NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 173
173. Do Not Hesitate
Sarome’s knife slashed through Dialva, and fresh blood scattered.
“This is……!?”
But it was she who let out a voice of confusion.
The blood dripping from Dialva flowed back into the original wound.
At the same time, only that wound separated and moved towards Sarome──.
The wound, like a tear dripping with blue blood, was a rather grotesque sight.
“My curse bends even the laws of causality, reflecting the very result of ‘receiving a wound’ back onto the enemy. It is you who will die from a fatal blow.”
Dialva laughed heartily.
“──Huh!?”
That smile turned into a voice of surprise.
With a metallic clink, the wound dispersed into mist before Sarome.
The auto-activated protective barrier, [Armor Phase], had blocked the curse.
“Even a twisted causality is blocked.”
Dialva groaned.
“Then, I shall erase everything…… Distortion Compression Bullet, [Pressure Bomb].”
The scenery ahead warped unnaturally.
A spell that compresses space, crushing everything within it.
But even that was futile.
The distortion of space was blocked by my skill, vanishing before Sarome just like the previous curse.
“It’s not working……!?”
“Sarome──”
I signaled her with my eyes.
It was the strategy we had discussed earlier.
With a small nod, Sarome began to run.
“No effect…… Then, how about this…… Dark Annihilation Cannon, [Ga Bar Ga].”
The space darkened, warped, and countless bullets flew forth.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.
A barrage of spatial distortion attacks──.
But the black magic bullets were all deflected by the golden domain I had deployed.
“Then── I’ll exploit the time lag before your defense activates.”
Dialva raised his withered arms.
Did he have yet another spell?
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the variety of his attacks.
“With my most powerful and wide-ranging magic…… Dark Explosion Dragon, [Ga Bel Vana]──”
The magic did not activate.
“This is……!?”
“I’ve sealed it. The activation of magic itself.”
I informed the bewildered Dialva.
Truthfully, I could have done this at any time.
A defense that doesn’t block magic but prevents its very activation──the second form, [Barrier Phase].
I didn’t use this from the start to keep my hand hidden.
I wanted to imprint in his mind that my defense pattern was solely of the ‘block incoming attacks’ type.
“Indeed, in our previous battle, you used such an ability──but to switch abilities so instantly……!”
Dialva groaned.
“There’s no need to switch. It’s all pre-programmed──it activates automatically.”
That is the true value of the [Elysion Gate].
It activates skills in a predetermined order, beyond my own reactions──.
Meanwhile, Sarome accelerated further, closing the distance while using clones to confuse.
“Fast…… She’s charging in without any hesitation……!”
Dialva tried to escape by crossing space, but of course, that spell was also sealed by my skill and did not activate.
With no means of escape, the demon general was cornered by Sarome.
“I trust in Hart’s power. I know he’ll protect me.”
The assassin girl smiled softly.
“That’s why I──do not hesitate.”
The thrust knife pierced Dialva’s heart.
“Guh…… Ahhh…… Aaaaaahhh……!”
With a death cry, Dialva fell, his body dissipating like black snow──.
※
Standing with the magnificent mansion behind them were three women.
“Summon the gods to this land.”
Vanessa announced while breathing heavily.
Her vision blurred slightly.
Strength drained from her entire body.
She had exhausted too much mental energy in the battle with Jack.
（If only that girl hadn’t done something unnecessary……）
Vanessa shot a hateful glance at Sephiria.
“Summoning gods, huh? Sounds fun. I’m getting all excited.”
Even under that gaze, the innocent-faced priestess simply smiled sweetly.
Sephiria had innocently laughed, saying she had encouraged Jack’s transformation for her own amusement──but was that really the case?
The doubt did not fade.
If anything, it only grew stronger.
Had she deliberately orchestrated the battle with Jack to exhaust Vanessa──!?
No, there was no point in thinking about it.
Now, all that mattered was carrying out the plan.
“Appear, gods of the heavens…… Seven pillars……”
To make the image clearer, she chanted incantation-like words, maximizing the power of teleportation──.
“This is──”
Vanessa’s expression stiffened.
“What’s wrong, Vanessa?”
“…I don’t have enough energy.”
Vanessa answered Electra’s question.
It seemed she had indeed overexerted herself.
Originally, she had intended to summon all the gods of the heavens──along with the high-ranking demons, including the Demon King.
But she was far too short on energy.
“You must be tired. Should I repair your depleted mental energy?”
“…No, I’m fine.”
Just as she had playfully triggered Jack’s curse, Sephiria might try something similar on her now.
It was dangerous to trust Sephiria at all.
“First, as a preliminary step, let’s summon the holy angels. It won’t require as much energy as summoning the gods.”
The thirty-seven holy angels, servants of the gods.
To summon them, Vanessa raised both hands high.
Altering space.
Creating a path for movement.
The skill granted to her──Teleportation.
The ability to generate paths that could freely traverse even the heavens and the demon realm.
However, the cost was an enormous expenditure of energy.
Misallocating her strength could, at worst, destroy her mind and leave her a wreck.
She had to carefully assess her mental state and remaining stamina.
（I must determine the limit before my mind breaks and activate this skill──）
“[Heaven’s Fioroute]!”
Vanessa shouted resoundingly.
A golden light lit up a corner of the sky.
Its radiance spread like ripples on water.
Uooooooooooooooooooooooooonnn!
The sky──no, the world itself began to tremble quietly.
It was clear that the worlds of gods and humans, which should have been completely separate, were now connecting.
The great beings who should never descend to the human world──gods and angels.
Through the divine power within Vanessa, they were being summoned to this world.
“Let there be light.”
Vanessa solemnly declared.
As if she herself had become a god.
In response to her words──they descended.
From the golden ripples covering the sky, a group of winged, white humanoid figures.
The thirty-seven holy angels.
“Expel the demons and vanish together. For the sake of the human world──”
It was finally beginning.
The great war of gods, demons, and humans.