"Enough, Raiden Mei—!"
Durandal, who had been chased relentlessly like a panicked chicken, finally seemed to snap. She placed the White Blazing Cat on the ground—
"Let's fight!"
Black Abyss White Flower was drawn again. The artificial Divine Key clashed with the Herrscher's Divine Construct, erupting in a shower of sparks and lightning.
The length advantage of the massive lance was nullified by the nodachi wielded by Raiden Mei. In fact, the lance's limited attack options, restricted to its tip, left Durandal struggling against the tachi wielder.
Any hope that the tachi itself, unsuitable for high-intensity clashes and prone to breaking, would fail was doomed. The enormous longsword was clearly a companion construct born from the Herrscher's awakening.
"I'm so furious!"
Durandal, fighting with extreme frustration, finally stopped holding back. She abandoned her previous normal lance style of thrusting, lifting, and poking, switching to a violent style of swinging, slamming, and smashing.
Seemingly unsatisfied with the pressure from just one lance, our golden-haired gorilla also grabbed Hler's Serenity from her back. Dual-wielding lances, she unleashed her full power.
The effect was immediately obvious: leveraging the Kaslana family's hereditary monstrous strength, Durandal slowly began to regain the upper hand in the duel.
There's a chance—
Seeing the longsword knocked aside again by her brute force, Durandal increased the power and frequency of her attacks...
Then, Raiden Mei started to feel less than wonderful. The Valkyrie opposite her seemed to be playing dirty, abandoning skill in favor of brute force to create a miracle...
How could I, Raiden Mei, let you get your way? Brute force for a miracle, huh? Let's see who's stronger—!
Red lightning crackled along the girl's arms and the blade's edge. Seemingly sharing Durandal's idea, she prepared to increase her output and settle the fight once and for all.
"Hah—Ah!"
The blade's edge and the lance's tip clashed, creating an even louder explosion than before, like rolling thunder, causing the nearby White Blazing Cat, who was playing dead, to fold its ears flat.
The downside of having four-channel audio became painfully clear. The white Knight Princess mentally cursed a certain Kaslana family member, or rather, in a sense, her Old Ancestor...
[Imhotep, you useless woman! These two are going to turn this place into a crater!]
At this stage of the battle, all technique had been thrown out the window. The two humanoid bulldozers were scraping away layer after layer of the surrounding terrain.
One was the Schicksal Knight, the Strongest Valkyrie Durandal, single-mindedly focused on completing her mission. The other was Raiden Mei, obsessed with taking Kiana back, even to the point of undergoing Herrscherfication again.
"I have to admit, you truly possess enough power now, Raiden Mei—"
The golden-haired Valkyrie retreated abruptly, widening the distance on the battlefield again.
"However, bringing her back is my mission, so I will not yield—!"
The silver, white, and blue Knight armor gradually receded, replaced by a suit of gold armor like a Saint from a manga, and watching the battlefield situation escalate, White Blazing and the others could no longer sit still.
[Imhotep, if you don't get here soon, these two are really going to turn this place into a crater!]
"With this next strike—let's settle this!!!"
The blonde girl drew her bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at Raiden Mei floating in the air before her.
The latter drew her tachi, crimson lightning crackling along the blade, its tip pointed at the Valkyrie in front of her—
Then, both sides attacked simultaneously—
"Now, the Time of Annihilation!"
"This strike shall pierce the stars!"
.....Boom! A massive explosion engulfed everything on the battlefield in Kiana's vision. From a distance, a small mushroom cloud was rising from the center of the crater—
The two combatants, who should have clashed, were simultaneously blasted away from the explosion's epicenter....
It wasn't the aftershock from their colliding attacks, but a far more dangerous and powerful intervener—
The crimson Might of An-Utu was embedded in the center of the crater, or rather, the now-vitrified impact crater.
A white-haired woman wearing a black mask and a black combat suit accented with navy blue stood atop the greatsword's hilt. Behind her, a giant angelic figure now looked down upon the two who had been blasted away....
"Who are you!?"
The brief words carried a mix of caution and the lingering anger from being blown away...
"Ah.... All things have been incinerated, and my own body shall be destroyed without a trace—"
"Life and death, existence and annihilation, only [Decimation] burns eternal—"
Leaping down from the hilt, the black-masked woman pulled the Might of An-Utu from the ground, facing the Valkyrie and the Herrscher who now stood against her.
