Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

Entering the arena are the Knight of Needles—Middle Finger Kirk, and the Knight of the Sun—Ash Ryougi.

The background music was already playing, and once again, the roar of a sniper rifle tolled the bell for the duel.

The bullet pierced the ground between the two men, and the next moment, dragonflies flew low, their spikes crisscrossing the ground.

Stepping and moving sideways is for positioning, raising the sword is for attacking. Jin Bai Mo Tong pulls the spiked figure closer, projects it, slices it, and analyzes it. Where is it easiest to strike, where is it easiest to chop, where is it easiest to slash? Lines of information flow into Ash's brain, waiting for her to put each line of information into practice with her skills.

In contrast to the charge, the Needle Knight was a weapon from head to toe. If he could make contact with his enemy, he could poke several holes in them.

However, he was caught off guard as he charged forward with his shield raised, feeling a chill run down his spine. He felt that Zhi's killing intent, after just one glance, had penetrated his armor and cut into his flesh. The alertness honed by his life as a Dark Spirit made him immediately switch tactics. What should have been a head-on collision turned into a cunning and strategic duel as he rolled around.

The large kasaya slash missed its mark, and the sharp spikes that could have grazed the wound also missed their target.

Both Ashbringers, with equally sophisticated strategies, widened the gap again after dismantling their opponent's first strategy.

Neither of them carried guns, so there was no barrage of bullets to fill the gap. They simply shortened the gap, passed each other, and then charged at each other again.

The Needle Knight has one trick up his sleeve and gets by with it: he avoids making contact with Weaving's weapon, instead just rolling around near her, waiting for her to accidentally brush against the spikes.

The Sun Knight was furious. Was this some kind of bullying because she didn't have any control skills? She did indeed lack control skills, but that didn't mean she didn't have area-of-effect skills.

As Kirk rolled past her once more, his raised hands secretly concealed amulets. A flash of golden flame transformed into a sun-like ball of energy, which he then slammed into the ground as his katana fell.

[Miracle? The Force Bursts Forth]

The aftershocks of the Force struck the Needle Knight, preventing him from getting up. He simply stayed put, his curled-up body continuing to roll on the ground, deftly dodging another slash from the Weaver.

"Damn it, could you be any more shameless?"

Kirk really wanted to say that if you don't use those eyes, I won't have to roll; but this was a desperate duel between the intruder and the protector, and who would give up their winning strategy?

He still remembered that there was another Ash lurking, eyeing him covetously. For now, it was still showing some courtesy by not attacking him. Who knew if it would maintain this courtesy once he gained the upper hand? So, the deepest trick was to be saved for last, to be revealed only when he found an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

At this moment, Homura was no longer paying attention to the battlefield. Urged on by Yuri's impending outburst, Asahina was already trembling and unable to hold on any longer. So, after Ori entered the battlefield, she began to suppress the "angel" beyond visual range.

Well, it should be to suppress them as well. Who knows if there are any other intruders? Zhi Ke said that last time she encountered more than a dozen at once; so Xiao Yan focused more on monitoring the surrounding area.

The boisterous rock music hasn't ended yet; the angelic dance moves within the rock are so graceful.

The roar of RPK-74 light machine guns, PPSh submachine guns, Bison submachine guns, and two other PSG-1 sniper rifles and Remington M700 sniper rifles rose and fell, splashing bright sparks on the angel's shield, but it was all to no avail. The bullets were all twisted and bounced into the sky, becoming dazzling fireworks.

Even with the use of AT-4 anti-tank rockets, they were completely unable to stop the angels' advance.

"It seems that the so-called angel is much more troublesome than the dark spirit."

The key point is that no matter how they attack, they can't break through the defense. Could it be that after Asahina was killed, it was this angel who took care of the dark spirits?

Then it seems they don't need to worry about the world being slaughtered by the Dark Spirits.

After attacking several more times with the sniper rifle, Xiaoyan, in order to test the limits of the angel's defense, switched to the exclusive version of the P220, left her hiding place, carefully came to the edge of the roof, and fired a magic bullet at the angel.

