"Is that… Heaven's Strike?"
Seeing this power, identical in nature to the one she had unleashed, Jibril's pupils contracted sharply.
How was this possible? He had only seen Heaven's Strike once, not even a minute ago. How did he learn it in such a short time?
Before she could even process the situation, she saw another spear of light appear beside Su Mo, followed by another, and another.
Although the energy scale was weaker than a normal Heaven's Strike, they were unmistakably of the same nature.
Soon, what started as a single spear of light had transformed into a matrix, a forest of spears.
Though they were dozens of individual attacks, they resonated with each other, combining into a single, larger, and more powerful spear of light.
Through this arrangement, the power of Heaven's Strike multiplied, achieving a force far greater than a simple sum of its parts.
Seeing this familiar scene, Jibril was even more astonished.
Combining individual Heaven's Strikes to achieve a power far beyond their simple sum through resonance—this was the ultimate secret technique of the Flügel.
The Flügel, with only the sixth-highest affinity for Elementals, relied on this combination technique to become a dominant race in the world of No Game No Life.
A Gigant, which a single Flügel would struggle to defeat, could be easily dispatched by the combined Heaven's Strike of just four or five Flügel.
A Dragonia, whose defense a single Flügel couldn't even scratch, could be easily defeated by the combined Heaven's Strike of several dozen Flügel.
Even the legendary Old Deus could potentially be defeated by a squad of two hundred Flügel combining their Heaven's Strikes.
If Heaven's Strike was the ultimate trump card of an individual Flügel, then the Combined Heaven's Strike was the ultimate trump card of the entire race. For over ten thousand years, the Flügel had roamed the world with this innate ability, facing few rivals.
Yet, this technique, unique to the Flügel, had been completely deciphered after being seen just once.
Not only had he learned Heaven's Strike on the spot, but he had even learned the Combined Heaven's Strike.
Just as Jibril, aghast, was about to ask Su Mo how he did it, he finally spoke.
"True power… there's no fixed standard for it. Some things, even if I showed them to you, you wouldn't necessarily understand."
For example, the Sword of Victory Spell, or the Holy Sword of the Planet—both were things beyond Jibril's current comprehension.
"Since you want to see true power, then I'll show it to you in a way you're familiar with."
As he spoke, a golden light surged in his palm. The aura of a War God's Divinity rose, forming a brilliantly shining golden spear.
"If I'm not mistaken, the bodily functions of you Flügel are based on the manifestation of this Heaven's Strike technique. An individual Flügel's Heaven's Strike is actually just a basic component of the collective one."
After casually revealing the key to the Flügel's power, he gripped the War God's spear in his hand.
"However, this is not the true power of your race, nor is it your strongest."
"What do you mean?" Jibril was full of doubt.
She was a Flügel herself. Why did Su Mo sound as if he knew more about them than she did?
"What I mean is, even the Combined Heaven's Strike is merely a part of an ultimate technique. The final technique it forms is the true power of the Flügel. It's just that you usually lack the necessary conditions, so you haven't realized this power."
"Necessary conditions?" Jibril was even more confused. Did the Flügel have some kind of hidden power?
"The key lies in the power of the War God."
Su Mo raised the spear, imbued with the divine power of a War God.
The forest of spears he had prepared earlier immediately fell into formation, flanking the golden spear like vassals.
The Combined Heaven's Strike technique became mere accompaniment; the War God's spear was now the main body.
The scene flowed so smoothly and naturally that it almost seemed as if the Combined Heaven's Strike had been designed from the very beginning to amplify the power of the War God's spear.
"Although I lack Artosh's key data, by reverse-engineering from the Heaven's Strike technique, I can more or less deduce the full move."
As he spoke, Su Mo aimed the tip of the golden spear at Jibril.
As the divine power fluctuated, Jibril felt an immense force before her, ready to explode like a supernova at any moment. The familiar weapon, coupled with the suffocating pressure, almost made her choke.
But she didn't cry out for him to stop. On the contrary, her eyes widened as she desperately observed the scene before her. She had a premonition that she was about to witness a power she had never seen before.
Sure enough, a world-altering phenomenon occurred.
"With the power of the War God as its core, commanding all Heaven's Strike techniques, this is a skill that can bring the War God's power to its absolute zenith."
A dazzling light flashed. A golden pillar of light grazed past Jibril's body, unleashing its full force onto the land behind her.
