Chapter 1294: Victory or Defeat in an Instant
The familiars surged forward, launching a swarm attack as they charged toward Goetia.
To injure Goetia, they first had to destroy the distorted, space-warping spell surrounding him. Working in unison, the familiars unleashed countless bolts of lightning, shockwaves, and blasts of ice capable of obliterating Kinojo City.
The most formidable among them was Kishinami, wielding the Black Sword of Yama.
Resembling the incarnation of a Valkyrie, Kishinami was a female humanoid familiar enveloped in a rainbow-hued aura, corresponding to the Virgo constellation. She possessed the power to sever the physical form of any substance—even the laws of causality—with a single strike.
With the gravity-manipulating Black Sword of Yama in hand, Kishinami was virtually unstoppable!
"Hum—!"
Goetia raised his hand.
The ten rings on his left hand gleamed, erecting a thick magical barrier before him. Within this barrier, it was as if a miniature world existed, completely neutralizing the lightning, shockwaves, and ice.
Simultaneously, the ten rings on his right hand shimmered, and countless magic circles layered around him like cannons. With a deafening roar, thunderous flames erupted from the circles, coalescing into a slender pillar of fire that shot straight toward Kishinami!
Goetia knew that among all of Eiji's summoned beasts, only the Mercury of the Dragon-Serpent, Kishinami, and the White Steel of the Water Spirit possessed truly fearsome abilities.
In comparison, the other familiars merely wielded conventional offensive capabilities.
As long as he could hold off these three, he could rest relatively easy.
Faced with the tumultuous, lightning-like flames, Kishinami had no choice but to alter her sword's trajectory, redirecting her target from Goetia to the fiery onslaught. With a single strike, she cleaved the pillar of fire in two!
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the Purple Scorpion Tiger dispelled its mist form and lunged at Goetia's back with a claw strike!
"Ah, right. This one too."
Despite being in a blind spot, Goetia seemed to have anticipated the Purple Scorpion Tiger's ambush all along.
Its ability to absorb an opponent's magic was equally absurd—it was the very move that had defeated Kishinami.
"However, the activation condition requires physical contact. As long as I avoid being touched, it's meaningless."
With composed ease, she waved a hand.
Another magical blast erupted, instantly hurling the Purple Scorpion Tiger away. It let out a pained cry before dissipating entirely.
As for the Mercury of the Dragon-Serpent, whose only notable feature was its mouth, it couldn't even get close to her.
"Is this guy... simulating Noble Phantasms with magecraft?"
Eiji narrowed his eyes, observing the battle between the familiars.
Simulating Noble Phantasms through magecraft wasn't particularly unheard of—Morgan could replicate the Holy Lance with her spells. There was no way Goetia, having obtained the ten rings, couldn't do the same.
That shield blocking the other familiars—was it Achilles's Akhilleus Kosmos?
And the thunderous flames used to repel Kishinami—could they be an imitation of Karna's Vasavi Shakti?
Though hastily replicated, they might not match the originals, but backed by Goetia's immense magical energy, their power likely far surpassed the genuine articles!
"Begone."
Goetia spread his arms wide.
The Ten Rings of the Ten Commandments simultaneously released astonishing flashes of light, and in that instant, it seemed to trigger a chain reaction. The brilliance of magic circles rippled across the sky, ground, and walls everywhere.
Within just a few breaths, thousands of magic circles unfolded all around.
"BOOOOOOM――――――!!!"
Countless magical cannons rained down like beams of light, all without exception aimed at the Beast Vassals!
Under the relentless bombardment, the Lion of Gold and the Dragon Serpent of Quicksilver were pierced through by numerous magical blasts one after another. They let out continuous roars of fury before reluctantly returning to Eiji's body.
The more cautious Deep Crimson Dual Horns and Crimson Rainbow Valkyrie immediately blocked with shockwaves and the Three-Vajra Sword, while the Azure Ice Sorceress waved her hand and cast a vast expanse of absolute zero ice to shield herself.
"Mesarthim Adamas!"
Eiji frowned and promptly summoned the Diamond Ram.
As soon as the Diamond Ram appeared, it hastily erected numerous gemstone shields around the Dual-Horned Horse, Valkyrie, and Sorceress Bird. The reflective ability of the gemstone shields instantly sent a large number of the magical cannons back along their original paths, destroying nearly half of the magic circles!
Seeing the shields proving highly effective, the three Beast Vassals pressed forward again, charging toward Goetia.
After this round of probing, Eiji had lost three Beast Vassals.
His expression darkened slightly.
"Dabih Kryastalos!"
A fish-dragon-type Beast Vassal covered entirely in crystal manifested gradually from faint to solid.
It soared into the air, its eyes shedding blinding radiance like the sun. Mana was drained from Eiji's body as if it cost nothing, and the mesmerizing light it emitted immediately spread toward Goetia.
"Hmm?"
Goetia momentarily lost focus.
Then she snapped back to reality, suddenly understanding.
"A mental domination ability? Well then, return to me, Golden Chalice!"
Once she realized the ability of this final Beast Vassal, Goetia immediately attempted to recall the Golden Chalice.
The Golden Chalice, which had been locked in a struggle with the White Steel Water Spirit, immediately abandoned its opponent and flew back toward Goetia's hand.
"Clang!"
But at that moment, a blade flash swept past!
A straight crack abruptly appeared on the Golden Chalice!
Goetia's eyes widened, her expression darkening slightly as she looked across at Eiji.
In his hand, he held a sword with a bandage-wrapped hilt, a triumphant smile spread across his face.
It was he who had just struck with his blade, severing the Golden Chalice!
Although Goetia herself was indeed hiding within distorted space, the Golden Chalice clearly was not. To launch attacks, the chalice had to exist in normal space, making it impossible to evade Eiji's Sword of Providence.
"From the timing of her summoning the Golden Chalice and the records in the Bible... that Golden Chalice likely possesses the ability to protect her mind and attack the opponent's psyche?"
Thoughts raced through Eiji's mind.
According to biblical accounts, the seven-headed, ten-crowned beast emerged from the sea, with a woman standing upon its horns, holding a false holy grail. Precisely because the grail was false, it could indiscriminately fulfill all human desires, regardless of good or evil.
The queen used that Golden Chalice to amass countless treasures and beauties, leading countless followers to corruption—it was practically a Pandora's Box that lured out all dark desires!
Most likely, she recalled it because the Golden Chalice was advantageous in mental confrontations.
But this way, her weakness becomes obvious!
"Goetia is weak against mental attacks! Can't let this opportunity slip!"
Eiji instantly made up his mind.
He didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Taking one step forward, he crossed hundreds of meters of space and appeared before Goetia.
Simultaneously, the blade in his hand morphed with a shimmering light, transforming into a slender, narrow eight-sided Han sword!
"I normally don't use this on men, but since you've turned into a woman now, it doesn't break my rule!"
The moment he appeared before Goetia, Eiji activated his charm ability!
"Here I come, Goetia! This ends in an instant—!"