After another five seconds, Siegfried was certain that this was definitely not an illusion.
Although his opponent was still generally on the defensive, he was becoming more and more proficient at parrying his attacks.
A single punch from Siegfried's monstrous strength would probably finish off an ordinary Honkai Beast.
And yet this kid... how has he taken so many punches without collapsing???
No matter how skilled his parrying technique was, the difference in strength couldn't be overcome by technique alone.
What on earth was going on?!
My second daughter is already a genius, but compared to this kid, it feels like heaven and earth.
Something's not right, this situation is definitely not right.
I was thinking of holding back before, but if I keep holding back like this and he can still block my next attacks, that would be terrifying.
He hasn't used Honkai Energy yet, just blocking techniques to defend against all my attacks.
To stop my attacks purely with special techniques and his physical body without using Honkai Energy... this already represents a new combat system.
Thinking about this, Siegfried suddenly felt like maybe he should just let it go.
He rebelled against Schicksal because he felt that bastard Otto didn't treat people as human beings and had killed his wife. He had no grudge against Schicksal or anyone else in the world.
Siegfried still wanted to protect the world, and if Leo Ash possessed a new power system that could change the tide of battle...
To be honest, he was having a hard time bringing himself to do it.
On the other side, Leo Ash, who was defending against Siegfried perfectly, managed to keep a straight face thanks to his Mind Like Still Water state, but that didn't mean he was having an easy time.
Although the Royal Guard style was a very powerful style in the original work, to put it bluntly, lore and game mechanics are two different things.
Moreover, Dante, the powerful character who used this style in the original work, was himself a master of combat.
Not only was he proficient in various weapon techniques, but he could also grasp the crucial moments to counter-attack.
Furthermore, because he was a son of the legendary demon Sparda, his physical constitution also determined that he could contain more power within his body using Royal Guard.
And Leo Ash, in terms of physical constitution alone, was just someone slightly stronger than an ordinary adult.
Siegfried looked at Leo Ash and thought he seemed to be steadily blocking all his attacks, even appearing to be in a state of ease.
But only Leo Ash himself knew the truth.
He felt a little sick.
Even with just his monstrous strength, Siegfried was strong enough to blow up Honkai Beasts. Storing all that power within his own body using Royal Guard...
To be honest, the fact that he hadn't burst was a testament to how incredible Royal Guard was.
But this couldn't go on.
The Mind Like Still Water state required a huge amount of mental energy.
As his energy depleted, the user's reaction speed and offensive/defensive precision would decline. He might even be forced out of this state due to excessive fatigue.
And if Leo Ash really got knocked out by Siegfried... he believed Siegfried truly wouldn't kill him.
But the problem was, just because Siegfried wouldn't kill him didn't mean he was safe.
If K423 slipped away right under his nose, he had no idea what Otto would think then.
Otto could be very reasonable at times.
But no matter how reasonable he was, he was still an otherworldly being who didn't care about the lives of others.
Working for someone like that, you couldn't expect him to speak kindly to you after you messed up.
Only by doing a good job and showing your value would Otto treat you as a useful tool and give you that tiny bit of respect.
There's no other choice, so now, I just have to find an opportunity.
"Yo, kid, I have to admit, I underestimated you a little."
At this moment, Siegfried, who had distanced himself from Leo Ash, had a hint of admiration in his eyes as he watched him.
"But I still have to say sorry, because now..."
"—I'm getting serious!"
At this moment, Leo Ash could see a faint energy fluctuation appearing on Siegfried's fist.
Honkai Energy... tsk, he really thinks highly of me.
Fatigue was already setting in. Now I can only find a chance to release all my power at once, and then figure out what to do next.
"Yo, you were so talkative just now, how come you've gone mute?"
Trying to provoke me with words, is he trying to make me lose focus...
A genius of the Kaslana clan couldn't possibly be a fool when it comes to combat.
Tsk, I was too arrogant.
To be blunt, if Siegfried hadn't thought I was an ordinary person at the start and held back, giving me time to adapt to the combination of Royal Guard and Mind Like Still Water, I would have probably been knocked out by him in a few punches.
"Sigh, how boring."
Siegfried, who had intended to provoke his opponent into revealing an opening, had now raised his state to its peak.
He didn't use much Honkai Energy, but aside from its intensity, he was extremely serious in all other aspects.
It could even be said that he hadn't been this serious since his battle with Sirin four years ago.
"So then..."
"It all ends now!"
"Yeah, it all ends now."
Looking at the figure that was difficult for him to track, Leo Ash took a deep breath and then shot out his left hand.
Under Siegfried's incredulous gaze, his punch, infused with Honkai Energy, was still precisely blocked by Leo Ash.
And it wasn't over.
"I don't have time to fool around with you, Siegfried Kaslana."
At this moment, the power contained in Siegfried's Honkai-infused punch was stored within Leo Ash's body.
And at the same time, using the power of Royal Guard, Leo Ash concentrated all the stored power into his right fist and sent it flying straight at Siegfried's chest.
"...!"
Siegfried, whose fist was caught by Leo Ash, had no time to react before he was struck in the chest.
He didn't even have time to say another word before he was sent flying by Leo Ash's punch.
Listening to the dull thud in the distance, Leo Ash let out a deep breath.
Afterward, without paying any more attention to Siegfried, he immediately turned to look ahead.
His fight with Siegfried had probably only lasted about a minute, and in that time, Kiana shouldn't have gotten far.
Taking out the spare motorcycle he had prepared from his storage space, Leo Ash immediately started it and began to race forward at top speed.
On the other side, Siegfried, who had been sent flying, climbed out of a park fountain.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch... that kid."
Looking at the fist print on his chest, Siegfried couldn't help but let out a pained hiss.
"To think he could send me flying..."
"Are all the young people in Schicksal monsters nowadays?"
..