The wounds carved by the Yamato blade vanished in a flash. Raum's thousand eyes locked onto Nero in an instant, unleashing a web of magical beams so tight even a bird couldn't slip through. At the same time, Raum's hoarse roar cut through the chaos: "All bark and no bite, kid. This is where your road ends!"
With no ground to stand on, Nero sliced through space, teleporting mid-air. But Raum's magic shrouded her vision, forcing her to conjure a phantom dagger and hurl it skyward.
It was a marker. Raum, quick as ever, shot it down, tightening the noose around Nero's dwindling space to dodge.
A fiery breath followed, blanketing the ground below. As one of the "Human Incineration" types, Raum's magic was potent enough to torch the entire singularity in flames. Nero had no place left to land.
A true trap, inescapable as hell itself.
A white chariot tore through the inferno—Nero knew it meant Ritsuka and the others had made it to the cave. Her job, the critical part, was done.
Yamato cleaved space again, warping Nero to where her phantom dagger had been shattered. She twisted mid-air, dodging a laser, and flung another dagger beyond the web.
Nero felt the sheer tenacity of the Demon God Pillar. Sure, it was massive, brimming with endless magic, but unlike the Savior puppeted by Pope Sandalphon, this thing was no half-baked creation. Its control over magic, the precision of its attacks, its self-healing—it was leagues beyond that knockoff deity.
In Nero's rough estimation, even ten Saviors ganging up on this Pillar would have to claw their way through a brutal fight to win.
Glancing down, the entire coastline was ablaze, the fire creeping toward the forest. Nero teleported again using a phantom dagger, narrowly evading Raum's sniper-like shot. She couldn't help but feel relieved that Hernan's warship was still out at sea.
The flames couldn't reach them.
But this cat-and-mouse game wasn't sustainable. Nero's job was to stall, not slay, but constant teleporting—even with endless magic—would wear her mind down.
Exhaustion breeds mistakes. Mistakes breed death.
She needed to counterattack, at least finish the holy hymn she'd started. Nero was certain a full-powered strike after completing the hymn could, if not kill, at least cripple the Pillar, buying her a moment to breathe.
Distant cannon fire lit the fuse for her comeback. Hernan was in position.
It was a risky move. If Nero couldn't keep Raum's full attention, it might turn and unleash a devastating blow on the immobile warship, reducing it to ash.
She couldn't let Hernan down.
So, after weaving through another attack mid-air, Nero hurled a phantom dagger at Raum, aiming for the tumor-like eye that flinched under a cannon's hit.
Raum reacted, launching a ring of spiraling missiles to surround the dagger. If Nero teleported there, she'd be trapped in their net.
But she went for it anyway. Facing the wall of orb-like missiles, Nero slashed Yamato through the air, tossing another dagger downward.
"You, unfathomable hell, open wide for your new master!"
Teleporting left Nero with no foothold, free-falling. But she tore the spatial rift wider, big enough to swallow Raum's missiles. They passed through, crashing into the ground below. Only then did Nero kick off the air, slipping through a gap in the encirclement. Her blade flashed as she appeared before Raum.
"Here, we'll claim the throne, rule as kings!"
Five phantom longswords materialized before her. With a wave, she fired them, each piercing a different spot on the Pillar's massive body. Now Raum couldn't predict where she'd pop up next.
"Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven!"
In a blink, Nero was on the Pillar, stomping one of its eyes. Her blade sank into its grotesque, viscous flesh, gravity pulling her downward. Raum screeched, spewing black venomous smoke and thrashing to shake her off.
The Pillar's immobile bulk was its weakness, exposed. Nero leaped off, slicing the air behind her. Lasers grazed where she'd been, leaving only scorched scars on the earth.
Another round of cannon fire roared, outpacing the shells. Raum, distracted by the noise, turned to retaliate—only for Nero to plunge her blade through another eye.
"Our loyal friend still lies, lost and broken, by the Lake of Oblivion."
Her voice reached Raum, though the Pillar had no ears to hear. It quaked with rage, its magic erupting: "Maximum offensive output!"
"With the logic of pride, I redefine my master—Baal, Antos, Zephy, Phoenix, witness me! I alone am true!"
Sensing a devastating attack brewing, Nero didn't retreat. She carved another gruesome wound into the Pillar, racing to finish the hymn's final verse: "Why not try again, rally and seize paradise?"
"Incineration—Raum!"
"When you're already in hell, what's left to lose?"
Their attacks clashed. The flames coating the ground were swallowed by black smoke, rising in Reverseく streams, encircling Raum and sealing off every escape. They surged toward Nero, suspended in the air.
Her magic poured like a flood into the seven phantoms she'd left behind. Popping a magic stone into her mouth, she absorbed its power to fuel this strike. The seven phantoms morphed into colossal swords, each over ten meters long, soaring with terrifying might, orbiting Nero.
The tiny red gem on her chest glowed brighter, fiercer.
The giant swords sliced through the flame waves, carrying Nero toward Raum, spiraling as they pierced the Pillar's body.
Pus-like blood gushed from the wounds, splattering Nero's face and hair. Moments later, under the flame streams' assault, the swords shattered. Ignited venomous smoke surged into a fiery dragon, engulfing Nero's form.