The data froze in the air.
Then shattered.
Null stared.
Once.
Twice.
Three times—just to make sure Fantasy Omniscience hadn't glitched, lied, or decided to play a cosmic prank on him.
"…Okay," he said slowly. Very slowly.
"Let's put aside her D+ stats."
His gaze flicked back to the battlefield.
Sora vaulted over a surging wave of dark fire, twisted midair, and drove a spear of condensed light straight into Mor'gan's shoulder. The impact forced the greater demon back half a step.
"…And while we're at it," Null continued, voice flat, "let's also ignore the absurdity of how she turned a demon beast of equal level into minced corruption like it was a tutorial boss."
He exhaled, sharp and incredulous, then looked straight at the empty space where the abilities had been displayed.
"What's with those absolutely broken Unique Abilities?"
He tilted his head slightly, almost in disbelief.
"Hey. Fantasy Omniscience-san."
[Yes, Master.]
"Be honest with me."
He jabbed a finger vaguely toward the battlefield, where Sora's dazzling aura flared bright enough to momentarily drown out Mor'gan's flames.
"Are you sure those aren't part of the Ultimate Abilities?"
There was a pause.
Not long.
But long enough.
Fantasy Omniscience responded, its tone measured—yet unmistakably different.
[…Master,]
Fantasy Omniscience replied, its tone subtly altered, a fraction of its usual mechanical neutrality stripped away,
[I am… quite shocked myself.]
Null blinked.
"Oh? That's new."
[However, I am certain.]
The system's tone steadied, precise as ever.
[[Subject Sora's abilities are not classified among the Nine Ultimate Abilities. I did not identify any Divine Singularity contained in them]
Null's brows knit together in confusion.
"…Huh?"
He stared, trying to process the revelation.
"Wait. Even you—with your omniscient understanding—couldn't fully ascertain her existential abnormality until now?"
[Correct.]
A laugh burst out of him—sharp, incredulous.
"…That's insane."
He dragged a hand through his hair.
"Those things don't behave like normal uniques."
"They rewrite the rules."
"They sit at the top of their element and tell everything else to shut up."
Outside, Sora was struck again—dark fire ripping across her side. Her knees buckled—
—and then life surged.
Wounds sealed. Breath stabilized. Aura flared brighter than before.
Null watched, silent for a long second.
"…So she can only utilize nine percent of those abilities right now?"
[Affirmative.]
He sucked in a breath through his teeth, awareness sinking in.
"…Yup. That settles it."
He leaned back, folding his arms loosely.
"I just feel like I discovered a diviness in mortal form."
This time, Fantasy Omniscience didn't answer.
The silence lingered—unnatural.
Null noticed.
"…Hmm? You're unusually quiet, Omniscience-san."
No reply.
For a fleeting moment, something unreadable crossed his expression—but it vanished just as quickly.
The battlefield thundered outside—Mor'gan roaring in fury, while Sora stood firm, radiant and unyielding.
Null studied the empty air for a second longer, then shrugged lightly.
Then he shrugged lightly.
"…Tch. Fine."
A faint grin returned to his face.
"Some mysteries are more fun when you unravel them at the right time."
Fantasy Omniscience finally spoke.
[If Subject Sora increases her utilization limit even marginally, her probability of defeating the Greater Demon approaches certainty.]
"Oh? And what's the condition for raising that limit?"
[Master, the sole requirement is the expansion of her existential value.]
"Basically, she needs to increase her overall strength."
He glanced back at the battlefield, watching Sora clash head-on with Mor'gan once more.
"…Yeah," he sighed.
"That's not happening in the middle of this fight—unless she suddenly achieves some absurd, story-breaking enlightenment."
****
Mor'gan's greatsword came down again like a falling furnace.
Sora met it head-on.
*Radiant Shield*
Light burst outward in a circular wave as steel and sanctified brilliance collided. The impact blasted both of them apart and flattened the remaining trees for dozens of meters. The ground cratered. Dust, ash, and embers filled the air.
She landed first— boots carving twin lines through the scorched earth, her breathing visibly heavier now.
He landed heavier—crushing what remained of a charred tree beneath his heel.
Before either could fully stabilize—
They moved.
Simultaneously.
Sora vanished in a streak of white.
*Divine Acceleration*
Mor'gan swung blindly behind him on instinct alone.
The blade missed by a hair as Sora appeared above his shoulder, A blade of radiant light formed along her arm and slashed toward his ribs.
He dodged by twisting his torso and countered instantly.
Blazing Cleave met Luminous Edge mid-swing.
The explosion that followed ripped bark from distant trees and sent flaming debris raining across the clearing.
Sora flipped backward in midair, breathing harder now. Her aura flickered unevenly.
Mor'gan noticed.
He grinned.
Good.
Another exchange.
Then another.
Light tore through flame. Flame devoured light. The battlefield no longer resembled a forest—it was a furnace scar etched into the earth.
But slowly—
Subtly—
Sora's counters were coming a fraction later than before.
Her barriers took a fraction longer to form.
Her breaths were deeper.
Heavier.
Mor'gan's molten eyes gleamed with dark satisfaction.
He could feel it.
Every time their powers collided, every time her light touched his flames—
Flame-Hungered drank.
Her mana flowed into him in invisible streams.
"Tch…"
He clicked his tongue quietly as they broke apart once more.
"Persistent little saintess…"
She stood across from him, light swirling weakly around her shoulders, chest rising and falling with visible strain.
Even now—
Her gaze was steady.
No fear.
No hesitation.
That irritated him more than anything else.
