In contrast, her younger sister, Arcueid, possessed the True Ancestor's ability of Marble Phantasm, which allowed her to manipulate the entire natural world!
However, Altrouge could form contracts with living beings, granting them supernatural abilities—a feat Arcueid could not match.
"You actually wounded me..." she murmured softly, as if unconcerned, but in reality, Altrouge was furious. Furious at her own weakness, that such a character could harm her.
A bizarre magic circle appeared in this space, and countless magic bullets emerged from the void. Then, following their own distinct trajectories, they flew toward the three individuals before her.
The Captain of the Heretic Inquisition Knights stood on guard, while Sabra stood relaxed and at ease. He knew someone would block these things for him; he had complete faith in his teammates.
Sure enough, the masochist named Rudolf stepped in front of the two of them, and then those magic bullets, as if encountering a gravitational collapse, were drawn to him, all flying toward his body!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" A series of explosions rang out, engulfing the entire canyon in a thick fog!
Then, a sudden gust of wind appeared in the canyon, dispersing the mist. This was controlled by the Clone Squad... As the dust disappeared, what appeared before everyone's eyes was the member of the Burial Agency, his body a bloody mess, stark white bones exposed, internal organs shattered. He was utterly disfigured!
A large portion of his blood had evaporated, as if he would meet his maker in the next instant.
But the next moment, as if a miracle had descended—like the resurrection of Jesus... a divine miracle instantly arrived. His body seemed to have received divine favor, and in no time, it was completely restored.
Rudolf's face showed a mix of pain and pleasure... He kept muttering something under his breath. It seemed he had been muttering all along, but his vocal cords had been torn, preventing any sound from escaping.
And the most bizarre thing was that his power was even greater than before he was crippled... as if his strength increased with injury... "The more he's abused, the stronger he gets?" Ryougi Raku and Lorelei's battle had also temporarily halted due to Altrouge's sudden display of power. Seeing Rudolf become stronger than before, they were somewhat dumbfounded. "The Burial Agency really has all sorts of eccentric characters..." she sighed.
"Indeed... The Burial Agency is a hotbed for such eccentric characters," Lorelei agreed, as if in complete accord with Ryougi Raku's words.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to suddenly agree with my opinion..." Ryougi Raku said, quite surprised.
Then, in the next moment, without waiting for Lorelei to speak, as Lorelei relaxed, dense sword energy suddenly rushed toward her.
"Hundred Flowers Chaos!"
"Damn it! Despicable fellow!" Lorelei exclaimed in exasperation, brandishing her long whip. Lightning, like Ryougi Raku's spherical sword energy, also formed a sphere, enveloping and protecting her.
Though momentarily flustered, she still blocked Ryougi Raku's attack.
Ryougi Raku's attack this time was without any frills, purely a direct linear assault, with only one objective: "Speed!"
"Haha, if I can deal with you like this, what's wrong with being a little despicable?" Ryougi Raku replied with a laugh.
Their battle resembled that of mages in a fantasy novel, but one used sword energy and the other lightning, constantly clashing from a distance.
Ryougi Raku dared not approach rashly without understanding the opponent's true capabilities. The opponent was not a swordsman like him; a magician's power was extremely strange, and he wasn't confident he could dodge lightning attacks at close range. If he were hit and the opponent suddenly pulled out a trump card, he might be in a difficult situation... Lorelei had similar thoughts, so their seemingly fierce battle was a constant probing. However, both knew this situation would not last long... new changes would soon occur.
Yet, it was Ryougi Raku who initiated the change... He dared not delay too long. The opponent was fearless, while his side was like a turtle in a jar; the longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them!
"Second Stance · Demon-Slaying Sword!" As soon as he made his move, it was a powerful technique. Cross-shaped sword energy shot out, carving a deep gully.
Lorelei also seemed to know the power of Ryougi Raku's move and finally unleashed her true strength!
The sword energy passed through the protective electrical net as if it were no obstacle, but the next moment, Lorelei seemed to transform into a breeze, her entire being suddenly dissipating!
Ryougi Raku, who was charging toward her, was startled and immediately stopped.
"Second Stance · Rock-Cleaving Sword!" As if he had anticipated it, Ryougi Raku suddenly slashed to the side. Lorelei appeared precisely there, still surrounded by a protective spherical electrical net, which began to rub against the spherical sword energy enveloping Ryougi Raku, producing a series of harsh, unpleasant sounds!
