The perception froze in the air, then shattered. Null stared. Once. Twice. Three times—just to ensure Fantasy Omniscience hadn't glitched, falsified data, or decided to play a cosmic prank on him.
"Okay," he said, his voice dropping into a slow, measured cadence. "Let's set aside her D-rank stats for a moment."
He watched Sora vault over a surge of dark fire, twisting midair to drive a spear of condensed radiance into Mor'gan's shoulder. The impact forced the Greater Demon back, his flames flickering.
"And while we're at it, let's also ignore the absurdity of how she turned a demon beast of equal power rank into minced ash like it was a tutorial mob," Null continued. "What is with those absolutely broken Unique Abilities?"
He tilted his head slightly, a wave of disbelief washing over him. "Hey. Fantasy Omniscience-san. Be entirely honest with me." He jabbed a finger vaguely toward the clash outside, where Sora's blinding aura flared bright enough to momentarily drown out Mor'gan's hellfire. "Are you absolutely certain those don't belong among The Ultimate Abilities?"
There was a pause. For the first time, the system's AI cadence seemed to fray.
[Master,] it replied, its tone subtly altered, [I am quite shocked myself]
Null blinked. "Oh? That's new."
[However, I am certain. Subject Sora's abilities are not among the Nine Ultimate Abilities. I identify no Divine Singularity Incised within them.]
Null's brows knit. "Huh? Even your Omniscient Cognisance can't fully ascertain her existential abnormality?"
["..." Affirmative]
A sharp, incredulous laugh escaped him. "That's insane. Are they even uniques?"
['...']
Outside, Sora was struck—dark fire tearing across her flank. She buckled, but then life surged. Wounds sealed, her aura flared with renewed brilliance.
Null watched, silent for a long second. "So she can only utilize a mere nine percent of those aspects right now?"
[Affirmative.]
"Yup. That settles it." He sucked in a breath, "I feel like I just stumbled upon a literal Celestial Diviness clad in mortal flesh."
Fantasy Omniscience remained silent. The stillness was unnatural, and Null noticed. "Hmm? You're unusually quiet, Omniscience-san."
No reply. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of something unreadable crossed Null's face before vanishing. "Tch. Fine. Keep your secrets. Some mysteries are more fascinating when you unravel them in their own narrative moment, anyway."
[If Subject Sora increases her utilization limit even marginally,] Fantasy Omniscience finally cycled back online, [her probability of defeating the greater demon approaches certainty.]
"Oh? And what's the trigger for raising that limit."
[Master, the sole requirement is the Ontogenesis of her 'Existentiality'.]
"Basically, she needs to get stronger. But That's not happening in the middle of a deathmatch, unless she suddenly achieves some absurd, story-breaking epiphany."
***
Mor'gan's greatsword descended like a falling furnace. Sora met it with a *Sanctified Ward*.
Light burst outward in a massive circular shockwave as steel and sanctified brilliance as the impact blasted them apart, flattening the remaining timber for dozens of meters. Dust, ash, and jagged embers choked the air
Sora landed first, her footwear carving twin trenches through the scorched earth. Her respiration visibly heavier now, her aura flickered unevenly. Mor'gan noticed and grinned.
Before either could fully stabilize, they moved simultaneously. Sora vanished in a streak of *Divine Acceleration*, appearing above his shoulder.
A blade of light formed along her forearm, slashing for his ribs. The demon dodged by violently twisting his torso and countered instantly. *Blazing Cleave* met *Luminous Edge* in an explosion that rained flaming debris.
Sora flipped backward in midair, her breath hitching as she touched down.
Another exchange. Then another. Light tore through flame; Flame devoured light.
The battlefield was no longer a forest; it was a furnace scar. Moreover, slowly and subtly, Sora's counters were coming a fraction of a second later than before. Her wards took a fraction longer to form. Her breaths were deeper, heavier.
