Something had changed.
There was an awareness of this fact.
The sensation felt familiar somehow, leaving Angie standing there dumbfounded with her fists still raised.
A feeling of utter relaxation and omnipotence washed over her entire body.
Two opposing sensations coursed through her being.
Though the sensation was difficult to grow accustomed to, a sliver of her remaining rationality clung to it.
Aslan did nothing. This change wasn’t caused by any action of Aslan’s.
This was Divine Power.
The divine power that made Angie superhuman, granting Aslan all sorts of miracles, and giving the traveling party the audacity to oppose even a deity.
But this was different—this was Angie’s own divine power.
Not something she had acquired from elsewhere.
Angie realized it flowed forth from her very soul.
Without understanding what it meant, her intuition made an inference surpassing her intellect.
Angie had become a deity.
The god of Valor and Struggle.
A god weaker than any other yet paradoxically strong because it retained fear.
It wasn’t about War or Knowledge.
Bijou, standing before her, understood this first—even before Angie herself.
Bijou was not her target for vengeance, nor an enemy that must be killed, nor an adversary matching his twisted mind.
Yet Bijou rushed toward Angie, faster than the divine power enveloping her could seep into her body.
“Ann-”
To Aslan, watching from behind, it seemed like a threatening charge. The body moved before the sound could escape.
The crouched figure was itself menacing, and its trajectory resembled that of a cannonball.
It reminded Angie of a dragon-cannon aimed at her, and Aslan of a railgun from a game he once played.
It was invisible.
Even Bijou couldn’t control it.
Just a straight line.
Anything in its path—dirt, rocks—was sliced apart and scattered.
Amidst the swirling dust reduced almost to ash,
Angie closed her eyes within the overwhelming sense of omnipotence.
She didn’t close them out of fear.
Rather, her senses were expanding too much; she felt too much.
So she closed her eyes.
Blocking out sight reduced the sensory overload.
Her five senses perceived the world.
First, she felt the wind blowing. It was originally carving mountains into sharp peaks.
That wind came from beneath, from Geladridion’s polar regions.
It was cold, biting, making bones ache and jaws tremble—not from fear but sheer chill.
Beyond touch, Angie heard sounds—the howling winds following after their physical rush, like thunder lagging behind lightning. Though not as fast as lightning, it was near that speed.
Speed carried force with it.
Angie knew well how powerful Lumel’s lightning-like spear swings were.
Then smell.
The metallic scent of blood—her own.
Upon closer inspection, a faintly different odor mixed in.
An unusual scent, like the refreshing coolness after dust settles despite no rain falling.
Angie shut off these impressions and focused.
The world was sensed.
The same world Aslan once shattered to open a way.
A world filled with water under endless skies, and night filling the opposite side.
She felt beings beyond this world.
And the person those beings watched.
A tattered girl with crimson hair, bleeding and crying, barely standing.
No longer just a girl.
Angela Tail.
Her emotions settled.
Blocking all external senses, she concentrated on the divine power coursing through her.
In this frail world, Angie was no longer merely human.
She felt the divine power in her hand.
Intuitively, she grasped what she could do with it.
She touched upon forbidden knowledge, secrets of creation long forgotten.
She was of the lineage of War and Knowledge.
Before closing their eyes, War and Knowledge had glimpsed taboos and prepared for destruction.
Crack!
Suddenly, the sound of something breaking was heard.
Clear even to Aslan, restless and ready to intervene at any moment, and to Bijou now rushing forward.
Valor and Struggle.
Valor is the exclusive domain of humans who overcome fear, while struggle is the fight to overcome.
Now, Angie clenched her fists to conquer her own fear.
Clenched fists. Something broke.
Cherik, chererere!
Shards fell from Angie’s clenched fist.
At that moment, Aslan noticed a strange chill and looked up.
He saw it—a female silhouette splitting the sky.
Strangely familiar.
It was Angie’s shadow.
A completely new manifestation of divinity.
The breath flowing from this divinity rose crimson and dispersed.
Impossible.
Even Bijou, accelerating beyond visible speeds, hadn’t reached her, and neither could Aslan interfere.
Only Angie moved at a perceptible pace.
As the scattered breath stretched, Angie opened her eyes.
Bright golden irises gleamed.
They burned through the night.
Her clenched fist moved. Crimson vapor spread with a hissing sound throughout her body.
No, it wasn’t vapor.
It was divine power.
A phenomenon created by a woman determined to fight and overcome her fear.
Like cracks or tattoos, it covered her entire body, and Angie accelerated.
Explosive acceleration. At its end, two titanic forces collided.
A deafening roar followed. Aslan, using his Dragon King transformation, groaned as his body was pushed back.
Even his immense strength was terrifyingly inferior. A mountain already reduced to a hill became a canyon.
A circular canyon carved through the center.
Inside this canyon, Angie and Bijou clashed.
The collision didn’t end easily.
The impact sounds continued, and Aslan quickly descended to look down into the canyon.
Given Angie’s earlier display, it wouldn’t be surprising if she found herself at a disadvantage.
