Chapter 276: I Can
Boom!!!
Lightning and flames clashed against Sirin's immense and overwhelming power. The two forces were locked in a stalemate for about half a second before Kiana was blasted away.
"Ah!"
Kiana screamed in pain as she was sent flying uncontrollably.
The burden of wielding three Herrscher powers was almost tearing her body apart. Cracks of flame and lightning spread across her limbs and torso, where blood couldn't even flow — it was annihilated by the terrifying energies the moment it tried to escape her body.
Then, at a certain moment, Kiana abruptly stopped. One blade ignited with Heavenly Fire, the other crackled with the thunder of a thousand birds, and she charged again toward the unmoving Sirin.
Sirin snorted coldly, her expression showing not the slightest hint of wavering.
"Come, try it! Without utter and complete failure, how could you die in despair? I won't let you walk easily toward your end!"
An inexplicable and intense hatred made Sirin overflow with pure malice toward Kiana.
Endless power gathered around her, forming a chaotic sphere of light that she hurled directly at Kiana.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
On Kiana's side, each clash ended with her being knocked back, her body nearing the brink of utter collapse.
Yet here, on this battlefield, the word "give up" had long been quietly erased from Kiana's vocabulary.
The fire burned fiercer, the thunder roared sharper, the pain grew more intense — and yet, Kiana's expression only grew calmer and more serene.
Boom!!
Another clearly one-sided collision — Kiana's arms split apart, blood and flesh tearing free, only to be reduced to ash before they could even fall away.
Sirin's killing intent grew even more intense as she watched.
"This is the state you were in back in the Sea of Consciousness — and here you think you can still win?!"
All kinds of energy raged wildly, surging toward the falling Kiana. Sirin now had only one goal — to kill this inexplicable lunatic completely, utterly.
"Are you afraid?"
Kiana's voice suddenly appeared behind Sirin.
Sirin snapped her head around, eyes wide, staring at Kiana's face so close to her own. Despite her body being utterly wrecked, barely any uninjured skin left, this girl's will — where the hell was it coming from?
"Afraid? Laughable!"
Sirin shattered the surrounding space with a blast, trying to obliterate everything — Kiana included — in the area.
But Kiana stood firm. Even though new wounds opened on her body, she gripped her swords tightly and slashed down without hesitation.
Boom!!!
Caught off guard, Sirin was knocked back for the first time.
Though she wasn't injured and the distance was small, Sirin's expression turned completely dark.
"Not afraid of death, huh? Then just die! I'm done playing!"
Sirin spoke with boundless killing intent, raising both hands as the dimensions of this world began to shrink.
But Kiana was a step faster. She dashed right up to Sirin, her twin blades moving like lightning and light, leaving no room to escape with her precise swordsmanship.
"Ah!"
Sirin was wounded. Although the injury instantly healed under her own regenerative power and the creative force of the Authority of Death, she once again experienced the same sensation she had back in the Sea of Consciousness.
Mad dog, lunatic, monster, unkillable maggot... Within just a few short moments, Sirin had already come up with a long list of words to describe Kiana. But no matter what she called her, the feeling of being gradually cornered despite having the upper hand in power was driving her to the brink of collapse.
Sirin raised her hand, and the chaotic energy around her surged again.
So this insect wasn't going to give her even a moment to gather power, huh?
Fine — then she would just keep hammering until Kiana failed completely and could no longer put on that hateful expression!
Rumble!!
Another round of head-on collisions. Sirin still held the advantage, knocking Kiana back again and again, leaving her with even more wounds.
But deep inside, Sirin was starting to feel a chill.
In her perception, instead of weakening as her body deteriorated, Kiana's power was actually growing stronger with every clash.
"Where on earth are you getting all this strength from?!"
Sirin roared, swinging the energy that now enveloped the entire space, blasting Kiana into the darkness.
But then, from the distant void, firelight and lightning flared up again.
That undying girl was charging toward her once more.
Sirin's eyes widened, her gaze nearly tearing apart from rage. She gathered her strength and blasted Kiana back, grinding out her words between gritted teeth:
"You shouldn't even be able to stand anymore!!"
From the distant darkness, Kiana's expression remained unchanged. Gripping her twin blades tightly, wreathed in thunder and flame, she launched herself forward again.
What Sirin hadn't noticed was that Kiana had stopped speaking. Not because she had nothing left to say — but because her vocal cords had already ceased functioning, either burned away or fried by electricity. In short, she could collapse at any moment, unable to rise again.
The collisions continued.
In the void of the hollow world, two streaks of light clashed violently across countless points, the shockwaves almost shaking the supposedly indestructible walls of the world itself. It was a blessing this battle was happening inside the Theater of Domination — if it were taking place in the real world, half the planet's surface might have been flattened already.
After who knew how many times knocking Kiana away, Sirin stood there, panting heavily — partly from exhaustion, partly from fury — her cold gaze fixed on where Kiana had retreated.
Seconds passed. Kiana did not reappear.
"...Is it over?"
Sirin muttered to herself in disbelief.
She knew Kiana could fall at any moment — but was it now? It made sense, sure, but had that crazy girl truly reached her limit?
...
Chirp chirp!
Kiana heard the pleasant sound of a small bird's song.
She was preparing to use her final move.
Her body had already reached its absolute limit — even continuing now wouldn't inflict any meaningful drain on Sirin. However, just as she was about to unleash Edge of Taixuan, Kiana suddenly found herself standing inside a consciousness realm.
Of course, this was one of the precursors to using Edge of Taixuan — the problem was, this wasn't her own consciousness domain.
"What is this?"
A tranquil and beautiful scene of blue sky and white clouds stretched above her, with familiar mountainous landscapes around.
Kiana quickly realized something and turned her head — sure enough, she spotted Fu Hua sitting in an elegant stone pavilion, playing with a fat, strange-looking little bird.
Kiana walked over and sat down, her eyes bright with emotion as she looked at Fu Hua.
"Teacher Fu Hua, when did you get inside my body? I didn't notice at all!"
"I came before you all entered the Theater of Domination. Without preparing in advance, how could I guarantee your safety?"
"I see... hehe! I did well, right? I didn't embarrass you, did I?"
"Your unshakable fighting spirit is flawless. Your ability to refine yourself through battle and grow continuously is praiseworthy as well. Except for overexerting yourself a little too much, you've done brilliantly, Kiana."
Fu Hua smiled, her radiant expression shining as brightly as the clear sky above them, making Kiana blush in embarrassment.
Scratching her head awkwardly, Kiana said:
"It's nothing, really. I just did what I was supposed to do."
Fu Hua patted Kiana on the head, then her expression gradually turned serious as she asked:
"Are you sure you want to use this move?"
"Yes! There's no other way left! Only the Edge of Taixuan can let me break through the gap in strength and land a decisive blow. Besides, we analyzed this before — the condition for the Herrscher of Thousands' revival is that her consciousness must remain intact. If we can seriously injure or even shatter her consciousness, she'll have no chance of resurrecting... In short, this is the only way to win."
"That's true. But you also know, none of us can say for sure whether you'll actually succeed. Kiana, are you truly confident?"
"I... I can. Yes, I can."
Kiana answered slowly, blooming into a breathtaking smile that left Fu Hua momentarily dazed.
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