ZZZJEK!!
The White Tower collapses.
Even though it was exposed to antimatter bombing, Speira effortlessly brought down the White Tower.
As Speira stepped onto the ruins of the White Tower, another faintly visible White Tower on the horizon began its antimatter bombardment.
Despite the presence of a major city close to the epicenter, the bombardment proceeded without hesitation.
!!!!!
Flashes of light and heat engulf Speira.
However, not long after, the antimatter-based bombing ceased.
This was due to the complete depletion of stored antimatter.
Years’ worth of accumulated antimatter by Luna was entirely consumed merely to buy a little time.
The White Tower resumed its mana-based artillery fire, but to Speira, it was meaningless.
Ignoring the bombardment, Speira stood on the scorched heap of ashes with a hardened expression.
TSUJUJIK-!
“…”
Speira could feel the blessings from transcendental beings intensifying without warning.
Though this indicated that the power Speira could wield had grown even stronger, Speira could not feel joy.
Were transcendental beings sacrificing more than ever to bless her further? The implications were far from positive.
Gazing at her reflection in the Sacred Sword, Speira frowned.
*
Ramenta perceived it all.
The process where overlapping spaces were swallowed by darkness, distorted, and then restored as if reversing time—Ramenta understood it all while within the embrace of the World Tree.
Amidst the completion of the overlapping space,
Ramenta fully comprehended the choice made by the World Tree and its gambler-like nature.
“…Misjudged.”
It wasn’t about the magnitude of power or levels of attainment.
The entity known as Luna harbored a potential for transcendence that mortals should never dare to dream of.
A fragment of transcendence that should have been beyond reach shimmered within her.
Thus, Ramenta couldn’t help but evaluate Speira’s misjudgment.
Speira needed time—time for Anthonyus to completely fall, and time for the continent to suffer from catastrophic division.
Therefore, Speira allowed a brief delay before fully revealing her blade to the continent.
But time was never equal.
For some, a century was necessary for progress, whereas for others, it could be achieved in a single day.
Speira judged her own “time” to be more valuable.
Even though Luna’s “potential” was incomprehensible, Speira mistakenly believed her time, supported by the transcendental beings beyond the starlight, was more valuable than Luna’s.
That was Speira’s fatal miscalculation.
Even without sufficient preparation, Speira should have charged recklessly, tearing into Luna like a dog to snatch away any gaps in time.
But Speira did not do so.
She acted with an unwarranted sense of ease, and ultimately, this led to results she did not wish for.
ZZEUNG!!
The overlapping of spaces was completed.
The vision of those within the overlapped space blurred as different landscapes mixed together like paint.
Only a few could maintain their sanity amidst the confusion caused by such an unprecedented sensory experience.
Of course, Ramenta easily traversed the swirling scenery and stepped onto the battlefield.
“…”
Standing on the battlefield, Ramenta remained within the embrace of her mother.
Within her mother’s embrace, Ramenta was an untouchable absolute being wielding transcendent power.
The world breathes in harmony with Ramenta. The earth responds to her desires and transforms accordingly.
This “domain” bestowed upon Ramenta a blessing surpassing that of a Swordmaster’s Absolute Domain.
Even if overwhelming darkness surged from the Demon King, it dared not rampage here.
ZZERJEK!!!!
The surging currents of dark energy began to dissipate.
Even the Demon King’s darkness could not properly invade Ramenta’s domain; it stagnated.
Now was the time for the tables to turn.
The horrific evil of the Demon King was no longer absolute, and within this domain, there were no allies for the Demon King.
On the other hand, the Empire’s legions hadn’t collapsed yet, and Luna stood on the battlefield unscathed.
Thus, it was now time for the offensive to reverse.
Certainly, it should have been.
TSUZUZUJIK!
“…”
As Ramenta watched the Demon King, she momentarily slowed her breathing.
The concentration of malevolence contained in the darkness continued to deepen.
The Demon King’s darkness, which had previously spread like mist, now flowed down like sticky liquid, soaking the ground.
Luna—a mere mortal—had revealed a fragment of transcendence witnessed by entities beyond the starlight… and perhaps something akin to fear was being projected onto Anthonyus.
TSUJUJIK!!!!
The flowing darkness invaded the land blessed by the World Tree.
Simultaneously, the vitality surrounding Ramenta intensified, emitting a warm glow.
An unprecedented level of the World Tree’s blessing concentrated on Ramenta.
This was no longer a war for mortals.
It was a proxy battle imbued with the agitation of transcendental beings beyond the stars.
This battlefield had far surpassed the level where ordinary mortals could interfere.
Instinctively, humans and elves standing within the overlapped space took a step back.
Luna and Ramenta briefly signaled them to retreat.
Immediately after,
The powers of countless transcendental beings clashed and exploded.
!!!!!!!
A current of force incomprehensible to human perception warped the very space.
Massive tree roots rising from the ground collided with waves of darkness, acting as floodgates.
The already tangled landscape shattered into pieces, drifting through the air due to the impact.
Amidst the chaotic scenery, Ramenta conducted hundreds of complex calculations requiring intense focus.
!!!!!!!
Magic circles wrapped around the tree roots clashed repeatedly with the waves of darkness.
