Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle between the women and Metis continued. With the protection of Sora, plus the fact that Liliana, Zola, and Karen were all powerful witches, their combined strength was formidable. Taking down a god was not out of the question.
Of course, the gods here were relatively weak ones. After all, the dimensional gap between humans and gods was not something easily bridged.
Metis, as a part split from Athena's body, played the role of Athena's mother and the wife of Zeus, the King of Gods, in mythology. She was a high-level deity. Moreover, having absorbed Athena's authority and power, her strength had surged dramatically. The small amount of divine power left by Sora was naturally insufficient for the three women to deal with Metis.
At first, their coordinated attacks could inflict some minor damage, but as time passed, the three women had to expend all their strength just to defend.
"Yare yare, little demon brothers still haven't returned. This is getting troublesome!"
The originally stunningly beautiful and charming Zola now looked somewhat disheveled as she supported the defensive barrier while joking carefreely.
"Ugh… Lady Liliana, I can't hold on much longer…"
Karen, also supporting the barrier alongside Zola and Liliana, was clearly weaker than the other two. Her face had turned pale, and she was clearly about to collapse.
Crack! Crack crack!!
Under the relentless assault of the countless energy blades from Metis's Death Scythe, the defensive barrier finally gave way, emitting sounds like shattering glass.
The next moment, to the horror of the women, the barrier shattered with a loud bang!
"Hahaha… Witches, it's over!"
Determined to thoroughly punish the God Slayer Sora, Metis showed no intention of holding back.
She laughed loudly, then extended a white, jade-like arm and activated the authority she had devoured from Athena. Instantly, hundreds of death-energy owls formed and shot toward the women below.
"Silver Swallows, transform into thousands, help me pierce through all my enemies!"
Liliana's expression hardened as she chanted a strange incantation she had never used before. She threw the magic sword Il Maestro into the sky. With a flash of light, the sword disappeared, replaced by hundreds of silver-metallic swallows.
As if imbued with intelligence, the swallows flapped their wings in unison and flew toward the death-energy owls formed by Metis. The two forces collided, causing thunderous explosions in the sky.
Liliana was using a type of shaping magic, similar to how Erica transformed her magic sword Cuore di Leone into a steel lion for battle. However, unlike Erica, Liliana had always been weaker in strength, so she compensated with speed and numbers.
This gave the girls a slight sense of relief, as Liliana's specialty was just what was needed for this situation…
…
"Not good!!!"
Just as Liliana was thinking about the next move, Zola's shocked voice suddenly rang out. Liliana and the young maid Karen looked over and both turned pale.
It turned out that the number of owls released by Metis was increasing rapidly. The defensive line formed by the silver swallows was overwhelmed, and many of the death-energy owls had broken through the defense and were attacking the Secret Sword girls and Shizuka on the side!
The situation was urgent. The three women dared not hesitate and quickly unleashed various magic attacks to intercept them—water arrows, fireballs, lightning bolts. Although they destroyed some, many still got through!
"Big sister…"
The Secret Sword girls on the side nervously called out to their eldest sister Ichibei, who stood at the front. Although they had been specially trained by the Seishuuin clan since childhood, none had ever fought a god before, and they were understandably anxious.
"Protect Miss Shizuka and the others! Charge!"
Ichibei, the eldest of the nine sisters, was unmatched in both strength and temperament. A sharp gleam flashed in her beautiful eyes as she fearlessly ordered the eight younger sisters behind her.
"Yes!"
With a unified shout, the eight Secret Sword girls vanished from the ground and reappeared in midair the next moment.
Facing the death-energy owls flying toward them, the girls, though nervous, had years of special training. They took a deep breath, focused their minds, and seemed to be sensing something carefully.
Just as the enemies were about to reach them, the eight girls suddenly opened their eyes simultaneously, their beautiful eyes flashing with sharp light.
"Secret Sword Technique: Waning Moon Slash!"
Chanting their spells, the girls swung their long swords and slashed the air. Cold arcs appeared as eight silver crescent-shaped sword energy blades cut through the air, slashing fiercely at the incoming enemies.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed in the sky. Wherever the crescent-shaped blades passed, the death-energy owls were all cut down, turning into wisps of black smoke and vanishing into nothingness.
