"!"
――Her presence changed.
The moment he sensed that, Eden promptly stopped attacking and made his golden 'palms' float around him while keeping his eyes locked on the saintess and co.
Eden was facing Arcadia, the 'Spear' Saintess whom he had previously encountered in the dragonfolk village, and Phinis, one of the Goddesses of Genesis whose deeds had made her come to be called 'Goddess of the End'.
That being said, Phinis had been deprived of most of her power by his Creator, Elysium. To Eden, she was now nothing but an insignificant being, and so was Arcadia. However, the two had fused by some unknown means.
Therefore, Eden had released the"Ajna (the third eye)"on his forehead and had been attacking them while being in a perfect meditating posture.
The reason being, Eden's superpower "Sans Couture (super rejection)"—which allowed him to repel all obstacles—became more potent as his state of meditation deepened.
Crackle crackle! The saintess and co took a throwing posture while radiating a light, which intensified with every moment passed.
"I see," Eden nodded upon seeing that, "Knowing you couldn't break through the pressure of my 'palms', you changed tactics to employ a move with maximum firepower to create wide area destruction, huh.
"However,"Eden, still sitting on the lotus flower floating in the air, declared coldly with his eyes closed, "That is futile, and you know that. Even if you're backed with the power of Goddess of the End, everything shall turn meaningless before my "Sans Couture". You haven't forgotten what happened during our previous encounter, I presume?"
"Yeah. I lost to you before, no denying that fact. Despite my having borrowed Fluga-sama's power, you were still able to reflect my move."
"Indeed. If it wasn't for what you call 'Substitute', your body would have been no more than dust drifting in the wind by this time. Hence, I must ask. For whatever reason are you repeating the same mistake?"
"Isn't it obvious? Because I'm not repeating the same mistake."
As the saintess revealed a thin smile, Eden, seemingly utterly fed-up, said, "Incorrigible," before continuing, "I see that fear has muddled your thought. Suffice to say, arguing has lost its meaning. It's best to not waste any more time and send you on your way. However, your destination will not be the throne room. It will be the sea of nothingness which last for eternity."
Whoom, the 'palms' that had been on standby around Eden stood before him, ready to divert the attack of the saintess and co.
"…I'm sorry. Please wait a bit. I'll finish this in a second."
In the meantime, he heard the saintess apologizing to someone.
Most likely, it was meant for Phinis.
However, for her to say 'she'd finish this in a second' he couldn't help but find it humorous.
It appeared that they were still not aware of the fate awaiting them.
"…Foolish."
The moment a sigh escaped his lips, the light emitted by the saintess's body intensified brilliantly.
It was apparent that the release of her power had reached a critical point.
"Farewell. Foolish saintess whose name I have already forgotten and Goddess of the En—"
――Slash!
"…Cough!?"
At that moment, Eden's body was hit by an unprecedented impact, causing his view to suddenly shift upward, and blood to spurt out of his mouth.
What just happened?
In his daze, Eden moved his eyes downward, and there he found his torso with a gaping hole as if it had burst open from the inside of him.
"…What is… this…!?"
――BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNGGGG!!
A shockwave then came a beat later, ravaging his body to pieces. As it happened, Eden caught sight of the figures of the pale-faced saintess who appeared as though she could fall unconscious at any moment, and Phinis who gently caught her in her arms.
"Arcadia…"
"…No need to worry. I'm just… a little tired…"
Yes, their attack had already passed.
"… I see… so that's… how it is…"
Having figured everything out, Eden realized that his assumption was wrong.
It was true that they launched a blow with maximum power.
But what was maximum wasn't the 'firepower'.
――It was the 'speed'.
They had released a blow with a speed so extreme that it exceeded even Eden's reaction speed.
The shockwave coming later was undeniable proof.
That was why the saintess had said that.
――'I'm not repeating the same mistake'.
"…That was splendid… Saintess… Arca… dia…"
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNGGGG!! Amid the furious shockwave, Eden's consciousness, as well as his body, returned to dust.