Noviscar clasped her hands and looked up at the Floor Guardian, the Eye of Angel. She opened her mouth and sang a melodious song. Her sweet, high-pitch voice echoed. The garden of flowers and bushes quivered, resonating with the magical quality of her music. They rapidly grew, blossoming, branching into domes of leaves, oceans of petals.
The floating petals twirled around her, forming a pink current which coated her body, complimenting her rosy silk dress. Leaves that fell from the trees turned shimmering gold as they gathered into layers of shields around her, protecting her from all harm.
Above her, the Eye of Angel fluttered its mechanical wings, generating waves of electric storms. Rays of lightning blasted outwards, flooding electricity in the air. They struck the white pavements, throwing them skywards, turning them into ashes. The plants and bushes caught fires as the waves rushed through them, heading towards Noviscar.
Against the terrifying tempest, Noviscar closed her eyes and whistled. Her milky skin glowed as greenery emerged on her body, covering her silhouette with only the most beautiful flowers, turning her pale complexion colourful. Her voice reverberated, creating an invisible sphere of soothing tones around her.
The music and the lightning clashed, mixing into a chaotic rhythm. The flashes of lightning ignited the sky, dividing it into each colourful section. The soothing music distorted, yet the refined, arranged quality still lingered, making the song powerful and heroic instead of peaceful.
Their clash rippled through the garden, toppling the thick greenery, crashing the tall trees, burning the seas of flowers. The area around the two became a wasteland of black ashes and grey dust, littered with charred logs and fragmented rocks.
Despite the destruction, the garden slowly crept inwards. Its reach reclaimed the wasteland, repairing the damage, recovering the lost plants and paths. The ashes decomposed into the ground, spurting fresh flowers and bushes. The broken tiles reconnected and arranged into tracks, which fused with the existing ones as if the wreckage had never happened.
In the middle of the impact, the shields of leaves withered into crumbled leaves, breaking into bits of orange shades. Behind them, Noviscar grabbed her shoulders, her eyes gazing at the burnt dirt. The sweet, innocent scent emitted from her petal clothes gave life to the ground, healing the burnt marks. From the dry cracks, vines and grasses spiralled out, paving a soft trail for Noviscar to rest her bare feet.
As she stared at the cracked ground, her sentiment burst out of her reddened eyes. The world had gifted her the power of music and the adoration of nature; the forest was her friend, her mentor, her parents, and her lover. Every time she sang and borrowed their power, her heart ached for the suffering they had to endure.
"For every beauty tarnished, I shall create two more to compensate," she said, stepping forwards. "Floor Guardian, you are unfit to be the protector of this garden. Your destruction has tainted this utopia with poisonous energy. Please, for the sake of my beloved nature, fall."
The greenery around her freshened and expanded, covering the area of the dead ground, growing into seas of lives and colours. Noviscar raised her head, her irises shining in the bright, determined glows. She reached skywards. The vines and petals flowed with her gesture, gently lifting her towards the Eye of Angel.
It stared at Noviscar, its wings fluttering in the air. Three of the seven layers of golden rings had shattered during the impact, but they had already recovered. Above it, the sky darkened, with black clouds flooding the garden. Lightning flashed, and thunders resounded. The rainstorm fell, generating gales that swept the garden, uprooting the tall trees.
"Nature is the best healer. Melody is the best calmer," Noviscar whispered. Her delicate, milky skin glowed in green light. "Floor Guardian, please return to the embrace of nature."
She pointed at the Eye of Angel, Corruption Power surging out of her fingertip. Faint light seeped out of her and expanded into a wave of green, springing from nothingness into life. It painted colours and vibrance atop the gloomy atmosphere, sweeping away the rainy clouds, creating paths for sunlight.
The Eye of Angel blinked, standing its ground. Its wings flapped as lightning struck its body, conducting searing heat, turning its colour bright red. The ray of light gently landed on the outermost layer of golden rings. From its metallic exterior, grasses and plants gradually emerged.
An ancient aura of decay engulfed the Eye of Angel. Its pupil distorted, shifting its gaze throughout its body. No matter how hot its body became, it could not get rid of the resilient plants. Once the weak plants died, the stronger ones would take their place, blooming with calming fragrance and bright colours.
Noviscar closed her eyes and placed her hands on the vines around her. They wilted, their colours fading. Before they died, they gradually lowered her to the ground, letting her balance herself on the bed of cool, moist grasses. She smiled, leant forwards, and immersed herself in the bush of flower in front of her.
As she was about to kneel and play with them, a crackling resounded. The Eye of Angel imploded, ejecting a wave of blue light hotter than the sun. It moved at speed exceeding sounds, pushing the air outwards, generating a shockwave that ripped through the ground.
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Noviscar shivered, her tears falling from her eyes. The greenery around her shot forwards, enveloping her in their protection. Inside, the flowers filled with soft, fluffy material. She sighed and laid on the flowerbed, caressing them, showering them with her affection.
The hardwood withstood the shockwave, shattered into pieces, but still managed to protect Noviscar from coming to fatal harm. Once the destruction passed, the charred wood disintegrated into black clouds, exposing the delicate Noviscar to the empty environment.
Air rapidly surged past Noviscar, giving her chilly touches.
The Eye of Angel remained floating in the sky. Its slow descension was majestic, elegant, and deadly. The dark clouds returned and eclipsed the sun. The thunders roared louder as if the sky was cracking. Steaks of powerful, blue-red lightning converged towards the mechanical wings, powering them with endless amounts of electricity.
