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Sophia was the one who initiated the first move.

The opening strike was an instantaneous Heart Sword thrust, launched without any warning or precursor. The moment the intent formed, the strike had already arrived, transcending the sequence of time and causality, becoming a covert and vicious assassination technique.

Any ordinary enemy would have lost their head without even realizing what happened. Of course, this opponent was no ordinary foe, but an extraordinary one, who not only deflected this sinister technique with a calm expression but also launched a counterattack.

While deflecting the Heart Sword with her left hand, the staff in her right hand, held by the Great Demon, spun rapidly in a full circle. In that instant, the circle drawn by the staff’s tips glowed golden, and soon, a portal to another dimension was torn open.

The time it took for all this to happen was less than a fraction of a second, making it a truly instantaneous response.

From the opened portal, countless bizarre spirit entities began pouring out.

– Kihihihihihi――――!!!!!

– Kerur――, keruk, keruruk!!!

– Shururur, shurururur…….

The spirit entities, squeezing through the narrow portal while screaming, were a chaotic mix of forms. Some looked so ridiculously stupid that it was almost draining to look at them, while others were so repulsive and disgusting that they seemed like nightmares come to life.

The only notable commonality among them was the absence of any glimmer of reason in their eyes, replaced only by a vague, directionless madness that swayed like a heat haze.

The Hiberian spellcasters, recognizing them, shouted, “They’re wraiths from the Dream Land!”

Among the spellcasters, the fact that there was a world called the Dream Land on the far side of the moon was still relatively new knowledge. Even so, the full details of its nature remained unknown, with only the revelation that when living beings on Earth sleep and dream, a part of their soul travels to the Dream Land before returning.

However, this didn’t mean no research had been conducted. Some spellcasters had developed techniques to maintain their consciousness while exploring the Dream Land, achieving sporadic successes. Thus, the spellcasters could recognize the threatening monsters from the Dream Land.

The eerie cries and the chaotic aura emanating from these entities had the power to infect those nearby with a similar madness. Once infected, these individuals would be unable to resist and would be completely possessed by the Dream Land’s spirit monsters.

Fortunately, among the gathered spellcasters, there were those who knew how to counter this. Some, like Conra and Maria’s group, had been evacuated just before the battle, allowing the Hiberians to respond effectively.

Sophia, glancing at this scene, nodded and adjusted her grip on her sword.

Naturally, the aura emanating from the Dream Land’s spirits had no effect on Sophia, who had complete control over her consciousness and subconscious. However, the spiritual disturbances from the Dream Land still interfered with her detection of the battlefield.

Facing an opponent of this caliber, such interference was extremely dangerous. Not knowing what the enemy might do in an instant, even a momentary loss of sight was unacceptable.

‘If I can’t find it, I’ll just smash everything.’

In the next moment, the sword in her hand disappeared, and… the sky descended.

Kugugugugu―――!

No, to be precise, it felt as if an overwhelming pressure had descended.

“W-what the hell is that!?”

Those who looked up at the sky in response to the unusual pressure were left speechless.

The scene before their eyes could be roughly described as follows:

A sword floated in the sky. That alone wasn’t particularly strange. Creating flying weapons using spells was something any competent spellcaster could do.

The problem was the size of the floating sword. It was unimaginably massive, as if it belonged to a titan from ancient myths. The colossal sword, large enough to distort the viewer’s sense of perspective, now covered the entire sky.

This was none other than an advanced form of Sophia’s Heart Sword, a massive sword projection forged through the principles of ‘Subduing Immortals.’ It was the Divine Sword of Mountain-Shattering.

“Now, let’s see you try to block this!”

What swung it was the reenactment of the ‘Giant’ and ‘Great Hero’ legends.

Behind Sophia, who stood in the air forming hand seals, appeared the image of a giant hero. Her reenactment had now surpassed mere blessings, creating a tangible entity.

Click, clack.

Within her inner cosmos, countless stars of legend surrounded the spirit entity. Selected legends interlocked, forming a celestial diagram.

