In the expanse of space, the fierce battle between Clark and Rachel continued, showing no signs of concluding anytime soon. Rachel found Clark's defense and strength surpassing his own, making it not so easy to defeat him.
As a result, Rachel aimed to absorb more faith power to elevate his strength to a new level, hoping to overpower Clark in both strength and defense and secure the final victory.
However, no matter how Rachel tried to draw upon Earth's faith power, the remaining faith refused to merge into him. In the Vatican, the Pope appeared strained, his divine light tumultuous, yet firmly locking the faith power within himself, preventing any leakage.
"Wishing to continue using faith power? This earthly god is even more formidable than I anticipated, pushing Rachel to such a state..." Despite feeling some pressure, the Pope's face bore a faint smile, pondering, "It seems the angels' plan is likely to fail this time!"
The Pope looked towards Earth from afar. Though his divine power became mixed due to the boost of faith power, it indeed increased significantly, allowing him to see beyond Earth. However, he lacked the strength to view the details of Clark and Rachel's fight, which he found regrettable.
"Damn it! I can sense faith power stirring within Earth; why can't I harness it now?!" Engaged in battle with Clark, Rachel gradually found himself at a disadvantage. Though far from defeat, his inner peace was disturbed, especially after transforming into a six-winged seraph.
"Slash!" As Rachel got distracted, Clark seized an angel wing slashing towards him and forcefully attempted to tear it off, aiming to reduce Rachel from a six-winged seraph to a five-winged crippled angel.
However, Rachel's wings were sufficiently tough, and upon realizing Clark's intent, he hardened them further. Clark only managed to tear off feathers without detaching the wing completely.
"What kind of monster is this Kryptonian? Kryptonians are strong, but not to this extent!" Even so, Rachel was profoundly shaken, Clark's power far exceeding his expectations. The more they fought, the more familiar Clark became with his attacks, handling them with ease, which Rachel found utterly unacceptable.
Rachel knew that if this continued, he might indeed lose to Clark. If that happened, the control over Earth's faith and further plans to investigate Earth's current state would become unfeasible.
"Gabriel, you've really done me in!" Rachel thought bitterly. He wasn't the only angel with contingencies on Earth; Gabriel too had left his mark. However, Gabriel didn't come forward, leaving Rachel to face this predicament.
The battle in space remained undecided. To avoid collateral damage to Earth, Clark led Rachel away from the solar system towards the Kuiper Belt, locking their battlefield there.
Asteroid Ceres: (つ﹏) Glad it's not me this time.
Pluto: ▌°Д°;)っ Don't come any closer!
Meanwhile, on Earth, the fight between Robert and Valentin continued. Despite the lengthy battle, Robert hadn't surpassed Valentin in strength, but their powers were converging, with Robert no longer bleeding in combat.
Valentin struggled to accept this, unable to comprehend why he, fully transformed into a demon lord, was still no match for Robert, an enigmatic Earthling of such formidable strength.
Considering this, Valentin contemplated retreat. Prioritizing survival over vengeance, he planned to leave, believing the guardians would agree.
Planning to escape to the hell dimension, Valentin thought he could thrive there with his current power, finding Earth too perilous with its cunning angels and continuously strengthening individuals like Robert. The hell dimension seemed a safer bet.
"Boom!" Convincing himself to abandon his grudge, Valentin unleashed a powerful burst of dark energy, hoping to repel the ferocious Robert and seize the chance to flee.
Previously, Valentin realized that Robert was a monster, unfazed by any injury or impact. But this time, Valentin doubted Robert could withstand this attack.
However, to Valentin's surprise, Robert faced the explosion without retreat, generating a protective Qi barrier around himself. Though quickly breached by Valentin's power, causing various injuries, Robert remained undeterred, thwarting Valentin's escape plans.
"Think you can leave? Not so easy!" A crazed Robert wouldn't let Valentin escape easily. He coldly snorted, conjuring Qi rings from his hands that instantly bound Valentin.
