The battle started without any signal among the two servants, both dashing towards their chosen prey.
Akeno, unlike her fellow servant, was not a master of close combat. Of course, as an NPC who reached level 90, her physical strength was nothing to scoff at. She believed that if it came down to it, she could kill any mid-level opponents with her bare hands, but she preferred a more refined way, a more cleaner way.
Akeno was created with the role of a midline mage unit that can also serve as a long-range AOE caster. As such, her combat built revolts around keeping a sufficient distance between herself and the enemies and raining down 5 ~ 8-tier spells to devastate groups of enemies and making the jobs of the vanguards that much easier. Thus, you can say her current situation where she is only several feet apart from her enemies is not an ideal situation for her. However, that is only when she was going against individuals who were similar in strength to her.
She dashed forward, aiming for one of the angel-like monsters, her every step producing sparks of purple lighting. This skill, aptly named [Lightning steps] is a movement spell, that increases the caster's speed depending on the tier lv of the spell, but even at its minimum lv of 4th, it doubles the user's base speed. Activating it at its minimum lv, she appeared instantly in front of the armoured angle, her raven ponytail wiping in the wind. She then twisted her hip slightly, her head lowering to her chest. Her delicate flower-like hands that held a fan moments ago now reach sideways as if reaching out to grab the hilt of a sword. However, what she drew her was not cold sliver but thundering blue.
She drew lightning and combined with her momentum from [Lightning steps], executed an Iai slash (like Jin's 'Heavenly strike' from Ghose of Tsushima) cutting through the heavenly armour of the angle like a heated knife to butter, bisecting it. Her momentum did not slow, however, instead, the lightning blade dug into its next victim, an alligator monster, charing its body from the inside out. When her blade reached its third victim, her trajectory went upwards, carving the Angle's body into a semi-U.
She took advantage of this break in the enemy's encirclement, using her momentum to lift upward as her devil wings spread wide, achieving a much more favourable stage for her.
"There. Now this is a much more comfortable space between us." Akeno mutters under her breath, floating several feet above her foes, her violet eyes casually glancing down at her grounded foes.
"Afufuf~ I could have played with them with a little close-range combat, but why bother. I have mostly guessed the levels of these monsters with the exchange just now. So…" Hanging her words, her sight turned to two Theocracy elites. "guess I could play with them while Caenis deal with the weaklings."
As Akeno mussed her next move above, Caenis' golden spear, was busy getting re-coloured with the blood of the monsters. She moved akin to the sea, dealing large encompassing attacks yet at the same time never letting her opponents pin her in place. Her form became water itself weaving and shirking amongst all the bodies of monsters, bisecting, chopping, piercing everything within her spear's range.
Caenis laughed with wild ecstasy, her voice echoing through the battlefield. "Ahahaha, this is it! Are you insects enjoying yourselves? Slice! Oh, nice dodge. It's too bad your blade work is so pathetic! Hahaha!" Her laughter resonated with such intensity that even the mechanical angels seemed to falter, a shadow of fear darkening their otherwise lifeless expressions. Her spear arm blurred in a storm of motion, sending yet another body flying in a brutal display of raw power.
The summoned creatures and angels hesitated, their ranks wavering. Whether driven by a sudden awareness of their dwindling numbers or stirred by some unfamiliar emotion, they began to back away, instinctively recoiling from the relentless force that Caenis unleashed upon them.
"Oi Oi guys, what gives? Are we done playing 'monster blender'? Come on, attack me more, I know you guys can cut me if you refine your teamwork a bit more." Caenis said, but like a group of dissatisfied workers, her encouraging words were only met with growls and creaks.
"No dice ha? Well, I did try. Guess it's time to change tactics," she said shrugging. A ferial grin formed on her lips, her eyes gleaming red as she scanned her backing foes, and then. "Now let's try to create some roasted meat then [Thunder fall]."
Caenis rotates her spear with a twirl, thrusting the blade towards the darkening sky. Electricity buzzed around her, wind ran past her. Then as if her body became the bringer of Zeus' thunder, a single arrow of light falls.
