Chapter 137 —"Trial of the Endless World"
Liora snapped her fingers… and everything changed.
In a single second, everyone was transported into another dimension: a copy of Earth, buildings, roads, blue sky… except everything stretched into infinity, as if someone had pressed Ctrl+C Ctrl+V on the entire world.
— At least here it's safer, said Liora.
— Why? asked Valen.
— Because I DON'T trust you. You would've wrecked the HQ for NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.
No one dared say she was right.
Except Valor. Valor always dares.
Liora raised her hammer:
— Alright… now we can begin. All of you against me and Nyxa.
She pointed to the version of Nyxa at her side.
— And remember: this isn't the real Nyxa. It's just a manifestation of my memories of her… back when she was young.
Valor crawled out of rubble (though no one had hit him) and shouted:
— So you're really old, Liora!
Silence.
Liora blinked slowly.
Valor continued, pointing at young Nyxa:
— And YOU, kid, know that if you managed to smash me into the wall earlier, it's BECAUSE I let you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings.
Nyxa raised an eyebrow.
Everyone knew he was lying.
Except him.
---
**The Training Begins**
Naël charged first, his enormous blade (literally bigger than him) carving a trench in the ground.
He appeared instantly before Liora and delivered a monstrous strike.
CLANG!
Liora blocked it with her hammer as if Naël had brushed her with a spoon.
---
Valor, surrounded by lightning, vanished.
He reappeared before Nyxa and threw a direct punch.
Nyxa blocked it with one hand, casual.
— You want hand-to-hand? Bad choice. I'm VERY strong at this.
Using Valor's fist as leverage, she pivoted and attempted a kick.
Valor blocked it with his forearm.
— Sorry, but actually I'm strong in hand-to-hand too. Too strong, even.
No one agreed with him, but no one wanted to argue.
---
Lya rose from the ground like a specter, silent, blade already at Nyxa's throat.
— Move and you die.
Nyxa turned, the edge of her hand glowing—
SHRAK!
But Lya exploded into smoke.
A shadow clone.
— Tch, another one, muttered Nyxa.
---
Nova appeared above:
— Void Art: Dimensional Lacerations!
Liora saw multiple invisible cuts multiplying around her.
She vanished just before impact and reappeared behind Nova, hurling her hammer like a missile.
Annabelle snapped her hand: chains erupted from the ground, trying to capture the hammer.
They shattered instantly.
— Ah yes… of course… Annabelle muttered, unimpressed.
Valen rushed in, grabbed the hammer barehanded (grimacing slightly), and hurled it back at Liora.
Liora stopped the hammer midair with telekinesis, as if pressing pause.
---
She extended her hand toward Ethan.
Ethan was pulled toward her as if space itself dragged him.
— Zero Strike!
He hit her full force, a massive shockwave bending entire buildings.
Liora blocked the wave… with telekinesis alone.
Not even a step back.
Then, with a gesture, she repelled Ethan, sending him crashing through three buildings.
Ethan, panting, braced himself against the ground, leaving a long smoking trail.
Marie landed beside him.
She fired an arrow.
It struck near Liora, chains bursting forth to bind her.
Telekinesis crushed them like paper.
— Her telekinesis… it's REALLY annoying, Marie growled.
She drew another arrow, energy overflowing.
— Arrow of Justice!
The impact shook the entire dimension like a colossal earthquake.
When the smoke cleared… Liora stood.
Not a speck of dust on her.
---
Ethan clenched his fists.
— Pulsar Heart.
His chest glowed like an inner star.
Each beat distorted gravity for miles.
— These waves are impossible to dodge… you're finished!
The waves surged toward Liora.
Liora… ran.
At absurd speed, dodging every wave.
Then she seized her hammer with telekinesis and hurled it straight at Ethan.
Ethan crossed his arms — but the hammer obliterated him, embedding him into a building.
He rose, bloody, trembling.
— I… I didn't think the commander would be this strong…
Arthur Pendragon placed a hand on his shoulder.
— Let me take over.
Béatrice rushed in:
— I'll heal you, don't move.
— No need! A warrior doesn't get healed! Ethan shouted.
He fainted immediately after.
---
Arthur unsheathed Excalibur.
— Prepare yourselves. I'm not like the others.