The deep purple magic bullets were so inconspicuous in the night sky, yet the angel, who had been calmly moving forward, suddenly found that something had pierced through the silver hair at her temples, scattered in the air, and then shattered into dust by a barrage of bullets.

Looking up in the direction the attack came from, there was nothing there.

"It seems she can't defend against the special attack that carries the fire of the heart."

After confirming the angel's defensive limits, she returned to her sniping position. In any case, if it was just a matter of stalling, those guys could be dealt with by herself. She should keep an eye on Zhi's side and try to kill that dark spirit before the operation was over.

But just as the optical sight moved over, Xiao Yan came into view of a scene that was both funny and absurd.

"I mean, did that guy really wipe out the entire SSS team?"

"Ugh?"

Her eyes twitched as she looked at Asahina beside her and asked, the petite girl paused for a moment, not quite understanding.

"Look at this guy, he doesn't seem very strong."

Homura moved away from the scope so that Asahina could check on Ori's combat situation.

To be honest, the scene was quite comical. Two figures were constantly crossing paths on the way to the sports field. One of them flashed his blade, but it missed every time the other rolled around. The other didn't attack at all; he just tried to roll onto the other. So the two figures seemed to be crossing paths rapidly, but it was actually a pointless chase.

"They're so strong! Ryougi-san and that knight are both incredibly strong! With their speed, I won't even have time to react before they kill me!"

"It's because you're too weak..." Wait, Xiaoyan suddenly realized that their perspective had been wrong all along. They always habitually used themselves as the standard for measuring combat strength. Thinking about the enemies they had faced so far, it seemed that they would be a disaster in this ordinary world.

Did she not expect that she could already be defined as a strong person? No, no, no, strength is only relative. Not long ago, she had experienced a situation where her power was completely suppressed by a certain demon, and she had no room to resist. It can be said that they have survived to this day only because of the protection of the Heartfire characteristic. As long as they do not despair, they can keep fighting.

So, is this child really so timid that there's no hope for him?

She tried to put herself in Asahina's shoes, but the girl's eyes as she looked through the scope were filled with excitement, satisfaction, and even more so, a hint of fear... She was afraid of power, something Homura had never experienced before.

The strong and the weak are completely incapable of understanding each other.

For this child, the world of fire and flame was not much different from hell, no wonder she chose to commit suicide.

If she were to fall into hell and suicide were the only way to escape, she would probably choose that path as well.

Perhaps it was because of her past that she made this choice; after igniting the fire in her heart, she felt that she was more likely to return from hell.

What exactly determined the difference between them? Was it just their inner turmoil? Or should we go back a bit further and consider what she went through before and after she untied her braids and took off her glasses?

They simply found a reason to fight for it.

Did Asahina have no reason to fight? How could she? For the little girl, she was willing to risk everything she couldn't afford to save her father.

Perhaps, she really just couldn't pick up a weapon.

The noisy rock music, stripped of its rousing melodies, tells only a somewhat sad story.

But at this moment, the sadness in the story, amidst the stirring music, touched all the listeners.

"The banquet is reaching its climax, let's spin it!"

The audience was already so excited they had forgotten everything else; the crucial moment of the operation was about to be executed.

At Li's command, the large fans that had been set up on the first floor of the venue began to spin. The violent storm, like boiling oil poured onto a hot pan, instantly pushed the atmosphere of the crowd to its peak. This atmosphere, steaming and carrying with it a frenzied clamor, scattered meal tickets into the air. Through the open blinds, white snowflakes drifted down under the full moon.

"Oh no! The battle is almost over, Ryougi-san, hurry up!"

"Understood! Watch me cut this scurrying hedgehog down in the next round."

What a noisy world! Even the Needle Knight had to sigh like that. Thinking back to his past battles, there was never any rock music or meal tickets raining down from the sky. These guys are too lucky, too lucky to appreciate it. If the goddess had a tongue, could she sing a beautiful song?

Both of them knew that the battle was nearing its end. Golden flames ignited on Zhi's body, and the katana she raised to her shoulder emitted a sharp sword intent, signifying her seriousness.

Then he should take it seriously.

For the first time since the start of the battle, he didn't roll over; instead, he charged straight at the enemy, face to face.

