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."
Chapter 141 — "The Duel of Valor and Drake"
Drake arrived, arms crossed, looking annoyed:
— "You're exaggerating. I may not be the strongest, but physically I'm among the toughest here."
Valor puffed out his chest, a smug smile on his lips:
— "Physical or not, you'll never surpass me."
Drake blinked.
— "You think the difference of two ranks is just for show?"
Valor replied without hesitation:
— "I don't think so. I just know you stole your place."
— "You want to settle this in a fight?" Drake proposed, already ready.
Valor pointed his finger at his face:
— "Don't even make that mistake. Otherwise everyone will see you're just a big fraud."
Lya sighed.
— "Calm down, guys, we don't need a fight to see who's stronger."
Valor glared at her:
— "You, shut up. You're carried only by your assassin powers."
Lya put her hands on her hips, offended:
— "So what? It's not for nothing I got those powers. It just means they suit me perfectly."
Valor burst out laughing.
— "I just mean you were an assassin before awakening, that's all."
Lya exploded:
— "Oh, unbelievable! And you? How did you become a mage? Because I don't see ANY sign in your life saying 'yes, this guy will control the flames of cosmic death.'"
Valor struck a dramatic pose, imaginary wind blowing through his hair:
— "It's simple. I was handsome. I had everything I desired.
Conclusion: I am blessed."
Lya:
— "Yeah, yeah… sure. Blessed by lies, more like."
Ryn intervened:
— "Lya, don't start too…"
Lya raised her hands:
— "What? He started it, acting like he wasn't carried by his own overpowered mage abilities!"
Nova looked up.
— "Originally, this wasn't even the topic of discussion."
Drake nodded:
— "Exactly. He's just avoiding our fight, Valor."
Valor:
— "Nonsense! Just because you're a pile of muscles doesn't mean you could beat me."
He raised two fingers, a blue flame bursting forth:
— "How do you plan to resist my Annihilating Blue Flames, capable of destroying everything, and which only extinguish after complete annihilation of the target?"
Liora appeared at the perfect moment:
— "Alright, that's enough."
She looked at Valor.
— "Show some respect for those ranked higher than you."
Valor scratched his head.
— "If… if Drake tells us what his power is, I'll leave him alone. Promise."
Drake sighed.
— "You don't need to know. My powers are super strength and super endurance."
Valor was left speechless.
— "… That's really such a LAME power?"
Drake clenched his fist.
— "This kid is really starting to disrespect me…"
Nova nodded.
— "He's not wrong. If that's all you've got, your abilities are weak.
But I'll give you credit: despite that, you still climbed this high. Incredible."
Valor nearly fell to his knees.
— "What are you talking about? He doesn't even surpass a random hunter!"
Valen, shocked:
— "No way, Valor, you're going too far, bro. How can you say he doesn't surpass a random hunter?!"
Naël raised his sword.
— "Don't forget he shook Antarés' domain with a NORMAL sword strike."
Valor scoffed.
— "He only has one attack… 'Titan's Strike.' That's it."
Liora snapped her fingers.
— "Alright, since you're so sure of yourself, you'll face him in a duel, Valor."
Valor:
— "I'M IN."
Drake smiled:
— "Get your medical certificate ready, mage."
Valor:
— "Get your coffin ready, musclehead."
Ryn:
— "I have a bad feeling about this."
Nova:
— "No. This is going to be incredible, actually."