While Gaiska was tasting despair... naturally, the battle between Rei and Black Wolf was still ongoing.
The fight grew fiercer as time passed—so high-level that anyone watching might have gladly paid money for the spectacle.
It was a clash that couldn't even begin to compare with the mock battle Rei had engaged in just a short while ago.
Yet the only one watching was Elena, alone.
She kept her eyes fixed on the battle of the man she loved, her intoxication from the alcohol having completely worn off.
That ability that looks like Teleportation. It's troublesome, no matter how you look at it.
The strikes Rei wielded from Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear carried enough power to take Black Wolf's life in a single blow if they landed.
Even short of that, they would certainly inflict wounds severe enough to cripple him in combat.
And yet, the moment Rei unleashed a strike, Black Wolf would immediately Teleport and evade.
...That was because Black Wolf had judged that he could by no means afford to take Rei's strikes head-on. And precisely because of that judgment, his evasion was extremely precise.
Normally, calmly and continuously dodging strikes that could effortlessly end one's life was no easy feat.
But for Black Wolf, a highly skilled assassin, continuing to evade those attacks was not a difficult matter.
"Tch, this is getting annoying already!"
Rei let his irritation show as Black Wolf dodged Death Scythe's strike and leapt backward to create distance.
Rei had used several skills, but Black Wolf had evaded every single one.
There was no way he should have known what specific effects Rei's skills possessed—and yet he dodged them all.
While the raw power behind the attacks wasn't overwhelming, when it came solely to evasion ability, Black Wolf was undoubtedly among the top of every opponent Rei had ever faced.
Though "not overwhelming" was relative—Black Wolf's claws possessed the sharpness of daggers.
For Black Wolf's profession, the act of assassination, it was more than sufficient attack power.
The current Black Wolf looked as though the fingers of both hands had been replaced with daggers, and from his mouth sprouted sharp fangs... fangs befitting the name Black Wolf.
"..."
Perhaps sensing the irritation in Rei's words, Black Wolf, having created his distance... vanished in the next instant.
One moment he was there with no preparatory movement, and the next, Black Wolf was behind Rei, swinging his claws down.
But Rei had watched him disappear before his eyes and attack like this countless times already.
No matter how difficult a strike would normally be to evade, after experiencing it this many times, becoming accustomed to it was only natural.
...Under normal circumstances, it would have been a blow that could easily prove fatal. But Rei twisted his body mid-evasion and swung Death Scythe.
That strike carried more than enough power and sharpness to effortlessly reap a person's life.
Naturally, since taking such a hit would be fatal for Black Wolf as well, he swiftly leapt backward to regain his distance.
It was a sequence of actions repeated countless times already, and precisely because of that repetition, a question formed in Rei's mind.
Why does the place he reappears always have to be behind me?
Naturally, teleporting behind one's opponent was effective for catching them off guard.
But that should only apply the first time, or perhaps a few times after.
Despite that, Black Wolf invariably reappeared behind Rei.
Rei was certain that Black Wolf—someone skilled enough to exchange blows with him to this extent—couldn't possibly fail to understand that. In other words...
Is there a constraint that he can only Teleport behind his opponent? No, but I've seen him vanish right in front of me several times before, and it didn't look like there was any such restriction.
Outside of combat, whenever Rei had encountered Black Wolf, he would invariably disappear before Rei even noticed.
And back then, he hadn't reappeared behind him—which made Black Wolf's current behavior all the more puzzling.
If he Teleported above my head instead of behind me, it would throw me off far more. The fact that he doesn't... no, can't... means there really must be some kind of restriction.
Gripping Death Scythe more tightly, Rei stopped waiting for Black Wolf to act and moved on his own initiative.
"Magic Shield!"
At those words, a Shield of Light materialized.
It was a skill that created a shield capable of blocking any attack, if only once.
To Black Wolf, that Shield of Light appearing from seemingly nowhere was highly suspicious—something to be wary of.
The look in Black Wolf's eyes grew sharper, and the dagger-like claws extending from his fingers clicked and clattered against each other.
It was a small sound, yet somehow it reached Rei's ears with perfect clarity.
But Rei paid no mind to Black Wolf's wariness—only natural, given they were in the middle of a fight—and advanced with Magic Shield still deployed.
Judging from that reaction, there's no doubt Black Wolf is wary of Magic Shield. In that case, his next move will probably be...
Considering his next action, Rei closed the distance and swung Death Scythe.
Whatever Black Wolf was thinking, he showed no particular response as Rei bore down on him.
Death Scythe descended... and in the next moment, Black Wolf vanished as expected.
The instant Rei saw that, he began to swing Death Scythe behind him—
No!?
He had swung expecting Black Wolf to Teleport behind him as always, but Black Wolf's presence flared to his right.
However, Rei had already begun swinging in a leftward rotation—counterclockwise—and given that posture, at that exact moment, Black Wolf was directly behind him.
For a split second Rei hesitated over what to do—but that hesitation lasted less than an instant.
He followed through and swung Death Scythe.
