At first, she refused to believe it. Jib-chan might be mischievous, obsessed with knowledge, sometimes stepping out of linebut betray the One who created them and gave them meaning? Impossible.
So she volunteered to find Jibril herself, to ask her face-to-face.
But as she tracked her down and saw this sceneJibril living peacefully with the Ex-Machina, even seemingly protecting those fragile humanseverything pointed to the answer Azril least wanted to accept.
For the first time, her heart was a storm of contradictions: a deep, instinctive love for Jib-chan, and an unshakable loyalty and duty to Artosh.
If Jibril truly had betrayed them, then she must she must
Jibril was silent for a moment. She didn't say "yes" or "no." She drew a long breath and spoke with a gravity Azril had never heard from her before. "I'm sorry, Azril-senpai. I've simply found the freedom that truly belongs to meand a new master worthy of my fealty."
The worst fear crystallized.
Boom.
It felt like something clamped around Azril's heart and squeezed, a sharp stab of pain. The next instant, all feeling was crushed flat. Her face went cold and blank, like the most precise, merciless engine of slaughter. In a flat, almost mechanical voice, she pronounced:
"Confirmation: individual Jibril exhibits treasonous conduct. By the authority granted by Artosh-sama and the Flgel's iron laws I, Azril, Full-Wing Proxy of the Flgel will execute the traitor."
Duty overruled affection.
Almost as the words left Azril's lips, Jibril moved first. She knew exactly how terrifying Azril wasand that, once they fought, the collateral damage would be unimaginable. She could not allow a single shockwave to touch the Couronne human settlement.
"Schwi, initiate auxiliary computation!"
With a sharp cry, Jibril unleashed the spell she'd been holding ready.
A deep hum rolled out.
A gigantic, semi-transparent, cube-shaped spatial barrier exploded outward from her position like a colossal glass dome, sealing herself, Azril, and Schwiwho had instantly entered combat modeinside. It was a space-isolation barrier Jibril had studied for a long time, designed specifically to contain internal energy impactsprepared for a worst-case showdown between the mighty.
"Space isolation? You plan to keep the battlefield in here?" Azril watched, expressionless, making no move to stop it. "Fine. Less chance for the ants to get underfoot."
She slowly lifted her hand. The intricate halo above her head began to spin at a speed unlike anything before. A vast, ocean-deep power gathered.
"Then show your senior how much you've grown while you were away, Jib-chan. Heavenly Smite"
Azril spoke almost lazily. A lance of emerald light, compressed to the absolute limit as if it could spear straight through the starsa spear of Godblasted toward Jibril.
Jibril's pupils tightened. She didn't dare slacken for an instant.
"Codexopen! Apocrypha: Heavenly Smite!"
Schwi's mechanical voice rang out at the same time. Arrays and mechanical constructs bloomed all around her, furiously parsing and emulating Azril's energy architecture to bolster Jibril and throw off the attack.
The wings of light at Jibril's back flared, and she fired her own Heavenstrike to meet it.
A thunder like the tearing of a continent crashed through the confined space as the two Heavenstrikes slammed together. An indescribable energy storm detonated point-blank. The entire spatial barrier shuddered violently; hairline cracks skittered across its surface. Blinding light swallowed everything.
Huddled behind a stone hut, Couronne clamped her hands over her ears. Even with the battle sealed off, the roar and the tremors made her dizzy with terror. Staring at that alien, blazing dome devouring the world outside, she prayed with everything she had:
"Rei Ao-samaplease, hurry!"
Chapter 937: Kanna wants to Play?
Outside the barrier.
Couronne was frantic.
The spatial barrier kept shuddering, as if it could break at any moment. From inside came waves of power so terrifying they made the earth itself tremble. Everything screamed how fierce and dangerous the battle within must be.
She clenched her fists so hard her nails almost dug into her palmsbut she was powerless. She was simply too weak. And not just herthe whole human race was like this.
Just then, a warm, steady hand settled lightly on her shoulder, which was trembling with tension.
"!!!"
Couronne jolted and spun around. The instant she saw who it was, her taut nerves loosened all at once and she all but sagged with relief. "Rei Ao-sama! You're finally here!"
She didn't even stop to look closely at the two people beside him. Every bit of her attention fixed on Rei Aothe one anchor she could cling to now. Pointing anxiously at the roaring, light-flooded dome, her voice wavered on the edge of tears. "Jibril-sama and Schwi-sama are in therethey're fighting that terrifying Flgel!"
