Chapter 176 - Kessho King.

[Pause Level ???: Incomplete Time Stop.] 

The silence which had first appeared after the two black holes sucked out most of the sound from the area was further amplified to the point where there was now nothing. 

Time had stopped. 

But Gray hadn't., he continued to free fall down towards the frozen black holes. 

His angle was perfect, he planned to go through the gap without a second to waste before finally catching and beating the shit out of the Kessho King. 

That was that plan... 

'What the fuck!?' Gray cursed inwardly as he stared at the two black holes. 

The two were still slowly rotating and vacuuming the air around them. 

Gray was now positioned away from the gap and towards the closest one. The pulling force alone was forcing tears and injuries to spread through his body. 

[Mark Of The King's] Healing factor was keeping it in check but he didn't have time to waste on this. 

Gray couldn't use any of his [Pause] or [Fast-Forward] skills as time was stopped. There was a limiter in place. 

The only one able to bypass said limiter was [Mark Of The King's Second Stage.] 

It was too soon to do it but he had no choice, he'd at most have a minute to finish the Kessho King off and that was what worried him. 

"ARGH!!" He groaned out as he got closer and closer to the black hole. 

'How the hell is it still moving even though time stopped?!' 

[This is unexpected, black holes have the ability to distort the flow of space-time around them.] 

[It appears the fact that they're placed so close next to each other and are about to collide has forcefully caused a disruption in the time related-skill (Pause)] 

[But this one is different than a regular one, a true black hole has far different and more fatal properties-] 

"Activate the second stage!" Gray yelled out as he was now only meters away from the two black holes. 

The patterns of the mark on his forehead grew and the puzzle was quickly completed. 

A golden orb of light manifested in front of his forehead before taking a shape of a halo and surrounding it. 

Strange golden runic patterns made it's way down his cheeks before coming to a stop at his neck. 

Gray's eyes which had temporarily shut suddenly opened wide as he before he thrust his arm towards the black hole. 

[X-Ray: Level 1] 

His arm was pointed towards the Kessho King which he could see clearly through it. 

To Gray's surprise the Kessho King was also moving freely through the world of time stop, not just him but the other Kessho. 

This was only until reaching a certain distance away however, before he suddenly froze once again. He had only managed to land safely on top of a building. 

*VWOOOOM!* 

Right before the black hole had sucked him whole, Gray's figure vanished before appearing at an exceeding distance of [60 Meters] from where he last was. 

Right on the other side of the black holes. 

[Pause.] 

He paused a platform behind him, before positioning himself at an angle where he was pointed at the Kessho King. 

The muscles on his legs bulged out, filled with veins before he muttered. 

[Fast-Forward.] 

In an instant, Gray's knee appeared before the Kessho King with the intention of being rammed into his face. 

But once again, Gray ended up passing right through, even with time stopped. 

'Resume time.' 

Gray's sliding figure, caught their attention, since he suddenly appeared on the rooftop with them. 

He was sliding away from having gone through the King's head and failing to hit him. 

'Time stop.' 

[Time stopped.] 

The instant time stopped, Gray lunged at them, sending a barrage of relentless attacks at their frozen figures. 

Just as he'd expected, none of the attacks were working, instead he was wasting his time. 

[Time remaining until transformation is undone: 50 seconds.] 

'Time Resume' 

[Time resumed.] 

Once time began to flow once again, their heards turned once more in confusion over to Gray who suddenly appeared before him. 

He had sent a slow punch at the Kessho King, despair filled his face as he watched the punch go right through. 

He proceeded to step back in disbelief before dropping down to his knees. 

"H-How is this possible...?" 

*Cough!* 

*Splatter* 

*Cough* *Cough* 

Gray began coughing out pools of blood before falling over. 

He looked like a dying man, even his breathing became haggard. 

The Kessho King was confused, he looked back up at the sky at the two black holes and noticed they were about to collide. 

If such were to happen, it would without a doubt cause him more problems than benefits, and besides, it appears his enemy had already defeated himself. 

With his back against the ground, Gray stared at the sky. His body grew colder as the Kessho King watched the light within his eyes grow dimmer and dimmer. 

"His ability must have put a strain in his body, he used every last bit he had before attacking you." Said an unfamiliar voice. 

It was the one in the ground next to the King. Gray didn't expect him to be able to speak. His voice sounded as unpleasant to hear as one would expect. 

