Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 278 - 264: Shining star
From the darkness of the portals emerged five towering figures. All almost as tall as King but only Queen was of equal height to him.
"Master," they all said bowing.
Florence stepped forward gracefully, her white eyes staring at the land calmly. Her jumpsuit clung to her body, and her perpetually sweet smile never faltered as she addressed Aurianna. "What would you like us to do, Master?" Her tone was polite, almost cheerful.
Ruigo, cloaked in her mage’s robe, adjusted her grip on her staff. The hood obscured most of her face, but her voice was soft and steady. "I believe she wants us to fight them." She gestured toward Athena and her group with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Nia ignored the others entirely and moved forward. Her massive hand, clad in gauntlets that shimmered like a mirror, scooped Aurianna up effortlessly. She brought her closer, her vibrant eyes gleaming with excitement. "Finally, Master! You’ve summoned me again! I thought you’d forgotten me!" she exclaimed, holding Aurianna with a doll in her palm. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Aurianna chuckled lightly, though her expression remained cold. "How could I forget you, Nia? Now, put me down. On Ruigo."
Ipha, the stoic berserker clad in towering armor, stepped closer. Her pale skin contrasted starkly against the dark grey colour of her armor, and her downturned eyes glimmered with worry. "Master, your body..." she murmured, noticing the crystal parts for Aurianna’s arms and legs.
"It’s fine," Aurianna replied dismissively. "I’ll just replace them later. Let’s focus on the enemies."
Athena, still shaken, stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before her. "She... she used her own body as a sacrifice to summon them," she mumbled. Her gaze flicked between Aurianna and the knights.
Juastizel, barely containing his fury, snarled and broke into a sprint toward Aurianna. "Then she’s weaker now! We just need to—"
He didn’t finish his sentence. Ipha intercepted him with astonishing speed, her massive blade slamming into him like a falling meteor. The impact sent him hurtling several kilometers, carving a trench in the earth as he crashed to the ground.
Suddenly floating guns appeared around the Chaos Realm, glowong and bristling with destructive magic. They pointed downward, unleashing a barrage of explosive blasts, destroying everything they deemed as a target. At the same time, Archeons rushed forward like a tidal wave, intent on devouring anything in their path and attacked Athena and the others who tried their best to kill and repel their attacks. Utilizing shield whiles attacking at the same time which greately drained their mana.
Juastizel groaned, his robotic parts sparking as he struggled to stand up. He barely managed to release an explosive wave from his cannons, holding the Archeons at bay for a moment. "Damn my body is damaged!" he growled, his voice trembling.
The knights moved. Queen closed the distance to Juastizel in a blur. She drew her blade in a single slash with a calm expression.
Juastizel froze, a shocked expression crossing his face. A deep, clean cut split his body in half. His body crumbled, twitching erratically as sparks and fluid leaked from his mechanical insides.
Queen sheathed her sword, before walking back to Aurianna’s side.
The rest of Athena’s group froze in terror, their eyes wide as the reality of their situation sank in.
"This can’t... This can’t be happening!" Getha stammered, her hands trembling as she backed away.
Athena clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain composed even as dread clawed at her chest. ’She’s unstoppable. But if we give up now, we’re dead anyway.’
Juastizel’s flickering consciousness gave way to one final thought as Ipha loomed over him, ready to finish the job. ’Is this how it ends?’
Jaustizel’s mind raced as his mechanical body slowly lost its ability to move. ’Damnit, I just managed to escape that prison... and now I’m going to die here.’ His thoughts were sharp, but the pain from the wound that split him in half was overwhelming. He tried to hold onto consciousness as his memories of Athena flooded his mind.
"Jaustizel, make sure you come and see me one day, okay?" Her words echoed from the past, a time when they had stood together in a meadow, their laughter ringing through the air. But before he could dwell on it any longer, Ipha’s crystal boot slammed down onto his entire body, the force snapping his already broken body into nothingness. His systems short-circuited, and he was gone—utterly squashed.
