I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 463

"Did you really not notice this was going to happen?"

"I had a feeling about 30 seconds ago."

"Not too late then."

Eugene jumped down lightly, and Loren Tina moved leisurely, widening the distance.

Thus, the two stood on the wide plaza inside the castle. The distance between them was 36 meters, but judging this gap with human standards was an act of ignorance. No one in that place would fail to close the gap in less than two seconds.

The scattered corpses around them melted into the air as golden haze. Everywhere, weapons clattered to the ground with faint metallic sounds. Without a word, they began to probe each other. Every step, every breath, even the smallest of movements became necessary variables for their calculations.

The moment Eugene finished her mental calculations, she realized there was no opening she could exploit in Loren Tina’s defenses. It felt as though the very concept of imperfection had been omitted from her body.

So, she asked something else.

"When was it that you were asked to step in as the hidden card?"

"...There are many kinds of actions necessary to obtain certain information. I believe you remember the first one."

"Force."

"You're well aware."

In other words, if Eugene wanted the answers, she had to break Loren Tina with strength.

Then, both took a step forward.

The 36 meters closed to 20 meters, and the sky roared as if the very moment of their contact would trigger the heavens. No raindrops fell, but strong winds began to gust from all directions. The turbulent air clashed with the broken remnants of the castle, creating an unpleasant, sharp noise.

Eugene observed Loren Tina’s footsteps, noticing the invisible spring within her legs compressing to its limits. The moment it released, she would approach with a slight noise. The impact would be less than the force of the wind currently blowing.

Loren Tina, however, saw the immense power stored in Eugene’s heavy footsteps that could shake the very earth. As Eugene leaped forward, the force at her feet would crush the stone beneath her, shattering it into fragments.

It wasn’t until they reached a distance where even their clothes could be scrutinized that the two assumed their stances.

"I'll give up the first move."

"You've never taken the first move before."

With that, the conversation ended.

Eugene slammed her feet into the ground, and as the stone under her was crushed, hundreds of fragments scattered behind her. The destruction power, compressed by her delicate frame, was converted into kinetic energy, and the hammer in her hand fell like a guillotine blade severing a thread.

The hammer’s handle, the fingers gripping it, her forearm, arm, and waist—most of the strength was not just from her own power. It came from the centrifugal force created as she twisted her body and the kinetic energy from pushing off the ground.

Loren Tina’s expression shifted in an instant. Her calm demeanor vanished as the hammer struck the side of her spear with a force so intense it sent a blinding flare into the dimming castle. The light illuminated their faces for a brief moment.

???Kwahng!

When the two indestructible weapons clashed, a thunderous noise reverberated through the air.

The shockwave from the point of impact spread outward, powerful enough to ripple their clothes. With a thud, Loren Tina, unable to absorb all the force, grimaced and knelt, but her smile never left her face.

In a split second, the spear spun, and shot toward Eugene, but once again, the sound of metal grinding against metal echoed unpleasantly. By then, Eugene had already switched to holding a tactical tomahawk in her other hand, using the hole in the middle to catch the spear.

However, Loren Tina didn’t panic. She quickly spun around and kicked, and with a terrible noise, Eugene was sent flying about 6 meters back.

"Ugh…!"

"My arm is all numb."

Naturally, that wasn’t the end of it.

This was just the beginning.

Through the peculiar weapon of the spear, Loren Tina wielded an extremely refined killing technique, while Eugene used the tomahawk and hammer to embody the rawest form of destruction. It was as though two opposing forces, like the extremes of magnets, were pressing against each other.

But that contrast of forces once again faltered.

Eugene’s weapon had somehow shifted back to her dagger, and she boldly decided to confront Loren Tina, who could no longer use her full strength, relying only on her eyes and body. At that moment, a series of penetration strikes, moving faster than the human eye could track, came in rapid succession.

As the turbulent wind added a sense of foreboding with every passing second, strikes with the power of a bullet shot toward Eugene, like raindrops. The sparks created by the friction of the daggers and spear hitting each other were like the torrential rain of a typhoon, and the crackling sparks from them felt like lightning in the clouds.

