Life Hunter

Arima's eyes narrowed and his entire body suddenly staggered. He nearly lost his balance and frowned when he noticed what had just happened to him.

"What's wro-!?" Chulainn tried to enter the circular zone when an invisible wall blocked him. The same thing happened for everyone else except Karma and Night who casually went through.

"Hm, does this mean only Arima's 'soul' is allowed inside?" Chulainn guessed as he rubbed his muzzle with his tail.

"I think so, but it's not only that," Lilis said and both Karma and Night showed a similar behavior as Arima when he entered.

"This… not only we lost our magic but our life force also was forcefully limited. How is that possible?" Night exclaimed.

"I have no idea. For now, Night, you resonate with me, and Karma, return to your original form," Arima instructed and his two partners nodded.

Night and Karma nodded and became rays light that shrouded Arima's figure. The latter took on his draconic form with Karma in his hand. He calmly unsheathed his sword in front of the armor which was standing still with a longsword in hand.

Arima stared at it for a moment and made the first move. He flapped his wings and kicked the ground at the same time. His body had been restrained at the fifth level at the moment and he obviously had lost most of his physical ability.

But for an ordinary human, the speed Arima employed was nonetheless incredible. He reached his opponent in second and swung Karma diagonally from below. The armor's 'eyes' flashed and it moved his longsword in an opposite motion to clash with Karma.

When the two blades met each other, Arima immediately used his tail to attack. The armor took a step to the side and deviated Karma while dodging the dragon tail. Arima didn't resist the momentum produced by Karma and fell forward. He slammed his hand on the ground and whirled a kick at the armor.

The latter used its gauntlet to block the strike. It then raised its sword and swung it down in a vertical motion, ready to severe Arima's leg.

Arima moved his other leg and used the armor's chest plate as support to jump. The armor's eyes glowed brighter when Arima landed a few meters away. It grabbed its longsword in a single grip and a second sword appeared in its other hand right away. The joints of the armor creaked as it gathered strength in its lower body. It kicked the ground and the ground shook lightly.

Arima clicked his tongue and parried one of the swords falling on him with Karma and the other with his tail. The two opponents stayed stuck for a few seconds until Arima struck with his scabbard and made them separate.

Arima frowned and swapped his scabbard for Ira. He loaded it with physical bullets containing actual explosive powder and immediately shot. The armor slashed every bullet with terrifying accuracy and the red light in its eyes flashed once more as he countered with another assault.

Arima's group silently watched the fight occurring in front of them. The combat was getting fiercer and faster over time. Arima was using his tail as much as possible and even his wings to block attacks. He even had to use Ira as protection to fend off the swords.

"That 'thing' has an impressive stability and reaction time. It is not afraid of using the different parts itself to block attacks and it is able to keep up with Arima's martial arts," Chulainn analyzed and sighed.

"This fight seems to rely only on your physical and mental abilities. Magic or life force is not a thing in this 'arena'. I wonder what would've happened if it was me locked inside. Maybe the armor would have completely changed shape to match my real form or perhaps I could have been forced to take another form... This is a fascinating place."

Lilis nodded. "You're right. But I feel like there's something wrong with all of this. In the first place, what is this armor? Is it supposed to guard Origin?"

"Who knows," Chulainn shrugged. "But if it's really that, then it's way too easy. Arima is having a hard time, but at this rate, he will win without a doubt."

Meanwhile, Lanya's eyes shined with a golden and blue light. She was observing every move happening in the fight since the beginning. At some point, she suddenly trembled. "Arima! It will attack your soul directly!"

Arima heard this and his eyes narrowed. He crouched down to evade the armor's swing and then rolled to the left. He pointed Ira at the armor's helmet and fired. The bullet exploded and the helmet cracked as the armor was pushed back. Arima squinted his eyes.

"{Considering Lanya's words, in five minutes, your soul will be targeted. And for Lanya to warn, it means she thinks it's dangerous enough,}" Night commented and Arima nodded.

"{I know. Let's accelerate things then,}" he responded and gripped his katana. "Karma."

"{Yes,}" she answered and her form changed to something like a small spear. At the same time, the chain hanging from the handle became a lot longer. Arima grabbed the newly formed spear and threw it at the armor.

The latter's eyes flashed, and it knocked the spear away with one of his swords. Karma pierced the ground behind and Arima dashed at the same moment. He charged at the armor and fired Ira; emptying an entire magazine of explosive bullets.

The armor crossed its arms to resist the blows and the next thing he saw was Arima's fist going through the flames and smoke. The armor reacted quickly and evaded the strike before cross-swinging his swords at Arima.

Arima blocked the first blade with Ira then pressed the trigger to deviate the second one. The bullet's explosion hit them both but Arima merely covered his eyes, ignoring the small wounds, and profited of that moment to run around the armor with Karma's chain in hand.