"Though this is just the Apocrypha, it is still worthy of the name God's Strike!"
As Su Mo's words fell, the searing beam of light tore through the land, sundering the very stars.
BOOM!!!
Golden light once again enveloped the entire moon, and the massive cloud of dust it kicked up submerged half the lunar surface.
Two celestial anomalies in one night—even the most senior physicists couldn't provide a convincing explanation, ultimately resorting to excuses like a supernova in the same direction or mass hallucination to placate the public.
But soon, as the golden holy light faded and the phantom of the golden spear disappeared, and after the dust on the moon's surface settled, those excuses no longer held water.
Even the most credulous person wouldn't believe that a supernova or mass hallucination was the real reason.
Because, as long as you weren't blind, you could look up at the night sky and see that the moon was now clearly missing a piece.
As if a small, fan-shaped piece had been sliced off with a sharp knife, a corner of the moon was shattered!
---||---
Rin Tohsaka: D-Did I see that right?
Rin Tohsaka: Did Lord Su Mo just… shatter the moon?!
Looking at the screen, at the once-round satellite now missing a corner, Rin was utterly shaken. Just what level had Su Mo's power reached? He could alter the very form of a planet?
"This can't be called shattering. For the moon, it's not a fatal wound," Su Mo calmly shook his head, correcting Rin's exaggerated phrasing. "In terms of power, this strike is also far from the original's effect. It seems the energy I invested was still too little."
The original author had mentioned that the God's Strike unleashed by the War God Artosh could pierce through more than ten planets at once.
Now, Su Mo, using far less magical energy and shouldering the roles of both the War God and the entire Flügel race, had perfectly replicated the nature of the ultimate attack, creating the skill Apocrypha: God's Strike.
With the least amount of energy, he had replicated the strongest God's Strike. Though its power had yet to reach the Star-Busting level, its effect was more than enough to satisfy Su Mo.
"God's Strike!"
Witnessing this miraculous power firsthand, Jibril's expression was completely blank.
The magical energy Su Mo had used this time was less than five percent of what she had unleashed earlier, yet the destructive force it caused was far more terrifying than Heaven's Strike.
As the pillar of God's Strike grazed past her, Jibril felt the premonition of death. Having felt the power of Apocrypha: God's Strike up close, she was absolutely certain that if the attack hadn't shot into space after piercing the ground, the damage to the moon would have been even greater.
If he had gone all out, he might very well have been able to destroy the satellite beneath their feet.
If… if this God's Strike is truly the ultimate technique used by Lord Artosh…
Recalling Su Mo's earlier words, Jibril's gaze toward him grew even more shocked and terrified.
Doesn't that mean Lord Su Mo deduced the most secret God's Strike just by seeing Heaven's Strike once?
At this moment, she finally understood what Su Mo had meant before.
For the Flügel, the strongest technique used by the War God Artosh, God's Strike, was naturally the greatest representation of true power. But thinking about it carefully, one would realize…
Compared to the so-called God's Strike, Su Mo, who could comprehend it with a single glance, was the true key to understanding power.
Though it went against her common sense, at this moment, even the most stubborn Flügel would have to admit: in terms of mastering techniques, the Su Mo before her possessed a talent that crushed Artosh's.
The so-called strongest God of War, at least in this aspect, was definitely not the strongest!
"L-Lord Su Mo!"
Realizing this, Jibril's gaze toward Su Mo became exceptionally fervent, a feverish blush spreading across her face.
"Well? Did you see what you wanted to see?" Su Mo inquired.
"I did. And Lord Su Mo gave me even more than I wanted~" Jibril wore an expression of utter satisfaction, as if she had just been completely filled.
"Good. Then let's go back," Su Mo said.
The battlefield here had served its purpose.
"Please wait! Lord Su Mo… no, my Lord!"
Just then, the childlike Jibril reached out and tugged on the corner of Su Mo's clothes. Then, with utmost seriousness, she knelt down.
The pair of wings at her waist folded obediently against her body, resting on the ground, and the geometric halo above her head shifted back slightly.
This was the submissive posture a Flügel would only show to their master.
"Before that, please allow me, Jibril, an irregular unit of the Flügel, to formally pledge my allegiance to you!"
"This oath has nothing to do with our previous agreement. It is based on my personal judgment that you are a lord worthy of my everything. Your wisdom and power are too profound. Please allow me, as your retainer, to follow in your footsteps."