Chapter 117: The Strongest Enemy

A skill that seals unique skills!??

I take the Black Knight’s single slash. Outmatched in strength, I’m sent flying backward.

Strong! Maybe base stats are equal, but thanks to “Light’s Blessing,” he’s clearly stronger and faster.

And this enemy… feels way too used to fighting. No chance in pure close combat like this… what the hell do I do!?

“Gojo!!”

Leo steadies himself, ready to join in.

“Don’t come! You’ll die!”

I stop him, and everyone else who was about to stand up freezes.

This guy’s strong. If we interfere recklessly, we’ll get killed too—and I can’t even help.

The Black Knight unleashes a grid-like slash.

I activate Barrier Art’s light shield, barely blocking it. That was a dark magic sword. Barrier Art using light magic works against it.

And if I can use Barrier Art, that means he can only seal “Unique Skills”—not regular skills, job skills, or magic. That’s what he can’t block.

I’m certain of it. I try to push forward, but I’m forced back step by step. He’s clearly better with the sword. He even has the “Sword Saint” title from sword skill…

And he’s got a dangerous job skill like “Assassination Technique” too.

“Damn it!”

The Black Knight’s blade grazes my cheek. Defense only… this isn’t working. I spot a tiny opening, raise my right hand.

“Summon! Kaimai—”

‘Dimension Slash’

My right hand is severed clean off.

“Ghah!!”

I swear I heard his voice—just for a second. Telepathy? So… “Dimension Slash”… that’s the name of that technique!?

The Black Knight closes the distance in an instant. I want to heal my right hand with Healing Magic—but he won’t give me a single second!

Just then, Luca fires an arrow from afar at the Black Knight. The arrow is blocked—but in that split second, I manage to regenerate my hand.

It’s embarrassing to have refused help earlier and now be saved by someone else… but still, I’m grateful.

Still… healing a missing limb takes a massive amount of magic power… and right now, even my “Infinite Magic Power” is gone.

I never thought about how much each spell consumes. That moment, I finally realize how completely I’ve relied on my unique skill.

“Gojo, pull yourself together!”

I hear Wang’s shout. He’s worried—I’m getting pushed back too hard. I can’t lose… but the Black Knight’s relentless barrage is slowly carving me up.

If it weren’t for this Adamantite greatsword, I’d already be destroyed.

Just as I charge forward, slashing at him—

‘Dimension Slash’

The majority of the Adamantite greatsword’s blade shatters into square-shaped fragments. No… this can’t be… I’m already hopeless—holding a sword that’s nearly lost its blade.

I need to create distance… if I can keep a certain distance from this enemy, my unique skill should kick in.

Thinking that, I turn my back and bolt away.

The Black Knight closes the gap in an instant—slicing open my back.

“Ah—!”

Pain explodes through me. I turn—only to see the Black Knight already inside my reach.

No… I can’t beat this guy…

‘Dimension Slash’

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Silence swallows everything. The people present are frozen, speechless, unable to move—stunned by the impossible scene before them.

"...Good job, Hybris... Now the troublesome human's gone."

Blood dripped from the tip of the Black Knight's sword, splattering onto the ground.

"But that human might have strong regenerative abilities. Leave no single cell behind... Burn it all to ashes!"

The Black Knight raised his palm upward, slowly, deliberately.

"Hellfire!"

Flames erupted from the Black Knight, spreading out in an instant, swallowing everything around.

The Sanctori Knights and "Suzaku" were being engulfed by the flames. Amidst all this—

"YOU—!!"

The first to move was Wang. He hurled his staff with all his might, channeling qi into it, straight at the Black Knight.

The staff, wreathed in high-speed qi, was blocked by the Black Knight's three layered barriers.

Two barriers shattered—but the final one held. The staff lost its momentum, clattering weakly to the ground.

A few meters away, the reporters panicked, scrambling to flee. They’d felt safe watching from afar, thanks to Gojo’s presence—but now Gojo was down, and even Wang’s attack had failed. Terror exploded.

In the roaring flames, the Black Knight raised his sword toward the sky. Behind him, pitch-black darkness spread wide—and from within it, something emerged.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

...No way. Gojo getting taken out? I can’t even believe it. And now, a monster over five meters long is appearing from behind the Black Knight.

"Boss! Shit—'Leader' is here!!"

Grease’s shout snapped me back to reality.

It held a massive crescent-shaped sword in its right hand, and a short golden weapon in the left. And floating above its back—more than ten arms, suspended in midair, like something out of a nightmare.

The monster raised its golden weapon, and jagged lightning lashed out in every direction—too dangerous to even get close.

"Come on!如意金箍棒—"

Wang shouted, and the staff that had fallen before the Black Knight shot forward at lightning speed, wrapping itself around Wang’s hand. Amid the wild, chaotic lightning, the Black Knight’s hand grabbed Wang’s arm, stopping him from charging forward.

"Let go, Leo! Gojo’s been taken down! How can I just stand here?!"

"Stay calm, Wang. Even Gojo couldn’t beat this one! Going in now would just get you killed. We have to retreat."

As he struggled to hold Wang down, the Black Knight seemed utterly indifferent to us—reaching into the darkness behind him, pulling something out.

"Move aside!! I’ll take down that Black Knight myself!"

The members of the "Suzaku" Corps and Luca tried to restrain Wang, but his strength was too much—too much to hold.

"If you want to take them down, then endure this! I can’t lose you right now, Wang!!"

"Damn it!"

With the Black Knight ignoring us completely, the only option was to run. The sudden arrival of the "Leader" hadn’t moved from that spot either.

As we all retreated, I glanced back—and the Black Knight had pulled a massive, gem-like black stone from the shadows, raising it high into the sky.

The stone ascended into the heavens, releasing thick waves of black mana upward.

Dark clouds swirled overhead, thick and oppressive. A bad feeling crept over me—but I couldn’t do anything. I just turned and left.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

That day, anomalies erupted across the globe. Monsters—supposedly nearly extinct—began appearing one after another.

Undead poured out across Japan, giants surged from the ground in America, massive beasts swarmed across China, and an unknown labyrinth appeared in Russia.

From the “Abyssal Hole” in England, countless dragons took flight into the sky, filling the heavens completely.

In a world that had lost its hope—Gojo—hellish “Catastrophes” stirred once more.