Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 360: The Ache

Chapter 360: The Ache

The pulse of mana. Understanding where it came from. Why he with Odin’s Eye could dip into a pool of infinity.

Odin’s Eye was a distraction from his own understanding, from his own fate. It was but a tool to wield and push his greatness.

Pushing limits. Pushing the eye. Seizing the soul.

In an instant, he regained all the mana he had lost and summoned seven Ultra Magic Barriers. All seven of them shattered under the weight and Kazi managed to dive himself out of the huge crater before it was too late.

The totality of its power and weight were too much.

On paper, at least.

Feeling the mana fuel him, suddenly, the statistics did not matter. This divine monster was stronger than him and equally as fast. It lacked nothing.

That was the issue.

Kazi Hossain was experiencing omnipotence. It was no longer a matter of would—he will win. That was his resolve. His thoughts were faster and stronger. His very nerves were sparking with mana. A trail of white lightning followed.

Otohime could sense it. Within the core of her essence, she knew something had shifted. The lives of the players, the fishermen, and the fate of the land depended on him. Was that what powered him?

Not even Kazi himself knew. He saw the window.

[ Mastered Flow of Mana Lv. 1 upgraded to Mastered Flow of Mana Lv. 2! ]

His Strength, Agility, Resilience, and Deftness increased by a hundred points. A culmination that arose from understanding. Not just the mind, not just the body, but the very soul. The quality of his existence was fading into his battle and seeping into his existence.

The sole exception was his left arm, fried from the absurd mana ejected. That gave one arm, two legs, and a brain.

In Kazi’s mind, the odds were even. He dashed. Behind him, the sea turtle’s limbs slammed over and over again, sand flinging up. The shore was a warzone louder than the one with the army on the other side. Kazi’s gaze was locked on Monster Otohime.

His left eye pulsed.

One, twice...

A third time.

Five hundred points of mana remained. His left pulsed again and it all came back to him.

He jumped, an arm raised and slowly forming into a grip. Altogether the front flippers smashed at him.

"Cast! Activation!"

Shatter!

"Stabilize! Balance! Realize!"

The flippers collided with his Ultra Magic Barriers, the protective spheres shattering under the immense pressure. But despite the barriers breaking, they held juuuust long enough to prevent him from being crushed to death. The activation time of his ultimate attack was five seconds. His feet landed onto the damaged left eye of the monster.

"Cast! Activation!"

The energy gathered in his sword, the blade crackling with intense, blue-electric power. His nerves protested. His left arm was done, only his right arm remained. He needed to make this strong, stronger than anything he had done in his life.

"Almighty Earth, gather your lightning in my unworthy hand!"

Bigger!

Faster!

Stronger!

"Gargantua...Spark Strike!"

The electrified blade plunged into Otohime’s vulnerable eye.

The blade sank deep and the electric energy erupted in a blinding, crackling explosion. The surrounding water boiled and steamed.

Kazi roared.

An explosion erupted. The white world consumed him.

...

...

...

He felt wet, as if the ocean was embracing him in its cold, relentless grip. Then he felt a warmth. The sun was shining upon him.

Then the cold again. Droplets of coldness were falling on him. He opened his eyes to see a foggy world without the sun.

For a moment, he enjoyed the peace. The pain that accompanied his existence was still there but...somehow, it didn’t hurt as much. He was alive and that was all that mattered.

But he was Kazi Hossain. To be alive wasn’t sufficient. He needed to be great. He needed to be the best.

"That’s, haaah, the whole point of my existence..."

He propped himself up. He was back on the shore, his festival coat hanging onto its tatters. His weary eyes scanned until it found the prone form of Otohime lying nearby, her once-monstrous body now reduced to its original, humanoid state.

She was bleeding, her breath shallow and labored. Kazi pushed himself up and approached her cautiously, his steps faltering.

’She’s not dead.’ His left eye became blurry. ’She needs to die.’

"Spa—"

He stopped, then glanced over and saw the light again. The fog had parted and the light was shining upon him and Otohime again.

"Ah. The setting sun. I did...not think I would get to see it again."

The fog that had shrouded the island for so long had dissipated, the air now clear and filled with the sounds of the sea.

"For the first time in so long, it’s finally clear. It’s...amazing."

Blood oozed from his arms and face. Dripping loudly. Dripping expectantly. An eye for an eye. Murder for murder. Kazi’s arm was raised upright, left eye dimming. He loosened his grip.

"It’s been gone for a while."

And sat down beside her.

Otohime’s eyes stared at the light ahead. Death had already touched her. "I wonder...why now?"

"Why, hm?" Kazi stared ahead. Staring at the light like this reminded him of times long gone; of the children who had never seen the sunlight and became ecstatic upon seeing and feeling its warmth.

Was it because for the first time she hated something more than herself? Her father punished her here. Could it be that the fog existed as long as she thought she deserved it. Could it be why during their battle, the fog was gone and they could see the sun again?

Could it be?

"I don’t know. You know this island better than me."

"I feel...light. I feel...so relaxed. So relaxed."

"Relaxed, eh? That’s good. That’s better than hate."

"Hate? Hate...?" An epiphany came to her, the same one Kazi came to. Princess Otohime smiled softly. "So for the past two hundred years...I have been here because of myself? How...foolish of me. I’m sure..." She laughed out blood. "...Urashima would laugh."

Kazi smiled. "He would."

"You too are a fool, Odin’s Eye."

"If being a fool means to comfort someone at death, then I’ll gladly take that title." His smile and his eyes were touched by the embrace of the sun. He smelled of blood and death but his dirty looks were that of royal divinity. Whether he was mortal or god, none could tell and none wanted to tell. He was beautiful. He was sad. "My real name is Kazi."

"Kazi, huh? That’s quite...a strange name." Her smile faded. "Ah...so this is death. Tell me, Kazi, is it always this cold?"

"It is."

"...why are you here then? Leave me in this coldness. I tried to kill your friends. My own friends. I do not...deserve...any of this..."

Please don’t kill her.

Please don’t kill my friend.

That was what the monster of the moat said. That was what Princess Otohime’s friend said. It shouldn’t have affected him. It shouldn’t have. It shouldn’t.

"Whenever I see someone in pain...it aches. Right here." He touched his own heart. It did. It affected him. "I don’t want to see misery, whether they deserve it or not. I just...I can’t look at someone in pain. In hunger." He still didn’t look at her. "Don’t you?"

Tears welled up in Otohime’s eyes and she began to cry. "I’m so sorry," she choked out, her voice breaking. "I’m so, so sorry for all of this. For Urashima Tarō, for everything."

"I know."

"It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I told him not to open the box and h-he did it anyway and I couldn’t stop him. I just...I just wanted to see him. I wanted to love him and talk to him and feel. I didn’t know all this was going to happen. This hate. This misery..." Otohime’s breath grew weaker. "I’m sorry, Father. I’m sorry, Sister."

"I’m sure they’re listening. I’m sure they know."

Princess Otohime cried until she could no longer. Her eyes closed. Her divinity slipped from her physical form and she passed from this world and onto the next.

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