Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

Crack—!

The Blood Wall failed to stop Xiu Er's attack, but it had achieved its purpose of slowing her down.

Dracole had already raised his shield before him.

Gokurokugai's blade slammed into his shield, its momentum carrying him flying high into the sky behind him.

As he flew, the Demon condensed countless Spears of Blood, each one a meter long, around himself once more. Under his control, they all shot toward Xiu Er.

All this blood had been accumulated by Dracole during his slaughter of the town's residents. It was enough for him to squander for quite some time.

Countless blood spears rained down upon Xiu Er below, striking her position and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Within the smoke, Xiu Er merely deployed her defensive armament, No Passage, and blocked the entire barrage.

Flying through the air, Dracole used Flight Magic to steady himself.

He silently watched the ground below, then stopped forming more spears.

Yet before the smoke could clear, several golden sword energies flew out of the haze and streaked toward Dracole.

He moved continuously through the air, evading the incoming sword energies.

Then, a streak of golden light shot out from the side of the smoke.

It carved a straight line of golden energy across the ground, then swept into the sky in a perfect arc. After briefly pausing high above, it fell toward Dracole below like a meteor.

As it descended, the trail behind it turned a brilliant crimson gold, like the tail of a shooting star.

It got even faster!?

At this moment, even Dracole could no longer see Xiu Er's speed clearly. At that speed, he was certain he would not be able to dodge in time.

Relying only on his battle instincts, he raised his shield and blocked in that direction.

At the same time, he used every drop of blood he had collected to reinforce his defenses further, all to withstand this attack.

However, what happened next far exceeded his expectations.

The greatsword in Xiu Er's hands had vanished. In its place was a massive Crimson Gold Great Axe wreathed in blazing flames.

Carried by its momentum, the axe blade effortlessly cleaved through every barrier made of blood, split the shield in two, and finally crashed into Dracole's chest.

"What...?!"

Pseudo-Codex: Great Flame of Destruction

Xiu Er had switched from the previously used Gokurokugai to a far more destructive great axe. Against this Demon, there was no need to use Gokurokugai's ultimate sword.

The great axe in Xiu Er's hands tore through all defenses before finally lodging in Dracole's breastplate, carrying his body down toward the ground.

Their point of impact was the center of town.

Boom boom boom—!!!

The earth split apart from the impact, triggering an earthquake as all surrounding buildings collapsed.

Dense spiderweb cracks appeared in the ground at the center, eventually extending into the distance.

What happened to me...?

His consciousness had faded for a few seconds.

By the time Dracole came to his senses, he was already lying in a massive crater.

The Blood Armor that had protected him was covered in cracks, eventually dissolving into blood that flowed around his body.

Only then did he realize.

He seemed to have been struck down by a human girl... No, that definitely was not a human. He did not know what she was, but she was absolutely not a creature like a human.

The pain throughout his body forced him fully awake.

Before his eyes, a Crimson Gold Great Axe burning with flames was firmly embedded in his chest. His heart had already been destroyed.

The immense impact had left not a single part of his body intact.

The fact that he could still retain consciousness was already the limit of a Demon's powerful physique.

Flames like Judgment Fire began spreading across his body.

He looked at Xiu Er, who gripped the axe handle with an icy expression, and at the halo above her head.

Could she be... what those humans call an Apostle of the Goddess...?

Dracole had no way of knowing.

He looked at her, clearly not yet fighting with her full strength, while he himself had already suffered fatal injuries.

The blazing flames burned fiercely across his body, ravaging everything within him through the wound inflicted by the axe.

So that was why Leslie and the others were wiped out.

This creature is truly powerful...

As the Great Demon's corpse dissipated, the battle finally came to an end.

Calculating the Magic she had acquired, Xiu Er sat within the crater she had created.

By now, she had killed every Demon that had attacked the town. That could be considered avenging the residents of this city.

Whoosh—

Dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead, and within seconds, a torrential downpour began.

Pseudo-Codex: Zadkiel

Xiu Er used Yoshino's ability, the power to control water and cold.

Rain began falling across the area, extinguishing the flames still burning throughout the town.

Looking at the ruins stretching as far as the eye could see, Xiu Er did not dwell much on the matter.