The spear became the guide, her body, the divine rod that would spread this light, electrocuting any and all beings foolish enough to stand next to her. It scorches the ground and burns the air, leaving nothing but chard meat and golden dust.
************************************
Quaiesse stared in stunned disbelief, his earlier confidence replaced by sheer horror as he took in the scene before him. The woman—no, the monster—stood amidst the carnage, wielding lightning with an effortless mastery that defied reason, channeling it as if she were one with the elemental fury itself. The electric arcs twisted around her, responding to their command, each strike crackling with raw, devastating power.
'This is bad, if this goes on, all my summons will be wiped out in minutes. I have to do something to buy us more time, but what?' he thought to himself, simulating scenario after scenario to get them out of this nightmare, he could not accept this, no could not, because if he did, their fate, their sacrifice to let the captain escape would be shattered. 'if-if the guys that went after the captain is just as powerful, will he, no no...' but as he was about to go crazy a voice, shaky and uncertain as a rabbit reach his ears.
"Quaiesse, do you have any idea how we can conquer this situation? If not, I might have one," said Divine Chant in a shaking tone that didn't give much way in confidence, but Quaiesse was reaching for straws at this point. So he returned his answer with more desperation than he intended to.
"Really! Are you certain,.... but, I don't think your power of voice would be a good match with them" Quaiesse said with doubt, quickly calming from agitation.
"Yes, as you know, I usually use my voice to buff my allies and simultaneously debuff the enemies with numerous curses and status elements. I am sure you calculated that when you summoned your summons." She turned to Quaiesse to confirm and saw him nod his head in an awkward smile, a smile also bloomed in her as she continued
"Do not dwell on it, Quaiesse," Divine Chant replied, her voice now steady and resolute. "I understand that it would have been the best way to utilise my strengths, but against these foes, my enhancements would only buy us seconds at best. That's why… I'll use the secret technique of this artefact." She gestured to her dress, her earlier hesitance replaced by determination.
"Secret technique? Does it have such a function? I know the attire you are wearing is also a divine artefact left behind by our Gods, but I haven't heard of such a function."
"That's to be expected. Only the current holder and some of the cardinals are aware of it." Divine Chant explains.
*Boom zaaapppm* *Roar*
As she began to explain further, a series of deafening booms cut her off, pulling both their gazes toward the source of the explosions. The blasts were soon followed by the agonized wails of the summons, whose widened eyes betrayed shock and horror. There, amid the destruction, stood a lightning-clad figure in golden armour, surrounded by the smoldering remains of countless fallen creatures. Nearly eighty per cent of their ranks had been obliterated with a single, cataclysmic attack, leaving the survivors and their master trembling, swallowing hard as they witnessed the massacre.
"Quaiesse, summon all your summons. I will buff them using my skill, which will forcibly make them break their racial limits," Divine Chant said almost in a whisper. In her eyes, there was fear and shock, but what painted it was resolve, resolve to sacrifice her life to pin these two foes that seemed almost divine.
Sensing her resolve, Quaiesse accepted his fate, a mocking smile forming on his lips.
'I guess I still wanted to escape even as I said the opposite, some strongest of humanity I turned out to be.... Maybe, this is what you always saw in me Clementine, my cowardness disguised with self-righteousness and pride. Haha, no wonder you left me sister.' He thought, remembering the figure of his selfish sister.
"I understand. I will give you enough time to activate your secret technique. Let's beat these monsters and quickly rendevu with the others." Quaiesse said moving up front and shielding Divine Chant from their opponent's gaze.
His hands slipped into the pouch strapped to his side, and with a sweeping motion, hundreds of pinky-sized crystals scattered across the ground. The pouch itself was a divine artifact left behind by the Six Gods, granting him the power to store an almost limitless quantity of items within. Now, he had just unleashed nearly all of his stockpile of low- to mid-level monster crystals, covering the battlefield in their shimmering glow.
