{Perfect Me: Part-Time God}

After my transformation, Otakemaru attacked without hesitation, unleashing a thunderous roar that shook the earth. His blazing sword slashed through the air, aiming for me with deadly precision.

I leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the scorching blade. In response, I commanded the water beneath my feet, summoning it to form a protective barrier. Waves crashed against Otakemaru's fiery assault, hissing and sizzling upon impact.

With a swift motion of my wrist, I directed torrents of water toward the demon. Otakemaru twisted and dodged, his flaming sword slicing through the cascading waves with astonishing speed. The clash of water and fire filled the air, each element fiercely vying for dominance.

Closing the distance, I charged forward, my katana meeting the demon's weapon in a resounding clash of steel. Sparks erupted, casting light upon our determined faces. The demon's flaming blade threatened to breach my defenses, but my control over water proved invaluable, extinguishing the flames and forcing the demon to retreat.

Sensing an opening, I engaged in a fluid dance, my katana gracefully cutting through the air. Water swirled around me, forming lethal tendrils that struck at the demon's defenses. Otakemaru roared in frustration.

Summoning my remaining strength, I harnessed the power of the river, channeling it into a colossal wave that crashed down upon the demon. The force shattered its resistance, dousing the flames and sending it sprawling to the ground.

Breathing heavily, I stood over the defeated demon, my katana poised and ready. The river flowed serenely beside us as if offering its approval. However, to my surprise, Otakemaru rose once more.

Veins of molten lava bulged on his horns, emanating an intense heat that consumed everything around him. Otakemaru possessed the ability to control heat, and the angrier he became, the hotter his power grew.

As the temperature soared, even the surroundings caught fire, and the rocks beneath his feet transformed into molten lava. Charging towards me, his katana radiated searing heat, distorting the air itself. He was twisting the space with his formidable heat control.

My arm would have turned to ash before I could even touch him, so close-quarters combat was out of the question.

Facing this terrifying opponent, I remained undeterred in my Perfect Me state. Clapping my hands together, I performed a hand sign, which helped with control over my Ord. The entire river responded, surging and swirling like an awakened flood dragon.

The water dragon crashed onto Otakemaru, sizzling against his intense heat and causing a mist to envelop our surroundings. Despite the obscured vision, I maintained a clear sense of my opponent due to my fusion with Carpy.

A blast of hot air dispersed the mist, revealing Otakemaru's fiery gaze. He roared, causing the ground to crack as scalding lava poured forth.

At this rate, the entire place would be transformed into a sea of molten rock, eliminating any advantage I had.

I started retreating from the war front, with Otakemaru chasing after me like a mad dog. Each step he took caused the ground to crack, spilling magma. A large blob of water floated above me, intercepting his attacks whenever I couldn't dodge them.

Our cat and mouse game came to an end when I reached the shores, with the sea at my back. I could no longer see the war front, where I would have preferred to keep an eye on any significant changes from the original plan.

Otakemaru's rage subsided, replaced by a moment of realization. He knew he had made a grave mistake.

...

The battle lasted for some time, resulting in the creation of a new swamp with patches of obsidian. Sizzling sounds filled the air, accompanied by the lingering odor of sulfur and salt water.

My supply of Ord was running low, but Otakemaru was also breathing heavily. Despite overpowering me in every way, even after sacrificing five years of my lifespan, I managed to hold my ground because my special ability countered his power significantly.

Fighting against him was like facing someone who could create lifeless dolls capable of turning water into ice and manipulating it. Normally, my strategy when encountering someone stronger was to flee.

In fact, I secretly wished he would retreat now. He was exhausted, while I was low on Ord and unwilling to risk my life. Additionally, my Perfect Me was about to expire soon.

Within the span of three or so minutes, we clashed tens of thousands of times. Battles between individuals of our power and speed were typically decided in an instant.

As Perfect Me deactivated, I had only a little over a minute of charge remaining. The ability recognized that persuading the enemy to leave through words was the optimal choice for now. "You know, if you continue fighting like this, you will die."

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Otakemaru snorted. "You are a worthy adversary, brat, but your moral character is questionable."

Was this guy, who had killed countless people and even aided Shuten Doji in destroying entire countries, accusing me of being sketchy? The hypocrisy was astounding.

Even though I was no longer in Perfect Me, my body retained the appearance of a twenty-year-old. It almost made me smile, as that was exactly what I had intended to happen. Although my stats had returned to normal, it seemed I would be able to train to a higher level than my non-teenage body.

Normally I would have waited for myself to naturally age to 20. But in a Shounen manga, the whole story was usually finished by the time the main character was 17 or 18 at most.

