“This… how is this possible!?”
Even Leya, typically so composed, found herself assailed by a tremor of panic at this sight.
“Awooooooo!——”
Meanwhile, the Wolf King was enveloped in a thick shroud of black energy, appearing as though it had donned an armor of pure darkness. Wherever the black mist touched, its grievous wounds began to mend with astonishing speed.
Indeed, in mere moments, the Wolf King seemed utterly unscathed. Its eyes still gleamed with a predatory crimson light as it bared its fangs at Leya.
“This… infinite resurrection? That can’t be right…”
Leya decisively shook her head. Such an ability would be far too egregious, shattering her entire understanding of the world.
Crucially, Leya believed that even she, a goddess, could not achieve infinite resurrection. For a mere beast to possess such a power seemed utterly preposterous to her.
Therefore, Leya concluded that this revival must be predicated on a specific condition.
Following this line of reasoning, it became clear that the black aura played a pivotal role in the phenomenon. Leya was convinced that this very black energy was the source of the Wolf King’s ability to revive.
As proof, the once dense and formidable black aura hovering above the Wolf King’s head now appeared noticeably weaker than before.
Despite this reduction, Leya estimated there was still enough residual black energy for the Wolf King to revive at least seven or eight more times.
If the Wolf King continued its suicidal, life-for-life fighting style, even Leya might struggle to endure such relentless assaults.
“Awoo!——” The Wolf King let out a defiant howl, and the black energy swirling around its body began to converge, accumulating into a growing mass before its chest.
Observing this, Leya’s eyes immediately brightened.
It seemed the Wolf King no longer intended to trade blows, but instead planned to gather that strange black energy from a distance to eliminate her. This was truly…
‘Heaven’s path was open, yet you refused to tread it; Hell’s gate was shut, yet you hurled yourself in!’
‘Was living not good enough? Why choose such a dramatic demise?’
Raising her holy sword, she pointed it skyward.
Instantly, countless golden magical energies surged from the ground, rapidly converging towards the radiant center: the blade of the King of Knights’ Sword.
Indeed, Leya intended to unleash her ultimate attack, which she deemed the quickest way to end the battle. Saber’s ultimate, after all, was an anti-fortress Noble Phantasm.
With all preparations complete, it possessed the power to level an entire city. Moreover, using the Sword of Promised Victory against a foe capable of resurrection was not without precedent.
Saber had once used her ultimate to defeat Berserker Heracles seven times with a single strike. While other factors might have assisted, Saber herself was often limited by insufficient magical energy, unable to display her full potential.
This was evident with Dark Saber; given enough magical energy, Saber could arguably be considered the most powerful Heroic Spirit.
“Awoo!——” For some inexplicable reason, as the magical energy on Leya’s sword hilt intensified, the Wolf King began to exhibit a hint of fear—an emotion that should have been entirely alien to it.
The dazzling golden light eclipsed the very heavens, and everywhere Leya’s gaze fell, it was filled with the boundless, profound golden magic she commanded.
Under this resplendent glow, all things paled, and heaven and earth trembled.
In stark contrast, the black aura above the Wolf King’s head now appeared as insignificant as a speck of dust, so tiny it could almost be overlooked.
“Let me see how many times you can revive… under my strongest strike!”
Innumerable magical energies swirled around Leya, imbuing her with an overwhelming sense of confident power.
Leya now held firm to one truth: beneath this blade, nothing could survive.
“Sword of Promised Victory… Unleash!——”
“Awooooooo!——” The Wolf King, too, unleashed its most potent attack at that opportune moment.
Judging solely by the power radiating from its form, this strike was an exceptional performance, far exceeding the Wolf King’s usual capabilities. Its might had surpassed the limits of Lv3, reaching the pinnacle of a low-tier Lv4.
Alas, though incredibly powerful, this attack faced an opponent in Leya—or rather, the King of Knights’ ultimate strike.
[Boom——]
****
“Unlimited magic… this truly is exhilarating.”
The forest, after the clash, now resembled a desolate wasteland, utterly barren. The scene of utter devastation bore no resemblance to its former verdant, vibrant state.
[Ding-dong—— Mission complete. Reward: one low-tier transformation card. Commencing chain mission: Destruction and Rebirth! Mission objective: self-exploration. Successful completion rewards: one Holy Angelic Codex, one single-use advanced divine power skill ‘Meteorite Fall,’ one mid-tier divine power transformation card, several potions. Additionally, the system will automatically activate mid-tier auxiliary mode… Failure penalty: 80% chance of death, 15% chance of becoming a useless s*ave, 4.99% chance of entering automatic hibernation, 0.01% chance of escape…]
“Uh…”
‘What in the world?’ Leya was utterly bewildered.
“System, I won’t ask about the mission process, and I’m satisfied with the rewards, but these penalties… *cough, cough*… I recall you don’t have the authority to compel me, do you?”
“Responding to Host: As the foremost divine artifact in all the realms, this system naturally possesses a degree of control over the laws of time and space. All the aforementioned penalties are merely my judgments derived through the law of time,” the System replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
“Oh? Laws of time and space? That sounds incredibly powerful!” Leya exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with golden light. Clearly, she found these concepts fascinating.
Yet, Leya was also self-aware enough to know that, for now, the laws of time and space seemed rather distant to her. ‘No, perhaps not so distant after all…’ Leya mused, recalling the advanced divine power card she was soon to acquire upon mastering three major spells.
Perhaps that advanced divine power transformation card could help her achieve this very feat!
