Bam!
A small, muffled sound was heard as Athyma's fist met Revan's arm. He seemed to be entirely unbothered by the strike.
"Finally making a move?" His smile widened, his eyes shining with amusement.
Clicking her tongue, Athyma blocked Sierra's attack from behind with her finger-claw, while simultaneously stretching out her other hand at Revan. A beam of pure Agma shot forward.
Revan laughed softly as he merely caught the beam of Agma, and it dissipated. Athyma's eyes widened at how easily her attack had been dismissed. Yet, she wasn't disheartened.
She dodged another attack from Sierra and rushed at Revan. Thus began Athyma's attempts to land a hit on him, each one filled with pure malice and precision, all while also blocking and dodging Sierra.
Luckily for her, Revan didn't bother fighting back. He merely dodged all blows, his movements carefree and without panic. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be enjoying this moment.
Clicking her tongue at Sierra's constant pestering, she turned and summoned a blade of pure Agma, slashing at her immediately.
However, the black-haired woman surprisingly leapt back, dodging the attack. Athyma's brows rose in alarm, seeing as the girl was able to dodge the attack even when she was serious.
Damn it... is she getting stronger? Not just her; even Sierra was having suspicions. Being capable of dodging a spiritual being's strength like that shouldn't be easy for her, even if said spiritual being was preoccupied with Revan.
Her eyes landed on the man, who looked at both women with a calm, steady gaze and that same infuriating smile. A thought entered both their minds.
Is he responsible for this? The idea didn't sound right, for he wasn't doing anything to help Sierra. Yet, it seemed to be the only explanation. Sierra's strength was growing at an exponential level as she fought, all without the help of her Techniques and Authorities.
One answer came to mind. Passive Amplification. Either he was secretly using a secret skill to help Sierra, or his mere presence was strengthening her.
Probably the former... right?
Sierra was sure of the former, but Athyma wasn't so naive. She understood well that amplifying someone's strength using mere presence was possible. After all, if she narrowed her vision this much, how could her ambitions be so grand? How could she rise to this level with such shallow thinking?
Revan briefly glanced at the others before getting flanked by Athyma once more.
"You're fast for a fatass!" Satim growled as his blades clashed with Augustus's butcher-like sword. The chef was indeed fast, even faster than the king.
Yet, it wasn't exactly a surprise, for Augustus was a semi-spiritual lifeform. His abilities were obviously this potent. At such a level, whether one was fat or slim, it didn't matter.
"You talk too much," the chef said coldly as he lunged at the guy, landing a clean slash on his torso.
"Gah!" Satim couldn't help but cry out, his [Pain Resistance] being of zero help here.
"You bastard!" He grew frantic, yet Augustus responded with calm, calculated strikes and a narrowed gaze.
He had been Athyma's enemy for over a thousand years. Why would his fighting style be any less coordinated than this?
On the other side, Vor and Lynera were involved in a series of ranged magic attacks. Although both knew well how to hold a sword, magic attacks were their specialty. There's a reason why Vor had been named after a variation of the word "Vyr", while Lynera was known as the Senior Mage of Amor.
It was a title higher than Athyma's, who was merely called "Mage of Amor" back when she disguised herself as Sofamy.
This was not even mentioning that Lynera was a Vyr Sage, a variation of human semi-spiritual lifeforms adept at the use of Vyr. There was also her [Magic Manipulation], which she could use to its fullest potential.
Vor clicked his tongue as he stretched out his hand. At once, the sky was lit up with large circles of light. "[Meteor Shower]!"
The next moment, hundreds of meteors emerged from these circles of light, charging down at the battlefield. They were actual meteors created purely from Vyr.
Yet, Lynera didn't falter. She stretched out her palms at the approaching meteors. "[Amor's Crushing Embrace]!"
Immediately, two gigantic hands shot out from her own hands, made entirely out of Holy Magic. They enveloped not only the hundreds of meteors, but also the circles of light that were the source of those meteors.
Immediately, a blinding light shone, causing all the normal humans, including the royal father and son, to shield their eyes. A while later, the light dissipated entirely, and there was nothing left.
Vor's attack had been dismantled and turned to dust before it could even harm anyone.
"Damn it! You're straight up using Techniques of the Church," Vor snarled, glaring at her.
Lynera laughed. "Of course. I am well-immersed in Holy Magic, after all."
She then unleashed several large spears of light, all of them aimed at Vor. "Let's see how you survive against this."
Her next attack, [Holy Rain of Death], began as the large spears of light rushed at him like a flash of lightning.
CLASH!
Two blades collided with an impact that shook the space around them. Vekas frowned as he clashed with Harmon, his blade coated with Vyr.
Harmon laughed. "Hehehe, don't tell me this is all you have, general?"
Vekas clicked his tongue as they continued to strike at each other. Each clash sent shockwaves that shook the ground beneath them, yet neither backed down.
Eventually, Vekas waved his free hand. "[Nether Wind]!"
A gush of darkness enveloped Harmon. His eyes widened, his pupils and irises shrinking to pinpricks, as he tried to outmaneuver the situation using [Dark Manipulation].
"Wait, this is..."
"That is right. This is the smoke of the Demonic Realm. A smoke formed from pure darkness, meant to erode anything it touched. Mere [Dark Manipulation] wouldn't be enough to control it," the general said with an impassive expression.
Harmon's eyes widened at this. "Impossible! How?! You're involved in interactions with the Demonic Realm?!"
He couldn't get the satisfaction of an answer.
