The half-bodied Profaned Angel raised a broken RendMagic Staff that glowed with bloody light. Behind it, the Rift expanded again and again, endless tentacles and clawed shadows tearing at the radiance to shield its remains. At the same time, Belial moved, because with three heads, he could strike both of them.
"Worthless mutt, I did not fight you earlier only because my time was almost up," Belial snarled. "But that does not stop me from killing you now. You brought this on yourself!"
The massive T-Cross Dragon Roarer swung its four bladed wings with open contempt. One head opened wide and bit down hard on the charging lance, crushing it within its jaws amid searing flame and freezing corrosion. The other two heads flared red-eyed as the ice shell over their bodies began to melt, white engine-like flames blasting from the gaps in their armor.
What followed was not Freezing Breath, but a rapidly expanding red-white beam. With terrifying heat, it sliced through the ground and surged toward both enemies at once. Blocking while attacking both sides at the same time, Belial showed no restraint.
Even in this situation, such explosive power was unexpected. Augustus barely managed to defend and was blasted back in a sorry state. He raised his shield to block, only for the beam to pierce through it, melting the ornate armor on his right shoulder until it collapsed into glittering golden Shard fragments.
"What a monster," Augustus muttered, his brow twitching. "I should not have forgotten the rules of the hunt. The closer a beast is to death, the more frenzied it becomes."
"This is getting dangerous," Elfido thought, recalling Edward sealed in the coffin. He had only intended to muddy the waters and slip away, but now Belial's condition was obvious to both of them. Since things had come this far, he decided to unleash everything and see if he could take them both down in one strike.
Neither of them had expected the result to be so violent. The red-black flames, no longer sealed in ice, roared freely as the ice shell melted away, revealing a shifting mass of black mist beneath. Crimson eyes burned with madness.
"This is… who are you really?" Icelis widened her eyes from within, feeling the temperature climb higher and higher. The power behind this change was something she knew all too well, something she had once sealed away at the cost of everything.
She had thought it was that Black Dragon, but this power was unmistakable. Worse still, it was being used directly through her body, pushed to the brink of collapse. "Wait, are you not being a bit too extreme…"
A vast ring of crimson flame exploded outward, dragging the temperature straight into hellish heat as smoke filled the air. This was no longer simple cold, but another kind of force that caused everything to wither and decay at terrifying speed. The frozen domain itself was being set alight.
This was Belial directly invoking the power of Rodan, forcing himself into an early overdrive. Since he could not last much longer anyway, there was no reason to save what power he had left. "If I am going offline soon, I might as well blow you up before I go. Who knows, it might work."
He calculated how to throw the other two occupants out of his body when the chance appeared. If this failed, he could always come back later and try again. "Now, all of you can die!"
The blazing Great Dragon surged forward, unfurling wings of fire that blotted out the sky as it charged both enemies. At the same moment, two small figures were hurled from within, Nefit and Icelis, their hair stained black. "Now, this is it!" Chloe shouted, dashing forward to catch them.
Seeing the other two materials safely removed and the effect fully applied, Fei'er Li finally let out a breath. She raised the book high, where the Holy Sword imprint flickered with its last light. "Exclusive skill of the Chosen Hero… Fourth Heaven… no, wait. Sword of Salvation, activate!"
Far away, in a place of endless light, the long-standing Holy Sword trembled faintly. Chloe felt a burning pain spread across the back of her hand. A magnificent gold Gold Rank radiance surged upward, forming a blazing cross that pierced the sky.
Fei'er Li had mostly seen the effects of another Holy Sword in the original story, the one that deployed a sealed domain. Simply put, it nullified all effects within its range, forcing everyone to fight with raw stats alone, though it had limits and heavy cost. So what was the effect of the first Holy Sword, the one long ago broken by Edward?
After coming to this world, she had investigated what she could. Most accounts described overwhelming Holy Light, with members of Black Crown, the Demon King, servants of Gold, Great Dragon, and Evil God all falling beneath it, though the stories were vague. Only through actual use could its true power be understood.
It linked together the remaining Laws of the world, compressing them into a single strike of immense force. The power depended on how many Laws one could encompass within their domain. Put simply, it ignored everything and dealt direct damage to the target, determined solely by the user's output.
"Impossible, that is the Holy Sword!" Elfido roared, disbelief filling his eyes. "I have corrupted this world for so many years, and that Chosen Hero was dealt with by my own schemes. How can the light of the Holy Sword still appear!"
The rising cross tore open the corner of fear buried deep in his heart. Augustus also looked up, unable to identify it, but from Elfido's reaction and the surging energy, he knew it was nothing ordinary. After a moment, Elfido judged its scale and relaxed slightly.
"Fortunately, it has not reached the level of the past Chosen Hero. In other words, it still cannot kill me."
His eyes then filled with naked malice, far removed from his earlier forced smile. "Who is using this power? No matter what, I will find them, and they must die."
As he traced the source, he saw the light transform into a roaring flood rushing toward him. He turned to flee, only to realize it was not aimed at him at all. It was aimed at Belial.
The torrent of light slammed into the spreading flames and caused no damage. Instead, it merged directly into them, and the fire expanded as if drenched in fuel, surging skyward. "What is this… that is a huge refill," Belial said, then paused. "Wait, there is more."
As the power poured in, mixed with vast light, his perception changed. Before, the connection had been blurry and time-limited, but now it felt completely different. Though still far weaker than his true body, he understood one thing clearly.
"Before this power runs out," Belial said, "my connection speed is almost synchronized with the main body."
It was nothing like the minor links he had used before. He no longer needed a line, turning himself into a massive base station instead, with everything in range able to connect. Greater power could be transmitted, even parts of the System and its Computational Power, along with fragments of Godzilla's abilities.
The time limit still existed, as the power was constantly burning away and he was in full overdrive. But what mattered was not how long Belial could last. It was how long Elfido and Augustus could endure.
"Now, receive your death!" he roared.
The soaring red-black flames shifted into the same gold Gold Rank hue as the Holy Sword's light. At the core, the compressed Great Dragon became like a furnace, fusing elements and Laws into a unified brilliance. From it stepped a completely different white Great Dragon.
This form was pure and radiant, adorned only with traces of gold and hints of familiar crimson in its eyes. It looked like Gold set into flawless marble, melted into elegant patterns across silver armor, vivid and statue-like. When it raised its head, an indescribable authority and divinity spread with the flowing light.
Golden sacred flames burned around it, expanding into a radiant corona woven with divine patterns, yet gentle to the eye. The familiar Energy Field spread outward, washing away the lingering filth of the Abyss like ice melting under the sun. Within the ruined ground, a newborn green sprout emerged, glowing faintly with gold.
Fei'er Li stared in quiet awe. That sun-like figure was like Dawn after a long, endless night.
"No, no!" "This should not be possible! That is the Holy Sword Authority of this world, born from the World Laws… how could you? You are clearly the same as us!"
Elfido stared at everything before him in disbelief. Beings like them were all affected by the Holy Sword, so when he saw the Holy Sword strike Belial, he even felt a flicker of joy. Now that joy was gone, replaced by shock that left him speechless.
That was Holy Sword Authority, true damage with crushing force and special effectiveness against their kind. He knew its power better than anyone, since he had once watched the Chosen Hero wield the Holy Sword to beat monsters and gods alike. Why was only that Great Dragon able to accept it and form such strength?