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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The projectiles, propelled by lightning, struck with devastating force.
For the first time, Bellatiel, who had relentlessly pressed her attack against the Calamity of War, felt a flicker of fear.
‘Am I afraid? No, that’s impossible!’
Though momentarily caught off guard by the Calamity of Famine’s resurrection, her divine artifacts remained potent. As if to prove this, she raised the Demon-Subduing Shield, deflecting the incoming barrage of bullets as effortlessly as brushing away a light shower.
Lightning-charged projectiles hammered against the shield.
However, the barrier conjured by the Demon-Subduing Shield, protecting Bellatiel like an impenetrable fortress, completely blocked the railgun’s attack.
–Crack!
The projectile, aimed squarely at the seraph, ricocheted off the barrier, unable to penetrate its defenses.
The other projectiles met the same fate.
None of the shots reached the seraph.
How dare these byproducts of evil challenge the One True God’s sanctity? Bellatiel, easily deflecting the barrage, wore a smug expression. Then, a look of shock spread across her face.
–Crack-.
–Crackle.
The barrier, which had withstood thousands of projectiles, began to flicker and fade. The energy output of the Demon-Subduing Shield was waning.
Bellatiel stared at the platinum shield, her expression a mixture of disbelief and alarm.
Had it absorbed too many attacks at once?
The Demon-Subduing Shield, which had protected Bellatiel from the torrential downpour of bullets, began to falter, as if succumbing to exhaustion. The shield, having exceeded its limits, was overloaded.
Soon, it would become completely unresponsive.
Sensing the imminent danger, Bellatiel quickly deployed other divine artifacts to replace the failing shield.
–Swish.
The Anti-Magic Whip gracefully intercepted the incoming projectiles, deflecting them with ease.
Bellatiel herself also joined the defense, wielding her four pairs of wings to counter the barrage.
‘It’s simply overloaded. Once I deactivate it and stabilize the output, it will return to normal…! I just need to hold out until then!’
–Clang!!
As Bellatiel desperately defended herself with all her divine artifacts, a new threat emerged.
A barrage of lightning-infused cannon fire.
And projectiles armed with magically enhanced high-explosives.
This was an onslaught of firepower unlike anything she had faced before. As if the previous barrage had been a mere prelude, a full-scale bombardment commenced.
-N-No…!
A projectile armed with a high-explosive detonated, unleashing a torrent of scorching heat. Bellatiel sliced through the flames with her Demon-Slaying Wings, but the resulting shockwave slammed into her body.
She needed to buy time for her shield to recover.
But could she endure?
The divine artifacts she had used to deflect the lightning-infused bombardment began to falter, their power waning. If this continued, she would face a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Harmless Calamity.
Bellatiel gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with defiance.
-This is outrageous!
She grasped the Demon-Slaying Bow.
And drew the bowstring taut, aiming at the countless projectiles raining down upon her.
Her strength and skill would not be outmatched.
As if to prove this, a storm of arrows, unleashed with the force of a hurricane, formed a barrier, intercepting the incoming fire.
–KABOOM!!!
Black, lightning-charged artillery fire.
And countless arrows imbued with the light of destruction.
The space around them, filled with the roar of explosions and the flash of colliding forces, was painted in contrasting hues of black and white. Seraph and Calamity clashed, their power seemingly equal, locked in a desperate struggle.
The first to exhaust their power would be defeated.
Edanant and Bellatiel both knew this.
The deafening roar of cannons and the blinding flashes of light continued. Both Edanant and Bellatiel, drenched in sweat, focused all their energy on the grueling war of attrition.
–Thwang!
A sudden shift in the battle.
A single projectile, appearing without warning like an assassin lurking in the shadows, pierced through the Demon-Slaying Bow. The bowstring snapped, and the bow itself shattered.
-The Demon-Slaying Bow…!
Her invincible shield had been rendered useless.
And now, she had lost the bow that had threatened the Harmless Calamity.
Defeat seemed inevitable.
The divine artifacts responsible for her strongest attacks and defenses had been destroyed.
Yet, the seraph refused to yield. Throwing aside the broken bow, Bellatiel grasped a longsword and an arming sword. It was an act of defiance, a testament to her indomitable will to fight until her last breath.
-I will not retreat! Even if I fall to you, I will fight until my last breath!!
She hadn’t relied solely on the power of her divine artifacts.
Bellatiel, wielding her blades, sliced through the incoming projectiles, resembling a cornered beast. Every swing of her swords, every clash with the projectiles, tore at her wings and armor, yet she pressed her attack.
She knew.
She knew that Edanant, the one commanding the artillery fire, was also nearing his limit.
Endure, and she would prevail.
If she could just hold out a little longer, victory would be hers.
Her crystal-clear eyes gleamed with a fervent hope, a desperate desire for victory.
