Ch.1199The Enemy of My Enemy is an Enemy

Phantom Transformation was a top-tier evasion ability that kept one safe as long as vital points weren’t struck, but it wasn’t so unconscionably powerful as to be called invincible just for possessing it.

Take Valenstein, who had acquired Ghost Transformation, a power in the same phantom category—hadn’t he abandoned his revenge and accepted life as a female because he had no way to defeat Haschal?

That wasn’t just because Haschal had means to attack the soul.

Even if Haschal had lacked such means, Valenstein had given up because he realized that no matter how many times he died and came back, he would never find a way to defeat her.

Because Phantom Transformation had a structural flaw—no, a limitation.

“How long do you plan to hold out like that! What fun is there in a fight where not a single drop of blood is spilled!”

【 ……. 】

Transforming one’s physical body into a phantom rather than a solid entity to let all attacks pass through meant, conversely, that one’s own attacks would also become phantoms.

If buying time was the goal, that would be fine, but if one wanted to defeat an enemy, one would eventually have to temporarily deactivate Phantom Transformation whenever launching an attack.

Thus, the battle between Caljarat and the Fallen Angel inevitably became a farce where one side enthusiastically slashed at empty air while the other calmly endured it.

“At least go wild like you did earlier, like earlier!”

For Caljarat, who had expected a spirited and fierce sword fight, it was such a tedious battle that he was nearly bursting with frustration.

‘Everything about you provokes my temper…!’

However, even Caljarat couldn’t deny that it was an extremely efficient tactic.

The Fallen Angel’s body structure was clearly not suited for close combat. Once the distance was closed, if slashes could connect, the fight would have flowed in his one-sided favor.

‘If only I could cut him, it would be nothing!’

At least that’s what Caljarat thought. If not for that damned Phantom Transformation, he would have long ago cut off all this Fallen Angel’s wings and brought him down.

【 Situation chang■. Demigod 1■ defeat confirmed. 】

The moment his misjudgment was revealed came immediately after.

It was right after the Fallen Angel, while maintaining Phantom Transformation, noticed Hubrisia’s injury and judged it to be a fatal wound that made continuing battle impossible.

—-

Having determined that Hubrisia’s wound was too critical to continue fighting, the Fallen Angel immediately considered her out of combat.

【 ■der ■sessment restart――calc■ ■mplete. 】

Then, he recalculated how her too-quick and pathetic defeat would affect his goal achievement.

【 Goal ■chievement probability ■everely reduced. Strat■ ■djustment needed. 】

At this rate, his original objective of eliminating Haschal was nearly impossible. Therefore, he needed to deploy a new move to turn the tide of battle.

That was the conclusion the Fallen Angel reached after a brief calculation.

“What are you muttering about? If you have something to say, speak clearly!”

Of course, to Caljarat who couldn’t understand the Fallen Angel’s words, it was just meaningless noise…

【 Power configuration ■witched. Specialized for single entity annihilation. 】

But the statement that followed had noticeably less static, so even Caljarat could understand it.

“Yes! That’s more like it! Now things will get interesting!”

A declaration to abandon evasion and area attacks in favor of killing at least one demigod for certain.

“Come on, show me! Your true power!”

Caljarat rejoiced. For him, who had been bored to death slashing at phantoms, there could be no more welcome words.

– Woooong…!

As if answering his joy, the Fallen Angel deactivated Phantom Transformation while simultaneously releasing a powerful shockwave that struck Caljarat and sent him flying far back.

– KWAAANG!

Caljarat, who had blocked with his greatsword like a shield, slid through the air and was pushed back hundreds of meters in an instant before stopping.

“Kehe…! Quite hefty. I like it very much!”

Then, rather pleased by the tingling pain transmitted through his arm, he kicked off the air and charged forward to close the distance again.

“More, show me more! What’s next?”

His bulging eyes reflected the rapidly approaching Fallen Angel, emitting a dark gray light.

Purple tattoos writhed and spread across Caljarat’s entire body like boiling water. Joy and anticipation, excitement close to pleasure, pounded in the old orc’s heart.

At that moment, Caljarat’s mind had completely forgotten his original purpose for coming here, as well as the irritation and anger that had been bubbling up until just moments ago.

