The second method was to use a Sealing Card to forcibly seal the Halloween Queen's Divinity.
The Sealing Card was something Riku had obtained from a treasure chest in the High School DxD world. He had never used it before, simply because no one had been worthy of it.
It could ignore distance, and so long as the opponent's strength wasn't more than double Riku's own, he could easily seal them away.
Honestly, if it weren't a one-time consumable, such an overpowered effect wouldn't even appear in a diamond-tier treasure chest, let alone a rainbow-tier one.
By sealing the Halloween Queen's Divinity, her [Golden Great Demonic Realm], the interstice of boundaries would collapse. Without her Divinity, no matter how bizarre or powerful it was, it could not endure.
This was clearly the easiest method.
But after considering it, Riku abandoned the idea. It felt like too much of a waste. As strong and tricky as the Halloween Queen was, spending the Sealing Card when he had other options was too costly.
"In the end, the third method really is just the most straightforward one, blowing this place apart with pure power." Riku shook his head, muttering to himself. As for space manipulation, there was no point. In this Little Garden, no one could surpass the Halloween Queen in the domain of boundaries.
"..." Hearing this, the Lord of White Night's face darkened, glaring at the self-muttering Riku in irritation. Three methods, yet he refused to say them outright, which made her itch with frustration.
"Tch. So you admit it, you're just bluffing about having three methods?" she mocked, unable to resist.
"Don't try to provoke me. Sure, seeing your surprised face might be entertaining, but revealing my trump cards for that? That's the act of a fool," Riku said calmly, casting her a sidelong glance.
"As expected, I really do hate you." The Lord of White Night snorted coldly.
"But I've said it before: with your current power, there's no way you can drain that idiot Queen's Divinity within the time limit." Her eyes narrowed slightly, a sly smile behind her folding fan. "If you want to win, you'll have to ask me for help. Only then would you stand a chance."
"Ask you? Impossible, Lord of White Night. Daydreaming doesn't suit you." Riku chuckled, retorting without hesitation.
"You brat… looking for a beating." Enraged, she swept her folding fan with crushing force toward him.
Riku merely raised a fist, blocking her attack with ease.
"If I can't escape, then maybe I'll just kill you eighteen times over here. That way, I'll still come out on top in the Solar War," the Lord of White Night glared with murderous intent.
Of course, she knew that with their powers so evenly matched, not even twenty-three dayslet alone a year, would bring a decisive outcome. Worse, the longer it dragged on, the greater her chances of losing. After all, Riku's perpetual motion Divinity was downright unfair.
Still, just looking at his face made her want to punch him.
"So it really comes down to using that..." Ignoring her anger, Riku rubbed his chin, then suddenly released his Super Saiyan God state, returning to normal.
"Hm? Back to your human form? Your power really is strange," the Lord of White Night frowned in puzzlement.
"Don't dwell on such small things. You'll see much more in the future. If this level is enough to shock you, then I'll end up scaring you to death later," Riku replied evenly.
The Lord of White Night twitched at the corner of her mouth. This brat was infuriating and worse, unkillable!
Wait... now that he'd reverted to normal, even if she couldn't kill him, she could at least make him look pathetic.
Her eyes lit up with sudden realisation. Just thinking of it sent a thrill through her.
"Lord of White Night, keep your distance. If you get caught in this, don't blame me," Riku said, glancing at her with a pout.
"You think you can hurt me?" she sneered, laughing in anger. Unable to hold back, she brought her folding fan down on his head.
In her eyes, Riku in his normal state couldn't possibly avoid the blow.
But he had already foreseen her retaliatory thoughts with the [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence]. So before she even struck, Riku acted. His silver hair lifted without wind, and a new aura surged around him, not the golden blaze of Super Saiyan, nor the golden-red flame of Super Saiyan God, but a violent green aura.
Unlike his previous forms, this aura was pure madness, so violent it bordered on insanity.
"What did this brat just do? This aura… it's so strong!" The Lord of White Night was caught off guard, the gale from Riku's green aura blasting her away before her fan could even connect. She steadied herself at a distance, staring at him in shock.
Riku's silver hair had turned a ghostly green. His muscles swelled massively, his body towering, enveloped in the furious green aura that kept surging higher, as though without limit.
"What form is this? Stronger than that godly state before… no, far stronger!" The Lord of White Night's face stiffened, her heart surging with waves. This raw power might well be enough to push Riku into the domain of the two-digits!
"Does this guy have no limits? Every time, he explodes with even greater power…" she muttered, stunned.
"ROAAAAAAR!"
Riku let out a thunderous roar, so fierce it could have shattered even god-forged stars.
The Lord of White Night grimaced, covering her ears against the unbearable force, her gaze locked on him. "He's lost his reason!?"
"Hm? Looks like Riku's drawn out another incredible power. But this form… it abandons reason? How unsightly." The Halloween Queen had sensed the anomaly within the interstice. Appearing once again, she looked at Riku with astonishment.
BOOM!
Riku's transformation is completed. His form vanished, reappearing before the Lord of White Night as he unleashed a devastating punch.
Even the interstice of boundaries quaked under its force.
