The moment the Divine Nail enveloped Sathya, Tina sprang into action.
This step had always been part of their original plan.
However, with Tina's intervention, things were slightly different this time.
If the Church truly took action against Sathya, the magical beasts would seize the opportunity to confront them face-to-face.
They had many companions now, and the army composed of Cardinals and Inquisitors was no match for them anymore.
If the Saintess was exposed, they would slaughter every single witness at the coronation ceremony.
After all, in the eyes of Isobel and the vast majority of the magical beasts, having a magical beast become the Saintess was an impossible plan to begin with.
Yet, Tina did not believe it was that difficult.
The moment she unleashed her true power, the surrounding onlookers did not even turn to flee.
The power released by this dragon girl, a magical beast born of unknown origins, already equaled the combined chaos energy of all the previously born magical beasts.
The sheer pressure stripped away their instinct to flee, leaving them collapsed on the ground, praying they would not be the first to die.
Meanwhile, Aether and the twin Cardinals, Black Lotus and Blood Lotus, could not help but break into a cold sweat.
Especially Aether.
To be honest, before the Saintess's coronation, he had even consulted with Elcalan on how to deal with potential enemies.
Based on the detection results from the White Dusk Forest, they had estimated the magical beast's strength in advance.
Consequently, both the Divine Nail and the "spatial confinement" he employed were calibrated to that exact standard.
It was a standard based on fifteen times the chaos energy of the magical beast in Lystra.
Aether had even wondered if they were making a mountain out of a molehill.
Yet, the Divine Nail had been destroyed so effortlessly!
Was this the enemy Saintess Sathya had been fighting all this time?
The smile remained on the face of Caesar, the Commander of the First Knight Order, but his hands began to tremble. “This is the first time I've ever faced an opponent so worthy of a challenge!”
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he laughed aloud toward the center of the firestorm. “Isn't this good news? Sathya isn't the magical beast—this creature is!”
“You're being far too optimistic. Do you really think we can stand against this thing right now?” Black Lotus said with a trace of helplessness. “We might very well die here.”
As Black Lotus and Blood Lotus spoke, they leapt into the air. The giant axe and giant hammer, connected by a heavy chain, were effortlessly hoisted by their slender arms. Stepping onto platforms constructed of magic, they bounded toward Tina, conjuring a new foothold with every step.
It looked as though they were running through the air.
Golden light erupted from Aether's body as the space around him compressed, propelling him upward. In an instant, the two Cardinals pierced through the miasma and arrived before Tina.
At that very moment, the First Paladin Order stationed outside the school rushed through the gates. Many white-robed figures emerged from their ranks, forming a circle in the open courtyard. They held out their hands, beginning to construct a massive spell that required dozens of casters to execute.
They conjured a ten-meter-wide magic circle, from which a massive golden chain emerged, slithering through the air like a cobra waiting to strike.
Cardinal Black Lotus and her younger sister, Blood Lotus, now stood directly in front of Tina.
They did not think the magical beast before them was anything to be feared.
They had the Commander of the First Knight Order, Bishop Aether, and the support of the "Divine Lock," which could seal the energy of all things.
Although this magical beast possessed unprecedented strength, the Church was well-prepared.
The two Cardinals were fighting side-by-side, with a continuous stream of reinforcements from the knight orders on the way.
No matter how much destruction ensued, they would surely subdue this beast.
“Caesar, keep up with me!!”
Meanwhile, Krulu and Velrose, who had intended to assist Tina, wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
They had originally planned to use all their strength to breach the surface of the barrier, allowing Lady Sathya to break out from the inside.
Yet, the Lord Demon King had personally destroyed it!
What shocked them even more, however, was what came next.
“My body... won't... move...”
Velrose's face was deathly pale. Her voice trembled, hoarse and strained, as she forced the words out.
“It's Mother... She is stopping us.”
