Violent explosions kept ringing out in the air, plumes of smoke blooming one after another in a straight line.
Amid the dust and smoke, two figures, one clad in white armor and the other wielding a long spear, clashed and separated in an instant. The tremendous force from both sides sent them flying at the same time. They landed on the ground and carved two trenches dozens of meters long through it.
"Looks like you're about to lose, Cao Cao. Is this all the so-called Hero Faction can do? How disappointing."
Vali's cold, mocking voice came from inside the white armor. In that brief clash just now, his battle with Cao Cao could perhaps be called even, but they were not fighting alone. Both sides had teammates.
Looking around, the two vice-captains were evenly matched. Siegfried, wielding Evil Swords and transformed into an Asura, was fighting Arthur, who held the Holy King Sword Collbrande.
Relying on the field effects of the Longinus "Dimension Lost" and his home-field advantage, Georg had Le Fay, his fellow mage, firmly suppressed and trapped.
Sun Wukong, empowered by Senjutsu and possessing impressive martial skill himself, swung the staff in his hands and turned the tall, powerful Heracles into nothing more than his punching bag.
Jeanne d'Arc, who could create Holy Swords, faced Kuroka Toujou, a Nekoshou who also wielded Senjutsu. With overwhelmingly powerful attacks on one side and nimble hit-and-run movements on the other, neither of them could do anything decisive to the other.
Looking at it this way, both sides were locked in a fifty-fifty stalemate for now. Even if one side won, it would only be a bitter victory. Unless...
"Tch. Just as I thought. Even weakened, a Transcender is still too much for Leonardo's Annihilation Maker."
"Awooo!!!"
As Cao Cao muttered, a wolf's howl rose toward the heavens. Magical Power far surpassing everyone present surged out with that howl, slamming into the barrier formed by Dimension Lost.
Stolen by Vali from Loki, the Evil God of Norse Mythology, and unquestionably among the top fifteen beings in the world, the God-Slaying Wolf, Fenrir.
Even after losing part of his combat power in the battle to subdue him, Fenrir could still unleash strength beyond that of ordinary gods and Demons. And the one currently fighting this God-Slaying Wolf was only a little boy.
Magical beasts giving off an aura that made Fenrir uncomfortable poured endlessly from the shadows beneath the boy's feet. But even with the help of those magical beasts specialized against beasts, Fenrir only needed to pay a little attention to force his way in front of the boy. If Georg had not used Dimension Lost's spatial movement several times to help the boy dodge, the battle would have ended long ago.
Even so, the boy still fell into traps several times. As time passed, the pressure Le Fay put on Georg increased, and Georg would inevitably no longer have the attention to spare for this side of the battlefield.
Once the boy lost, the addition of the God-Slaying Wolf would instantly crush the apparent stalemate of the entire battle.
Cao Cao understood that with a single glance. Even so, he merely tapped his spear against his shoulder, and one of the seven round spheres within the halo of light circling him floated upward.
"In that case, we can't drag this out. Otherwise, once Leonardo loses, everyone else's battles will collapse across the board."
Although he sounded troubled, Cao Cao remotely placed the floating sphere on the tip of his spear, then raised the Holy Spear toward the sky.
"Itthiratana!"
The moment Cao Cao called out the technique's name, the sphere on the spear shot out at incredible speed, seeming to fly toward Le Fay.
"Not good. Le Fay, Kuroka, watch out!"
Vali's pupils shrank sharply, and he instinctively shouted a warning to his teammates. At the same time, the armor across his body thickened again as he entered Juggernaut Drive, planning to use this chance to defeat Cao Cao in one blow.
Vali knew this technique. Cao Cao had used it in their battles over the past year. It could target women with supernatural abilities, and unless the gap in strength was large enough, it could completely seal their powers for a period of time.
It was a power extremely specialized against women, but the good news was that it could be dodged. Vali believed that with his warning, Kuroka Toujou and Le Fay would both be able to avoid it. Even if they could not, it did not matter. He would seize this opportunity and defeat Cao Cao in one strike.
"Your information hasn't been updated yet. Fair enough, this is the first time I'm using it. Let me show you the evolved technique I developed after all that brutal training."
As Vali charged toward Cao Cao with the intent to end it in one blow, Cao Cao's voice rang out with a trace of cunning.