With Black Wolf absent from where he'd expected, the blade cleaved through empty air... and in that same moment, the Magic Shield absorbed Black Wolf's attack before shattering into particles of light.
But naturally, Rei wasn't finished there.
Carrying the momentum from his missed strike, he twisted his body further—pivoting on his feet—and redirected Death Scythe toward Black Wolf's actual position.
It was a maneuver made possible only because Magic Shield could completely block an enemy's attack, even if just once.
Faint sensations traveled through his grip: the feeling of something being sliced, then something heavy deflecting off the blade and flying away.
When Rei turned his gaze toward where Black Wolf had been, he saw him sailing straight backward.
Did I land a fatal blow? Rei wondered for a hopeful moment—but his expression immediately turned stern as he watched Black Wolf's trajectory.
If Death Scythe's blade had connected squarely, he wouldn't have merely been sent flying. His torso would have been split clean in half.
The fact that he was still in one piece, despite the smell of blood... meant Black Wolf had somehow weathered the strike.
Did he reflexively pull back?
Rei speculated as he watched Black Wolf twist midair and land on the ground.
If Black Wolf had been behind Rei from the start as intended, he wouldn't have had the leeway to react like that.
But this time, Black Wolf had reappeared not behind Rei as before... but to his right.
Because of that, Rei had wasted a fraction of a moment—less than an instant, but enough.
As a result, even against Death Scythe's strike, Black Wolf had managed to leap backward, bleeding off enough of the attack's power to deflect it.
He could have just Teleported to evade... No, maybe it's not that simple. Actually, even during this fight, there were times when he could have easily dodged with Teleportation but chose to evade with pure physical ability instead. It's probably a skill, but as I thought, there's no doubt some kind of constraint on it.
Taking his stance with Death Scythe, Rei studied Black Wolf once more.
The previous strike hadn't inflicted a fatal wound.
But it had definitely wounded him—and even if not lethal, it was an injury that would undoubtedly affect the battle.
"What will you do? With that wound, you can't fight the way you did before. If you surrender, I'll spare your life."
At those words, Black Wolf removed the hand he'd been pressing against his abdomen since landing.
Was he trying to prevent unnecessary blood loss?
Rei thought so... but when he saw the spot beneath the hand, he drew a sharp breath.
The wound that should have been there was clearly small. No—it was actively shrinking.
Several small, bubble-like substances were emerging from the wound. Whether due to those bubbles or some other effect, the freshly inflicted wound was healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"You've got to be joking."
Rei muttered under his breath—but watching the wound visibly shrink before his eyes was no joke. It was an unmistakable fact.
At this rate, would he be unable to win unless he severed the head or bisected the torso in a single strike?
No—depending on the circumstances, even if he severed the head or torso, reattaching it immediately might be enough to fuse it right back.
It might be better called an astonishing recovery—or perhaps regeneration. But looking at Black Wolf now, such thoughts were unavoidable.
In other words, to defeat him, I need to kill him in one strike. And I have to make sure he can't regenerate the instant I do.
To Rei, Black Wolf was by no means an opponent he hated.
He did have feelings about being drugged and forced to fight—but perhaps because of the experience of feeding him, he didn't harbor the kind of hatred that demanded his death.
That said, if Black Wolf was coming to kill him, he had no intention of quietly accepting it.
That was precisely why Rei was fighting him now.
Even so, the question of whether it was truly right to kill Black Wolf hadn't entirely left his mind.
Surrendering would be the best outcome... Hm?
Knowing full well it was a futile hope, Rei had been entertaining such thoughts when he noticed something off about Black Wolf's demeanor.
"Ugh... gah..."
Those were the first words to ever slip from Black Wolf's mouth.
Rei had spent a fair amount of time with Black Wolf, but he had never once heard him utter a sound.
Now, however, was not the time to dwell on that.
The noise that came from Black Wolf's mouth was unmistakably a groan of suffering.
"Black Wolf?"
Unable to make sense of what was happening, Rei called out to him almost reflexively.
But the instant he spoke, Black Wolf's gaze locked dead onto Rei.
Black Wolf, who normally betrayed almost no emotion, now had one feeling written plainly across his face.
Hunger.
Why?
Until just moments ago, there had been nothing to suggest he was hungry.
Thanks to the nikuman incident, Rei knew he had a voracious appetite—but even so, getting hungry in the middle of a life-or-death battle was hardly normal.
That left only one explanation for why this had come on so suddenly.
"I see. Leaving Teleportation aside, that intense recovery ability comes with a catch after all."
Judging from his current state, it was obvious that the rapid regeneration couldn't be used repeatedly.
Then there's no real problem. I just need to keep slashing until I push Black Wolf past his limits... keep slashing... But can I actually do it?
Black Wolf possessed extraordinary physical abilities and an evasion ability that undoubtedly ranked among the highest of any opponent Rei had ever faced.
Could he really land attacks on such an opponent over and over, as he had just done?
For a moment, doubt flickered through his mind. But with no choice but to press forward, retreating was not an option.