"Shit!" Getha cursed, gripping her massive hammer tightly as she prepared to strike Florence. But Florence wasn’t even bothered. With a simple gesture of her fingers, two giant Archeons appeared, their grotesque bodies twisting unnaturally as they lurched toward Getha. The strings that controlled them slithered like snakes as they stick on the Acrhoens heads and backs.
Getha swung her hammer with all her might, to parry their attacks, but the Archeons closed in, the explosions from Aurianna’s guns raining down on her as well. The miniature monsters that were her height, were like insects that pounced at her every weak point, biting and clawing whenever she stumbled or let her guard down.
Pain shot through her body as she struggled to maintain her footing. She could barely stand, her breath ragged from the exertion. She couldn’t count how many times she had used all of her best skills, yet even those wasn’t enough to stop the monsters. They just came back to life.
Florence stood before Getha, the same calm smile on her face. She extended her hand, and Getha’s body jerked painfully as the strings wrapped around her. Flicking her hands, Florence began to tear Getha apart. Getha screamed as her body was torn in two, her body torn into pieces like a ragdoll.
Haruno rushed forward, his sword raised high to help, but before he could even reach Getha, Nia blocked him. She grinned, her two massive blades gleaming in the moonlight. Her eyes were curved in an arc and a sadistic smile was plastered on her face, and Haruno’s heart sank in his chest.
He hesitated, fear crawling up his spine as Nia’s presence grew overwhelmingly suffocating. She had a look in her eyes, one that screamed pure madness. He felt his courage falter as she swung her massive swords effortlessly, and he tried his best to block every attack she threw against him.
As Getha’s body lay in pieces, Haruno’s sword clashed against Nia’s blades once more with a resounding crash. But before he could even think of pressing on with the attack, Nia kicked him with her leg, a
strike that sent him flying back. His body almost slamming into the ground, but Dominid managed to catch him, his hands glowing as he used his powers to heal Haruno’s wounds, though it was clear that even his magic wasn’t enough to stop the heavy injuries caused by Nia and the other knights.
Haruno gritted his teeth, pushing himself back to his feet. "We can’t hold on like this!" he gasped, his eyes trembling.
Nia, unconcerned walked towards them and raised her swords. She mumbled something under her breath—her words barely audible.
"Thousand Sword Slash."
In the blink of an eye, Nia’s swords blurred, moving so fast that the human eye couldn’t even keep up. In a fraction of a second, she had unleashed a storm of slashes, each strike faster than the last.
Haruno and Dominid stared at her in confusion wondering why she just walked away but they soon realized they were already dead.The land around them had been torn apart, shredded into tiny bits. And the bodies of Haruno and Dominid were reduced to nothing more than minced meat. Their flesh had been cleaved so thoroughly that not even a recognizable part of them remained.
The air was thick with the scent of blood.
The only one left standing from their group was Athena.
"Heh, Aurianna, there’s no need for all of this. You wouldn’t attack a member of your own church, would you? After all, we, the church members, are supposed to be like family," Athena said nervously, her voice laced with desperation as she tried to convince Aurianna to spare her life.
Aurianna’s eyes glinted coldly, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "Oh, don’t act coy with me. I know what you do, Saintess of Paige. I know about all those experiments." Her voice was cold. Athena’s face turned ashen, her heart hammering in her chest.
Athena’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way out. In a panic, she pushed herself into the air, flying away as fast as she could, hoping to escape from Aurianna. But she didn’t get far.
"Ruigo, let’s do Shining Star together," Aurianna said with a chuckle as she sat on Ruigo’s shoulder.
Ruigo, the hooded mage, nodded without a word, raising her staff high.
"Gixo!" Aurianna called out, and the familiar, glowing ball of light appeared in her hand.
"Yes, I’m here," Gixo responded.
Together, Aurianna and Ruigo said, "Shining Star!"
In the night sky the clouds parted, revealing the stars, each one shimmering brightly. But then, a few of those stars began to fall.
Athena then noticed the place began to bright up. Noticing something was wrong. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked up, realizing too late that the stars were falling directly toward her.
The explosion of light engulfed everything—the land, the air, and Athena herself—obliterating the dungeon and the terrain beneath her.The shockwave from the blast sent ripples of mana across the entire area, shaking the land.
