"Today, you're all going out of print!"
The words had barely fallen when Zeroy's body was suddenly clad in armor. The Fireblade—but no longer the same as before. Now Kagari had merged with the power of the Red Dragon Emperor, emerald jewels gleaming on the war armor.
"Flames, Reignite!"
Blazing fire erupted skyward in the city.
The [True Longinus] wielded by Cao Cao bore the name of strongest Longinus. Beyond harboring the lingering will of the God of the Bible, it possessed extraordinarily troublesome abilities. Its subspecies Balance Breaker, named Holy Spear of the Bright Heavens, Wheel of Extremity, had seven powers:
Wheel Treasure: Destroys the strongest weapon on the field first, inflicting piercing damage.
Woman Treasure: Seals the special abilities of up to three women on the field for a set duration, prioritized by power, unavoidable.
Horse Treasure: Transports an enemy to any location, or can be used on the wielder.
Gem Treasure: Absorbs enemy attacks and returns them from any angle.
Elephant Treasure: Grants flight.
Layman Treasure: Creates clones.
General Treasure: Fires an orb of overwhelming, destructive force and impact.
The most problematic, most unreasonable of them was the Woman Treasure. Practically sexist—why the will of the God of the Bible would leave behind a Longinus with such a power was unfathomable. If one were strong enough, perhaps they could resist it. Unavoidable?
Then brute force your way through. Still, Zeroy did not believe she currently possessed the power to do so.
Cao Cao himself was nothing exceptional, yet the upper limits of the True Longinus were extremely high. In a life-and-death fight, he would certainly not hesitate to use such a cheat-like ability.
Thus, for Zeroy and Patchouli as women, the only choices against him were ambush or killing strike before he could act. Which was why Zeroy had unleashed her full power the moment she saw him.
Yet—she failed to kill him instantly.
Jeanne and Siegfried were already stronger than Leonardo of [Annihilation Maker], and Cao Cao surpassed them, even stronger than the White Dragon Emperor. Worse, they were in the middle of a city.
Zeroy had to restrain herself, making sure her attacks would not harm civilians. Her priority was to drive Cao Cao away from the city, not simply to kill him. As a result, she failed to secure the instant kill.
Sensing her murderous intent, knowing one comrade was dead and another missing, Cao Cao had no hesitation—he activated his Balance Breaker. And immediately used the Woman Treasure.
"So decisive—rather unexpected…"
Zeroy felt her powers being sealed, even the Kagari Armor vanishing. She tried resisting, but it was indeed unbreakable.
Her brow arched, yet she was unpanicked. She had known Cao Cao's power, had known of his woman-specific cheat. How could she have come without precautions, betting on an instant kill?
She hadn't spared Jeanne and Siegfried earlier because she lacked strength. Beforehand, she had arranged with Patchouli to set up an automatic teleportation spell. The moment her power was sealed, it would trigger, transporting them away.
Next, they would use anchor points placed on Jeanne and Siegfried to launch a surprise attack.
This time was only reconnaissance, to let the Hero Faction undergo judgment. Her Hellfire and Evil Slayer's range was limited; she had to get close to trigger them, but being close meant she'd be discovered.
If she could finish things now, all the better. If not, it was fine.
Patchouli was still in the subspace, yet it didn't matter. They carried items linking their states, each able to sense the other instantly. The moment Zeroy was caught by the Woman Treasure, Patchouli would know. The teleportation circle should be activating now, she thought.
With that in mind, Zeroy pulled back from Cao Cao. Her special powers sealed, yet her physical body remained intact. She wasn't suddenly reduced to a powerless human.
Then, she froze. Because as the teleportation magic activated, the seal on her body was suddenly lifted. Her powers had returned.
Zeroy donned the Kagari Armor again, halting the teleportation, staring in confusion at the armor burning with Hellfire.
"What trick is this?"
Had Cao Cao lost his mind, canceling his ability to fight her directly?
[Zeroy?]
Patchouli's voice rang in her mind. Calm as always, however, with the faintest tremor.
Zeroy chuckled inwardly, curious to see her expression.
[It's fine. The seal was broken, though the reason's unknown…]
She turned toward Cao Cao, who looked equally stunned.
"The Spear… why?"
It hadn't been his choice. The ability had failed on its own. He tried again, attempting to target Zeroy with the True Longinus, but the spear gave no response.
"Why? Why won't you answer me, Holy Spear?!"
Cao Cao's face grew grim.
"I don't know what happened; regardless, it looks like today's your unlucky day."
Zeroy smiled softly and immediately attacked. The unsealed Cao Cao could only fight back, bewildered as to why the Woman Treasure had ceased functioning. The other powers of the spear still worked normally, yet not that one.
The rest of his allies joined in, and soon Patchouli returned, carrying [Dimension Lost]. Its wielder had been strong, but that wasn't why she had emerged so late. She had been prying through his mind for knowledge, and hadn't even finished yet.
Even so, the anomaly with Zeroy had made her uneasy, so she had come out early.
In truth, she had reasons not to emerge at all. The Woman Treasure could also seal her. If no target could be selected, however, it was meaningless. Her hiding within the [Azure Box of Revolution] was also a countermeasure.
Nevertheless, it didn't matter now. Even if she came out and was sealed, her safeguards would still activate.
More importantly, for some unknown reason, the Woman Treasure seemed completely disabled.
It couldn't target Zeroy, nor Patchouli.
...
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