While in his accelerated state, the world in Rod's eyes slowed to a crawl.
His movement was so fast that to any ordinary person, nothing would have even seemed to happen.
However, having fought Satanael earlier, Rod had learned his lesson, Super Acceleration wasn't invincible. So against Augusta, he proceeded with extreme caution.
But when his auto-loot-activated demonic sword pierced straight through the old crone's chest, Rod blinked in mild disbelief.
"She didn't even react?"
If it had been Satanael, he'd at least have traded a few blows.
Yet Augusta, a mage supposedly on par with Satanael, had been taken down in a single strike.
On second thought, it made sense.
She was a mage. The emphasis was on "magic."
This world's magic users weren't like Gandalf, clubbing enemies with a staff. Magic was magic. Physical combat was off the table.
While Augusta had maintained a magical barrier around her at all times as a top-tier mage, her defenses had dropped dramatically. One, she had already expended a great deal of energy battling Lavinia; and two, she was currently casting a dark magic spell that forcibly siphoned off most of her remaining energy. That left her body dangerously vulnerable.
And Rod was using the very sword that Satanael had once boasted about, a weapon specifically modified by fallen angels.
Still, just as he was about to end things neatly, Rod felt a surge of blistering heat rush toward him.
It was the giant of purple flame, summoned by Augusta's Sacred Gear, reacting to her injury and moving in to protect her.
Though it couldn't harm Rod, the fire giant had effectively blocked Augusta's body. Rod didn't push it. He dodged and instead turned to Lavinia, who still stood in a stunned daze.
In a flash, Rod appeared beside her, slung the emotionally wrecked girl over his shoulder, and deactivated Super Acceleration.
No need to push his physical limits when the fight wasn't even intense.
Fwoom!
The fire giant's punch missed him by a mile, but its residual flames still arced across the air like a purple meteor, crashing down into the spot where Walburga and the other mages were gathered.
The group scattered in panic, casting spells to flee as fast as they could.
The impact scorched the ground and set the surrounding forest ablaze, spreading a wall of fire in all directions.
But without a target, the fire giant couldn't continue. Its form began to flicker and blur.
Its wielder, Augusta, was bleeding out fast from the stab wound through her heart. Her life force was draining away like a breached dam.
And only now did she fully comprehend what had happened.
Yet even more painful than the agony in her chest was the dawning realization: she had been ambushed, seconds before total victory!
Her heart screamed as her mind shut down.
But then, just as despair seemed inevitable, Augusta's survival instincts kicked in.
Fueled by adrenaline, her frail body steadied itself mid-air. Her magic surged wildly.
"Designate the Sacred Cross, O High Priestess of Purple Flame!"
Instantly, her entire body erupted in purple fire.
This flame, which once formed the autonomous fire giant, now enveloped her directly. As if piloting a suit of armor, Augusta transformed into a massive burning titan holding a giant crucifix.
Glaring at the man who'd stolen Lavinia right from under her, Augusta saw the gleam of a demonic sword dripping with her own blood.
It was Satanael's weapon, one he had bragged about as the perfect tool for a fallen angel.
And now, it had ended both their lives.
Augusta's rage exploded. She hurled a flaming fist at Rod, incinerating trees and scorching the earth.
A normal person would have died instantly from the heat alone.
But Rod dodged her attacks with ease. Even carrying a busty, unconscious girl on his shoulder, he didn't need Super Acceleration to avoid such slow, lumbering strikes.
He originally intended to flee, but a new thought crept into his mind.
This could be a golden opportunity.
After all, Walburga's group had just been torched by their own ally. They wouldn't be bothering him anytime soon.
"You damnable little... worm! Aaargh!"
Augusta shrieked as Rod danced circles around her, tauntingly out of reach.
Every miss aggravated her wound. Her heart had temporarily been patched by magic, but the twin burdens of maintaining a Sacred Gear and wielding high-tier spells were exhausting her reserves.
Rod wasn't going to fight her head-on. He didn't have to.
And on top of that, she had lost her prize, Lavinia was already slumped over Rod's shoulder.
Her fury boiled over.
The fire giant's movements grew sluggish. Eventually, the searing purple flame flickered down to a single dying ember.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
With one final scream, Augusta plummeted from the sky, crashing into the burning forest below.
Even as she died, her mind reeled in disbelief.
How had everything gone so wrong?
How had a man with glasses, a man she'd once planned to use as cannon fodder, ended her?
If Augusta had known that it was Rod, the very man she'd dismissed earlier, who landed the final blow...
She might've come back to life from sheer rage.
Rod, for his part, considered the outcome well worth the effort.
Sure, he'd used Super Acceleration and exposed himself to risk, but he'd gained more than he lost.
Besides, even with the disguise of the glasses, there was always a chance someone might recognize him. The fewer people who linked his identities together, the better.
And besides... he hadn't even been prompted by a system quest this time.
He was just feeling generous.
Still, just as he turned to leave, something caught his eye.
A wisp of strange purple flame rose from Augusta's corpse.
It slithered through the air like a rat peeking from its hole, and darted away in a flash.
But Rod was faster.
He reactivated Super Acceleration and, in a blur of motion unseen by any, snatched the mysterious flame into his palm.
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