Mor'gan's molten eyes gleamed with dark satisfaction. He could feel it. Every time their powers collided, every time her mana made contact with his maisma—Flame-Hungered drank. Her mana flowed into him in invisible, siphoned streams.
"Persistent little saintess," he spat, rolling his shoulder as he savored the surge of stolen energy distorting into dark mana. "You're ridiculously hard to kill. But it doesn't matter. Your light is feeding me. It's only a matter of time before your output collapses."
He stepped forward, his expression twisting into a vulgar smirk as his gaze appraisingly roamed over her silhouette. "You're an extremely rare prize—I can see that even with your veil on. I'd love to break you slowly, make you a slave. With your standing, however, I can't afford to drag this out. If word reaches the Sanctum, consequence will follow."
Sora's eyes turned to ice. She didn't offer a verbal response; she acted.
A blade of condensed light formed instantly in her hand, and she hurled it. The projectile tore through the air with terrifying velocity, slipping past Mor'gan's guard while he was immersed in his own filthy provocations. It pierced straight through his defensive flames, reaching his chest.
Mor'gan's eyes widened. His hand snapped up on pure reflex, catching the blade inches from his heart. The holy light instantly hissed against his palm, white smoke rising as the energy fought to penetrate his flesh.
"That was dangerous," he muttered quietly, tightening his grip until the blade shattered into harmless fragments of light. He lifted his gaze slowly, a crude grin stretching across his face. "Sacred bitch. You're tenacious, I'll give you that."
He rolled his neck. Dark orange flames compressed around him—dense, controlled, and suffocating. He stepped forward with killing intent so thick it seemed to curdle the air.
Sora inhaled. Her arms trembled from strain. She could feel the siphoning—one percent at a time, like sand through fingers. Her hand tightened briefly. 'It's fine.'
She still had cards to play. The enchanted bands around her wrists pulsed faintly—her Magic Reservoir Bands. They were long-duration sustain tools prepared for worst-case scenarios. She could outlast the mana depletion disadvantage, for a significant period.
Her real anxiety wasn't Mor'gan. It was the vow of celestial asylum.
Her eyes flicked for a fraction of a second toward the distant white sphere, barely touched by the surrounding devastation. 'Why is he still inside?' Her jaw tightened. She had created that asylum so Null could escape safely while Mor'gan's attention was locked on her. She had made it obvious. She had told him: Withdraw.
But she could still clearly sense his presence behind the asylum—unmoved, undisturbed.
'Why haven't you left yet, idiot?'
Mor'gan was already lunging again. She forced her focus back to the immediate threat. She flashed sideways just as a wave of black-orange fire tore through her space, the heat grazing her cheek. She retaliated instantly.
'I can last. Even if this demon continuously drains my mana, I can draw from the magic reservoir bands.'
Her fingers brushed lightly against the ring beneath her glove—her {Sanctum-Bound Spatial Anchor}, linked directly to a special Transit chamber in Divine Sanctum. One thought, one mental activation, and she could leave this battlefield instantly. Safe. Alive.
But her eyes hardened. It only recognizes mana signatures approved by the sanctum and coded into it beforehand. I can't pull him with me.
Which was exactly why she had orchestrated this. Why she had drawn the demon away. Why she had told Null to escape while she stalled. Why she was still here, buying time with her own life.
'So why...'
Her mental distraction caused a flaming fist smashed cleanly through her guard, sending her tumbling across the cracked earth. She rolled, forced herself up, and activated *Lifeweave Restoration*.
The physical pain vanished. The burns faded, and her breath steadied. But her internal thoughts were screaming. 'Why are you still here?!'
Her eyes briefly flicked to the asylum one more time, a thread of deep anxiety creeping into her heart for the first time since the engagement began. 'Please...'
Mor'gan stepped forward, the flames coiling around him like a crown of hellfire. Sora raised her stance again, light gathering around her trembling hands. Her expression held its calm, but her mind was anything but.
'Just run, Null-san.'