[Vol. 8] Chapter 140: The Humble One’s Cry
At that moment, the strange white-haired girl in feathered clothes was surrounded by a brilliant platinum light, glowing like a blazing sun. The light was so bright and wide that it far outshone her own figure, lighting up everything within dozens of meters around her. It looked just like a divine halo, making her seem noble and holy beyond words.
"......"
Sensing something, Miss Shadow looked up again at the sky. As expected, the giant silhouette of the divine bird that had appeared earlier was now gone, leaving only a lingering glow in the sky. That meant the girl now standing between her and "The Humble Humbold", showing terrifying power and glowing with a very distinct aura, must be the true form of that divine bird.
It's simple for divine beasts to change into human form, or for ordinary people to get those kinds of powers with effort, especially for those lucky enough to be blessed by the Goddess.
But Miss Shadow didn’t speak right away to distract the girl. After all, the main threat here was still “The Humble Humbold”, a bizarre creature clearly sent by an enemy force to ruin the divine trial.
The divine bird was powerful, yes, but Humbold was also strange and very strong. Even though he was being held down for now, there was no guarantee he didn’t have some hidden power left. If it were a one-on-one battle, it was still unclear who would win.
As expected, even after taking a serious hit from the bird-girl, the monster, which clearly wasn’t some ordinary being, didn’t look defeated. Streams of blue-green energy sprayed wildly from its wounds like blood, clashing against the pure light energy from the girl's white feathers. The two forces kept fighting, and the burning light made loud sizzling sounds, like meat being grilled. But even so, the monster stood firm and didn’t fall.
Many of its tentacles, which had been cut off by the feathers, were already struggling to grow back. The wounds on its body were healing at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye, thanks to the blue-green gas covering them. Although the light energy from the divine bird was slowing this process down, the monster’s ability to heal and survive was already far beyond most creatures in the world, even mythical ones.
Such terrifying attack, defense, speed, and recovery... And yet, according to what it said, it wasn’t even the strongest among its kind. Then what kind of power does the one called the [Lord of the Void] have?
Miss Shadow couldn’t help but feel a chill.
In truth, the divine bird-girl’s attack just now was already as strong as her own ultimate move “Blade of Shadow: Phantom Edge”, which she once used with the help of a primordial artifact. And yet even such a powerful strike could only cause this much damage... In other words, even if help hadn’t arrived and she had managed to draw her sword again, today’s outcome wouldn’t have changed at all.
Since her journey began, this was the first time she truly felt that her strength was not enough. It was like she had gone back in time to that night in the forest...
Quietly watching from the back, she drank another bottle of healing potion and focused her mind to the limit, ready for anything that might happen.
Although this was a good chance to escape the battlefield, now that strong allies had arrived and the situation had changed, she decided not to leave just yet. Whether for the sake of completing the trial or gathering more information, staying here was the better choice.
Even though the two powers facing off now were far stronger than her, if she could just recover a little and catch her breath, she could use the Shadow Guard’s special stealth skills to stay hidden. At least well enough not to become a burden to the divine bird-girl.
"You... no, no, no, no, no! That's impossible! Aren't you supposed to be someone blessed by the goddess? How can you use an attack with true god-level power so easily, even though you clearly don’t have a divinity or any signs of borrowing power from a god?!"
The tentacles all over “The Humble Humbold” squirmed wildly as a genderless, strange voice echoed quickly from somewhere inside its body. Its tone was still humble, but now filled more with shock and disbelief.
More than the physical injury or the goddess’s quick response, it was the power the girl had just shown, and what that power meant, that truly shook Humbold to the core. As a chosen being of a great will, it understood better than anyone what this kind of power represented.
“To skip the rules made by the ‘Origin’ and wield divine power without being a god... that’s supposed to be a special right only given to the [World Sustainers]! Are... are you one of the [Keepers of the World]?! Didn’t you feel the aura and mark of the [Lord of the Void] on me? We come from the same origin, why would you turn your back on that and help these bugs who should be wiped out? You’ve betrayed the teachings of the Primordial Will! This is sin! A sin!!!”
The monster’s tentacles twisted madly, as it shouted out question after question, its voice full of frustration and confusion. Its usual humble tone was now mixed with something like crying and wailing, and a deep anger. But the snow-haired girl in the feathered robe, her body glowing with pure light, just tilted her head slightly, as if she didn’t understand what this thing was rambling about.
And soon, she gave up on trying to understand. She simply raised her hand again and waved it gently, her actions simple and direct.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!!!!”
Way more than before, thousands upon thousands of sharp, snow-white feather blades suddenly exploded out like a storm, so many they nearly blocked out the sky. They flew out in all directions like falling flower petals from heaven, turning into a furious storm of feathers, slicing toward the dazed phantom creature.
“Sin! Traitor! You filthy betrayer! The Lords and the Great Will will never forgive you! May you cry forever in the shadow of the Serpent! The Primordial Light will purify all evil from this world!!!”
Strangely, although it looked like it could still fight, “The Humble Humbold” didn’t try to dodge or block the divine bird-girl’s attack. It gave up completely, only howling and cursing as the storm of feathers covered it completely.
Countless shining feather blades spun through the air like a hurricane. Their destructive power was far beyond what Humbold could endure. In an instant, the monster, with all its tentacles, was torn apart like it had been thrown into a super-powerful meat grinder. Its body shredded into pieces.
When the storm of feathers finally cleared, “The Humble Humbold” was completely gone. Just like the other phantom creature that had been killed earlier by “Blade of Shadow: Phantom Edge”, its body had totally broken down. All that was left was a faint cloud of blue and green gas quickly fading into the air.
“This...?”
Even someone as calm as Miss Shadow found herself frozen in place for a moment, completely confused by how things had turned out.