Second Form: Hotaru Gusa / Delicate Aira ...

"What a terrible fellow," Nitocris agreed with Ramesses II's assessment, for she had seen it too.

Those Purification Knight were not simply products of the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad's enhancement; rather, the Lion King bestowed a 'part' of his power upon them, which is why these Purification Knight possessed such formidable combat and regenerative abilities.

"So he'll hold off that maid's allies even if it means death? It seems that guy has been forced to this extent." Ramesses II looked to the other side, as if he could already see the Lion King and Mikaela's deadly battle.

Given this situation, it's believed that the Lion King has decided to abandon all his fighting forces in order to achieve true victory.

But will she actually succeed?

Ramesses II was well aware of one thing: weakness is the original sin, no matter how much he paid for it.

If you are not strong enough, no matter how much you scheme or plan, you will fail at the last step and everything will come to nothing.

Chapter 440 Second Form: Hozuki

"Clang--!!"

The katana and spear clashed once more, and Mikaela watched the Lion King with a perfectly calm expression.

The Lion King also looked calmly at Mikaela; the two had been fighting for nearly ten minutes.

Within ten minutes, the two of them had almost destroyed everything around them.

The battle between the two sides was so intense that the area originally contained several mountains and withered trees.

But now, due to the battle between Mikaela and the Lion King, all of these things have been reduced to ashes.

After a brief exchange, Mikaela and the Lion King tacitly retreated a distance.

"It still doesn't work. You still can't fully control my power. It seems there's something in this world that's limiting me."

The Heavenly Punishment God spoke in a somber tone, clearly sensing the world's rejection of his existence.

This prevented Mikaela from unleashing even a portion of his power, making the battle situation extremely delicate.

At this moment, Mikaela could only rely on the 'Mikaela' beside her to guide the enormous power within her body.

To be able to fight to a draw with an enemy of this level without being proficient in using this power is already quite impressive.

However, if the Heavenly Punishment God wanted to kill the opponent, he really couldn't think of any other way to deal with the guy in front of him except by using his last move.

"Hmm." Mikaela nodded slightly. He looked at the illusory divine figure behind him and sighed inwardly. It seemed that he needed to speed up his training in various powers.

If I had the combat experience of the person next to me, I would have already crushed the Lion King!

However, another problem arises: training requires a significant expenditure of magical energy, as this is no ordinary training but rather training to master the power granted by a Creation God.

As one of the three great demon gods in the Crimson World, the Heavenly Punishment God possesses unimaginable power, which is simply too powerful for ordinary people.

Most of the time, Mikaela would not use this power at all, since it consumes an enormous amount of magic power.

In just ten minutes of fighting, Mikaela has already consumed almost five years' worth of magic power. This level of magic power consumption is practically burning magic power to fight the Lion King.

"Is this all the strength you've shown?" The Lion King seemed somewhat disappointed with the strength Mikaela had displayed. The situation she had foreseen was clearly different from what she was seeing now.

In the original prophecy, she was to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Mikaela. Although it was unclear when the battle took place, she was indeed defeated by her opponent.

So, to avoid that premonition, the Lion King fought Mikaela a day earlier, even though the opponent was indeed not as strong as he had predicted.

Yet, the Lion King still felt a subtle sense of disappointment.

"No, it's not just that. You're overthinking it." Mikaela didn't show much emotion. Her transformation card was her biggest trump card. If this transformation wasn't enough to defeat the Lion King, then she would use another one to defeat him.

"Is that so?" The Lion King said calmly, raising the Gae Bolg, a gust of wind surging around her.

Above the tip of the Gae Bolg, a subtle energy fluctuation was gathering.

"Boom--!!!"

An unseen attack erupted from the Gae Bolg, hurtling towards Mikaela.

At the same time, the Lion King made a move. As an absolutely rational being, she would not waste time talking to Mikaela. Her retreat just now was only to use the Wind Noble Phantasm.

"Boom!!"

With a wave of her hand, Mikaela unleashed the Nietono no Shana, and towering flames instantly engulfed the raging wind, simultaneously obscuring her own figure.

"..." The Lion King didn't even glance at the flames and charged straight in, because she had already seen from the close-quarters combat just now that Mikaela's combat ability in close combat was simply terrible.

Although she had some combat experience, it seemed as if it were borrowed, and she couldn't make the Lion King feel any real threat.

So at that moment, she decisively rushed over, intending to end the battle with hand-to-hand combat.