The legends of giants, revered for their immense power as part of nature’s authority, and the legends of great heroes, who with divine strength, wise strategies, and heroic destinies, overcame great trials to save the world, were now being reenacted. The image of the giant hero extended its arm, gripping the massive sword projection and beginning to swing it.

The sword intent and principles contained within this single strike were overwhelming, surpassing all else. The profound techniques of the Imperial Sword Style from the ancient Nangong and the Heavy Sword Without Edge from the Dugu family were now being unleashed through the colossal sword, reaching a destructive level of pressure.

Thus, the sight of the enemy merely raising a hand to block it seemed utterly bizarre.

Creak, creak.

As the forces of the descending strike and the blocking force clashed, the surrounding space began to tremble with ominous vibrations. Naturally, with such forces colliding, there was bound to be an aftermath.

“It’s coming! Everyone, hold your positions!”

To deflect the shockwave from the collision of the two beings, Conra and Maria quickly joined the March Formation, each taking their positions and roles. With the addition of the two masters, who had already reached a certain level with their Heart Sword and Wu Xin Dong techniques, as well as the authority of the earth, the March Formation became even more dynamic and imposing.

However, even with their combined strength, the members of the March Formation soon realized their limits. They attempted to use the formation to chip away at the Great Demon’s power, but they quickly understood.

‘It’s useless!’

‘No matter how much we chip away, it doesn’t make a difference!’

In the face of such overwhelming power, sometimes even the strongest shackles fail to restrain. It was like trying to bind a giant with the tools of a dwarf.

Only then did the Hiberians realize how much the enemy had been holding back, almost toying with them. Their gazes turned to the nun knight who was facing such a being head-on.

‘Can a person really become that strong?’

Even now, in a realm invisible to the many masters present, the clash between the golden Great Demon and the white nun knight continued, with the aftermath and pressure bearing down on them moment by moment.

With the protection of the March Formation and the unified consciousness bolstered by the formation’s flow, they might have been able to withstand a calamity that could destroy a nation. Yet, the real-time pressure and shockwaves from the battle were overwhelmingly heavy.

As the spectators outside were captivated by the awe-inspiring display of transcendent power, perhaps the prolonged struggle had grown tiresome. The Great Demon, who had been pushing back the colossal sword with his staff, suddenly slammed it down forcefully.

Thud!

A heavy, earth-shaking sound. In that moment, Sophia felt a shockwave erupting from beneath her feet.

‘Ground Shock! Using the entire earth as a medium for the Mountain-Shattering Strike!?’

Completely unexpected, the giant hero image swinging the colossal sword couldn’t respond adequately to the destructive shockwave rising from below.

‘Tch! No choice.’

Instead of resisting the rising shockwave, Sophia leaped into the air, releasing the giant hero image without hesitation. What she chose instead was the manifestation of the ‘Earth-Solidifying Legend.’

The moment Sophia changed her hand seal.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive club-like shape appeared from the sky. No, it was more like a giant black iron pillar with golden bands at both ends, plummeting vertically to strike the ground.

As if to support the heavens, the massive pillar had the inscription “Divine Iron of the Heavenly River” engraved in characters unreadable to Europeans. The pillar, standing tall on the ground, only transformed into a proper club when Sophia grasped it.

“The ultimate technique of the club, I’ll show it here.”

Thud, thud, boom!

The essence of wielding a club was akin to a mix of a whip and a spear. Unlike a spear, which emphasizes thrusting attacks, the club utilizes its length to deliver powerful swings using centrifugal force.

In essence, the basic techniques include the vertical strike from above (劈棍) and the diagonal sweep from below (掛棍), with the addition of the spear techniques of blocking (攔) and subduing (拿), reducing the emphasis on thrusting (扎).

At this moment, the movements of the club in Sophia’s hands were precisely that.

The difference was that, unlike an ordinary club of fixed size, the club in Sophia’s hands changed its length and thickness in real-time, maximizing its weight and destructive power.

