Chapter 450: Purification Upon the World, Heavenly Strike!
The black clouds condensed with such density they felt like solid lead.
Their mere descent seemed sufficient to unleash catastrophic calamities upon the earth.
Countless lightning serpents writhed through the cloud layer, converging toward the vortex's core—their rapidly intensifying energy causing even the Witch to tremble with dread.
This strike threatened not only to obliterate Mount Nikko completely, but to scour nearby cities from the map.
The very cartography of this nation might require revision due to catastrophic geographical alterations.
Thus, Lucretia's expression wavered with conflict.
Though government agencies had evacuated civilians to considerable distances, this cataclysm would inevitably engulf them all.
To become responsible for such mass death would make her an executioner—a thought that made her hands tremble slightly, drawing a bitter smile to her lips.
Never expected the situation to deteriorate to such an extreme degree.
"Hmm?"
When the message from her master came, instructing her to unleash a strike akin to divine punishment, it was meant to create a bidirectional impact.
Simply put, the gathered lightning would descend like a colossal pillar of divine retribution upon the earth while simultaneously piercing upward into the higher skies.
In other words, this thunderous punishment wasn't solely directed at the ground; it also shot toward the heavens above the dark clouds, with eighty percent of its power concentrated skyward.
This way, the destruction inflicted upon the ground could be significantly minimized, right?
It seemed her master, too, wished to avoid excessive slaughter.
Hmm?
Lucretia suddenly found herself unable to hear the voices within the torrent of fear emanating from the vicinity of Mount Nikko. Everything had fallen silent.
After a moment of stunned confusion, she understood: her master had taken on those emotional voices, shielding her from them so she could focus entirely on unleashing that strike.
Thus, Lucretia couldn't even begin to imagine the torment of having millions of chaotic voices echoing in her master's mind.
Just the voices from the emotions of tens of thousands near Mount Nikko had nearly made her head feel like it would explode. Without her master's help in blocking most of them and bearing the burden, she would likely have gone insane instantly.
Such was the price of this Authority growing increasingly powerful!
"Bring purification to the world, Heavenly Strike!"
This was the Word Spirit now used to activate this Authority.
The moment the words fell, it was as if wings unfurled behind Lucretia.
Almost simultaneously, the vortex within the dark clouds erupted with a pillar of lightning, which not only descended toward the earth but also extended upward into the sky.
It resembled a lightsaber from Star Wars, with beams shooting out from both ends. The judgmental Lightning Pillar before her was just like that, with phantom angelic wings seeming to spread from its sides.
As the Lightning Pillar descended upon Mount Nikko, Lucretia also witnessed the terrifying strikes of other Campiones converging upon it.
A black dragon's pillar of flame, a colossal sword slash, a horrifying magic bullet, a massive Vajra palm, and three goddesses attempting to embrace the sky—all clashed with the pillar of lightning.
"This—this is—!"
Sensing something, Lucretia's pupils trembled, and she desperately looked up toward the higher skies.
The leaden clouds had now been vaporized, leaving a massive void through which the afternoon sky was visible.
She saw, high in the heavens, a silver star releasing a terrifying Lightning Pillar downward, which was about to collide with her own ascending pillar.
Two pillars of apocalyptic power crashed into each other. In an instant, the dark clouds vanished, and even the higher white clouds seemed to evaporate, revealing a clear, boundless sky.
So, whose Lightning Pillar was this, if not the one she had unleashed?
The moment her Spirit Sight activated, Lucretia nearly lost her footing.
She saw an island floating high in the sky—no, it was a city, an ancient city.
At the summit of this city stood a gleaming sword, its radiance enveloping the entire structure, making it shine like a silver sun.
It was this sword that had unleashed the Lightning Pillar upon the world below.
The name of this sword was—
"The Divine Sword of Salvation."
A slightly hoarse voice escaped Lucretia's lips.
At the same time, she saw a faintly visible figure beside the divine sword—the one Guinevere had been searching for all along—The Last King....
Had he awakened?
So he intended to destroy the Campiones below along with her master in a single strike.
Ah, Lucretia finally realized why her master had directed most of his power toward the sky—he had also sensed the threat from above.
Yet, Lucretia's expression grew troubled.
The power released by the Divine Sword of Salvation grew stronger, and her master's Lightning Pillar was gradually being pushed down.
Moreover, he was simultaneously clashing with the attacks of five Campiones below.
This meant he was resisting both The Last King and all the Campiones at once.
Lucretia couldn't help but clench her fists.
Perhaps she shouldn't have asked for this Authority in the first place. Had he wielded it himself, he could have unleashed far greater power.
With Lucretia using it, this was her absolute limit—not because there weren't enough people feeling fear, but because her body could endure no more.
"Uncle, th-that's The Last King! We fo-found him! He was in the sky all along!"
Not far from Mount Nikko, an excited golden-haired girl tugged repeatedly at the figure beside her while crying out in exhilaration.
"Mhm"
Lancelot nodded.
At the same time, she gazed intently at a silver knight.
This guy had actually predicted The Last King's attack and was simultaneously resisting the full-force strikes of five Campiones.
He was far too abnormal.
To be honest, even Guinevere had nearly mistaken him for The Last King, thinking he simply failed to recognize them as his former supporters.
"Aiko, we need to get farther away!"
If that power kept pressing down and eventually exploded on the ground, this area would become extremely dangerous—they'd be caught in the blast.
Before leaving, Lancelot glanced back and froze in astonishment at the Apocalypse Knight's actions.
The next second, her face pale, she immediately lunged toward Aiko, shielding the girl beneath her.
BOOM——!!!