Tasha pulled her hand out of Dukeram's chest and then gathered red energy.

'I'll crush you all!'

All humans besides Kang Oh were her enemies.

"Die!"

Fresh Blood Wave!

Bam!

Blood red energy exploded from her hand, and pushed forward like a wave.

However...!

Dukeram quickly swung Max Cain and sliced the energy in two equal pieces.

Then, he unleashed a barrage of powerful attacks. Dukeram's strength was beyond compare with Invincible Emperor active.

In an instant, he hit her five times. Tasha's body accrued wound after wound, and eventually returned to her demon sword form.

Since she was defeated, it would take a long time before Kang Oh could call her out again.

Of course, Kang Oh didn't twiddle his thumbs while Dukeram was attacking Tasha.

The ice-horned demon swung Sarahoff at Dukeram's neck.

Dukeram responded immediately. He tilted Max Cain and blocked Kang Oh's attack.

Then...

Ring of Frost!

His purple blade expelled bitter cold energy, which spread outwards.

Dukeram's hair, eyebrows, the tip of his nose, and Max Cain's blade began to freeze.

Invincible Guardian!

Sand crawled along Dukeram's feet and spread across his body, protecting him like armor.

Only a small portion of Dukeram's body was frozen solid. The rest of his body was covered by sand. Dukeram then swung Max Cain.

Time-Space Slash!

Kang Oh felt as though a frozen snake was lunging at him from behind.

His Hyper Intuition was warning him!

Bam.

Red shards of light burst from his back. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to dodge it.

However, Kang Oh didn't just sit there.

"Huahk!"

Ubist's wide blade slammed into Dukeram's body.

Bam!

What little ice was on Dukeram's body sloughed off, and he was pushed back.

However, he didn't take much damage; Invincible Guardian significantly raised Dukeram's defense.

Then, the sand was carried off by the wind.

Although Invincible Guardian significantly increased one's defense, the sand hardened, so it also limited one's mobility. That's why he'd turned it off.

Kang Oh retrieved Blood and forcefully threw it.

Weapon Bombardment!

The effects of 'Eternal Spring' caused his MP to regenerate extremely quickly. Plus, using Gluttony on the SS-rank Hellfire Greatsword gave him unlimited Stamina.

There was no reason to save his secret moves, which cost a ton of MP and/or Stamina.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Blood, which fiercely spun through the air, possessed incredible power. Even so, Dukeram didn't even try to dodge it.

Sword Parry!

Screech!

Blood slid off of Max Cain and fell into the soft sand.

Kang Oh didn't let up. He immediately rushed at Dukeram.

Mad Wind's Sword!

He repeatedly swung his jet-black and purple blades!

Dukeram stomped on the ground, forming a wall of sand that separated the two of them.

However, a sand wall wouldn't be able to stop Kang Oh.

Bam, bam, bam!

He immediately crushed through it.

However, the sand wall had been nothing more than a diversion.

Dukeram charged straight at him like a drill amidst the scattering grains of sand.

Steel Rain!

Stab, stab, stab!

Dukeram repeatedly thrust his sword at him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Sarahoff versus the legendary Max Cain. The three blades continuously clashed, emitting a constant 'clang' in the air.

The more he swung his sword, the faster he would become. That was Mad Wind's Sword.

Steel Rain worked similarly. The power of his thrusts would become stronger and stronger.

Mad Wind's Sword was like a raging storm, while Steel Rain was like a meteor that cut through the world.

Both Kang Oh and Dukeram's attacks became even stronger, but neither of them backed down. They actually slightly, very slightly, advanced.

The more they did, the more intense their attacks became.

It was like the Wind God and Thunder God were doing battle!

Countless shards of light fell from their bodies.

How much time had passed?

Kang Oh and Dukeram kept attacking each other.

Hyper Intuition!

It was due to this mysterious, psychic ability that he gained from a sudden automobile accident that he was able to dodge and find weaknesses faster than Dukeram.

At some point, Dukeram was unable to block Kang Oh's blades.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Kang Oh slashed, cut, and stabbed Dukeram's body again and again.

Red and black shards rose through the air like a fire show. Dukeram's HP quickly dipped to critical levels.

Ultimately...

Stab!

Kang Oh managed to stab Dukeram in the chest with Sarahoff.

However, Kang Oh didn't look happy in the slightest.

Dukeram's face was contorted due to the effects of 'Awful Pain', but it wasn't the face of a loser.

Both were well aware that this wasn't the end.

Dukeram's Tarsonis Armor glowed brightly.

Full Heal!

Dukeram's HP, which Kang Oh had worked so hard to lower, had been fully restored. Not only that, but his MP and Stamina had been restored too.

Then, he began his counterattack.

Enlightened One!

This skill significantly increased the power of any sword-related skill, and maximized the potential of a sword's item effects!

Dukeram had used this secret move against Burkan, so it had been on cooldown this entire time.

However, it had become usable during his intense back and forth with Kang Oh.

"Huahk!" Dukeram yelled, and activated Max Cain's special ability.

Supersonic Strike!

It was amplified by both Invincible Emperor, which quadrupled his abilities, and Enlightened One, which drew out the full power of his sword's item effects.

This was a first.

Kang Oh had been hit before his Hyper Intuition could even warn him.

It was just that fast. It was even faster than Swift Diak, which was regarded as the fastest monster in Arth.

Stab!

Max Cain's glittering blade pierced Kang Oh's stomach.

Kang Oh lost a ton of HP instantly. He was even at risk of dying.

However, he couldn't afford to die and revive himself.

