Chapter 33 : The Angel's Mercy
The Angel's Mercy
A beam of light flashed in the pitch-black night, almost like a second sun. Shui Cangxuan saw the spear of light hurtling toward her.
Without a hint of hesitation, she immediately chanted: "Water, become an abyss at my command—Azure Abyss!"
The surrounding elements rapidly gathered, forming a huge vortex.
This spell carried some spatial properties, able to devour attacks far beyond its own power.
It could even be called a forbidden defensive incantation among water spells.
Yet it was useless—after swallowing the divine spear, a series of spatial shattering sounds rang out, and it pierced through the air once again, unstoppable, invincible.
Although Azure Abyss weakened Gungnir's impact considerably, even so, it would still have been enough to tear her apart.
Just as Shui Cangxuan closed her eyes in despair, a golden barrier appeared before her.
"Azure Dragon Light Screen."
A silver-haired girl stood in front of Shui Cangxuan, supporting the barrier with both hands.
But the power of the divine spear was simply too strong.
Before long, cracks appeared on the screen, more and more, denser and denser—just as it was about to shatter, Gungnir finally broke apart, transforming into four blades that embedded themselves in the rooftop's concrete.
By now, the rooftop was already a wreck—the wire mesh fencing had been shredded, the floor upended, even the cement radiated heat, making it painful to stand upon.
"What destructive power," the girl said as she looked at her blood-covered hands.
She turned to Shui Cangxuan and said, "Are you alright, sage?"
"You are—Shen Baixue?! Why are you here?"
"I sensed a power on the balcony that defied reason, so I rushed over to check. I didn't expect to see you—just in the nick of time."
"We meet again, miss Zhixi. But it seems Miss Luna is no longer here."
Shen Baixue gazed straight at Zhixi. She had sensed from their first meeting that this girl was extraordinary, but had not expected her to be this strong.
That last blow—if she hadn't blocked it, how many innocent lives would have been lost?
"Tch."
Zhixi seemed very dissatisfied with this turn of events.
She had expected not to be able to unleash Gungnir's full power, but hadn't thought it would be blocked.
Looking at the scattered light blades, shen Baixue said, "It seems you can't launch another strike like that. In that case, I must ask you to come to the palace with me."
Zhixi knew she had already expended a lot of power in her fight with Shui Cangxuan, and throwing Gungnir had drained her further.
Now, with Shen Baixue—whose power was close to her own—arriving, it was two versus one, clearly putting her at a disadvantage.
At this moment, the sound of footsteps gradually approached from the night sky.
With magical amplification and a tremendous leap, Lingxian also arrived on the rooftop.
Three against one—even running away would now be difficult.
"What happened, Xue?"
Lingxian asked.
"Let me summarize briefly,"
Shen Baixue replied.
"I see. Are you unharmed, sage?"
Lingxian stepped up to Shui Cangxuan and bowed slightly in respect.
"I'm alright, just a little drained,"
Shui Cangxuan answered.
"Is that so? Then is the person before us an enemy?"
"... Yes..."
"Then the solution is simple: defeat them, Xue!"
"Understood."
Upon receiving the order, shen Baixue sprang at Zhixi, drawing a long blade from who-knows-when. Losing the initiative, Zhixi could only parry unarmed.
Shen Baixue's strikes weren't heavy, but they were extremely fast, each one aimed precisely at her weak points.
With a 'thud', the sound of blade biting into flesh was heard.
"Ugh."
Zhixi grunted, glancing at the wound on her abdomen—she knew it would not be easy to escape today.
But soon, the wound on her abdomen began to knit itself closed. In a matter of seconds, it was gone without a trace.
The three witnesses were all speechless in astonishment.
"What is that?!"
Lingxian exclaimed loudly.
"A demonkin? No, even demonkin don't recover that quickly,"
Shen Baixue muttered, furrowing her brow.
"Could it be..."
Shui Cangxuan looked at Zhixi, deep in thought.
"You seem to have quite a few secrets. Looks like we'll have to take you back for research,"
Shen Baixue said, thrusting once more.
"You think I'll go quietly with you?"
Zhixi's voice carried a hint of weakness.
"If you can regenerate, then it shouldn't matter if I cut off your limbs,"
Shen Baixue replied coldly.
"That sounds pretty painful,"
Zhixi shot back.
Shen Baixue's superb swordsmanship offered her opponents no respite.
Her speed was so great that afterimages seemed to flicker around her, as if several identical people were attacking at once—yet there was really only one.
"My injuries have recovered almost fully; only my magic's drained now," said Shui Cangxuan, as Lingxian carefully aided her recovery while Shen Baixue fought Zhixi.
"By the way, what exactly is ..."
Lingxian walked over to one of the light blades. She had never seen such a weapon before. Just as she reached for it, something unusual happened.
There was a 'bang', a noise like something falling from the sky, stirring up clouds of dust.