If she keeps unleashing her Noble Phantasm, she's very likely to lose, since her opponent has two Holy Grail providing magical energy, and her only Master from Chaldea has signed a contract with her, reducing her burden and allowing her to use more power.

If they were to clash with their Noble Phantasm, the Lion King had already tested the waters and realized that he was probably no match for Mikaela in terms of energy expenditure, given the sheer amount of magical power she possessed.

On the contrary, in close combat, Mikaela might not be a match for him.

As the flames subsided, the Lion King sensed Mikaela's location and swung the Gae Bolg in his hand, to attack her.

"Snap!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the card breaking.

The Lion King suddenly had a bad feeling. She quickly put away her gun and prepared to retreat, but it seemed to be too late.

As the smoke cleared, a seemingly weak and powerless dandelion seed hurtled towards the Lion King.

Seeing that she could no longer dodge, the Lion King could only raise her gun in defense. At this moment, she seemed to realize how Mikaela fought.

"Bang--!!!"

The Lion King could clearly feel a terrifying force coming from the dandelion. She tried to use the ground to stabilize herself, but for some reason, as soon as she had this thought, her body was involuntarily thrown backward.

In an instant, the Lion King found a way to fight the dandelion, but even if she thought of it, her body couldn't do it immediately.

This is the disadvantage of becoming a god in spirit.

"The power of the Hozuki is still as terrifying as ever." After the smoke cleared, Mikaela had transformed from the fiery-haired, scorching-eyed girl into a girl holding a dandelion, who appeared to be very easy to bully.

"Indeed, pure power, combined with her delicate appearance and voice, means that anyone who underestimates her will be killed on their first meeting," 'Mikaela' remarked casually from the side.

If Goetia heard this, he would probably give it a thumbs up.

That's right. Back in the burning Fuyuki City, he underestimated 'Mikaela' who was wielding the Hozuki Dandelion, which led to him being knocked away.

However, the Lion King doesn't underestimate Mikaela; he just doesn't have any information about her.

It's really strange that people would fight and then suddenly transform into a completely different form!

P. S.: "Ah, I was too tired yesterday, so the update is slow today. I'm very sorry."

Chapter 441 The Frail Ella

"Demon?"

The Lion King was stunned by this 'soft blow'. When she came to her senses, she looked at Mikaela holding the dandelion in front of her and said calmly, "Although she is a demon, there is no trace of demonic characteristics on her. Instead, she is more like a natural spirit."

Hozuki is not warlike. Although she possesses immense power, she is more inclined towards peace.

Unless someone deliberately offends her or indiscriminately slaughters others, she is a powerful demon who will generally not take action.

However, the Lion King didn't understand Hozuki. He only thought she was a demon, but compared to an evil monster who took pleasure in killing and devouring all kinds of creatures, he was more inclined to think of her as a nature spirit who was kind to all things.

"That's right, it's a demon, and a weak and helpless little demon at that." Mikaela shook the dandelion that weighed about ten tons, looking like such a harmless being.

It was as if punching her would make her cry for a long time.

"... Don't joke around. Weak and powerless? You seem to have some strange understanding of that word." The Lion King said expressionlessly. She had just been knocked away by a tremendous force, and you call that weak and powerless?!

However, the Lion King had to admit that the Hozuki's appearance was deceptive, and under normal circumstances, Lion King wouldn't be very interested in such a 'weak' monster.

Compared to Mikaela (Shana)'s sharp and aggressive form, with her flaming hair, burning eyes, wielding a greatsword, and with a faint divine phantom behind her, she looks like a fire queen.

Compared to Shana's form, Hozuki looks far too delicate overall. She holds a very soft-looking dandelion, has an innocent appearance, and a friendly and natural temperament, as if she could make someone cry with just a breath of hers.

"Indeed, a weak and helpless little monster." Mikaela chuckled. She wasn't wrong; she was indeed very weak, though only in appearance.

"How many times can you use it?" The Lion King raised his gun and aimed at Mikaela. Her expression was calm, because although the attack was unexpected, it was also unexpected.

It didn't cause her much damage. Compared to Shana's form, which used the power of the Heavenly Punishment God to launch a Divine Authority attack, this form was hit head-on as soon as it appeared.

But she wasn't injured. What truly made the Lion King wary was whether Mikaela could seamlessly switch between her transformed forms.

Moreover, could it be that the other party is using me as a whetstone to train my transformation ability?