---
Meanwhile, Zarion and Valen were calmly chatting amidst the chaos.
— Too many of them, said Valen. It's cramped, they're ruining our fight.
Naël appeared behind them.
— Help them instead of chatting!!
---
Ryn materialized behind Nyxa.
— Boom. Spiritual Disintegration.
Nyxa turned, forming a tiny shadow hand — literally a child's hand — that grabbed Ryn by the face and hurled him into a building.
Lya emerged from the rubble like a shadow, catching Ryn midair.
— Don't be reckless.
Ryn coughed.
— It's… it's not my fault… she's too weird.
Nyxa gave a small wave.
— I heard that.
Chapter 138 — "Divine Hyperpulse"
Lya spread her black wings, shadows surging around her.
— Watch closely, Ryn. This is how you deal with insolent brats.
Nyxa smiled, a completely innocent smile… but not reassuring at all.
Lya drew her two daggers, her gaze cold.
— So, how do you plan to handle this?
She vanished.
Attacks from the left, right, above, below — Lya was literally EVERYWHERE, as if teleporting every microsecond.
Nyxa parried all the strikes with a hand, an elbow, the tip of her finger.
She barely moved.
— Not bad, she said calmly. But not enough.
---
Arthur charged at Liora, Excalibur raised.
— Excalibur Liber Regis!
Judgment of the King!
Arthur Pendragon Punishment!
The strike descended like a divine verdict.
Elyon, still standing back since the beginning, murmured:
— How… is mom going to get out of this?
The explosion that followed was so gigantic that even Valor went "OHHH."
---
Lya reappeared before Nyxa, ready to strike.
Nyxa smiled faintly.
SCHLAK SCHLAK SCHLAK
Several slashes appeared on Lya, as if something had cut through her before she could react.
Lya teleported into the ground and emerged near Ryn, wiping blood from her shoulder.
— …She's tougher than I thought.
Ryn nodded.
— Yeah… she tossed me like a ball earlier.
---
Valen stepped forward, arms crossed.
— I don't know if it's just me… but something doesn't add up. Even young, Nyxa could erase entire races that housed the Six Pillars of Creation. Here, she's holding back too much.
Zarion placed a hand under his chin.
— Now that I think about it… she hasn't shown ANYTHING yet.
Either Liora deliberately limited her because this is training…
Or she's playing with us.
Valen:
— I don't know which it is… but I'll deal with her.
---
Dimensional slashes tore the air around Nyxa.
Shadows distorted, revealing Nova's eyes.
— I'll take care of the brat—
SHINK
A blade pierced Nova.
— WAIT WHAT?!
He touched himself.
No wound.
— But… nothing happened?!
Nyxa stood five meters away, face neutral.
Valen:
— Yeah no, it wasn't her. It was her aura making you believe you were dead.
Nova:
— THAT'S WORSE.
Valor appeared behind him, smiling like an adorably psychotic maniac.
— Hey. You. Don't you dare touch the brat.
She's MY prey.
Zarion sighed.
— So you're the one who put the psychological pressure on him?
Valor gave a thumbs up.
— Yep.
Valen looked at him.
— You're weird, man.
— WHAT? Me weird? No no no, that's the pot calling the kettle black, brother.
Valor teleported before Nyxa, hands in pockets, foot covered in mana.
A rumble echoed through the dimension.
Nyxa stopped his kick with a single finger.
Valor smiled.
And unleashed a storm of lightning-coated kicks.
Nyxa grabbed his foot, spun him, and slammed him into the ground like a living top.
Valor teleported into the air, drenched in blood, but ran a hand through his hair.
— Behold the elegance… and the absolute power… of the GREAT Valor.
Dozens of meteors appeared behind him.
Valen looked up.
— He's really… hopeless.
The meteors fell.
EXTREMELY fast.
Nyxa didn't move an inch.
The impacts struck her, shockwaves shaking the infinite dimension, a blast destroying everything around.
Annabelle conjured a massive shield just in time.
---
When the dust settled, Valor crashed down from the sky like a failing airplane.
He ran a hand through his regenerating hair.
— I'm handsome, right, Zarion?
— If you say so.
Nyxa stood at the center of the ruins, intact.
She even patted her clothes to remove the dust.