Moreover, its trajectory faithfully followed the principles of the Heart Sword and Wu Xin Dong, creating a supernatural path far beyond ordinary club techniques, unleashing an indescribable force.

Divine Iron of the Heavenly River.

As the inscription on the club’s midsection suggested, the essence of this legend was none other than the mythical tool used by Pangu to solidify the earth and by Yu the Great to measure the depths of rivers and seas—a creation tool and a measure of the world.

With such a tool being used to strike, solidify, and pound the earth, no earth-based technique could withstand it.

“Tch!”

Rupifer, feeling the shockwave rebound, clicked his tongue and leaped into the air. His golden eyes, still seeking victory, left trailing afterimages like tails.

Brushing aside his flowing golden hair, he adjusted his staff. Sophia, following his ascent, charged through the air.

“Think I’ll let you escape?”

“{Don’t you know? A persistent woman is not loved.}”

“Save your nonsense for after you’re dead!”

The nun knight’s light steps through the air. But Rupifer realized that each step carried the weight of an overwhelming pressure. Though not enough to hinder his movements, it was enough to slightly disrupt his concentration.

For the golden Great Demon, who was preparing a major technique to counter Sophia, this was a troublesome variable. Of course, a momentary lapse in concentration wouldn’t prevent him from completing his spell, but the problem was that Sophia’s attack would land before his spell was ready.

With his transcendent foresight, Rupifer read the unfavorable turn of events and, without hesitation, canceled his spell, scattering the collapsing mass of energy randomly in Sophia’s path.

“Tch, cheap tricks!”

“{How ironic. Who’s the one using tricks?}”

In the next moment, the nun knight broke through the exploding mass of energy, and the golden Great Demon, having dissipated the pressure of her step, clashed with her.

The instantaneous thrusts of the Heart Sword met the equally instantaneous dark curse beams. Sophia couldn’t help but feel absurd that mere curse beams could match her Heart Sword.

But for Rupifer, this was a natural outcome. His spells, fully aligned with his domain, were pure expressions of its principles. To him, it was abnormal for a mere sword, imbued with a swordsman’s intent, to match his pure domain spells.

Regardless, as the Heart Sword and curse beams traced infinite trajectories, clashing and intertwining in all directions.

The Great Demon, as if by agreement, began weaving another attack into the chaos.

The nun knight, kicking away the Great Demon’s probing hand with a spinning kick, crouched and then extended her body, delivering a powerful side kick. The Great Demon blocked the radiating cross-shaped energy with his staff, but the nun knight, having flipped in mid-air, met his soccer kick with her right palm.

Deng――!!!!!

A majestic bell sound echoed. Rupifer, seeing the destructive field he had hastily activated tremble under the pressure, had no time to rest as he immediately countered with a palm strike infused with energy.

The yin energy on the back of the Great Demon’s hand and the yang energy on his palm reversed in an instant, creating an unprecedented vortex that surged forward, tearing through the chaotic clash of the Heart Sword and curse beams. However, it collided with five strands of lightning energy gathered in the nun knight’s left hand, resulting in mutual annihilation.

In the next moment, the two beings faced each other, sword against staff. Though they had tried to leap through space to catch each other off guard, these attempts ended in failure.

Both beings possessed perception and consciousness that transcended the mortal realm, and their accumulated experience had perfected their ability to cover their blind spots.

Between the interlocked sword and staff, a supernatural friction sound, beyond the audible range, continuously echoed. As they faced each other, their weapons locked, and their energies clashed, they each had similar yet different thoughts.

‘In terms of raw power, she’s ahead.’

This was the nun knight Sophia’s judgment.

‘{In terms of combat skill, she’s definitely ahead.}’

This was the golden Great Demon Rupifer’s assessment.

Though their judgments differed, their conclusions were the same.

‘Small tricks won’t work. Then…’

‘{…Then perhaps it’s time to reveal the trump card I’ve been saving.}’

The decision was made simultaneously. And the ensuing actions were also simultaneous.

With a bang, Sophia and Rupifer pushed each other away, creating distance.

 

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