"Keke~ Little girl, it won't even take me two minutes to defeat you!"
With Lord Helant's order, Bastello relaxed. His muscles rippled as he grabbed the scythe blade and flung Zesshi Zetsumei away.
"Demon, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?" Zesshi secretly shook her numbed palm, her small face remaining cold and stern.
'While you are indeed stronger right now, your words are truly infuriating!'
She looked down at the scythe in her hand. This was a powerful item left behind by the God of Death, one of the Six Great Gods, Charon's Guidance.
Through her talent, she not only obtained the terrifying skill [The Goal of All Life is Death] through the scythe, but also possessed other abilities of the God of Death.
"Flame of the Dead."
Zesshi Zetsumei murmured softly, and a cluster of pale flames ignited from the scythe, clinging to the blade. The terrifying heat instantly turned it red-hot, distorting the surrounding air.
She skillfully spun the long-handled scythe in her hand and tilted her head slightly.
"Now, it's the second round."
'Good, I've bought Helant another dozen seconds!'
Bastello sneered as blood-red flames erupted from his claws. He pointed forward, carving a streak of fire across the night sky.
"Come!"
'Good, another dozen seconds wasted. Lord Helant should be starting the next line now.'
Sure enough, Helant seized the gap in their confrontation and recited the second line of the prayer.
"Lord of Benevolence and Light..."
The prayer was broadcast through the light screen, making it clearly audible.
When Bastello and Zesshi Zetsumei heard these words, it was as if they had received the signal to begin the second round.
The blood-red and pale figures turned into streaks of flame, colliding fiercely in the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their speed was astonishing, already surpassing the limits of human vision.
Magnified by the light screen, the people of the entire Southern Holy Kingdom could only see blood-red and pale flames carving line after line of fire across the sky.
With every collision, terrifying shockwaves erupted, shattering everything in the surrounding area.
As they fought, the battlefield kept shifting, moving from the edge of the city toward the border mountains.
Under Zesshi's deliberate guidance, Bastello was being drawn farther and farther away from the city.
"Where is this?" The playfulness in Bastello's eyes faded as he suddenly realized they had reached the mountainside.
'A good opportunity!'
Zesshi seized the opening, swinging her scythe in wide arcs. Two blade lights, each dozens of meters long and coated in pale flames, tore through the air as they slashed toward Bastello.
"Dual Air Slash!"
Facing the two incoming blade lights, the astonishment in Bastello's eyes vanished instantly. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Hah~ Little girl, you are indeed much stronger than the other ants, but you are still far from enough!"
He raised his arms, his hands forming a grasping motion.
A surge of vitality erupted from his heart, and his physical strength increased by another thirty percent.
At that moment, under Zesshi Zetsumei's horrified gaze, Bastello grabbed the two blade lights, each dozens of meters long, and casually crushed them into fragments of light, like an adult crushing a cookie.
Then he turned his head to look at a nearby mountain peak and said, "Watch closely. This is true power!"
With that, he drew back his right arm. After the knotted muscles on it rippled several times, he threw a punch.
Boom!
Pure physical strength compressed the air into a near-solid state. A visible stream of white airflow burst forth with dazzling light, carving a straight white line across the night sky.
The mountain let out a loud bang as it rumbled and began to collapse, sending up dozens of meters of dust.
Bastello grinned.
"How's that?"
'Good, another dozen seconds wasted.'
Through the light screen, everyone witnessed Bastello's power.
Remedios in particular could not keep her grip on her sword. It slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a clang, and she herself slumped down as well.
"To be able to achieve this level with pure physical strength... I truly don't know how humans are supposed to survive."
Amid her shock, she looked at Zesshi Zetsumei's figure and could not help but feel a lingering fear.
"Was I really provoking someone who could stand against such a monster?!"
First Helant, then Zesshi Zetsumei revealed their power one after another, completely shattering the worldview of this former member of the Three Greats of the Holy Kingdom, who had once looked down on everyone.
From this moment on, the Hero class would no longer be the pinnacle in her heart.
"It's just…" A rare look of serious contemplation appeared between her brows as she murmured, "Why do I feel like this demon is stalling for time? Isn't he afraid of Helant's trump card?"
The Platinum Dragon Lord in the sky shared the same thought.
A deep look of confusion flashed in his massive dragon eyes.
"Since he knows it takes a long time for Helant to summon the Holy Domain God Lord, why doesn't he take the opportunity to kill him directly? Instead, he chooses to waste time on Zesshi Zetsumei?"
"Could it be that he doesn't intend to kill Helant at all?"
"But if he isn't going to kill Helant, what is all this for?"
"Is he putting on a show for me?"
The Platinum Dragon Lord was briefly amused by this thought, but he continued following the logic.
"No… from another perspective, what if Bastello's goal from the very beginning was to make Helant summon the Holy Domain God Lord?"
"Starting with the 'God,' making him summon a projection."
"Then using the Five Border Cities to push Helant into a corner."
"Finally forcing him to summon the Holy Domain God Lord to protect the people of the Southern Holy Kingdom."
It made sense, yet something still felt off.
The Platinum Dragon Lord's gaze fell on Bastello, whose aura was already strong enough to rival a True Dragon Lord, as he continued to think.
"Then why didn't he simply sacrifice a million demihumans and use force to compel Helant to summon Him? That would have saved more time."
Time… time…
A sudden realization struck the Platinum Dragon Lord, and a bolder hypothesis formed in his mind.
"Could it be that he is stalling for time?!"
But why?!
The Platinum Dragon Lord frowned as he watched closely.
"The only True God who reigns over the Holy Domain..."
The third line of the prayer echoed melodiously between heaven and earth as it was broadcast through the light screen.
'Only one minute left!'
Zesshi Zetsumei's eyes lit up with joy. With only one minute remaining, she could easily stall it out.
"Focus when you're fighting!"
Bastello's figure appeared behind her like a ghost. As if to humiliate her, he deliberately held back his strength before slamming a punch into her stomach.
"Ugh!"
The overwhelming force left Zesshi Zetsumei unable to resist. Her body curled like a shrimp as she was sent flying backward.
Boom!
She slammed into the Holy Light Barrier.
____
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