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[Crossover] Ch 108: You Freak
🕑 Added 2025-06-22 16:18:01 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
The moment Ryo's Zanpakutō came down, Karyou's body erupted in a burst of flames. Her arm—the one he'd grabbed—instantly dissolved into glowing embers and vanished.
A split second later, she reappeared several hundred meters away, floating midair with a serious look in her eyes.
She glanced down at her wrist, where a faint red mark still lingered, then looked back at Ryo—silver-haired, golden-eyed, twin horns crowning his head, blade in hand.
Her eyelid twitched.
"That form... and that aura... Don't tell me—are you Shiroyasha's secret love child or something?!"
Just then, a flustered female voice rang out from the sky above:
"Karyouuu-chan~! I've been loyal to you this whole time~!"
Karyou tilted her head up but didn't say a word—she just spat a silent "Tch."
Then her sharp gaze fell back on Ryo.
"Your 'rank' is still in the five-digit range… but this scale of power—are you one of those rare exceptions?"
In Little Garden, your digit rank wasn't something decided by people. It was granted by the system itself—the Central Garden Authority.
And right now, Ryo was officially registered as five-digit level.
Karyou could sense that too. But…
This so-called five-digit just grabbed her—her, a Golden-Winged Roc Demon—and left a visible bruise on her wrist?
There's no way a normal five-digit should be able to do that.
Then Ryo, now fully transformed in his ghostly form, flashed a relaxed smile.
"Rule still stands, right? Hurt a finger, and I win?"
Karyou's cheeks flushed red.
In Little Garden, a five-digit exception was on par with a normal four-digit.
And she, the Roc Demon King, also held a four-digit rank.
Which meant that technically, they were equals.
But she'd just talked down to him like he was some pathetic insect. Yeah, Shiroyasha had riled her up—but still, she had said it. No excuse could erase that.
Now the shame of it hit her like a truck. It was like a billionaire bragging to another billionaire about how rich they were.
They're both loaded—what's the point of flexing?
Embarrassed, Karyou clenched her teeth and muttered:
"Yeah… that's the game rule."
Just like that, the tables had turned.
Trying to get through this unscathed against a five-digit exception? That wasn't a challenge—it was a nightmare.
And worst of all, she'd set the trap… for herself.
"Good."
Ryo's voice suddenly came from right next to her ear.
"Crap!"
Karyou's face changed. She moved immediately, trying to dodge—
But before she could, a blade came slashing out from what looked like empty air—aiming straight for her arm!
"You call this hurting a finger?! You're aiming to chop the whole thing off!"
Karyou's eyes widened. Her body burst into golden light again and vanished, reappearing safely in another direction.
She was fast—scary fast. By the time Ryo even noticed the flash of light, she was already gone.
They locked eyes across the distance.
"Light-speed movement?"
"Spatial-type Gift?"
They both groaned internally.
One was frustrated at not having a high-speed movement ability despite their raw physical power.
The other was annoyed by the weird, hard-to-read nature of Spatial-type Gifts.
"This is bad. Sonído is technically spatial movement, sure—but even if I teleport, I can't swing my sword at light speed after reappearing..."
"Hmm.... Did she just turn into literal light? No, that's probably still fire-based... a power transformation within her Authority, maybe?"
Ryo narrowed his eyes at Karyou, thinking fast.
Karyou was equally annoyed. She couldn't sense any spatial ripples when Ryo moved. Clearly, this guy was no rookie.
She could blast him with a high-powered Gift… but this was a trial, not a life-or-death duel. Just the thought gave her a headache.
Her most destructive ability was her trump card: Golden Wing flames—an Authority specifically devastating against gods and dragons, one that could burn souls and erase existence.
Even among the Seven Demon Kings, Karyou had top-tier firepower.
But no way could she use that now. She came here to help, not incinerate someone.
So, the only way to win… was to make Ryo back off voluntarily.
That was her one and only option.
With that in mind, she took a breath, then dropped the arrogant tone and spoke more gently:
"Let me be honest with you. Low-tier Gifts… they're not gonna land a hit on me."
It wasn't a bluff.
Sonído might be a spatial technique, but keeping up with the speed of a Golden-Winged Roc?
Basically impossible.
That species was famous across Little Garden for lightning-fast strikes and overwhelming power.
Ryo opened his mouth… then fell silent, acknowledging the truth in her words.
Yeah. Light-speed movement was OP as hell. He hadn't even figured out how it worked yet. And considering Karyou was a Golden-Winged Roc—known for insane speed—trying to catch her really was a pain.
Seeing him stay silent, Karyou tilted her head in confusion.
"…Wait. Didn't that pervert Baron, the Tailcoat Demon Lord, leave behind a Spatial-type inheritance for you?"
Back in Arcadia, there used to be a guy—Baron La Croix. Total perverted gentleman.
He was a Divine Spirit that controlled the Space between Life and Death.
He would've been the perfect mentor for someone like Ryo who had a Spatial-based gift.
If Ryo had inherited his teachings, maybe he could've caught up to her speed by now.
But when she brought it up, Ryo just shrugged.
"Pretty sure he got exiled to the outer world."
"What a waste…"
Karyou raised an eyebrow at that, clearly amused. Still, out of consideration for Ryo, she quickly slapped on a more "regretful" expression.
"If he hadn't been exiled, he probably could've taught you how to push your Spatial-type Gift into the four-digit level."
That made Ryo raise an eyebrow.
"One of the conditions for breaking into the four-digit rank is upgrading your core Gift to that level? Right?"
"???"
Karyou blinked at him like he'd just asked her if two plus two equals four.
Then her face twisted into a weird expression.
"…Canaria didn't leave any inheritance behind?"
Ryo shook his head. "She didn't have time. Got exiled too—out into the outer world."
One of the reasons Arcadia lost was because their senior members were banished using spatial-based abilities. The Demon Lord they fought could basically eject players from the game itself.
Once their key players were gone, the rest had no real shot.
No time to leave teachings behind.
"…"
Karyou went quiet. Her expression turned… odd.
Wait a sec.
Leticia Draculea was only just brought back to the community yesterday.
And Canaria—the one who picked up Ryo—met him six months ago.
Six months ago, Ryo was just some normal guy with no rank at all.
Even with a Divinity from Shiroyasha, he should've only made it to basic six-digit rank.
But now?
A five-digit exception, with raw power that surpassed even her—a direct bloodline of the strongest species in Little Garden?
He had no teacher. No inherited knowledge. Just a Divinity granted to him—and somehow he reached this level, rivaling four-digit elites?
Karyou stared at Ryo more carefully now.
And then muttered two words:
"...You Freak."
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "…What did I do to deserve that?"
Karyou raised her hand, sighed deeply, and said—"I surrender."
.
.
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