"The Divine Wrath of Thunder," similar to Angel's Arsenal of God, is a privilege of the fiery Angel to invoke the holy thunder of light from the goddess, especially effective against dark creatures. However, this place suppresses the power from the goddess, which puzzles Angel. Logically, any place illuminated by radiance should be the domain of the gods, and this small world does not seem to be filled with darkness. Why is that?
Shaking her head, Angel decides to temporarily ignore the reason for now. In any case, the opposing divine scorner should have turned to ashes under the divine punishment. Even though weakened, it is still a power from the divine, and ordinary chi alone cannot defend against it.
But in the next moment, a figure rises from the thick smoke, spreading ice crystal wings and brandishing enchanted twin swords with gleaming chi on their blades even brighter than before. And the speed...is twice as fast as before!
"I apologize for disappointing you, but I'm not that easy to kill. After all, this power comes from a deal with the lord god!" Tiran's speed is too fast for Angel to dodge, leaving her no choice but to rely on her combat instinct to block the sword strike with her holy sword. In that close proximity, Tiran's freezing ice chi, The Realm, is fully unleashed. Countless translucent ice crystal-formed flaming swords, armor-piercing axes, sharp hammers, and cross spears shape instantaneously, piercing their target from all directions.
It is impossible to defend against attacks from all directions with just one holy sword, but what swordsmanship cannot achieve, magic can.
Uttering a syllable in an incomprehensible language, the divine light around Angel suddenly intensifies. Even the holy sword in her hand is enveloped in a blazing flame.
The unknown divine skill elevates the temperature around Angel to a terrifying level, directly dispersing The Realm of cold chi. Those solid weapons are also evaporated by the high temperature.
But Tiran does not retreat. The Realm cannot be maintained, but her ninth-level ice chi can be sustained amidst the blazing flame. Creating those ice weapons was just to distract Angel and force her to use magic, creating a momentary gap for herself.
Unlike Aya, who can harness both Magic and Chi simultaneously, Angel is a knight and can only rely on the sword in her hand.
Seizing the brief opportunity, Tiran's sword successfully breaks through Angel's sword circle, plunging the blade into Angel's chest.
The sensation transmitted by the sword is far from the expected feeling of hitting tough armor; instead, it feels surprisingly soft, as if stabbing a newborn kitten. The golden blood splatters on Tiran's face, evaporating completely moments later due to the high temperature, but Tiran is slightly stunned.
Unconcerned about being pierced through her chest, the fierce flame on Angel's holy sword remains, carrying an unmatched momentum as she slashes down towards Tiran with a shrill whistle.
Forced to do so, Tiran can only abandon the short sword pierced into Angel's body, avoiding it by flapping her wings and shifting the remaining sword to her right hand, gazing at Angel in astonishment.
The sensation and the splattered blood confirm that she did pierce Angel's body, but why is she so indifferent?
Slowly, Angel reaches out and pulls out the short sword from her chest. The wound, which was still bleeding golden blood moments ago, is now completely healed within a few breaths. Meanwhile, the excellent quality enchanted short sword is easily melted into a pool of red-hot iron under Angel's flames.
"...Damn, is she immortal?"
Thinking that she could vanquish Angel without the rules of the Holy Rank, Tiran underestimated her opponent's strength.
"Divine scorner, perish!"
The voice is unmistakably that of a clear and youthful female voice, but it carries a sense of danger and majesty like a funeral bell in the night. It seems that Angel has gradually emerged from the confusion caused by the sudden drop in her strength when she adapted to the suppression of power within the World Tree.
The golden sea of divine light spreads across the sky, and in the radiant glow, three golden divine spears appear around Angel.
The projection of the Divine Spear of Burrelian, a powerful attack that nearly pushed her and Aya into a desperate situation in the royal capital. At that time, it clearly required a considerable amount of time to charge up. But now, she is able to summon three of them in an instant?! Could it be that she wasn't giving it her all back then?
"Aya, hurry up. I'm under a lot of pressure here."
A bead of cold sweat drips down her cheek, and the princess urges anxiously in the contract with a hint of guilt in her voice.
Actually, Aya, who was singing powerful magic spells in the dense forest below the sky duel, could clearly see that Tiran was not just under a lot of pressure. Other than a counterattack during the surprise attack, Tiran was constantly being pressed and attacked. But casting such a powerful magic spell required great caution. A small mistake in pronunciation could lead to a backlash of magic, resulting in mental impact that could range from mild idiocy to instant death.
"Please... please don't rush. Just hold on a little longer."
"Hold on? Are you kidding me?! Can't you give me some good news?!"
Tiran felt frustrated. If she could hold on longer, would she even have the energy to talk? With her strength, she would normally crush any opponent weaker than her. But now that she faced an Angel at the same level of power, the disadvantage of opposing elemental attributes became apparent. The temperature of the Angel's light flames was ridiculously high, making Tiran's ice attribute Chi ineffective. The opponent also had the ability to resurrect, making it nearly impossible to directly eliminate them. Even in long-range attacks, Tiran had to use at least three times the amount of ice Chi to counter a single fireball.
