51: The mysterious manipulator behind the scenes

The monster was truly bizarre at this moment, and Kajiya Itten had no intention of delaying.

He ran his right hand over his waist, quickly drawing a card.

"Fire Finch Blade."

Click!

As the card was inserted, a ball of flame flowed from Kajiya Itten's outstretched right hand, transforming into a fiery blade.

Then, Kajiya Itten, like a phantom, soared towards the monster, leaving only a lingering ember afterimage in his original spot.

The blade, enveloped in flames, produced a fiery roar as it frictioned against the air, slashing at the monster.

In an instant, the blade fiercely cut through the monster's chest, leaving a charred, burnt cut.

It hit?

No!

A burst of fiery light suddenly exploded on Kajiya Itten's chest armor, and a powerful force sent him flying backward.

The Fire Finch Armor's defense was not strong, and he was completely unprepared, suddenly taking an attack.

He felt as if a blade had passed through his armor, directly striking his chest.

The attack, when?

With the speed of the Fire Finch, how could he not dodge it, how could he not detect it?

Moreover, this attack felt exactly like the strike he had just delivered, as if it had appeared out of thin air and struck him.

Looking at the fleshy Fire Finch on the monster's shoulder at this moment, he instantly understood the monster's ability.

It binds the damage it receives to him.

As long as it is attacked, he will also suffer the same attack.

"Damn it, it actually has such a despicable ability!"

Kajiya Itten looked at the monster in front of him, momentarily unsure of how to proceed.

However, the monster in front of him would not think as much as he did.

It swayed as it rose from the ground, and the wound on its chest was healing at a visible rate.

Yet, the attack Kajiya Itten had just sustained showed no sign of improvement.

It seemed it only shared the damage received with him, rather than binding its physical state to him.

"Da da da!"

The monster roared and charged at Kajiya Itten again, spreading its arms, seemingly intending to trade blows with Kajiya Itten.

Kajiya Itten, who had not yet figured out a solution, could only avoid its sharp edge.

Relying on the extreme speed of the Fire Finch, he skillfully dodged the monster, and the blade in his hand swung out again, striking the monster's shoulder.

This time, Kajiya Itten held back his strength, but he still felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Can any degree of attack be converted equally?

The monster furiously swung its claw, covered in bone spikes, at Kajiya Itten.

As Kajiya Itten moved his feet, he once again transformed into a phantom, easily dodging the monster's attack.

Then, he widened the distance.

"Fire Finch Feather!"

A feather materialized as Kajiya Itten waved his hand, like a fiery throwing knife, piercing the monster's thigh!

As the Fire Finch Feather struck the monster, Kajiya Itten's thigh also experienced a sharp pain.

Is there no way even by increasing the distance?

What if the distance was even further? But his Fire Finch Feather has an attack range.

Once outside the Fire Finch Feather's attack range, no matter how far away, he would have no way to harm this monster.

"Roar, roar!!!"

The monster roared and charged at Kajiya Itten again; this time, the fleshy Fire Finch head had begun to move towards the center of its neck.

It seemed as if it wanted to replace the monster's exploded head and become the new head.

Although Kajiya Itten didn't know what was happening, he had an intuition.

Once that Fire Finch-mimicking head replaced the monster's shattered head, something extremely unpleasant would occur.

However, if he attacked this monster, the same degree of attack would be returned to him.

This monster also possessed self-healing abilities, and with continuous attacks, the one that would ultimately fall would undoubtedly be the Fire Finch, which had low defense.

If it were an armor with strong defense, he wouldn't have these worries.

He could directly force an attack.

But the Fire Finch could not.

'Damn it, why does it feel like my weakness is being targeted.'

'It's as if some entity is secretly plotting behind the scenes.'

Kajiya Itten couldn't help but think this.

Every aspect of this monster was simply too restraining for him, making it hard not to suspect that someone had deliberately planned it.

Boom boom boom!

The monster and the armor's afterimages constantly intertwined and collided.

The surrounding buildings began to be destroyed, and the ground also continuously cracked during the battle.

All this destruction was caused by the monster's immense strength; although the two seemed to be intertwining and fighting, in reality, Kajiya Itten was constantly dodging the monster's attacks at extreme speed.

Whoosh!

The fiery afterimage was torn apart, and Kajiya Itten flashed behind the monster, once again holding back his strength and delivering a blow.

The monster's flesh was cut open, and Kajiya Itten felt as if a whip had struck his back.

"Roar!"

The pain made the monster roar and twist its body, throwing a punch at Kajiya Itten.

Kajiya Itten quickly distanced himself, holding his blade, and watched the monster from afar.

At this moment, the monster's fleshy head, mimicking the Fire Finch, had completely moved onto its neck.

It was also at this moment that the monster in front of him suddenly stopped moving.

That fleshy head kept changing, finally reverting to the mimicked form of the Fire Finch.

'What's going on? Just for a moment, this monster's aura completely changed.'

Kajiya Itten looked at the monster in front of him and drew a card.

"A new Armored Warrior?"

"It seems that Summoner has fallen into your hands."

The monster suddenly spoke.

This monster, which had shown no sign of reason or intelligence since its appearance, like a wild beast, spoke.

Unlike the Cockroach Monster.

The Cockroach Monster had displayed the power of intelligence from the very beginning, but this monster seemed to have suddenly gained reason and intelligence in that instant.

It was as if it had suddenly transformed into a different entity.

No, it had already transformed into a different entity!

This monster was being remotely controlled by something, manipulated like a puppet on strings!

"Bastard, don't say such incomprehensible things, who are you!"

Kajiya Itten felt a sky-obscuring shadow enveloping him.

"The armor of flame, the power of the Fire Finch."

"Such unpleasant flames, who are you?"

The monster instead asked Kajiya Itten's true identity.

"Where are your manners, bastard? Don't you know you should introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name!"

Kajiya Itten was already planning his escape route in his mind.

First, lure this monster to an uninhabited place, then seize the opportunity to escape.

"With the power of this body, it is indeed difficult to harm you, warrior of the Fire armor."

"But I'm also too lazy to slowly find your true identity like before."

"So..."

Crack! Crack!

The ground suddenly shattered, and countless thick roots burst through the concrete, coiling towards Kajiya Itten.

Kajiya Itten gripped the Fire Finch Blade, slashing horizontally and vertically!

Blazing flames swept across his body like a wandering dragon, pulverizing the roots and turning them into ashes that filled the sky.

Kajiya Itten quickly looked towards the monster's position, only to find that the monster had not taken the opportunity to attack him, but instead charged into the building next door.