Chapter 272

“You sure talk a lot, you ghostly wench…!”

Isabella, overwhelmed by humiliation, trembled with what little strength she had left.

Though she dodged and weaved, barely holding on, the mere fact that things had come to this was enough to make her blood boil to the tips of her hair.

“It’s the same magic as before! I must be out of tricks!”

The shadow spear, conjured by squeezing out her dark energy, shattered into pieces upon colliding with the blue arc.

The cursed twelve swords of Elpinel. The azure blades, forged to annihilate darkness, tore through her magic without hesitation.

“Crash into the ground!”

A blood-red wave of hatred, thick and ominous, surged toward Isabella, who floated in the air.

A hundred crimson chains intertwined like a net, blocking her path in all directions.

Isabella, her body protected by dark energy like armor, tried to slip through the gaps in the net.

But, as always, she couldn’t escape unscathed. Just like before.

The blade of Life Force grazed her chest, tearing off another chunk of flesh.

“Ugh…!”

A searing pain surged from the wound. Isabella, who had lost her immortality, could no longer find pleasure in pain.

“What the hell did you create, Elpinel…!”

Gritting her teeth against the burning agony, Isabella hurled curses at the monster she believed was watching from above.

—

When she was ambushed in the underground waterway, she was a bit surprised, but she thought she could win.

A transcendent body. Alien energy. The swords of Elpinel. Anti-magic resistance.

A woman blessed with every divine gift imaginable, yet she never imagined she’d be pushed this far.

Even if she had stepped into the realm of heroes, she was still just a human. She would tire and fall eventually.

The remaining two were nothing but weaklings, not even worthy of being called heroes.

Yes. That’s how it should have been.

But Ai-shan Gi-or… was an incomprehensible monster.

It wasn’t just about strength.

A warrior who had reached the pinnacle of this era. To wield such power at an age when her prime hadn’t even arrived was astonishing, but…

That much, at least, was understandable.

The energy she had accumulated through life-and-death battles against stronger foes, her natural genius, and all the blessings she had received.

It was no wonder the aging Valenstein had fallen.

But this… what the hell is this?

The “Phantom Summoning of the Underworld” was shattered so easily. In a way even Isabella couldn’t have imagined.

The method had precisely targeted a weakness even she, the wielder of the power, didn’t know about.

The “Nightmare Embrace,” unleashed amidst a barrage of magic, was also countered.

Even as she screamed and writhed in the nightmare, that monster came at her with terrifying precision. Using her own body, fueled by tangible Life Force, in a bizarre combat style.

At the time, her heart nearly stopped from shock, but now, seeing this, she thought she understood.

“Two souls… the one unaffected by the power forced the body to move! No wonder she came at me with only Life Force back then…!”

Unlike the one wielding the Oath Sword, this was a violent woman who emitted only Life Force. Though they looked like twins, their fighting styles were so different it was easy to tell them apart.

That woman must have been the one controlling the body at the time.

Why the real soul connected to the body and the parasitic ghost soul shared the same form was still a mystery.

Even if she knew the reason, she couldn’t unleash the “Nightmare Embrace” again now.

As long as the world’s restrictions remained, greater powers came with greater limitations. To unleash the Nightmare Embrace again, she’d need at least half a day.

So, in the ensuing three-on-one battle, Isabella had no choice but to bleed heavily.

With both “Phantom Summoning” and “Nightmare Embrace” broken, she had to fight a real battle for the first time in decades, relying only on the power of the “Nest” and her own dark energy.

To make matters worse, she had released most of the useful “bugs” in the Venes territory, so the power of the “Nest” was also significantly weakened.

Though even if it hadn’t been weakened, it might not have made much difference.

A magician, a high priest, and a warrior-like monster sweeping the battlefield with Life Force tentacles. Each of them specialized in fighting multiple enemies.

Even if she summoned her bug army, most of them would have been swept away like grains of sand.

And the final “Black Repose”… well, you can see how that turned out.

The dream showing the past was broken through too quickly, and the inner sanctum she tried to peek into was bound by a god.

To make matters worse, one troublesome enemy had now become two.

Considering that Ai-shan Gi-or alone surpassed both a saint candidate and a high-ranking magician, this had actually helped the enemy.

In other words, the “Black Repose” had effectively been countered as well.

“What the hell is this monster…! How can it be this easy…?”

That was what Isabella couldn’t understand the most.

Powers she could have confidently called fatal blows were crumbling absurdly easily.

Not because of overwhelming strength, but because they were precisely targeting the weaknesses of her powers.

