The beginning of the nightmare, confrontation

Thunder shook the heavens.

A bolt of lightning flashed from the swirling, heavy clouds, striking down effortlessly through the solid wall and crashing down on the heroine, forcing her to her knees again. The floor caved in with her weight, countless cracks spreading outwards. But the heroine did not fall. She gritted her teeth, gripping her longsword and shield to maintain her balance.

"Is this all you've got, my hero?"

Catherine floated not far from the Five Heroes, looking at the woman kneeling before her with disdain and mockery.

"One of the Five Heroes who founded Dideyasi is kneeling before me like a dog. I never dreamed such a thing would happen..."

"Shut up!"

With a roar, the heroine leaped into the air, her body blurring into a blur, but the radiant sword in her hand remained unwavering as it pierced towards Catherine's chest. However, facing such an attack, Catherine merely flicked her right hand, and the fluctuating air automatically formed a barrier, blocking the heroine's attack. She withdrew her hand, carefully examining her palm, then narrowed her eyes as she looked at her ancestor.

"I finally understand why Master hates you so much. If it were a fair defeat, it would be understandable, but a piece of trash like you wouldn't even be able to touch a mage's hair if you didn't possess the Power of Manipulation Master spoke of. To lose to such an opponent, even I wouldn't feel at ease... Now I understand Master's anger more and more. It's a pity that the thought of your blood flowing in my veins makes me feel nauseous."

As she spoke, Catherine pressed down, and Gravity Spell immediately enveloped the entire hall. Under the immense pressure, the heroine's normally agile movements were completely paralyzed. Accompanied by the collapse of the earth and screams, her figure disappeared into the emptiness of the hall. However, this was clearly not the end. Catherine could sense that she was hiding inside the castle, intending to deliver a fatal blow. But to her, this was nothing but a joke.

"Father, Mother."

Floating in the sky, Catherine looked back at the two old men sitting on the throne. They had been "protected" and "fixed" there by Catherine's magic long before the battle began, and they were unable to move at all.

"I will let you see with your own eyes the corpse of the ancestor you worship—oh, right, not the complete corpse for mourning."

Then, she floated down and disappeared into the dusty void.

As one of the Five Heroes who fought against mages a thousand years ago, "Catherine" was naturally not so easily defeated. Although she had lost her Power of Manipulation forever, she had not lost her experience in fighting mages. In addition, her weapons and armor were also equipped with considerable Magic Power resistance, so although she was attacked by Gravity Spell, her opponent did not seem to have suffered any fatal damage.

That's what makes it fun, Miss Hero.

Catherine sneered, then reached into her pocket and took out a pendant.

"Nalu, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course, no problem, Your Highness."

Accompanied by a dazzling light, Nalu, dressed in black leather, reappeared before Catherine, clutching the Holy Scripture, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Find her, but don't kill her. I want to rip out her heart with my own hands and use her soul to satisfy the hatred between me and my master... You should understand what I mean."

Nalu nodded in response to Catherine's words. Then, a thick, dark shadow enveloped her, pulling her into the ground and disappearing. Catherine, however, turned and walked in another direction with a cold smile. Using magic, she could sense most of the life within the city. It had to be said, given that she was one of the Five Heroes who killed her master, her strength was indeed not to be underestimated. Even now, although Catherine had successfully cast a detection spell, she still couldn't detect her. Perhaps she possessed some kind of equipment that could evade detection spells. However, Catherine was confident that Naruvi wouldn't leave this place.

Turning past the corridor, now a ruin from the previous battle, Catherine arrived at the garden behind the castle. She warily surveyed her surroundings while activating a spell that floated in the sky. Although it was unusually quiet, even the roars of undead creatures and the cries of the dying seemed so distant, as if they were happening on the horizon rather than right before her eyes. However, a sense of foreboding lingered deep within Catherine. She cast a protective spell on herself again and then began to survey the entire garden from her elevated position.

Just as Catherine floated to the edge of the flower bed, the leaves beside her suddenly began to tremble. As Catherine turned around, the figure of the heroine burst out from among them and crashed heavily into Catherine.