Once Arima had completed a circle around the armor, he shook the chain and pulled on it at the same time. The black chain was stretched and effectively bound the armor's movements. He then jumped back and the end of the chain which he was holding transformed into a small stake that he rooted in the ground.

Karma made it so both the stake and the spear were fixed firmly and Arima immediately rushed toward the armor before it could free itself.

He summoned Superbia and smirked. "Let's try this, this shouldn't count as magic since it can be considered soul manipulation," he muttered and put both of his guns against each other.

"[Physica Resonator] (Physical Resonance)." The two soul weapons shined and fused together to form a sort of big double-barreled hand cannon.

"(Luckily, I charged external batteries for this,)" Arima thought and smiled.

He loaded the gun and pressed it against the armor's chest, the barrels were quickly filled with plasma originating from the magazine and the bullets rotated before leaving the barrels with a strong detonation. The armor was pierced by the bullets and they exploded just after.

Arima crossed his arms and jumped away. The armor's whole chest plate broke down and revealed the hollow interiors filled with white runes.

Arima sighed when the armor stopped moving. He smiled and admired the gun he was holding his hand. "Maybe I should keep it like this. It's stronger and comes with some advantages…need to find a new name."

While Arima was talking to himself, the armor's helmet fell on the ground. The other armor parts started breaking one after the other but before the helmet could suffer the same fate, the red lights in the eyeholes reappeared and stared at Arima in the eyes. Lanya gasped as her draconic eyes bled once again.

"Lanya!" Lilis went to her and tried to heal her.

"Again…" Lanya muttered as she stopped the activation of her draconic eyes.

"Again? What do you mean?" Lilis was confused but Chulainn's expression changed.

"This reaction…" his eyes widened, and he turned his head toward Arima who had already shot the helmet to completely destroy it.

But it was too late and Arima dropped his gun. He held his chest as if he was trying to grab his heart. "Night... stop the resonance and leave this space with Karma. Only you two can leave unrestrained, " Arima instructed with a trembling voice.

Night was shocked, but he still discontinued the resonance on his own and reappeared in his human form. It was the same for Karma as she joined him. They both looked at each other and exited the area where magic was neutralized.

When Arima was left alone there, he fell on his knees and grunted. His hands were contracting, and his expression seemed to be fighting another one. His eyes were half bloodshot, and his mouth was slowly curving into a smirk.

At that moment, Arima's killing intent manifested. But unlike usual, it wasn't controlled, refined and calm. It was pure slaughter intent; it was a big mess of bloodlust.

Lilis saw Arima's expression and she gulped. His eyes had become empty and emotionless. Along with the chilly grin his face was wearing, the whole scene provoked deep fear to sprout inside of her.

"…The Wicked One," at that instant, she muttered unconsciously.

"What?" Chulainn looked at her and exclaimed. "Where did you hear that?"

"From the Time Garden… It didn't only laugh, it also said that the Wicked One was born as I was watching the reminiscence," Lilis replied while staring at Arima. "What I saw in his past looks awfully similar to how he is now. If I'm not wrong, this is…"

"What Arima is keeping deep inside his soul. That's what this armor did, it aroused Arima's deep darkness," Lanya finished the sentence and Lilis nodded. Lanya then looked at Night and Karma who both wore a difficult expression on their faces. "What we heard during the local tournament when he closed his gate soul, was it this?"

"Maybe," Night answered hesitatingly. "Karma and I only knew that something was hiding there. Nothing more," he added, and Karma quietly nodded.

"Then the thing that prompted Hell's inquisitorial was this hidden darkness?" Chulainn conjectured. "So that's why he said it was something he didn't wish to see again…"

At the same time, Arima started laughing with a really eerie voice and his killing intent became stronger. Even his companions were sweating a bit now.

Even back at the village, most of the people there had already fainted while the old woman and Emilia were both extremely pale.

Arima's body started expanding and his skin also crumbled like ash. His bone structure slowly morphed, and two horns grew on his skull. The three meters tall skeleton howled and laughed madly. Every time he raised his voice, everyone in the small pocket world would shiver in fear.

"Fuck off!" Among all of that, a second voice resounded, and the skeleton froze. Everyone also reacted when they heard that familiar voice.

The skeleton's body started regaining flesh on one side and the other half tried to rip it apart while laughing. "Why not? I'm part of you. Now that this thing woke me up, you won't be able to keep me locked forever," a creepy voice resounded. Arima was actually talking with another part of himself.

"That's not for you to decide," Arima retorted and the fluctuation of the killing intent changed. And half of the skeleton's bones made a cracking sound as they shrunk. "Just go sleep again," the right side of the skeleton had now reverted to normal.

Arima moved his arm and grabbed the horn of the skeletal side before crushing it. He then gradually regained control. His body recovered, and his counterpart merely laughed at the result.

"I'll come back," it said and Arima and collapsed on the ground.

He lied down and looked at the sky. "Well, shit."