Although he couldn't understand what Selene and Othinus were talking about—
Something about Magic Gods? Something about Gremlin? He didn't get it.
But there was one thing Kamijou Touma did understand: Othinus wanted to kill Selene, to use Selene's body—or her abilities—to forge some weapon that would grant her power!
That alone made all the rest irrelevant.
Because right here, right now, his friend's life was under threat.
Maybe that friend was incredibly strong, maybe she didn't even need his help (or so Kamijou Touma believed), but even so, he could never just sit back and do nothing.
The spiky-haired boy never believed what he did was righteous or just—he simply followed his heart.
Even if it meant risking his life, Kamijou Touma still clenched his fist and stepped forward, under the shocked gazes of Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori.
"Bring it on, bastard!"
A bold step forward—Kamijou Touma's classic, straightforward punch of friendship.
Unfortunately, the opponent he faced this time was someone more powerful than all the enemies he'd ever faced combined.
A Magic God!
"..."
The one-eyed girl's gaze never once shifted from the high platform where Selene stood. She didn't even look at the boy charging straight at her, fist aimed for her face.
To her, the boy with the so-called "Imagine Breaker" right hand was no more than an ant—just a bug fluttering in the atmosphere.
Pak!
That all-powerful right hand was caught by a pale, slender, ice-cold hand. Kamijou Touma's eyes widened in disbelief.
Who was this girl, really? Her attire suggested the magic side. Could she be a Saint? Or even a God?
There was no time to think. He instinctively tried to pull back and strike again, but in that moment, a wave of pain surged up.
And sure enough, what his instincts sensed came true.
The one-eyed girl spoke in a cold, ethereal tone. "...Interesting right hand. But it's useless to my plans to reclaim my power. I have no need for it."
Then, without hesitation—her delicate fingers twisted.
Crack—!
Plop!
As if it were made of chocolate, Kamijou Touma's right wrist snapped clean off and was tossed aside like garbage by Othinus.
"Ignorant... Is this what you call courage? Boy, as you said, I am a magician—more accurately, a Magic God. Let me introduce myself: I am Othinus."
And just like that, the ever-resilient Kamijou Touma collapsed. In the instant his right hand was broken, his consciousness blanked out.
An unbearable wave of bone-deep agony surged from his shattered wrist to his head. He could feel his blood pouring out, his body freezing over—as if plunged into an icy abyss. Even as he fell, he couldn't stop trembling…
Excessive blood loss sprayed from the jagged, messy wound. The pain and fear were so overwhelming he couldn't even roll or scream.
"Damn it! Kamijou!"
Stiyl and Kanzaki wanted to help, but with no tremendous individual strength and no Imagine Breaker protecting them, they were utterly frozen under the pressure of a Magic God.
Even an incomplete Magic God left them paralyzed.
"So I lack the massive volcanic energy to fuel the 'furnace,' but with your body—combined with the black dwarf's properties—I can reclaim my power. It can be done."
The Magic God girl, with soft pale skin and wavy golden hair, her single eye hidden behind a patch, spoke softly, almost muttering.
Othinus stared at Selene. "Selene, end your life. In the new world I create, I will revive you..."
"Childish words. Seems I overestimated you, Magic God Othinus."
With a slight wave of her hand, Selene cut Othinus off. She slowly lowered her head, a cold and mocking smile tugging at her lips. As she pulled out the subspace lance that had pierced Fiamma of the Right's angelic body, she spread her arms and stepped down from the platform.
Naturally, she positioned herself between the battered Kamijou Touma and the others, shielding them from harm. With a light chuckle, Selene addressed Othinus:
"If you want to kill, then kill. If you want to steal, then steal. If you want to destroy, then destroy. Talking about creating a new world, or reviving me? That's just your wishful thinking. What's gone is gone forever. No matter how you manipulate the dimension of time, it's nothing more than a mirage."
"What's done is done. You use whoever or whatever is at your disposal to achieve your goal—own it. Be accountable. All that talk of creating a new world? The world remains the same as ever. Don't you think that's hypocritical?"
"No wonder the Holy Priest always called you immature. The real Gremlin in the Hidden World never accepted you, so you went and built a fake one in the real world. All those years lived, yet you've made no progress—if anything, you've regressed."
"How do you know about that?"
For the first time, the calm and indifferent face of the one-eyed girl twisted with surprise.
This kind of topic—only true Gremlin members would know. Even quasi-Magic Gods didn't qualify. So how could Selene, a mere 'mortal' who wasn't even a magician, know?
"Take a guess."
Selene beckoned with a finger, her expression full of playful mischief.
"...."
Othinus fell silent for a brief moment.
And then—
BOOM—!!
A fierce explosion erupted between Selene and Othinus.
Not just once—but thousands of overlapping detonations, all within such a short timespan that it sounded like one continuous blast.