Rei Ao's expression remained calm as still water. To him, a clash that could unmake heaven and earth looked like children roughhousing. He nodded, his tone light. "I know. Don't worry, Jibril and Schwi will be fine. I know their strength."
He paused, eyes sweeping over the hardened spatial barrier. Then he casually lifted a hand and gave the crack-veined wall a gentle swipe.
Riiip!
Like a blade slicing silk, the barrier sturdy enough to withstand dueling Heavenly Smites opened under his touch, parting into a smooth gap wide enough for people to pass through. The raging energy turbulence inside seemed pressed down by an invisible force and stilled for the moment.
"Come onlet's go take a look."
With that, Rei Ao stepped forward and strode into the storm.
Couronne didn't dare hesitate and moved to followonly then noticing the two figures behind him. One was a gentle-looking girl with blue-violet hair, face tight with nerves and curiosity as she glanced around. The other was a small girl in a cute dress with white hair, odd little horns and a tail, looking harmless as could be.
What kind of party is this? Who are they?
The question flickered through Couronne's mind, but there was no time to dwell on it. She hurried in after Rei Ao.
"Whew" The unfamiliar surroundings made Michiru a little stiff; she drew in a deep breath. "Let's go too." Gripping Kanna's small hand, she followed, nervous and unsure.
The moment they stepped inside, the sight before them made Michiru and Couronne gasp.
The world had become a purgatory of light and energy.
High above, three figures were colliding and crossing at speeds the naked eye could barely catch.
Jibril was fully in battle modepink hair streaming, halo blazing, wings of light flared to their fullest. Destructive spells flowered in her hands one after another, a valkyrie descended.
Schwi displayed the Ex-Machina's terrifying technological prowess. Complex mechanical assemblies and flowing arrays wrapped her whole form. Massive cannon muzzles thrust from the void at intervals, spitting beams that could tear space. Her hands sketched rapid patterns in the air like a performance, running ultra-high-speed tactical calculations and support routines.
Their opponentthe Flgel called Azrilwasn't about to be outdone. She hung in the air, emerald hair rippling without wind. The intricate halo of layered magic circles above her head spun faster than ever, an ocean of power gathering around her. She hardly needed to move; with a casual flick she could unleash strikes that crushed mountains and boiled rivers.
Emerald Heavenly Smite lances, pitch-black Ex-Machina artillery, rose-pink torrents of magicdevastating forces crashed together in the sky, detonating and annihilating each other.
BOOM! BOOM!
The deafening thunder never stopped. A savage energy storm raked every inch inside the barrier.
The mythical scale of it all shattered the heart of Michiruan ordinary high school girl. She went pale, body trembling, and instinctively clutched the hem of Rei Ao's coat.
Couronne had seen Jibril and Schwi's power before, but watching them go all out against a peer left her heart pounding all the same.
Amid that suffocating battlefield tension, Kannahand in Michiru'ssuddenly blinked her ice-blue eyes and tilted her head back to watch the furious combat, the dazzling, muscle-thick collisions of power. Not only was she unafraidan eager, yearning light slowly sparked to life in those pure eyes.
She tugged on Rei Ao and Michiru's hands.
"W-what is it?" Michiru snapped out of her daze and looked down at Kanna, startled. It looked like Kanna wanted to say something.
Rei Ao understood her at once. He glanced down, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Hm? Kanna wants to go play too?"
"Mm-mm-mm!" Kanna nodded hard, cheeks flushing with the thrill of it, every line of her face itching to jump in.
"W-What? Play?" Michiru yelped, aghast. She stared at Kanna in disbelief. "Kanna, don't joke aroundthat's way too dangerous! You can't go!"
She reflexively pulled Kanna behind her, terrified the child would bolt straight into the heart of that annihilating melee.
Rei Ao chuckled and reminded her, "Michiru, you seem to have forgotten who Kanna really is."
"Kanna's identity?" Michiru blinked. Her gaze drifted, almost on its own, to the little white dragon horns peeking from Kanna's silver-white hairhorns that clearly didn't belong to any human.
In a flash, clarity returned. Kanna wasn't some ordinary little girl. She was a pure-blood dragon from another world, with a lifespan of millenniaone of those fantastical beings of colossal power and long life.
That beach day with Kanna and Tohrutheir "volleyball match" that nearly triggered a tsunamiwas still burned into her memory. That wasn't a level of power any human could fathom.