"Herrscher, that was quite a fight. How about you let me join in?"
"As for you, take your sister and leave this place, descendant of the Kaslana family....."
After glancing at the Herrscher beside her, the mysterious figure turned to Durandal.
"So who are you.... and who are you calling my sister???"
Durandal was completely bewildered.
"Heh, my name is Kevinna Kaslana. As for your sister, the time is not yet right... Didn't you just toss her to the ground?"
"What a fragile sisterhood..."
"Now, take her and leave. We will meet again next time."
"Wait... You're Kevin Kaslana?! The ancestor of the Kaslana family recorded in Schicksal's archives!?"
As if finally recalling the significance of the name the girl had just revealed, Durandal's body tensed...
"But you're supposed to be..."
"You should leave now... descendant of the Kaslana family. I have no need to explain anything to you at this moment."
"The fact that you bear the Kaslana Stigmata is an undeniable objective reality, and it will tell you everything."
The cold voice spoke again, cutting off the golden-haired Valkyrie's questions.
"Tsk... You might as well have said nothing. You reek of riddles. Are you really a Kaslana ancestor and not some ancestor of the Apocalypse family?"
"I will not allow you to take Kiana away!"
Raiden Mei, who was standing nearby, also joined their conversation, and the atmosphere once again became tense and confrontational.
"Sigh... One doesn't want her to leave her side, while the other is desperate to know her own and the girl's origins..."
"How interesting..."
The instigator stood at the very center, her tone laced with a hint of mockery...
"If you're so eager to know..."
"Then come and take the answers yourselves. The Kaslana family's rule is that the strong are respected..."
The Might of An-Utu ignited once more, pointing at the two of them.
"Will you come one by one, or all at once?"
Perhaps it was just their imagination, but Raiden Mei and Durandal sensed something akin to excitement in the white-haired woman's voice.
This woman... she's practically cheering at the prospect of a real fight...
But it seemed they had no other choice.
"Hey, Raiden Mei, shall we go together? If she really is that legendary warrior."
"Alright!"
Good afternoon, Macaca.
What should we eat today?
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Spy-Some Reason the raw just messed up the chap number and it stays consistent for the rest? So I merge two chaps idk heres 242 pt 2
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"A swift strike, but the intention behind your attack is too obvious."
With her left hand formed into a blade, she parried the thrusting lance and sent both the weapon and its wielder flying.
"Don't stare at the point of the thrust—watch the weapon in their hand!"
Holding the greatsword with only her right hand, she blocked the incoming katana with a single strike. The lightning and fire reacted violently, creating a massive explosion that sent Raiden Mei flying backward.
"Too slow. You're trying to match the strength of someone who can wield a greatsword with one hand?"
"Herrscher, what are you thinking? I can toss you and your sword out of here at any moment—"
Imhotep stood between the two, yet the white-haired girl surrounded by them showed no trace of fear. She was like a lady strolling through her own garden, even taking the time to choose who to strike next.
As the one being surrounded, the white-haired girl instead exerted immense pressure on her attackers.
Her seemingly careless and flawed stance was effortlessly defended by the masked girl's fluid movements, and each of the latter's counterattacks left the two besiegers in a state of utter chaos.
Every one of Imhotep's sword swings and punches resulted in either Raiden Mei or Durandal being ruthlessly sent flying.
It seemed like a strange form of fair treatment; so far, the number of times each had been blasted away was equal. After all, one was the wife of her favorite niece's little niece, and the other was her favorite niece's big niece.
In a sense, they really were all family.
"Tsk! What kind of Old Ancestor beats their own descendants like this? You're supposed to act like a proper elder!"
After several rounds of fierce battle, the Golden Armor on Durandal's body had gradually grown dull. Though she was outmatched in strength, she absolutely refused to lose with her words.
I'm losing the fight, but you're losing... oh, she's our Old Ancestor. Never mind, never mind.
In a sense, the goose, who was on the verge of tramping all over the Overseer's nerves, stopped herself by intuition.
"Oh? You young brat, it seems you just don't understand. This is how we Kaslanas say hello."
"But if you're asking for a little elder's care..."
Imhotep, using Kevin(na)'s name and wearing a mask, completely abandoned her attachment and reliance on society.