The protective spell worked as intended, blocking the sneak attack, and Catherine, having been mentally prepared, wasn't startled. Even so, she was still knocked heavily to the ground, and then, with the power of magic, a sudden burst of air pushed the attacker away. Catherine stood up again, her hands forming deadly magic; she was enraged.

"I never imagined that someone as hailed as a hero would resort to sneak attacks?"

Catherine squinted, gazing at the woman before her who seemed like a reflection in a mirror.

"Alright, I guess you'll say that for justice and victory, all means are permissible. I know that better than you do, so you don't need to waste your breath."

I'm giving you one last chance.

The heroine looked rather pale, perhaps because Catherine had snapped at her.

"Chance?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"You are more foolish than I imagined. What chance do you need now? The capital has completely fallen, and the last subjects of the Five-Nation Alliance will soon atone for the mistakes of their ancestors with their blood, lives, and corpses. The Scourge Legion and the Great Master are unstoppable; destruction is imminent—everything is in the Great Master's plan. You have no chance. Even if you defeat me now, it will be meaningless. I have already dedicated my life and soul to the Master, and my death will not change his mind. In fact, the only reason I do not want to die at your hands is that I do not want to die at the hands of the old woman I hate, especially the one I swore to defeat. It's that simple. You have no chance."

Catherine extended her right hand, and dark negative energy condensed at her fingertips before radiating outwards.

Faced with this deadly attack, the opponent did not dodge. She simply stood there quietly, then revealed a triumphant and victorious smile before swinging her longsword and slashing down with force.

A divine light burst forth from the heroine's sword, barely extinguishing the negative energy beam. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Catherine's eyes widened in surprise at first, but she quickly came to her senses.

"I should have realized that since you obeyed the orders of that disgusting god and became an enemy of the Magic Empire, he must have given you what you deserved after your death? An angel?"

As if in response to Catherine's words, a pair of pure white wings unfurled from behind the heroine, and she floated proudly in the air, looking like a majestic goddess of war.

"You're right, but what about you? I can sense that you have no divine power whatsoever. Those wings are probably just something you concocted to scare people. Although what you said is absolutely correct, there is at least one thing I must do: destroy you, my descendant. This is the only apology I can offer to those who have died. Luoxia certainly didn't expect that his carelessness would give me this opportunity."

"You cannot kill me, my book, my hero."

Catherine smiled coldly, as if in defiance, revealing the Magic Power wings behind her.

"Don't use your lowly intelligence to guess your master's thoughts. Do you really think that your great master would hand over your soul crystal to me without knowing anything? Angel, I can feel the nauseating holy power emanating from you. Yes, angel, but you're just an angel. You're too naive to think you can fight against me!"

A storm of Magic Power arose.

Catherine neither chanted incantations nor made any magical gestures; she simply used pure Magic Power to create a massive whirlwind, which she then blasted towards her opponent. Faced with this pure energy bombardment, the heroine revealed a confident smile, raised her hand to block, and then her expression suddenly changed.

Catherine's technique of condensing pure Magic Power came from Yi Aier, even though they had only met a few times. However, for a delusional girl who wanted to spread the doctrines of the "Multi-Turret Divine Church" all over the world, she wouldn't miss the opportunity to brainwash someone, even if they were just temporary companions. Of course, although Catherine didn't express her own views on the "Multi-Turret" doctrine, she did secretly memorize this pure Magic Power bombardment.

Although the two were worlds apart in terms of power—even though Catherine could currently use pure Magic Power, she could only form a whirlwind rather than a pure energy condensation like Yi Aier's —an attack spell personally unleashed by an archangel-level being was something no angel could withstand. Therefore, the heroine's defenses shattered completely within seconds of the raging Magic Power storm. The storm then swept over her, pulling her up before slamming her heavily to the ground. This time, she didn't get up. The Magic Power attack not only inflicted considerable damage but also shattered the divine power within her. Now, all the heroine could do was lie on the ground, panting.

But soon, Catherine grabbed her hair and, staring at her pale, bloodless face, gave Catherine a smug and proud smile.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, there are many things that require your personal review, my lord."