You Should Be Sorry You Couldn't Make Me Use My Full Strength!

"I got cut down?"

Before Pride's arrogant expression even had time to change, his upper body crashed heavily to the floor with a clang.

"Magnificent!"

The next moment, the corners of his mouth curled up, his face full of excitement.

"Only then are you worthy of playing this game with me!"

With a crackle!

A red light flashed, bursting from the core. An invisible force then joined his body together, fitting it seamlessly back into place and restoring it to its original state.

This time, Rover saw it more clearly.

It was no ordinary regenerative ability. The ruby had generated flesh out of thin air to repair the missing parts.

This was the power to create something from nothing!

At that moment, he was even more excited than Pride.

If they could master this kind of gem and mass-produce it, wouldn't humanity be able to greatly reduce its casualties and gain the power to confront the Lament head-on?

He had never expected an unexpected gain from this raid on the Fractsidus stronghold.

"Now it's my turn!"

Pride bared his white teeth. Despite looking like a refined young nobleman, he insisted on displaying a bloodthirsty demeanor, making for a bizarre sight.

"Hummm..."

Suddenly, countless lights in the room began flashing. Brilliant beams shot out and converged on his body.

His forehead split open, revealing a Tacet Mark that drew the light straight into his body.

Then his entire body became dazzlingly bright, as though the light had assimilated him.

"Did you notice?"

Pride took a step and vanished from Rover's sight.

The next moment, countless afterimages appeared, lingering in the air. Every one of them was the real Pride.

These were afterimages left by his high-speed movement. A careful count put their number at over a hundred.

It was easy to imagine how terrifyingly fast he was now.

"As I am now, I'm equivalent to light itself. I've already reached the highest speed in this world. In an ordinary fight, you wouldn't even be qualified to touch me!"

He spoke with immense pride. In truth, it was indeed something he could be proud of.

Rover, however, remained completely unmoved. He even smiled and shook his head.

"What a pity..."

"What is?"

Anger crept back into Pride's voice.

"It's a pity this is the game of pride. Your speed is useless."

"Hahaha... useless? You ignorant fool!"

"Have you ever been kicked by light?"

As soon as he spoke, the hundred-plus afterimages merged into one. Pride pushed his speed to the limit and whipped out a kick in midair, aiming for Rover's head.

By the rules, this couldn't be dodged.

In less than a ten-thousandth of a blink, the air in the room was heated by friction and burst into flames.

The strike was terrifying to the extreme.

"Boom!!"

A direct hit!

"You were finished in an instant!"

Pride was satisfied. He didn't need to check the result; there could be no surprises.

No one had ever survived that strike.

"How pathetic. The great Rover couldn't even last a single round against me. You couldn't make me use my full strength. You should apologize!"

"But I'll probably never forget an opponent like you!"

"I'm sick of listening to your long-winded speeches!"

At those words, Pride's entire body stiffened.

Are you an idiot?

As the dust and smoke cleared, Rover stood unharmed.

"You... how?"

Pride couldn't believe it. Suddenly, he froze, seeing the glittering fragments filling the air around Rover.

The power of diffraction, the ability to control time!

"What's all the fuss about? No matter how fast you are, even if you reach the speed of light, it's still child's play before the power to control time."

Pride's heart abruptly sank when he heard that.

He realized that this man truly was completely different from his previous opponents.

For some reason, he took an involuntary step back.

"Are you scared?"

"Bullshit! How could I..."

"Hadō number fifty-four, Haien!"

It was Rover's turn to strike. A dark red disc of flame shot out and slammed into Pride!

"Aaaah!!!"

His opponent screamed violently. This time, he was no longer composed.

This Hadō was specifically designed to counter regeneration. It wouldn't go out on its own until it had burned its target to nothing.

Pride's body twisted continuously, turning to ash inch by inch, only to keep regenerating.

During the process, the red gem visibly shrank.

Clearly, it could be consumed.

If an ordinary person were burned by Haien, even ten lives wouldn't have been enough to survive this long. In other words, that red gem was worth dozens of lives!

"Is it over? Looks like the so-called Pride is nothing special after all. You couldn't even last two rounds, let alone make me use my full strength. You should be sorry!"

"But unfortunately, a nobody like you isn't even worthy of being remembered by me!"

"Aaaah!!!"

Pride's screams grew even more piercing. He had gone completely mad.

Every time his opponent struck back, he used Pride's own words. The contrast made Pride look like a pitiful wretch.

His self-esteem was being sliced apart!

"I... will never forgive you! Suppress it!"

The Tacet Mark on his forehead flashed rapidly, and his whole body trembled violently. He had clearly entered a state of overclocking.

He was going all out!

Suddenly, the lights in the room grew several times brighter. A sea of light surged toward him, suppressing the flames.

At the same time, his body changed. His refined appearance vanished entirely, and he transformed into a burly giant!

He stood six zhang tall and nine chi wide at the waist, wielding a giant blade of light in both hands. His eyes were filled with scarlet.

Compared to him in this form, even Scar could only be called a loli.

"Now I won't hold back!"

Pride roared and raised the long blade before bringing it down. There were no flashy tricks, only the purest violence!

"Boom!!"

"The entire twin space—no, the entire stronghold shook violently!"

"Sigh..."

A sigh followed immediately.

"Is this all your power?"

Rover stood upright, one hand raised slightly to stop the blade.

Blood spilled.

It wasn't Rover's blood. The webbing between his opponent's thumb and forefinger had split open.

Ultimately, their battle was nothing more than a battle of spiritual pressure.

First-class spiritual pressure, unadorned strength!

"Th-this... how is this possible? Are you a monster? There's no way such power can exist in this world!"

Pride's voice trembled, and the long blade fell from his hand to the floor.

"Are you going to admit defeat?"

"I, Pride, cannot lose! As long as there is light, I am immortal! Come on, let's enjoy this slaughter!"

"Then I'll get a little serious too..."

Rover smiled. Suddenly, he raised one finger and pointed it straight at the ceiling.

Then he began to chant!