Chapter 220: The Ninja Village Arc Ends
Satoru Suzuki hurried forward and crouched beside Suiryu.
"How are you feeling?"
Concern filled his voice.
"Do I need to take you to the hospital immediately?"
Only then did Suiryu recover from his daze.
He stared at Satoru with disbelief.
"You came back."
His eyes widened.
"Did you defeat that Monster?"
Satoru answered honestly.
"I did."
The tension in Suiryu's body finally eased.
He released a long breath, then asked with lingering curiosity, "Was Gouketsu difficult to deal with?"
Satoru recalled the battle.
Although they had been enemies, Gouketsu's martial arts and strength had left a deep impression on him.
"He was extremely powerful."
There was no mockery in Satoru's voice.
"Even as an enemy, he was a formidable martial artist."
"I see."
Suiryu looked at the man before him in silence.
Then he gathered his courage.
"Mumen Rider, I have another question."
His voice became quieter.
"I don't know whether I'll ever overcome the fear I felt today, but now I have a goal."
Suiryu looked directly into Satoru's eyes.
"Can someone like me become a hero too?"
Satoru did not immediately reassure him.
Instead, he answered with unusual honesty.
"I don't know."
Suiryu froze.
That was not the answer he had expected.
Satoru continued before he could misunderstand.
"But if even I could become one, then anyone should have the chance."
He smiled gently.
"Feeling afraid is normal. I feel fear too."
"Strength does not decide whether someone is a hero."
Satoru glanced at the injured contestants scattered throughout the arena.
"I became a hero because I wanted to save people."
"That was all."
Suiryu repeated the words softly.
"Wanting to save people..."
In the past, he might have laughed at such a simple reason.
But today, he had experienced true despair.
He had called for help from the bottom of his heart.
And a hero had answered.
For the first time, Suiryu understood what it meant to be saved.
Something within him finally began to heal.
"That sounds good."
A faint smile appeared on his battered face.
"Mumen Rider, I have one last question."
Satoru waited patiently.
"Will you take me as your disciple?"
The sudden request caught Satoru completely off guard.
He hesitated before answering.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't reached the point where I can accept disciples."
Then he thought for a moment.
"If you truly wish to learn martial arts, you could try joining the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist dojo."
Suiryu committed those words to memory.
"I understand."
"I'll remember it."
The pain throughout his body suddenly intensified.
Suiryu's vision darkened, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Suiryu?"
Satoru immediately moved forward to support him.
Inside the sword, Asuramaru shifted his attention elsewhere.
City Z's Ghost Town had been devastated.
More than half of the abandoned district had been destroyed by the battle between Sonic and Empty Void.
Buildings had collapsed.
Entire streets had vanished.
At the centre of the ruins stood the founder of the Ninja Village.
Empty Void had lost one arm.
His body was drenched in blood, and deep sword wounds covered him from head to toe. Several bones were broken, and his breathing had become ragged.
Yet none of those injuries occupied his thoughts.
He stared at Sonic with a distorted expression.
"Damn you!"
His voice echoed across the ruins.
"Why are my illusions completely useless against you?"
Sonic stood a short distance away.
His combat suit had been torn in several places, but the skin beneath it was untouched.
Every wound he had suffered had already been healed by Asuramaru.
Sonic raised his sword and sneered.
"They are only illusions."
"With Asuramaru's power supporting me, my victory was inevitable."
His eyes narrowed in contempt.
"How could someone like you possibly understand?"
Empty Void nearly cursed aloud.
Every wound Sonic inflicted refused to heal.
The bleeding would not stop.
Worse still, a strange power had invaded his body.
Invisible slashes were spreading through his flesh from within, constantly breaking him apart.
If the battle continued, death was certain.
Sonic recognised the intention in Empty Void's eyes.
He pointed the sword toward him.
"Are you thinking of running?"
His smile was merciless.
"You were so arrogant when you said you would kill me."
"What happened?"
"Now you look like a beaten dog."
Empty Void's expression hardened.
"You think such childish provocation will work on me?"
He had no intention of remaining here.
The Monster Association had watched the entire battle without sending a single reinforcement.
He would remember that betrayal.
Sooner or later, they would pay.
Empty Void glared at Sonic.
"Brat, one day I will take your head with my own hands."
He threw several smoke bombs at the ground.
Thick smoke erupted and swallowed the surrounding ruins.
Sonic immediately slashed through it.
But Empty Void had already activated the cube hidden within his body.
Space twisted.
He disappeared through the Gate and escaped.
When Empty Void emerged again, he had returned to the ruins of the former Ninja Village.
Only then did he release the breath he had been holding.
"I did not expect Sonic's strength to rival mine while supported by that God."
He looked down at his ruined body.
"And the strange power carried by that sword is extremely troublesome."
Empty Void turned toward the remains of the underground facility.
"I cannot remain here."
"I need to retrieve the medical pod and leave before he..."
His voice stopped.
Hidden on his back was a Flying Thunder God Mark.
Empty Void had never noticed it.
The mark activated.
Sonic appeared directly behind him with Asuramaru already in motion.
The sword slashed toward his neck.
Empty Void sensed the danger too late.
He raised his remaining arm in desperation, hoping to delay the strike for even a fraction of a second.
It was useless.
The sword severed his arm without resistance.
Then it continued across his neck.
The two figures crossed.
Empty Void remained standing.
His pupils contracted.
"When..."
His voice came out weakly.
"When did you bypass my perception and leave a sword fragment on me?"
Sonic turned around.
His expression was calm and disdainful.
"Who told you that my ability could only be activated through sword fragments?"
Confusion remained in Empty Void's eyes.
Then his head separated from his body.
As it fell, his fading vision caught sight of the faint pattern marked upon his back.
It was identical to the marks placed upon Sonic's scattered sword fragments.
"I see..."
At last, he understood.
During their battle, Sonic had endured attacks and accepted injuries without using the Flying Thunder God.
He had concealed the mark for this exact moment.
One strike.
Certain death.
Empty Void's head struck the ground.
Darkness began swallowing his vision.
Sonic approached and kicked the severed head into the air.
Then his sword flashed repeatedly.
The head and body were shredded into countless pieces.
Sonic would not leave even the slightest possibility of resurrection.
Inside the sword, the system notifications rang through Asuramaru's mind.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Above Dragon level God's Apostle Empty Void before death. Gained 1,000,000 emotion points!]
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from God. Gained 200,000 emotion points!]
[This kill obtained 500,000 Demon Power. Fifty percent will be fed back to the Sword Master!]
The notifications ended.
A vast torrent of Demon Power surged into Sonic's body.
It flooded his muscles, bones, blood, and organs.
His entire body began rising toward a new level.
....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].