Crack!
Over the storm sea, as the last of those prismatic light particles finished converging, the rainbow-colored giant cocoon looming above the Oceanus split open. Countless ribbons of light peeled from its surface and latched onto its back, forming wings like a radiant rainbow.
Its wings gave only the lightest beat, and an Ether flood erupted, sweeping outward in a violent surge. A roiling tide of Mana became visible to the naked eye, slamming into the gods, nymphs, and monsters hovering in midair and sending them flying. Only after struggling desperately did they manage to steady themselves.
From the sea, a white giant rose slowly into the air, wings moving with unhurried grace. Three nebula-like vortices, one on each hand and one on its abdomen, turned steadily, spilling a dazzling, intoxicating glow. Its whole body radiated a beauty that was as perilous as it was mesmerizing, like a demon god descending on fluttering wings.
Fifth Stage!
The suffocating pressure that came with it made Samael's face darken, his heart dropping straight to the bottom.
"Laaa!"
At the same time, Sefar completed her ascent and began a high, piercing sacred chant. The star patterns across her body pulsed in time with each syllable. The sky dimmed abruptly as countless alien stars lit up one after another, while five stellar rings interlocked and spun.
One crystal-bright prism after another began to condense into existence before the white giant, lining up in crossing rows until they formed something like a star chart.
No. Stop her!
Sensing the surrounding Ether going berserk as it poured toward Sefar, the gods in the fray all blanched. They forced their way past the Colossal Gods and surged up together, striking at the jewel-like invader in the sky.
But the instant they moved, the Alien vanguard opened her eyes with icy calm. She raised the God of War sword, activated the stellar rings, and drew forth a beam of white light compressed to its absolute limit, blasting it straight ahead.
Star Crest!
Prism Wave!
In an instant, the blazing white beam pierced the crisscrossing prisms in front of Sefar, splitting into seven colors, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. The rainbow radiance refracted outward and swept the battlefield clean.
Ssssh—s s s s!
Thousands upon thousands of prismatic light bands tore across sea and sky from every angle. The fighters converging from all directions were immediately struck by a barrage as dense as a meteor shower.
Pff! Pff! Pff! Pff!
Blood sprayed in midair. Severed limbs spun away in every direction. For anyone at Divine Spirit tier or below, even brushing it meant injury, and taking a hit meant death. The comrades who had been answering one another across the battlefield thinned out in an instant.
After a single sweep that wiped out nearly thirty percent of the allied force's mid- and low-tier combat power, Sefar tightened both hands around the hilt. The star core on the back of her hand poured Ether into the blade in a roaring torrent. Then she reversed the sword and thrust forward.
Formation Fission, Shining Star!
The prisms scattered before the Alien vanguard snapped together at high speed, forming a ring of light like a cannon's muzzle. The radiance Sefar was firing was focused and angle-corrected through the prisms, accelerated, and then blasted out.
One after another, crimson-black beams a full hundred meters across scythed through the air, carrying power that made the heart seize. This time, the main targets were the top-tier fighters at the Main God level.
The gods caught under concentrated fire had no choice but to stay on a hair trigger, dodging left and right. For a moment, they were run ragged, because one slip meant death and collapse.
"Aaaa—!"
At the same time, another piercing sacred chant rumbled through heaven and earth. A cross-shaped lattice of light flashed, and dark, cyan, and crimson beams fused into one, firing in from behind the storm sea. It smashed through several thousand prisms with brute force and slammed straight into Sefar's chest.
Two towering lives at the very peak of the Age of Gods were using their authorities to trade shots across the sea, a direct duel through the center line.
The Alien vanguard crashed onto the sea's surface and slid backward again and again. The colossal impact carved two horrifying trenches that were visible even to the naked eye.
Boom!
Yet after being driven back for a hundred miles, the star patterns on Sefar flared violently. She lifted the God of War sword in a rising slash, releasing a crescent of prismatic light that cleaved straight through the goddess Tiamat's Star Eyes, detonating violent explosions along its path.
"Aaaa!"
But before the shockwaves could even settle, a sky-covering torrent of crimson-black mud surged in, drenching Sefar from head to toe. It hissed and sizzled as the colorful wings on her back were rapidly overrun by sinister crimson-black patterns, dimming, then breaking apart.
