"Finally found you, Roa!"
In the darkness, the nun lifted her head. She used a Cremation Rite to set her Black Keys ablaze and then projected them with the Iron Armor Effect.
Suddenly, six fireballs appeared in the decaying forest, each one possessing destructive power comparable to an infantry grenade.
However, this kind of attack was easily dodged by Roa. For the first ti, his face showed an expression other than joy—surprise—as he looked at the nun's face.
"Are you... Elesia?"
At the ntion of that na, the nun's already terrifying expression twisted even more.
"Elesia is dead. The one standing here is Ciel, Ciel of the Burial Agency!"
Even as she spoke, Ciel didn't stop her attacks. Black Keys continuously flew from her hands, each imbued with various attributes based on the Iron Armor Effect, including the previously used Cremation Rite, the petrifying Burial Rite, and the desiccating Wind Burial Rite.
It was through such thods that Ciel had annihilated nearly a hundred Dead Apostles, earning her the fearful moniker "Bow" in the world of Dead Apostles. But Roa was not an ordinary Dead Apostle; he either dodged or precisely deflected each round of Black Keys with his hands, and he even had the leisure to talk.
"A baptismal na from when you joined the Holy Church? A way to sever ties with your past self? How stubbornly pointless. Do you think this will let you start over?"
"No! It's not to start over; it's to exact revenge on you, Roa!!! Set!"
With a short chant, a shockwave like a lightning strike surged around Roa's body.
The Black Keys that had missed or been deflected earlier seed to be drawn by the lightning and ca flying back.
"You added a tracking spell to the Black Keys? Clever, but—"
As he spoke, Roa stopped moving and swept his leg towards a nearby withered tree.
With just one kick, the massive tree, which would have required two people to encircle, was severed near its base. The thick trunk toppled down, perfectly blocking the returning Black Keys.
"—such little tricks won't take down. You should know that very well by now. Or has the Burial Agency fallen so low that it only resorts to petty tricks? How sad. If I had known, I would have set the standards even stricter back then. Oh, by the way, here's sothing interesting for you—did you know that the Burial Agency you joined was founded by 800 years ago? In other words, neither Elesia nor Ciel can escape my influence. Isn't that ironic? Hard to accept, isn't it?"
The attacks ceased, and the various magical attributes entwining Ciel also quieted down. Darkness once again shrouded the forest.
Seeing Ciel in this state, Roa waved his hand dismissively, clearly disappointed.
"Can't take it anymore? How dull. You talk of revenge, yet this is all the resolve you have? Pathetic. You'd be better off dead."
"This..."
"Hm? What do you want to say? Say it if you must. I'll give you that much ti, for the sake of you being my descendant."
"I've known about this for a long ti."
Her suppressed voice suddenly rose, and along with it, Ciel's imnse stored magical power.
Of course, she knew. Having inherited all of Roa's mories, how could she not know? Even if she didn't want to revisit them, those vast mories from seventeen reincarnations would sotis reveal fragnts, especially during monts of emotional instability.
She had long since passed the phase of being unable to accept it, of hating herself, of wanting to die. Now, her heart harbored only one thought—kill Roa, I must kill him, using all the power at my disposal!
"Seven Release—Seventh Holy Scripture: Original Sin Indictnt!"
Magic surged, and holy light shone. The Seventh Holy Scripture, based on the horn of a unicorn and inscribed with countless sacred words, was fully unleashed.
The book's cover disintegrated and reford into an outer shell, while the manifested sacred words scattered and swirled, coalescing into silver ammunition.
As the impact cone ford, Ciel pulled the trigger, firing her ultimate weapon, which she had prepared for years—a soul-piercing spike aid at Roa.
The spike was faster than the Black Keys, more powerful, and, most importantly, its reincarnation negation property was Roa's nesis.
"A troubleso thing."
The Dead Apostle who had reincarnated eighteen tis finally lost his smile and maximized the distance between himself and the spike, no longer dodging by the barest margin as before.
Seeing this, Ciel's spirits lifted. She advanced with the impact cone in hand, continuously pulling the trigger to launch more spikes.
In terms of movent speed, there was no significant difference between Roa and Ciel, but the available space for movent inevitably beca restricted. The arrogance in Roa's eyes was replaced by a more sinister gleam. He reached into his sleeves with both hands, seemingly ready to retrieve sothing for a counterattack.
However, before he could draw his hands out, a shadow lood over the advancing Ciel—it was the long-haired man. If he hadn't revealed Roa's full na, Ciel wouldn't have erged from her hiding place to launch her fierce assault on Roa.
Yet, due to the earlier conversation, Ciel had remained wary of this unknown figure. Soone who knew Roa's full na dared to threaten him openly, and could create a bounded field that even eluded Arcueid—this man was certainly not simple!
However, being wary was one thing; whether she could defend against him was another matter entirely. Ciel saw the man's movent trajectory and was prepared to dodge or even counterattack in ti.
But just as she was about to act, with more than three ters still separating them, the long-haired man suddenly spoke, uttering a verse that did not belong to any European language.
"Fugu!"
The mont she recognized the verse as originating from her mother's holand, Japan, Ciel realized her body was immobilized.
Her fingers, arms, neck, legs, feet—her entire body was—
No, it wasn't just her; even the surrounding air had frozen in place.
"It's a Bounded Field!"
In the instant she understood, Ciel infused magic into the impact cone in her hand.
Magic flowed through the tal gun barrel and into the spike at the front. The spike quickly reverted to book pages and with a flash of holy light, scattered.
At the sa ti, Ciel regained her ability to move—mysteries beco nullified in the face of greater mysteries. The Seventh Holy Scripture, a millennium-old mystery, was powerful enough to shatter any bounded field less than a thousand years old upon contact.
Unfortunately, in that brief period, the long-haired man had already closed the three-ter gap like a ghost.
His black coat billowed as he extended his fist, striking her in the abdon.
It was a blow strong enough to break a tree. Ciel's body was sent flying, collapsing to the ground like a rag doll.
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