“Stop shaking me, stop shaking me! My brains are about to be scrambled... Couldn't you have waited until we got the Saintess's head before teleporting?”
Miaoyue muttered as she stood up, rubbing her knee which had just smashed a small crater into the ground.
She patted the charcoal ash off her skirt, looked up blankly, and surveyed her unfamiliar surroundings.
Scorched earth, shattered ruins, a pungent stench of blood, and...
...Kaila, standing not far from her, radiating a terrifying pressure.
Miaoyue's eyes lit up. “Oh? Isn't that Kaila? We were just talking about coming to help you...”
However, the moment Miaoyue arrived...
The light in Kaila's eyes flared violently.
The Hero was destined to eradicate calamity.
On this continent, Witches were calamity itself.
Without a doubt.
Without any hesitation or communication, the moment Miaoyue called out, the holy light gathered once more.
A massive golden greatsword that seemed to pierce the heavens materialized in Kaila's hand.
The space surrounding the greatsword was on the verge of melting.
The scorched earth beneath Kaila's feet sank physically by several meters in an instant.
The next moment, she appeared directly above Miaoyue. The golden greatsword in her hand, carrying a destructive tempest of holy light, slashed straight down toward the black-haired girl before she could even steady herself!
“Eh—?! I'm here to help you!”
Faced with this completely unreasonable strike, Miaoyue had absolutely no time to dodge.
The Hero's speed, forcibly pushed to its absolute limit, was even faster than when they had last clashed.
Yet, the moment the golden greatsword was about to touch her black hair, a layer of soft yet solid silver-white moonlight spread from beneath her feet without warning, forming a perfect protective barrier.
It was her passive trait that granted immunity to surprise attacks—【Vigilance】.
Thud!
A dull boom erupted along with showers of holy light fragments. The incredibly heavy greatsword struck the moonlight barrier, the resulting wind pressure tearing countless cobweb-like cracks into the scorched earth around them.
Yet, the barrier remained completely unmoved, physically deflecting and dispersing this potentially fatal first strike.
The massive recoil caused Miaoyue to let out a soft cry. Her slender body drifted backward with the force, her bare, snowy-white feet plowing two shallow tracks through the ash.
“Kaila! Look closely, it's me, Miaoyue! Wake up, what on earth happened?” Miaoyue steadied herself, not even bothering to brush off the dust on her clothes.
But the blonde girl opposite her was completely deaf to her words.
There was no warmth whatsoever in those pure Hero's Eyes.
The instant the greatsword was deflected, her figure blurred into an afterimage of holy light, reappearing at Miaoyue's side.
This time, a tangible white flame of extreme heat erupted along the heaven-piercing Holy Light Greatsword.
It was a destructive blade capable of physically vaporizing an entire castle, and it came crashing down ruthlessly.
Space warped, and the howling wind was torn apart.
It was completely unavoidable.
Miaoyue knit her delicate brows.
She glanced at the civilians around her, then at the vampires eagerly waiting on the periphery, and ultimately decided against using magic.
Just as Sophie had feared.
Almost all of Miaoyue's abilities dealt area-of-effect damage.
Boom—
Incandescent light swallowed the petite black figure.
In terms of raw offensive power, such an attack could indeed injure a Witch.
Miaoyue did not dodge.
【Unyielding Will: Once per battle, survive with 1 HP upon taking fatal damage and gain invincibility for five seconds】【Last Stand: When gaining invincibility, extend its duration by 100%】【Fight On: Once per battle, restore 100% HP when the first invincibility period ends】【Grace of Life: When restoring HP, gain additional temporary HP equal to the amount restored】【Blessing of False Life: When possessing false HP, gain high damage reduction】...
Sheltered within her invincibility shield, Miaoyue chattered endlessly: “Kaila, pull yourself together! It's me, Miaoyue! Even if you want to spar, pick a better time!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kaila remained expressionless, her golden greatsword tracing dozens of blinding arcs of light in a fraction of a second, violently hammering against the reddish-gold crystalline halo.
Deafening rumbles echoed through the heavens, the stray shockwaves reducing the surrounding rubble to ash, yet they failed to elicit even a single ripple on the impregnable crystalline barrier.
Ten seconds flew by in the blink of an eye.
After withstanding countless city-obliterating slashes, fine cracks finally began to spiderweb across the reddish-gold crystalline barrier.
With the crisp sound of shattering glass, the protection of absolute defense dissolved into a flurry of drifting reddish-gold light.
Almost the exact instant the barrier shattered, Kaila's massive sword of holy light let out a piercing screech, slashing toward Miaoyue's throat at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Yet at this critical juncture, the laws deep within the New Moon Witch's soul sensed danger once more.
Defensive trait—【Fight On】!
Hum—
A beam of silver moonlight, so pure it was devoid of any impurities, cascaded from the void and merged directly into Miaoyue's body.
Her depleted vitality was forcibly restored to the brim in an instant.
The moment this immense, near-overflowing vitality filled her body, it triggered the subsequent combo of traits.
【Grace of Life】 and 【Blessing of False Life】!
The overflowing life energy rapidly materialized in the air, transforming into a thick, dazzling red feather coat.
Silver-white life essence flowed across the emerald feathers, condensing into a physical armor of divine power that draped softly yet resiliently over Miaoyue's pitch-black Gothic dress.
Clang!
Kaila's greatsword slammed violently against the glowing coat of life.
The mountain-cleaving force was dispersed layer by layer by the resilient emerald coat. The moment the violent holy light energy touched the feathers, it softened, dispersing into a gentle flurry of drifting light dust.
Miaoyue was forced back several steps by the immense force, but the coat of life protected her securely, preventing even the slightest harm to her physical body.
“Oh come on, even if you do this, you still can't beat me! Let's talk! What are you so unhappy with me about? Are you just feeling lonely?”
“Actually, I didn't want to go with Sophie either, but she kept dragging me along. She's trying to find a way to get here right now, so please calm down.”
Sophie?
The moment she heard that name, Kaila, who was charging forward at high speed, froze midair.
Those Hero's Eyes, which had been filled with pure killing intent, trembled slightly.
A chaotic flood of thoughts rushed into her mind.
But in the very next instant, the terrified mortals outside the barrier erupted into another wave of panicked cries and prayers. The invisible tide of the Hero surged back even more violently, instantly submerging Kaila's weak, struggling sense of self once more.
The golden light flared brilliantly once more, becoming even more blinding than before.
The Holy Light Greatsword tore through space with an even more violent fury, crashing down from above.
Left with no passive traits, Miaoyue watched the golden greatsword descending upon her.
Actually, she still had other traits.
But Teacher had said that if an enemy closed the distance and her false HP was depleted...
She should just use that one.
Dammit, why wouldn't she listen to her at all!
There was clearly an incredibly powerful aura right next to them this time.
Miaoyue's gaze briefly lingered in one direction.
Without a doubt, that individual was one of those vampire powerhouses standing at the absolute pinnacle of the continent's combat strength.
This idiot Kaila!!! Attacking her own ally!!!
Miaoyue was genuinely angry now.
“Invincibility Art!!!”
The greatsword slashed onto Miaoyue, who had entered a state of silence, dealing absolutely no damage.
Rate on N.U.