This was no ordinary, visible clash of blows.
Crashhh—!
In the blink of an eye, a section of the 40-kilometer-wide Star of Bethlehem fortress shattered. The shockwave rippled through the entire structure, sending tremors across the icy mountains, soil, and cathedral walls. The fortress rocked and cracked as if tossed by waves.
VMMM!
Had Fiamma of the Right's angelified body not still been anchoring the structure—channeling angelic and elemental forces from across the world—the Star of Bethlehem would've collapsed entirely from that single clash.
Stone steps and Othinus herself were swallowed by the resulting fissures, massive chunks of ice, earth, and debris plummeting into the depths below.
The atmosphere roared with violent turbulence. Electromagnetic fields were disrupted, gravity warped, and stellar radiation burst forth in concentrated particle streams—an endless barrage of chaotic energy.
"Ollerus' detonation spell, huh. Tch, guess the rumors were true. A despicable woman who not only toyed with his feelings but also stole his spell and usurped his Magic God seat."
Selene only knew the two had some history—the rest, who knew? But now that they were enemies, there was no reason not to poke at the wound. She was here to provoke Othinus.
After all, this brief window was invaluable.
Othinus was far from her peak—a broken Magic God. Between 100% and 99%, even a 1% difference meant a gulf as vast as the heavens.
Otherwise, she'd be holed up in the Hidden World. A complete Magic God moving in reality would be an extinction-level event. Her control device—the Lance of the All-Father, which channels her 'infinite possibilities' into guaranteed victory—hadn't even been constructed yet.
'Infinite possibilities' was her unique trait. In essence, every situation she faced held both a chance of success and failure. For example, even if she possessed power enough to destroy the world, playing rock-paper-scissors with a child still gave her a 50% chance of losing.
Of course, this wasn't to say that Othinus could be beaten by a kid. Even without using her full Magic God power, her body alone made her almost untouchable.
To exploit a flaw in Othinus and create an opening, you'd have to be someone like Fiamma of the Right, Ollerus, Aleister, Laura (Coronzon), or Aiwass—those few true top-tier figures. Or, you'd need to possess the Imagine Breaker.
You want to move a mountain with a feather? First, you need the feather.
Otherwise, you'd end up like Stiyl—barely able to move, paralyzed just by her presence.
But this current flaw in Othinus was exactly why Selene dared to confront her. Even as an avatar, Selene's strength wasn't trivial. She might not be a Magic God, but she wasn't about to die that easily.
Her sharp sarcasm paired with all-out firepower clearly ticked Othinus off.
With a voice as crisp and clear as a spring, she said, "...Fine. Killing you would be better."
Boom!
BOOMBOOMBOOM—!!
Crack! Crack crack!! CRACK—!
...
Meanwhile, in the collapsing Hidden World, a battle of the same theme was unfolding—but on an entirely different dimensional scale.
The supposedly rational Aleister was fighting like a barbarian, clashing with gods and demons alike. No—"clashing" wasn't the word. He was being swarmed. Toyed with.
But this chaos seemed entirely orchestrated by Aleister himself.
The first to strike had been the Holy Priest. Watching from the sidelines, figures like the Niang-Niang, Nephthys, Chimera, and Zombie had all been dragged into the battle by him. And beyond them, Magic Gods beginning to stir from slumber were now provoked into action, shifting from passive observers to active punishers of the one who disturbed their dreams—Aleister.
Two-thirds of his body was scorched black, a pitiful sight.
Yet there was no fear on Aleister's androgynously handsome face. Instead, in the depths of his eyes, there was a flicker of satisfaction—he had gotten what he came for.
Thanks to the support of the "Fish of the Supper" spell, and by accelerating the destruction of the Hidden World, the parameters he had stolen from the Magic Gods were more complete than he had hoped.
Mission complete. Data collected.
Through the power crystal fused into his body, Aleister relayed this information to Selene.
...
Thud—!
A crimson meteor streaked across the sky like a falling star.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!
The golden sky itself seemed to shatter. Amid the deafening roars, trillions of tons of ocean water were hurled skyward, transformed into physical shockwaves.
The shockwaves surged like tsunamis. Explosive fireballs roared through the air, their searing heat boiling seas and burning mountains. The exposed ocean floor split open in an instant, cracks stretching hundreds of kilometers, plunging into unseen depths. The earth itself trembled.
From space, one could see a glowing ripple spreading across the Indian Ocean, like a shockwave echoing outward.
"Hah..."
Pak!
The tectonic plate cracked open. Amid the searing fissure of magma, a hand clad in an ornate saintly lily gauntlet emerged, crushing a dried coral rock to dust. Bathed in deadly molten lava, Selene's battered body clawed its way out.
"That was... a bit much this time..."