???Ka-ga-gak!

"…!"

"…The sensitivity of your senses makes this quite troublesome."

How many seconds passed? The storm subsided, and the inner workings were revealed.

The spear—now also a type of club—was swung to the side, and Eugene, crossing her daggers in an X shape, blocked it as it aimed for her ribs.

Eugene didn’t respond, while Loren Tina braced herself and prepared for the next counter or attack. The power struggle between the two weapons was something few could comprehend—it surpassed the output of even a car engine.

The delicate balance of force was about to break, and it wouldn’t be long before Act Two began. The composer had to take into account that Eugene had already closed the distance with Loren Tina, setting the stage for the opening instruments. The daggers cut through the air in response, each time slicing through it with precision.

The two daggers, like the tongues of serpents, cut through the air, heralding the prelude to Act Two.

Eugene alternated between raw destructive power and precise surgical strikes with the daggers, while Loren Tina blocked them with a single spear.

However, that didn’t mean either one was gaining the upper hand.

???Grk!

"…That was close."

"If only I had been a little faster…!"

A grimace, contrasted with a smile that could almost lift her cheeks.

The red glow in Loren Tina’s eyes flickered ominously, reflecting a madness that seemed to draw the emotion inward. Eugene barely managed to deflect the spear aimed at her chin, just barely missing, with her daggers crossing in an X shape. Loren Tina’s signature move with the spear was designed for extreme counters, but Eugene had narrowly avoided it.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly as the two ramped up their pace, while the chat speed slowed to an almost eerie crawl. The battle, far beyond human comprehension, overwhelmed the logical parts of millions, and nearly ten million people’s minds came to a halt.

Although their origins were different, the result was the same—perfection born from precision.

The winner would be determined by how much counterbalance was wrapped around their bodies.

And as a result, the scales began to tip.

"…!"

"Haah…"

Between the invisible storm, a single beam-like attack crossed paths.

The spear was deeply embedded in the ground, with Eugene’s left foot fixed at its end. She grimaced, clearly visible to everyone, and then cast her gaze forward—there, at the very edge, was Loren Tina, bleeding golden blood from her left armpit.

After five minutes of combat, the two had finally exchanged valid hits. Eugene pulled the spear out of the ground and held it in her right hand.

Loren Tina, watching this, kicked a sword lying on the ground with her foot, catching the hilt of the sword that bounced up with her right hand and took an ox stance.

The shark grinned and added:

"Let’s see how far the swordsmanship you learned at Virginia University’s club can go."

“…That damn university club.”

Boom!

With her wounded left foot, Eugene stomped forward and threw the spear horizontally with her right hand. Loren Tina narrowly dodged it, just barely. It wasn’t a dagger anymore; Eugene now gripped a hammer with her right hand, as though she was about to crush Loren Tina’s weapon.

Violence, born of raw power, was realized in the most primitive form. Loren Tina felt that this represented Eugene’s past perfectly. But through this process, Eugene was reborn like a dazzling gemstone, and that crystallization stood right before Loren Tina’s eyes.

The end was near.

Loren Tina realized that her defeat was no longer far off.

“That weapon will break easily.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

There were no more words.

At some point, the wind had stopped.

Loren Tina had invaded the reality tied to Eugene, and as a result, she would be ejected to the waiting screen.

[General] So, it seems that superhero battles in anime or movies are going to crash and burn now.

<Eugene and Loren Tina’s skirmish GIF>

Is this really a fight between people? Seriously? ???

[All Comments][By Registration Order]

UFC, pro wrestling, boxing... all useless now ?????????

No kidding, I couldn’t breathe watching this.

Every time they exchanged a blow, sparks flew ?????

Did they fight in a furnace or something???

This is insane ?

Is this even human? ? If there's a person inside, they'd turn into minced meat in seconds.

