Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 608: The Strongest Creature on Earth (1)

Rewind to a few minutes earlier, almost at the same time that the bright moon and the Planet Will began their battle—

Business Capital, Upper Level

If murderous intent had a temperature, the seabed filled with it would probably be frozen forever.

If fighting spirit had a temperature, this city, brimming with fighting spirit, would probably have been melted by the intense heat.

Xiao Wu was extremely agitated.

It's not against the enemy, but against ourselves.

First.

For the first time in my life, I felt fear when facing an enemy.

This wasn't just her instinct as a living being facing danger; she could clearly feel her own thoughts—"If I could, I really wouldn't want to fight this guy."

Just a few steps away, Gustav Mosilis Van Ma stood there, his stern face showing neither smile nor anger, only his eyes gleaming slightly, like a hungry diner who had waited a long time for the chef to finally serve his grand meal.

He stood there naturally, his legs slightly apart, his arms hanging naturally at his sides, and his head slightly lowered. Xiao Wu thought this was some kind of stance, but his legs weren't shoulder-width apart, and his arms weren't flexed with any strength. It wasn't any preparatory movement; he was just standing normally—she observed him for several seconds before coming to this conclusion.

He was simply standing there, yet his stance was flawless. Common sense would reveal numerous weaknesses in his posture, but...

At this moment Xiao Wu felt that she was stuck in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. She didn't know when to launch an attack, nor whether she should adopt a defensive stance. She was at a loss.

"You're hesitating, Urushihara."

Gustav spoke slowly, Xiao Wu immediately tensed up.

"... Hesitation? What is there to hesitate about?"

"If there's nothing to hesitate about, then go for it! Front, back, left, right, up, down—any direction is fine. Attack anywhere—internal organs, limbs, head—fists, claws, teeth, double-edged swords—any attack is acceptable. Martial arts, bullets, Demonic Power —any form of attack doesn't matter, because—"

"Then I can--"

"--The outcome was already decided before you even made your move."

"--Eh?"

Just now.

Just a moment ago, a moment before.

Xiao Wu finally decided to break the deadlock and tentatively kicked Gustav.

Or, to put it another way, when "preparing to make a move".

It was blocked.

In that instant, Gustav seemed to move slightly, or perhaps not, but Xiao Wu clearly felt something—indescribable, like a chill that pierced her heart, or a sense of danger that made her skin itch, or some kind of extremely ominous premonition—sweep across her mind. No, rather than sweeping across her mind, it was more like "blocking" her leg just before she was about to kick out, forcing her to stop abruptly and retract her leg.

Looking at Gustav again, he was still standing there in a very casual posture, not a single hair out of place.

Did this man... really "move" just now? Did he move or not? What exactly happened? Was he just toying with me?

"Not bad."

"What?"

"I say, you did a pretty good job," Gustav said with a sneer. "Most people wouldn't even notice this; they'd just blindly attack, and by the time they reach me, they'd already be long dead."

"... I don't quite understand what you mean."

"It was just an interception. I just 'intercepted' your 'intent' to kick, but it was also a trap."

It's like setting up an invisible roadblock in the road where a vehicle is moving. Someone with poor perception will crash into it and die, while Xiao Wu stopped the car in time just before it crashed into it—that's roughly the idea.

Gustav used his own "intent to attack" to block Xiao Wu's "intent to attack".

"I'll give you a short lesson, Urushihara."

Gustav took a step forward; his step, though lacking obvious force, contained a terrifying pressure.

"Question: What standards do we typically use to measure the strength of an attack?"

"... strength, speed, and range."

"That's right," Gustav nodded. "Of these, only 'strength' and 'speed' directly affect the power of an attack, but most of the time, 'range' is more important than them."

"Isn't that obvious? Your attack range is larger than theirs, which means you can hit them, but they can't hit you!" Xiao Wu couldn't help but click her tongue. Why was Gustav bringing up these basic facts? What was the point?

"You're absolutely right. In fact, the reason people use swords, spears, and guns is not primarily to increase lethality, but rather to increase the area of effect. 'An inch longer, an inch stronger' is the principle at play; the weapon with the largest attack range in the world is the strongest weapon."

"I know..."

"So answer me, how big is my 'attack range' in your opinion? If I stand still and don't move."

"... Huh?"

Attack range?

Xiao Wu had looked Gustav up and down countless times. No matter how you looked at it, his only weapon was his fist, so he couldn't possibly increase his attack range with a weapon. In that case...

"If you're just standing still, then... based on your arms, that's the range you can reach, plus the range your punches can affect."

If an ultimate monster like Gustav got serious, he could probably raze a city with just a single punch. In that sense, his attack range is terrifyingly large.

"No, it doesn't include punching wind or any form of energy projection."

"Huh? Then that leaves only the area of your arms?" Xiao Wu frowned.

