Chapter 171
The realm Kraush had reached.
Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
That day, Mary witnessed Kraush's Annihilation Heavenly Asura with her own two eyes.
At that time, Mary realized that in her current state, she could never win against Kraush.
Thus, she entered closed-door training, constantly disciplining herself to this day while recalling Kraush's Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
And she ran simulations against Kraush in her mind countless times.
I can win.
If it's me, I can definitely win.
Forcing herself to ignore her inner anxiety, she continuously reminded herself that she was the Divine Spear.
Her opponent was Kraush Balheim.
A man who always lingered in her mind as a half-penny.
No matter how strong he became, the reality of him defeating her was impossible.
'Because I am the Divine Spear Mary Diana!'
With that conviction, she definitely emerged outside.
However, the Kraush now reflected before her was far stronger than back then.
The heat emanating from the black flame flowing from his body was so intense it could burn skin, and his dreadful killing intent constricted her mind, leaving her dazed.
It was clearly only a few weeks ago.
However, the Kraush before her eyes had grown far stronger than she had anticipated.
That was, of course, inevitable.
Because as Mary grew stronger, Kraush was endlessly growing stronger as well.
Instant enhancement elixir modification.
Refining his annihilation erosion through the Poison Blood Tome more intricately than before, he ceaselessly trained and refined himself alongside Crimson Garden to hang the Heavenly Slaughter Star within the Night of Nox.
During the time Mary had stopped.
Kraush had never once stopped, running forward, only looking ahead.
Even if it meant a path soaked in blood, Kraush's steps did not halt.
Thus, Mary could not keep up with Kraush.
Even though she possessed the memories of the past Divine Spear, she, who had already once crumbled, was continuously being left behind by Kraush.
'How on earth...'
Her knees, pressed down by overwhelming power, tore apart, and blood spread across the ground.
The red pupils reflected beyond the spear drove her to madness.
Every conceivable scenario of losing to him flashed through her mind.
Even someone like her, not particularly brilliant of mind, could understand.
The reality where she, abandoned miserably by Sigrid, wouldn't even be able to see the Arthur she loved so dearly.
Arthur Gramalte.
The man she loved and adored so much.
Yet Arthur, who once whispered love to her, no longer appeared before her.
That made her anxious, and that anxiety kept gnawing away at her.
Mary was undoubtedly the Divine Spear.
However, that story only held true when Arthur was by her side.
She was also human.
Her spear, which was supposed to stand at the very front, had also been shattered time and again before the Greatest Evil.
Her unstable mind needed something to rely on.
Someone she could be certain would never crumble no matter what, even if she gave everything to them.
And the one she chose was Arthur.
Because Arthur, who always stood at the forefront ahead of her, allowed her to endure until now.
Because she was loved by Arthur, she could endure.
But the Arthur she so desperately desired no longer appeared no matter how much she cried out.
Just once.
At this very moment, just once.
If she had been able to see Arthur, she wouldn't have crumbled so miserably.
However, even before her screams, Arthur never appeared.
Mary's two eyes turned to Kraush, who was pressing down on her.
Those red eyes shining vividly were like those of a demon.
Fear.
The outcome those eyes would bring was unbearably terrifying.
And for some reason, Kraush shone so brightly it was blinding.
Unlike her, who had long since faded, seeing him shine so brilliantly made Mary feel an indescribable emotion.
'No.'
No.
'No!'
No.
'No...'
I am the Divine Spear.
The unbreakable spear of the Empire.
And the lover of the Hero King, Arthur...
"Mary Diana."
From within the burning black flame.
Kraush's voice resonated.
"Don't run away from reality."
And his words pierced deep into her heart, which had been avoiding reality.
Reality.
She failed to protect the world.
She was no longer the Divine Spear but the Princess Assassin.
Abandoned by the Diana Family.
No longer even Arthur's lover.
Mary Diana.
That was the reality she had so desperately avoided.
The reality faced by her, who had lived trapped in previous cycles.
Now just a criminal without any remnants of past glory.
"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
From her screaming spear, bright yellow light burst out all at once.
That light was so intense it pierced through Kraush's black flame wrapped in Annihilation Heavenly Asura.
Transcendent Light of Heaven.
A realm reached by accelerating all bodily operating speeds with Excel.
The moment she reached that realm, the world stopped in an instant.
Surpassing the speed of time, she transcended and escaped Kraush's suppression in an instant.
Simultaneously, her eyes gleamed as she pointed her spear and exhaled a long breath.
From the moment she used the Transcendent Light of Heaven, her body would enter overload and be subjected to extreme pain later.
However, she could be certain.
At least in this world, she was the strongest.
Within the frozen time.
