"Tarasque!"
Seeing Cain, badly wounded, about to be burned to ash by the flaming Demon Sword, a woman's sharp cry rang out at the critical moment. An earth dragon with the appearance of a giant hedgehog, an enormous head, a purple-red rocky shell covered in sharp spines, six legs, and a venomous stinger at the end of its tail was smashed flying by a purple-red cross-shaped staff and hurled into the path of the blade.
Boom!
"Awooo!"
With a shrill scream, the earth dragon covered in hard armor had the bone spikes on its back shattered. Like a baseball struck by both sides of the fight, it spun through the air with a wailing gust of wind and slammed halfway into a distant mountain.
"You bastard, stop right there and reflect on what you've done!"
At the same time, a cold, furious shout rang out. Amid a string of explosive cracks through the air, a fist as white as jade rapidly enlarged before Samael's eyes. The fierce wind pressure attached to it pierced the Magecraft barrier like a steel blade, scraping across the Ancient Serpent's flesh, bones, and tendons, bringing a faint sting.
At that moment, Samael had just unleashed an overwhelming blow. His old strength was spent, and new strength had yet to rise. Caught in that instant, he had no time to change his move, so he could only jerk his wrist, turning the flaming Demon Sword upward to block.
Clang!
Fist and sword collided, producing a sharp metallic ring. The surrounding Ether shook violently, forming a storm visible to the naked eye.
"Honor me, fear me. This is the temple of God, this is the gate of heaven! For your sins, be anointed with oil and branded with the mark. Cast off the burden of life and rest here. Protection of Faith!"
Driven by the roaring wind, the tall woman, gentle as a calm sea in peace and raging as storm waves in battle, offered a prayer both devout and fervent. That surging power of faith directly transformed her unbreakable will into a formula that enhanced her body, instantly increasing her strength dozens of times over.
Boom!
A force like collapsing mountains and roaring seas surged from the blade, forcibly scattering the demonic flames.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Caught off guard, Samael felt his hand go numb and staggered back several steps. Each step shook the ground, cracking it into radiating fissures that constantly vented the domineering force.
"Samael, I'm here to help you!"
Just then, a powerful force lifted Samael's retreating body from behind and stopped his momentum.
However, the opposing forces crashed together with nowhere to disperse, instantly rampaging through the Ancient Serpent's body. His blood churned violently, and a line of crimson spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Samael coughed lightly, raised a hand to wipe away the blood, and turned to look behind him with resentment.
"Be honest. Are you sure you're not here to sabotage me? Were you planning to inherit my estate afterward?"
"Cough, cough. It was… an accident. How was I supposed to know a mere mortal girl's punch would be that brutal?"
Holo looked at her blood-spitting little brother and awkwardly withdrew her claws. She did not dare meet the victim's eyes and tried hard to defend herself.
"Nonsense. Didn't you see the earth dragon beside her get beaten into a dog with its tail tucked between its legs? Who do you think she is? Martha, the Iron Fist Holy Maiden, the orthodox inheritor of the Jacob Divine Fist!"
Samael glanced at the purple-haired, blue-eyed girl in loose white-and-purple priestly robes, walking out of a hundred-meter-deep pit with her fists clenched. He snorted at Holo, half joking and half serious.
Jacob, also known as "Jacob," dreamed of the gate of heaven, heard God reaffirm the covenant made with his grandfather Abraham, wrestled with an angel and was left lame, and received the name "Israel" from God, meaning "one who wrestles with God."
Thus, he became the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
According to legend, the angel who lost to Jacob was Michael, known as the "Viceroy of Heaven." The fact that Jacob could win in a contest of strength was enough to prove his astonishing talent in hand-to-hand combat.
Later, according to biblical legend, Jacob led his tribe to move to Egypt, which led to the later Exodus.
And Moses, the saint who opened the Red Sea with a single strike and established the "Ten Commandments" with God, seemed to be the orthodox successor of the Jacob Divine Fist.
That was why the Jacob Divine Fist was also jokingly called the "Moses Parting the Sea Fist."
Likewise, the Holy Maiden Martha before them had clearly inherited the true essence of the Jacob Divine Fist. By the water's edge, with just a few punches, even Tarasque, the armored dragon famous for its defense, had been beaten until it cried for mercy and meekly turned over a new leaf.
From then on, the dignified First Son of Leviathan had been subdued beneath the claws of this violent Holy Maiden, reduced to a familiar summoned at will, forever prepared to receive a beating and doomed to the miserable fate of being used as a shield or thrown weapon.
"You know me?"
Martha was startled when the man accurately spoke her True Name. She immediately stopped, gently spread her arms, and a warm, earnest look appeared on her face.
