Zack was pretty confident that his spell could at least give the saintess a run for her money. But man, was he wrong.
The saintess glanced up at the five massive pillars of lightning above her. She noticed there were no fluctuations in the law or any mana resonance from the lightning around her, indicating that the wizard targeting her had used his own mana to conjure up this colossal spell.
Internally, she felt a mix of fear and confusion. Just how much mana did it take to cast a spell of this magnitude on your own? Even a powerhouse like her, at level 3, couldn't muster up that kind of mana.
But she kept her poker face intact and casually remarked, "If you think you can take down a level 3 being with just this, you're dead wrong. Let me show you why."
The saintess unleashed her power with a resounding command, "Sigil of [Annihilation] manifest!"
A sigil erupted from her chest, expanding rapidly to envelop the entire area around the angel's chest. Composed of intricate symbols, the sigil emanated an aura of immense might and destruction. As it materialized, the mana within her domain boiled over, influencing even the mana beyond its borders. With a flourish, she spread the angel's wings and cast a divine spell, conjuring five divine patterns, each spanning dozens of meters in radius, upon the wings.
[Sword of Judgment] x 5!
Five massive swords of light materialized above her. Despite their relatively small divine patterns, each sword rivaled the size of the lightning bolts. With a swift motion, she launched the swords toward the skyscraper-sized lightning bolts.
Meanwhile, Zack cursed under his breath and flickered out of sight, hoping to evade the impending collision. The swords and lightning bolts clashed midair, unleashing a colossal explosion.
BOOOOOOOM!
The explosion rocked the entire area, flattening everything within kilometers of their battleground. Zack, observing from a safe distance, was utterly stunned. He had been so sure that the saintess hadn't poured in as much mana, well, divine power in saintess case, as he had, yet she still managed to conjure up a spell just as massive as his.
He reflected on the saintess's earlier spellcasting technique, noting that the sigil she had released seemed to be the catalyst. It had caused the surrounding mana, even beyond her domain, to boil. There had to be something within that sigil enabling the saintess to wield such potent magic with seemingly less divine power. Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, he noticed the angelic silhouette in the distance still standing.
With a flicker, he reappeared above the angelic silhouette once more. This time, he observed that the angel's body was even more ravaged than before—its head, wings, and arms were all missing, leaving only its torso and legs intact. Clearly, the saintess hadn't emerged unscathed from their earlier confrontation.
With a swift motion, Zack pointed his finger at the saintess and unleashed a massive thunderbolt.
This time, the saintess knew she couldn't stay put. She quickly shrank the angel's size by half, using the remaining body parts as building blocks for swift regeneration. Stepping out of her original position, she narrowly dodged Zack's attack.
Zack found himself at a disadvantage; he had to launch attacks from outside the 500-meter radius of the saintess's domain. Moreover, he needed to rely on massive spells to even stand a chance of harming her. These factors meant that the saintess could always evade his spells. Even though his spells didn't emit mana fluctuations due to his [Hidden Strength] ability, the saintess could still discern their visual appearance to locate and dodge his spells. It seemed the only way to corner her was to utilize another massive area-of-effect spell, like he had done previously, to block off all her escape routes.
However, casting such a massive spell required thunderclouds as a medium, and Zack couldn't conceal all the clouds from the saintess. She would undoubtedly notice the sudden appearance of thunderclouds and likely vacate the area before Zack could finish casting his spell.
So, every time Zack launched an attack, the saintess dodged with ease and retaliated with her own spell. Her spells always consumed far less mana than Zack's, yet they packed the same punch, leaving him scratching his head in bewilderment. Plus, with the assistance of her domain, she managed to complete her spells much faster, forcing Zack to keep on the move after each attack.
Despite this, the saintess couldn't outrun Zack; she was slower. Thus, she was compelled to stay and face him head-on.
Zack deftly sidestepped another colossal pillar of light launched by the saintess. Then, he calculated that he had successfully maneuvered her back to the residue of their initial clash, where their massive spells had collided. Taking advantage of the lingering lightning residue in the area, Zack prepared to cast another spell.
[God Series] - [Lightning Matrices] → [Daedalus’ Net]!
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The lightning residue in the area coalesced into small, intricately crafted five-pointed stars, each resembling a masterpiece of artistry. Lightning chains shot out from each star, connecting them to form a complex network, trapping the saintess within.
However, the star formed within the saintess's domain failed to link up with the ones outside. Nevertheless, the stars outside the domain successfully connected, creating a dense cocoon of nets surrounding the saintess and her domain.
The dense net surrounding the saintess’s domain tightened suddenly, attempting to immobilize her. Knowing that staying still meant certain doom, the saintess wasted no time and cast a spell.
A brilliant ball of light materialized on the angel's chest, rapidly expanding until it detonated with a deafening explosion, blasting apart the surrounding dense matrices. The net only managed to hold the saintess in place for a brief moment, but that moment was all Zack needed.
