Doubt was a bit of an odd and surprising thing for Haruo. He had little emotions about the whole jourhrough Atntis. The things he saw certainly gave him an opinion, but nothing that really made him feel something. It was simply their reality and he accepted such facts. It wasn’t really his pce to do anything about it. He had other issues to sort through that their problems were the least of his .

  Even during the ht and the ones he watched, it didn’t really have much effe him. It was just things he expected to happen. They were unavoidable sarios. Even the one he found himself at the moment was unavoidable. He uood that part. He uood his role needed for the situation.

  Yet he still had doubt. He had no answer for it. He just wasn’t certain how things would py out. Now that he knew how Teris’ power worked and how he made the most of the loophole everything ged. A part of him felt more surprised that none of them ran into such sarios sooner. He thought about the real possibility of it the momeched Yuki exploit how their powers work.

  It was a strange dition for their power to start. They could pletely rewrite the universal ws to their desire with mere thought. It required almost no effort or training to alter reality. Yet, their own body and mind remained immuo their own power. It was the only stant in a world they filled with their imaginations. However, it made less sehat it would stop there, it presehem with an incredible fw. An ultimate power at the cost of the greatest weakness, frailty.

  C up those fws only made sense. Every one of them they met did the same thing to protect themselves and prevent their weakness from being exposed. Yet none of them tried to elimi pletely. It should be the most natural step. Yet, the fact it didn’t happe he didn’t fully uand everything about their power.

  Standing ba his feet, Haruo met gazes with Teris. The man that used to be just a nky appearing stist altered himself dramatically. ‘How much did this rewrite his body? Will he be able to keep it up?’ While not grossly blown out of proportion by muscle, Teris looked more like a bodybuilder now rather than someone average off the street. Yet the increase in his body also gave him greater speed, something troublesome for Haruo. ‘He seems like a well tested person, so I doubt everything he’s doo himself will end up disadvantageous to him in any way. This is only getting more troublesome.’

  His body wasn’t broken from the surprise attack, but it did leave sing throughout him. Haruo could tinue, he just o keep Teris away from him. The lion walked up behind Haruo, nearly pletely recovered from the st attacks. ‘I’m not sure how many more animals I make. I’ve done more than I’ve ever attempted. My body is fine, but I feel a strange ck of energy. I’m guessing that means I’m not going to be able to make many more… I deal with him with what I have left in me?’

  Chapter 266 – Uned Beast

  “ing up with a new pn?” grieris, his eagerness was hardly disguised on his face like the muscle on his body. “I look forward to disseg it and breaking it down to uand how it works!”

  “Rather simplistic.”

  “Simplistic, but knowledge and uanding is the greatest a man of sce could seek. I’m in the unique position of never being out of hings to discover. This is the greatest life a stist could want! The dream of everyone!”

  In a way, Haruo could uand his desires. While he cked the strong motivation that Teris seemed to possess to seek out more knowledge and the unknown, Haruo certainly appreciated the effort as one who also sought to learn more. Their goals and motives remained very distant. ‘He’s starting to sound a little preachy and caught up in his owions. Maybe that’ll be the edge I need.’

  Marg the lion bato bat, Haruo o test Teris’ tributes. He had a good sense already from the first strike. But he o know if his animals could even keep up. All Haruo had were his animals. The only advantage of his body was the defensive properties. He knew he could deal with much that Teris tossed at him, unless he tried to increase his body further.

  Freed of traps and bombs, the lion had full rao move around. It tried to out fnk Teris, but such a thing wasn’t possible. Teris had strength and speed to his advantage. The two cshed ohe lion charged in ae the size, Teris held his position. He clearly had tle with the lion, but in the end, the lion was tossed away. ‘So it’s not going to be enough.’

  Teris walked over to the colpsed lion. Lust carved deeply into his eyes. He had to know how it worked. The lion tried to fight back against Teris’ strength, but was overpowered. It was futile. Ripped apart and wounded of its pride, the lion id unable even to move after Teris finished. Its regeio it alive eve rather died.