It was incomprehensible.

Only she and Lilith, who had granted her the powers, knew the exact details of her abilities.

She hadn’t even explained them in detail to Feyrus, yet Ai-shan Gi-or was countering them as if she had known about them from the start!

“Foresight? Prophecy? No, that’s impossible…!”

In her confusion, Isabella desperately denied the thought that came to her.

Foresight? That’s not a power humans can possess. Even for monsters, it’s an impossible realm.

Even Elpinel couldn’t see the future.

But then… what the hell is this?

Isabella clenched her teeth and trembled.

Frustrated and suffocated.

Something seemed to fill her chest, squeezing her heart tightly.

Since she gained near-immortal power, she had forgotten this feeling.

Yes. It was an emotion called fear.

—

The two identical-looking women worked together seamlessly.

Even without coordinating, their separate attacks formed a perfect combination.

“Not yet, it’s not over! I’ll carve that flesh into pieces!”

Her already half-gone upper body was sliced again.

“All that big talk, and now you’re running away like a fly!”

Elpinel’s sword tore through the dark energy, leaving deep wounds.

‘Those damn women…! How much longer do I have to hold on? How much further…!’

Isabella, now reduced to just her collarbone, suppressed her anxiety and forcibly gathered dark energy.

If she died completely here, her mind would collapse too.

At this point, fighting in reality rather than enduring this seemed better… but once Lilith’s power was unleashed, even she couldn’t take it back.

So, she had to hold on until the limit of her power.

The chase continued.

“Got you…!”

“Crush her!”

Two unavoidable attacks flew toward Isabella, now just a head.

“Ah…!”

In that moment, Isabella sensed death.

There was no escape, and no dark energy left to block.

– Crack!

Hersela’s nails burst through her nose and crushed her skull.

Hersela’s fist tore through the back of her head.

Just as the two fists met, Isabella’s consciousness and life were about to shatter—

Finally, the dark respite came to an end.

======[ Hersela ]======

“Ahhhhhhh!”

A woman’s scream echoed through the ruins.

In the ruined waterway, Isabella, now a wreck, clutched her head and screamed.

Suddenly, the surroundings had returned to a dim underground space.

…Doesn’t seem like she’s dead. Maybe a bit too late.

It was truly a shame.

Just a blink of an eye more, and Isabella’s mind could have been destroyed.

[ Did you run away, you filthy bitch-! ]

Hersela, who had narrowly missed Isabella, was furious.

“…Ah…ahhh…huuuu…!”

Isabella groaned, staggering.

Her body had returned intact, and her dark energy was almost fully restored, but her spirit was broken.

Even though it happened in the mental realm, her entire body had been torn apart, so while her body was back, her mind was in tatters.

“…Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?”

Lacey tilted her head in confusion.

From her perspective, Isabella, who was about to cast some incredibly evil spell, suddenly screamed and retreated.

“Who knows, maybe she’s reaching her limit!”

Ophelia, completely unfazed.

Her released magical energy surged like lightning.

“Ahhh…!”

Isabella’s body convulsed as lightning struck her, and she let out a weak breath.

The remaining armor on her body burned black and fell off, just like when the power of the “Writhing Nest” ran out in the mental realm.

Was it really her limit, as Ophelia said? It wouldn’t be strange, given the damage she took…

“Huuhhh…Ai-shan Gi-or…!”

No, it’s different!

Her flipped eyes turned sharply to stare at me.

Her purple gaze was still filled with burning hatred.

And.

The next moment, dark energy erupted like a pillar.

“Elpinel!”

Thinking it was an attack, Lacey hastily created a barrier of light.

But that wasn’t an attack. It was the same phenomenon as before.

From within the blackened pillar, a cracking sound echoed.

“Futile tricks…!”

Ophelia’s fire arrows and wind blades collided with the dark pillar and scattered.

– Clang!

Even Durandal’s blade was blocked.

As expected… when she’s in that form, she can’t be attacked.

It was the same in the game.

When she hid within that pillar, no attack could harm her.

“What is that…?”

There was no need to answer Lacey’s question.

Within seconds, the dark pillar, erupting like lava, began to dissipate like a mirage.

And in the center of it.

“…Did you think you had won? No. It’s not over yet, Ai-shan Gi-or…!”

A witch, now in a completely different form, glared at me with a chilling aura.

Her massive moth-like wings fluttered behind her.

【 Metamorphosis 】

Her final power.

The last resort, unleashed in desperation after being pushed to the brink.

…The end was near.