At first glance, the clash between the Demon King and Ramenta might seem like a simple contest of strength.
However, Ramenta was implementing countless changes in magical formulas to counter the waves of darkness flowing from the Demon King.
“…Pathetic.”
Ramenta calmly evaluated Anthonyus thus.
Anthonyus was like a weapon of pure malevolence, devoid of reason.
Had he chosen his own corruption, he would have become a far more dangerous and lethal existence.
But Anthonyus never chose his own corruption.
In the end, this weapon of pure malevolence found itself in an unfavorable battlefield, squandering its power even against insignificant foes.
Thanks to this,
Luna was able to discern the characteristics of the numerous powers Anthonyus possessed, and Ramenta could prepare in advance to effectively counter Anthonyus’ malevolence based on that data.
Without prior preparation, it would have been impossible to respond so swiftly to the overflowing darkness.
The sacrifices of the Imperial army massacred one-sidedly were not in vain.
Preparations were sufficient, and the plan succeeded.
And yet…
It was terrifying.
“…”
An endless stream of agitation from unseen malevolent deities was continuously projected onto Anthonyus.
Driven by countless artifacts of malevolent deities, Anthonyus’ body finally began to move forward.
TSUJIK-!
The Command Blade swung.
Although the past intellect is gone, the ingrained memories of struggle carved into the flesh traced trajectories aligned with ultimate principles.
The boundless history of apostles flowing from the artifacts of malevolent deities advanced these trajectories aligned with ultimate principles to the next stage.
Even if it was a trajectory drawn by a weapon of pure malevolence submerged in evil.
The elegance it created severed the abundant warmth permeating the space.
AAAAAAH!!!!!
As the fissures of severed warmth opened up, Anthonyus advanced, and the artifacts of malevolent deities floated up to aim at Ramenta.
The artifacts accelerated, and the magic circles Ramenta inscribed in the air blocked all of them.
This response was possible because the characteristics of the artifacts had been identified beforehand.
But the relentless advance of the Demon King, pouring out darkness step by step, was something Ramenta could not possibly withstand.
“…”
Ramenta could not move her body.
In exchange for fixing her physical form to a single coordinate, Ramenta had accepted the World Tree’s blessings to their utmost limit.
Even so, it was insufficient to halt the advancing Anthonyus.
It wasn’t solely due to the disparity in strength.
The indelible resentment and hatred imprinted on Anthonyus’ soul drove his body forward.
Ultimately, what moved Anthonyus was the frustration and regret he harbored.
“…”
Ramenta breathed calmly.
Though it was baseless confidence, Ramenta firmly believed that Luna had not yet revealed her full potential.
Perhaps, in a far-fetched assumption, she might even be hiding an additional circle.
Regardless of how much she concealed, if Luna revealed her full capabilities and cooperated with Ramenta, they could annihilate Anthonyus on this battlefield.
But Ramenta also understood that this shouldn’t happen.
To win this “war,” the latent power Luna concealed must not be revealed.
Thus, Ramenta decided to follow the original ‘plan’ agreed upon with Luna.
CHI! TRDTRTRTTRTRT!
From the void,
Branches of ice began to sprout.
The ice branches growing along the boundary of the overlapped space started to encroach on the fragmented landscape at an increasingly rapid pace.
The overlapped space was compressed by the ice branches.
Simultaneously, all beings within the overlapped space gradually began to come to a stop.
TRDTRTRTRTRTRTRT!!!
The ice branches spread rapidly.
However, Anthonyus began to advance at an even faster rate.
Due to the significant amount of power Ramenta allocated to creating the ice branches, the balance was completely disrupted.
Finally, the overflowing darkness soaked Ramenta’s toes.
AAAAAAH!!!!!
The magic circle Ramenta was drawing crumbled under the Command Blade.
Death approached. Yet Ramenta’s expression remained as cold as ever.
Just as Anthonyus’ blade drew near,
Ramenta muttered with a faint smirk.
“…How disappointing.”
Right before Anthonyus reached out to grasp Ramenta,
A completely different power intervened in the battlefield.
Then—
ZZZEJIK-!
The darkness soaking Ramenta’s feet began to flow backward, as if reversing time.
At the same moment, Anthonyus’ movements froze for an instant.
During the fleeting moment Anthonyus was frozen,
The ice branches covering the overlapped space finally reached both Ramenta and Anthonyus.
Ramenta moved her lips.
“To entrust our fate to just a single human?”
Just a single human.
Moreover, a mortal who made the transcendental beings beyond the starlight reveal their fear.
Entrusting our fate to such a mortal.
Truly a bitter and absurd matter.
With a slight twist of the lips, Ramenta extended her hand toward Anthonyus alongside the ice branches.
“Let us leave the stage together for a while.”
The Demon King.
The weapon of malevolent deities and the critical pipe enabling their active intervention in this reality.
Let us pull this Demon King off the stage for just a short while.
This brief moment will be enough.
“Expectations… are high.”
Savoring the inaudible screams of the malevolent deities.
Ramenta completed the spell.
The next moment.
The overlapped space, frozen and pressed together, detached completely from the dimension of reality and sank into the world beyond.