Kraush, too, remained frozen, trapped by the constraints of time.
The light within Mary's spear began to compress all at once into the spear.
As the compressed light entered the spear, twisting air spiraled around her.
An absurd airflow flowed solely around Mary in this frozen world.
The lights were all consumed by her spear.
Within the pitch-black space of darkness.
Eventually, before the frozen world, Mary's spear roared.
Transcendent Light of Heaven.
The Ultimate Art.
Transcendent Light Annihilation.
Her Light Spear, obliterating everything around it, flew straight toward Kraush.
Kraush, frozen in the halted time, seemed as if he would be torn apart before Mary's Transcendent Light Annihilation.
Watching the scene with her own two eyes, a fleeting thought of the aftermath passed through Mary's mind.
If Kraush were to die here, there would be no one left in this world to inherit the curse.
She knew that fact, yet she couldn't stop.
In her mind, she felt she wouldn't survive if she didn't erase Kraush here and now.
So, she decided to kill.
She poured all her strength into killing him.
At that moment when Mary's mind unified with a single determined thought.
Drip-
Somewhere, the sound of a droplet falling was heard.
The sound was so vivid that it clearly reached her ears even as she thrust her spear.
Soon enough, she realized where the sound was coming from.
Kraush.
The sound of droplets falling was undoubtedly coming from him.
How is this possible?
Beneath the Transcendent Light of Heaven, no one should be capable of movement.
And then she realized that this sound resonated from the ripples of Kraush's mind.
Before her Transcendent Light of Heaven, the world indeed seemed to have momentarily halted.
However, that was only because she had become too fast.
The world was, albeit sluggishly, still flowing.
Within such a world.
The Night of Nox embedded in Kraush's body glowed more vividly than ever.
Kraush's night was an independent world of night separate from this reality.
Above that night sky, the Seven Stars of the Heavenly Slaughter Star emerged.
Those stars each emitted their own light, connecting their radiance to one another.
And the connected light was directed toward none other than Kraush's body.
The Heavenly Slaughter Star with its seven stars.
The moment the light of the seven stars fully settled into Kraush's body.
The power of World Erosion erupted all at once.
That uncontrollable force met Ignis and ignited once again.
The burning body surpassed its limits, reaching a new world.
At the instant of reaching that world.
Twitch-
Within the world of the Transcendent Light of Heaven, which she believed had stopped.
Kraush's body moved.
Crack!
At that moment, Mary felt a crack forming in her Transcendent Light of Heaven, centered on Kraush.
And that crack soon spread to encompass the entirety of the Transcendent Light of Heaven.
Clatter!
Finally, it led to the collapse of the Transcendent Light of Heaven.
Above Kraush's head.
A red moon rose.
Beneath the red moon, reflecting the mental image of his life lived.
Kraush's Black Flame blazed with flames more intense and venomous than ever.
Before such flames, Mary's light felt inexplicably small.
Before the vast world of All Things in the Universe, the light that raced forward could only momentarily brighten its surroundings.
For it could not illuminate the entirety of All Things in the Universe.
When the Black Flame's burning fire from Kraush's sword raised toward the sky met the red moon and shone.
She realized the end as well.
Annihilation Erosion.
Fifth Form.
Annihilation Sky Moon Fire.
The Black Flame engulfing the red moon devoured the light and annihilated everything.
The scene, where even the forest was consumed entirely, could only be described as overwhelming.
Because of this, the situation room observing the scene was thrown into chaos.
The magic meant to project the screen malfunctioned entirely, unable to withstand Kraush's Annihilation Sky Moon Fire.
Beneath the swirling black smoke.
Kraush looked ahead.
On the ground where not even a tuft of grass remained.
Kraush stood gazing at Mary, who, with a charred body and burned clothing, barely managed to hold onto her spear.
Her chest heaved up and down as she panted.
Her blurred vision could no longer function properly.
The sole reason she could stand was purely thanks to her innate Heavenly Martial Body.
Through her hazy eyes, Kraush came into view.
Kraush, whose red eyes were gradually returning to blue pupils, stood unwaveringly in place.
The gap.
She realized for the first time what it meant.
She had been completely defeated by Kraush.
Clatter!
[ Break Mary with 'Force.' ]
Before Kraush's eyes, Mary's second dial shattered.
Simultaneously, the third dial emerged.
[ Isolate Mary. ]
Isolation.
At the moment she read that sentence, Mary's body slowly crumbled forward.
Thud!
Along with her scattering black hair, her body hit the ground as the wind gently stirred.
And Mary was sent back.
Divine Spear.
The sight of the seemingly invincible spear shattering.
Kraush, looking at that scene, quietly exhaled toward the sky.
"I've won."
Kraush roared with victory.