"I should've crushed your skull the moment I saw you," he muttered under his breath.
His grip tightened around the greatsword.
"You are ridiculously difficult to kill…"
"Even with this gap in strength"
He rolled his shoulder, feeling coursing stolen mana and enjoying the exhilaration of distorting the true mana into dark mana.
Then he smirked.
"…But it doesn't matter."
His eyes burned brighter.
"Your light is feeding me."
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
"It's only a matter of time before you collapse."
His expression twisted slightly, an unpleasant frown crossing his face.
"And that's why this is such a waste."
His gaze roamed over her briefly, appraising.
"You are a very Pretty and rare girl, i can see that even with your veil on. But—"
He clicked his tongue again.
"With your standing, I can't afford to drag this out. If word spreads, complications will follow."
A dark chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"Otherwise… I wouldn't mind breaking you slowly. Making you my slave."
His grin grew vulgar.
"Or at least enjoying you for a few nights before cutting off that lovely head."
Sora's eyes hardened.
She didn't respond.
She moved.
A blade of condensed light formed instantly in her hand—
And she hurled it.
The projectile tore through the air with terrifying speed, slipping past Mor'gan's guard while he immersed in his vulgar thoughts.
It pierced straight through his defensive flames.
And reached his chest.
His eyes widened.
His hand snapped up on pure reflex.
He caught the blade inches from his heart.
The light burned his palm, smoke rising as holy energy tried to force its way through.
"…That was dangerous," he muttered quietly.
He tightened his grip.
The blade shattered into fragments of light.
Mor'gan lifted his gaze slowly toward Sora.
A crude, vulgar grin stretched across his face.
"Sacred bitch…"
He rolled his neck once.
"You're tenacious. I'll give you that."
Dark-orange Flames compressed around his body, no longer wild, no longer theatrical. They clung close to him now—dense, controlled, suffocating. The air between them shimmered violently from the heat.
Hungrier.
And he stepped forward with killing intent thick enough to suffocate the air.
Sora did not answer his taunt.
She inhaled once.
Slow.
Measured.
Her arms trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
From strain.
He moved.
A single step—
—and the ground beneath his foot liquefied into molten sludge.
Light gathered around her like mist drawn toward a star.
She vanished from where she stood as Mor'gan's greatsword cleaved down, the aftershock alone blasting apart what remained of the forest behind her.
She reappeared to his flank.
A blade of radiant light formed along her arm and slashed for his side.
Mor'gan twisted, meeting it with the flat of his sword.
The collision detonated in a burst of light and fire that threw them apart again.
Sora landed hard, boots skidding across ash and cracked stone.
Her breathing was louder now.
Heavier.
He's right.
she could feel it.
That subtle, invisible loss.
Every clash.
Every contact.
A subtle thinning in her reserves.
A quiet siphoning.
He's draining me…
Not enough to panic.
Not enough to weaken her immediately.
But enough to notice.
One percent at a time.
Like sand slipping through her fingers.
Her hand tightened briefly.
It's fine.
She has cards. The enchanted bands around her wrists pulsed faintly. Mana storage artifacts. Emergency reserves. Long-duration sustain tools prepared for drawn-out engagements and worst-case scenarios..
She could outlast this.
For a long time.
Her real worry wasn't Mor'gan.
It was—
The cocoon barrier.
Her eyes flicked for the briefest moment toward the distant white sphere untouched by the devastation.
Why is he still inside?
Her jaw tightened.
She had created that barrier so Null could escape safely while Mor'gan's attention was fixed on her.
She had made it obvious.
She had told him.
Run.
But she could still sense his presence inside white sphere.
Unmoved.
Undisturbed.
Why haven't you left yet, idiot…?
Mor'gan was already moving again.
She forced her focus back.
She flashed sideways just as a wave of black-orange fire tore through the space she had occupied. Heat grazed her cheek. She retaliated instantly.
*Judgment Ray*
A beam of concentrated radiance lanced toward his chest. Mor'gan twisted and let it carve a molten trench through the earth behind him.
They clashed again.
Blade of light.
Sword of flame.
Explosions carved deeper wounds into the battlefield.
But while her body fought—
Her thoughts churned.
I can last.
Even if he drains me, I can draw from the artifacts.
Her fingers brushed lightly against the ring beneath her glove.
A spatial artifact.
Linked directly to the Sanctum.
One thought.
One activation.
And she could leave this battlefield instantly.
Safe.
Alive.
But—
Her eyes hardened.
It only recognizes mana signatures coded into it beforehand.
I can't take him with me.
Which was why she had done all this.
Why she had drawn the demon away.
Why she had told Null to escape while she stalled.
Why she was still here.
Fighting.
Buying time.
So why…
Another clash.
A flaming fist smashed through her guard and sent her tumbling across the cracked earth. She rolled, forced herself up, and activated—
Lifeweave Restoration.
Pain vanished.
Burns faded.
Breath steadied.
But her thoughts were louder now.
Why are you still there…?
Mor'gan raised his sword again.
She raised her hand.
A Lance of concentrated radiance shot forward. He sidestepped, letting it carve a molten scar through the ground behind him.
They circled.
Smoke and embers drifting between them.
Her chest rose and fell faster now.
Her aura flickered faintly at the edges.
Her eyes, however—
Briefly flicked to the cocoon one more time.
A thread of anxiety crept into her heart for the first time since the battle began.
Please…
Mor'gan stepped forward, flames coiling around him like a crown of hellfire.
Sora raised her stance again.
Light gathered around her trembling hands.
Her expression remained calm.
But her thoughts were not.
Just run, Null-san…