NOVEL NEXT Chapter 182
182. I Worked Hard, You Know?
“You can see the future? Heh, even in that pathetic state?”
“……!”
Electra’s expression stiffened at Sephiria’s knowing smile.
——Her guess was right.
Lately, she had been constantly using long-term future sight, draining her mental energy considerably.
Still, unlike long-term foresight, which consumed vast amounts of mental power, short-term precognition wasn’t an issue.
It was more than enough to take down Sephiria.
“[Maneuver: Fortunebell].”
Activating the skill, she peered a few seconds into the future.
To read her opponent’s movements and deliver an unavoidable strike—one that couldn’t be dodged or blocked.
“See everything? Scary~ I think I’ll run away.”
Sephiria leaped back dramatically.
“—I see it.”
Electra had already discerned—no, known—it was a feint.
“How you’ll move. How you’ll dodge.”
——Two seconds later, a concentrated barrage at 30 degrees forward.
She sent her command to the four spirits.
“Just kidding~ The best defense is a good offense—”
Pretending to backstep, Sephiria instead drew a dagger and charged.
“I saw that too.”
30 degrees forward.
Exactly as foreseen, Sephiria moved right into the spirits’ assault.
“Eek!?”
Flames and lightning struck her one after another.
“Oww… No mercy, huh, sis?”
Her body was torn to shreds, her priestly robes burned away.
Drenched in blood, Sephiria stood naked, her face twitching slightly.
“[Regeneration].”
With a whisper, her wounds vanished, her clothes restored—not a drop of blood remained.
“Even if I can heal, getting hurt still stings, y’know?”
“You…!”
Every move, every attack—everything unfolded as foreseen.
She couldn’t see too far ahead, but—to heal such severe injuries instantly?
An unbelievable regeneration speed.
“If you wanna kill me, you’ll have to do it in one hit. Give me even a second, and I’ll recover completely.”
“[Maneuver: Fortune]—”
“Oops, no peeking~”
Just as Electra tried to focus on precognition, Sephiria lunged again.
A reckless, all-out charge—no time to activate her skill.
“Then—take this!”
Electra ordered the spirits to intercept, aiming for Sephiria’s head and heart.
“Waste of effort~ [Holy Shell].”
A glowing veil enveloped Sephiria’s body—a priestly defensive spell.
“You’re the one wasting effort.”
Directing the spirits to focus their attacks, the luminous barrier shattered like glass.
“Even without foresight, my combat skills outclass yours. Brute force alone can—What!?”
But the shield regenerated instantly.
“My barriers fix themselves in no time~ Your attacks won’t reach me.”
Sephiria puffed her chest proudly.
“Tch…”
“What’s wrong? Come at me harder. Give it your all. And when even that fails—”
Sephiria’s lips curled into a twisted grin.
“—Let me see your face when you despair.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
Electra glared.
“Your defense is annoying, but it’s just that—defense.”
She recalled her fight with Halt.
Back then, she lost to a time-rewinding defensive skill, but Sephiria’s healing couldn’t mimic that.
If her opponent could only defend, relentless attacks would eventually break through.
Especially when she could predict every move.
—Still, maybe retreating here would be wiser.
That earlier vision bothered her.
She didn’t think she’d lose in a straight fight, but Sephiria was also a Holder blessed with divine power.
Who knew what tricks she had hidden?
(First, overwhelm her with attacks. Then, find an opening to escape.)
“[Holy Bullet].”
Sephiria unleashed an offensive spell—dozens of energy bullets fired at once.
“Pointless struggle. Your offensive power is trivial.”
The tiny projectiles barely scratched the spirits.
“Yep. I can’t do much damage.”
Sephiria’s smile deepened.
“But it’s enough. A scratch is enough.”
Her grin widened unnaturally.
She thrust out her left hand—a glowing sigil appearing on her palm.
A scream echoed.
“What—!?”
The spirits writhed in agony.
Their minor wounds spread, their magic-formed bodies crumbling.
“W-What’s happening…!?”
“My skill is restoration.”
Sephiria locked eyes with Electra.
“This is its effect—reversed. Healing energy turned backward—”
With a final shriek, the four spirits vanished.
“—A small wound expands endlessly, destroying its target. Pretty neat, huh? Took me a lot of work to master this.”
—Come to think of it, when they first met, there were mummified corpses nearby.
(Don’t tell me… those were…)
The same technique Sephiria just used.
Inflict a scratch, reverse the healing—turning them into mummies.
She had no proof.
Just a guess—but it chilled her to the bone.
“Tch—[Elga Gate]!”
Electra chanted to summon more spirits.
A rift formed in space—a pathway to the spirit realm.
But in that instant—
“Nope~ [Regeneration]!”
Sephiria’s cheerful voice rang out.
The rift sealed shut.
“I can’t summon…!?”
Electra groaned.
“She healed the dimensional tear itself—”
“No summons, no attacks. What now? Gonna try reading the future again? Find my weakness?”
“—[Maneuver: Fortunebell].”
“[Regeneration].”
The moment she tried to glimpse the future, the vision vanished.
“…!?”
Electra stood frozen in shock.
“W-What did you do…!? My skill—it’s not working…!?”
“Your power interferes with spacetime to see the future, right? In other words, you bend time’s flow to peek ahead—so I—”
Sephiria looked delighted.
Like a child showing off a toy—innocent, gleeful.
That smile was terrifying beyond words.
“—fixed the warped spacetime. Your precious foresight? Useless against me.”