Chapter 214: It Still Takes a Star
Among everyone present, only Stelle, wielding the Flame Lance and drawing upon the power of the Path of Preservation, could directly withstand Nikador's onslaught.
"Hey! Nikador! Over here!" she roared, the tip of her lance blazing with scorching fire.
With a heavy horizontal sweep, she forcefully parried the spear Nikador was swinging down at Mydei. The golden light of Preservation clashed violently with the black-red Titan divine power, unleashing a deafening boom that shook the battlefield.
The recoil sent Stelle skidding back half a step, but she immediately dug her heels in, stabilized her stance, and charged forward again. She had naturally become the linchpin of the fight, constantly drawing Nikador's aggro with the taunting nature of Preservation's energy and tanking the brunt of his devastating attacks.
The others seized the opening she created, unleashing their full power.
Mydei's blood-crystal heavy punches! Phainon's searing energy slashes! Dan Heng's swift, dragon-like spear strikes!
A furious storm of attacks rained down on Nikador. Yet, aside from kicking up a dazzling shower of energy sparks and leaving a few shallow white marks on his dark-red heavy armor, their efforts seemed utterly unable to inflict any effective damage.
Nikador had truly transformed into an indestructible avatar of war. He stood unyielding in the center of the battlefield, weathering every blow only to retaliate with even more ferocious offensives. The battle had stalled, locked in an unprecedentedly difficult stalemate. The defensive power of a complete, strengthened Strife Titan far exceeded anything they had imagined.
"Not enough! It's still not enough!" Nikador's five-layered voice rang out again, now laced with a distinct undercurrent of anxiety and disappointment.
He suddenly swung the massive Spear of Divine Retribution in a wide arc. A violent shockwave, imbued with black-red energy, swept out in a fan shape, forcing the attacking Stelle, Mydei, and Phainon to retreat, temporarily avoiding its lethal edge.
"If this is all the power you possess…" Nikador's gaze swept over every warrior present, his voice like a heavy war drum beating against their hearts. "...then the future… is hopeless!"
Those words, like a spark landing in a powder keg, instantly enraged two people on the field.
"Who said I don't have enough power?!" Stelle was the first to bristle. It was the first time anyone had so openly questioned her capabilities. The flames of Preservation burned fiercely in her eyes, now mixed with a hint of destructive malice that had been thoroughly provoked.
On the other side, Phainon's expression instantly darkened. He bore the future of Okhema on his shoulders, carrying the hopes of countless people; he would never allow himself to show weakness at this moment, nor would he permit hope to be shattered because his power was found lacking. A potent sense of responsibility and the raw anger of being dismissed intertwined, causing the power within him to circulate at a wild, unmatched speed.
"Hmph!" Phainon roared, and the longsword in his hand erupted with a blinding light.
He no longer cared for defense, pouring every last ounce of his strength into the attack. His swordplay became incredibly fierce and violent, slashing at Nikador like a torrential storm. One could even hear the longsword—a weapon of no ordinary quality—humming under the strain, unable to withstand such an extreme output of power as tiny cracks began to spiderweb across its blade.
Stelle, however, made a completely different choice.
She suddenly took a step back and shouted to Dan Heng and the Traveler beside her, "Help me hold him off! I need some time!"
Dan Heng understood immediately. With a flick of his wrist, his Cloud-Piercer spear danced, and his fierce offensive resumed, firmly drawing a portion of Nikador's attention.
The Traveler, without the slightest hesitation, stepped forward. "Tremble!"
A solid Stone Stele erupted from the ground, blocking Nikador's path. More constructs rose in quick succession, temporarily boxing him in and taking over Stelle's primary defensive duties.
Even more surprisingly, Paimon, though visibly exhausted, still did her best to command her otherworldly guardian. "Paimon's Star! Block that big guy's attacks!"
The muscular Stand immediately executed the command. It used its massive fists with astonishing precision and a flicker of foresight, continuously parrying or deflecting the physical swings of Nikador's spear. Each impact produced a dull, percussive thud, greatly relieving the pressure on the Traveler, who could now focus on mobilizing her spatial abilities to devour and neutralize Nikador's energy-based attacks.
At that moment, the retreating Stelle took a deep breath, and the energy fluctuations around her underwent a dramatic change.
The Flame Lance in her hand quietly dissipated, replaced by an exquisite, crystalline longsword that glowed with a flowing light, as if carved from pure, clear glass.
It was the Liuli Sword. At this moment, its blade was being enveloped in an extremely dangerous energy.
The scorching flames of Preservation and the violent power of Destruction were being forcefully fused together by her, coiling around the sword's body in a volatile union. Golden-red flames and dark-purple destructive energy intertwined and surged, emitting a grating, crackling sound. An incredibly sharp, terrifying aura, as if it could tear through reality itself, began to rise from Stelle's form.
March 7th, who was closest to her, felt her heart skip a beat. She was all too familiar with this state—it meant Stelle was truly going all out.
And seeing those two distinctly different, terrifying energies raging on the Liuli Sword… March 7th was suddenly struck by an ominous premonition. Her precious sword… would probably meet a glorious end today.
Her little face fell, but she knew this was not the time to feel distressed. She could only grip Sode no Shirayuki tighter and offer a silent prayer for her weapon's soul.
Stelle's charge reached its absolute peak. The Liuli Sword let out a sorrowful wail under the immense strain, its blade shining with a blinding light that made it impossible to look at directly.
"Get out of the way!" Stelle let out a clear, sharp shout.
Hearing her cry, everyone entangled with Nikador instantly scattered to the sides without a second thought.
"Golden Light—Descend—and Purge All Demons!!!"
Accompanied by Stelle's full-throated roar, the Liuli Sword in her hand transformed into a dazzling golden beam that tore through everything, striking out with a speed that surpassed the limits of visual capture.
This single sword strike seemed to astonish time itself.
The golden light was not a simple energy blast, but a terrifying sword aura, condensed to its absolute extreme and imbued with the unyielding conviction of Preservation and the decisive resolve of Destruction.
Whoosh—
The golden light flashed and was gone. No one even saw its trajectory.
The next second…
BOOM—!
A colossal roar suddenly erupted from the Titan.
A massive, transparent hole had been punched straight through Nikador's seemingly indestructible chest. Its edges were as smooth as a mirror, as if that section of his body had been directly erased by some law-defying power.
The aftershock of that golden light continued unabated, fiercely striking the Stone Stele barrier array Zhongli had set up in the distance. It actually tore a temporary gap in that incredibly sturdy barrier before finally dissipating into the void.
The power of this one strike was terrifying.
Nikador's massive body suddenly stiffened, its movements grinding to a complete halt. He looked down at the huge, empty space in his chest, and his five-layered voice seemed to reveal a hint of… relief?
Then, like a mountain solidifying into stone, he stood frozen in place, unmoving.
A brief, heavy silence fell upon the battlefield.
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