–Clang!
The moon-shaped blade, which had relentlessly cleaved through the projectiles in mid-air, shattered into fragments.
A shard, propelled by the force of the explosion, flew towards Bellatiel.
–Thud.
It pierced through her armor, embedding itself deep within her shoulder.
Despite the agonizing pain, she suppressed a scream.
Bellatiel, critically injured, spread her four pairs of wings and grasped her holy spear. However, the merciless barrage offered no respite.
Projectiles and explosives detonated relentlessly.
With each explosion, she lost another of the divine artifacts bestowed upon her by her mother.
Was it an act of defiance, a refusal to surrender to the Harmless Calamity? Bellatiel, wielding her holy spear, which radiated a brilliant light, continued to deflect the incoming fire. She sacrificed her magnificent wings and armor, relentlessly engaging in the desperate exchange.
-Haa… Haa…! Damn it!!
But—
Her limits had been reached.
Despite her unwavering resolve and desperate struggle, she couldn’t escape the inevitable.
All her divine artifacts were depleted. Bellatiel’s holy spear, once radiating a brilliant light, now flickered dimly, like a dying ember.
-To think a seraph would fall to a Harmless Calamity…!
Dozens of projectiles closed in on the battered seraph.
Bellatiel, witnessing their approach, accepted her fate.
—BOOM!!
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A deafening roar echoed through the air.
Explosions rocked the ground, scattering debris and shrapnel in all directions.
Bellatiel, overwhelmed by the endless barrage, finally succumbed to defeat. Her charred wings, once symbols of her divine power, now lay broken and smoldering as she plummeted to the ravaged earth.
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An angel, stripped of its wings, had fallen to earth.
However, Edanant had no time to celebrate his victory. He collapsed, gasping for breath, his body wracked with pain.
He had overexerted his divine power.
His blood boiled, coursing through his veins like molten lava, searing his insides.
Blood trickled from every orifice.
It was the recoil from wielding the Calamity’s power beyond his limits for an extended period. Overwhelmed by the backlash, Edanant, like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsed into Zebeline’s arms.
-D…did we… win?
“Yes! Of course, we won! Edan, you won!”
A searing pain, as if his organs were being consumed by fire, washed over him.
But Edanant, suppressing his agony, forced himself to ask Zebeline for the results.
He had defeated Bellatiel.
The Thousand-Weaponed Seraph had finally fallen.
A faint smile touched his lips, a testament to his hard-won victory. However, speaking was a struggle, and only an indistinct groan escaped him.
-Help me up… just for a moment.
“Just lie still. I’ll take care of everything!”
The Sanctuary’s central area was now a desolate wasteland.
Only devastation and ruin remained.
Piles of rubble were the only evidence that countless structures had once stood there.
As expected, there were no witnesses in the area, which had been transformed into a wasteland. Confirming this, Edanant let out a sigh of relief, removing his dented helmet.
“I thought I was going to die this time.”
If luck hadn’t been on his side, the outcome would have been drastically different.
If the shield hadn’t overloaded,
If the bow hadn’t been destroyed by a stray bullet,
If the whip and other divine artifacts had withstood the bombardment—
Edanant had won not only through his desperate struggle but also through sheer luck. Knowing this, he was filled with a sense of disbelief as he surveyed the scene.
-W…War…! How dare… you…!!
–Click.
–Rumble.
A pile of rubble suddenly collapsed.
And from the wreckage, the dust-covered Seraph emerged.
Unbelievable.
She should have been incinerated.
How was she still alive? How had she regained consciousness?
He witnessed the indomitable will of a being who refused to yield to a Calamity. Edanant, facing the bloodied Bellatiel, forced a grim smile and raised his hand.
“It’s over. Just like your mangled wings and armor.”
Her four pairs of wings were charred and broken.
Her magnificent armor was also in ruins.
There was no way for her to turn the tables.
Having exhausted her divine power and life force, Bellatiel was now weaker than an ordinary human.
-I… will not… yield! I will destroy you… I swore an oath…!
Bellatiel, her steps faltering, approached Edanant.
Despite her precarious state, on the verge of collapse, she burned with an indomitable fighting spirit.
–Clatter.
A platinum chain appeared.
She hadn’t used it in battle.
It was the only divine artifact Bellatiel had left.
It was undoubtedly the weapon used to turn the Calamity of Tyranny and the Calamity of Famine into puppets of the One True God. It must possess the power to completely dominate the mind and soul of a weakened opponent.
“And now you’re the one in that state.”
–Bang!
Edanant drew a pistol and shattered Bellatiel’s hand, which held the chain.
A sharp cry escaped the Seraph’s lips as the chain clattered to the ground. Then, Edanant picked up the platinum chain, claiming it for himself.
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Thanks for the chapter