Stalling for Time

If he had not still been restraining another terrifying existence within him, Colin reckoned that merely holding the opponent off would have been difficult, let alone preserving his own life.

Even so, the situation was far from optimistic. Although the "Mother Goddess" had "helped" him, making things much easier for Colin, the pressure remained immense.

Because he had to confront the "Holy King" head-on and face every one of his attacks directly. Otherwise—

The moment he tried to avoid a direct confrontation, the "Holy King" would immediately tear open the "Duel Arena," rush downward, and erase the Little Girl who was in the midst of merging.

Amid the howling gale, a colossal shadow powerful enough to shake heaven and earth tore through the air. Colin rose against the light, and with every collision, shockwaves spread from the point of impact, as though space itself were being ripped apart.

Palm after palm came crashing toward him. The light sword in Colin's hand exploded, leaving him at a disadvantage and able only to evade briefly.

Then he condensed another longsword from the air and dragged it along as he charged forward to meet the attacks again.

The fierce clash continued without end. With both sides at the same level and possessing such abundant strength, it was difficult for the battle to yield a victor in a short time.

Unless one side made a fatal mistake and the other seized it, the fight might continue like this indefinitely.

But for Colin, the "Holy King" did reveal fatal openings from time to time, yet they were openings he could not exploit.

The moment he did, the "Mother of Suffering and Thorns" would emerge immediately.

Not only could he not seize those openings, he also had to guard against the backlash of the "Golden Sword"