NOVEL NEXT Chapter 174
174. With The Power Level You Possess…
“Sarome is resting. The rest is up to us.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Lilith and Alice stepped forward.
Above their heads floated a thousand black staves—the essence of magic inherited from Meriel.
“Thanks. Then, I’ll take a break too.”
Sarome, having returned to her usual tone, stood beside Luca.
She let out a deep sigh, clearly more exhausted than she had let on.
Even with my support, she had fought a Demon General.
It was only natural that both her physical and mental strength had been significantly drained.
Only one Demon General remained.
With the cooperation between me, Lilith, and Alice, we would take them down—.
“This time, I’ll definitely kill you all, fufufufu.”
Zarea looked at Lilith and Alice, a twisted smile forming on his lips.
“I haven’t forgotten the humiliation from our last battle…!”
His beautiful face flushed with anger, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light.
In their previous encounter, she had been defeated by Lilith and Alice, who had inherited Meriel’s magic.
“We won’t forgive you for hurting Meriel.”
Lilith declared coldly.
“Hmph, still playing friends with Meriel, are you? It makes me sick.”
Zarea spat on the ground.
“That staff holds Meriel in slumber, doesn’t it? I can sense it. I’ll smash it to pieces right in front of you, fufufu.”
“With the level of power you possess? You’d better rely on your comrades behind you.”
Alice’s tone was chillingly cold.
“We won’t let you hurt Meriel.”
It was completely different from how he spoke to us.
This was the tone he used when he was truly angry—.
“Do you think I need help dealing with mere humans? Don’t make me laugh!”
Countless scythes appeared around Zarea.
“Don’t interfere. I’ll kill them myself. I’ll slice them into a thousand—no, ten thousand, a million pieces!”
Zarea declared with a dreamy expression.
His beautiful face was intoxicated with the joy of slaughter.
“My ability allows me to cut through anything I perceive. And thanks to the Cocytus Gate, my power and the number of scythes have doubled. This time, even you won’t be able to stop me!”
The countless scythes moved in erratic patterns, attacking Lilith and Alice from every direction—above, below, front, back, left, right—truly from all sides.
“With this number! This speed! Human reflexes can’t keep up, fufufu… huh!?”
Clang!
A metallic sound rang out, mocking Zarea’s laughter.
My auto-activated defense skill had deflected all the scythes.
“No matter how many there are, or how fast they come, it doesn’t matter.”
I calmly stared at Zarea.
I would block all of his attacks.
“Tch, then—”
This time, twice as many scythes appeared.
“I’ll just keep increasing the number! No matter how much divine power you wield, you’re still just a human. There must be a limit to how much you can handle. If I keep attacking until I find that opening—”
Clang!
Another metallic sound rang out as the scythes were sent flying.
But—this time, it wasn’t my defense skill.
“Alice…?”
Yes, it was her defensive magic that had deflected the swarm of scythes before my skill could activate.
“Don’t worry, we’ll handle this ourselves!”
“We won’t just rely on Haruto. Besides, we won’t be satisfied unless we take this one down ourselves!”
Alice and Lilith shouted.
The thousand staves floating above them began to glow in unison.
At the same time, their clothes transformed.
Into outfits resembling black one-piece swimsuits.
Their exposed shoulders and thighs were dazzlingly white.
In their hands, they held long black staves with red gemstones embedded at the tips.
—Demon Rod, [Thousand Form].
The condensed form of a thousand staves, the ultimate combat form for Lilith and Alice to wield their maximum power.
“Do you think changing your clothes will let you beat me, now that I’m stronger!?”
Zarea summoned countless scythes.
It was a repetitive attack, but if it continued endlessly, even Lilith and Alice would eventually exhaust their magic trying to defend against it.
Simply defending wasn’t enough. They had to find a way to counterattack.
“[Mana Fusion]!”
Lilith and Alice chanted in unison.
“[Synchro], [Boost]”
The light overflowing from Lilith’s staff made Alice’s shine even brighter.
“Seal away the evil, shield of the goddess—[Ga Bel Fariaciel]!”
Then, Alice’s magic activated.
A fusion magic only they could use, born from their bond with the demons.
A pillar of rainbow light rose from beneath Zarea’s feet.
“W-what is this…? I can’t move…!?”
“It’s over, [Burning Ray]!”
A beam of heat fired by Lilith swept through Zarea.
“Guh… aaaaaah…!”
The Demon General let out a pained cry and staggered back.
“You’ve brought me to this… Hey, you all, help me!”
Zarea shouted to the demons behind his.
It seemed he had given up on defeating them alone, clinging to his pride as a Demon General.
Rooooooar!
With a roar, dozens of demons charged forward.
“Now, this time I’ll definitely kill you!”
Countless scythes leaped through space, closing in on Lilith and Alice—or so it seemed.
“This is—!?”
Several scythes appeared right in front of me.
A complete surprise attack.
“Your defenses are a nuisance. I’ll take you out first, fufufu!”
Seeing Lilith and Alice as formidable, he had shifted his target to me.
“But it’s useless.”
All the scythes were deflected by a golden glow.
As long as [Auto Guard] was active, no matter how unexpected the attack or from what angle, it wouldn’t work.
No, in fact, I could use this—.
“Tch, but if I keep attacking, eventually—!”
Zarea launched another wave of scythes.
Whether he had lost her temper or was simply repeating the same attack, it was monotonous.
For me, it was convenient.
For them, it was a fatal mistake.
[Unite]—[Reset].
Set the third form around the caster and all allies.
Deploy at maximum dispersion.
Reflect simultaneously in all directions.
Activate the fourth form the moment the target attempts to intercept.
Repeat the process until annihilation is complete.
[Complete]—.
“Guh!?”
“Gah!?”
The demons fell one after another, blood spraying everywhere.
Cut down by Zarea’s own scythes.
“W-what is this…!?”
Zarea let out a confused cry.
I had used [Kaleidoscope Shift] to reflect his scythes in all directions, and [Void Seal] to nullify the demons’ attack power, sealing their counterattacks.
As a result, the demons were cut down one after another by the scythes of their own Demon General.
“You said it yourself. You can cut through anything you perceive.”
And that included the demons themselves.
“Y-you bastard…!”
“Pierce through, spear of thunder—[Ra Gu Dire]!”
Lilith’s lightning strike pierced through Zarea, who was flushed with anger, and obliterated his—.