Of course, discussing all this now was pointless. What truly concerned Leya was this:
“System, you said I’d die? That’s interesting. I hardly think I’d commit suicide!”
Still under the Saber transformation, Leya symbolically swung the King of Knights’ Sword twice, reaffirming her current might.
“Uh… you will indeed not commit suicide. Based on glimpses of the future, you will be killed by someone else.”
“Pfft——” Leya couldn’t help but burst into laughter, as if she had just heard something utterly hilarious.
“In this world, someone can kill me? How amusing!”
After a moment’s thought, Leya added, “Alright, alright, even if Saber’s transformation time runs out, I still have another mid-tier character transformation card! And even if someone were to kill me, who would it be? I don’t believe this Kingdom of Alvia possesses such strength—unless, of course, they were to deploy their Twelve Pillars and hundreds, even thousands, of Lv3s. Assuming they even have them, that is…”
“Then I wouldn’t mind killing them all in self-defense. Under the brilliant radiance of the Sword of Promised Victory, any number of people would be futile.”
System: “…………”
“Host, out of good intentions, I must remind you that confidence is admirable, but your current arrogance and self-assurance are escalating exponentially each day, having seemingly transformed into unconditional self-trust. Given that we still lack understanding of this world’s environment, this is quite dangerous.”
“Just say what you mean, aren’t you just calling me arrogant!” Leya retorted, pouting slightly, clearly displeased with the System’s phrasing.
However, Leya was not entirely obtuse. After hearing the System’s words and reflecting for a moment, she realized there might indeed be some truth to its warning.
Leya found herself sinking into contemplation.
However, at that very moment…
“Wh-wh-why has it come to this? Ahhh… why, just why… why has it turned out like this, ahhhhhhh!——”
Leya: “…………”
From not too far away, a voice, dozens of decibels louder than even Beatrice’s, echoed through the air.
‘Alright!’ Leya conceded. ‘I’m done.’
Frowning, Leya unhappily glared in the direction of the sound.
Incidentally, Leya still had sixteen minutes remaining on her transformation, half the total duration, which filled her with considerable confidence.
“Damn it, damn it all!—— Who killed my Little White? If you have the guts, come out right now!——”
Leya: “…………”
The speaker was a handsome young boy with blonde hair and crimson eyes, clad in noble attire. He looked quite… dashing, in fact.
In truth, however, Leya suspected he might have some mental issues.
“Ahhhhhhhh——”
“Hey, could you stop shouting and be quiet for a moment?!”
If not for the mental restrictions Leya imposed upon herself, she truly, truly wished she could rush forward, grab this annoying brat, and kick him flying.
‘Still… deep in this forest, with so many Netherworld Wolves blocking the way, how did this brat even get here?’
“…Oh, really?” The blonde-haired boy let out a surprised sound.
This only infuriated Leya further. ‘Damn it, did this guy only just notice me? Seriously, I’ve been standing here for ages, are you blind?’
Disregarding Leya’s increasingly frigid expression, the boy stood up, straightened his clothes, and then spoke in a rather peculiar, mocking tone: “You… are permeated with an utterly foul, detestable stench… What was that smell again?”
Leya: “…………”
“Oh! I remember now… it’s the scent you call justice! Yes! Your body is filled with that hypocritical, ugly, utterly ridiculous…”
[Whoosh——]
“I believe you should close your mouth and dutifully return to your parents, rather than spouting nonsense here. Do you understand?”
“…………” The boy fell silent.
Leya’s King of Knights’ Sword was mere millimeters from the boy’s throat. He couldn’t even swallow without fearing his neck might suddenly be slit, sending him into an eternal slumber.
“Heh heh…” However, contrary to Leya’s expectation of fear and trembling, the boy instead let out an eerie, chilling laugh.
Then… he instantly vanished from his spot!
No, “instantly vanished” wasn’t quite accurate. As Saber, Leya could clearly perceive him moving at an incredibly high speed, leaping backward onto a tall tree. His speed, in fact, was a full tier faster than the Netherworld Wolf King had been.
This fact, however, vexed Leya, who was not specialized in speed. Upon analysis, she concluded that if he truly intended to escape, she might not be able to catch him.
“Ah—how long has it been, perhaps hundreds of years! Hahahaha—a human who can point a sword at me before I even react… you are the first, truly interesting, interesting, interesting, hahahahahahaha——”
Leya: “…………”
“Hahahaha—Interesting! So interesting, human! Remember my name! For it will likely be the last name you hear while still living in this world, hahahaha——”
The boy continued to laugh loudly and unrestrainedly, as if no one else were present. This, on its own, was nothing extraordinary—just a brat, after all. But then, something happened that left even Leya dumbfounded.
With a [Rip——] sound, the clothes on the boy’s back instantly tore open, transforming into mere strips of cloth that fluttered down. In their place, a pair of dark, night-black wings, like those of a bat, emerged, adorned with sharp bone spurs.
His eyes, emitting a bright yet eerie red glow like searchlights, rapidly constricted into pinpoint blood-red dots. The boy then leaped from the tree, crossed his arms over his chest, and floated in the air.
His face was devoid of expression, radiating an unimaginable, oppressive aura. It was as if he had suddenly become an entirely different person, instilling an involuntary sense of dread, fear, and reverence in anyone who beheld him.
Then, the boy gazed coldly at Leya, who was still trying to grasp the situation, and spoke slowly, his voice grave: “My name is Enoch Wells, the First Lord of the Netherworld Wilderness! State your name, human, then choose…”
“Submission, or death!”