During her first battle against the Sacred Queen, Elise had already discovered many problems.
Her close-combat skills were considered decent among humans, but in front of a non-human powerhouse like the Sacred Queen, she was completely crushed.
Moreover, when facing the Sacred Queen, Elise had felt something strange...
The Sacred Queen seemed able to predict her attacks in advance and respond accordingly.
Every time Elise tried to widen the distance between them, the Sacred Queen would stick to her like glue, impossible to shake off!
Isn't that far too strange?
Elise strongly suspected that the Sacred Queen possessed some kind of revelation-like ability, allowing her to foresee the near future.
As for whether she could see far into the future, Elise believed that was unlikely. If that were the case, she would never have managed to escape from the Sacred Queen back then.
In that case, it was no wonder the Sacred Queen had been so wary of Elise's long-range attacks. If the distance was too close, Elise herself would be caught in the blast.
Because she prioritized offense and neglected defense.
Even Elise herself was not confident she could completely withstand her own attacks—a typical case of high offense and low defense.
So this time, Elise would make up for those weaknesses.
The faith of the Elementalist world could not be used as assistance against the Sacred Queen. Otherwise, it would certainly be absorbed by her.
But aside from that, Elise still had other methods!
"Since I can't use it against you, then I'll use this power to directly strengthen myself!"
While in the Elemental Spirit Realm, Elise had absorbed the world's power of faith. Both its quality and quantity were astonishing—she simply could not use it in front of the Sacred Queen.
So...
Sacred Speech—
"Enhance!"
No other ability. Just pure reinforcement of herself.
To leave the Sacred Queen no opportunity whatsoever, Elise consumed all that faith power in a single burst, drastically raising her base attributes.
The resulting amplification was enough for Elise to stand on equal footing with the Sacred Queen!
"Est, are you ready?" Elise stroked Est's small head. "We're going to settle the score with that woman from last time!"
The white-haired girl in her arms nodded. Though the saintess Areishia had once been her former master, that body was now merely occupied by another existence.
In the end, the Sacred Queen was Est's enemy as well!
"This time, we'll make her disappear completely!"
"But before fighting her, let's prepare a grand gift first!"
Prana surged out from Elise's body and poured entirely into Est.
Although Elise was still using faith in this world and had not grown much stronger herself, Est was no longer the same as before.
Light symbolizing the four great elements wrapped around Est's blade, and the Divine Power she emitted was beyond imagination.
The current Est was no longer merely the Sacred Demon Sword. After Elise had slain the remaining Elemental Lords of the Elemental Spirit Realm, she successfully completed Est's evolution with Ren's help.
Now, Est was a sword spirit who wielded wind, fire, earth, and water—the Elemental Holy Sword!
With two elements as the foundation, combined with Elise's Prana—
Earth element, fire element, and Prana!
They would be used to unleash a devastating strike!
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color, and stars once again filled the sky!
Falling Stars: Molten Skyfall!
The gate leading to the Human Realm opened once more. Elise had already locked onto the Sacred Queen's position.
With overwhelming destructive power and the acceleration of a descent from the heavens, Elise gripped the Holy Sword and transformed into a meteor from beyond the skies, aimed straight at the Sacred Queen!
In a certain sense, this could even be considered a kind of orbital kinetic weapon.
As for the situation in the Human Realm, there was no need to elaborate. The Sacred Queen had launched war against the nations of the world, overwhelming them completely.
That was only natural. No matter how powerful ordinary spirits might be, could they possibly stand against the Sacred Queen?
She only needed to split off a small fraction of her strength to annihilate them effortlessly.
Yet she had not chosen to do so. Instead, having developed interest in Kamito, she had deliberately come to seek him out.
Only when dawn reverted back into night did the Sacred Queen lift her head and gaze directly at the molten meteor rushing toward her.
"You've finally come."
The Sacred Queen's Demon Sword also erupted with immense Divine Power, aimed at the meteor in the sky.
"Shatter!"
Sword light shot toward the meteor. The clash between the two created a violent shockwave in the sky, threatening to swallow everything around them.
But after two seconds of confrontation, the Sacred Queen's expression changed. She realized that a crack had appeared in her own attack?
How was that possible?
Why had she become this strong?
When she had just emerged from the Demon King's coffin last time, even though she herself had not been in a complete state, she had clearly sensed Elise's strength.
But now, something was different. It was not merely that Elise had grown stronger—it was the weapon in her hand!
Est had changed!
"What is going on?"
As a spirit herself, the Sacred Queen could naturally sense Est's transformation. Wasn't she merely an incarnation? Why did she possess such power?
While the Sacred Queen was lost in thought, a sudden flash of intuition struck her mind, prompting her to retreat from her original position at the fastest possible speed.
And at that exact moment, the red meteor broke through the sword light and plunged straight down toward her!
"I can't dodge it?"
The Sacred Queen's expression shifted, but she had no other choice—she could only block it head-on!
But this time, having learned from the shortcomings of faith power, Elise would not suffer the same loss as before!
Sacred Speech!
"Teleport!"
Elise absorbed her own faith across worlds. Though the efficiency was extremely low, the portal opened very close by, and the amount of faith consumed was minimal.
All she did was shift her attack from directly in front of her opponent to directly behind her.
Yet this sudden strike clearly caught the Sacred Queen off guard. Just as she turned to defend, the red meteor struck her at the waist!
"Ugh—"
Pain flashed across the Sacred Queen's face. Though her true form was an Elemental Lord, this body was human!
Even if she could reinforce her body and block with Divine Power, she would inevitably be affected by that blow!
Which meant that in the battle to come, she would have to continue while injured.
"Est! Unleash it!"
Naturally, Elise would not let this opportunity slip by. At the same moment, the four elements within the Holy Sword erupted simultaneously!
The outer meteor shattered the Sacred Queen's defenses—
The water element increased the blade's penetration.
The wind element enhanced the speed of her swing.
The fire element triggered a violent explosive burst.
The earth element sharpened the blade to its utmost limit.
And this strike was no longer empowered purely by Prana—it now drew upon Est's Divine Power instead!
The radiance of the four elements surged from Est's body. This was...
Spirit Art: Radiant Elemental Slash!