Fenrir and Azi fought just as they had before. Pinning each other down with their front paws and claws, they vied for a better position while baring their teeth at one another. Even if their form was human, their essence was that of a dog. To ensure they severed their opponent's life, they had to use their fangs.
A brown clump of fur and a gray clump of fur trampled the ground as they targeted each other. A speed impossible to track with the naked eye. While the two beast kings clashed in a fight of the century, my eyes were just spinning helplessly.
Was this the helplessness of an ordinary human facing destiny? I couldn't keep up in strength, speed, or even senses. The moment I felt the wind blow, Azi and Fenrir had already passed by my side.
If I could read thoughts, I would have coordinated with Azi to provide support, but sadly, Azi was a dog. Using Azi and Jizan as shields to escape Fenrir's line of fire was the best I could do.
What good is channeling the Demon God? My raw specs fall short.
Did it hear the sound of me clicking my tongue? For a moment, Fenrir and I locked eyes. Just as I thought it bared its teeth, its glare shot toward me like a meteor. Even from a distance of just over 50 meters, Fenrir surged forward with terrifying speed, aiming for my neck.
Azi is too far. The only thing that can protect me right now is Jizan. Before my mind could even think, my body had already grabbed my lifeline, Jizan, and moved.
Fenrir's front paw struck Jizan hard. A beat later, the wind pressure lashed out at my entire body. The dizzying sensation was fleeting, as Jizan deflected Fenrir's front paw, leaving only a slight sense of resistance. This was because even the King of Beasts couldn't overcome the Demon God.
However, even with the same Demon God, its effectiveness varies depending on the user's skill. Unlike me, who staggered from mere wind pressure, Fenrir kicked off the ground and leaped at me again. I have no energy left to block. Even with the divine weapon Jizan, enduring a single clash was my limit.
"Woof! Foul! Fight fair and square!"
However, I was not alone. The moment I endured that single clash, a brown bullet struck Fenrir's flank. Azi and Fenrir's specs were nearly equal. When Azi rammed into it with all its might, Fenrir's body crumpled and was sent flying far away.
I steadied my trembling body and calculated coldly. This was all I could do. With my strength, I could only block one strike. In that opening, Azi could land a blow on Fenrir, but... for risking my life on a tightrope, the returns were pitiful.
"Woof! You're in the way!"
"That's too harsh. I'm trying to help."
"Know your place!"
Even Azi didn't seem too pleased. Ungrateful mutt.
What else can I use? The Demon God? In the face of overwhelming power, even the Demon God is of no help. Excluding Jizan, which is the relic itself, the other Demon God powers only provide support.
I need to get stronger. That's the only way. How could I, who can't even learn Qi cultivation, get stronger? There shouldn't be a way, but...
Just one. I pulled out a card I had been hoarding all this time.
Hearts. Elixirs that cause changes in the body.
After Qi cultivation emerged as the protagonist of history, elixirs fell into disuse. This was because Qi cultivation completely separated oneself from the world and refined it further, rendering elixirs ineffective or even causing adverse effects. So at some point, when people spoke of elixirs, they used the concept of spiritual medicine that devoured vitality.
But the elixirs of the past were different.
The strength of a bear, the senses of a hawk, endless courage, tireless tenacity. The stamina to rise again even after being wounded. Consuming the future me to grant power to the present me—that was the true nature of elixirs.
I took out the stored Heart cards and drew them.
Heart 1 is a medicine that replenishes blood, but I don't have it now. I have to substitute it with the Blood Control Art.
Heart 2, the rapid breathing elixir.
Heart 3, the Bear Sinew elixir.
Hearts 4 and 5 eliminate pain and increase focus, but I used them last time and they're gone.
Heart 6, the Glue elixir.
I took out 2, 3, and 6 and channeled them into Heart J.
Individually, they aren't particularly amazing medicines. Heart 2 just makes the heart beat faster, Heart 3 merely unleashes the strength restricted to prevent muscle damage, and 6 is a medicine that temporarily heals internal injuries.
Even these trivial medicines carry side effects that would leave me bedridden for days if I took just one, and taking all three at once could kill me. To minimize the side effects, I poured them into Heart J to delicately adjust them.
The red medicine seeped into the card bearing a knight's portrait. As the three types of medicine mixed and gradually filled the card from bottom to top, color returned to the knight's body. I folded the lively card as it was and poured the mixture into my mouth.
Bitter, astringent, and painful. My tongue sent continuous warnings. It urged me to spit it out immediately, warning that what was entering my body now would endanger me.
But I ignored it and swallowed the medicine. Following the flow of the elixir, my throat felt like it was burning.
After drinking all the medicine, I threw the empty card. Thwack, it embedded halfway into a rock.
"Haa. Haa."
My heart beats fast. Unlike the excitement before a battle, it was an entirely artificial heartbeat. Just taking a breath made my chest ache as if it would burst.
"Ah."
I felt a stinging pain in my palm. Looking down, I had gripped my hand so tightly that my nails dug in, causing blood to drip. I roughly wiped the blood away and muttered.
"This... I'm worried about tomorrow."
Because my breathing sped up, my speech was faster than usual. A stinging sensation rose from my joints. My body, having broken its limits without Qi cultivation, was likely paying the price.
But seeing tomorrow is also a privilege of those who survive today. What's important is now.
I gripped Jizan tightly. I didn't even apply much force, yet my hand was pale white without a trace of blood.
I'm still far from reaching the strength of Azi and Fenrir... but still, this is the limit my body can reach right now.
I aimed at a boulder and thrust Jizan forward. Jizan slipped in as easily as cutting tofu. When I lifted my arm, the boulder pierced by Jizan suddenly rose. Dry gravel pattered onto the ground.
