The fairy girl's massive severed head tumbled through the air——only to be caught just in time by her own two large hands.
She refused to let herself die like this. Cradling the head like a delicate piece of porcelain, she gently lifted it up with the utmost care.
Her twisted, grotesque face was filled with a dark, unnatural aura. Her wide-open eyes and gaping mouth were pitch black, like the surface of a deep well shrouded in shadows.
Whooosh—
A strange wind howled.
All the dark mist of resentment floating in the air suddenly swirled like it had fallen into a vortex, rushing toward her head. One after another, the streams of black fog poured into her eyes and mouth.
Thump. Thump. Thump—
Germain could feel it. That head… was gathering power.
He couldn't stay where he was. Waiting meant death.
His black wings turned silver and spread wide.
Sword in each hand, both dark and heavy, he shot into the sky, positioning himself diagonally above the severed head.
He too began charging up—preparing a wave of Nen powerful enough to slice through it in one strike.
But the fairy girl moved faster.
Her glorious golden wings flared open, and her giant body launched into the air.
She ascended rapidly, clutching the head tightly in both hands, positioning it just in front of her abdomen.
Then—
A terrifying burst of annihilating black light exploded from the head's eyes and mouth!
BOOM—!
Germain's entire body turned silver in an instant. He accelerated at full speed, darting away from the blast zone.
But the fairy girl wasn't done.
Still holding the severed head, she chased after him relentlessly. She constantly adjusted her position mid-air, trying to lock onto him with the deadly beam of black destruction.
Germain flew as close as he could along the massive wall, dodging with split-second precision.
But the black beam pursued him like a curse, tearing through the wall behind him without mercy—still aimed squarely at him.
He had no choice but to fly out through the wall.
Mid-air, he was immediately besieged by countless vengeful spirits.
They howled and shrieked, stretching out innumerable arms and legs, clawing at him in a desperate attempt to drag him down.
But instead of panicking, this played right into Germain's hands.
The Hunter's badge on his chest seized the opportunity — greedily devouring the Resentment that had surrounded him.
As the badge consumed the last of the clinging Resentments, and no more dared throw themselves at him like moths to a flame, Germain finally soared beyond the city walls and the cursed castle, his silver-white body shimmering in flight.
Behind him, the black light of destruction began to recede. The farther it reached, the more its accuracy and power declined.
The fairy girl had no choice. Cradling her severed head in her hands, she unfolded her golden wings and, with her giant's body, gave chase.
When Germain emerged from the ruined city, he noticed the barren fields of scattered stone outside had been unknowingly dyed with the colors of a dying sunset — a hauntingly beautiful twilight, like the final glow before the end.
But the enormous shadow quickly caught up to him, stretching across the horizon and nearly engulfing his figure.
Germain looked back mid-flight and saw the fairy girl's severed head once again absorbing the black mist of resentment billowing down from the skies.
After a few trembles, her head locked onto Germain — and once more, she unleashed the annihilating black beam.
Boom—!
Germain transformed into a streak of silver light, narrowly dodging the blast yet again.
But just like before, the destructive beam didn't stop — it tracked him, endlessly sweeping toward him.
Wherever it passed, it carved through the wasteland with terrifying ease, slicing every stone and fragment into dust, leaving a deep, jagged scar across the land.
Seeing that he had lured the fairy girl far enough away from Shizuku and the others, Germain stopped fleeing blindly.
He turned around mid-air — ready to fight.
He knew running wouldn't solve anything.
Sensing his sudden reversal, the fairy girl raised her severed head again and fired the black beam of destruction, aiming to annihilate him.
But the scene looked more like someone trying to swat a mosquito with a cannon.
Germain's body, shining like holy silver light, moved even more nimbly than a fly or a gnat.
He dodged every sweeping strike of the Annihilation Black Light, drawing closer and closer to the fairy-like girl.
The fairy girl sensed the growing threat. She quickly realized that her long-range attacks—like the Annihilation Black Light—weren't effective against someone like Germain. So, she decided to change tactics, even if it meant taking a risk.
The black light faded.
She raised her severed head high. Then, just as Germain closed in within a certain distance, her fingers tightened around the skull—
And crushed it completely.
Boom—
Germain's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up.
From the shattered skull, a torrent of black smoke erupted, surging into the sky.
Moments later, it all came crashing back down.
Screeeee—
Above the twilight-soaked heavens, where dusk and darkness tangled in the clouds, black fog resembling falling meteors began to rain down from the sky.
Each one targeted Germain directly.
It was a massive, relentless bombardment.
There was almost nowhere to run.
Germain was forced to abandon his plan to close in on the fairy girl's body.
The distance was still too great. Now, survival was his top priority.
The black fog meteors howled as they fell.
In an instant, Germain's silver-white body transformed into pitch-black armor. His massive sword reshaped itself into a broader blade—closer to a war cleaver.
If he could dodge a falling meteor, he would.
If he couldn't—he met them head-on, cleaving the black fog meteors in two with sheer force.
But there were just too many.
Overwhelmed, Germain was eventually forced to the ground.
The headless fairy, naturally, wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by.
Her right hand reached out—grabbed her own left arm—and yanked it off with a vicious pull.
Riiip—
Her left arm tore free, and she hurled it high into the sky.
Midair, the severed limb shattered into fragments, dissolving into yet another surge of black fog.
A new wave of meteoric black mist—more intense than before—whistled down from the heavens, aimed straight at Germain.
Boom. Boom. Boom—
Black mist-shrouded meteors rained down, one after another, relentless and unending.
The sheer number of them had reached a terrifying, hopeless scale.
They struck the earth like jagged fragments of stone, building a tomb over Germain's fallen figure.
Moments passed.
Finally, the grand, cataclysmic storm of meteors came to an end.
Germain's life force had vanished halfway through the barrage.
But the Headless Fairy showed no mercy—she let the bombardment continue until there was nothing left but silence.
Only then did she stop.
The Headless Fairy stared into the vast crater carved into the earth, watching as black mist drifted and dispersed into the air. At last, she could catch her breath.
Truth be told, Germain had pushed her further than expected.
To drive her to this extent… sacrificing both her head and left arm in the process… he had indeed been a worthy opponent.
But it ends here.
Though she had yet to return to her full strength, the Headless Fairy had been strong enough to defeat Germain.
And soon—very soon—her power would be complete, restored by the continued awakening of the deity she served.
It was at that moment—despite having no eyes, no ears, and no nose—the Headless Fairy sensed something.
Clearly. Sharply.
Something was happening before her.
Her upper body rose involuntarily, her attention locked forward, filled with a rare sense of surprise.
Beyond the massive crater stretched a wide, empty plain. On the left, a chain of mountains curled like sleeping beasts. To the right, the ruins of a shattered city lay still and broken.
And between them—
The sun, at some unknown point, had been completely devoured by the horizon.
Instead, a round, broad full moon appeared.
It was very strange because it wasn't the time for a full moon, and this moon was unusually huge, as if it were steadily drawing closer to the earth!
Finally, the full moon rose high into the sky, casting pale light over the land, bathing everything in ruin below.
At that moment, the Headless Fairy sensed an ominous feeling.
Soon, that premonition became reality.
*******
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