Or perhaps what I foresaw was actually correct, and the other party was just playing along?

The Lion King was very rational; she realized the seriousness of the situation in the few seconds after being hit, and her questioning was also an attempt to verify some of her own ideas.

"How many times? What are you talking about? I don't understand what you're saying." Mikaela held a dandelion in one hand, swaying gently with a rather funny smile on her face.

Compared to Shana's form, the Hozuki form consumes far less magic power.

This wasn't because Shana was too powerful, but because Shana was possessed by a being of the level of Creation God, which caused Mikaela's magic consumption to increase several times for no reason.

"... Alright, if you can't hold on any longer, then your weaknesses will naturally be exposed."

Seeing that Mikaela was unwilling to talk, the Lion King did not press her for details. After all, this was her trump card, and it would be strange if she were willing to reveal it.

The next instant, the Lion King vanished from his spot and charged toward Mikaela. She had originally planned to throw a light cannon to test what abilities Mikaela in this form possessed.

However, since the opponent was in Shana form before, she could block my Noble Phantasm at will, but her abilities in this state are unknown. The only thing that is shown is that the opponent is very strong. As for whether she can block my Noble Phantasm, that remains to be seen.

Based on Mikaela's cautious behavior earlier, it's highly likely that she can withstand his Noble Phantasm in this state. Therefore, Lion King doesn't intend to waste his magic power and plans to continue close combat to expose her weakness.

"Bang--!!!"

The dandelion clashed with the Gae Bolg for the first time; one was a dandelion in the hands of an ordinary, weak monster.

The other is the Holy Lance, the Storm Anchor that binds the stars, whose true form is said to be a tower that binds the surface of the world.

In terms of level, dandelions are simply not qualified to clash with such an existence.

However, weapons are only effective if they become sentient and function as proper weapons, capable of unleashing all their power on their own.

Otherwise, it depends on whether the user is powerful enough to allow her power to be fully unleashed.

The Lion King is indeed strong, but her physical body still surpasses human limits. Even though her spirit has been assimilated into a god by the Holy Lance, she cannot unleash the full power of the Holy Lance now.

After all, both the Gae Bolg and Excalibur are the same, possessing the same Thirteen Restraints, and are in a state of barely maintaining their Noble Phantasm form.

Under these restrictions, the Holy Lance cannot unleash its true power, effectively weakening the Lion King's strength.

In this situation, it's perfectly reasonable to be knocked away by a weak monster, right?

That's right, the Lion King was sent flying again. This time it happened in close combat. He was sent flying by that tremendous force. This level of power makes one think of dragons and other large creatures.

"..." The Lion King steadied herself in mid-air, her expression turning quite grim. What had happened?!

If the previous attack could be attributed to a sneak attack, a result of his carelessness, what about now?! He couldn't even steady himself after just one exchange of blows and was sent flying?!

"I'm still quite confident in my own strength." Mikaela smiled as she looked at the Lion King, whose expression had turned ugly. She continued, "And that's not all. I have another way to make you lose the fight."

As she said this, Mikaela aimed at the Lion King and slightly waved the dandelion in her hand. The dandelion flashed with green light, as if she had launched some kind of attack.

"Buzz—!!!"

At this moment, the Holy Lance emitted a terrifying aura, blocking something.

This made the Lion King frown, then he took two steps back and looked at Mikaela with great vigilance. It seemed that the other party had just launched some kind of attack, but it seemed to have been Gae Bolg.

"A passive ability to protect its master?" Mikaela blinked, clearly not expecting the Holy Lance to have such power.

Mikaela has always valued the ability of the Hozuki to absorb the life force of others, but this skill seems a bit too domineering and can easily cause irreversible injuries, so she doesn't use it most of the time.

This time, Mikaela wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible, so she used this power, but unexpectedly it was blocked by the Holy Lance.

Chapter 442 Satisfied

"That's really surprising." Mikaela realized for the first time that the Hozuki's ability had been blocked.

After all, absorbing life force is truly the ultimate skill of Hozuki in every sense.

Besides that, Hozuki is quite durable and also likes to use dandelions to defeat enemies on a physical level.

Is the Lion King a physically defeatable enemy?

Obviously not. Although Mikaela hasn't said anything on the surface, she is still an incredibly powerful and terrifying being.

"It seems your condition is extremely dangerous," the Lion King said to Mikaela with a grave tone.