Lifting a boulder larger than a person was impossible even with my elixir-enhanced strength, but with Jizan, a recoilless sword, the impossible became reality. Using Earth Art, I grafted the boulder onto Jizan and looked toward Azi.
Azi and Fenrir were still so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up. Even so, the intervals at which I could see them had shortened compared to before. Carefully observing Azi and Fenrir's movements, I raised Jizan above my head.
If there's one characteristic of humans, it's tools. As the King of Humanity, I can use any tool. That applies even to the relics of the Demon God.
Then, 'how' do you use tools? Naturally, tools are used with the hands. And humans possess the physical abilities to use tools 'well' with their hands. It might even be that they possessed such physical abilities, which is why they used tools.
Grasping, throwing, swinging. The power of a human as a beast, which beasts running on four legs cannot do.
Drawing my entire body like a bowstring, I squeezed all my muscles at once and unleashed Jizan. Wrists, arms, shoulders, waist, legs. Even if each individual part is weak, I continuously poured power into a wide range of motion. Stepping my lead leg out fully, I pulled my waist back. At the extreme point where the speed compounded, I snapped my wrist, and the boulder lodged in Jizan was fired, retaining that speed.
A boulder fired from a catapult naturally draws a curve. However, the boulder I threw skimmed across the ground like a swallow. A stone thrown by an elixir-enhanced human using a tool flew at an astonishing speed.
"Azi! Bite him!"
Fenrir's ears perked up. No matter the King of Beasts, how could it ignore a boulder dozens of times its own weight surging toward it? Just as Fenrir tried to dodge immediately, Azi grabbed Fenrir.
Wagging its tail as if pleased, even with the boulder flying in.
"Woof!"
"Grr! You...!"
How many times did Azi think it had received my pass? It had noticed since I started preparing to throw.
Azi shoved Fenrir. Crashing into the boulder several times larger than its own body, Fenrir was sent flying far away.
One effective hit is trivial but precious. Even the boulder I threw with all my might only felt like being hit by a rock to the King of Beasts. However, a boulder flying in while locked in a close fight with a rival was too annoying a hindrance for Fenrir.
"Awoooo! Human!"
Unable to bear it, Fenrir leaped, aiming for me. At that moment, Azi dashed forward like lightning and grabbed Fenrir's ankle. Even if Azi held the upper hand, Azi and Fenrir possessed nearly equal strength. It didn't have the leeway to shake off Azi and attack me.
On top of that.
Boom, boom. Every time the boulders fell, a booming sound rang out. Weight itself was a weapon. Especially for the King of Beasts, whose body was light compared to its powerful strength, it was swept away and pushed back by the shattered debris.
Aiming for that brief moment when Azi grabbed Fenrir, I threw a boulder. Having barely shaken off Azi, Fenrir split the rock with its front paw. The boulder shattered into pieces in midair.
The attack was in vain, but in that opening, Azi charged in again. Just robbing Fenrir of the chance to press its advantage against Azi was a great achievement.
...Though I'm not really sure if that counts as an achievement.
"If possible, I wish you'd hurt as much as I do."
I feel pain in my limbs that shouldn't be there. I try hard not to acknowledge it, but my right arm seems to have gotten a bit longer than my left.
Throwing heavy objects puts a strain on the body even without drinking elixirs. Overworking with strength beyond my limits makes my body scream.
"I need one more. Just Azi and I isn't enough."
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Just as I drove Jizan into a boulder once more, the sound of short sprinting grew closer to me. Two wolves instantly leaped up and pounced on me.
"You guys want to play catch too?"
Swinging it like before would be too slow. Instead, I struck the boulder hard with the side of Jizan. Hundreds and thousands of stone fragments spread out like a bomb and embedded themselves in the wolves' fur. Their staggering from the impact was brief; the wolves let out screams that sounded like howls and leaped at my limbs.
"Tch."
I twisted and drove Jizan in like a key. My Earth Art can only push and pull the ground a little, but using Jizan, I can perform Earth Art on a much larger scale. Obeying Jizan's command, a rock sprouted like a horn and struck the wolf's abdomen. Perhaps because it had never received this kind of attack before, one wolf let out a pitiful scream and was sent flying back.
Even in the midst of that, a wolf that had cleverly dodged pounced on me. Placing its paws on my chest and shoulder, it thrust its snout right at me. I felt an impact like being hit by a bullet, but with no time to care, sharp teeth approached my face.
Even as my body was pushed back, I planted my back foot. I withstood the wolf's charge with the strength of my waist and legs. Something I could only accomplish now, strengthened by elixirs. I struck upward with my palm at the jaw of the momentarily stalled wolf.
Because I couldn't control my strength, my left wrist sprained. The drool-dripping snout brushed past me perilously. Now it was my turn to counterattack. Grabbing Jizan, I slashed upward in a grand motion.
Jizan faithfully fulfilled the role of a club as well. Striking the wolf's belly from bottom to top, the wolf was sent flying nearly 30 meters into the air. I was about to finish off the reeling wolf, but sensing a sudden killing intent, I instead drove Jizan into the ground.
"Awooooo!"
The ground I stood on sank, and walls of dirt and rock rose up as if surrounding it. Fenrir smashed through the hastily constructed wall in a single breath and charged in.
"Woof! Run!"
Azi, who followed close behind, shouted desperately, but having already faced Fenrir, I was essentially cornered. Exploiting the opening created by the wolves, Fenrir lunged. Even a graze would be fatal. I tried to block, but Fenrir, having learned of Jizan, threw its entire body at me. Sharp attacks rained in from outside the area Jizan could defend.