his fists would draw energy from the earth to increase its strength. However, to Kashi's surprise, when he enabled [Gaia] this time, power was drawn from his heart. Upon closer inspection, Kashi realized the aura was actually pulled from Yggdrasil.

Kashi was understandably shocked by the revelation. Yggdrasil had never given him the impression it could be weaponized. Until now, it had only shown restorative and healing abilities. Which, when considering its status as the 'Tree of Life,' made perfect sense. However, this new development went against all of that.

Kashi shook his head and looked at the pensive centaur. Further tests were necessary to confirm or deny his conjecture. There was only one way to verify either way. Kashi drew in a deep breath and then raised his fists as he slowly released it.

The centaur, as if sensing the change in the daeben, adjusted his grip on the glaive. Mana and ki pulsed around the demon as he gradually accumulated his momentum.

Boom!

The ground quaked as pressure from the warriors' overwhelming aura clashed between them. As if by tacit agreement, the warriors charged at each other at the same time.

The centaur roared as he swung his glaive at the daeben with enough power to crush the earth. Kashi, in response, defiantly threw a punch at the incoming blade, his aura stubborn and unrelenting. The daeben's eyes gleamed as the aura around his hand obliterated the ki surrounding the blade.

Boom!

Blade met fist in an explosive clash that stumbled man and demon. However, both men only took a step back before regaining their balance and then proceeding to launch another attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kashi and the demon exchanged hundreds of blows while darting around the pit. The centaur's strikes were fast and accurate, often aiming for the daeben's heart or head for instant kills. Quick and nimble feet displayed footwork that should have been impossible for a creature with a horse's body.

Kashi, in return, responded with an unceasing flurry of punches and kicks. His dragon scales, which were as tough as any weapon, allowed him to face the dangerous glaive in direct combat, and the [Gaia]'s aura served to bypass the demon's ki.

No clear winner emerged between the duo as they both only managed to land superficial hits on each other. Even worse, with their regenerative abilities, those little injuries healed up as quickly as they came.

Despite the seeming stalemate, it was Kashi whose brows furrowed as the desperate battle waged on. This was because, unlike the demon, Kashi did not just have to worry about his health and mana. He also had to worry about his Stamina. Even though he could still fight for much longer, the daeben had no way of guaranteeing the demon's stamina level.

If by chance, the demon's stamina was much higher than his, then he would be the ultimate loser when he eventually tired out. No matter how strong his healing abilities were, Kashi highly doubted he would be able to survive a killing blow to his heart.

Kashi never stopped attacking, even while deep in thought. Finally, his opportunity came. Whoosh! Kashi ducked below the centaur's swing, and then dashed forward. The daeben delivered a crunching blow to the centaur's midriff.

The demon coughed up black blood and inadvertently let go of the glaive as he was sent sliding backward. Kashi did not lose this chance. He quickly chased after the centaur and struck the demon's midriff with another punishing blow. However, alarm bells rung out in Kashi's mind just as the fist connected.

Squelch!

The centaur was sent flying, but Kashi barely had time to adjust his position before the glaive ran him through from behind. The blade barely missed his heart by a few inches, but absolutely skewered his left lung. The daeben dropped to his knees, coughing up blood as the destructive ki left in the blade rampaged within his veins. Luckily, Yggdrasil's aura quickly destroyed the demonic ki, but the damage had already been done.

Kashi gritted his teeth as he palmed the blade, sending it out through his back. The glaive clattered to the ground, and the daeben stumbled out of its path, bloodied red eyes gleaming with appreciation as he watched the glaive return to the demon's hand. Ah, this centaur subscribed to the same battle moral as he did. Always have at least one trump card hidden at all times. This was the most effective way to win every encounter.

The centaur's trump card was his ability to summon the glaive back to him. From the demon's demonstration, he seemed to only have the ability to call it back to him, and not full telekinetic control. This was why he had willingly opened himself up to those two life-threatening blows. Kashi could not dodge in the middle of attacking, and thus would be in the way of the spear returning to his hand.

It was a perfect strategy that would have resulted in an instant K.O were it not for Kashi's abnormal instincts. Instead, as it stood, both warriors had sustained severe damage. Yggdrasil's aura was especially damaging to the centaur and had caused just as much damage to the demon's internal organs.

Kashi brushed the blood off his lips as he stumbled to his feet. He knew that the smart thing to do would be to hang back and wait until his injuries recovered. But, that would also allow the demon time to heal. Well, honestly, that was just an excuse. Retreat just wasn't the daeben's style. Kashi preferred to face adversity head-on. However, it was true that in his current condition, his previous method was foolishly suicidal. He was not beyond adapting to the situation within his ideal paradigm.

Kashi gently swayed on his feet as he once again raised his fists with a determined glint in his eyes. Only the daeben knew if the swaying was a result of the injuries or a personal choice. The daeben exposed a mocking grin as he extended his left hand and rudely beckoned the demon.

Although the demon still possessed most of its battle instincts, its corrupted mind was easily angered into action. The centaur, provoked by the daeben's mannerisms, let out an angry roar and then charged at the daeben with the glaive held in front of him.

Kashi drew a deep breath and then slowly let it out. The daeben held his ground as the charging beast arrived before him in the blink of an eye. Then, just as the blade was inches away from his face, Kashi gently tapped the flat side of the blade with the back of his left hand. The daeben bent his neck to the right, allowing the glaive to harmlessly fly by without a scratch.

The centaur had expected this, however. He bent the blade, so its edge faced Kashi's neck and then added more force to redirect the glaive to cut behead the daeben.