Her platinum armor was shredded. Her body cracked and breaking. Even her pale face peeled away in the orange glow of the magma.
A brutal, broken beauty.
Her falling blood glimmered like divine gold—no longer blood in the traditional sense. Rather, it had become liquid high-energy particles, blazing and plasma-like, radiating blinding crimson heat.
Clearly, she'd pushed herself too far.
She was fighting a Magic God, after all.
Though her luck wasn't as awful as Kamijou Touma's, even a 50/50 chance meant that if Othinus landed a clean hit, it was still too much.
But Selene hadn't let Othinus off easily either. Sure, she couldn't vent on Othinus herself just yet—but her underlings? That was a different story.
Besides, Aleister was already on his way back... this suffering was nearly over.
Honestly, it was rare for Selene to be this thoroughly beaten—unable to even breach her opponent's defenses.
She wasn't a masochist. She didn't enjoy getting stomped.
"What did you just do?"
Othinus's black cloak whipped in the wind. Her leather eyepatch covered half her face, leaving one green eye exposed. Her expression was grim.
"Nothing much. Just blew up your base in Denmark."
Selene straightened up, completely unfazed. She extended her hand, and the Voidstar Anchor returned to her grasp.
"I see..."
Strangely, after a brief pause, Othinus's expression returned to its usual calm. "Well, Gremlin was always a filthy little organization. If you wanted to destroy it, be my guest."
Othinus raised her bloodstained hand, eyes dark with intent. The radiant golden glow of Selene's body had captivated her.
No need for anything else—this body alone could forge the Lance of the All-Father.
Just for a moment—
Schlck!
"The Lance of the All-Father God doesn't require black dwarves to forge it."
Othinus's hand plunged into Selene's chest, her tone admiring. "You've delayed me. You ruined my plans. Well done. But you should know—all knowledge about the spear? I leaked it."
In truth, there was more than one method for forging the Lance of the All-Father. The theory centering on the black dwarf Marian Slingeneyer was just a decoy.
Othinus could craft the spear on her own. But revealing that would have invited interference.
"And what makes you think—" she began, only to suddenly look up.
CRAAAAACK—!!
The sky split open.
Huge black cracks spread like a spiderweb, as though someone had shattered the atmosphere with a hammer.
Othinus saw something different from everyone else.
"The Holy Priest stepped out of the Hidden World? Niang-Niang, Nephthys... no, wait—they were forced out? The Hidden World shattered..."
Her face darkened instantly.
If the other Magic Gods had entered the real world, her plan was certain to be stopped.
"Looks like you're not on good terms with the others."
Othinus snorted.
As Selene had said, some of Othinus's actions weren't accepted by her fellow Magic Gods. Which meant—she had to move faster.
Zzzk!
Her hand plunged deeper into Selene's chest. She was looking for that thing humans called a heart—but found nothing.
"You're not human?"
Selene grabbed her wrist. Her cracked face pulled into a faint smile.
VMMMM—!
The one-eyed Magic God sensed a violent energy surge inside Selene's broken body. She hesitated.
"What is this? A desperate final strike?"
"You'll find out."
A low boom resounded as high-energy Honkai surged within Selene, enveloping Othinus in searing light.
All the Magic Gods were in the real world now. Which meant—no fully formed Magic God could stop her at this moment!
For a Magic God to act in the real world, they had to fragment their power. Otherwise, just existing would inflict irreversible damage on reality.
Only incomplete Magic Gods could walk freely here.
Aleister had clearly understood this when he destroyed the Hidden World. The Magic Gods, unwilling to destroy reality, had fragmented their power to descend. It was possible... maybe some of them even preferred the real world over that dark, stagnant place.
"Tell my main body I said hi!"
VMMM VMMM VMMM—!
RIP—!
Othinus, having prepared for a violent explosion, stood ready to gather Selene's remains. But in that moment—she felt no heat. No light.
The light had been replaced by an eerie coldness.
It felt... like a black hole in deep space. Phase folding... spatial transfer... Wait, space?
Star of Bethlehem.
Othinus understood. Christianity was the dominant religion in this universe, and thus represented a significant portion of the magical phase space. Second only to the Magic Gods' domain.
They had exploited a momentary weakening among the Magic Gods, using the symbol of Christianity's origin—the Star of Bethlehem (which illuminated the birth of Jesus Christ)—to unify the Church's foundation.
It created an opening that neither disturbed the Magic Gods nor damaged the world.
They intended to banish her into the void.
Heh... buying more time again? I'll admit—it's a clever plan. But aren't you underestimating a Magic God?!
Just as Othinus prepared to break free—
Her body shuddered violently.
What was that?
Through a haze, she thought she saw them—two colossal eyes, as if forged from the fabric of the universe itself.
Unfathomably vast. Unfathomably brilliant.
—
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