The flail swung, and a blue-glowing spike surged forward.
That flail, the weapon known as the Wedge of Eternity, was undoubtedly powerful.
Worthy as an artifact of The Immovable One, its power was far from ordinary.
A surreal weapon that stole time with a mere touch and restrained.
Naturally, defense against such a weapon was meaningless.
At the moment of defense, one was destined to have their time stolen and die.
Evasion was the only option.
If you didn’t evade, you would die.
Though the cause-and-effect were clear, the woman did not move amidst the streaks of blue light.
A woman in a black dress with black hair, pale skin, and violet eyes exuded a dreamlike aura.
Just before the spike reached her, something dark suddenly sprang up from the floor.
Creeeeaaaak!
It rose like a shadow taking form—it was the Abyss.
The flail, which shattered time itself as it advanced, was deflected by the Abyss.
This was, of course, natural cause-and-effect.
An Abyss where the concept of time does not exist.
Even if it had its time stolen, nothing changed, and it wasn’t broken.
Due to its innate divinity and function as a world unto itself, the time manipulation of The Immovable One had no effect on it.
Akei knew this fact.
Thus, without hesitation, she skillfully tilted the long handle of the flail and swung again.
The arc of the swing. Immediately, the chain extended, and the spike surged forward.
A blow that neither humans nor any priest could easily withstand.
Rowena stretched out her delicate hand toward the incoming attack.
Kaahhhhaaaang!
In response, the Abyss surged upward.
As the Abyss shot up like a bed of thorns, blocking the spike, a metallic clang resounded and it was deflected.
The clang echoed as the repelled spike sent sparks flying.
Amidst those sparks, the cold, emotionless violet eyes of Rowena met Akei’s desperate gaze.
So desperate, it felt as though she were pleading for something.
While tilting her head slightly, Rowena flicked her hand.
Kwaaaaaaggggghhhh!
With just a flick of her hand, the Abyss surged up, targeting Akei.
Sharp shadows approaching from all sides, pressuring Akei from every direction.
Gritting her teeth, Akei gripped the long handle of the flail with both hands.
She leaned back, moved, and spun around with great momentum.
The extended chain clinked loudly.
At the end of it, the spike rapidly accelerated.
Screeeeeech! Zheeeek!
The swung flail. The spike hammering the Abyss.
Each collision of the glowing blue spike sent blue sparks flying in all directions.
Yet, amidst those sparks, there was no sign of the woman’s broken body.
Every attempt to reach the woman’s body was blocked by the Abyss rising darkly.
And each time the Abyss was struck by the spike, black blades surged from everywhere, targeting Akei’s blind spots.
Kaak! Zheek!
Suddenly, they descended from above, rose sharply from behind, and slashed diagonally.
Akei blocked all these attacks with the long handle.
Charrrrrrek!
After grabbing the chain and pulling it taut, she released it.
Kwaang!
She shook off the spike.
A brief exchange. They had exchanged blows only five times.
Still, within that short span, Akei had read much.
Her piercing gaze turned toward Rowena’s hand.
Rowena moved her hand.
With every hand gesture, the Abyss heaved, and each movement threatened Akei in different ways.
Their gazes met again, and Akei read Rowena’s past.
Rowena had adventured alongside Aslan.
Through those adventures, Rowena understood and adapted to Aslan’s combat style.
She comprehended well how effective even a single deception could be in battle.
Hence, she attempted to deceive Akei with exaggerated gestures.
All for that one decisive strike.
Rowena extended her delicate hand forward.
It seemed as though the Abyss would surge forward in sync with the motion but halted, and Akei, seeing her own doomed future in that pause, stopped the staff mid-motion.
Kwaaagggghhhh!
A moment later, the Abyss surged from directly behind. Akei realized then that the attack was unrelated to the hand gesture—a black blade erupted from the ground.
Simultaneous attacks from two directions—an unavoidable combo if deceived by the hand movements.
But Akei, as if aware, swung the staff backward to deflect the Abyss’s thrust.
Ka-kak-kak! Sparks flew from the metal staff.
Kwwwwaaaaang!
Following the downward smash, the spike exploded, scattering dirt, and the surging Abyss was flattened.
When the shark-like rising attacks failed, Rowena raised her eyebrows in surprise.
In sync with that reaction, Akei closed the distance while swinging the flail.
The attack launched. The flail advancing, shattering time itself.
In response, Rowena, without defending, simply extended her hand.
