"Alright, Curseborn's little devil."

"It's true that if you don't accept a toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit."

"Let me personally tell you how foolish it is to go against me!"

Oedipus gave a cold laugh, took a few steps back, creating some distance.

With a quick gesture, a frantic whirlwind of incandescent spiral twisted around her palm, forming a flaming spear that let out a crazed roar.

Watching Oedipus poised to throw the spear, Merka raised an eyebrow slightly, falling into a brief contemplation.

That's the Incandescent spiral, right…?

Indeed, its power has weakened compared to before.

This level of Incandescent spiral is not even as strong as the one Turing used when we practiced before.

Just with this magic, theoretically, it shouldn't be able to withstand the war god's magic.

I understand this, doesn't Oedipus understand it too?

Then why… did she choose to confront me head-on?

Staring intensely at Oedipus, Merka quickly pondered, swiftly searching for clues in the magical sight to interpret Oedipus's actions.

Right, Oedipus can use Backdrop on her own…

Could it be, her target is…!

Merka's thought process was momentary. Oedipus arched her arm, filled with potential energy, and fiercely hurled the Incandescent spiral.

But the spear did not fly towards Merka; instead, it headed towards the mechanical deity on the ground.

Almost simultaneously, Merka swung down her staff, diverting the sword tip that was aimed at Oedipus, and then split the airborne flaming spear in two.

The astonishing sword energy spread like scorching steam, forcefully shattering Oedipus's Incandescent spiral.

"Oh…? You've figured it out."

Oedipus squinted, smiling lightly.

"Of course, I've figured it out… You can use Backdrop, nearly every ten seconds you can use it again."

"While I'm almost required to use The Sea-divider to force you to use Backdrop."

"The only way I can kill you, besides distorting the staff, is using the mechanical deity."

"As long as I destroy the mechanical deity and let you slowly deplete my mana, victory will be mine."

At the words, Oedipus raised the corner of her mouth, looking at Merka with an amused gaze.

"...Merka, I truly regret it."

"Back then in court, it was my biggest mistake not to slap you dead."

----------------------------------------------

On the other side of the battlefield, the battle was even more passionate than between Merka and Oedipus.

"Come, Turing… Show me your growth!"

Beelzebub's majestic flame beast claw stamped fiercely on Turing's head like a brilliant seal.

A violent explosion threw Turing away. A series of explosions, like a machine gun, kept spewing tongues of fire.

The piercing pain in the forehead felt like drilling Turing’s consciousness into a millstone, crushing back and forth.

[Ha… What a joke, how can just one-tenth of the power be this strong?]

With a momentary daze after her vision darkened, Turing finally stopped after smashing through dozens of arranged ruins.

Although Turing, with both Descent of the Holy Son and Volcano Mode, had boosted her defenses to an unprecedented level, Beelzebub's attack still easily broke through Turing's defense.

At this moment, Turing's skull cracked open, black-red brain matter and blood flowing out uncontrollably, the bleak skull exposed in the air, a grim indication of the intensity of Beelzebub's kick.

Turing wanted to stand up immediately to defend against the next attack, but her vision darkened once again, nearly causing her to stumble.

[It's over… I'm currently in Volcano Mode and can't use recovery magic temporarily.]

[Relying solely on my angelic recovery power… Can I withstand Beelzebub's assault?]

"Struggle all you want."

Otherwise, you might really die."

Struggling to open her eyes, Turing staggered up from the ground, but was taken aback when Beelzebub's voice came from behind her.

An unmatched terror force emanated from the back of Turing's neck. Turing's feet floated in the air, lifted by this immense force, swung a full circle in the air, and slammed heavily into the ground.

"Damn… You dare underestimate me!"

Beelzebub's swift grappling technique did not diminish Turing's defiance.

As she bore the weight in mid-air, she flipped over to prevent a head-first impact, simultaneously folding her hands; one sword swiftly thrust at Beelzebub's neck while the other struck the ground to mitigate some of the impact.

However, Beelzebub's body twisted to an eerie degree. Her neck bent a hundred and eighty degrees, evading Turing's lethal strike, and her hands remained unwavering, slamming Turing straight down to the ground.

The ultimate force passed through Turing's petite body, violently slamming into the ground.

Beelzebub's shocking monstrous strength transformed into tremendous internal energy and potential deformation, scorching a large area of land black, sinking the ground by several meters.

The heavy, snapping sound of reinforced steel came from Turing's body.

Spitting out blood, Turing, one of her eye sockets shattered by the seismic impact, cracking like a gem, oozing a trickle of blood, pain causing her to tightly shut one eye and daze her mind.

Beelzebub coldly watched the weakened Turing in the deep pit, sitting on the edge, her tone taking on a somewhat mature and aged demeanor.

"It seems you don't actually enjoy fighting, Turing."

"We angels are born weapons."

"But you, you're fundamentally different from us."

"Why do you keep forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy…?"

That doesn't prove your worth after all."

Watching Turing, spitting blood and still trying to get up from the ground, Beelzebub seemed to pout with a hint of compassion.

"Oh well, some people just won't turn back until they hit a wall."

"Let me make sure you never stand up again."