The split of a millisecond.

During that period, Kierra traveled dozens of kilometers, shooting through the battlefield like a flash of light. With her mind fully focused, a layer of slowness was applied to her surroundings as she blared her presence.

Despite that, Kierra could instinctively feel a sense of helplessness. Whatever it was, this incoming danger was something not to be underestimated.

'Teleportation... no, not that.'

The decision came within a flash.

August would surely notice the threat—that was what the archwizard believed in. She believed in August. If so, she would be better off casting a defensive spell rather than teleportation since it wouldn't make much of a change even if she got there in time—she had nothing at the moment.

So, pulling out a magic jewel as she flew, Kierra cast a compressed version of her signature defensive spell.

⌈AEGIS—9★⌋

In an instant, thousands of light spears emerged around August, stacking on top of one another in thick layers. Meanwhile, the Sword Empress also activated her defensive stance, plummeting her sword into the ground before erecting a golden barrier. To top it off, pitch-black scales were manifested, increasing the defense to three-fold.

Then, just as August was tearing apart the fabric of reality, a crack appeared in the sky.

Before ordinary Immortals could react, something had already broken through the weakened space, bursting down from the heavens and emanating a putrid aura. With a size that rivaled mountains and power that could pierce through the gates of hell, it descended fully on August, flooding the whole battlefield with a thick, destructive substance.

Contamination.

This was what came to Kierra's mind as she saw it.

However, her heart tightened because of another matter—August.

Was August alright?

No, she had to believe. The August she knew wouldn't succumb to such attacks!

''Au!''

Feeling her veins burning up again, Kierra exerted a considerable amount of her mana to cast a few pairs of offensive spells, each holding enough power to wipe a small city off.

Fortunately, amidst the sea of dark, nauseous contaminants, gleams of golden escaped. Then, as if expelling the evil, a nucleus in which August held the power emerged.

''Whew...''

With a few slight scratches here and there, the Sword Empress seemed generally alright. Befitting the strongest swordswoman, these wounds quickly closed, leaving behind no scars.

By the time Kierra arrived, the figure behind the attack had revealed itself.

''...''

''Love to sneak up on people, huh? Are all of you this cowardly?''

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Against August's accusing words, the woman gave no replies. A perfectly carved face, a sense of otherworldliness hardly anyone could match, and a colossal pressure pressing any and all creations to their knees.

A heavenly venerate.

''Empress, that is...!"'

''...Yes. Yuwei of Oceanic Divinity.''

If there was something wrong about this heavenly venerate... it would be the deep, deep purple roots growing from the side of her face. To anyone, it was obvious that she was being influenced by something.

Mighty blue waves that heroically unified nearly half of the Immortal world, colorful marine lifeforms that helped defend the realm against outside interferences... now, all of that was gone.

What was left of Yuwei, a heavenly venerate, was a soulless corpse whose sole purpose was to plunge the world into utter destruction. With waves of unknown hatred, with a trident layered with misery.

More than sadness for such a loss, Wen Zhuwei was bitter about something else.

The Heavenly Shura bit her lips. Even after all these years of constantly improving herself, she still trembled at the sight of these... entities. Facing Yuwei, even at this distance, even when the hostility wasn't directed at her, her hands were actually shaking.

For the others, it didn't stop at trembling.

Most couldn't stand properly when under such immense pressure, either passed out or incapacitated.

Yet, Kierra and August still stood tall in front of those dull eyes that seemed to contain the abyss itself. Without stealing a glance at each other, they knew what to do.

''Go, Au.''

''Alright.''

There was a certain harmony in the chaos.

When Yuwei began to direct her colossal power, causing a dark tsunami that covered the whole sky to emerge, August shot forward, trailing her sword clad in golden. As the Sword Empress willed her true strength, a majestic wave of mana burst from within her heart, creating a domain in which she was the true master.

————————!!

At the same time, an indescribably unsettling howl filled the world, drowning out every other sound. Beyond the waves, stars began to shine... before a screeching rip yelled.

The beast of the universe had revealed its form.

Within mere seconds, Yuwei's world-ending waves had been pushed back by half, struggling to even cross the territories to invade the place beyond the border.

On land, August stood firmly as a wall; in the sky, Cosmos fought back fiercely with her cosmic breath.

At this display of sheer power, many couldn't help but directly faint—if they were still conscious, that was. Even the likes of Mie Xieren were forced to erect a barrier just to withstand the pressure.

''Tch, is there something we can help?!'' Yu Chen yelled, feeling her body failing her.

''Maybe cast a support spell...?'' Tian Yun blurted out in panic.

''...No.'' Mie Xieren bit her lips. ''We won't be able to do anything. Those guys... they're on another plane of existence.''

This bitter truth hit them the hardest—even harder than the waves of erupting mana hitting their bodies. At most, they were on par with Immortals, maybe a little stronger than them thanks to mana, but ultimately, the barriers of Empresses and Venerates were still there.

They knew they didn't have enough time to train—frustratingly, yet they could only be helpless.

If Kierra had appeared just a decade earlier, would things have changed? Perhaps.

But for now... they had no choice but to believe in the three.

Meanwhile, Kierra took a deep breath as she stood behind August. At times like this, it was crucial to have someone protecting her... because she was about to make herself vulnerable.

'Heavenly Venerate...'

Genuinely, it was the first time Kierra had encountered such a dangerous opponent. With a seemingly endless, formless body of energy, it would be extraordinarily difficult to eliminate this entity.

There was no weakness perceived.

—god.

It was the first thing that came to Kierra's mind.

A god...

''Hah.''

She was strangely excited.

Raising her arms to the sides, the archwizard initiated her battle procedure.

snap—!

With a single snap, a cluster of roars resonated across the realm. Making their presence known in the sky, the five monarch dragons of the five primary elements joined the battle, immediately taking on the enemies that came out of the tsunami.

With her other hand, Kierra pulled out a deer skull, which slowly floated up as red light flashed in its eye sockets.

''Ovi.''

Ovi - Lich of the End, joined the battle.

Commanding hundreds of thousands of undead soldiers, its presence greatly reduced August's load.

Finally, Kierra clasped her hands together, and before long, a majestic black staff the height of her own body was conjured. Stabbing it onto the ground, the archwizard began to chant.