That writhing black mud moved like a living thing, as if it hid countless sharp mouths that gnawed at flesh and marrow, endlessly grinding away at Sefar's shell.
Sea of Life! Chaos Tide!
Could it be… Tina is trying to—
Samael's eyes snapped bright. He immediately turned toward the rear, brows drawn tight, and roared.
"Enkidu!"
Enkidu, already hurtling forward, understood at once. He turned into a stream of gold-and-silver light and accelerated, a solemn chant ringing in every combatant's ears.
"What is awakened is the Breath of the Stars. I shall advance alongside humanity. Therefore… O mortals, bind the gods with chains!"
In the next instant, Enkidu split apart into countless chains engraved with dense cuneiform divine script, revealing the complete form of the Chains of Heaven. They dropped from the sky and wrapped around Sefar, who was struggling within the black mud, binding her torso and wrenching her arms apart so she couldn't properly grip the God of War sword. A pointed anchor plunged into the deep sea, fixing her in place.
Even as Sefar fought back, the Chains of Heaven only shone brighter. The cuneiform divine script crawled like wriggling tadpoles, bursting with dazzling light as it tightened further, cinching down on the Alien vanguard's limbs and body.
"Heh. Go on, then. Show me how ugly you can be, you mongrel. Struggle all you like," Gilgamesh said with a proud, chilly sneer. "The more harm your existence brings to this world, the stronger my friend's pair of Purifying Noble Phantasms become!"
Golden whirlpools bloomed behind him, spitting out blades, spears, swords, and halberds in rotating volleys that pinned down the Colossal Gods and aberrations whenever they tried to surface.
"Creeeak…"
But the moment the King of Heroes opened his mouth, a teeth-grinding metallic shudder ran through the Chains of Heaven. The chains binding the demon god had already drawn taut, and they began to groan as if they might snap at any second.
"Even Purifying Noble Phantasms have limits. It depends on who you're using them on. Do you think Sefar is some soft target?" Samael snapped, face black, cutting off Gilgamesh's boasting. "Stop the nonsense and help suppress her. Weaken her resistance!"
What is wrong with him? We get a bit of momentum and he's already getting cocky.
Cursing inwardly, the Ancient Serpent didn't hesitate. He leaned back and hurled the cross spear in his hands with thunderous force. It punched through Sefar's chest, pinning the monster to the sea like a gigantic inverted cross.
At the same time, the gathered gods moved without delay, following the order and bombarding the white giant beneath the black mud in relentless succession.
Forced Seal · Pandemonium Cetus!
Order Returns Here! Celestial Court!
Power of Thunder! Power of the Heavens!
Heaven and Earth Part, Enuma Elish!
…
In a blink, divine authorities, some meant to destroy, others meant to bind, crashed down on Sefar one after another.
The five stellar rings around her were the first to break apart and vanish. Then the white giant's vicious blaze faltered, its star patterns dimming and cracking as its limbs came apart in a miserable disintegration, like a stone statue splitting down the middle. Chunks flaked away as the writhing black mud eroded and devoured the entire shell inch by inch.
So the Mother Goddess is trying to use the supreme authorities of the Chaos Tide and the Sea of Life to break down this life-form from beyond the domain.
And from the look of it… maybe… it can…
Boom!
Just as hope rose in Samael's chest, the mass of black mud that had already "melted" Sefar began to twist and deform, as if it were an air bladder stuffed with a spike.
The moment it was stretched to its limit, a sudden detonation rang out. Three star cores, rippling with cosmic blue, shot into the sky and hovered in a triangular formation, resonating with a sharp hum.
Immediately after, a prismatic pillar of light surged upward from beneath the storm sea. Clouds in the heavens rolled backward, forming a pitch-black vortex that seemed to connect straight to the vast cosmos. The tear-shaped celestial body reassembled five stellar rings in rapid succession, projecting a blinding radiance down upon the Oceanus.
In an instant, bathed in the authority of the Tear Star Velber, those three star cores spread countless threads of light, and the giant god's body began to knit itself back together once more.