31. Divine Judgement
The twin brothers had completely surrounded the surveillance squadron with their doubles, without leaving any room for escape. But the surveillance squadron remained unfazed; just because they were assigned to a non-combat squadron didn't mean they were unable to fight.
The twin with orange hair raised his head up, his doubles following suit. They pressed each of their fists partially—an orange, bubbling liquid substance gathering from nothingness. In the next instant, they unleashed a barrage of orange spheres at the surveillance squadron.
Dust rose, occluding their vision, after which a gust of dark purple wind burst forth from within the dust. The orange spheres didn't hit; instead, they were suspended in the air, unable to break through Shina's wind barrier.
"Void Winds Technique: Thin Break," she mumbled lacklusterly, her tone devoid of energy.
The wind barrier extended, slamming the doubles of the twin brothers into the rear gate's walls—the impact spiderwebbing the surface. The doubles faded into smoke; they had sustained heavy injuries and could no longer continue fighting.
The other twin with yellow hair turned to his brother with a concerned look on his face. He threw his hand over his brother's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Lil' bro, Kix…" he tilted his head slightly, "we got this." His words instantly motivated his little brother; their spirit energy skyrocketed to at least ten times higher than before.
"Ok, big bro Kex," the younger twin said with an overly cheerful tone. The surveillance squadron patiently waited for them to have their brother-to-brother bonding session—it was truly heartwarming to watch.
Little specks of tears fell down Lovian's eyes. "What a beautiful siblingship!" The tears began to flow even faster down her cheeks. "It's a shame that I have to pass divine judgment on you," she said with a saddened tone, wiping away the tears with the side of her back hand.
Reima stepped forward slowly, her footsteps echoing throughout the rear—calm, detached, almost indifferent—this was someone who didn't need to show emotion to be dangerous. The twin brothers' danger senses spiked. She reached into her breast, dipping her hand into her chest as she slowly pulled out a katana. Her crimson eyes grew brighter, but her spirit energy remained calm and steady.
The brothers didn't wait for her to finish bringing out her sword—they attacked instantly. "If we don't kill her now, we'll be dead in the next coming minute." Their legs were about to hit her face, yet she didn't bat an eye; her face remained expressionless.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished—not through teleportation or spatial manipulation. It was her insane speed, something the eyes and brains of the twin brothers couldn't comprehend, that made it seem like she vanished. But to her, she had simply taken a step.
She grasped her katana; its black base glowed with red vein-like patterns running through it. She moved it slowly, the way she wielded it exuding mastery. She turned the katana upside down, tilting the sharp edge to the front and the blunt edge to the back.
All her actions looked normal to her, but to the twins it felt like an instant, as they were suspended in the air, unable to grasp her speed.
With the next step she took, she appeared in front of them, blood dripping from her katana. The flow of time returned to normal for the twins—not that it had been altered to begin with. Blood gushed out from their chests, which had been cut deeply by Reima's katana."Self-made technique: Fukigi Amenomie," she muttered.
They lost their momentum, falling to the ground as they made a booming sound. They weren't dead, but incapacitated from shock. Reima stabbed her torso from the side with the tip of her katana, pushing it back into her body.
She moved her eyes to the siblings—the twins who were struggling to get back on their feet. She was more than capable of cutting them down, but she was simply uninterested in doing so.
She walked back towards Lovian and Shina with a disinterested look on her face. "They still have some tricks left, you can take it from here," she said as she walked out of the battlefield.
Tears of pity flowed down Lovian's eyes; she was saddened—too saddened, in fact, for people that she didn't know, who were her enemies no less. But that was exactly how she had always been.
Up till this day, she continued to live up to her title—the Reverend Goddess of Judgment. She always took the pains and sins of others as her own, a truly compassionate goddess.
The twin brothers held each other's hand. "So it has finally come to this," the older brother said dishearteningly. A smile formed on the younger brother's face. "As long as I die with you, it doesn't matter.
Let's become one." Their spirit energy interlocked, becoming one. Next, it was their bodies—they fused together, a shine bursting from their merging forms.
The light condensed, returning back to its source. An outline formed first, followed by a floating figure. Golden hair flowed from its head, its eyes black with a golden circle within. They stretched out their four arms—pillars of light formed rapidly.
Their spirit energy was far greater than when they were apart. This was their last resort, which allowed them to merge together while also greatly increasing their spirit energy.
But it came at a costly price—they would both die of spirit energy overload once the fusion ended. Shina stepped backwards, a bit angry because she intended to be the one to defeat the twin brothers.
"Once Lovian has that look on her face, she intends to end things herself… such a bore," she mumbled with a deep groan. "Lovian, I leave the rest up to you." She formed a mini tornado and thrusted herself towards the surveillance tower.
The fused twins launched the light pillars at Lovian, but the attacks didn't reach her—they were repelled by her default force field.
The tears flowing down her eyes increased immensely. "Pitiful souls…." A holy book appeared on her palm, its pages flipping by themselves. "Let me put you out of your misery." The pages stopped flipping, her eyes resting on the words within the page.
They stretched their arms forward, pulling them together as golden light gathered within them. "Take this, it's everything we got!" They poured all their remaining spirit energy into their final attack. They unleashed a huge blast of golden light towards Lovian.
Before the attack reached her, an invisible shield blocked it, splitting the blast into several fragments that cut through the walls of the rear gate.
"You have trespassed on a land that isn't your own." A towering structure began to form over the fused twin brothers. "Attempted to kill the members of the surveillance squadron…" Chains binded their body.
"And lastly… you would sacrifice your lives for a futile cause." Lovian's hands came together slowly, fingers aligning with deliberate care—palms pressed, fingertips meeting perfectly. Still, controlled. Not a plea, but a gesture of compassion.
What stood over the fused twins was a guillotine. "Divine Judgment." As those words came from her mouth, the blade of the guillotine fell instantly, severing the head of the fused twins.
Their head rolled on the floor with a peaceful expression on it, blood splattering on the ground like tree branches.
Lovian looked up to the sky, a calm smile forming on her face. "I hope they are reborn as peaceful souls, Shuten."
Badump… An eerie spirit energy filled the air, enough to alert all the gods and goddesses. It was corrupt—far too sinister to go unnoticed—and it came from the front lines. Aria stood in front of a Class 10 self-aware Ravter Abomination, which was birthed from the fusion of seven Class 3 Ravter Abominations.
"You… are very strong… I would like to consume you whole." It struggled to utter its first words. Ravter Abominations weren't supposed to be able to speak, yet what stood before them shattered that very belief.
"Hckkk—since when could they speak?!" Hona said with a screeching tone.