  Rubbing his in thought, Teris stared with great i. ‘I’ve destroyed plenty of these already. Size and strength notwithstanding, it’s very resistant more thahers. Is it because it is rger or for different reasons? The regeive properties also seem to be more powerful as well.’ A stantly reviving subject made things easier for Teris, but also plicated matters. He had to be quick if he wao reach deeper.

  Gng back to Haruo, who remaiill the whole time made him ponder something else. “Afraid? Scared… No, you are an iing one indeed.” Teris picked up the lion and cast it at Haruo. The speed should have been enough to surprise even Haruo, but he just stepped aside. The lion dropped just out of reabsp; “There’s nothing there. I ’t see anything in your eyes. Surprise, sorrow, hate, nothing. You’re pletely devoid of aion.”

  “I’ve no need for such things. They’ve all been burned from my body.”

  “Now that’s very iing. However, it does expin something. Why you’re so difficult to motivate. You’ve got no passion.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Teris’ rea left him a little curious why it mattered. He didn’t know why it was important. “It’s unnecessary.”

  Teris started to ugh listening to Haruo. “You might actually be more suited to being a stist than myself.” However, he quickly came to a stop and lifted a fio make a point. “From one side anyway. Objectivity is valuable. Emotions get in the way of breakthroughs. However, no passion or stroions will leave you uo keep moving forward. You lose that never say die spirit that is so important to the world ging moments.” Thrusting his fi Haruo, he made his decration. “You ck that important quality!”

  Haruo remained silent. A pointless debate to enter while they still fought. He went over to the lion to touch it. Any remaining wounds recovered immediately. It stood up o him once more. ‘He’s simplified matters by making this a more straightforward fight. Yet I don’t have anything strong enough, not from what I witnessed.’

  Teris grinned over at Haruo. He charged straight for him, being a bit of a blur in his movements. Actually prepared and familiar with his movements, Haruo could defend himself against the direct strike. Teris tried to push him back, but the strength he had wasn’t nearly enough.

  “Silence, huh? It doesn’t ge the fact that it’ll be the reason you won’t beat me. It’ll be over soon!” Suddenly a new burst of strength came from Teris breaking the bance Haruo had. Teris pushed harder, throwing Haruo back again.

  In defense of Haruo, the lion jumped out for Teris. It cmped down on Teris’ new arm, yet made nress against him. Teris jerked his arm sideways at an angle. Tossed the ground, he pihe creature to the earth with his foot. “Your pets are poio me now. I’ve analyzed them enough.” He thrust his hand deep into the chest of the lion ripping out the glowing core.

  Holding it tightly in his hand, the rest of the lion disappeared into white particles. “It’s surprisingly simple. This is their heart or brain, however you want to bel it. Without it, they cease to be and are uee. This is their weakness.” Teris tightened his hand around the lion’s core until it crushed into particles.

  He spread the remains into the air letting it pour from his fingers. “Curiously enough, you still hold o that I haven’t solved yet. How your power funs on a fual level. I guess and theorize for a while, but that’s not going to give me any answers. I had hoped in fighting you I’d figured out enough clues to uand the more critical part.”

  Wiping off the particles from his hand, he started to approach the still prone Haruo. “Yet, you’ve done well cealing that aspect from me. I know you put something into these cores, which seem to be anything even made from the earth. Though this one didn’t have the same sistency ility of the ones you created from the earth. So my guess, you used something else to create this core. But the question of what you’re putting into these cores will expin your curious power.”

  Teris dug up some of the earth as he approached. He pushed his fihrough the crumbling brown mass. “Someone less logical and stific might cim you’re putting spirits into this, which might answer why you use the earth. However, I don’t think that’s the case. It’s something else. Something from you. A power you hold inside yourself, but ower is that?” Brushing off the dirt, he ed his hands and stood before Haruo.