A powerful sense of foreboding rose in Vali's heart. No, the sphere representing "Itthiratana" was not flying toward Le Fay Pendragon or Kuroka Toujou. Its target was the sky at the center of the battlefield.
"Burst!"
At Cao Cao's command, the white sphere stopped in the air. Then it released light that covered the entire battlefield.
"Snap!"
Before Vali could understand the purpose or intent of Cao Cao's move, the armor covering his body had already vanished. A sense of imbalance struck him, followed by a heavy crash as Vali fell into the ruins left in shambles by their battle.
"?"
While he was still stunned, the dazzling light faded. Screams rang out from two other battlefields at the same time. Clearly, the outcomes there had also been decided.
Looking around, Arthur had been pierced through by one of Siegfried's Magic Swords, while Sun Wukong was held tightly in Heracles's arms, experiencing the "true maiden-crushing bear hug."
"Brother!"
"Meow?"
By contrast, Kuroka Toujou and Le Fay, who had been warned by Vali and were on guard, had dodged the sealing light of "Itthiratana." Now they were staring at the scene in complete confusion. Kuroka Toujou was so shocked that she even let out a cat cry.
"So, Vali, when my strength and speed are both inferior to yours, why do you think I dared to come after you? You didn't care about that at all. This is a victory of intelligence."
Wearing a bright smile, Cao Cao once again tapped the spear in his hand against his shoulder and slowly spoke to the fallen Vali.
"No, wait, Cao Cao. Why was my power sealed!?"
The absurdity of the situation shook Vali so badly that he could not even keep his expression steady. Panic appeared on his face as he demanded an explanation from Cao Cao. "Itthiratana," a power meant to target women, had sealed their abilities?
"Hah? You're panicking over a little thing like this? Looks like I overestimated you earlier. Whatever. I'll let you die knowing the truth."
Looking down at the fallen Vali with contempt, Cao Cao stopped walking and pointed a finger at him, speaking in a tone that practically said, "All the world is drunk, and I alone am sober."
"Vali, you are not male. Your true gender is female!"
!!!
"Fuck you, Cao Cao! Stop spouting bullshit! If you used some dirty trick, then just say it! Don't slander my gender!"
Having heard the answer he least wanted to hear, Vali immediately started cursing, spewing all kinds of foul language.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Faced with Vali's furious curses, Cao Cao merely raised a finger in disdain and wagged it from side to side. At the same time, another one of the six spheres within the halo around him rose upward.
"What gives you the right to assume your gender?"
???
"Vali, have you considered the possibility that your mind and spirit are actually female, and only your body is male?"
Cao Cao, are you even awake right now?
"I knew you wouldn't believe it, but whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. As long as my spear and I believe it, that's enough."
Once again, Sacred Gears created by God are deeply subjective things. They absorb the emotional fluctuations of their wielders and evolve into the form their wielders desire.
In other words, as long as Cao Cao believes the world has more than two genders, male and female, then "True Longinus" will adjust its criteria accordingly. Put simply, Cao Cao has the highest authority of interpretation.
Theoretically, Cao Cao should never have thought of this. After all, the tone of his original world might have been a little underworld-like, but it definitely could not have updated to this version.
But someone had experienced it. Cid had always felt that the world he reincarnated into was a little too rigid. A bunch of absurd abilities and martial arts existed, yet no one developed them properly, so he casually taught them. This was Cid's top-tier understanding, decades ahead of the current version.
"All right. Now, Vali, watch carefully as I take care of your teammates."
After saying that, Cao Cao ignored Vali's worldview-shattering expression. The tip of his spear remotely controlled the floating white sphere, aimed it at Kuroka Toujou and Le Fay, who were desperately dodging the four-on-two assault from Cao Cao's teammates, and hurled it heavily.
"The power to freely move positions, Assaratana!"
Hearing his voice, Kuroka Toujou's catlike pupils instantly widened. She gave up on dodging and instead covered her entire body with Senjutsu ki.
But it was still too late. Kuroka Toujou vanished from where she stood, then appeared in the middle of Heracles, Siegfried, Jeanne d'Arc, and Georg, facing all four of their attacks at once.
"Ah!"
Even with her defenses prepared in advance, Kuroka Toujou could only collapse helplessly under the attacks of all four. She screamed as she fell to the ground, clutching her chest and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Kuroka-san!"
