"Are you all right?"
The "Chivalrous Thief" Black Emperor's voice was deep and imposing, yet it carried a trace of concern.
Angel slowly nodded, indicating that she was fine.
Although the battle had been intense, it had lasted only about a minute. Nearly all of the Desire Apostle's attacks had been avoided by her substitute, causing her no substantial harm. She had expended only a small portion of her spirituality; the only issue was psychological...
Even after the battle ended, the desires ignited within her still affected her thoughts.
Though she was already familiar with the Desire Apostle's methods and had prepared corresponding countermeasures—such as not wearing the Madness Ring, using the killing urge brought by the Dawn Paladin Beyonder Characteristic to conceal her other desires, and using the Magician Pocket Watch beforehand to end the battle quickly—a Sequence 6 facing a Sequence 5 alone had still allowed the other party to seize a tiny opening. He had ignited the Desire Seed unknowingly planted within her, and even while gravely injured, he had retained the strength to fight back.
Fortunately, she was not alone...
She looked at Sherlock, the "Black Emperor" floating in the air. He had just withdrawn his gaze from her and slowly drifted above the dead Desire Apostle, catching the spirit escaping from the freshly deceased body.
According to their pre-battle plan, Sherlock would first perform Spirit Channeling on him in Spirit Body form. In that state, only a brief ritual was needed for highly efficient Spirit Channeling, and it would yield the best results.
Seeing that Sherlock did not waste any time and quickly entered the proper state, Angel dragged her exhausted body a little farther away and headed toward the suitcase the Desire Apostle had discarded earlier.
What could make this fleeing Beyonder unwilling to