~~~
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Chapter 938: Kanna vs Azril!
Michiru looked like she'd just had an epiphanybut the worry on her face remained.
Rei Ao said gently, "I think it's been a long time since Kanna really stretched her limbs. This is a good chance for her to move around a bitlet her go have some fun. Don't worry, I'm here."
His words carried an absolute confidence that put people at ease.
Michiru glanced at Rei Ao's calm smile, then at Kanna's eyesbright with anticipation and fighting spirit. It was obvious Kanna truly wanted to jump in.
She hesitated for a moment, then, with some difficulty, nodded her agreement.
Crouching down, she earnestly reminded Kanna, "Then be careful. If you can't win, run straight backabsolutely, absolutely no getting hurt, okay?"
"Mhm! Got it!"
Kanna nodded obedientlybut the fire of battle in her eyes was already blazing.
The next second, under Couronne's stunned gaze, Kanna let go of Michiru's hand and took two quick steps forward. Dazzling white light burst over her body. Within that glow, her form swelled and reshaped at frightening speed!
An ancient, vast, imperious aura exploded outward, flooding the entire barrierand for a moment, it even smothered the energy waves pouring off the three titans clashing in the sky.
"Rooooar!"
A dragon's cry shook the heavens.
When the light cleared, the small, adorable girl was gone. In her place loomed a colossal silver-white dragon, big enough to blot out the sky. A sleek, beautiful body was clad in gleaming white, metal-sheen scales. Enormous wings spread, casting a broad shadow. Pure battle lust burned in those ice-blue dragon eyes.
Kanna's full dragon formon the field!
The white dragon beat her wings, whipping up a fierce galethen launched straight up, charging for the battlefield in the sky with unstoppable momentum.
High above, Azril's mood was anything but calm, whatever her face showed. The longer she fought, the more alarmed she became.
Jibril's growth far exceeded her expectations. Mana reserves, spell potency, sense of timingshe was leagues stronger than when she'd left Avant Heim. It made no sense. How could Jibril-chan change this much in so short a time?
Worse was that Ex-Machina. Just an Ex-Machinayet its computational power, energy output, and those eerie, multi-layered compound attacks were causing real trouble even for her, a primordial individual. Time and again she had to handle the tight, coordinated pincer of Jibril and Shuvi together.
SheSpeaker of the Flgel, first creation of the War God Artoshwas being gradually forced onto the back foot in a two-on-one? The pride born of her race and station reeled in shock and disgust.
Unforgivable.
A hard light flashed in Azril's eyes. The halo above her head spun even faster, a greater power gathering. Her pride would not allow defeat. She was ready to unleash something stronger at any costeven if it irreparably damaged this spatial barriersubdue that metal lump first, then take Jibril-chan.
But the instant she moved to strike, Jibril and Shuvi abruptly fell back in unison, attacks ceasing as they shifted into wary defensive stances.
Huh?
Azril blinked, her assault faltering for a beat.
And then
Whoooom!
A gale of feral aura slammed in from the flank.
"!"
Azril's heart jolted; she whipped her head around. A massive, all-white dragon, radiating a pulse of power that made the heart quail, hovered before her, wings thrumming. Those vast ice-blue eyes stared straight at her without blinking.
"Dragonia?!"
Azril's pupils shrank; her expression turned grave, her posture instinctively more guarded. The vast energy she'd meant to hurl at Jibril quietly swung to track this newly arrived, extremely high-threat target.
There was no doubtAzril had taken Kanna for one of this world's top races: the Dragonia.
Her wariness was well-founded. The Dragonia themselves embodied absolute might and mystery. In the ranking of the Sixteen Races, Dragonia sit at fourthbehind the Old Deus, the Phantasma, and the Elvescomfortably above the sixth-ranked Flgel.
The Dragon Tongue commands creation itself; words become law, bordering on the power of rules. Their scales hold despair-inducing quantities of spirit energy. And for their unique nature as "multiversal lifeforms," they are notoriously hard to truly kill.
Usually, to bring down a single Dragonia, you'd send a tactical unit of fifty or more Flgel and still pay a price for victory.
But Azril was different.
A primordial god-slaying weapon, she knew the Dragonia's strengthand, more importantly, how to kill them. A Dragonia's essence is a "vessel" that contains a special spacetime; its power comes from the resonance of past, present, and future. But if you can force even the tiniest crack in that vessel and inject a thread of foreign power, the Dragonia will self-annihilate under its own infinite internal resonance.
