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"No wonder they call you the King of the Earth… you actually recognized my Balance Breaker."
Vali grinned in admiration. "Normally, my Divine Dividing—White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings—can cut any power I touch in half, and even make it my own."
"But once I activate Balance Breaker… I can halve the size of anything."
As soon as he said that, a strange force swept in, instantly surrounding Artoria in full.
But Artoria stayed completely calm, as an odd energy began surging from her body.
In the blink of an eye—
That strange power burst out from within her, and golden flames wrapped around her entire body like a protective aura.
It was the power of a Divine Blessing.
In just that instant, Artoria's energy skyrocketed to a terrifying level.
That strange halving force only made her golden flames flicker slightly… then it vanished completely.
She resisted the domain's power?
Vali's pupils shrank sharply, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
He'd tried to shrink Artoria's body—but it didn't work.
"No need to be surprised,"
Minato said with a laugh from the side. "Artoria now serves as one of my divine subordinates. A negative effect like that isn't even close to enough."
"No wonder they call you a God-Slayer,"
Vali said, nodding in realization, then grinned with battle hunger. "Still, even without that power, I can beat you fair and square."
"Your abilities are no joke, that's for sure."
"But in that case… I'll just have to finish this fast."
As she said that, the invisible sword in Artoria's hand began to take form—revealing what it truly was.
A sword.
A sword that, just by existing, could steal all the brilliance from the world around it.
Hummmm—!
An unimaginable wave of energy erupted from the holy blade.
"Wait… is that a Noble Phantasm being released?"
Vali's expression turned serious. He lifted one hand slightly, and in an instant, countless bolts of magical lightning shot down from the sky like glowing streaks.
"Excalibur—Sword of Promised Victory!"
At the same moment, a beam of light shot straight into the heavens and down to the earth, like a divine power splitting the world apart, crashing into the magical lightning from above.
The next second—
Two completely different forces collided head-on.
And for a moment, the entire world fell silent.
BOOM!!!
No one knew how much time passed, but suddenly a deafening explosion rocked the sky, as a shockwave strong enough to obliterate everything tore out in all directions.
Crack! Crack!
The ground beneath them started crumbling, chunks of earth rolling and falling away like an avalanche.
Countless trees were reduced to splinters, obliterated as if wiped out by some invisible force.
At the center of the explosion—
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the air like a blazing sun.
That beam of light, like it could reach the heavens, swept away all the magical lightning and smashed straight into Vali.
"Divide!"
But just then, a deep voice echoed out—and the beam of light suddenly dimmed.
"Can he block it?" Minato narrowed his eyes.
This was the true horror of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings—
Even enemy attacks could be cut in half.
But of course—
Everything has its limits.
Even Sacred Gears that could slay gods still depended on their user.
And Artoria's Excalibur wasn't just any weapon—it was a true Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm.
Not to mention, she was currently using the power of Divine Blessing on top of that.
Which meant that this strike had reached a whole new level of power.
"Damn it…"
Vali's furious roar rang out.
Even the beam that had been halved countless times still engulfed him completely.
And then—
A blood-covered figure slammed into the ground with a loud bang.
Cracks ran all through the white armor covering Vali's body, and blood was leaking out from every direction.
"Is… is he okay?" Artoria asked worriedly. "Miss Rias did say we shouldn't kill him…"
"The mighty White Dragon Emperor isn't gonna die that easily,"
Minato shook his head. "Besides, your attack was weakened a ton in an instant."
"I'm right, aren't I, White Dragon Emperor?"
"Cough, yeah… you're not wrong,"
Vali coughed up blood and gave a bitter smile. "Still, that hit wasn't light at all."
"Looks like wanting to fight you was a bit too ambitious."
He looked over at Artoria. "You won this one. Let's go again sometime."
With that, Vali spread his Light Wings and vanished into the distant sky.
"What a powerful opponent,"
Artoria said with admiration. "I used all my Divine Blessing power on that last strike, and he still managed to fly away afterward?"
"Oh, your blessing power's gone now?"
"Well, I'll just have to give you more."
"Huh?"
Artoria blinked and turned her head—only to find Minato's eyes right in front of her.
Ugh…
That same familiar feeling again.
The power of Divine Blessing… was flowing once more.
In the Apartment Courtyard—
Utaha and the others had already set up a grill, and were putting the skewers they'd prepared over the fire.
Soon, a mouthwatering smell started spreading through the air.
"No doubt about it… meat from a Super Dangerous Species really does taste different."
Jenova stared at the skewers, quietly wiping her mouth.
"Hey, looks like someone's coming?"
Irina was the first to speak up.
Everyone turned—and saw a beautiful blonde girl standing there, staring straight at them.
The smell of that grilled meat… it was so good.
Erina Nakiri swallowed hard and, almost unconsciously, started walking toward the group.
She'd just been bored and decided to travel to this little town—
And never expected to stumble on something so amazing.
In her memory, not even the highest-grade meat had ever smelled this good.
"Um… may I try some of your grilled meat?"
Her last shred of restraint stopped her from barging in completely. She stood politely at the door.
Charging in like that…
Would just be way too rude.
"Of course you can! Come join us!"
Utaha smiled and invited her. "We've got way more than we can eat anyway."
"..."