"I firmly believe that no evil exists without reason. O sinner who obstructs the descent of the Eternal Kingdom, if you are willing to repent and stop, the Lord's gate will always be open to you!"
"The Eternal Kingdom? Washing away the sins of all humanity? Your Lord didn't use that line to fool you people, did He?"
Samael's eyes flickered, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Based on his understanding of that old enemy, he toyed with the guess aloud.
"That's right. The Tower of Babel will soon be complete. As long as the Greeks are willing to take one step back and contribute the Greater Source of the Planet so the world can be reshaped, all divided nations will be fused into one. The world will have no more conflict, and the kingdom on earth will surely become Eden for our Lord and all innocent people!"
The pure-hearted Holy Maiden spoke frankly, hiding nothing. A longing glow appeared on her devout face.
"If this is about the fusion of nations, then why can't we be the ones leading it, while you become our vassals and hand over the Tower of Babel?"
Samael raised an eyebrow and asked with amusement.
"Our Lord is the only true God in this world! Since you refuse to accept the Lord's gift, you should repent properly!"
Martha answered sternly. Her gaze gradually sharpened, and the aura around her instantly flared and boiled.
Clearly, the repentance this Iron Fist Holy Maiden spoke of was physical.
"A mere little girl dares to injure my Samael? I'll teach you a lesson!"
Hearing such forceful and offensive words, Holo leapt over Samael and flashed into the front.
"Be careful! Also, you were the one who made me cough up blood, so don't try to pin it on someone else!"
Samael casually warned her while grumbling, exposing the real reason behind her move.
"Petty! Your eyes were on her the whole time just now. Fine, then I'll catch her and bring her back to warm your bed. That works, right? You can do whatever you want with her!"
"…I told you not to piss me off… Shut your damn mouth!"
Just as Holo turned back maliciously to offer her little brother compensation, Martha let slip a curse. The veins on her forehead bulged as she stomped forward, mobilizing more than six hundred muscles in the human body. A devastating force surged out from her thrusting fist.
But as she neared her target, the Iron Fist Holy Maiden's gaze fell on the lazy-looking little girl beneath the dust. The blood rushing to her head immediately withdrew, and the mountain-crushing force of her fist instantly lost seventy percent of its power. The fist's edge was forcibly diverted to the side.
Boom!
Yet a violent explosion rang out. Dust and smoke billowed. Amid the spreading sand and stones, one large fist and one small fist met head-on. The short flaxen-haired girl, who should already have been passively outside the attack range, stood directly before Martha's fist and forcibly took the blow.
Pfft…
Having forcibly withdrawn and released her strength, Martha suffered a shock through her organs and immediately spat out a mouthful of dark-red blood. Her body swayed as she staggered back, struggling to steady her breathing.
Faith is fire, my body is iron. Tempered a hundred times into steel, unbreakable!
Under that adjustment of body and mind, far more advanced than simple self-hypnosis, Martha's injuries rapidly recovered.
"Don't underestimate me. I suggest you use your full strength. This fight decides where you sleep tonight."
Standing in place, Holo withdrew her hand. Her amber eyes looked at Martha and reflected a clear gaze as she snorted in irritation.
At the same time, however, the claw hidden behind her back was secretly rotating at the wrist, dispelling the aching numbness in her muscles and bones.
This woman's fists really are hard!
In pure strength, even if I can't match Samael, I'm still above average in Asgard. I nearly lost out there. Looks like I need to get serious.
"Roar!"
At that moment, the armored dragon Tarasque, buried beneath rubble, sensed its Master's injury and immediately pulled itself free, wanting to charge forward and help fight.
Bang!
However, the earth dragon had only just raised its head when a giant claw struck from the side and slapped it back into the mud.
"Awoo!"
While the earth dragon Tarasque was still dizzy, the hell three-headed dog that had picked up bad habits from a certain unscrupulous Professor succeeded with one sneak attack. It immediately growled low and circled behind the iron turtle, biting its relatively soft tail and dragging and clawing at it while injecting poison into its body.
Seeing Cerberus bullying that iron turtle while still not forgetting to grin at him with a flattering smile, Samael could not help pressing a hand to his forehead. The corner of the Ancient Serpent's mouth twitched slightly.
Let me state this in advance. I absolutely did not teach him that!
Meanwhile, on the battlefield between Martha and Holo, the two figures, one large and one small, stared at each other quietly, both faces turning somewhat grave.
Bang! Bang!
In the next instant, almost at the same time, the two opponents, having adjusted their mindsets, crushed the rocky ground beneath their feet, stirred up fierce Ether storms, and charged at each other.
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