The black fla wolf charged forward, trampling fire beneath its paws, its straight-line path obliterating everything in its wake.
The sheer destructive power contained in that single, specialized slash left even Vali visibly shaken.
Earlier, after Ren Kuroda had entered his current state, it had taken only a few casual strikes to completely shatter Vali's Juggernaut Drive.
If Ren had used an attack of this level from the very beginning…
Vali doubted he could have survived even a single blow.
"No way… Ophis was actually pushed back head-on…!" the staff-wielding monkey yōkai blurted out in disbelief. "Vali, you were fighting a monster like that and still managed to stay alive?"
Watching Ophis—the Infinite Dragon—being driven back more than ten kiloters by Ren's attack, the most stunned weren't Vali himself, but Bikō and Kuroka standing nearby.
Vali, having already clashed with Ren twice, at least had so sense of just how unfathomable his strength was.
But for Bikō and Kuroka, this was the first ti they had ever seen soone force Ophis backward in direct combat.
Even gods and devils, beings revered as absolute, were like children standing before a giant when compared to Ophis.
To be able to shake her—even slightly—already ant that Ren's strength was enough to defeat most of the world's top ten powerhouses.
Seeing the shock written all over their faces, Vali could only give a wry smile.
"Honestly… if Ophis hadn't stepped in to save earlier, I'd probably be dead right now."
"When he defeated , I already knew he was strong—far beyond my level. But even then… I never imagined he could actually push Ophis back."
Before, Vali had been aware of the gap between himself and Ren, but he believed it was sothing he could eventually bridge with ti and effort.
But after witnessing this—
Even Vali was truly shaken.
As a battle fanatic, he had challenged Ophis before. The result?
She hadn't even bothered to move—just stood there and let him attack.
And even then, he hadn't been able to do a single thing to her.
"It's true that the half-yōkai nad Ren is incredibly strong," Albion's voice echoed from within Vali, calm and analytical. "But to say he can truly contend with Ophis is an overstatent."
"The reason he managed to push her back is largely due to that black, malevolent substance—it eroded Ophis's magical barrier."
"The power known as the 'Infinite Snake'… being corroded like that—whatever that substance is, its true nature is far from ordinary."
Despite the surface impression that Ren had forced Ophis back, creating the illusion of an even match—
Albion saw through it clearly.
Ren's power and magical energy were indeed extraordinary.
But compared to Ophis…
The gap was still vast.
No—more accurately, they existed on entirely different planes.
And as if to prove Albion's assessnt correct—
The black fla wolf that had been roaring as it drove Ophis back for over ten kiloters suddenly t its end.
Still howling fiercely one mont—
The next, it was torn apart.
With her small, pale hands gripping its upper and lower jaws, Ophis ripped the massive wolf cleanly in half.
With a final, unwilling howl, the black flas exploded outward, collapsing into a violent storm of destructive energy that ravaged the surroundings.
And yet—
At the very center of the explosion, Ophis stood unmoving.
The light and heat of the blast seed to encounter an invisible boundary, parting around her as if deliberately avoiding contact.
"Fūrinkazan Style—Swift as Thunder: Heavenly Flash, Rokuzon!"
The mont Ophis tore apart the black fla wolf—
Ren appeared behind her without warning.
After layering the destructive power of the Sword of Destruction onto his earlier "Swift as Fire" attack—
This ti, he infused his strike with the power of the Sword of Heavenly Flash.
The Sword of Heavenly Flash specialized in enhancing speed. Combined with short-range teleportation, and the inherently velocity-focused technique "Swift as Thunder," the synergy was absolute.
White lightning burst from Ren's body as he lunged forward in a piercing thrust.
As he accelerated, his form flickered in and out of visibility.
The lightning itself coiled around him, taking shape like a roaring white thunder dragon.
As it skimd along the ground, the crackling energy tore through everything in its path without restraint.
The air, violently compressed by his speed, briefly ford a vacuum.
The earth below was gouged open, a massive trench nearly ten ters wide carved into the ground by the rampaging thunder dragon.
And yet—
Faced with such a terrifying attack—
Ophis's expression didn't change in the slightest.
As the roaring lightning dragon surged toward her, she simply raised a single finger—
And stopped the thrust of Ren's blade with its tip.
At the instant blade t fingertip—
A massive shockwave erupted outward.
The ground beneath them fractured and collapsed as though they stood at the epicenter of an earthquake. Even the reinforced "ga space" around them began to tremble, on the verge of breaking apart.
Vali, caught in the aftermath of their clash, was forced to activate his Balance Breaker just to withstand the pressure.
Kuroka and Bikō each used their own thods, barely managing to keep their footing against the raging storm of force.
"Thy strength is considerable," Ophis said, gazing at the lightning-wreathed blade tip. For once, there was a hint of acknowledgnt in her voice. "Greater than most I have encountered."
Unfortunately—
Ren didn't feel the slightest bit pleased.
Instead, he let out a wry, almost exasperated laugh.
"My near full-power strike… blocked so easily with a single finger—and then you say that? Forgive if I don't take it as praise."
He had poured everything into that attack, built up his montum—
And she hadn't taken a single step back.
If anything, he was the one straining.
And now she was calmly telling him he was "strong"?
It felt eerily familiar—like the exact sa position he'd been in when fighting Irina and Xenovia.
"I do not understand the implication behind thy words," Ophis replied, tilting her head slightly, her tone completely sincere. "Thou art indeed strong. I rely state fact."
Seeing her clear, unclouded eyes—and that innocent, almost childlike gesture—
Ren blinked, montarily at a loss.
…Wait.
Was she serious?
The so-called Infinite Dragon God—
Possessing overwhelming, world-shaking power—
Yet ntally…
Was she just an inexperienced, almost naive child?
But that didn't make sense.
By all logic, Ophis had lived far longer than even the Two Heavenly Dragons…
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