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(Negary pov)

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I kept pushing against the blades, the intense strain causing microscopic tears in my golem's muscle fibers and placing considerable stress on the tendons, threatening to detach them from the bones. After all, this body could not yet handle the highest percentages of hysterical strength for extended periods.

'Well, that's only true if I don't reinforce it with mana...'

The brief stalemate shifted swiftly into the Vessel's advantage, and I found myself slowly sliding backward on the stone floor as the relentless force behind the obsidian blades overwhelmed my resistance.

'Given the substantial influx of soul energy permeating through its body, overpowering it solely through physical strength is improbable, but...'

*Splat*

'But what good is having strength without any brains to wield it properly?'

I thought as the puppet's left calf was separated from its leg, as if an invisible blade had sliced through it... The detached limb hung momentarily in the air before landing on the ground, and as it landed, a soft whisper echoed seemingly from right behind me.

"𝑶𝒉, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏... 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈..."

I allowed a cheeky smile to surface on my face, even as my eyes remained glued to the now handicapped puppet.

To its credit, it showed no outward reaction to the pain, except for a subtle widening of its empty eyes. Black blood spurted out of the wound, extending like tendrils toward the fallen limb. Alas, it couldn't possibly reattach it fast enough to be able to maintain its balance and I observed her pushing herself backward in an attempt to disengage and literally regain its footing.

As she fell backward, the puppet swung its bladed hands in my direction, a last attempt at defiance before it's second defeat.

I followed my instincts and dodged the trajectory, of the blades even though their range seemed much too short to reach me.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

My caution paid off as I witnessed a burst of darkness erupting from the blades in a flying slash, targeting my golem's head with the intention to sever it from its neck.

'Oh, a surprise attack, clever move...' I pondered, deftly twirling the spear of soul energy in my hand.With swift precision, I struck the oncoming slash, effortlessly deflecting it away. The potential danger of a follow-up attack lingered in my thoughts, recognizing the cunning strategy woven into the puppet's actions.

The Waif landed with a graceless thud, finding herself in an awkward position. Undeterred by it's handicap, it retrieved its severed leg and began the process of reattachment. The hollow eye sockets remained fixed on me, tracking my every movement even as the black blood extended like twisted tendrils to fuse the limb back into place.

Predicting different possible sequence's of events in my mind, I manipulated my spear to transform into a sword, molding its ethereal essence into a purplish blade. It appeared deceptively simple, resembling the unadorned design of the earlier spear. Its transparency gave it an ethereal quality, almost feeble in appearance. However, the keen edge contradicted its seemingly delicate nature.

'Now...how did she make those flying slashes?' I wondered as I started infusing mana into the edge of my sword.

Raising the sword, I directed a downward swing toward my adversary, channeling the mental image of the shadowy slashes and commanding the mana to shape into a ranged assault.

A diminutive slash unfurled gradually from the blade, its form losing cohesion before traversing a mere meter in the air.

'Hmmm...'

Undeterred, I attempted once more, infusing additional mana into the blade while concentrating on delineating a specific trajectory for the slash. Despite my efforts, the slash extended a bit further this time but still fell short of reaching the puppet.

'So mana alone doesn't lead to a qualitative change...'

I instantly shaved off a minuscule portion of soul energy from my soul body, a process not without its discomfort, yet one I was familiar with. With practiced finesse, I infused the extracted soul energy into the blade's edge as well, intertwining it seamlessly with mana.

Swinging the enhanced sword one more time, the ethereal slash that erupted towards the Waif now possessed astonishing velocity, leaving lingering afterimages in it's path...and a lingering smile on my face...

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A.N :

'Life is not a question but an opportunity to find the answer to a question bestowed upon everyone.

And now, I finally found what I truly desire... I'm in this condition because I was weak, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and more.

And now, the answer is simple.

It's to be better...to endlessly improve, to progress to the end of times, to see how far I can go and see if there is even a peak to this world, or

perhaps even beyond it!' he swore in his mind and, with a determined gaze, he made an oath to himself as his heart set ablaze for a goal that would shake the entire multiverse, a promise to oneself to reach the zenith!

(The final boss of the Multiverse)