Ryougi Raku's sword clearly struck the electrical net, yet it seemed as if the net didn't exist, passing through it and appearing before Lorelei. But the next moment, the Lorelei in front of him seemed to multiply infinitely—countless versions of her appearing. He couldn't tell which was real, which was fake, or if they were all real?
The entire battlefield also coincidentally spawned countless storms, which completely defied the laws of nature, rotating clockwise and counter-clockwise simultaneously, coming from above, below, and all directions!
And Lorelei also transformed into the drifting wind, changing into lightning. Endless lightning storms roared forth!
Ryougi Raku no longer dared to be arrogant. Endless blood flames erupted around him, forming the strongest shield, blocking the lightning storms that surrounded him! But this was only temporary. Ryougi Raku knew that the power he hastily used could not withstand it, so he no longer held back. The Origin of Pain seemed to cross an endless void, appearing in this world, firmly protecting Ryougi Raku!
"This is... the Gale of Barthomeloi?!"
---
"I didn't expect you to know so much." Lorelei stopped her attack, casually flicking her long whip.
"Of course I know such a famous magecraft." The Gale of Barthomeloi was both a combat technique and a magecraft. It was Lorelei's most powerful and renowned technique!
Seeing Ryougi Raku surrounded by the Origin of Pain, Lorelei meticulously searched for weaknesses.
Controlling the atmospheric wind, and with the help of the Clone Squad, she was confident that even against the most powerful opponents, she could remain undefeated!
The calm was only temporary. After a brief exchange, their battle resumed! Ryougi Raku's will moved, and a tangible longsword made of purple flames appeared in the three-fingered right hand of the Origin of Pain.
The sword's appearance was identical to the one Ryougi Raku held, and this was precisely Ryougi Raku projecting his own sword onto the Origin of Pain.
The massive body of the Origin of Pain, coupled with a giant sword, appeared very majestic!
Under Ryougi Raku's mental control, the Origin of Pain swung the giant sword. Feeling the flames that seemed to freeze even the air, the giant sword fell like a meteor. Lorelei was not foolish enough to resist it head-on!
She once again used her renowned power, becoming one with the wind, allowing the Origin of Pain's giant sword to swing through empty air, shattering a section of the mountain wall!
When a body is large enough, various techniques actually become completely useless. One can simply overpower the opponent. Ryougi Raku used this effectively; as the longsword swung, whenever Lorelei's figure appeared, she was met with a giant sword!
For a time, the entire canyon was shattered by a massive monster!
Then, Ryougi Raku suddenly disregarded Lorelei in front of him and abruptly shifted the battlefield toward Altrouge!
The Captain of the Heretic Inquisition Knights and Sabra, who were fighting Altrouge, were startled and quickly dodged the trajectory of the Origin of Pain's longsword. They dared not use their flesh and blood bodies to withstand such a monster's immense power!
But Rudolf, the masochist, stood in place with a fervent expression, allowing the giant sword to cleave through his body, splitting him completely in two!
Strangely, although his body was split in two, his blood seemed to solidify and did not spray out at all.
Altrouge saw Ryougi Raku suddenly come to her aid and smiled slightly. Then, as if completely unguarded, she allowed the spreading flames of the Origin of Pain to envelop her, placing her under its protection.
This was a method Ryougi Raku had already thought of. He couldn't wait for the enemy to break through Altrouge's position and then pick them off one by one.
Therefore, after unleashing the Origin of Pain, he decisively joined this battlefield, taking advantage of Lorelei's sudden disorientation due to the change in combat target.
Lorelei saw Ryougi Raku suddenly switch targets and decisively converged with the Captain of the Heretic Inquisition Knights and the other two.
Although the situation was slightly different from the very beginning, their ultimate goal was to mutually switch positions and entangle each other. Now it had merely changed from one-on-one to multiple-on-multiple. There wasn't much difference from their overall objective. Therefore, none of them were concerned.
In fact, the Holy Church side would even be happier. Because Lorelei had joined this battlefield, the Clone Squad's main target would also be here, and their strength still held the upper hand!
Nrvnqsr Chaos saw the situation, and a subtle, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of her lips.