'I can't let Gluttony turn off.'

If he revived and came back, then all of his buffs would disappear. Without Gluttony, he wouldn't be a match for Dukeram.

Dukeram pulled out his blade and attacked Kang Oh again.

Supersonic Strike was a chargeable move, so he couldn't use it consecutively.

Instead...

Vital Thrust!

Max Cain's blade flashed, and came flying at Kang Oh's neck.

This time, however, Kang Oh defended himself in time.

Moon's Protection!

His necklace glowed and a full moon barrier shielded him.

Bam!

Max Cain couldn't penetrate the barrier. However, he would only have to wait three seconds for the barrier to disappear.

Crack.

After three seconds had passed, the barrier cracked like an exploding watermelon!

However, dark red energy came out like seeping fruit juice.

Dukeram tightened his legs and swung his sword downwards.

Steel Slash!

Enlightened One had greatly increased the power of his skill.

Dukeram planned to bisect the red energy in a single strike.

It was a huge mistake.

The power contained within the blood red energy was far greater than he could've imagined. Dukeram was swept away and fell to the floor.

"Ugh."

Awful Pain followed. However, Dukeram wasn't so weak that he'd let a little pain beat him.

He used Max Cain to support himself and quickly stood up.

Tramp.

Kang Oh had transformed into the Dual Demon, with Blood in hand rather than Sarahoff, and demonic horns on his head and dark red wings on his back.

A giant hourglass embellished with gold and a draconic ornament appeared above Kang Oh's head.

This was the effect of his Dragon Treasure Belt, 'Dragon's Hourglass'.

Whir!

A magnificent sound rang out, and the sand began to move.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sand fell, and the hourglass radiated dim light onto Kang Oh.

The Dragon's Hourglass could either accelerate time, reducing all of his skill's cooldowns, or slow down time, increasing the duration of all his buffs.

Kang Oh chose the latter.

[You have summoned the Dragon's Hourglass.]

[You have slowed down time, increasing the duration of all your buffs.]

[All MP has been consumed.]

[Gluttony's remaining 3 minutes has been increased to 33 minutes.]

[Blood Emperor's remaining 25 seconds has been increased to 30 minutes and 25 seconds.]

[The duration of Eder's Secret Medicine has increased from 10 minutes to 40 minutes.]

Kang Oh had consumed a drug he'd gotten from Eder when he was protected by Moon's Protection. It increased his Physical stat by 40, and also increased his HP and Stamina regeneration.

'Blood Emperor', which launched an Emperor's Strike soon after its activation, only lasted for 30 seconds, and increased his attack power, speed, and the demon sword's life steal significantly.

However, all of his buffs had been extended by 30 minutes.

30 minutes!

It was ridiculous.

Kuhaang!

Kang Oh used Demon's Roar. It was as if he were saying, 'C'mon!'.

However, he was actually thinking the opposite.

'Don't attack me right now!'

Why?

Blood Emperor cost him half of his HP. Thus, his already low HP was now teetering on the brink.

Plus, Dragon's Hourglass had consumed all of his MP.

Although Eternal Spring was quickly regenerating his MP, he still needed some more time.

Therefore, not fighting was the best move for Kang Oh right now.

He had roared and exaggerated his movements.

'Cmon! C'mon!' It was as if he were beckoning to him.

Dukeram couldn't move hastily.

He didn't know the effects of the hourglass, and the provocation made it seem like he was walking into a trap.

It was too obvious of a trap though.

It wasn't like Kang Oh at all.

Thus, he wanted to jump right in. At the same time, he knew he shouldn't.

'What's he planning?'

Kang Oh was wearing a beast mask, so he couldn't see his expression.

He didn't know what to do.

Dukeram harassed him from afar using sand. However, it was completely ineffectual.

Ultimately, Dukeram kicked off the floor and rushed at Kang Oh!

There were times when you had to go in, even though you knew you were walking into a trap. That time was now.

He only had 22 minutes left on Invincible Emperor.

Even now, his sand soldiers were disappearing.

Without Invincible Emperor, Dukeram had no hope of beating Kang Oh. It also hurt to see how many forces he lost at the cost of the buff.

Thus, he had to finish this battle as soon as possible.

"Die!" Dukeram yelled roughly. However, his sword was anything but rough.

Steel Rain!

Dukeram unleashed sharp thrusts at Kang Oh.

'Tch.' Kang Oh inwardly clicked his tongue. He didn't use any special abilities and just protected himself with his twin demon swords.

Dukeram kept attacking him, and Kang Oh did nothing but defend himself.

'Is he...?' Dukeram's eyes gleamed.

Kang Oh was being overly defensive. He didn't counterattack, and focused completely on protecting himself.

Which meant...!

'He doesn't have much HP left. He's waiting for his HP to go back up.'

He was trying to buy time.

If that's the case, then he had to take him down now!

Dukeram kept up his assault. His thrusts continued to gain strength.

Break, break, break!

Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

There would be no point if he died here.

Mad Wind's Sword!

His MP, which had gone up to about 1/3, didn't go up anymore. Any MP he might've regained was spent using Mad Wind's Sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal upon metal repeatedly rang out.

However, neither side could block the other's attacks forever. Kang Oh and Dukeram's bodies were filled with small, superficial wounds that bled with shards of light.

Things were worse off for Kang Oh though. His HP would go down to 0 before Dukeram's did.

He was losing more HP than Blood could restore.

'I guess it can't be helped.'

If he wanted to win against Dukeram, then he would have to bet it all.

Kang Oh steeled himself.