Dominic was pushed hard and fell onto the ice, sliding several meters before coming to a stop.
He looked up and saw Sister Cassandra stagger back half a step, her Power Sword clattering to the ground, her upper body almost cleaved in two.
The hood slipped down, revealing a pale and serene face.
She could do nothing more; she just glanced at Dominic one last time before collapsing heavily and falling silent.
The blade's momentum hadn't dissipated when it grazed Dominic's raised left arm as he tried to block.
"Snap~~~"
The sophisticated mechanical prosthesis broke cleanly at the elbow joint, the cut surface flat, with debris from the wiring and hydraulic pipes flying along the blade's trajectory.
The cold sensation spread up the stump, and the pain belatedly crept into the nerves, only to be severed by the prosthetic system, leaving only the phantom limb's unique pain.
Dominic sat on the icy ground, staring at the mechanical prosthetic limb that was hissing and glowing from the broken end, then at the nun's motionless corpse not far away. He seemed frozen in place.
In a daze, the scene before my eyes overlapped with a scene from my memory.
It was the same cold battlefield, the same sudden and unexpected attack, and the same for Rafaelle.
His mangled body was transformed into a raging fire.
The explosion engulfed her body, but he survived.
From then on, his left hand became a mechanical prosthesis, carrying a weight he could never get rid of for the rest of his life.
"Ah!!!"
Rage burned through his body like wildfire, instantly dispelling all fear and caution.
Dominic, his eyes red, suddenly reached into the leather holster inside his uniform with his right hand and pulled out a gilded dagger.
The dagger was short, only about thirty centimeters long, with fine golden patterns engraved all over the blade, and a tiny, orange-red core, like a solidified star, embedded in the hilt.
The blade showed no signs of sharpening, yet it naturally gleamed with a scorching light, and in this extremely cold place, waves of heat constantly rose around the blade.
Setting Sun.
This is one of the sacred relics passed down through his family.
His uncle once told him, half-jokingly, that when the Emperor was searching for an engine core for the Blood Angels ' warships, he had personally captured a star and compressed it into a nearly eternal energy core.
The dagger was forged using stellar embers that overflowed during the compression process; the blade's temperature is so high that it can melt any metal in the world.
Dominic dismissed it as a legend told by his elders to amuse children.
He had seen countless so-called "holy objects," most of which had outrageous and exaggerated backgrounds.
But the moment he actually held the dagger, he knew that even if the Setting Sun wasn't that legendary, it wouldn't be too bad.
Because the power of this thing is completely beyond the mortal realm.
The divine messenger, Si Yi, severed the mechanical prosthetic limb with a single slash and was about to deliver the finishing blow when he suddenly saw his opponent charging towards him with a strangely styled golden dagger.
He remained expressionless, parrying with his sword.
In his view, how could a mere short dagger possibly stop his Guan Dao?
"Hiss!"
After the crisp clang of metal clashing, came a teeth-grinding melting sound.
The moment the heavy blade of the Guan Dao struck the blade of the Setting Sun sword, it was like ice and snow meeting a red-hot iron rod, instantly melting a gash in its surface.
Dominic swiftly swung his hand back, and the golden blade sliced through the several-inch-thick blade in an arc without any resistance.
The divine messenger Si's pupils shrank sharply, and for the first time, astonishment appeared in his bluish-gray eyes.
He stared in disbelief at the broken sword in his hand, then darted backward, trying to create some distance.
But Dominic gave him no chance to breathe.
With the thrusters blazing at full power, he dragged his severed limbs and charged forward like a cannonball, his right hand stabbing straight at his opponent's face with a dagger.
"Bite!"
A pale blue Psychic Power shield suddenly unfolded in front of the divine messenger, Si, like an ice mirror.
The Setting Sun Dagger pierced the shield, creating distorted ripples. The high temperature and Psychic Power collided, producing a sizzling sound, but it failed to penetrate instantly.
As soon as the divine messenger Si landed and was about to unleash even stronger Psychic Power, a bone-chilling cold suddenly emanated from behind him.
It's not the coldness of ice, but the deathly stillness of the Blanks, rejecting everything and severing all Psychic Power.
Sister Elaine had somehow moved to the side and rear.
She didn't speak, nor did she make any eye contact with Dominic, yet she accurately guessed his advances.
She pressed her hands to the ground, pushing the power of the untouchable force field to its limit, and a pale silver halo surged toward the divine messenger Si like a tide.
"Well!"
The divine messenger, Si, let out a muffled groan, and the Psychic Power fluctuations around him instantly became chaotic.
The Psychic Power shield that had barely blocked the dagger burst with a "pop," like a bubble being punctured.
Great opportunity!
Dominic's eyes flashed red, and he leaped into the air using the thrusters.
He gripped the Setting Sun Dagger with both hands and, with all his might, slashed it down fiercely at the head of the Divine Messenger Si.
The golden blade sliced through the air, leaving a scorching afterimage, and the surrounding chill was evaporated into white mist.
There were no obstacles.
The Setting Sun Dagger cleaved into the center of the head of the divine messenger Si, gliding smoothly down the bridge of his nose, throat, chest cavity, and down to his lower abdomen.
Like a hot knife slicing through butter, without the slightest resistance.
The divine messenger, Si, froze on the spot, his four arms remaining outstretched, the light in his bluish-gray pupils rapidly dissipating.
He seemed to want to say something, his lips moved, but in the end only a pale purple line of blood appeared in the middle of his body.
The next second, his body slid to the sides along the trajectory of the blade, the clean cut revealing hardly any blood.
The high temperature had already carbonized and sealed off all the blood vessels.
The two severed bodies fell heavily onto the ice with a dull thud.
The ice room fell silent for a moment.
The surrounding believers, having lost the command of their high-ranking leader, hesitated for a moment.
But this delay lasted only a fraction of a second before they once again surrounded the two of them, expressionless.
Dominic staggered when he landed, the loss of balance caused by the amputation and the exhaustion from his rage coming at him at the same time.
He gritted his teeth and braced himself, just about to signal Sister Elaine to retreat, when he heard a faint, ripple-like fluctuation of Psychic Power spreading through the air.
It was the warning issued by the divine messenger Si before his death.
The wave, centered on the Ice Hall, spread rapidly along the rock walls of the Ice Cave, like an invisible ripple, instantly reaching the entire City of Teeth.
"Intruders, temple, blasphemy against the Dragon God..."
Intermittent thoughts poured into the minds of every savage, and also awakened more green-robed believers who were dormant deep within the ice.
[Let's go, we can't stay here any longer.]
Sister Elaine picked up Cassandra's Power Sword, tucked it back into her waistband, and showed no emotion whatsoever.
It's like the person who just sacrificed their life was an insignificant individual.
She grabbed Dominic, and the two rushed out of the ice room.