...
In the Divine Court, located in the void above the sky.
"Ummmm, it seems like quite an impressive battle, Princess. Not many mortals can fight against a blazing Angel like this." Sitting on the divine throne, the Elf God rested his elbow on the nearby seat, his hand supporting his chin as he tilted his head, fixated on the screen displaying the battle between Tiran and the Angel.
"Instead of watching it live, shouldn't you consider explaining this to me, Artemis?" A familiar voice, known to the Elf God, suddenly appeared in a small window at the top right corner of the screen.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand a thing." The Elf God innocently blinked his eyes, feigning confusion.
"My blazing Angels are fighting alongside a human inside the World Tree, and you're saying it has nothing to do with you? How could they even enter the World Tree without your permission?!" The voice of the Goddess of Light expressed disappointment and frustration. "It was the same way ten thousand years ago. Even if you pretend to be ignorant, the least you could do is act professional!"
It was truly unfathomable why the Elf race, known for their elegance and grace, would have a deity like him.
"Oh... so they are inside the World Tree? Hehe." The Elf God lightly tapped his own head, attempting to play it off as cuteness.
"Cut it out... You've lived for thousands of years, and you're still acting cute? Do you believe that I'll come and teach you a lesson in a minute?" The expression on the goddess's face, initially calm and composed with a noble smile, was gradually becoming distorted as she scolded.
"Calm down. You're the Goddess of Light, after all. Compose yourself... As for the World Tree matter, it must be Aramette who let them in without permission. Don't worry, I'll deal with him when I get back." Artemis wore an expression of frustration.
What kind of character is Aramette? I'm not sure. But would he dare to do something without your permission?! The goddess was filled with anger.
"Forget it..." The goddess could do nothing about this stubborn fool. With a sigh of exhaustion, she said, "If something happens to my little Nana, you'll be the first one to pay!"
...
Swinging the sword showing cracks in its blade and extinguishing the faint glow on it, Tiran re-adjusted her chaotic breath and charged at the Angel once again.
The Angel launched a full-scale counterattack. With all of its armory open, the Angel wielded clusters of golden sun flames. Even Tiran had to struggle to defend against the combined assault.
The stalemate had lasted for a while now. Every time Tiran attempted a close-range attack, she was met with a barrage of firepower from the Angel's armory and sun flames, preventing her from getting close. The few successful surprise attacks were shattered by the Angel's divine sword.
If it weren't for her nearly boundless Chi reserves, she would have been defeated long ago.
"Miss, I've got this covered. Please retreat and be careful not to get affected by the aftermath," Aya's voice came through the mental contract communication.
The Angel noticed that its opponent, who had maintained a strong offensive posture, suddenly distanced herself. Feeling puzzled, it was about to pursue when a strong sense of unease surged within its heart.
The once tranquil forest, disturbed by the commotion of their battle, was suddenly filled with a strong sense of threat, as if... it posed a danger to their lives.
How is this possible?! I possess the blessing from the Goddess, the nearly invincible Immortality beneath the Holy Rank. How could there be an existence in the mortal realm that could threaten my life?
The answer became clear in the next moment.
A sword? Is that... a sword?
Invisible threads weaved in the air above the dense forest, taking shape. In the distorted light, an invisible giant sword appeared, pointing its tip towards the Angel in the sky.
Aya, standing on a clearing in the midst of the woods, gasped for breath, her face pale. Truly, it was Ancient Dragon Language Magic; just giving it form had nearly depleted all of her magical reserves in the Sea of the Yellow Dragon Spirit.
The remaining magic was barely enough to swing the sword once.
But once was enough.
...
In a different dimension, the two divine beings watching the battle through a curtain of light shared a look of astonishment upon witnessing the invisible sword.
"That... impossible! How can something like that still exist?" Elf God muttered anxiously.
"The Golden Dragon... has it really learned even the things that old thing came up with back then?"
...
"Its name is... the Sword that Rends the Sky!"
Although Aya didn't understand the exact meaning of the ancient dragon incantation, she couldn't help but exclaim in a loud voice as she looked at the imposing gigantic blade. At the same time, she pointed her finger towards the Angel and swung it down.
As if being gripped by an invisible giant hand, the giant sword stood upright and descended from above, leaving behind a bright line. After the line, the surrounding space began to tremble violently, almost splitting apart.
Tiran, who was watching, felt a twitch in the corner of his eye. Manipulating space? That was an ability only possessed by those of the Holy Rank. How could someone who wasn't Holy Rank use it in this small space?
Manipulating Holy Rank power below the Holy Rank has already happened twice, and only a race like the Golden Dragon, naturally blessed by divine beings, could achieve it, right?
That sword directly locked the surrounding space, preventing the use of Holy Rank rules. Angel couldn't even move her fingers, and could only watch helplessly as the sword descended on her.