Harmon felt his whole body, his senses, and even his thoughts—all going numb from the smoke. The smoke of the Demonic Realm was something only spiritual beings could withstand.
As a semi-spiritual lifeform, Harmon had no hope of withstanding it. As his thoughts seemed to erode, he wondered how Vekas was able to summon the smoke of the Demonic Realm.
At what level is he? That was the last coherent thought he had before he was unable to think, becoming a mindless figure.
The next thing was his body. It began to erode fast.
Athyma briefly turned her attention to the smoke. Abandoning Revan for a moment, she rushed at it, and with a wave of her hand, dispelled it completely.
However, the damage had already been done. Harmon couldn't think anymore. He couldn't move anymore. Hell, he had even stopped breathing.
Athyma clicked her tongue and placed him in her spatial storage. Vekas and Sierra narrowed their eyes at this. Did she plan to resurrect him once she got out of here?
Meanwhile...
"Guh!" A guttural sound escaped Vor's lips as several light spears pierced through his torso.
He could've only dodged so many at the speed at which they were hurled at him. The worst part was how Lynera was manipulating their movement and direction. He couldn't help but praise her maneuvering inwardly.
The woman in question smirked, and without letting him even think of recovering, launched another spear of light, which landed square on his skull, killing him instantly as blood spilled everywhere.
Another sound erupted. It was a sound of flesh being cut clean off.
And that's exactly what happened. Satim's body had been split in two from a clean, horizontal slash at his torso. As his split body collapsed, Augustus lowered his butcher-like blade, his eyes shining with a ruthless light.
At this moment, he didn't look like a kind chef in the slightest.
Not wasting a moment, he lunged at Athyma, who was already trying to harm Revan while dealing with Sierra's own assault.
Vekas and Lynera jumped in as well.
Athyma quickly turned to them. She waved her hand once more. "[Athyma's Dismissal]."
The next moment, the three were all repelled, as if reality had deemed it necessary. Yet, Sierra was able to dodge the attack.
The other three semi-spiritual lifeforms collapsed on the ground, grunting.
Revan whistled at this. "Ohh, using Techniques you created yourself, now? Neat."
Since she was a spiritual being, Athyma could naturally create her own techniques at will. Most beings could only train their abilities hard enough till they were blessed with a Technique embodying it.
Even with that Technique, they had to train hard to use it, or else it would backfire, causing them to be injured due to backlash.
Yet spiritual beings like Athyma were able to not only create their own Techniques at will, but also master them easily since they knew how their mechanics worked.
She didn't respond to his words, but she simply turned to block Sierra's attack. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, using her free fist to lunge at her abdomen.
"[Soul Bind]!"
"!!!"
Sierra's words left Athyma shocked.
The next moment, a golden light shone from Sierra's sword. Tentacles of this light rose up and wrapped themselves around Athyma's body.
Her eyes widened as she immediately tried to ward them off, but strangely, they didn't waver.
Vekas, Lynera, and Augustus joined the battle once more, using their Vyr to support the binding lights that restrained Athyma's soul, limiting her ability to use Techniques and Authorities.
Athyma used every Technique and Authority she could, but due to the limitation placed on her, nothing worked. She gritted her teeth, her eyes darting around in desperation.
Revan chuckled at this. "It seems that history will be made. Three semi-spiritual lifeforms taking down a spiritual being? Who could have ever thought such an absurd possibility?"
"I did." Sierra's voice cut through, her tone cold and even.
Athyma roared. "Don't screw with me! Do you really think I can be defeated so easily?!"
Her eyes shone as she activated her Attribute. [Demonic Hunger] began to drain the light from the tentacles.
But before she could continue further, she heard something in her mind. Whoosh!
She blinked and suddenly lost her concentration. Due to this, her Attribute stopped working, causing a heavy backlash. Her whole body flared with pain as her soul was damaged.
She turned to Revan, and seeing his gleeful grin, she understood that the sound in her mind came from him.
Sierra then lunged with her sword, and in a single thrust, she struck Athyma with [Soul Severance] activated. Due to her disarrayed mind and her already damaged soul, the attack succeeded.
A shrill scream escaped Athyma's throat. Her body dissolved into specks of light, and before she faded away entirely, she cast one final glance at Revan, whose ruby-red eyes were shining with a brilliant light.
She was dead.
"Hu... huh?" Augustus blurted out an incoherent sound, his eyes wide as he stared at where his archnemesis once stood.
"We... we actually killed her?" Lynera muttered softly, her own eyes widening in shock.
Vekas's gaze sharpened. "No... she killed her."
Sierra stood alone, gripping her sword tightly. It was no longer coated with Vyr. She was panting heavily, feeling like she had done something out of all possible outcomes.
She had killed Athyma. She had killed a spiritual being.
The suffocating pressure from Athyma's oathweight had evaporated the moment she perished. The air, now free, turned into strong winds, as if enjoying the lack of restraint.
Charlie and Vekas, as well as every other person there, looked at each other with profound surprise.
They had just seen a spiritual being. Then, they saw that spiritual being be killed by a semi-spiritual lifeform. It was a miracle... no, the word was too insignificant to describe it.
Revan's laughter cut through the thick atmosphere. "Alright! She is gone, and so is the burden holding you back."
Sierra blinked, dazed. "Burden holding me back...?"
Yes, her need for revenge, her desire for revenge. It had been a painful burden for her. A burden of a thousand years.
And now... it was lifted.
Suddenly, Sierra's body shone in a blinding light that made most people shield their eyes. She disappeared... before reappearing a few seconds later.