Illusions dancing at her fingertips. The moment her mana was unleashed, the flail was blocked before it could reach her body.
Kaahhhhhhaaaang!
It was a sharp metallic sound, distinct from the noise made when striking the Abyss.
Amid the sparks flying, Lumel leaped in.
A woman wielding a short and long spear in both hands.
When her short spear deflected the flail, Akei frowned at the electric current running through her hand but maintained her composure.
Illusions wrapping around her body immediately. She rewound herself to shake them off.
A temporary rewind returned her to a moment unaffected by magic.
In that brief interval, Lumel approached with twin spears, and Akei, catching her breath, moved her divine power.
Lightning surged around Lumel’s body at that moment, and Akei, whose elf hybrid body resisted temporal effects greatly, accelerated.
In exchange for the endless lifespan born from being a hybrid, she embraced a speed even the voracious eater couldn’t match.
Kwrrrrrrrrrrrl!
Faster than thunder could echo, the spear and the flail’s staff clashed.
Ding! A faint shockwave followed by lightning.
To calm it, she warped the space, solidifying time.
In this way, Akei barely caught up with the lightning.
Pzzz, Pazik!
Electric currents coursed along the ground, and with explosive acceleration, Akei and Lumel moved.
As their weapons disengaged, Lumel thrust her spear forward.
A speed and precision almost impossible to see with just one hand.
A threatening strike aimed at the heart. Before dodging, Lumel twisted her wrist.
Screeeeeeeech!
The scream of lightning. Following the twist of the spear handle, it rose from below to above, aiming for the jaw instead of the heart.
Hardly had Akei ducked when another short spear lunged into the gap.
The swing of the short spear carried not only restraint but also an intent to rip the throat.
The peak-level spear strikes were not easy to counter, even when read.
Only after understanding how Akei moved and her habits could one respond.
Sparks flew with every clash, and Lumel’s indigo eyes glimmered.
While thrusting the spear again, Akei swept it aside with the staff and extended the chain.
Kaang!
The strike against the chain. While the spear was blocked, Lumel noticed.
Akei was literally moving faster than Lumel.
‘The priests of The Immovable One, if skilled enough, can see the future. So, I must respond with an attack they cannot evade despite knowing the future.’
The hint Aslan gave was different.
Because it wasn’t just about reading the future.
Avoiding the Abyss, countering illusions, and dealing with the lightning Lumel summoned—all handled at the same acceleration.
Reading the future wasn’t enough.
It felt like already knowing.
Lumel furrowed her brow at this and took a step forward.
Despite her thoughts, Lumel didn’t hesitate.
Since the veteran was at her peak.
With enhanced strength, Lumel vigorously swung her arm, sliding the spear handle in her grasp.
Swinging it thus, she extended the distance to slash at the throat.
Akei leaned back, her throat sliced, and retreated, recovering by rewinding time.
While pursuing the retreating Akei, Lumel quickly jabbed and kicked with the short spear, sometimes gripping it short-handed to entangle the weapons.
Charrrrrek! When the chain entangled the spear shaft, Lumel tried to grab it, but Akei had no choice but to desperately escape.
Given the countless futures flashing before her eyes warning of paralysis, she had no other choice.
Literally seeing all moments, Akei moved.
Akei’s talent surpassed that of the voracious eater.
The bottomless regeneration of the elf endured all kinds of strain, and the adaptability from being a hybrid allowed her to manipulate time.
All of this was driven by a firm will to survive.
The commoner’s will to live moved her small frame.
Thus, Akei moved, glimpsing the past, present, and future.
Simply to survive.
Before rewinding time, she recalled the brief cooperation they shared in battle.
Lumel and Rowena’s combat styles.
Their habits.
She replayed them dozens of times in one corner of her mind and interpreted the future based on that.
Furthermore, she saw the battles they had endured.
Through her ability to glimpse time itself, she observed and inferred.
In the meantime, she slowed down Rowena and Lumel and desperately maintained the acceleration on her body to avoid divine currents.
Of course, the slowdown didn’t work.
Against the Abyss where time doesn’t exist and Lumel encircled by ancient deity’s currents, the divinity of The Immovable One didn’t reach.
Wherever the flail swept, the terrain was drastically carved away, and every spear thrust sent lightning coursing.
The chances of victory remained slim.
Before altering time, Aslan had said:
These two are optimally selected to counter the voracious eater.
Possessors of divinity that can resist time manipulation and capable of handling various tricks.