Preparing to jump in at any moment, Aslan witnessed an unexpected scene.
The clash. Crimson and black collided, and fierce winds surged upward through the canyon.
Mixed in the ascending currents was a peculiar smell, faintly of blood.
Instead, it carried the strange, acrid stench from Bijou.
He was invisible.
The battle eluded Aslan’s perception.
Still, the events were clear.
Angie and Bijou fought evenly.
In the canyon below where Aslan stood, floating dust gradually slowed down.
When it finally stopped, the world seemed slower, yet the two figures moved faster.
Swirling dust particles danced as a punch flew.
!
A shockwave spreading in a spherical form. Space rippled and air exploded beyond the reach of eardrums, while Angie held her crimson-cracked fist.
It struck a darkened crystal and pulled back.
Angie intuitively comprehended her divine power even in this strangely slowed reality.
Not the mastery of fire or metal, not the creation of life akin to nature, not the shaping of eternity like night.
Yet, a divine power perfectly suited to valor and struggle.
Divine power itself becoming strength, transcending limits.
Adding onto her physical stats across the board, values unknown even to herself.
Strength became 28, agility 20, health 30.
Perfect flesh augmented further.
Strength became 42, agility 30, health 45.
Despite the pain of her battered body and the confusion from lost blood,
Angie realized this was her chance.
She screamed, opening her mouth.
Faster than sound striking eardrums, she swung her clenched fist.
Wherever her fist passed, debris soared. A heatwave erupted like a bomb, melting rocks.
Right in the middle, Bijou raised an arm to block the punch. One arm wouldn’t suffice; he crossed them.
Crystal fragments scattered, arms bent, and Bijou’s expressionless crystal face turned towards Angie.
Not War or Knowledge.
Another god entirely.
Yet, he didn’t retreat. Even with his impaired reason, Bijou’s body faithfully moved to fight.
Bang, Kwaahhhhhh!
Two short punches, dodged by turning the head, left deep gashes in the canyon walls.
In this situation, Angie didn’t know how to counterattack.
But she could choose what she excelled at.
The fighting style of a talentless, skill-less slum girl.
Wild, unrefined attacks. Pulling her arm far back and swinging with her hips.
Kwarrrrrrrrrrk!
Ancient deities themselves couldn’t reach such levels of power. The wind pressure melted everything it touched.
Bijou barely blocked this monstrous force, thanks to his endless strength overcoming incomprehensible might.
Tttttttrrrrrk!
But blocking wasn’t enough.
Even with divine power defying logic, techniques surpassing comprehension, and rule-breaking abilities, Bijou was pushed back.
His feet dragged along the ground. With each swing of Angie’s fist, Bijou was forced backward along the same trajectory.
Thus, Angie swung her arm and hurled a punch. Bijou flew.
Carving through the accumulated earth, Bijou skidded to a stop.
Angie jumped.
Unable to execute a proper kick, she wildly extended her leg.
Closer to a dropkick than a flying kick.
Channeling her weight and strength, she launched herself at full acceleration. A scarlet streak hurtled forward.
The power was so tremendous it seemed to warp space itself.
Or perhaps it actually did.
Seeing Angie, Bijou leapt out, squeezing his body into the warped space and rammed into her with his shoulder.
Thus they collided.
The sound was so enormous Aslan had to cover his ears high above the canyon.
A deafening roar.
It didn’t cease.
It continued endlessly, dozens of times per second.
Within that roar, Angie and Bijou extended their fists and legs.
Bijou’s punch struck Angie’s neck, crushing it, only for the broken vertebrae to instantly regenerate and retaliate with a headbutt.
The headbutt crushed Bijou’s skull so deeply it nearly detached, but Bijou didn’t stop.
He clenched his fists.
Bijou’s soul instinctively knew this power wasn’t eternal.
He realized it would fade after enduring and striking repeatedly.
To kill the immature deity before him, he needed to endure.
To endure and kill.
Bijou moved.
Kwaaaaaahhhhh!
His punch tore into Angie’s regenerating side, unprotected by armor.
With horrifying pain, Bijou opened his embedded fist and ripped the wound wider.
Indeed, Angie’s face contorted. Her clenched teeth broke and regenerated.
But she didn’t retreat, didn’t weaken, didn’t stop.
She grabbed his wrist.
And quicker than he could pull free, she delivered a headbutt.
The deep gouge in his leg worsened, cracks appearing.
Attempting to escape, Bijou tore at her flesh with his fingers, but Angie didn’t yield, blood streaming from her mouth.
Kab, Kab, Kab, Kab, Kab!
She attacked with strikes loud enough for Aslan far away to hear.
Headbutting, grabbing his wrist with her regenerating side, locking both hands together, she slammed his head.
Flying debris, foul smells. Blood and flesh splattered.
Grabbing the wrist lodged in her side, Angie gritted her teeth and twisted her body.
“Aaaahhhhhh!”
Roaring, she forcibly summoned strength and swung Bijou around.