Krulu looked up at the sky. She had intended to help Tina, but her body was firmly locked in her disguised human form.
The power within their bodies felt as though it were being gripped by an invisible hand, completely unusable.
Furthermore, a command-like message echoed in their minds, preventing them from taking action.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Velrose spotted a deep blue halo floating above her head.
That halo was the symbol of the Demon King's authority!
Sathya was in the exact same predicament.
Floating in her original position, her eyes were wide with shock as the halo above her head pulsed with a brilliant blue light.
Sathya tried to break free, but she could barely wiggle a finger...
She knew perfectly well that Tina had invoked the Demon King's authority. Unlike the other magical beasts, however, she understood exactly what Tina was trying to do!
“Sister Tina... don't do this...! Let me go!”
She struggled with all her might, but it resulted in nothing more than a few tremors.
Sister Tina possessed near-absolute control over all magical beasts. The moment Tina revealed her authority, Sathya should have realized that she was not just the magical beast of Isobel's prophecy, but the Demon King in the truest sense!
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Cardinals clashing with Tina.
The dragon girl soared through the sky.
“Spatial Anchor!”
Aether pressed his hands together once more, summoning a spike of compressed space.
The spike absorbed the surrounding light, looking like a miniature vortex capable of drawing in anything.
With a sharp whoosh, the Spatial Anchor shot toward Tina.
Although the Spatial Anchor lacked raw destructive power, its penetration and speed were unmatched.
Aether understood how terrifying magical beasts could be, so he had no intention of giving the Dragon Magical Beast a single opening.
Yet, Tina caught the Spatial Anchor with her bare hand!
Her scaled talons clamped around Aether's Spatial Anchor. She even examined it briefly before casually crushing it to pieces.
“Her scales...”
Aether's brow furrowed deeply.
“Her scales seem to be immune to magic.”
For physical close-quarters combat, aside from the Sword God, only Blood Lotus, Black Lotus, and Caesar were capable.
“Blood Lotus, we can do this.”
“As long as we hold her off until the First Knight Order completes the Divine Lock, it's over for her, no matter how strong she is.”
The two sisters launched themselves forward like cannonballs.
The older sister whipped her chain, hurling her giant hammer toward Tina, while the younger sister, Blood Lotus, threw her giant axe alongside it. The massive chained weapons carved bizarre trajectories through the air.
With a loud clang, the Dragon Magical Beast spotted an opening and swiped her claws at the giant axe.
However, Blood Lotus used the momentum to swing her sister Black Lotus's giant hammer.
The Dragon Magical Beast, Tina, dodged to the side.
Yet, injuring her had never been Black Lotus and Blood Lotus's goal.
The chain connecting the giant hammer and giant axe wrapped tightly around Tina's arms and waist, binding her fast.
They intended to use this method to restrain the Dragon Magical Beast.
But just as they believed victory was within their grasp, the soft yet chilling, unintelligible layered voice of the Dragon Magical Beast rang out once more.
Except this time, they could actually understand her—as if the Dragon Magical Beast had intentionally allowed them to comprehend her words.
【Have you played enough?】
Tina grabbed one end of the chain and gave it a gentle tug.
Black Lotus and the giant hammer were dragged higher into the sky by the colossal force, looking as though they were about to fly right over Tina's head.
She had been adjusting her position in midair, intending to conjure a suitable foothold.
Just as she assumed the Dragon Magical Beast was trying to break free of the chain, the beast's aura erupted, instantly shattering their weapons to pieces!
“Sister! Ah...”
“Ahhh...!”
Before either of them realized it, a blue collar had manifested around each of their necks, tightening progressively.
Along with the suffocating sensation, the strength in their bodies seemed to be completely drained away.
As Black Lotus plummeted past the Dragon Magical Beast, a sharp dragon tail pierced straight through her chest from below, cleanly crushing her heart.
A wretched scream echoed through the air, reaching the ears of every single onlooker.
Rate on N.U.