While avoiding Rowena’s approaching Abyss and responding to Lumel’s assaults,
Akei realized the truth of those words.
The chances of victory dwindled rapidly with time.
Finally, Rowena’s illusion hit.
“Keeyy!”
A shrill cry. Akei’s vision blurred and darkened. Though it was merely an illusion that stole sight, its effect was certain.
For a fleeting moment, Akei froze, and Lumel’s spear strike connected.
Kwajijijjjjik!
Lightning discharged, and her entire left arm was torn apart and scattered.
Her consciousness wavered, and desire burned within the pain.
She wanted to live. Instinctively, Akei manipulated time, rewinding her body’s timeline.
Appearing where she had sequentially blocked the short and long spears earlier, she panted heavily.
Her arm had regenerated, and the pain was gone.
However, the Akei who didn’t retreat in the future was decapitated by the short spear.
It was a horrifying pain.
Even though it was from the future, it was vivid pain for Akei, who was beginning to assimilate with time.
Caressing her neck as if it might be severed at any moment, Akei took a deep breath.
The pain infused her with the will to survive.
It gave her the resolve to survive at any cost.
Thus, she gripped her weapon tightly and burned with determination.
It was an uncomfortable sight for Lumel.
Not like the malevolent high priests she had faced before, nor like a formidable enemy that needed to be defeated.
It wasn’t the usual scenario where she was on the side of good and the priest was evil.
Seeing the desperate figure, Lumel felt like she was the evil one, trampling someone merely trying to survive.
It was awkward. Still, the spear moved. For someone as skilled with the spear as her, emotions alone couldn’t stop it.
Charrrrrrrrek!
As Akei gasped for breath and swung the flail, they clashed again.
Continuing the fight, Akei thought.
About the already slim chances of victory.
Though weakened by gaining humanity, there was the Abyss, one of the evil deities, and the strongest spear wielder ever, who faithfully inherited the ancient deity’s lightning.
The possibilities of defeat and facing a gruesome death were excessively numerous.
Yet, she resolved to fight without retreating.
Because those slim chances would vanish entirely if Aslan appeared.
To survive at all costs, Akei had to kill these two.
Letting out a silent scream, she charged forward.
Lumel held her spear with an uneasy expression, and Rowena extended her hand expressionlessly from behind.
Akei wanted to live.
Even with that natural desire, self-loathing followed.
Even while desperately thinking and resisting, the self-loathing persisted.
Because she felt it wasn’t right to block heroes and destroy the world.
Taking lives of heroes living in the world more than her own.
She knew it was wrong.
Knowing it was wrong yet unable to stop made her feel repulsive, hence the self-loathing.
Still, she chose the ugly path.
Elf hybrid Akei.
She was too ordinary to be a hero, just a girl.
An ordinary girl who happened to possess disproportionate power.
Under the soaring pillar of light, when the sanctuary of The Immovable One shattered into pieces,
Rewinding time to heal her pierced neck, Akei breathed heavily and spat blood.
The spilled blue blood stained the ground, and Akei cried.
Regeneration was delayed.
She was damaged.
More so, excessive use of divinity was transforming her body.
Having paid all these costs, Rowena and Lumel remained standing.
Lumel, in fact, looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.
Unable to fell her.
Eventually, the future she saw turned dark.
As Akei lifted her head filled with despair, someone plunged down.
Kwwwwaaaaaang!
A deafening roar spread, and Lumel inhaled sharply.
Rowena smiled faintly.
Seeing their expressions, Akei clenched her teeth, crushed her self-loathing, and moved forward.
And she swung the flail with great force.
Pouring all her strength, accelerating to her limits.
A mighty blow. Even Lumel would find it hard to block.
However, the one who plunged down didn’t dodge but instead murmured.
Creeeeaaakk!
The clash turned into a metallic sound.
The swung flail, a strike that could erode time itself, was deflected.
For an extreme mage can weave legendary magic with just simple incantations, hand signs, words, and tattoos.
Some divine slayers choose words.
“Dragon King Transformation.”
By gathering mana and willpower and uttering the name, magic is woven.
Charrrrrrrrek!
The sound of the chain rewinding and scales flowing intertwined.
When the dust settled, Akei faced black death.
Black death with emerald-green eyes gleaming.
All visible futures turned to death, and hope vanished.
Still, Akei gripped her weapon.
Despairing yet swung the flail.
Even in despair, the hybrid who shouldn’t exist yearned for life.