The gales brushed past Noviscar, pushing her long flowy white hair forwards. She raised her hands and danced, chanting a clear, soothing song. Her Corruption Power revived the wilted flowers and broken leaves, gifting them the second chance. They flowed into a multi-coloured current, moving according to her gesture.
For a moment, the forest manifested around her. Petals and falling leaves swirled in the air, whistling, playing a soft tone, mimicking the sounds of instruments. She once more whispered words of encouragement and thanks to nature, her voice sentimental, causing the forest to tremble.
The Eye of Angel folded its wings, sparking in countless streaks of lightning, shifting in colours, bursting with all-consuming power. As it closed its eyes and reopened, its body trembled. Its golden exterior gradually turned gold, boiling like the sun.
Below the Eye of Angel, space quivered and cracked open. A sharp purple fingernail penetrated through reality, cutting groundwards, opening a rift. Inside, Kurion stepped through and landed in the world of the garden.
In her hands held two delicate curved daggers, which glittered in black light, attracting all attention.
Noviscar paused as she observed Kurion, her eyes expressing confusion. She knew Kurion, for she too was a Ruler of a Layer. Though they weren't close friends, they were at the same standing, the peak of the Transformation Phase.
Along with Kurion, there were only three Monster Girl at the peak of the Transformation Phase within the Labyrinth of Love.
Before Noviscar could ask, the Eye of Angel swung one of its wings, creating a ray of gigantic lightning. It struck Kurion before she could react, shattering the ground beneath her feet to dust. The hole left behind by the impact was so deep that light couldn't reveal its depth.
Above the abyss, Kurion's silhouette distorted into images that detached from each other before forming into a complete Kurion. Though she was slightly paler, she suffered no visible wound. Her eyes locked onto Noviscar, then shifted towards the Eye of Angel, staring at the massive eye in the middle.
The eye blinked. Streaks of lightning flashed across the sky and struck upon Kurion, vanquishing all darkness around her. The strike rumbled throughout the inner world, creating an earthquake that destroyed all standing trees, shaking the world. The magnitude of the power was unimaginable, annihilating Kurion in an instant.
Even Noviscar could feel the intense, tremendous heat that melted everything it passed through. She stooped down and covered herself with golden leaves, sinking into the ground, closing her eyes, chanting a muffled song. In the moment of crisis, she stopped thinking about nature and focused on herself, regaining her cold demeanour.
The Eye of Angel stared at the vast crater it created. It stretched far outwards, making the area uninhabitable, unrecoverable. There were lingering streaks of electricity flashing in the air, twisting like snakes.
There was nothing left of Kurion.
The Eye of Angel shifted its attention towards Noviscar, but a small fissure caught its attention. It looked upwards, staring at another pathway from another world.
Through the rift, Iris descended while pointing at the Eye of Angel. She commanded Faith inside her to provide her with sacred energy. Behind her, Artium and Serinda combined their power, creating a shield of illusion and shadow, which previously obscured their presence from the Eye of Angel.
As the Eye of Angel unfolded its wings, a flaming spear shot out of the rift and pierced a golden ring before exploding into a deafening blast, creating a cloud of smoke. It gradually turned pink as it seeped into the Eye of Angel, confusing its perception. The streak of lightning it released flashed past Iris and struck nothing.
Knowing that it was in great danger, the eye flashed. Its wings trembled as the thunderous rumbles echoed from its shakes. Lightning manifested around the mechanical feathers, condensing its destructive potency.
It was preparing to unleash another burst of annihilation.
"You're quite an angry eyeball," Kurion said. "You destroyed my distortion with that ability, and you think I’ll let you use it again?"
A mass of darkness emerged inside the Eye of Angel, growing out of the dark emotions it had: the anger, the frustration. Kurion appeared behind the eye and placed her hands on it, sending a wisp of her distortive power into its machinery.
The eye rapidly shone in various lights, overheating with white smokes coming out of it.
Though it only went blind for a mere moment, it was enough for Iris. The holy power concentrated at her fingertip ignited into a golden, radiant flame, distorting space and time. Even Iris, its owner, got overwhelmed by its all-purifying nature. In her mind, a message about the Lord endlessly echoed, trying to convert her into a frantic believer.
Fortunately, the other Monster Girls had no idea about the Lord. The power could only affect them mildly.
"Your appearance resembles that of an angel," Iris said. "But you aren't a real angel. You lack that sense of majesty, of elegance, of magnanimity."
The ray of holy light pierced through space and time, rupturing the fabric of reality into pieces. It shot forwards, penetrating through the Eye of Angel, landing onto the ground. With its lingering power, the power of creation itself, it reversed the damage done by the lightning of annihilation.
The crater filled itself up as the burnt ground returned to its lush state. The dark clouds faded away, replaced by the milky clouds, opening the pathway for warm sunlight.
Tranquillity returned to the world.
Alone in the sky, the Eye of Angel remained motionless. Its seven golden rings and its four pair of mechanical wings were beautiful, untainted. The holy power was of the same nature, the power of the Divine, though the Eye of Angel's quality was inferior.
It could not block the authentic might.
On its eye, cracks appeared, spread around, and shattered it into countless pieces. The mechanical wings and the golden layers violently quivered before they broke down into scraps, returning to the embrace of nature.