Like a reed blowing in the wind, Kashi swayed down and below the glaive. Lightning sparked in the daeben's eyes as he drove his right fist toward the centaur. Unfortunately, as if held by a bungee cord, the demon inexplicably halted in his tracks, and then jumped back, leaving the range of the daeben's fist.

Kashi however, grinned as he instantaneously channeled ninety percent of his remaining mana and ki into his right arm, causing lightning to spark around it. With a loud roar, he punched out a lightning-coated green dragon.

The demon saw the approaching mana-construct and dug its heels into the ground. The centaur brandished the glaive as he came to a hard stop and then thrust the weapon forward. Black lightning shot out of the blade toward the dragon. The demon, however, was left staring in disbelief as the dragon curled around the lightning stream at the last moment and continued its approach.

Kashi, struck by the black lightning, was sent flying, his health dangerously low.

The demon roared as it channeled all of its ki and shot it out in the form of a centaur general that closely resembled it. The ki general charged head-on at the dragon, glaive in hand. It fearlessly challenged the dragon. If the dragon chose to dodge, it would go on to slay the defenseless daeben.

Strangely, this time, the dragon happily clashed against the general. Boom! The demon centaur looked on, stunned as the dragon obliterated the general. The centaur's expression hardened as he channeled what mana he had left into his glaive.

The centaur let out a massive roar as he swiped down with the blade. A mandala appeared in front of him, from which an enormous hurricane burst out and slammed into the dragon.

The dragon stubbornly fought against the violent winds as it attempted to force its way through. It was like it knew that failure here would result in its master's death, and as such would not tolerate failure. It let out a reluctant roar as it began to slow down, almost defeated by the wind.

However, at that moment when all hope seemed lost; when the demon's eyes gleamed with exultation, the airborne daeben suddenly flipped in the air, drew FPB and placed his finger on the bowstring. The demon's eyes went wide as the bowstring suddenly erupted with light as the daeben's ki mixed with Yggdrassil's aura to form a gigantic, green arrow of light.

With a sly grin, Kashi released the arrow and said, "[Dimension Break!]"

BOOM!

The demon coughed up blood as an arrow suddenly smashed against the exposed crystal. The explosive impact generated a massive crack in the crystal, which in turn messed up the demon's mana control.

The mandala producing the hurricane instantly died down, and the dragon, with a loud, triumphant roar, burst forward and drilled into the black crystal!

Roooaaar!

The centaur cried and shouted out in pain as the dragon rampaged within the crystal, Yggdrassil's aura smashing and breaking apart the evil ki from within. The crystal was tied to the demon's nervous system, so it felt like it was his own brain that was being destroyed by the dragon. Violent mana and ki energy repeatedly burst out of the crystal as it fought against the dragon while its cracks slowly but gradually increased.

Eventually, the demon could no longer stand the torment and passed out, its brain irrevocably damaged by the torture.

Kashi coughed up blood as he dropped to his knees. 'Hehe, in a fight, there must indeed always be a trump card.' Kashi had been working towards moment this the entire fight. He knew that the key to defeating this monster was the crystal in his chest.

However, the demon always had protection in the form of his ki armor. The second Kashi directed an attack on the crystal and failed to destroy it, the centaur would double or triple its protection. Hence, he had to create a scenario where the centaur would have no choice but to push away all its ki armor, leaving the crystal exposed.

It had been a dangerous gamble, and that final black lightning almost killed him, but in Kashi's eyes, hiding the fact that FPB could shoot mana and ki arrows, and saving [Dimension Break] for that one moment had been worth all the hassle.

Kashi struggled to his feet and then trudged over to the fallen centaur. As expected, the beast was still alive. However, Kashi frowned when he inspected the crystal. It seemed the dragon was not enough to finish the job, as, despite the massive cracks in the crystal, it had slowly begun to overpower the rampaging mana construct and heal itself.

Kashi looked at the crystal, and then at the demon, as a crazy plan began to take form. The daeben considered for a moment, then attempted to call Shadow. However, when the assassin did not respond, the daeben, assuming he was in the middle of a fight, sent him a message through his friend's list.

Following that, Kashi sat down for a few minutes to meditate and allow his health, mana, and ki to return to regenerate. Unfortunately, even with his healing, the giant hole in his chest was too grievous for his natural healing capabilities. As a result, he was only able to regain about 50% of his total health.

This much, however, was good enough for the daeben's intention.

Kashi revealed a greedy smile as he rose to his feet and placed a hand on the centaur. "Minor god, get!" said the daeben as a white light spread from his hand and enveloped the demon. Moments later, the centaur disappeared, leaving only the daeben with a stupid grin on his face.

Kashi dusted himself off, and then, with a massive boost, dashed onto the walls. The daeben's feet dug into the walls and boosted himself upward. He ran up the cliff face in this manner until he jumped out at the top.

At the top, Kashi's brow rose when he saw the unconscious, tied-up druid and Larsial worriedly looking over the passed out Shadow. The daeben raised his hand and was about to greet her, but then let out a heart-rending scream and then collapsed, his body spasming uncontrollably.

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATREON STARS:

Residents: Andrew Maurer, Eli Calabria, Rusty Reaper, Cobalt_Storm, Eli Romero, Niyeban, Sarah Kinkade, Gamma2626, Sven Buchheit, GodSpeed99, Antinium

Adventurers: Hyproxy, Merlin252, Michael Barton, OlusholaAbidakun, Mental_Napalm, Jamie Ibarra, Adam Whitman

Warriors: Caleb Ian Melton, Ragnaf, Cullen M Brewer,

The High Council: Sly, Jacob Morgan, StrikerPrince, Thund3rTank, Facemaster, Pumba

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