The physical blade cut through the flames, revealing its pale cyan edge, yet the fires brimming with the power of Nihility madly surged into Phantylia's form.
"Why aren't you dead?!"
The stricken Phantylia whirled around, her voice trembling at the sight of Sylvia engulfed in flames and the dense aura of Nihility swirling around her.
This shouldn't be possible!
Such concentrated Nihility—even someone already on its Path shouldn't be able to wield a sword like this.
Otherwise, followers of Nihility wouldn't be so universally despised.
They were unstable, usually in terrible condition.
Not only were they largely useless, but if things went wrong, they might just drag everything around them into oblivion.
Even if, against all odds, someone could harness the power of Nihility and still remain intact, they certainly wouldn't be at Sylvia's level.
Right now, Sylvia was purely using Nihility to torment her.
If it weren't for that sneak attack of Nihility power, severely hampering Phantylia's strength, and the lack of a proper body to control,
Sylvia would never have had a chance to hurt her.
More importantly, that slash—all the real damage came from the Nihility.
Sylvia's only role was delivering that power into Phantylia.
Disgusting!!!
Absolutely vile!
Phantylia even felt like Sylvia was some kind of battle maniac, a mop dipped in filth.
In a straight fight, could Sylvia beat her? Obviously not. But Phantylia would be insane to stay and risk being dragged down with her.
This Nihility couldn't kill her, but it was enough to wound her, to persistently weaken her state.
And with all this commotion, Jing Yuan was bound to arrive any moment.
Staying any longer would be sheer idiocy.
That slash left Phantylia fuming with rage.
Meanwhile, Sylvia was getting anxious herself.
Why was Jing Yuan taking so long? She'd sent the message ages ago, and he still hadn't shown up.
Alone, at best she could barely hold on against Phantylia. Expecting her to actually stall the Lord Ravager was utterly unrealistic.
If possible, Sylvia didn't want to call on Acheron for help.
Acheron posing as a Galaxy Ranger surely had her reasons. If her identity as an Emanator of Nihility were exposed, she probably wouldn't even be allowed into a Penacony hotel.
Sylvia couldn't guarantee the Luofu or Jing Yuan's stance either.
Acheron still had her own unfinished goals, so unless absolutely necessary, Sylvia didn't want Acheron drawing her blade here on the Xianzhou.
It would only bring Acheron unnecessary risk and trouble.
"Tsk… still not here."
Sylvia clicked her tongue softly but didn't let up her assault.
Phantylia's condition seemed to have worsened significantly.
Keep trying, see how long she can be held.
Still, Sylvia knew her limits. That last sword strike worked thanks to the element of surprise.
Trying it again probably wouldn't have the same effect.
Phantylia knew this too.
Sylvia had played a dirty trick, exploiting a gap in her knowledge with that Nihility power.
But now the card was on the table, and Phantylia had a counter.
Even though she'd already moved Sylvia to the top of her 'must-kill' list, she had no intention of sticking around any longer.
A total losing proposition!
Killing could wait for next time. Right now, retreat was the priority.
"Hmph! Sylvia, next time, you die!"
With a cold snort and that final threat, Phantylia began her retreat, her form rapidly shrinking into a small ball of fire. Her only thought was to flee the Luofu and purge the Nihility from within.
Sylvia saw her intent clearly and cursed Jing Yuan's tardiness under her breath.
Just as she flipped her hand, producing the small dagger Acheron had left with her—
Suddenly—
A golden light split the clouds. The towering, majestic Lightning Lord and Jing Yuan himself, floating mid-air, materialized directly in Phantylia's escape path.
Jing Yuan held his blade, expression solemn, and the Lightning Lord mirrored his stance.
Then, Jing Yuan's clear command rang out, shaking the heavens:
"Radiant spirit, heed my word."
"Show no mercy!"
Boom—!!!
The golden Lightning Lord brandished an impossibly long, colossal blade. The mere act of swinging it unleashed a terrifying roar like mountains crumbling and earth splitting.
Seeing this, Sylvia acted decisively.
No time to switch weapons. She slapped the small dagger onto her greatsword and soared skyward!
The dagger looked unremarkable, but the moment Sylvia shattered it against her blade, the pale cyan sword was swiftly enveloped by an inky darkness of Nihility, transforming into the likeness of Acheron's odachi.
In that instant, inspiration struck. Sylvia gripped the hilt tightly, feeling as if Acheron had appeared behind her, covering her hand.
A soft whisper brushed her ear.
Guiding her on how to channel the power of this strike.
Lost in this illusion, Sylvia's eyes grew slightly vacant. Following Acheron's guidance, she took a step forward, and then—
The entire world seemed to lose its color. Pale, ashen rain began to fall silently.
She raised her hand and swung the blade!
Humm—
A blood-red arc of light tore through the earth, rising with a terrifying momentum that seemed ready to sunder the entire starship!
This slash, even Jing Yuan was moved by its power.
Crossing blades, Phantylia had almost nowhere to flee.
A moment of utter silence was shattered by Phantylia's agonized scream, accompanied by a violent explosion and crimson flames that nearly filled the sky.
A terrifying shockwave and residual force rolled toward the ground.
Countless Cloud Knights, piloting their star skiffs, soared upward, barely managing to hold back the aftermath of the clash.
Meanwhile, the crimson slash, its force undiminished, shot into the heavens!
Jing Yuan hastily sidestepped, and the Lightning Lord mimicked the motion, dodging this annihilating arc of light.
The blood-red yet deathly silent slash passed so close it nearly grazed Jing Yuan.
Unlike Phantylia's explosive demise, the red blade-light silently corroded the spatial barrier, leaving a long, massive crimson scar upon the void.
As for Phantylia, struck simultaneously by the Lightning Lord's blade and Acheron's, the terrifying power erupted from both sides at once.
It tore her apart in the most literal sense, shattering her into several fragments.
Forcing a single, complete Heliobus to split into multiple separate entities.
Not only that, to resist the force of these two slashes, Phantylia was compelled to use her power of Destruction to defend.
But this left the erosion of Nihility unchecked. And since Sylvia's strike itself carried an intensely concentrated Nihility power, it only accelerated the corrosion further.
Greatly weakened and forced to focus entirely on escape, if she let the Nihility continue to eat away at her like this, she might not even manage to flee.
Realizing this, Phantylia made a swift, brutal decision.
With vicious resolve, she tore apart her own form, discarding the portion of her body contaminated by Nihility along with the energy itself.
Less than a tenth of her power remained.
But the sky was now filled with flames, all belonging to Phantylia. Uncontrolled, they erupted wildly, becoming her cover, obscuring the view of both Sylvia and Jing Yuan.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.