"His appearance changed, but to nothing. He'll soon die." The man continued. 

"I'll finish him off." 

"No, wait-' 

The King ignoring his underlings comment, moved his arm above Gray before manifesting a dark blade out of thin air. 

[Void: Void B-] 

Before the blade's manifestation was complete, before he could even grab it. 

The edges of Gray's lips curled upwards in a grin. 

Seeing this, the King's brows raised but by then it was too late. 

[Pause Level ???: Incomplete Time stop.] 

Gray slowly got up, almost falling as he did so. 

"Re-activate the healing factor, quickly..." 

[Re-activating Mark Of The King Second Stage: Healing.] 

The moment it activated, Gray felt a smooth fresh flow of energy circulating through him. 

Still he was completely drained of his energy, just standing up was difficult for him. 

But that didn't stop him. 

Step after step. 

Gray found himself coming to a stop just before the King's face. 

"I... I remember..." He muttered as he looked up at his frozen figure with a smile. 

"I managed to land an attack on you before... Do you know why...? It's because your dumbass needs to physically manifest himself before using your own attacks." 

"So I waited... And waited... Almost dying before reaching this point. And finally, the moment came." Gray muttered 

Gray placed his hand on the King's shoulder just to see if he could truly touch him and moment of truth... 

*Grab* 

He could. 

He then looked over at the man frozen in the ground beneath him. He kicked at his head and to his surprise, he felt a connection. 

Gray's mouth showed a smile, but his eyes, they were so cold, one would think he was looking at a bug which had disgusted even the core of his being. 

[Time remaining until time is unstopped: 29 seconds.] 

[Time remaining until transformation is undone: 28 seconds.] 

"Then... The first strike." 

Gray wound up his arm as far back as he could before, without not even a hint of hesitation, ramming it right into the Kessho King's handsome face. 

After that, a mindless rampage sprung forth of Gray attacking everything and anything without holding back not even in the slightest. 

Gray's arms were swinging left and right without rest, his legs were kicking and stepping whenever his arms would numb from all the punches. 

It was just thirty seconds. 

But he threw strikes like his life depended on every second. 

- 

- 

- 

[3 seconds left.] 

Gray placed the sword on the ground, having just sliced off their necks before sitting down. 

[Unpause.] 

"Why is he smiling?" The King asked not realising that Gray's position had moved. 

When he noticed, his eyes widened, he reflexively took a step back. 

"358." Gray muttered. 

The King gave him a confused look. 

"358 hits." 

"That was the number of times I hit you." Said Gray. 

The underling's eyes widened, he instantly used his ability [Phase.] on the King, but by then it was already too late. 

*WHAM!* 

Both their heads cocked to the left. Next to the right. 

Following that, at an irregular pattern their bodies repeatedly swayed back and forth slowly being lifted off the ground, with bursts of air travelling right past them. 

Their faces were caved in, countless fist prints and kick prints were embedded throughout their body. 

This was only their beginning. 

In a manner akin to a possessed corpse being possessed by another corpse, their bodies began cocking back and forth, ricocheting right and left as every blow registered at countless parts of their bodies. 

A series of countless hundred attacks were launched simultaneously at one point, causing a strange crunching sound to be heard. 

They looked like a can of soda after they had been stepped on; all crumpled up, twisted and distorted. 

To seal the deal, their heads were hacked off their bodies in a smooth motion as their minds screamed in pain. 

The attacks continued even after the heads flew away. 

Their heads exploded as a result of all the pressure being applied to them. 

There was no point to watching any further, they were already dead.

[You have killed a Kessho King.] 

[You have kiled a Kessho Chief.] 

[You have gained 840 XP] 

The notifications rang on inside of his head, but all Gray could see was the sky. As he released each heavy pant, his chests expanded and contracted.He didn't need his muscles crying out and his failing organs screaming in pain to let him know that his body was on the verge of death.

Still he wasn't worried... After all.

[Level Up Options]

[Option 1 Selected]

[Full body recovery.]

A bright green light coated Gray's body before his injuries began to quickly close up.

In just three seconds, he felt like he was in great shape, even better than how he was before he was injured.

Gray slowly got up and an explosion resounded over head.

The colours instantly left the entire city, he felt his heart sink as he looked up.

A large black hole had manifested right in the area where the Kessho King's head had exploded. 

"No fucking way...."