The Lord of White Night's face paled. At the last moment, she brought her folding fan up to block, channelling the crushing weight of the Primordial Star.
BOOM!
But even that wasn't enough. Her defence shattered, and she was sent flying like a meteor through the endless void of the interstice, struggling to stabilise herself.
"What monstrous strength…" The Lord of White Night steadied herself with difficulty, feeling the numbness in her arms. Her brows furrowed slightly.
"To think this brat actually dented my folding fan again… infuriating!" She glanced at her weapon, the reinforced fan bearing a large dent. Her eye twitched, shocked at first, then increasingly enraged.
Her fan, fortified by her Divinity, had survived countless clashes without breaking. Yet now, one punch from Riku in this berserk state had damaged it. His power was even greater than she had estimated.
"But I don't believe it. A mindless beast can't possibly defeat me." Her tone was icy as she spoke.
Suddenly, Riku reappeared before her, wild energy exploding without restraint.
The Lord of White Night met him head-on. Violent bursts of energy erupted throughout the Interstice of Boundaries, space itself trembling. If this had been in the lower layers of Little Garden, their collateral alone would have annihilated the region.
Yet as they traded blows, the pressure on her grew heavier. Riku's speed and strength had already leapt by an entire tier and were still climbing.
Even she was being forced onto the back foot.
"Hehe, it's been a long time since I've seen you this pathetic," the Halloween Queen's mocking voice drifted through.
"Shut up, you idiot Witch! Don't forget, if we two start fighting for real, even your Interstice won't last until the Solar War ends!" The Lord of White Night snarled back, narrowly dodging Riku's savage strike.
"No need to remind me." The Halloween Queen's smile was elegant, her tone lazy. "You'd best worry about yourself. Watching you lose face is delightful, but I still have things to attend to. Farewell."
Her figure vanished again, leaving the Lord of White Night seething.
BOOM!
Thud!
In that moment of distraction, Riku's fist crashed into her abdomen. Her eyes bulged, a muffled groan escaping as she was sent flying. Before she could recover, Riku appeared before her once more, his fist already swinging.
Her pupils contracted as she braced to block, yet his punch stopped mere centimetres from her.
Seizing the chance, she slashed her folding fan toward his neck.
"Lord of White Night, isn't that a bit cruel?" Riku caught the fan mid-swing, his voice teasing.
His eyes had regained clarity. His swollen form shrank back to normal proportions, and his power diminished from its peak.
"You brat! Hitting a beauty like me in the stomach and now you dare call me cruel?!" The Lord of White Night shouted in fury.
"Don't be so angry. I just regained my clarity. I even warned you earlier to stay away or you'd get hurt. Since you didn't listen, how can you blame me?" Riku shrugged with a grin.
Her expression stiffened. He had warned her, and she had struck first… but hearing him say it made her want to beat him senseless.
"Besides, in battle, I don't hold back just because you're a woman. You're a Star Spirit, not some fragile mortal who might be unable to have children if struck in the stomach," Riku added with a smirk.
"In the whole of Little Garden, you're the first to dare tease me like this. So, brat go die ten thousand times over!" Her voice was flat, but her killing intent surged as she summoned a blazing solar storm to incinerate him.
"Ahem, just a joke. No need to take it so seriously." Riku laughed awkwardly, fending off her storm with raw strength.
"Hmph." The Lord of White Night responded only with a cold sneer, unleashing another relentless assault.
Riku blocked easily, but since he was at fault, he refrained from counterattacking.
…
After a prolonged exchange, her anger finally ebbed, and Riku let out a relieved sigh.
To him, the Lord of White Night was destined to be part of his community. Falling out badly now would be troublesome.
Yet from their skirmish, he confirmed something: his current power had reached the two-digit realm.
It was no surprise. In Dragon Ball Super, Kale's berserk Legendary Super Saiyan form had overwhelmed Goku in Super Saiyan Blue, grinding him into the dirt. Granted, Goku hadn't been at full strength, but no one could deny the form's sheer power.
Compared to his Super Saiyan God form, this berserk state surpassed it, though only when rampaging. Kale eventually managed to restrain it, bringing her controlled power down to about Super Saiyan 2.
Riku, however, was far better. Even without going berserk, he could wield strength far beyond his Super Saiyan God state.
"Boy, tell me, was that berserk form your ultimate limit?" the Lord of White Night asked once she had calmed, her tone serious.
"No. Not even close." Riku shrugged lightly.
Her pupils shrank. She studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "I see. For the first time, I think… You truly might be capable of challenging the Buddhist pantheon."
"So, will you come to my side?" Riku asked with a grin.
"After the Solar War ends… let me consider it." Her unexpected reply caught Riku off guard. Her face was complex.
Sealed and suppressed by the gods… who could truly be content? Yet reclaiming her kingly majesty might also cost her the fragile peace she now holds.
Had time made her this sentimental?
The Lord of White Night gave a self-mocking smile.
"I'll be waiting for your answer," Riku said, eyes brightening.
"For now, let's focus on getting out of here." His gaze swept across the [Golden Great Demonic Realm], the Interstice of Boundaries, sharp and resolute.
Then he unleashed a storm of bombardments, sparing no energy.