The needle-pierced shield swung heavily upwards, not for parrying, but for attacking; while the needle-pierced straight sword, hidden behind the shield, would complete its final thrust.

Just as the two figures were about to collide, the Needle Knight finally revealed his final move, his frantic howl unlike a human voice, a force contrary to fire washing over his veins; the speed of his charge suddenly increased, the swift shield bash was close at hand, but the dragonfly's flapping wings had not yet reached their peak.

What does it matter if he reaches the peak or not? It doesn't change the fact that he will be cut in two.

Dragonflies don't rely on height for their dives; given enough space, their powerful wings can transform from hovering to a sudden, powerful leap.

What suddenly surges forward is the blade piercing through the morning light.

The knife only needs to be fast enough to make contact with the enemy's body and cut through their defenses immediately.

The Needle Knight's approach was a step too slow; what is borrowed from the outside is ultimately not one's own power.

The needle-pierced shield was cleaved, the needle-pierced straight sword was cleaved, the needle-pierced helmet was cleaved, the needle-pierced armor was cleaved, and even the needle-pierced knight was cleaved.

Fine specks of light drifted among the countless meal tickets, making it impossible to distinguish whether the snow-white specks were light or meal tickets.

The battle came to an end, the boisterous rock music subsided with a high note, and the indomitable young men and women put away their weapons, picked up their meal tickets, cheered each other, and gathered in the cafeteria.

Only the lonely angel remains, only the knight of death remains.

PS: Yunxi: 744486102, as usual, please vote!

Interval 6: A short rest

The operation was a great success! Naturally, a victory celebration would follow!

Although it wasn't a proper victory celebration, a corner of the canteen was completely booked by the members of the "Afterlife Front".

They took their freshly issued meal tickets and ordered their favorite dishes one after another: udon noodles, soba noodles, pork chop rice, curry rice, omelet rice, sushi, and stew. Although these were all cafeteria-level dishes, they were exceptionally rare delicacies for the three Ashes.

Not only did the Ashes enjoy their meal, but the members of the SSS group also gave it their all for this meal and for the supplies to come. So they ate the food with exceptional relish, even though they still smelled of gunpowder on their clothes. At this moment, they were truly enjoying their youth.

Eat heartily, drink heartily, play heartily, laugh heartily.

"Won't angels attack us if we eat leisurely in a place like this?"

However, such a rapid change made Otonashi, who had just joined, very uncomfortable. While eating his udon, he asked the group leader at the same table for advice.

"We're just eating, angels won't interfere with students' normal behavior—come on, Mikuru~ I specially snagged a tempura voucher, it's a cafeteria delicacy, open your mouth, I'll feed you~"

"Huh? Huh!"

"Yuriko, that's so unfair! I was the one who got the meal voucher."

"Yes, yes, Yuriko, we want tempura too!"

"Tempura!" "Tempura!" "Tempura!"

"Shut up, you bunch of stinking men! Who do you think came up with this great plan? You can say that everything you're eating right now is a gift from your commander. Now you'd better be grateful and obediently shovel your food into your mouths!"

"Ah, if the captain could bestow upon us another serving of tempura, we would be even more grateful!"

"That's right! To make us even more grateful to the guild leader, please grant us tempura!"

"Tempura!" "Tempura!" "Tempura!"

"Urusai! How dare you compete with Mikuru? She hasn't been back for ages! Or do you want the mascot treatment too?"

"A lucky charm?"

The group leaders and members interacted enthusiastically, and the laughter and chatter transformed the corner of the canteen into a bonfire party. Even without alcohol, everyone was immersed in the lively atmosphere, temporarily forgetting their regrets and their lives, simply laughing and joking as if they wanted to get revenge for all the injustices they had suffered.

"Hey buddy, why do you look so envious?"

"It's nothing, it's just that without my memories, I feel a little uneasy about enjoying this time."

"You're simply thinking about that angel."

"Huh? Xiaomei, how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Through the sniper scope, I saw you, the last one to retreat, staring intently at the angel."

"Haha, because she looks lonely. There are so many of us fighting against her alone... She probably wants to have a nice meal too."