All he could see was the opponent before him. All he could think about was the impulse and determination to cut down that enemy.

That battle-crazed appearance was precisely why Caljarat was called War Devil even among his fellow orcs during his prime, and it was his true nature.

In contrast, the Fallen Angel’s aura and behavior remained as emotionless and coldly calculating as a doll’s.

【 ■nihilation commencing. Optimal power selected. 】

With a voice still somewhat mechanical despite the reduced static, the Fallen Angel slowly spread his twelve wings that had been folded like flower buds.

【 Uaireadóir Fomoré. 】

The moment he manifested the power most suitable for defeating “just one” enemy.

– HWAAAAK!

His halo, which had resembled a ring of fire, converged to a single point, forming a dark red burning eye.

‘Fast. Halo. Eye. Long-range. Is he going to shoot something? Or is it a curse? Is “seeing” the activation condition? How fast is the activation?’

Caljarat widened his eyes. His excited mind, working at extremely high speed, derived and eliminated numerous possibilities.

‘Whatever it is, I don’t care. I’ll deflect it all!’

Of course, while his thinking speed had increased, his conclusion remained as simple and straightforward as befitting an orc warrior, to the point where the brain cells devoted to thought seemed wasted.

And then.

――――!

The moment the Fallen Angel’s “eye” flashed ominously as it focused on its target demigod, the space in front of the opponent suddenly exploded with light as bright as the sun.

This was the power he had stolen after killing an enemy demigod when he was still an angel—Fomor’s Gaze.

A destructive gaze that causes a massive explosion of light at the point observed, pulverizing everything touched by that light.

“What…?!”

The demigod widened his eyes in shock.

The erupting flash spread at a speed far exceeding the speed of sound, instantly enveloping and pulverizing his body before he could even react.

“…Huh?”

Or rather, should we say “her” body?

【 Entity Hubrisia, elimination confirmed. 】

The Fallen Angel’s target was never the old orc charging toward him.

His “eye” had targeted not the still-vigorous Caljarat, but the Arachne demigod who had suffered a fatal wound and could neither defend nor evade properly.

Hubrisia, who had been too busy focusing all her attention on Haschal’s movements, was hit directly by the flash that erupted faster than she could perceive.

Had she been in perfect condition, she would have somehow dodged or blocked it, and even if directly hit, it would have resulted in moderate injuries at worst.

But for Hubrisia, who was barely holding her bisected body together, this was a devastatingly fatal blow.

– Splat.

Her barely-attached body separated again and crashed to the ground, with her internal organs turning to black ash and scattering as if completely incinerated.

The thread of life that Hubrisia had been desperately clinging to was severed with that.

Her limbs were either shattered by the impact or completely torn off, her internal organs and divine core completely burned away.

Even her head was completely pulverized and scattered, making survival impossible even if she had been a full god rather than a demigod.

Thus Hubrisia perished. Right before Haschal’s eyes as she was contemplating how to fight, without leaving behind even a single word.

If there was any consolation, it might be that she didn’t end without leaving anything behind.

Though Hubrisia died, the grudge and hostility she harbored would continue to exist in the world.

【 Divinity extraction initiated. 】

In the form of divinity now in the Fallen Angel’s grasp.

Hubrisia probably wouldn’t appreciate this at all, but from the Fallen Angel’s perspective, that didn’t matter in the slightest.

【 Acquisition complete. 】

Yes.

The reason the Fallen Angel targeted her first, ignoring the closer enemy, was obviously to secure her divinity by killing an opponent he could eliminate with a single strike.

The divine powers of all the demigods gathered here were roughly equivalent.

He judged that if he could just process one of them for certain and absorb their divinity, he could easily overwhelm the rest.

– Guuuuung…!

【 Divinity fusion in progress. Expected output increase 47% 】

His aura grew noticeably stronger.

Having killed Hubrisia and stolen her divinity, the Fallen Angel quickly assimilated it into his own power and spread all his wings wide as if to flaunt his enhanced divinity.

【 Annihilation procedure resuming. 】

As he informed Caljarat, who had been charging toward him but momentarily hesitated in confusion, that he would be the next to die.