He halted just outside the blast radius and unleashed a spell he had prepared earlier, concealed beneath the distraction of his previous spell.
[God Series] - [Lightning Chain] → [Prometheus’ Chain]!
Dozens of dark blue chains, each as thick as a shipping container, shot up from the ground and ensnared the saintess. These chains, crafted from incredibly dense and finely controlled lightning, appeared solid and unyielding.
Despite the saintess's domain slowing down the chains, their sheer number and size forced them to close in around her. Refusing to be trapped, the saintess conjured two swords of light in each hand of the angel silhouette, their forms so solid they resembled real swords.
With swift movements, she attempted to slice through the chains while maneuvering to fly through the gaps between them.
Watching from a distance, Zack's eyes burned with determination. It was a familiar pattern - the saintess's spells packed an unusual offensive punch, always countering his spells with less divine power. If this continued, she might exhaust him and escape.
So, Zack made a bold decision to throw efficiency out the window. He was going to bet everything on one final move. Closing his eyes, he tapped into the mana within his twin cores. Tsunamis of mana surged out of his body, causing his robes and hair to flutter in the wind. The ground beneath his feet cracked under the immense pressure, and the surrounding area turned blue from the density of the mana.
Within moments, the area within a kilometer radius was flooded with his mana. Thanks to his [Hidden Strength] ability, the saintess couldn't sense the mana directly, but the change of color in the surroundings and the ripple of air clued her in that her opponent was unleashing a massive amount of mana, far beyond anything he had used before. She paled; it was clear he was gearing up for his most powerful spell, aiming to end the battle in one fell swoop.
Initially, the saintess had planned to fight strategically, banking on Zack eventually running out of mana after using such colossal spells. Then, she could either escape or finish him off. But, right now, her instincts screamed danger; if she didn't go all out as well, she might not make it out alive.
Sensing the ground trembling beneath her, she ascended into the sky just as the sigil on the angel’s chest erupted with radiant light.
As the saintess ascended, the ground within a kilometer radius ruptured, unleashing thousands of container-sized dark blue lightning chains that burst forth from the earth chasing the angel’s silhouette. Simultaneously, the sky above her became blanketed with hundreds and thousands of dark blue stars, connected by chains to form a massive dense matrix across the heavens.
Now, the saintess found herself ensnared between a ground-bound hell of lightning and a skyward barrage of chains. But that wasn't all; the thunderclouds above dispersed, revealing a single lightning thunderbolt so massive it seemed to uphold the very heavens.
The saintess's pupils narrowed to a single point as she poured every ounce of her mana into the sigil on the angel's chest. In response, the angel's silhouette swelled to an enormous size, towering almost a kilometer in height—far larger than its initial form at the start of the battle. The silhouette pulsated with blinding radiant light.
[Sacred Angel’s Fury - Seraphic Obliteration]
From afar, it appeared as though a colossal angel with three pairs of wings was ensnared by two massive layers of chains from ground and sky, struggling to ascend toward the heavens. Meanwhile, a monumental pillar of lightning descended upon the angel.
Zack, observing the scene with blood trickling from his nose, eyes, and ears, grinned maniacally. "It's too late, saintess. Face your judgment."
[God Series] - [God’s Apocalypse - Ragnarok] DESCEND!
In the cities to the east of the empire, people felt tremors and glimpsed occasional bursts of light emanating from the west. These phenomena, particularly striking at this late hour, sparked panic among the populace.
However, the wizards and priests, sensitive to the terrifying fluctuations of mana and divine power, were gripped by even greater fear. These fluctuations unmistakably emanated from level 3 powerhouses. Their consensus was clear: the divine power fluctuations undoubtedly belonged to the saintess, given her activity in the eastern Empire’s area. But who was her adversary? None dared to approach the source of the phenomenon to find out, instead opting to prepare for a swift escape if necessary.
After an agonizing period marked by bursts of light and earthquakes, they suddenly detected an unprecedented surge of mana and divine power. All the priests and wizards emerged from their residences, ready to assess the situation and flee at a moment's notice.
As they stepped outside, they were greeted by a colossal ball of light in the western sky, far larger than any previous bursts. It illuminated the midnight sky as if it were midday. Shortly after, they witnessed a massive mushroom cloud forming at the location of the ball of light. Then, the entire city shook with a violent earthquake.
The city's defense formation, now under the control of the Holy Empire forces, sprang into action to stabilize the city. Unbeknownst to them, the earthquake reverberated throughout the entire empire.
Meanwhile, on the western side of the empire, in the grandest church of Immenbruck, sat a towering man clad in golden armor, meditating serenely.
As the clash between Zack and the saintess's most formidable spells unfolded, the man in golden armor suddenly snapped open his eyes. With a swift movement, he vanished from his throne and reappeared on the roof of the church showing his towering 3 meters body height.
His radiant golden gaze pierced through hundreds of kilometers, fixating on the distant ball of light. Sensing the immense fluctuations of magic and divine power emanating from that direction, he muttered to himself, "Saintess?"