Fact: After crushing 300 people, she fought and defeated Loren Tina.

[Laughs] Think about it, she did, huh ???????

The manifestor protection law is really a law to protect regular humans...

Ahh, that’s it ?????

Hero movie battle scenes from the old days were all about letting each other live ?

It’s clear the people who made those battle scenes never knew how real fights between these kinds of beings would look ???

This makes me scared.

Wait, why is the floor cracking while they’re fighting???

Oh my god, just noticed ?

You're the reason I need to change my underwear again ?

Did Loren Tina get reverse correction? Is that reverse correction???

With reverse correction applied, no wonder Eugene defeated 300 and beat Loren Tina so easily ?

Come to think of it, that's true…

Fact: Eugene admitted that she never won in close-quarters combat against Loren Tina.

Looks like there’s still one or two event matches left, though. How should I feel about 300 people being crushed like that? ?

Isn’t this the domestic tournament? ????

Event match broadcast room.

[Laughs] ??

Pro gamers who are in the tournament today are weeping ??

So, Dice must have beaten one of those types of people at some point, right?

Gasp!

[Laughs] ???

Of course, he could win! If he injures their tailbone, their snake tail should start growing ?

[Laughs] ?

So, after drinking the Be-yam elixir, Dice becomes a little Be-yam himself, huh? ?

“It’s like a blender, not even a person.”

"That’s about right," someone commented.

Even people who are always with Be-yam get stunned by this ?

[Laughs] You chose Be-yam!!! By sheer force!!!

Scary stuff ?

Fact: This is based on when the reverse correction was lifted.

Harmony, leading the largest non-registered stream for Icarus, watched blankly as the recently concluded battlefield unfolded before her. Loren Tina collapsed and Eugene stood, barely managing to remain standing. The two of them, their fight over, disappeared into golden mist, leaving only the scars of their combat on the battlefield.

Axes, hammers, and spears had all clashed. The bodies of the manifestors with their unmatched strength trampled the ground, turning it into a chaotic mess.

If this had been reality, the marks left on the stone would remain for a thousand years, never fading, igniting the passion of future scholars. Such thoughts fleetingly passed through Harmony’s mind.

“I’m sure Eugene wasn’t this strong before.”

"It’s because she trained in virtual reality, right?"

[Laughs] No, no, this person does all battles in hardcore mode.

"She’s getting stronger faster than the expansion rate of the universe!"

Isn’t this straight out of a comic book setting? ?

“If it were true, would you believe it?”

The world, as always, was unpredictable.

Harmony had flown with Eugene to New York in the past, where they had clashed with manifestors like Loren Tina and Logan. Harmony had long known that a fragile body could harbor such immense destructive power. But imagining the overwhelming consequences when these forces collided was beyond her.

Her sharp logic dismissed such thoughts as useless; for now, she had long decided that it was best to enjoy the massive spectacle Eugene had created, letting her brain rest halfway.

In the midst of all this, a fleeting thought crossed her mind.

“By the way, I wonder if those people who kept begging Eugene and Loren Tina for full-force sparring have finally been satisfied. This is all thanks to Eugene’s playthrough of Glory and Honor, so I guess they should be grateful, right?”

"Long live Eugene!"

"Time for some cold weapons, right?"

**"Smoothly advertising, huh? [Laughs]

"You’d better stop with the threats, or I’m going assassin mode in rank battles!"

“Please stop with the ranked matches, you bastard!”

That should do it.

Anyway, no official sponsorship for the advertisement, but Harmony was quite skilled at calculating how best to help Eugene.

Soon, the stream turned to the now-vanished session, showing Eugene and Loren Tina slumped on the couch. The next session would be a massive 1:300 battle fought across the plains. It was supposed to involve different military divisions, so the viewer count only increased.

I wonder what the editors for Eugene’s broadcasts are thinking right now? That thought passed through Harmony’s head.

“Content never stops.”

Perhaps, the broadcasting world would forever be divided before and after Eugene’s appearance.

The world was this strange.