Clash

Each time fist and sword met, an alien sound spread.

A sound of space echoing, twisting, and shattering.

On the soot-covered stairs of Solarucia, two women were exchanging blows.

Their fight, far surpassing the world’s standards, a battle between two beings who could be called absolute powerhouses of different dimensions, exerted immense pressure on their surroundings.

“Boring.”

Lee Mina, sitting on a makeshift chair made of shadows and popping popcorn into her mouth, muttered.

At first glance, it seemed like an evenly matched fight, but the dominant force in the exchange remained unchanged.

“Where’s that attitude from before?”

Namgung Soyou sneered, slamming her fist into the sword’s surface.

The heavy impact made Maria’s legs buckle, and a vein visibly throbbed on her forehead.

Since the execution stand incident, it was the first time she had been pushed back in a fight.

Blocking the Heavenly Demon’s continuous barrage of punches, Maria gradually retreated down the stairs.

‘I inherited Saint’s will!’

Why was she being pushed back?

Doubt suddenly arose in her mind, and Maria shook her head vigorously.

She swung her sword, intending to cleave the woman before her in an instant, but it only cut through empty air.

“Besides your toughness and brute strength, the rest is pathetic.”

The Heavenly Demon, who had already taken her rear, kicked Maria’s leg.

Stumbling, Maria fell backward, tumbling down the stairs.

Maria’s head struck the marble, producing an unpleasant sound.

“……..”

The Heavenly Demon stared silently at Maria, who was a few steps below.

Clearly, her head had been broken, and blood had flowed.

However, even though she hadn’t taken her eyes off her, the opponent looked as pristine as before.

“There’s no sign of recovery either….”

The Heavenly Demon tilted her head, as if puzzled.

If she had shown rapid regeneration like Namgoong Soyeon, she would have accepted it,

But the opponent returned to her original state as if she had [never been injured].

“You’re quite an annoying bitch.”

If it weren’t for that inexplicable recovery, the fight would have been decided hundreds of times over.

No, it wasn’t even a fight. It was the same as putting in the effort to kill a bug crawling on the ground.

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned to the opponent’s blue eyes.

The trace of her disciple, which she couldn’t possess, was shining in another bitch’s body.

Unconsciously, her right hand twitched.

The opponent, who had fallen on the stairs, stood up again as if nothing had happened.

She raised her greatsword and looked at her.

The Heavenly Demon gritted her teeth at that displeased gaze.

How dare that insignificant bitch look at me like that?

At the same time as the Heavenly Demon’s anger intensified, Maria, who had risen with her sword, was also quite bewildered.

Her body was miraculously restored, but it didn’t mean she didn’t feel the pain.

In a short time, she had experienced the pain of her internal organs being shaken, her head being broken, her jaw being shattered, and her leg bones being crushed.

Maria glanced at her hand.

Seeing her hand trembling slightly, Maria frowned.

“Is my faith wavering? Then I am also a sinner.”

Maria raised her greatsword and severed her trembling wrist.

The severed surface was visible for a moment, but her hand had already returned to its pristine state.

“Saint.”

Maria called out to Saint. It was a prayer, an appeal to the Saint who was with her.

“!!”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes narrowed slightly as Maria’s aura changed with her sword.

Maria, holding her sword and taking a stance, charged forward.

The greatsword fell on the Heavenly Demon’s head, but the Heavenly Demon avoided it by twisting her body.

The fallen greatsword blew away part of the stairs with an explosion.

For the first time, Maria had launched an attack worthy of the name against her.

Maria didn’t stop.

She drew her sword and swung it horizontally.

The Heavenly Demon leaned back as the sword came at her neck, and the surface of the greatsword grazed her nose.

‘The speed has increased.’

But it was still not at a level to threaten her life.

The Heavenly Demon dodged the attacks and slammed Black flame into the gaps between them.

Even as her body melted from the Black flame, Maria continued to move.

“Do you think time is on your side?”

The Heavenly Demon smiled sincerely, planting a kick in Maria’s chin as she charged in, abandoning her defense.

“You can’t touch me in any way.”

The Heavenly Demon, dodging Maria’s attacks by a hair’s breadth, approached her at close range and punched her in the stomach with a fist.

“Ugh!”

Maria’s body momentarily stopped from the shock that shook her whole body.

But the Heavenly Demon didn’t stop.

“The rice we ate together.”

The Heavenly Demon’s hand blade cut Maria’s shoulder.

Blood splattered along with the sharp line.

“The sweat we shed together while training.”

Her fingertips dug into Maria’s soft belly.

The hand, which entered without resistance, emitted dangerous flames inside Maria’s stomach.

Maria screamed as she felt her body being burned from the inside.

“The nights we spent belly to belly.”

The Heavenly Demon’s coldly hardened eyes met Maria’s green eyes.

“Shut up!”

Maria, gritting her teeth and swallowing the pain, brought her sword down from above.

The Heavenly Demon entrusted herself to the sword wind created by Maria and naturally retreated.

“Even the swordsmanship you’re using now, I taught it to Inho.”

“Do you think there’s anything you have an advantage in?”

The ruler who dominated the world looked down on the nun with a bitter smile.

The stairs precariously maintaining their shape. The Heavenly Demon and the nun placed above and below.

“…Heh heh.”

It was the nun’s laughter that ended the chilling confrontation.

“Laugh?”

The Heavenly Demon frowned at the pure laughter.

“So… is there anything you have now?”

The Heavenly Demon’s face, which hadn’t flinched at any attack, hardened for the first time.

“You, who spent countless hours with Saint…”

Maria paused for a moment and met the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

Her blue eyes met the Heavenly Demon’s.

“So, is there anything you have in your hands now?”

Maria continued in a gentle voice.

“So, is there anything you have in your hands now?”

With Maria’s last words, the atmosphere of Solarucia changed.

The energy that had been pressing down on everything every moment disappeared.

“I was merciful in my actions for a moment because I was afraid those eyes would be hurt… You don’t know your place and you’re running your mouth.”

“That’s enough. Let’s just end this.”

A thick flame began to surge in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

Something is coming!

Maria’s instincts screamed.

“I’ll ask since you learned the sword from Inho. Did that guy teach you anything called a secret technique?”

“……..”

All Inho had taught her was the mindset when wielding a sword. Maria slowly shook her head.

“Then I’ll show you.”

As the Heavenly Demon took a step on the stairs, the stairs began to crumble.

Maria’s eyes widened at the cracking stone steps.

“Destroying and cutting doesn’t kill you… Then I’ll just erase that body whole.”

The Heavenly Demon declared.

“Infernal Hell.”

As soon as the Heavenly Demon’s words fell, everything in Solarucia began to dry up.