After Shen Baixue and Zhixi distanced themselves, the dust cleared, revealing another girl, accompanied by a maid wearing a white, smiling mask.
"Luna..."
With the same face as her own little sister, Lingxian could never forget her.
Shen Baixue looked in disbelief at the maid behind Luna. According to her master, there were only seven known Sages—of whom only one was human.
Yet now, nearly four Sage-level beings had gathered on this rooftop.
If a Sage could be someone's maid, then how terrifying must the master herself be?
Shen Baixue reassessed Luna, but found not a trace of magical power.
"What should we do, sage?"
Lingxian asked Shui Cangxuan.
"If it's three versus three, our odds are good,"
Shui Cangxuan said. She knew Luna had no combat ability—and Zhixi was gravely wounded; the only real opponent was Aili.
"Then let's move!"
Meanwhile, on the other side ...
"Are you two here for a total party wipe?"
"Who do you think charged out first?"
"There's no time for squabbling—what do you propose we do?"
"I have a plan. Just follow my lead."
"But they don't seem willing to coordinate,"
Zhixi said with a wry smile as she watched the three opponents advancing.
"Master, will there be a problem?"
Aili asked Yinhua.
"No, there won't,"
Yinhua replied, her tone strangely lacking any hint of frailty; rather, there was a touch of ... delight?
Yinhua raised her right hand. 'Odin'.
The scattered light blades—each bearing a distinct name: Divine Null, Fate's Verdict, Evil's Bane, Life's End.
As if in answer to Yinhua's call, they appeared behind her one by one.
"Begin synchronization—synchronization complete. Begin decryption—decryption complete. Identity confirmed: Yongye Yuan-in Xuelin."
"Let the judgment begin, gardener."
"Bow your head, wretch. Do you not even know the proper rites for an audience?"
Yinhua's voice was not loud, but it contained a hint of mockery.
Suddenly, even the air seemed to gain weight, forcing the trio opposite her to their knees.
"Wrathful Ghost Hell."
The four light blades crisscrossed and spun at high speed.
"What is this...?"
Lingxian gasped.
"I didn't expect such overwhelming force..."
Shen Baixue panted heavily, half-kneeling.
"I can't move ... this feeling, just like ... just like ... !!!"
Shui Cangxuan suddenly remembered: when her father was killed, she had felt just this same immobilizing oppression.
Shen Baixue bit her tongue hard, using the pain to numb her fear for a moment.
With a forceful slam on the ground, there was a booming sound and the three dropped through the rooftop.
"Let's retreat—we can't handle this right now,"
Lingxian said, tearing a scroll. In an instant, she, shen Baixue, and Shui Cangxuan vanished.
"ε=(′ο｀*))) Whew, that scared me to death. Good thing they retreated."
Seeing her foes flee, Yinhua let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Well done, master. A fine performance,"
Aili said.
"I said we'd be fine, didn't I?"
"But just... how did you control that weapon?"
"I don't know. I just acted on instinct."
"Instinct? That's a pretty flimsy explanation."
Zhixi: "Stare~~~ So you really were putting on an act just now?"
"Yeah, I couldn't possibly throw it for real,"
Yinhua said, glancing at the cross-shaped dart in her hand.
"That was amazing,"
Aili applauded enthusiastically.
... But was it really just an act? Even Zhixi wondered; even she had felt that overwhelming divine authority.
At that moment, was it really Yinhua herself in control?
"Long time no see, Your Highness."
A fourth voice sounded among them.
"Who?!"
Aili immediately became alert.
"... Huh?"
Beside Yinhua now stood a petite figure, hardly even a maiden—just a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old child.
Golden short hair was braided into a ponytail at the back of her neck; her striking, heterochromic eyes were unforgettable.
With arms crossed at her chest, she wore a blue-and-white dress adorned with strange, arcane runes.
Though diminutive, her presence was so powerful it resembled that of a queen.
"Why so surprised, Your Highness?"
The girl's very first words radiated such overwhelming authority that it left the others unable to speak—Yinhua excepted.
"So cute!"
Yinhua swooped in and hugged the doll-like girl.
"Your Highness?! What are you doing?"
The girl blushed scarlet at once.
"What's your name? Why did you come here?"
Yinhua asked, stroking the girl's hair—unaware that, but for herself, the others had been paralyzed by her aura.
"Your Highness, please don't tease me any further," the girl said, pouting in discontent.
At the same time, in another world...
"How long has it been? I've watched this world turn to scorched earth, then watched life rise again from that wasteland, saw life build cities, watched those cities fall to ruin, ruins turn to ash."
The third divine seat, Heart of the Four Seasons—Youzhen—stood atop a flower-covered villa, gazing over all living things.
"It's been seven hundred thousand years since Gardener's fall. Odin's whereabouts are unknown, and Qifeng still sealed and yet to awaken. How will the next war be weathered?"
............
The Gardener has truly passed away; of the twelve divine thrones, only two remain.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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