Valentin, having forsaken his humanity to become a demon lord, retained a human-like form, perhaps clinging to his last vestiges of humanity.
Diana, observing the battle, raised an eyebrow at Robert's tactic, noting its similarity to her Lasso of Truth in binding ability, though lacking the compulsion to speak the truth.
"Lasso of Truth..." Diana mused, watching Robert and considering it a viable solution.
"Hiss?" Just as Robert bound Valentin, preparing to press his advantage, he felt a chill down his spine, alertly scanning his surroundings but finding nothing.
"Crack!" As Valentin broke free from the Qi rings, Robert didn't expect to contain him forever; halting his escape was already a victory.
"Whoosh!" Just as Valentin escaped the rings, Robert's concentrated Qi wave blasted towards him, forcing Valentin to defensively unleash his power.
Compared to the Qi rings, both the concentrated Qi wave and the Kamehameha posed a threat to Valentin, not yet as invulnerable as Rachel to star-shattering attacks.
"Boom!" The collision of Qi wave and dark energy again caused an explosion, threatening the stability of the magic academy's subspace, already weakened from the ongoing battle.
Even with the guardians and other Shadow Hunters having activated protective arrays for the academy, the fight between Valentin and Robert still inflicted significant damage, especially since Constantine had to play his cards to protect Clare and others from losing their powers and vitality amidst the battle's tumult.
"Damn! Let me go!" As the explosion cleared, Valentin instinctively attempted to flee again, but Robert, unfazed by the blast, had already caught him, restraining him as Captain America did to Ultron.
Of course, Valentin wasn't a machine lifeform like Ultron, and Robert's intention wasn't to suffocate him but to immobilize him for a significant strike.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
As Robert bound Valentin, a barrage of Qi Round Slashes targeted every inch of Valentin's body, subjecting him to one of the most horrifying punishments known to man, now endured by the demon lord Valentin.
Robert knew of Valentin's enhanced regenerative capabilities as a demon, aiming to weaken him and narrow their gap in combat strength, effectively overtaking him in the race.
Robert's strategy proved successful. After enduring the brutal punishment, Valentin's body quickly recovered, but his power significantly weakened. No matter Valentin's transformation, sustaining injuries in battle drained him, explaining the previous demon lord's defeat at Robert's hands.
"Boom!" As Valentin recovered, Robert's next wave of attacks began, leaving no clear advantage in the fight.
With the battle prolonging, Robert's strength climbed while Valentin's weakened, bringing them to an equal footing. But at this point, Valentin was no longer a match for Robert.
"It should be alright now..." Seeing Robert and Valentin fight to a stalemate, Diana
and Kara sighed in relief, knowing the battle's outcome was nearly decided, wondering how much longer it would last.
However, sensing each other's reactions, both Diana and Kara felt a pang of dissatisfaction, believing they knew Robert best. The thought of another understanding Robert as well as they did was unacceptable to them, especially considering Robert's implication of even more individuals involved, further aggravating their frustration.
Seeing Robert's likely victory, Diana and Kara's concerns shifted from his safety. At that moment, shadows from the unstable subspace seeped in, coalescing into figures.
These were Shadow Ninjas, seemingly more formidable than those Robert had encountered before, as if enhanced.
Tara, seizing demons to boost his power upon noticing angels on Earth, found not only hell's demons but also dark dimension beings detesting angels. A fully powered angel's arrival posed a threat to him.
Thus, Tara decisively sent his Shadow Ninja Corps to investigate, his troops distinct from others', being the grand commander of the corps.
Tara's summoned Shadow Ninjas, adjustable in strength based on his dark power, were sent to scout the angel's last known location, ensuring they weren't too weak to be purified by holy light before encountering the angel, thus wasting the opportunity.
Hence, Tara expended recently plundered demonic energy, now transformed into dark power, to create a stronger batch of Shadow Ninjas for investigation...
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