A mile away from the cave.

"Argh... I got dirty," the woman complained, frowning down at her tank top and sweatpants, clicking her tongue at the mud staining the fabric. It was already late, and she had really hoped to avoid exactly this. A hassle of a shower when she got back. "And what’s with her? Isn’t she still a grade-zero Awakened Supernal?

"I know she’s a Supernal of Athena and has two Divine Locks, but still."

Just then, her eyes caught a flicker of movement—the bushes to the left swayed.

A figure exploded from the undergrowth and shot toward her like a bullet.

Clang—!

She ducked in time, avoiding a golden shield being swung at her face, and kicked away to get as much distance as possible. Once she came to a stop, she raised her gaze—and saw Matilda pulling out the shield from the bark with brute strength.

For her to be able to embed the sharp edge of the shield that deep spoke of her strength.

A physique that couldn’t be underestimated.

"Hey, hey, hey..." the woman raised her arms playfully. "Are you offended because of what I said? It’s the truth, no? I’ve seen the report. You betrayed your team on the first day, causing the deaths of many. He’s lucky to survive.

"Just be honest with yourself. You don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself." She grinned.

Matilda’s jaw hung low as anger swallowed her mind whole.

Her Divine Lock pulsated inside her, spreading golden mana across her entire body.

From the outside, her veins became visible, glowing with golden light.

It was a change that the woman didn’t expect to see.

"What do you know about me? What do you know—about what happened?!" Matilda’s roar tore through the night; her eyes blazing with raw fury. This woman—this stranger—had no idea what it had been like back then, and yet she dared to stand there and judge. The audacity set Matilda’s blood on fire. "Do you even know the situation I’m in?!"

"Regardless," the woman shot a playful smile. "I would never choose to betray my team."

Matilda bellowed and charged.

She tackled the woman and pinned her against the tree with the golden shield.

"Face it," the woman placed her hand on the way, protecting her neck from being crushed by the shield and helping her breathe. She was pinned, but the smile was still present on her face. "Face the truth. Embrace yourself. As a Supernal of Athena, you have the innate gift to look down on lesser beings... Abandoning the Lesser Angel should be easy for you.

"Don’t meddle in this matter, and you’d live. I’m sure he’d expect you to betray him anyway."

Matilda pressed the shield harder and leaned her face close; her voice as sharp as a blade without hiding the burning wrath inside her. "You don’t anchor yourself to a sinking ship and call it loyalty when you’re only trying to hide your idiotic mind!"

Feeling the sudden increase in strength, the woman tilted her body away and rolled.

The shield rammed into a tree with a resounding sound of steel.

She stopped at one knee and looked up.

A frown crept to her face when the thick, ancient tree that Matilda struck actually toppled over.

’She’s gotten stronger?’

Just earlier, Matilda had only managed to embed her shield into the bark. Now, the entire tree groaned, splintered, and toppled over—unable to withstand the force of her attack. A massive splash erupted as the tree crashed into the water.

And beyond the splash of water, the woman could see Matilda clearly.

Her veins were riddled with glowing golden veins, and her eyes were akin to two gold stars.

"I may be younger and more inexperienced than you," Matilda slowly walked forward. Each step thudded against the mud like she was stomping, but she didn’t. The heaviness came from the dense mana inside her. "But don’t forget... My Patron God is Athena, one of the Olympian Gods, with a rating of 9.1.

"And as the Lower Olympus stated, the rating is not linear."

It was a well-known truth across the world: the rating of a Patron God was not linear. It never was. The higher the rating climbed, the wider the gap became. Even a difference of a mere 0.1, which would be nothing for lower rating Patron Gods, is staggering for Patron Gods with a higher rating.

A Patron God rated 9.1 was far stronger than one rated 8.9.

And the leap into the 9.0 threshold was a chasm unto itself.

Only Olympian Gods possessed ratings above 9.0, and because of the non-linear structure, a Supernal bearing an Olympian God bloodline could single-handedly defeat ten or even more Supernals of the same rank whose Patron Gods fell beneath that threshold.

Each Supernal with the Divine Bloodline of an Olympian God is a guaranteed powerhouse. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

It was the reason why everyone dreamed of having this.

"For your arrogance, you’ll die tonight!"

Matilda dashed forward with incredible speed, way faster than she was earlier.

A speed that caught the woman completely off guard. She threw up her bare arms to parry or at least block the shield, but it was a mistake with a punishment that came instantly. The ulna and radius bones in both her forearms screamed with sharp, splintering pain.

They almost snapped. Really close to snapping.

She was pushed backward, and Matilda wasn’t going to give her time to breathe.

