“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”
Little Ha felt that Sophie was no good person and immediately let out three threatening hisses at her.
Via was stunned speechless by Sophie’s declaration. She actually wanted to strip away all the Demon King-related memories from her mind?
If she really did that, Via would turn back into a useless good-for-nothing who could only hide behind her older sister.
“You lunatic! Is this how a member of the clergy is supposed to act?!”
“Say whatever you want. As long as I can make Ville disappear from this world, my innocent Via will come back.” Sophie’s hand gently stroked the silver sword.
Via turned her head and glanced at Little Ha beside her. “Little Ha, go stand to the side first.”
“Meow.”
Little Ha replied and turned to run away.
The nimble little yellow cat quickly returned to the riverbank and jumped onto a large rock.
Blessing Sacred Art: Strength.
Blessing Sacred Art: Speed.
Blessing Sacred Art: Endurance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Perception.
Sophie closed her eyes. Holy power surged around her as she continuously cast blessing sacred arts on herself to enhance her abilities.
Demon King Armament, activate!
Via activated the Demon King Armament, letting the pitch-black equipment envelop her body. She also summoned Desolate Fire.
Wielding the demonic blade wreathed in black flames, she leaped down from the broken bridge and slashed straight toward Sophie.
Clang!
Besides the silver sword in Sophie’s hand, the four swords hovering around her automatically moved to defend. They blocked the attack from the front, forming an invisible barrier with sword qi that prevented the black flames from eroding through.
This allowed her to continue casting more blessing sacred arts.
Blessing Sacred Art: Physical Resistance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Magic Resistance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Mental Abnormality Resistance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Poison Resistance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Curse Resistance.
Blessing Sacred Art: Life Recovery.
After activating a total of ten blessing sacred arts, Sophie opened her eyes. She raised the silver sword in her hand and smashed it forward.
Boom!
An exaggerated shockwave rolled up massive waves on the Yamar River, completely swallowing the broken bridge.
Via felt a violent impact strike her front. Her entire body shook. Although the Demon King Armament blocked most of the force, she still felt numb all over. She lost her balance and staggered backward several steps.
Before she could steady herself, the other four silver swords launched a pursuit attack. They locked onto her from multiple directions and flew toward her simultaneously.
Even if she dodged one sword, the others would pierce straight through her body.
Abyssal Shield!
Via released all the abyssal aura within her body. Through the Demon King Armament, she fused it perfectly with her mana to create the Abyssal Shield for protection.
An invisible dark purple force field formed around her, successfully blocking the pursuing silver swords.
Storm Sword!
However, Sophie gave Via no chance to catch her breath. She raised the sword in both hands and used sword qi to control the surrounding air currents, turning them into a violent storm.
She swung downward, riding the ferocious wind.
The razor-sharp storm of sword qi slammed into the Abyssal Shield. The two opposing forces collided and wore each other down.
In the end, the raging sword qi storm destroyed the Abyssal Shield and struck the Demon King Armament, sending Via flying into the air.
With the Abyssal Shield gone, the four silver swords coordinated their assault. They launched continuous slashes and finally knocked Via down into the Yamar River.
“Meow meow! Meow meow!”
Little Ha was extremely worried about Via and cried out anxiously.
Sophie walked forward and arrived above the spot where Via had fallen. She looked down into the water.
She had intended to locate Via and pull her out so she could take her away.
However, the previously calm surface of the river suddenly began to churn violently. A bright light glowed from beneath the water.
Buzzzz—!!
Multiple abyssal bullets condensed from Abyssal Force gathered together, forming an energy beam of terrifying power.
From underwater, Via launched another fierce attack at Sophie above her.
Divine Might Armament: Defense Mode!
Sophie controlled the silver swords of the Divine Might Armament, positioning them in front of her. The four swords spun rapidly, forming shield-like barriers.
While blocking the continuous abyssal beam, she deflected the attack toward the mountains on both sides of the Yamar River.
On the Saint Luo Empire’s side, the mountain range was left with several savage gashes, as if clawed open by a ferocious beast.
On the Desolate Fallen Continent’s side, part of a mountain peak was sliced off and crashed into the Yamar River.
“Cough… cough…”
Via crawled out of the water looking rather disheveled. She knelt on one knee on the surface, shaking her head to clear her mind.
In contrast, Sophie stood straight and tall on the water, her eyes sharp and piercing as she stared at Via in her black armament. With a casual wave of her hand, she purified the abyssal aura that had clung to her body.
“This is bad, my Demon King. What’s with this saintess?”
Desolate Fire began chattering noisily.
“You seemed to be at a disadvantage in that last exchange. She used so many blessing sacred arts to boost herself!”
“I know.”
Via was well aware.
This was Sophie’s developed combat style. She combined her swordsmanship mastery from her previous life with her exceptional talent for sacred arts in this life. It allowed her to remain unafraid of Abyssal Force while using blessings to further increase her stats and secure an advantage.
In comparison, none of Via’s attacks had been very effective.
She felt the pressure mounting.
“You look quite pathetic, Ville.”
Sophie called her by her previous life’s name.
“Even though that beam you fired just now was quite powerful, I can purify it easily, so it has no effect on me.”
Via narrowed her eyes. She also noticed that due to the Life Recovery blessing, a faint green glow surrounded Sophie’s body. If she were injured in battle, she wouldn’t even need to stop and pray to heal her wounds.
Her preparations were truly comprehensive—flawless. She wasn’t giving Via any openings at all.
“Give up. You have no chance of winning in your current state.” Sophie declared. “This battle will definitely end in my victory.”
“Heh heh heh… Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!!”
Via suddenly burst into loud laughter. Even though she was at a clear disadvantage, her laughter was extremely arrogant.
“What’s so funny?” Sophie frowned, confused.
“It’s precisely this kind of situation that makes it worth me going all out, Selina!”