"Is that really so?" Gustav tilted his head. "When your 'intent to attack' was intercepted, were you within my arm's reach?"

"--!?"

Xiao Wu then realized what she should have noticed immediately.

Gustav had clearly not released any force before, his feet were still in place, and his upper body was not swaying. At that time, I was definitely outside the range that his arms could reach.

But--

"No... that's not right! When you stopped me, you didn't actually make a move. You only stopped because you 'sensed the danger'!"

"It's true that you sensed danger and that's why you stopped, but who made you feel that danger? Feel it—"

"--!!!"

Danger!

Xiao Wu pushed off the ground with a sudden burst of speed, instantly retreating a hundred meters away, while Gustav remained motionless. Just then, alarm bells rang in Xiao Wu's mind, and the feeling of being pricked by needles on her back spurred her to take action! From the right—a powerful attack capable of blasting brains out was coming from the right!

Parry!

Purple lightning flashed from her arm as she quickly raised it to her right to protect her head! She glanced to the right out of the corner of her eye but saw nothing. Gustav was still standing perfectly fine a hundred meters away, standing naturally without making any move!

Even though there was nothing on the right and I didn't block anything, I still had a very real feeling that I had "blocked an attack from the right"! I could even feel a slight pain in my right arm, even though there wasn't a single scratch on it!

Before Xiao Wu could even react with surprise, the same sense of danger returned—this time directly in front of her! It felt as if someone was attacking head-on, aiming a swift straight punch at Xiao Wu's face! She immediately bent back to "dodge" the attack—or rather, to avoid the feeling of being "attacked," and at the same time, reflexively kicked out with her right leg! Even though there was only air in front of her, she had the real sensation of "kicking something"! It was the same feeling as when she blocked the invisible attack earlier!

What's going on?!

An unseen attack—or rather, not an attack at all, but a chilling sense of danger—struck relentlessly. Xiao Wu dodged and weaved, and whenever she felt an ominous sensation that made her nerves itch, she immediately took defensive and evasive action, while also instinctively retaliating—though she only hit air! Gradually, she seemed to sense an invisible, intangible figure in front of her, and that she was fiercely battling this air being!

And a hundred meters away— Gustav was still standing there watching her, without moving an inch from beginning to end!

"Whispering sound--!"

Xiao Wu leaped onto the ground again, soaring hundreds of meters to the top of a tall building, but the "airborne person" didn't disappear; it followed her like a shadow! The sense of crisis intensified; the "invisible threat" arrived faster and faster. Xiao Wu frowned deeply—

"Roll!!!!"

A punch, crackling with purple lightning, slammed into the void before her. Although it struck nothingness, she had a strange feeling that it had "shattered something." She lowered her fist, let out a heavy breath, and then glared fiercely at Gustav, hundreds of meters away—

Gustav moved with incredible speed, appearing on the rooftop of the building where Xiao Wu was in the blink of an eye. His speed was so fast that even Xiao Wu's dynamic vision could hardly keep up with him.

"Do you understand now, Urushihara? I'll ask you one more time, in your opinion, how big is my 'attack range'?"

"... very large."

"Specifically?"

"It's impossible to say exactly how big it is... Everything within your consciousness is within your attack range!"

"Heh... let's just say it's correct for now."

After witnessing the series of silent scenes, Xiao Wu now fully understood.

The "air man" he had fought before was actually "Gustav's attack intentions".

Just like when people see a huge rock falling, before the rock settles, they seem to "feel" it hitting them. This is the result of a sense of crisis and biological instinct.

Whenever Gustav has a strong intention to attack, such as "striking at Urahara Sakura Dance's head from the right," before he even acts, his fighting spirit, his killing intent, his threat—all of these will make Xiao Wu feel strongly that "an attack is coming from the right," and thus she will defend or dodge.

Since it's not a real attack, is it okay not to dodge? -- Of course you can, but you'll have to bear the consequences. What's attacking now is his "intention," but the next moment it could be a real punch. Defending against this feeling of being "attacked" is actually using your own actions to counter the opponent's intention, ultimately neutralizing both attacks.

Before any actual action was taken, the battle of wits had already decided the outcome.

But,

"Now you know, this is how I expand my 'attack range,' but Urushihara, do you think I'd be satisfied with merely intercepting and counter-intercepting attack intentions? Of course not. I need to ensure that everything enveloped by my fighting spirit and killing intent is subjected to 'actual' attacks, hence, these."

Swish swish swish swish!

That nagging sense of danger returned, but this time it didn't attack him; instead, it lingered beside Gustav! The "air man" grew increasingly solid, its color deepening, as if a colored drink had been poured into a glass, gradually becoming visible to the naked eye!

"This is my humble achievement— Afterimage Attack."

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round two