"The ability with powerful destructive force, Parināyakaratana!"
Seeing Kuroka Toujou kneeling on the ground, Le Fay let out a cry of anguish.
But the enemy's attacks did not stop. Cao Cao's voice rang out, and a white sphere flew toward Le Fay like a shadow, striking the Magic Circle unfolding in front of her as it was still gathering power.
"Crack!"
The next second, the sound of shattering glass rang out. The Magic Circle broke apart, exposing Le Fay beneath it, and the white sphere struck her down.
"Awooo!"
At that very moment, the barrier around the other battlefield that Georg had sealed with Dimension Lost since the start of the fight was broken. The vicious God-Slaying Wolf leapt out, only to face Cao Cao and the others, who had already finished their battle.
"Sorry, Cao Cao. I failed. That wolf was too strong."
The pale-faced little boy was teleported over by Georg. Gasping heavily, he apologized to Cao Cao.
"It's fine. It isn't your fault you couldn't hold out. That's Fenrir, the God-Slaying Wolf, after all."
Cao Cao waved a hand and accepted Leonardo's apology, then shook his head as he watched Fenrir being ganged up on by his teammates. He had never expected Leonardo to handle Fenrir alone in the first place. Holding Fenrir back was already their victory.
As for now? There was no need to worry anymore. If Fenrir were still in peak condition, he might have been able to turn the tables on them. But with Fenrir's current strength, and with all of them attacking together, there was no need to be concerned.
"Mm-hm..."
Thinking this, Cao Cao hummed twice, turned toward Vali, who was still lying on the ground, and extended the Holy Spear in front of him.
"Now it's time to end you, Vali."
As he spoke, Cao Cao prepared to take Vali's life.
"Stop, Cao Cao."
An indifferent female voice rang out, as if issuing an order. Strangely enough, Cao Cao obediently stopped and turned toward the figure who had spoken.
"Yo. I thought you planned to wait until Vali and the others were dead before making your move. Ophis!"
When he said Ophis's name, Cao Cao's tone was heavy, and a trace of tension appeared on his face. Facing the Infinite Dragon God in person still made him nervous when the moment actually came, even though he had prepared for it.
"No. Vali and the others listen to Ophis."
Watching Cao Cao raise his spear and aim it at her, Ophis did not stop him. She only quietly watched his movements and softly refuted him.
"Feels like there's no difference to me."
"There is a difference. Vali and the others listen to me, so they are my subordinates. Even if they attack me, I won't care. Cao Cao is not my subordinate."
Perhaps because she had just spoken with Cid, Ophis did not ignore Cao Cao's comment. Instead, she answered very seriously.
"Why does Cao Cao want to kill me? Does Cao Cao not want to be my subordinate?"
She asked him in return. Even though Cid had already explained it to her, Ophis still asked Cao Cao. To Ophis, Cao Cao wanting to kill her was not something she needed to care about. What she cared about was why Cao Cao wanted to betray her. Had she not given him enough?
"That's right, Ophis. We do need you, but not the current you."
"I still... can't understand. But I won't lose to Cao Cao. There's no need for a disobedient subordinate to exist."
Ophis spoke plainly as powerful Magical Power radiated from within her. Not caring was one thing, but now that he had come right to her, he could die after satisfying her curiosity.
"Wow! Taking this seriously now? Unfortunately, it's still useless, because I've already prepared a weapon to deal with you, Ophis."
"Georg, summon it. It's time to open the lid of the Great Cauldron of Hell!"
"Understood. Then let the moment of devouring infinity descend!"
After confirming that Ophis was serious, Cao Cao looked calm on the surface but immediately gave an order to his teammate Georg. Georg, the corners of his mouth rising, spoke with excitement as well.
The entire street shook violently. An ominous Magic Circle of black flames rose from the ground, spreading a chilling cold that made the skin crawl.
From within the ominous Magic Circle, a massive cross slowly rose.
A figure was firmly nailed to the cross, blood flowing down its body.
Its upper body was that of a Fallen Angel, and its lower body was that of a dragon. Its wings, serpent tail, every part of its body, even its black feathers, were pierced by countless thick nails.
The Dragon Eater, Samael, had descended.
Ophis was dumbfounded.