Chapter 11

The battle between the two shadows could be seen from anywhere in Japan.

One of the shadows, a girl named Sukuna, transitioned into combat without stopping her live stream.

No, the viewers knew that she didn't even have the time to think about stopping, let alone the luxury to consider it.

The difference in the stats given to each was significant.

The battle displayed on the screen seemed, at first glance, to be one where Sukuna was being toyed with.

However, even as Aria the Red Wolf's HP bar turned yellow, having dropped below half, Sukuna's HP remained almost untouched.

One hour.

That was the time they had been fighting, and the time it took for Sukuna to bring Aria's HP down to the red zone.

"Is she even human?"

One of the viewers commented as such.

Sukuna's fighting style was extremely simple.

Counter after counter.

With such precise and accurate avatar control, she continued to exploit the slightest openings.

She deflected and countered with god-like prediction and reflexes.

It sounded easy to say.

It was undoubtedly the most effective way to overcome the stat difference.

However, even as a member of the demon race, which specialized in close combat, a single clean hit at this level difference would bring her to the brink of death, and a hit to a vital point would be fatal.

She had been fighting for an hour, and her face showed not fatigue but joy.

Maintaining a concentration akin to threading a needle, the player Sukuna was manipulating the overwhelmingly powerful monster.

Even though her name had become known through Rinne's broadcast the day before, the number of viewers for Sukuna, the seventh player of "HEROES," did not even reach a hundred at the start of the broadcast.

This was to be expected. Some had their favorite streamers in the first wave, and even the second wave that started yesterday had famous live streamers.

It could even be said that it was fortunate that many viewers were watching despite it being early in the morning.

However, the number of simultaneous viewers for Sukuna's current broadcast exceeded ten thousand.

Named boss monsters, being rare in their appearance, were always a topic of conversation.

At first, it was just a report on the bulletin board that Sukuna had encountered Aria the Red Wolf.

Seeing her endure for a few minutes, the URL of the broadcast was shared.

It rose in the rankings of the streaming site, and through repeated sharing, it eventually reached a point where ten thousand viewers were watching Sukuna's battle.

At the end of the fierce battle, the Red Wolf, whose HP had been reduced to the red zone, was enveloped in a mysterious aura and attacked Sukuna with a speed far beyond what it had shown before.

Sukuna, with a fierce smile, met the Red Wolf head-on.

All the eyes watching them could sense the approaching moment of resolution.

☆

The Red Wolf, whose HP had dropped below 20%, began to be enveloped in a burning aura.

Her attacks began to chip away at Sukuna's HP, which had remained almost untouched until then.

The attacks only grazed her, dealing minimal damage, but there was a definite reduction in HP.

She tried to react as she had before, but she couldn't keep up.

Sukuna accepted this fact and predicted that the aura's ability was to enhance speed.

The multiplier was significant, possibly doubling or even more.

It was a powerful effect due to its simplicity.

"Guh, ugh!"

She barely managed to deflect the claws that tried to slash her from the front with her club.

Unable to completely stop the momentum, the claws grazed her arm, taking about 5% of her HP.

She could see it, but it was too fast for her avatar to react to the stat difference.

However, in just two exchanges, Sukuna had identified a clear weakness in the burning aura.

It was the only breakthrough she needed to defeat this formidable enemy.

It was a fatal weakness, one that she was certain of.

The opportunity would surely come.

Therefore, the choice for Sukuna was not a counter but pure defense.

Predicting the attacks based on the Red Wolf's muscle movements, her gaze, and the experience of the battle so far, she placed defensive attacks before the enemy's attacks began.

Even though her HP was being chipped away by the slightest damage, she still had plenty of room to maneuver with 90% of her HP remaining.

"Raaah!"

Now that she had the hang of it, all she needed was concentration.

With a shower of sparks, she deflected the approaching claws.

She placed her attacks in response to the enemy's movements.

Not to hit the enemy, but to make the enemy "hit" her attacks.

To be precise, she was placing counters against the enemy's attacks, not the enemy itself.

What Sukuna was doing was a suicidal maneuver, where a single mistake would mean instant death.

Still, her heightened concentration and a bit of luck led her to success.

Five times. That was the number of times Sukuna had managed to defend against the Red Wolf's attacks, sacrificing about 30% of her HP.

After successfully predicting such a desperate situation five times, the moment she had been waiting for finally arrived.

The HP bar of the Red Wolf, who had been continuously using the mysterious burning aura, had been reduced to a single dot, despite Sukuna not dealing any damage.

This was the first weakness Sukuna had discovered. The mysterious aura forced HP consumption.

While the rate was slow, with only 20% of her HP remaining, even a small amount was fatal.