However, there was one thing she found particularly concerning.

That was what the Detector displayed.

Even now, there was still one life sign within the city...

Picking Up a Child, Everyone

Blood Knight Dracole had paid a terrible price for his arrogance.

Originally, covering himself in a layer of armor made from blood was meant to improve his Survival Magic when facing Warriors.

However, while studying Magic, he had also practiced the techniques of a warrior.

Unfortunately, when facing Xiu Er, his usual arrogance had prevented him from using Blood Magic in any other way before he was killed on the spot.

Defensive applications, such as forming armor, were merely common and convenient uses. Their inherent strength was not particularly high.

The methods used for attacking were each stronger than the last.

Dracole had believed that this level of defense would be enough to handle most situations.

Yet he had never expected Xiu Er's attack to pierce through all his defenses in one blow.

This once-proud Great Demon, along with all his servants, was buried within this city.

The heavy rain continued until every fire in the city had been extinguished.

Rainwater washed the blood from the streets, while collapsed ruins filled the surroundings.

Following the direction detected by the Detector, Xiu Er passed one corpse and pile of rubble after another.

Eventually, she arrived before a building resembling a church. Its entrance had been destroyed, and its main doors were blocked by fallen bricks.

The life sign was coming from beneath this building.

There are still survivors?

Xiu Er would not go out of her way to save people, but if she happened to encounter someone in need, she would lend a hand.

"—Codex Opening—Pseudo-Codex—Levitation—"

This was the result Xiu Er had derived from analyzing the Flight Magic used by nearly every Demon Magic User during her earlier battle with the Demons.

Because she had gathered ample data, she had come to understand the specifics of this Demon Magic and could use it completely.

Now, she cast Levitation Magic on the debris within the half-collapsed church before her.

Bricks and fragments all rose into the air, revealing everything buried beneath them.

A mummified human corpse was pinned beneath the rubble. The scan identified him as male, and his clothing indicated that he had been a church monk.

Xiu Er scanned the church interior, focusing primarily on its floor. According to the signal, the source of life was underground.

Very quickly, Xiu Er discovered a door panel that seemed to lead to a basement, though it was hidden beneath the base of a statue.

One look was enough to tell her it was a Mechanism Door.

It was also wrapped in a power Xiu Er had never encountered before. It was neither Demon Magic nor magical power.

Could this be another type of Magic in this world?

Xiu Er knew that besides Magic, another power system existed in this world.

That was the Goddess's Magic, Magic that only those with the proper aptitude could use.

Among it, Goddess's Blessing was something every qualified person possessed from birth. It could resist, or even grant immunity against, curses.

There were also Survival Magic and Stealth Magic.

The former allowed a person to survive without oxygen or supplies, though its duration depended on the caster's strength. The latter could completely block Magic Detection.

It differed from Leslie's Stealth Magic. Leslie's ability mainly concealed his figure, but he still could not avoid detection by Magic Detection.

Then why had Dracole failed to discover Xiu Er at the time?

Because there had been no magical power within her body, so Magic Detection naturally could not detect her.

It seemed the monk had used the Goddess's Magic on whoever was below, allowing them to avoid the Demons' detection and pursuit, hiding them in a sealed underground space to await rescue.

Xiu Er crouched down and placed one hand on the floor.

"—Codex Opening—Pseudo-Codex—Earth Control—"

The floor beneath the statue suddenly rose, lifting the statue and revealing the Underground Passage beneath its base.

Following the passage, Xiu Er entered the pitch-black underground.

Tap... tap...

There was no light at all. As far as the eye could see, there was only darkness, accompanied by the steady sound of footsteps on the stairs.

However, darkness could not hinder Xiu Er's eyes in the slightest.

She followed the stairs down to the bottom, where the first thing she saw was a human corpse.

There was an obvious penetrating wound on the body, and dried dark-red blood covered the ground beneath it.

Based on the characteristics, the corpse was female. The female corpse closest to Xiu Er had a huge tear across her chest, and the scan showed that she had died from excessive blood loss.

The corpse's posture looked as though she had been protecting something.

That life signal was coming from beneath the woman's body.

Seeing this, Xiu Er understood what had happened.