Just as the massive katana, crackling with destructive lightning, in the hand of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher was about to swing down, and the invisible blade of the crimson samurai phantom was fully poised...
...at the very instant Ellen Mathers and Takamiya Mana, along with the airspace they occupied, were about to be severed and reduced to nothingness—
An anomaly occurred, exceeding everyone's expectations, and perhaps even the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher's own calculations.
In front of Ellen and Mana, the void that should have been empty suddenly twisted and flashed violently, like a screen with poor reception!
It was neither a spatial fold nor an energy barrier; it was a more fundamental, more bizarre "abnormality"!
A human-shaped "mosaic" appeared without any warning.
It had no specific outline, no features, and no color, only constantly shifting and flowing blocks of blurry pixels, like a bug in the world—an "error" that shouldn't exist.
It stood there silently, seemingly denying the logic of all surrounding physical laws and energy flows, emanating an aura that instinctively provoked rejection and fear.
(Takamiya Mio! No! How could she appear here?!)
Chinatsu's heart shook violently. As someone who knew the plot, she instantly recognized the true identity of this existence—one of the aliases, "Phantom," used by the First Spirit, Takamiya Mio, to traverse the world!
But on the surface, she had to maintain the persona of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher—someone who had just awakened, inherited Welt's hatred and power, knew very little about the world's truth, and certainly couldn't recognize the existence of the "First Spirit."
In her eyes, which burned with golden prismatic light, a trace of extreme shock and wariness flashed at just the right moment, as if she had seen something utterly incomprehensible yet fatally threatening.
The katana in her hand paused slightly, but the lightning and spatial power accumulated to their peak were already locked and loaded!
Should she stop, or...? (I can't stop! Stopping now would make me look guilty! I must show anger and a probing attack due to the interference!)
In a flash of lightning, Chinatsu made her decision.
"Playing tricks, are we?"
She let out a cold roar, treating this unknown interference as a challenge to her authority.
"Those who obstruct me share the same guilt."
That strike, imbued with the full power of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher and capable of severing space and soul, accompanied by the synchronized slash of the crimson samurai phantom behind her...
...was not retracted. Instead, with an unyielding determination, it descended ferociously and more violently upon the human-shaped mosaic, along with Ellen and Mana behind it!
"Buzz—!!!"
There was no deafening clang of metal, nor was there an explosion of violently colliding energy.
The moment the destructive lightning blade light and the invisible slash touched the human-shaped mosaic, it was as if two completely different sets of world laws underwent the most fundamental conflict and annihilation!
An indescribable, silent roar that made the soul tremble exploded deep within everyone's consciousness!
Centered on the point of collision, a sphere of undefinable color, mixed with chaotic data-stream-like light and shadow and absolute nothingness, instantly expanded!
Everything in its path—all matter, energy, and even space itself—was completely "erased"!
It was not shattered or vaporized, but cleanly wiped away, leaving no trace, as if erased by a rubber from the canvas of reality!
The ground, which had just been bombarded and was covered in wreckage and scorch marks, along with the deeper bedrock foundation, had another thick layer inexplicably shaved off along the path of the sphere's expansion!
The previously undulating terrain was forcibly leveled, transforming into an even more absolute, more desolate, mirror-smooth scorched black plain.
It was as if it had been this way since ancient times, and no life or creation had ever existed there.
This destruction was far more thorough and despair-inducing than the previous artillery exchange; it was an erasure that touched the very essence of existence!
When the terrifying sphere of erasure slowly dissipated, and the space, twisting violently as if wounded, gradually calmed down... only the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher remained in the sky, her back to the dim light.
And the human-shaped mosaic, still silently suspended, seemingly having never moved, and continuously flowing.
Meanwhile, the figures of Ellen Mathers and Takamiya Mana had completely vanished. There was no blood, no wreckage, not a single piece of evidence that they had ever been there.
(Were they saved? As expected, Takamiya Mio wouldn't just watch important people be eliminated like that.)
Chinatsu knew this clearly, but the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher's face showed a perfectly calculated mix of shock, solemnity, and a hint of anger at not completing her task.
She stared intently at the human-shaped mosaic, the massive katana held horizontally in front of her, wreathed in lightning, full of vigilance.
"What... are you?"
Her cold voice carried a hint of subtle probing.
"If you dare to act, why hide your face! You are unworthy of your spirit power!" The Great Desolation Heaven-Capturing Finger pointed forcefully at the opponent, seemingly brimming with endless fury.
The human-shaped mosaic offered no response. It simply "looked" at the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher for a moment; within the constantly flowing pixels, there seemed to be no emotion, only an abyss of nothingness.
Then, just as abruptly as it had appeared, it began to slowly fade and decompose, finally turning into countless shimmering specks of light that completely melted into the air and vanished.
It left behind no words, no explanations.
It was as if its appearance was solely to block that one strike and take away two specific individuals.
The battlefield fell into complete silence.
The Heavenly Judgment Herrscher hovered beneath the empty sky, standing above the ground that had been ravaged twice and was now absolute scorched earth.
She silently watched the spot where "Phantom" had vanished, then swept her gaze across the desolation where there was no living thing left besides her.
All enemies had either been destroyed or rescued.
A siege originally aimed at her concluded with the complete annihilation of the DEM forces and the fate of their two highest combatants unknown.
She slowly retracted the massive katana in her hand, and the crimson samurai phantom and the thunder halo behind her gradually faded away.
The majestic spirit dress dissipated into light particles, revealing her original casual clothes, though her eyes still retained the coldness and detachment belonging to a Herrscher.
She took one last look at the area completely devastated by her own hand and the intervention of the unknown existence, then slowly descended, landing on the scorched ground. Without looking back, she walked step by step away from the battlefield.
Her figure, seen amidst the lingering smoke and dead silence, appeared exceptionally lonely, yet carried a chilling tranquility, like the calm after a storm.
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