"Hmm... I really want to snuggle with my cute descendants! Little cuties, come here and let me hug you!"
"Let your auntie see if you're developing properly!"
Then, Durandal and Raiden Mei were blasted away once again.
Talking about hugs, yet hitting them so hard her fists almost burst their clothes, Imhotep was truly a cautionary tale.
Snuggling meant a physical, flesh-and-bone brawl.
"You bastard!"
Holding their waists and emerging from the rubble and craters, Durandal and Raiden Mei glared at the woman who looked absolutely beatable yet was utterly unbeatable. They were both shocked and furious.
"What, do you two want to go a few more rounds with me?"
Imhotep leaned casually on the Might of An-Utu and asked her question very amiably of the duo who had just received some one-sided corrective training.
"I haven't had enough yet. Hmm... it's been a long time since I've had a real fight. You juniors are actually decent opponents."
"Ah... and one of you is even a Herrscher... How nostalgic."
Looking at Raiden Mei, Imhotep seemed to recall the early days, the wonderful times when she, as "Snow," had ruthlessly beaten the Herrscher Persona of Raiden Mei.
The latter was sent a full-body chill by the girl's gaze, which looked at her like a punching bag.
"Our chance!"
Seeing Imhotep seemingly lost in thought, Mei and Durandal attacked the distracted Imhotep at the same time...
Only to be swiftly knocked flat by the Guardian Spirit behind the girl, Metatron.
This angelic humanoid, who was taller than the combined King and Queen behind Durandal, looked curiously at the two before him, who were raising their shields warily against his substitute.
"Such a huge humanoid, yet so agile. This has to be cheating..."
Watching Metatron skillfully execute a sword flourish before swatting the two comparatively diminutive figures away with the flat of his blade, Durandal seemed to experience a wave of... well, envy?
She glanced at the "double-door refrigerator" beside her, then at the extra-large angel opposite her, before finally turning to her King and Queen with an expression that silently pleaded, Can you two get any bigger?
Raiden Mei pushed herself up from the nearby rubble, staring at Imhotep—who stood at the center, seemingly untouched—with a look of unwilling frustration, yet she had no desire to go back in for another beating...
For some reason, when this elder, who was theoretically an ancestor of the Kaslana family, fought against Durandal, she extremely preferred to clash directly with that red Great Sword, relying on sheer power to send her flying...
But when it came to her, this "girl" of questionable age preferred to parry her blade and punch her squarely where she'd left herself open during her own attack.
This kind of ungraceful fight immediately reminded Miss Third Herrscher of her past experiences in Nagazora City, and the bone-chilling aura physically emanating from the girl in front of her only deepened her PTSD.
"So... you're not fighting anymore?"
Having finished her own trip down memory lane, Imhotep, who stood at the center, asked again while watching the two before her who faced her with tension.
"You bastard, you weren't even using your full strength, were you?"
Durandal bit her lip, glaring at the leisurely "ancestor" before her, and confirmed with a hint of frustration.
"Of course. It would be quite embarrassing to use my full power against two juniors."
"Fine... I admit defeat. But I still need to confirm one last thing, Your Excellency Kevinna Kaslana. Are you sure... that I have the Kaslana family bloodline?"
Having accepted that she couldn't win, the blonde knight readily admitted defeat, since she had nothing to lose anyway, and privately set a new small goal for herself.
"I can sense it... the call of the yet-to-be-truly-awakened Stigmata within you... You and her... the bloodlines you carry share the same origin."
"But if I truly am a descendant of the Kaslana family... then why is my hair blonde...?"
"Why not ask your Stigmata? The Kaslana family's Stigmata are special... To you, it is the original prototype of Stigmata technology from the Previous Era... a being like Unit-01."
"Of course, a prototype naturally possesses some very unique functions of its own..."
"For example, it can store a person's lifelong memories. Even if she herself has forgotten them for various reasons, the Stigmata will still faithfully record everything as a Witness..."
"If you're lucky, you can even see fragments of the memories of the Kaslana heroes of past generations..."
"To awaken my Stigmata's true form... How should I go about it..."
"Go communicate with it, establish a connection with it. Remember, child, blood connects all descendants of the Kaslanas..."
"Of course, that is for later. For now, you should take your younger sister and leave."