But the woman had more fighting experience, and certainly more skill. The moment did not rattle her. Didn’t make her panic. Calmly, she parried Matilda’s next strike, pushed the shield aside, and whipped into a flawless spinning kick that cracked squarely against Matilda’s face.

It threw her off balance.

And the opening was instant; the woman drove her dagger toward Matilda’s stomach.

But the shield came down in time to intercept it, steel scraping against steel. A follow-up kick slammed the shield and sent Matilda to the ground. Not wasting a single second, the woman turned and bolted, and flames erupted from her hands to propel her away.

Matilda chased after her.

No intention of letting the woman go after the mockery and taunt.

Despite the propulsion from her flames, Matilda could keep up. Her legs were moving like a blur under her, and each step sounded heavy. It was almost like she was a vehicle, heavy and inexhaustible.

Each time she attacked, a thunderous crack reverberated through the swamp.

Tree after tree was toppled over.

The commotion rippled through the swamp, drawing the attention of every single Awakened Monster in the area. But the two were moving too fast, and their mana burned strongly. Most of the beasts deemed the pursuit not worth the risk—instinct warning them away from prey that radiated such power.

Only a few, mad and desperate, tried to give chase.

Splash—!

Matilda’s shield slammed into the water, missing the woman by an inch.

A privilege for having much combat experience.

The woman planted both feet against the shield and kicked off, launching herself forward in yet another attempt to escape. Even now, her flames barely left a mark on Matilda, and they certainly couldn’t pierce through that cursed shield.

Fighting Matilda isn’t worth it.

But as she thought she reached a safe distance, the air whistled.

She looked over her shoulder, and her pupils dilated.

At the last possible breath, she wrenched her head aside; the spinning shield whistled past her by an inch. Close enough to kiss her skull. A split second later, and it would’ve burst her head like a melon.

She gave Matilda a slow middle finger and dragged her tongue across it in naked mockery.

Laughing at the failed strike.

Just then, her running momentum stopped.

Clang—!

She slammed into something and dropped to the ground.

Confusion struck first, then the sight of it. The golden shield had expanded; its solid, gleaming surface had blocked her path. The woman scrambled upright, but Matilda was already there, already right before her.

A hand seized her face with brutal finality and slammed her skull against the shield.

"I told you," Matilda squeezed her jaw hard and leaned in. "You’ll die tonight."

"Raarggh—!

Flames erupted from the woman’s body, scorching Matilda’s shield and skin.

She put every ounce of mana she had into this fire.

Matilda reacted instantly like a hungry lion—smashing the woman’s skull against the shield, driving a fist into her ribs, then cracking her jaw with a savage hook. Every blow was fueled by raw fury. Each strike meant to break.

But the fire only surged hotter, charring Matilda’s skin until she was forced to release her grip.

Once freed, the woman blasted upward and propelled herself away again.

As a grade-three Awakened Supernal with two Divine Locks opened, the woman has a lot of mana inside her body. And not to mention, she was mildly regenerating—so her durability is not a joke at all.

Moreover, she has also fought with a Star Beast without a doubt.

Her combat experience made it very hard to kill her.

For a second, Matilda thought it was going to be another cat-and-mouse pursuit again.

She would do it, no intention of letting the woman go, but was annoyed by it.

Exhaustion was creeping in, but she could still go on for an hour.

But a few hundred yards in, her eyes caught sight of the woman ahead, leaning against a tree.

Matilda didn’t let herself think—she simply moved, taking the opportunity before it slipped from her hands again. In a blue—she was behind the woman, shield already mid-swing. The impact sounded like a tree branch snapping, and then the woman’s head met the trunk.

It didn’t survive the meeting, exploding blood and brain matter everywhere.

Blood squirted everywhere, painting Matilda’s face red.

For a second, she stood there, staring at the woman’s corpse, still in disbelief. Seconds ago, it was extremely hard to kill the woman, even with her boosted state. And now, out of nowhere, the woman stopped and let herself be killed.

"It doesn’t make sense..." She muttered.

Confused, she knelt down and checked the corpse, wanting to determine the cause.

Matilda rolled the corpse onto its back and scanned it from head to toe. Her gaze snagged on a tear in the tank top, right over the stomach. Frowning, she lifted the fabric to check and saw a stabbing wound beneath.

Clean and deliberate.

It also looked fresh, still bleeding, and the wound looked like it was done by a blade.

But Matilda wasn’t using a blade.

"Someone... intercepted her? Who...?" She turned around to scan the area, searching for any movement in the darkness or in the water. But she saw nothing other than stillness and silence. But the wound has to come from someone. "I didn’t even pick up any aura. Is it Kai?"