The ground around him pulsed with light as countless magic circles appeared, fading to reveal a horde of monsters in their place. They varied in size, race, and power, yet all shared a fierce, primal energy. In unison, they unleashed an earth-shaking roar, as though to smother the unease that lurked in their master's heart. The ground around him pulsed with light as countless magic circles appeared, fading to reveal a horde of monsters in their place. They varied in size, race, and power, yet all shared a fierce, primal energy. In unison, they unleashed an earth-shaking roar, as if to drown out the creeping fear in their master's heart.
"All right you ladies, I will show you why I am renowned as the 'One man army' throughout the lands." Declared Quaiesse proudly, striking the ground with a whip that he took out from the pouch.
As the two sides locked eyes, daring each other to make the first move, a soft blue light washed over the monsters—the promised blessing of Divine Chant. The effect was immediate: muscles swelled, bodies grew, and an aura of strength enveloped them. Some even gained a resistance to magic, as they stood taller and more formidable than ever.
"Ahhaha. Ok, this is what I am talking about. Come, you basters I will send you to the same place your friends went." Caenis' taunt was the breaking point, unleashing the horde from its tense stillness.
The dark wave of monsters surged toward her, intent on trampling her beneath their mass. But their intentions clashed with a harsh reality—she stood firm, face painted with a wild grin as she readied her stance to split the wave like a cliff.
The wave parted as it entered the deadly reach of her spear, a burst of blood painting the ground in place of the dark mass. Yet the horde pressed on, undeterred, flowing around her weapon's range like ants evading a threat, encircling Caenis entirely.
"Ara, it seems you are encircled Caenis. Do you want any assistance?" Ask Akeno with a tone completely void of tension. She was still suspended mid-air, her posture showing as much tension as her tone.
"Butt off devil. How about you do something more useful instead of asking stupid questions or floating there like some spectator." Canes shouted back as her spear jabbed an orc in its temple, making it *pop*. "If you continue like that, I will be the only one that will receive master's praise, but hey *slicing off an angle's head* if that's your generosity, I ain't complaining, just lay back, relax, and enjoy the show."
"*Click* Yes yes, I will leave you to your fun," Akeno said, shaking her head while she dodged a bolt of magic from an angle. She had thought of going to the two remaining humans for a more close-range attack, but after seeing Canis unleash her [Thunder fall] skill, she changed her mind, thinking it would be a waste to end it just like that.
Akeno was not a combat-hungry junky like Caenis. But she would be miff to say that she was not curious about her current ability. She, of course fully grasped her power from the countless battles she participated in Yggdrasil, the memories now felt distant, like watching someone else performing her actions. So, deciding to make the most of her current situation, she resolved to use her opponents' strength to hone her own skills and abilities.
Her eyes shifted from her friend's playtime disguise as a massacre and landed on the two humans in the back. She then lifted her hands forward, her fingers pointing at the two. In the next moment, purple lighting burst from her hand.
**********
Divine Chant had completed the activation of the technique. A forbidden technique that is passed down from welder to welder of her current attire. This dress or artifact is called [Dress of Heaven's Command], one of the last remaining divine items left behind by their Gods. Originally it was supposed to be an ordinary but useful item that boosted the buffing potency and its chance. But after being teleported to this new world, it became a completely different item. It still retained its original buffing capability, but it had now gained the power to bend reality. According to Surshana: The God of Death, this sudden change in Power was because of a single line in its flavour text that read [ and so the mighty angel ….. wore this dress and spoke drawing the power from its attire to painting their words over reality.] According to the texts recorded from that time, even the Gods were sock from this discovery leading them to destroy many of their items with similar power, fearing that such items could destroy the world itself. They only left one of each item, sealing them deep inside their treasury and bestowing them to only selected followers. This however led to the late discovery of the item's one glaring flaw.
It was as Divine Chant was reminiscing on her master's warning about the price of using [Dress of Heaven's Command] secret skill, that her eyes meet with the floating Akeno. Then the next thing she knew, a purple light flash from the priestess's fingers. Her body moved on instinct, she did not know what the priestess did nor did she have enough time to relay this to Quaiesse, so she did the only thing she could as words of power flowed out of her.