The current Red Wolf was so weak that a clear damage judgment would be enough to defeat her.

However, it wasn't all good news.

Currently, Sukuna could only defend against the Red Wolf's attacks, and since the aura had been activated, she hadn't even dealt a single dot of damage.

Moreover, when the HP reached a single dot, the reduction stopped, and the aura grew even stronger.

It was like a last stand, a manifestation of Aria the Red Wolf's will to burn her life to kill the enemy.

Aria the Red Wolf took a step back to accelerate.

This was it.

Both were certain.

Reading each other's minds, predicting each other's moves, and instantly constructing the optimal solution to kill the enemy.

She felt her heart racing, though it shouldn't have been possible.

"I'm going!"

"Roar!"

Both shouted, and the final exchange began.

Aria the Red Wolf, using all the speed she could muster, expanded her muscles to kill the enemy in front of her.

A grazing slash wouldn't do.

She would thrust this claw into the heart with all her might.

It was as fast as sound.

Feeling the explosion of tension, the red projectile was launched—and in that instant, Aria perceived a small glint in front of her.

It was the single metal object that Sukuna had always kept on her belt.

The throwing knife, which Sukuna had never used during this battle.

The unexpected projectile from a player who had been engaged in close combat all along was something the Red Wolf couldn't dodge at this moment.

This was the second weakness Sukuna had discovered.

The speed enhanced by this skill was so great that even a named monster like Aria the Red Wolf couldn't control it.

The official name of the mysterious aura Aria the Red Wolf was generating was the named skill, "Pride of the Hungry Wolf."

It was a skill that, in exchange for a very heavy activation condition of continuous HP consumption, doubled the agility of the target when their HP dropped below 20%.

However, Aria the Red Wolf, being an overwhelmingly powerful entity, had rarely used this skill.

She had almost never been in a situation where her HP dropped below 20%.

Therefore, she was overwhelmed by the forced increase in agility and could only perform charges and claw attacks.

This is why, despite the significant stat difference, Sukuna, who had been engaged in close combat, could counter the Red Wolf's attacks by "pre-placing" her own attacks.

It was a complete surprise.

Unavoidable.

A hit meant death.

Such an ending couldn't be allowed.

The conclusion of this battle couldn't be so anticlimactic!

In that moment, stretched out in her thoughts, Aria, envisioning an unacceptable ending, instinctively bit through the incoming knife.

It was an ideal action, one she thought she could never repeat.

However, the throw was a decoy.

That moment of thought and the brief opening were the only time Sukuna needed.

A slight dulling of speed.

It was enough to make an attack that should have been impossible to land, possible.

The "Blunt Weapon" skill—Art name "Finisher."

A finishing blow, as the name suggested, that could be learned relatively early in the "Blunt Weapon" skill tree but required a significant cost.

In exchange for a 10-second cooldown and a 100% reduction in weapon durability, it delivered an ultra-powerful strike with three times the speed and power of a "Smash."

It was the only trump card Sukuna had left in this battle.

"Aaaaah!"

The all-out downward swing, almost a suicidal move, was aimed at the slightly slowed attack of the Red Wolf.

The golden club, infused with all her spirit, and the Red Wolf's claw, driven by overwhelming speed, collided with a thunderous impact.

The shock of the collision sent dust flying and the wind howling.

Far behind Sukuna, something fell with a thud.

It was her right leg, severed almost at the root, the result of the final blow redirected by the club.

The solitary Red Wolf, whose HP had been erased by the "Finisher," disappeared with a satisfied expression.

At the end of the intense battle, even with one leg lost, the black-haired demon stood alone in the devastated grassland.

---

"You did it..."

Despite losing a leg, Sukuna let out a gentle sigh of joy.

She had barely avoided the torso, but the final blow had cost her her right leg, and her HP was already in the danger zone.

Moreover, she could see her remaining HP being drained in the flickering edges of her vision.

Sukuna, lacking the knowledge, didn't understand that this was due to blood loss from the injury, but she knew she was steadily approaching death.

"Well, that's fine..."

She muttered, seemingly satisfied.

Having heard all the notifications, Sukuna received the first death in the game due to the slip damage from the limb loss.

---

"You did it..."

Realizing the fact that she had lost a leg, Sukuna still let out a gentle sigh of joy.

Her HP was already in the danger zone from the final blow, and she could see it being drained in the flickering edges of her vision.

Sukuna, lacking the knowledge, didn't understand that this was due to blood loss from the injury, but she knew she was steadily approaching death.

"Well, that's fine..."

She muttered, seemingly satisfied.

Having heard all the notifications, Sukuna received the first death in the game due to the slip damage from the limb loss.