Chapter 427: Chapter 427

The Executioner flinched involuntarily as his gaze met a pair of mismatched eyes.

And then, realizing his own reaction, he gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles clenching.

‘…Did I just… flinch? Me?’

It was impossible. Unacceptable.

He was the Executioner, Heaven’s Turn Society’s invincible warrior.

He wouldn’t be… intimidated by someone on his level, not when he had faced the Master himself without flinching!

‘…No, it was just… a momentary lapse in concentration. I was just… surprised by the unexpected situation.’

He reassured himself, his eyes narrowing, his gaze fixed on the beast-masked figure as he took another step forward.

He quickly analyzed the situation, searching for the cause of his… momentary weakness.

And then, he noticed something.

The strange aura his opponent had been emanating earlier…

…it had spread, reaching even him, invading the space around him.

‘…Could it be because of this energy?’

He wasn’t sure yet, but he knew he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

This… variable, this anomaly, was currently limited to his opponent’s eyes… but it could spread.

And if that happened…

‘…This could be troublesome. I have to finish this quickly.’

Before it got out of hand.

He changed his approach.

He had initially intended to subdue his opponent and extract information… but he didn’t have time for that now.

He had to eliminate him, even if it meant taking some risks.

A fiery energy, like molten lava, began to coalesce in his right hand.

‘…I should avoid overexerting myself in this timeline… but it can’t be helped. I have to eliminate him and get out of here.’

As he channeled his power, his body, which had been able to maintain his unique skill without any significant strain thanks to his high level and his demonic physiology, began to… overload.

He had crossed a threshold, a boundary, and now, the absolute law of ‘time’ was beginning to affect him as well.

‘…I’ll take at least one arm!’

If he could just… sever his limbs, one by one, even a monster with superhuman reflexes wouldn’t be able to react.

And the greater the damage, the longer it would take to regenerate.

He would be able to… toy with him, a helpless victim.

His hand, wreathed in a fiery aura, like molten lava, pierced through the beast mask and sank into the giant’s chest, blood splattering in the air.

But his expression wasn’t… triumphant.

His opponent, based on his previous behavior, should have dodged at the last moment, minimizing the damage…

‘…Did he… deliberately take the hit? …Wait!’

But his realization came too late.

His hand, embedded in the giant’s chest, was suddenly… enveloped by… something.

Bones, growing rapidly, formed a… manacle around his wrist, and tough, sinewy muscles, like chains, wrapped around his arm, and then… flesh, multiplying endlessly, like a rapidly spreading… adhesive, began to… stick to him.

The destructive energy in his hand was causing necrosis, the cells dying and decaying… but it had still momentarily… slowed him down.

And that brief moment…

…Harley’s massive hands, seizing the opportunity, grabbed his arm, preventing him from escaping.

Time, which had been frozen, began to move again, slowly at first, and then…

[“Kuh— You… monster! Even with your regenerative abilities, you won’t be able to recover from this! And you… deliberately took a hit to the vitals?!”]

…returned to its normal flow.

The beast-masked giant, a gaping hole in his chest, and the demon, his arm trapped, unable to escape.

[“Ha! You can’t hold me forever! Do you think I’m just some… novice who relies solely on his unique skill?!”]

A dark, viscous aura, like a miasma, erupted from the Executioner’s body.

He was currently using his unique skill, but he usually preferred to rely on his demonic power, which he had cultivated over the years.

Even Harley, with his incredible vitality, couldn't defeat him in his weakened state, his heart and other vital organs damaged.

“Khahaha! Vitals? What vitals?”

But Harley hadn’t been acting recklessly.

“Wow~ What a coincidence! I just… rearranged my internal organs!”

“I was feeling… creative… Khaha!”

After all, he had never been hit in the… vitals.

His heart, liver, stomach, lungs…

…they were no longer in their usual locations.

They had been… relocated, scattered throughout his body, his abdomen, his thighs…

As if he had anticipated this.

‘…Ugh, I thought something felt… strange… I underestimated him, didn’t I? I was too focused on his… unusual physiology.’

The Executioner finally realized.

That this… monster wasn’t just… human-shaped.

It didn’t even share the basic… structure of a humanoid lifeform.

He had been… blinded by his preconceived notions, despite acknowledging his opponent’s… unusual nature.

The two figures, their bodies now in close proximity, their auras clashing violently.

No, it wasn’t just energy.

[“Let go! You leech!”]

“Khaha! Don’t be shy, friend! I love a good fight! Let’s play!”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you want a life-or-death struggle? A true battle, a clash of bodies and souls, blood and death! Kuh! A true man’s fight!”

A close-quarters brawl, their limbs entangled, their wings and tails flailing, their bodies colliding.

The Executioner, as he had boasted, wasn’t weak, even without his unique skill.

His combat experience, his fiery aura, his demonic physiology, his body itself a weapon…

…he was a formidable opponent.

But unfortunately for him,

…his opponent was a specialist in this field.

Like a boxer caught in a wrestler’s hold, he struggled and thrashed, trying to break free… but Harley, his entire being focused on his physical abilities, simply endured the onslaught, his massive body absorbing the impact, his grip tightening, slowly but surely… crushing his opponent.

