Chapter 52: A 'Righteous' Blow
Mogro pounced toward Kuska with formidable momentum, covering the distance in just a few strides before reaching his opponent.
"Move aside."
Kuska swung his arm, his motion eerily peculiar—starting extremely slow, then abruptly accelerating.
Bang~
The upper half of Mogro's body was blasted into pieces, but in the next instant, undying cells surged, and Mogro's body reconstituted itself.
If it came to sheer destructive power, ten Mogros couldn't match Kuska, but Mogro could take a beating—an incredibly tough one.
A mass of black tentacles surged toward Kuska. By now, Mogro had abandoned even the most basic human form; aside from his brain, every other part of his body had completely transformed into undying cells.
Though Mogro had become a blob, his speed and resilience had only increased, and he completely blocked Kuska's path.
Seeing this, Kuska's expression grew serious. Things were getting troublesome.
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft…
Su Xiao, wielding D·Assassination, fired twelve shots from a distance. However, the actual effect was mediocre. In a battle of this level, Su Xiao's skill with firearms was quite average—the enemy was simply too fast.
Kuska grabbed the undying cells entwining around him with one hand and tore off a large chunk with a ripping sound. But Mogro, heedless of death, surged toward him.
"This is… a bit troublesome."
Though Kuska said this, a smile appeared on his face.
"Die… you, die…"
A voice emerged from the pitch-black undying cells. Hearing this voice, Kuska was momentarily dazed. Just then, the sense of crisis suddenly intensified.
A gelatinous object was thrown toward him. The one who threw it had incredibly precise control over force—Kuska even suspected that if he had opened his mouth at that moment, the explosive could have been tossed straight down his throat.
"Right on target."
Kuska muttered.
Boom!
Solar flames erupted, engulfing both Kuska and Mogro. The vines above the stone door instantly retracted back into the stone wall with a whoosh.
The solar flames surged violently, quickly spilling out of the clearing and into the entrance corridor, spreading all the way to a small pool. The crystal layer within the pool held for a moment before being incinerated. The clear water evaporated into steam from the intense heat, and the steam was rapidly dried out.
It took over ten seconds for the solar flames to dissipate within this sealed space. Some force was protecting the area, preventing major terrain damage, but the surrounding stone walls had a layer of magma forming, slowly trickling down.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Kuska stood within the magma. Eighty percent of his body surface was carbonized, but judging by his appearance, he was clearly still capable of fighting.
Kuska patted his head. The plant roots enveloping his body had turned to charcoal. Apollo's true damage was no joke. If not for the Dibamu sub-body within Kuska having astonishingly high health, even this single blast would have at least left him severely injured.
What puzzled Kuska was that the sense of crisis around him hadn't disappeared. His eyes scanned the surroundings and soon spotted something very familiar just a few meters away—too close to escape.
"So there's another one."
Kuska's body was once again covered by Dibamu's roots. In the next moment, solar flames exploded—the second Apollo had arrived.
When the solar flames receded for the second time, Kuska could no longer maintain his original imposing demeanor. He hunched over, gasping heavily.
But what Kuska hadn't expected was that the sense of crisis still lingered.
Kuska turned his head to look beside him. A fiery red heart was pulsating. This object was called the [Solar Flame Heart], a trophy Su Xiao had obtained in the previous world. After Su Xiao extracted the blood within it, the item's value had dropped significantly, so he had modified it into Apollo·Modified, which was a notch more powerful than the standard Apollo.
At this point, Kuska's cheek twitched. He had only met his opponent once, and he was already nearly blown to bits.
Boom~
Apollo·Modified exploded. This time, even more solar flames surged out, and the temperature was even higher. It had to be said, Su Xiao's method of dealing with Kuska was very 'righteous'—so 'righteous' that Kuska wanted to roar, "If you have the guts, fight me head-on!"
However, Su Xiao had no intention of confronting Kuska directly. He felt that his greatest strength was self-awareness. The main reason he had been able to defeat the Moon God was that his original soul strength was already high, and he had used items to temporarily boost it further.
Moreover, over 90% of the Moon God's attack capabilities targeted the soul. Otherwise, in a fight with the Moon God, Su Xiao would have been the one to die.
Su Xiao knew he couldn't face Kuska, the ultimate boss of Origin Island, head-on. So, he simply didn't. He used a triple Apollo barrage for a 'righteous' beating.
When the third wave of solar flames receded, Kuska staggered a few steps and plopped down sitting in the magma layer. His left arm was already missing.
Kuska was in a sorry state, but if one observed carefully, his eyes were still sharp, ready for the enemy to appear at any moment. He had now activated his 'Dual Existence' ability, rapidly recovering his health, with an effect lasting 30 seconds.
But after a while, Kuska found that the enemy hadn't shown up. He walked over the magma, reached the entrance stone corridor, turned the corner, and found the corridor empty.
Kuska couldn't leave the greenhouse; otherwise, the Dibamu sub-body within him would forcibly control him to prevent such behavior.
Seeing the empty stone corridor, Kuska's expression showed a moment of stunned disbelief. The enemy had actually run away. His ultimate ability, 'Dual Existence,' was essentially wasted.
Kuska's body trembled slightly—this was from rage. After a moment, he turned back into the clearing, stood beneath the stone door, and raised his arm. Several vines extended from above the stone door, reaching toward Kuska to envelop him. Once wrapped by these vines, it wouldn't take long for his condition and his arm, which had been burned to ashes, to recover.
But just then, a surge of gray energy spread out. The surrounding world turned into black and white, and cotton-like substances drifted through the air.
The magma around quickly cooled and turned into volcanic rock, as if eroded by time.
The vines extending from above the stone door retracted with a whoosh. Kuska's single arm was still raised in midair.
'Dead Silence Descends.'
That's right, Su Xiao had used Dead Silence Descends from within the cave entrance leading to the pool. He had calculated that this spot was just over 100 meters away from Kuska. The maximum damage diameter of Dead Silence Descends was 300 meters. 300 divided by 2 gave a radius of 150 meters. Even so, there was still a 50-meter safety margin.
The moment the Dead Silence force enveloped him, Kuska felt his body grow sluggish, his thoughts becoming less agile. Intense pain shot through every part of his body. The Dibamu sub-body within him let out a series of mournful wails. If this continued, the Dibamu sub-body would wither.
"Ah!!"
Kuska roared in fury. He was now beginning to understand Mogro's anger from earlier. If Mogro's spirit could know, he would probably say in his uniquely gloomy voice: 'Well done.'
Mogro was dead. When the second Apollo exploded, he had been burned to ashes. Due to their alliance, and the fact that over 80% of Mogro's injuries were caused by Kuska, Su Xiao received no rewards—only a notification that Mogro had died.
Su Xiao had long anticipated Mogro's death, but he hadn't shown any mercy. Hesitating, dragging things out, and looking back were never his style. Battle was about life and death. The enemy might die, and his own people—even Su Xiao himself—could certainly die as well.