  Still emotionless, there did seem to be a hint of loss of i. He didn’t really seem to care about indulging the man’s whims. At least that was how it appeared to Teris. “Seems I won’t be getting those answers from you, at least this way. You’ve satisfied my requests. Now I just have to satisfy my orders. But don’t worry, I’ll ensure your body tells its secrets before they execute you.” Teris lifted Haruo up by his o hold him h off the ground. “Looks like things will be ending for you soon. I wonder if you’ll feel regret. Emotions are important.”

  Disi in Haruo’s eyes suddenly ged the moment he heard Yori Mizuno’s voi his head. ‘Please hear me, everyone! You must listen!’ Without even waiting a moment, his mind already worked out all of the ao how it ossible. His mind sped through the sarios quickly. However, the moment he heard about the situation Yuki Hayashi faced Haruo something ged for him.

  Teris looked away from Haruo. ‘What’s that sound?’ It sounded distant or faint. He wasn’t sure which, but it quickly ged. Something massive smmed into Teris breaking his grip over Haruo. Haruo dropped and Teris flung several meters away. The whole situation flipped.

  Rec, Teris discovered that his left arm was pletely broken in three different pces. The shock of the pain finally washed away allowing it to reach him. “Damn…shit! Argh…I don’t think there’s enough words in the nguage to describe this.” Quickly grabbing for his portal, a white massive object smmed into him again, breaking his opportunity.

  On his back, it took him even loo recover from the most ret strike. “What did he pull out?” The hit actually dazed his vision enough to make it challenging to focus. It prevented him from clearly seeing what suddenly roared before him. The volume was enough to kill any hearing he might have had a like it actually might have sent him tumbling away. It seemed even the earth quaked in its presence.

  Slowly standing up, Teris found the pain difficult to trate on what he needed. He felt fortunate most of his powers didn’t rely on his mind. His vision started to clear up to grant him a view of what he dealt with. “So what is it now? Oh, you’re certainly impressive looking.” Teris had to look up to actually see the top of what stood before him.

  A goril. The scale of it pletely put the lion to shame. Hunched over in its current position, it still rose to exceed three meters. The white core that rested at its ter glowed brighter than any of the others. It seemed to correspond outward to the white glow of the creature with an intense almost blinding light.

  “Still got somethi you huh? Sorry, but I already know how all of this works.” While talking, Teris finished his digging around in the void, hidden carefully behind his babsp; He quickly ed everything just as the goril strubsp; However, Teris threw up his previously shattered arm to halt the goril. “It would seem we’re getting dangerous now. So allow me to get a little serious for you.”

  Crushing the tainers in his hand, he dispensed with any further dey to strike deep ihe goril. It barely budged from the hit. “I give you thirty seds of my time.” In a surprising turn, Teris dropped his b coat. Disrobed down to just his pants and a bare chest, Teris lost any sign of being the person before.

  Sweat covered much of his body. The further enhanced muscles made him look more of a mohan a normal human. Every timeter of his body pulsed in fiuned precision. It reached as close to perfe as possible.

  Despite the size, Teris still kept his quient nding another blow deep ihe goril’s chest. This time the creature fell backwards, but not before Teris jumped up and kicked it in the head to send it flying back.

  He charged off after the animal, but he met it enroute. The two titans cshed and jumped the earth from their impabsp; Teris effortlessly dodged the hairy fists thrown at him. The st one he gripped the broad arm of the goril and flung it back towards Haruo. However, he caught up to it just in time to ram his fist through the chest of the goril. The force pi to the earth with his arm all the to his shoulder, but just out of reach of the core.

  The goril suddenly vanished into particles without its core destroyed. Teris looked up in fusion. “Huh? What’s going on?” He saw that Haruo had fallen unscious. “I guess it’s over. Twenty-three seds. Close. This es with a dangerous side effect if I let it go past.” His hand dug around the void arieved the antidote o reverse the process.

  Normal once more, he k down a little surprised to find what remained behind. “A pen?” It was just a simple ordinary pen, nothing that seemed expensive or unique about it. The only characteristic it held was a well-worn appearah all of the branding rubbed away from tinued use. Teris gnced back at Haruo. “He made that giant goril from just this little pen? Hmm… Perhaps there lies some emotions buried inside you after all…”