“…Let’s have a… snack before we continue, shall we?”

[“Ugh—! You monster!”]

Harley’s maw opened wide, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth, sinking into the demon’s tough scales.

It wasn’t his first time encountering a time-related ability.

He had experienced it once before, during his fight against the Master of Heaven’s Turn Society.

‘…The details are different, but the general principle is the same.’

He had been able to share the Master’s briefly stopped time thanks to the holy power that had flowed into him through his holy sword.

‘…It’s the same as before.’

He had simply replaced holy power with abyssal madness, and direct infusion with… spatial contamination.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without his previous experience, his successful… synchronization with a far more powerful being.

‘…And the barrier is lower, since it’s an ability used by someone on a similar level.’

Strictly speaking, the Executioner’s unique skill wasn’t ‘stopping time’.

If it was, his other avatars, scattered across different dimensions, would have noticed it.

His ability was to… step outside the flow of time.

It wasn’t much of a difference in practice… but magically speaking, there was a… loophole, a way to… interfere and… pull him back in.

‘…And the physical strain must be significant. He probably chose demonification to mitigate the burden.’

Heinrich, calmly observing the battle between Harley and the Executioner, his eyes narrowed,

…as the two figures clashed, their auras colliding, a storm of energy erupting outwards, distorting and twisting the artificially created space.

Even this hidden dimension, meticulously constructed by a mid-level transcendent being using various magic tools and artifacts, couldn't fully contain their power.

‘…He landed a blow, but he’s not going down easily.’

The Executioner, his right arm trapped, forced to endure Harley’s… bite.

But even at such a disadvantage, he wasn’t giving up.

He had severed his own arm and then used Time Stop to escape the moment Harley opened his mouth to… consume him.

‘…And he regenerated his arm instantly. And he’s being more careful now, so the same trick won’t work… But still, the increased resistance to his attacks is a significant gain.’

The increased resistance included resistance to Time Stop.

Thanks to that, Harley could now… maintain his consciousness within the stopped time, even if he couldn't move his body yet.

It was a partial success, the first step towards his goal.

‘…To build resistance to time manipulation and develop countermeasures.’

That was the main reason why Harley was insisting on a one-on-one fight.

Heinrich could easily defeat the Executioner.

But Harley, whose very existence was defined by 「Avatar」 and its growth potential, was better suited for this… training.

‘…The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society’s power is probably… related to spacetime. It’s fortunate that I encountered the Executioner, a… weaker version, before facing him.’

The Executioner had no choice but to use his ability to counter Harley’s relentless attacks.

Harley’s body was becoming increasingly… mangled… as the battle continued, his incomplete resistance taking its toll… but his ‘adaptation’ rate was also increasing rapidly.

“Khaha! So you can fight! Why were you holding back? Let’s have some fun, friend!”

[“Ha! Endless regeneration… What kind of monster are you?”]

“Hey, you’re a demon yourself! What’s the difference?”

[“I’ll sever your head this time. Let’s see if you can still talk then!”]

The Executioner, utilizing his Time Stop ability, was gaining the upper hand.

It seemed like the unique skill was the decisive factor, even if their power levels were similar.

Harley, unlike him, didn’t have any… special abilities.

“Struggle… struggle…”

Heinrich, observing the battle from a distance, chuckled softly, a mocking sound.

The word… it sounded so… ironic.

‘…He doesn’t want a true struggle, he just wants a… safe thrill.’

His opponent’s ability itself was a contradiction.

A guaranteed escape route, and yet, he was talking about a ‘life-or-death struggle’?

It was like… riding a roller coaster with safety harnesses and pretending to be… scared.

‘…Perhaps that’s why he enjoys dangerous situations.’

He glanced at them, then turned away.

They were both incredibly durable, so it wouldn't end anytime soon. There was no need for him to watch.

Heinz the Second, who could perceive the flow of causality, was more than enough to monitor the situation.

Harris was already analyzing the spatial seal, using his enhanced 「Eight Trigrams Flight Technique (Modified)」, which was effective against formation-type barriers.

And his other magic-using avatars, Hans and Horus, were also working on it.

“…I should deal with the others.”

His holy sword, gleaming with a brilliant light, materialized a massive blade of holy energy.

And his six wings, unfurling behind him, radiated a brilliant aura, dispelling even the residual demonic energy from the nearby battle.

Some of the observers, who had been mesmerized by the transcendent battle, turned to look at him, their eyes wide with awe.

“I have to hurry. There are still six of them left.”

He glanced at them, then shrugged casually.

It was his first real battle as an angel, an otherworldly being.

Ahn muttered, her voice filled with disbelief, as she witnessed the sudden change.

She had activated ‘Fate Manipulation’ out of desperation… but she hadn’t expected this.

She had been impressed by Ken’s ability to provide them with information, his access to real-time intelligence far surpassing their own capabilities.

But this… this was beyond her comprehension.

‘…He can fight the Executioner head-on? And there are… more of them…?’

She gulped nervously, her throat suddenly dry.

A flicker of hope, which she had thought had long since been extinguished, began to… rekindle within her heart.

And as if to symbolize her growing expectations,

…a blinding light, a brilliant, holy aura,

…and an angel, descending from the heavens,

…appeared on the battlefield.