Ground, sides, tunnels, even the ruins Angie had previously destroyed.
Bijou’s vision wildly shook as he collided with everything.
Still, he used the recoil to strike Angie, but she endured with overflowing health and willpower.
Just one more time, if not possible, just one more second.
Holding onto this mindset, she clutched her consciousness and swung her fists, legs, and head.
Her untied hair fluttered in the darkness, momentarily resembling blossoming flames.
Within that, Angie and Bijou clenched their fists.
Through swirling dust, the two figures stared at each other.
Angie was still afraid. The pain was horrific, and she felt her mind might snap at any moment.
Yet, having chosen to fight, she couldn’t retreat.
Even in fear, she could barely swing her fists.
Kwaaaaaaaahhhhh!
Her fist crushed his throat and hammered against crystal.
Drawing back and thrusting forward, her wide swing struck his face, while Bijou’s nails tore at her arm.
The severed arm regenerated and grabbed Bijou’s neck, delivering another headbutt.
Blood streamed from the fractured head, the tongue severed but quickly regenerating.
Fighting like a madwoman, Angie smiled.
She was used to putting on airs.
She was used to ignoring pain.
She was used to enduring, even when terrified, her spirit wavering, her resolve about to break.
For Angela Tail of the tail district, it was exceedingly familiar.
Even without divinity.
[God of Valor and Struggle, Angela Tail]
[Level: 16]
[Strength 18] [Agility 10] [Health 20]
[Divinity 10] [Tenacity ■] [Luck ■]
The omnipotent sensation wrapping her body faded.
The crimson cracks racing across her body disappeared.
Bijou saw this as an opportunity.
So Bijou revealed his hidden trump card.
Stretching his arm back, the darkened crystal condensed and thinned. The divine power encasing the crystal compressed.
While continuing to exchange blows, Bijou drew his leg back and thrust his hand forward.
As he unleashed it, his fist to forearm erupted in a black glow.
Explosive, instantaneous expansion. The burning divine power left trails behind.
That fist. Approaching death.
Seeing it, Angie extended her right arm.
An open palm. Upon contact with the fist, her right hand split into eight pieces.
Kwadddddddddddddd!
The swirling dust accelerated, and the world sped up to match.
Perception slowed, revealing flesh shattering into tiny fragments.
Not just her hand; as Bijou advanced, that much of her arm was torn away.
Her entire right arm split like an eight-petaled flower.
Bone, muscle, blood, nerves.
Blooming like a crimson flower, then severing.
Pain beyond description.
Finally, the punch stopped after reaching her shoulder.
The battle was over. Bijou faintly believed this.
If he drove his claws into her side now, he could tear apart the source of her divinity—her heart.
He wouldn’t let his guard down.
Bijou immediately proceeded to kill Angie—but.
Simultaneously with the rise of Angie’s lips in a smile, Bijou’s hand was caught by muscle.
Twisting muscles. Moving parts that shouldn’t have moved, gripping Bijou’s hand.
The crystal, drained of all power, thinned again. It wouldn’t budge.
Bijou’s emotionless, fearless black eyes met Angie’s golden ones.
“Caught…you.”
Grinning.
Before Bijou could escape from that grin, Angie moved.
Crunch! She bit down on the wrist embedded in her shoulder, utilizing the strength in her neck and shoulder, leveraging her body’s momentum.
A crude, bestial suplex.
Following Angie’s motion, Bijou’s foot traced a circle, rising and slamming back down onto the ground.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!
Rock chunks surged upward, and Bijou’s body floated briefly before settling back down.
The damage was negligible. He could retaliate instantly.
Bijou’s faint reasoning guided him, just as he was about to act,
Angie raised her left fist high.
From that left fist to her shoulder,
Her entire left arm was dyed in crimson cracks.
Familiar. Bijou recognized his hidden trump card—precisely, the stolen ultimate strike.
What Angie couldn’t replicate were techniques.
But in handling divine power, she could easily follow.
She was the descendant of ancient warriors and bearers of war and knowledge.
She possessed the talent to wield divine power.
Kwooooooo!
The raised fist descended.
The crimson divine power blazed.
Tsussssssssss!
A sound like a flame extinguishing at high speed accompanied the meteor-like descent of her fist.
As real as a meteor, fast and powerful.
Moreover, her divine power transformed her punch into the actual weight of a meteor.
That strike bore divine essence.
The crimson fist struck, hammering Bijou’s body.
The impact traveled from the point of contact deep into the underground.
The ground flared crimson like an overturned volcano, divine power piercing through Bijou.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!
Bijou’s body sank into the ground. Following the shattered surface from Angie’s divine power, he was buried deep into the earth.
The transmitted shockwaves shattered everything around.
A crater formed within the already deep canyon.
Residual shockwaves sent stone fragments soaring upward.
Rising air currents swirled violently, heated and blazing.
Amidst it all, Angie stood.
Lifting the fist that had pulverized an unbeatable foe.
From the spot where Angie’s fist struck downward, light pierced through the dissipating night.
