Kill Me

“Boom!”

Miranda stretched out her hands as dozens of magic circles unfolded around her, unleashing a beam of magical laser that shot toward Sathya from the side.

Sathya, on the other hand, was far less flashy. Without making any major movements, she softly chanted a spell, conjuring over twenty barrier shields—a defense that would normally require the presence of dozens of inquisitors—to block Miranda's attack.

The barrier shields were originally meant to be upright, vertical walls. However, Sathya possessed a perfect understanding of the spell, shaping them into round shields instead. Not only could she use them indefinitely, but she could also throw them to attack her enemies.

With a gentle push of her hand, the shield flew toward the Astral Sage's position.

Miranda quickly deployed a blue barrier of her own to cancel out the incoming shield. The resulting shockwave threw her back fifty meters, leaving her beautiful greenish-blue hair somewhat disheveled.

“Shatter!”

Miranda pressed her hands together. The sturdy floor of the top level squeezed together like modeling clay before surging up like waves, collapsing downward amid a chorus of screeching fractures. But she was far from finished. Her pre-prepared “Composite Light Cannon” rained down from above Sathya's head, pooling five different elements into a torrential, brilliant rainbow waterfall.

The moment Tina fell, the Astral Sage caught her and carried her to a giant bookshelf that had not yet collapsed, giving her a place to stand.

“You're the apprentice Saintess! Why are you attacking her?!”

Miranda was completely baffled.

Tina had put so much effort into helping Sathya. Not to mention her contributions; she had paved the way for Sathya in every single plan.

Yet, Sathya actually wanted to kill her?

Was it because of the Chaos Mask, leaving them ignorant of each other's identities, that they had started fighting like this? But why didn't Tina just take off the mask? Was there some incomprehensible, hidden secret between them?

“Astral Sage, do not interfere,” Sathya said coldly as she floated back into the air, Miranda's attack having failed to leave even a scratch.

It was as if the assault just now was nothing more than a child's weak tantrum to her.

Frankly, Miranda felt a little indignant.

Since she had never learned how to fight, she could only shape her mana and various elements into projectiles and fire them. While this was already an incredible feat for most Archmages, it was completely inadequate before Sathya.

However, Miranda soon realized just how laughable her indignation was.

The golden light around Sathya transformed into a robe and armor, and a pair of pure white wings actually sprouted from her back, making her look like an angel descending upon the mortal world.

All around her, the light gathered as if obeying its master, condensing into six golden holy swords as massive as skyscrapers. The holy swords plowed through the walls like bulldozers, reducing everything in their path to dust and ashes.

This was Sathya's strength as a human—the absolute strongest in the truest sense.

And this was even before she had fully recovered her power, with her holy light diluted by the chaos power of the abyssal magical beast.

She could weave light into anything she desired, whether it was a sword or a shield.

And the hardness of these creations surpassed any metal currently usable by humanity.

“Reinforce!”

The holy swords formed from light magic rained down like missiles.

At first, Miranda could still hold her ground. She began to retaliate with hundreds of light spheres, though they scattered like snowflakes in mid-air, making her attacks on Sathya seem entirely futile.

As the giant swords flew closer, slicing tear after tear into her massive defensive barrier, she had no choice but to compress the shield until it barely covered herself and Tina.

Miranda felt as if her body no longer belonged to her. She was like a girl who had never trained in swordsmanship, holding a shield against the tempestuous onslaught of a Sword Saint, her arms having long since lost all sensation under the strain. Meanwhile, Sathya only needed to keep up the same attacks. The mana inside her body seemed inexhaustible, and even more terrifyingly, the spells she cast barely required any mana at all...

Even Miranda did not know how long this bombardment of holy swords could last.

But it was more than enough to kill a Demon King.

Tina's body was virtually paralyzed under the influence of her wound. It was as if a paralyzing toxin was spreading from the injury to every corner of her body, making even the slightest movement excruciating.

Yet, she stared at Sathya, completely mesmerized, almost forgetting the pain.

She felt drawn to that golden light.

It was so brilliant, so warm.

Suddenly, Tina recalled the past, when Sathya had first learned magic and eagerly showed it off to her.

It's so amazing. She was the first person in the convent to learn magic, and everyone had looked at her with newfound respect.

Then, a few months later, even the holy sisters began to feel inadequate in comparison.

She also loved teaching her magic to the other children. She was naturally kind, a natural Saintess, a natural protagonist.

She loved her magic, but during those seventy-nine years, she had never used it once.

Her mana had deteriorated to the point where she couldn't even use it herself. Such a perfect figure had ultimately succumbed to love.

If she were to be pierced by her holy sword just like this, it seemed...

...not so bad.

“Little Ya...”

Tina murmured her name, her fingers idly playing with the ring on her hand.

【Just hurry up and die. If I were Sathya, I would kill a wretched person like you immediately.】

【To die by her hand is your honor.】

【Accept reality, my sin-ridden Host. Close your eyes and welcome your judgment.】

【It is all your fault.】

Tina closed her eyes, an urge from deep within prompting her to let down all her defenses.

She whispered softly, “Little Ya, kill me.”

She placed her hand on the ring Little Ya had given her, gently tracing its distinct patterns.

It was as if this was her true wish.

“Wake up?! You absolutely cannot die here!”

The Astral Sage's voice snapped her back to reality, the intense pain once again forcing her senses to sharpen.

Strangely, Sathya's onslaught ground to a halt.

Taking advantage of Sathya's momentary lapse, Tina grabbed the hood of Miranda's coat, leaping into the air and pulling Miranda along with her. Using the crumbling ruins as stepping stones, she leaped again, vanishing like a flash of lightning and quickly disappearing from Sathya's field of vision.

Right at that moment, Miranda's second spell was ready.

“Spatial Transfer!”

With a sharp whoosh, the moment the greenish-blue magic enveloped the entire area, the two felt the world spin around them, as if they were being sucked into a vast whirlpool.

The sensation came to an abrupt halt. They landed in a pitch-black space, both of them covered in mud and dust. But there was no trace of magical bombardment here.

They were safe.

Miranda stood up, stumbling as she set up a new spell. Only after sensing no danger nearby did she breathe a sigh of relief, collapsing onto a dusty chair nearby.

“What were you thinking, Tina! We almost died back there!”