"Red Punishment."
This was the authority of calamitous fire that Marquis Voban had usurped from Zhurong, the God of Fire in Chinese mythology.
It allowed him to extinguish the blaze at will, or if left unchecked, it would continue to burn for seven days and seven nights.
Aside from calling it down from above, this authority had no other applications, such as for defense.
Moreover, its consumption of mana was immense; it couldn't be used consecutively in battle.
It also had the drawback of requiring several tens of seconds from activation to impact.
To avoid catching himself in its range, this move could only be deployed from a distance.
Ever since acquiring this authority, its use had always been relegated to a harassing tactic.
No one would give him the chance to land a direct hit. The tens-of-meters-long wind-up was simply too long; the enemy would have ample time to flee the attack zone.
Yet, these numerous flaws also granted it absolute destructive power. If it could connect, it could decide the battle in a single blow... That was supposed to be the case.
When she saw the labyrinth open a path, Melusine immediately grasped the intentions of the two God-Slayers opposite her. After all, she was well aware of their authorities.
She could have evaded, but there was no need for her to do so.
To put it bluntly, her stats had already reached a level where outmaneuvering was unnecessary. This was true even before she had tapped into the planet's ley lines, let alone now.
Tapping into the planet's ley lines massively amplified all her attributes.
Aside from overuse causing her draconic nature to surface, there were no downsides whatsoever. It was a full-spectrum amplifier.
Facing this karmic flame, capable of grievously wounding even an unruly god and hailing from one of the pinnacle Chinese Fire Gods, Melusine's expression didn't even flicker.
How could a body capable of withstanding speeds of at least Mach 450 possibly fear high temperatures?
"She should possess the attributes of steel..." Voban's eyes narrowed.
His heart, which hadn't known panic for centuries, now hammered wildly, his survival instinct outpacing his thoughts.
"Open, gate of underworld. Queen of underworld, the elder sister of mother earth, descending to the territory of the fearsome Ereshkigal, now is the time I surpass death."
"Behold... the resurrection of the Dragon-Serpent Nether King, Inanna!"
The moment the divine words fell, Voban's body began to swell rapidly.
His well-tailored coat and suit split and tore as his form expanded, his eyes turning a vicious, bloodshot red.
In an instant, the aged, wise gentleman transformed into a colossal black dragon, thirty meters in length.
Though it appeared as if he himself had transformed into the dragon, this draconic form was actually a spiritual body constituted by his authority.
Its essence was his soul separating from his flesh, 'shedding its skin' to take this shape. 'Shedding skin' was a characteristic of dragons and serpents, symbolizing rebirth and immortality.
This was Voban's ultimate life-preserving authority. But achieving true, failsafe survival wasn't something achievable in a short time.
The transformation required gouging out his own heart through a 'ritual invoking the memory of death,' allowing him to transfer from the earthly realm, via the Netherworld, to the boundary between life and death—the Hidden World.
Melusine had no intention of granting him that time.
Bursting through the flames with her physical body and reaching the first level in an instant, Melusine's gaze swept past Alexander and immediately locked onto her target.
Unlike Voban, who couldn't even track Melusine's movement, Alexander, possessing an authority of blinding speed, could just barely keep up.
Though his heart clenched with tension as Melusine's eyes passed over him, he immediately recalled the Three Furies.
He had never imagined being pushed to this extreme.
Well, actually, he had fantasized about it—the day he might be 'unable to win through brute force.'
That's why he had never placed 'force' as the primary factor in his combat strength.
But he had never dreamed that the greatest calamity he'd face wouldn't be being 'outsmarted,' but that his 'force' couldn't keep pace with his 'intellect,' denying him even the chance for a battle of wits.
Too fast.
It was pure, unadulterated speed that rendered his prized intellect and calculations utterly useless.
But! It wasn't over yet!
Time reversal was an authority capable of creating miracles.
He had used it twice today—once to redirect the Great Labyrinth, once to save Voban's life.
Although he couldn't use it three times consecutively, this was the only card he had left to gamble on victory.
If this failed, it wouldn't just be Voban; he would surely perish here as well.
Did he regret it? Of course not.
If one didn't believe in their ability to reverse a losing battle, to find a way to triumph over an enemy countless times stronger on a path seemingly leading to certain death, how could they ever become a God-Slayer?
'Black Lightning.' This was the authority he had plundered from the Fallen Angel Ramiel.
An ultra-high-speed movement technique wreathed in lightning, accompanied by the sign of dancing sparks, he would enter a world of unmatched 'Godspeed' where none could follow.
If this concept was hard to grasp, think of it as bullet time.
Even for Alexander, maintaining this bullet time required absolute focus, and he could only sustain it for five minutes.
After five minutes, a piercing headache would set in; after twenty, a disorienting, nauseating sense of temporal distortion would overwhelm him.
But he didn't need that much time now.
One second. Just one second was all he needed! Let me match the speed of that unruly Melusine!
The howling wind pressure and plasma fireballs threatened to pulverize Alexander entirely; these were mere physical phenomena generated by her movement.
Yet, his concentration didn't waver in the slightest, his gaze locked onto the shrinking gap between Melusine and Voban.
Within this labyrinth, he held immense authority.
The Furies' Revenge Field, long prepared, encircled both Voban and Melusine at his merest thought.
The three goddesses' forms overlapped, and under Alexander's control, they teleported directly into the space between Melusine and Voban.
Though the Three Furies, capable of withstanding a full-force blow from a God-Slayer's authority, now formed a layered human wall, they disintegrated and scattered like dust swept away by a broom under the impact of Melusine's Fairy Sword Arondight, blazing with heat and penetrating power. But...
Time flowed backward once more.
The Furies, who should have vanished, were restored by the authority's power.
Though they were three entities, they constituted a single authority.
By applying the time reversal to himself, they underwent a bizarre loop—simultaneously disappearing and recovering, their state preserved at the instant just before their destruction.
And furthermore... the Revenge Field would now settle accounts with Melusine for harming the Three Furies.
This attack, capable of cleaving the Queen of the Fae in twain and reducing the Furies to ash—now experience it yourself!
Suddenly, Melusine, who had been at full speed, felt a sharp pain lance through her body.
She knew exactly what had just transpired.
The world that was like bullet time for Alexander was merely her normal, default state of perception.
She also knew what Alexander was scheming.
But, to put it bluntly, sorry. Your mechanics are indeed powerful, your calculations are indeed precise... but this is what stats look like.
You think I'm a glass cannon, trying to hit me with my own attack? Too bad. My armor (dragon scales) is far, far tougher than my sword (Arondight).
Under Alexander's disbelieving gaze, Melusine continued her relentless charge toward Voban without the slightest pause, the blade in her hand a dizzying blur even within the world of divine speed.
Voban died.
He himself didn't even register his own death.
The immortality of the Dragon-Serpent was indeed potent, but against the countless fatal strikes of steel, it couldn't forever resist death's summons.
The God-Slayer known as Black Prince Alec watched this scene unfold and saw the masked, silver-haired girl turn her head in his direction.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.