Valor frowned.
— How… is that possible?
---
Back to Arthur
Arthur looked at Excalibur.
He looked at Béatrice.
— I think I overdid it…
At that moment, several metallic spikes sprouted across his body, nearly pinning him in place.
Liora advanced calmly.
— Looks like you forgot my abilities. Too bad.
She increased the mass of the spikes by a ton… per second.
Arthur grew heavy. Very heavy. Too heavy.
Béatrice rushed forward.
— DON'T TOUCH MY ARTHUR, DEARIIIIII!
Her fists of light flew, but Liora dodged and kicked her away effortlessly.
---
A massive presence behind Liora made her turn.
A breath.
A heartbeat.
A red flash.
— Apex Mode. Divine Hyperpulse.
Ethan stood behind her, his aura now a raging red storm.
Liora tried to strike him.
Ethan dodged without conscious thought.
His body moved on its own.
> It's a state where the Pulse harmonizes with the heart and soul.
> Strikes land where the spirit wills, no matter the distance.
> Consciousness outpaces the opponent.
> The body becomes a phenomenon.
Ethan advanced, leaving spatial distortions in his wake.
He unleashed hundreds of blows.
Liora's telekinesis blocked them all.
She repelled him.
He walked through the air, reversing gravity around him, advancing like a god.
He focused all his power into his fist.
— Breakpoint.
All his energy compressed into a microscopic point.
The strike landed.
And for the first time since the beginning…
Liora was sent backward.
Her cheek split open.
She bled.
Total silence.
Even Valor stopped fixing his hair.
Chapter 139 – "The Human Who Drives Mages Mad"
Liora smiled, wiping the blood from her cheek with the back of her hand.
— So you concentrated your energy into some kind of unstable singularity to break through my defense…
She nodded, amused.
— You're more interesting than I thought.
With a beat of her wings, Liora rose into the air. The buildings around them trembled, warped… then tore free from the ground. Tons of stone, steel, and concrete floated, compressed into massive spheres by her telekinesis.
— Let's see how you handle this, Ethan…
She hurled everything at him.
Ethan inhaled deeply, calm as if she were throwing pillows.
— Absolute Pulsional Wall.
A rotating barrier appeared around him, like a cyclone of compact energy. It reflected everything: physical attacks, magical energy, even gravity.
— That's the technique that let me invert gravity earlier and fly, he explained casually.
Liora clenched her fist.
The stones converged all at once on Ethan.
Ethan activated his Astral Heart.
His inner energy pulsed in rhythm with a gravitational field. He pulled and repelled matter at will.
A shockwave blasted all the stones away.
In the same motion, Ethan drew Liora toward him.
His hand charged with invisible pressure.
— Breakpoint.
Liora was hurled like a cannonball, coughing blood before stabilizing in the air.
— Not bad… she whispered.
She extended her hand.
Dozens of tiny spikes, so fine they were nearly invisible, shot toward Ethan.
Ethan dodged them with surprising fluidity.
— So that's how you got Arthur… he said. You make the spikes microscopic so they're invisible, then when they hit the body you enlarge them and increase their mass. Devious, but effective.
Suddenly, Ethan stopped.
He spat blood.
Liora shrugged.
— Your body's reached its limit, hasn't it? Go rest, this is just training after all.
Drake stepped out of the shadows… just before spikes appeared all over his body.
Liora increased their mass: 100 tons per second.
Drake remained standing.
— …
— He's very strong physically… but that's all, Liora said, approaching with an air even Zarion didn't like.
Zarion appeared and stopped her cold.
— Enough. This is training!
— Yes yes, Liora sighed. That's why I'm only using my inherited powers as a human.
Zarion narrowed his eyes.
— From what I see… you've got more than two powers.
— I'm not cheating, Liora replied. And you haven't seen Valor. He's human, but no one knows where his attacks come from. Every episode, a new technique. Me, I only have telekinesis and everything that comes with it.
He extended his hand.
A sword appeared.
He gave it a property: cancel regeneration.
— Just an example…
Zarion was left speechless.
— Your powers are ridiculous.
Liora stared at him, exasperated.
— I'm ridiculous?! When you've got Valor, Lya, Ryn… and you're talking about me? You're insane.
He dispelled the spikes from Drake.