"Lady Liliana, those girls are amazing…"
Watching the eight Secret Sword girls continuously slashing crescent-shaped sword energy blades in midair to fend off the enemies, the young maid Karen was full of astonishment, murmuring softly.
Liliana and the great witch Zola also came back to their senses. Seeing the Secret Sword girls wield such power, they were both surprised and delighted.
The eight Secret Sword girls were not simply channeling spell power into their swords to slash. They were using an incredibly powerful sword technique, extremely sharp and domineering. Even the toughest metals and steel would be sliced like tofu by those crescent-shaped sword energy blades!
The Secret Sword Technique: Moon-Slaying Slash was a traditional sword skill passed down and practiced by the nine girls of the Seishuuin clan since childhood. The Waning Moon Slash was just one of many moves.
All nine girls were geniuses among geniuses, and having mastered this powerful sword technique, if they fought together, there would be almost no human opponent who could stand against them—except for ancient monsters who had transcended life and death or those blessed by gods or demon kings with divine protection.
"Oh… what an interesting group of humans. You have truly brought me quite a surprise!"
Seeing the eight girls who had completely destroyed the owls formed from her death energy, Metis in the sky showed a trace of surprise and finally revealed an expression of interest.
"Then, as a reward, I shall give you a bigger gift!"
A devilish curve pulled up at the corner of her mouth. Metis waved her hand, and the earth trembled violently. A terrifying giant python, dozens of meters long and covered in solid scales, burst out of the ground. Under Metis's control, it let out a roar and lunged toward the group of girls!
This was the power called "Earth Serpent" that Metis had devoured from Athena. Wherever there was earth, she could summon the serpent god endlessly to fight for her!
And the ultimate form of this power was the ancient dragon that Athena had summoned long ago!
Seeing the giant serpent pounce toward the girls on one side, Liliana and Zola's expressions changed drastically. Without hesitation, they rushed forward to rescue them.
"Hehehe… You won't get past me!"
Metis laughed joyfully and released countless owls made of death energy, which attacked the three girls, blocking their path.
"Damn it!!!"
Just dealing with the immediate threat left the three girls flustered. Looking toward Shizuka, Arianna, Yuri, and the Secret Sword Maidens not far away, the three felt a surge of anxiety.
"Hah… hah… this is…"
After eliminating the death owls attacking them, the eight Secret Sword Maidens landed back on the ground, panting slightly. But seeing the terrifying giant serpent lunging at them, their faces turned pale.
To Metis, this might be just a casually summoned divine beast, but to the girls, it was a deadly threat!
"Lord Yuri, Miss Arianna, and Miss Shizuka, I leave this to you."
Ichibei glanced at the giant serpent advancing toward them, a resolute look flashing in his eyes. He said this to the two girls and then moved forward.
Knowing that the two of them could not help much in the fight, they just needed to avoid becoming a burden. Yuri and Arianna exchanged a glance, then simultaneously unleashed the divine power Athena had left within them, forming a protective shield around themselves and Shizuka.
"You all, fall back a bit."
With narrowed eyes and a serious expression, Ichibei stepped forward and said to his eight sisters.
"Yes, big sister!"
Though worried, the eight girls did not hesitate at all and quickly retreated to the edge of the battlefield.
Facing the giant serpent that was now right in front of them, its huge mouth wide open as if to swallow them whole, Ichibei took a deep breath, bent his knees in a stallion stance, and placed his right hand on the sword hilt the master had given him.
"Secret Sword: Full Moon Slash!!!"
A cold, clear voice rang out without any reservation. The girl summoned all her strength and drew her sword to slash forward!
At that moment, to the astonishment of the girls and even Metis hovering in midair, a silver sword energy orb, as large as a house and shining like a full moon in the sky, appeared and shot toward the divine beast python!
Boom!!!
A tremendous explosion and dazzling light forced everyone to shield their eyes. The divine beast python shattered bit by bit under the impact of the sword energy orb, and with a painful roar, it turned into endless dust and vanished into the world…