***

The Emperor, a man donning knight-like armor with a silver spear in hand, possessed striking features. Despite being in his 40s, he appeared as a handsome man in his 20s, sporting bright blue eyes and blond hair.

As the 4th strongest exorcist, he held a unique position, though technically ranking 3rd due to the Sage holding both 2nd and 1st place until someone surpassed her. The stubbornness of the Sage often frustrated many, and The Emperor was one of them.

His true name was not The Emperor, but his title carried great prestige as the leader of Britannia and one of the most powerful exorcists. So even he didn’t care about his real name. The Emperor was a title inherited by every Yari Clan leader, one of the four great clans. To maintain such a title, each clan head of the Yari Clan had to possess considerable strength.

He had been assigned a mission to assist Kon of the Dark Sword Clan in eliminating an ultimate class demon, rumored to be nearly as powerful as Shuten Doji.

His partner, a woman hidden beneath a winter cloak, gloves, a face mask, and sunglasses, emanated an aura of danger despite her socially inept appearance.

Next to the Sage, she ranked as the second strongest exorcist, although technically placed 3rd.

'Monsters, both the Sage and her disciple are monsters,' he thought, acknowledging their incredible abilities.

Approaching the sounds of battle, they maintained an uncomfortable silence. The surrounding smoke, mist, and freshly made mushy obsidian on the ground indicated the forthcoming struggle.

"Do you believe the Kuro Clan Head was truly collaborating with demons?" The Emperor inquired.

"I couldn't care less," she shrugged. "Though dealing with the war between the Kuro Clan and Dark Sword Clan would be bothersome."

Though younger than him, if he could persuade this woman to become one of his wives, their offspring would possess astounding strength and lead the next generation!

The Emperor regretted not having any children he considered strong. There was Hiro, but despite his formidable ability, he remained emotionally weak.

"Yeah, and then there's the whole mess with the Demonic Exorcist. Rumors suggest he may have reached a power equal to the Sage's by now," The Emperor stated, knowing that anything related to her teacher would pique her interest.

She nodded. "Indeed, had he not turned rogue, he might have taken my place. Teacher once described him as the most prodigious person she had ever encountered."

The Emperor had to stifle a snort. He had been in the Exorcist Academy when the Demonic Exorcist was a student there, and he found it hard to believe that a loser like him had become so renowned nowadays.

Back in those days, the Demonic Exorcist was a cowardly individual who trembled at the mere thought of battling demons. He was just another unremarkable kid, gifted with talent but lacking the determination to achieve greatness.

He shook his head, deciding it was better to focus on seducing the woman he finally had some alone time with, rather than worrying about other things.

"Do you think the others can defeat Shuten Doji?" he asked as they jumped from tree to tree, trying to avoid the clumps of molten rocks scattered around. They had to be careful as even the trees were dry and brittle.

"If everything goes as it should, then yes. Teacher is there too, and she is the strongest exorcist in the last two centuries," she said with undisguised pride.

The Emperor was about to mention The Magician, who had defeated the current saint and held the first-place spot. Unlike most people, The Empress didn't like The Magician and claimed he won only because his abilities heavily countered the current Saint's.

Though he believed that Shuten Doji would likely be defeated since they had the Saint and the trump card, Chariot (and Temperance). Chariot's ability to cancel out Ord was invaluable.

Nevertheless, at that moment, he was struggling to have a conversation with an unresponsive woman. His back was beginning to break from having to carry the conversation.

"I hope we get there on time. This kid saved my son," The Emperor said, trying to sound concerned.

He was attempting a different approach, hoping to reach her seemingly cold heart by showing his love for his family.

"I thought you didn't care about your son," she stated nonchalantly.

Damn! She knew?!

The Emperor had over thirty children... maybe forty, he wasn't certain of the exact number. Counting his illegitimate offspring, he might have closer to fifty or sixty. Whatever the number, he believed in the concept of an absentee father figure, as that was how he was raised and he turned out mostly fine.

Consequently, he was indifferent toward most of his children, as they were not particularly special. Even those who were special were not special enough to inherit the title of The Emperor.

However, Hiro was different. He had shown the potential to inherit the title, but he needed to learn how to handle his emotions better and acquire the skill of making women fall for him.

The Emperor felt excited at the prospect of how far someone like Hiro could go. Maybe his son would finally be the missing piece of the puzzle, bringing the Yari Clan to new heights and even having a chance to become a Saint, as long as the old hag, Sage, died!

When they reached the battle scene, they witnessed something unexpected. Kon of the Dark Sword clan appeared to have aged a few years and was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily.

Meanwhile, a dark serpentine demon was gnawing on the headless corpse of Shuten Doji's second-in-command, struggling against the demon's tough exterior.

Kon looked at them and smiled triumphantly. "Took you long enough... I was about to put on some tea."