---
Meanwhile…
Valor sneezed.
— Someone's talking bad about me.
Nova:
— Naël, now.
Naël charged at Nyxa with his enormous blade, unleashing monstrous strikes.
Ryn, behind him, buffed him once per second.
Literally one buff per second.
Lya, from the rear, spammed rays of black energy like she had a cheat code.
Nyxa began to retreat under the pressure.
Naël leapt back.
Nova vanished—
Multiple Lightning Cuts, a deluge of blades.
Valor arrived last, palm extended.
— Annihilating Blue Flames!
A blue wave devoured the air around Nyxa.
Chapter 140 – "Return to HQ and Explosive Debates"
Liora walked toward them, applauding, her hammer resting on her shoulder:
> — "You fought well, guys. I think that's enough."
She dispelled the Nyxa she had materialized from her memories.
A breath of energy dissipated, and the copy vanished like mist.
Then she declared:
> — "Alright, Ryn, heal the wounded."
Ryn opened his mouth, but Liora cut him off sharply:
> — "No. Valen will do it."
Valen raised his hands, outraged:
> — "Huh? Why me? I protected Nova from your hammer strike, while Zarion did nothing!"
Zarion, arms crossed, replied coldly:
> — "I did nothing… because there was nothing to do."
Valen sighed, snapped his fingers, and a soft light enveloped the hunters, healing all their wounds.
Then he added, sarcastic:
> — "Not my fault… your training was too broken.
The characters were holding back too much, and there were too many hunters against two people who were restraining themselves.
If it were me, I'd have chosen another method.
Here, no one could focus on a fight."
Liora, raising an eyebrow:
> — "What do you want? For people to die during training?
And besides, if you want to complain about the script… go tell the author."
Valen, ironic:
> — "Like that, to the author? But you're the one who organized the training with such a broken idea."
Liora, annoyed:
> — "Do whatever you want. Now, we're going back."
She raised her hand and teleported the others to HQ.
---
As she turned, a silhouette stood behind her.
It was Nyxa… the real Nyxa.
Her aura was icy, her gaze piercing.
> — "I don't want you creating a copy of me. Am I clear?"
Liora, emotionless:
> — "And if I say no?"
Nyxa, clenching her fists:
> — "Why are you so stubborn?
Fine… just know you've been warned."
She vanished in a dark wave.
Liora shrugged:
> — "Yeah, yeah… I don't care."
She compressed the infinite dimension into her hand, reduced it to a tiny sphere, then made it disappear.
Finally, she teleported back to HQ.
---
Liora declared:
> — "Alright, hunters, you're free to do whatever you want.
You may go now."
Elyon, leaning against a wall, stared at her:
> — "Mom, why did you take so long to come back?"
Liora, detached:
> — "Because I had to destroy the dimension. Nothing serious."
Elyon frowned:
> — "Now that I think about it… is there a difference in strength between SS ranks and S ranks?
I find the S ranks more overpowered, they seem stronger."
Liora, amused:
> — "You think SSS, SS, or S are just for decoration?
I understand your reasoning, but higher ranks are boosted."
Elyon, insistent:
> — "I'm talking about Drake. He's very strong physically… but he'd be at a disadvantage if he faced certain S-rank hunters."
Liora:
> — "That's your view. Maybe he has a power we don't know about."
Elyon:
> — "That's possible… but I think he'd struggle against someone like Valor or Nova."
Liora, serious:
> — "Yet he's the one who resisted my attack.
Arthur didn't.
And you know the insane powers Arthur has."
Elyon, skeptical:
> — "Maybe he has overwhelming physical strength… but against certain hunters, he'll have trouble."
Liora, irritated:
> — "I told you: you underestimate Drake too much."
Elyon, arms crossed:
> — "And you overestimate him too much."
---
Valor, who had been listening, jumped in laughing:
> — "Hey, stop talking about Drake like he's the final boss.
I'd crush him easily.
Well… unless I decide to hold back, of course."
Nova, sarcastic:
> — "Valor, you're rank 'LOL.'"
Ryn, sighing:
> — "Seriously… you're debating like it's a video game ranking."
Valen, ironic:
> — "Well, that's exactly what it is.
Except here, if you lose… you uninstall your own existence."