"So Aunt Joan already met us way back then?" Suspended in midair, battered by the wind, Jill Young looked a little spaced out. "Aunt Joan used something so precious to baptize us... Aunt Joan, thanks for the welcome gift..."
Whoosh—Jill Young landed, snapping her attention from the memory realm right back to the real world. She raised her hand, and her Prime Artifact blazed with light.
This Prime Artifact had been duking it out with tough enemies since its baby days, winning fight after fight and getting stronger every round. A blade forged in battle is way sharper than one hammered out in a boring old furnace. Now, on the verge of becoming a true weapon, the Prime Artifact buzzed and trembled with excitement—like Jill was holding a fistful of wild, shifting golden light.
The golden glow stretched out and morphed, transforming into a sleek, shining battle blade.
Not that the Prime Artifact was stuck as a blade forever—'blade' was just one of its possible future looks.
The Overlord Golem in hyperspace was toast. Now, all Jill had to do was take care of the giant in front of her and she could kick back and celebrate her total victory.
Jill Young gripped the blade, swung it sideways, and in a blink, broke the sound barrier, slashing straight at the six-colored glow in the dust. "Eat this!"
The blade's fierce energy sliced through the air, splitting all the smoke and dust along its path before the edge even arrived.
Down in the crater, The Divine struck a wild pose, his expression totally bonkers: "Enough! I've had enough—I've had enough of your disrespect and blasphemy toward the gods!" As he roared, the six-colored halo behind his head fizzed and crackled, clearly showing he was squeezing out every last drop of power. BOOM—pale lightning crashed down from the clouds above like a rainstorm, drenching The Divine in a terrifying pillar of electricity.
"Urrghhh..." came a slightly pained groan—the giant was definitely cooking up something.
Like I'd ever give you a chance to go all out!
With the Overlord Golem smashed, the mental pressure eased up, and my nearly tapped-out psychic power started crawling back, bit by bit. When you've got resources in hand, there's no need to panic—so now that I've got a little juice, here goes: lightning-fast charge, blade overhead, golden energy swelling into a massive sky-splitting sword—Heavenly King Ghost Slash!
BOOM! A huge wave of golden blade energy crashed down from above, like mountains shattering and rivers splitting, chopping right for the giant's head as he tried to power up. Sacred Flame burned along the blade wave, and this spirit-fueled attack could hurt even a body of pure nature—no immunity here, buddy!
Take this!
Bang! No sonic boom—the blade cut the air so clean, it didn't make a sound. The noise came from The Divine, though; with a blast like a bursting air pocket, his huge body turned into smoke and vanished on the spot.
It was just like that classic Naruto substitution trick—poof! A cloud exploded, and The Divine teleported right behind Jill Young. Crackling energy flared up, a sneak attack bursting out from behind her.
You really think you can sneak up on me?
Dream on!
Jill Young's blade aura shifted, the huge wave of energy instantly turning soft and circular. With a slick twist and a spin, she whipped around and stabbed backward, all in one dazzling move.
Ssszzzzttt—!
With all that wild energy crashing together, Jill Young finally got a good look at The Divine.
He'd shrunk down to just two meters tall. His eyes? No pupils, no whites—just swirling six-colored light. The Divine's hands were crackling with deep violet lightning, forming a spear that looked terrifying even at a glance. He clashed it against Jill's golden blade energy, and the shockwaves ripped open countless gashes in the air for a hundred meters around.
"You've burned through my last bit of patience—warm-up's over! Now I'm going all out to kill you!" The Divine screamed like some storm-and-lightning god, conjuring another purple lightning spear in his other hand. In a flash, his twin spears multiplied into thousands of purple shadows stabbing right at Jill Young.
"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing." Jill Young didn't flinch. With her psychic power expenditure down, she could finally catch her breath. Afraid of you? Not a chance.
She worked the blade with both hands, golden energy expanding and contracting, twisting in a hundred dazzling loops like a golden wheel, refusing to give an inch against The Divine's attacks.
Haaahhh!
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! In an instant, the nearby skyscrapers were covered in scars. Every shockwave from their clash slashed through Manhattan's buildings and streets—giant cracks snaked up the towers, and the concrete split wide open.
Superheroes from near and far couldn't get close—they just stood there, slack-jawed, watching the two of them unleash a terrifying storm of energy. It swept through everything like a solar wind, dragging the whole city into a doomsday scene.
Both sides went faster and crazier with every move. The bystanders couldn't even tell what was happening anymore—just purple lightning and golden light crashing together like tidal waves, each trying to obliterate the other.
And in this close-quarters brawl, me—Jill Young—when have I ever been scared of anyone?
Vmmm—suddenly, the golden blade energy started to vibrate. This wasn't a full-blown disaster quake, but the Sunblade Core whipped up enough force to finally bust through The Divine's defenses at just the right moment.
A slash of golden light, so fast it didn't even need time—like a flash of sunlight slipping through the clouds.
"Ugh..." The wild purple lightning vanished, and The Divine staggered back, clutching his stomach—now sporting a massive wound. His body was made of pure nature, so the wound turned into a cloud, but the golden Sacred Flame burned right through, making it impossible to heal instantly.
The golden light snapped back, condensing completely. Jill Young swung her long blade, its tip touching the ground. She strode toward The Divine, slow but unstoppable, her killing intent blazing in full golden demon mode.
She didn't say a word, but her gaze was just like that night in the desert outside Dubai—basically screaming: Next slash, I'm taking your head off.
"Heh heh heh..." And right then, The Divine started laughing. "You can't kill me. You can't even beat me. I've got you all figured out—you've got three weaknesses. Number one: you can't fly."
Whoosh—out of nowhere, a massive tornado sprang up, swallowing Jill Young whole.
A flash of blade light, and the tornado collapsed instantly, not even budging Jill Young. But while she was busy, The Divine shot up into the sky, heading straight for the World Trade Center.
"Weakness number two: you've got attachments!"
Purple-red lightning crackled again as The Divine blasted a strike at the World Trade Center from high in the sky.