Parting her blossom lips, her stoic voice rang out loud and clear amidst the chaos.
"Light's Wrath."
*WHOOOOSH!*
Silver divinity concentrated at the tip of Aurelia's broadsword like liquid starlight being forced into a needle point.
The energy was so dense it started bending light around it.
*THRUST!*
In just one swift motion.
A single perfect strike.
*BOOM!!!*
The targeted wall section exploded like it had been hit by a flaming hot meteor.
Stone chunks flew everywhere.
Dust clouds erupted in massive billows.
And there, crouched behind what used to be her perfect hiding spot, was Rebecca Torres.
Her face was white… It's like she just saw a ghost.
Actually, she almost became one, considering the dangerous glint of the cold sword…
… Aurelia's blade was hovering exactly just a few millimeters from her left cheek.
It's so close that Rebecca could probably count the amazing details on the divine steel.
"... H-How?"
Rebecca's voice cracked.
Heck, it wouldn't be odd if she wet herself right here and then.
Her entire body was shaking, and not from the adrenaline of battle.
This was pure fucking primal terror.
The terror of the sheer absurdity of how the hell this emotionless angel pinpointed her exact location?!
She's been using her earth manipulation to constantly shift positions.
She didn't even stay in one spot for more than a few seconds just to camouflage her location.
Her hiding technique was flawless.
It's supposed to be completely undetectable.
The keyword? "Supposed-to-be'.
"It's simple."
Aurelia's voice sounds like someone who would use it to explain why water was wet.
"Your power can't operate at long distance. It's a speculation that I'm quite uncertain of… but it turns out my guess is correct."
… Wait, that was it?
That simple observation was the only reason why her entire strategy was blown apart?
"... So I assumed you must be nearby."
Aurelia continued like she was giving a scientific explanation.
"Using that as a reference point, I inspected my surroundings for anything odd."
The angel's golden eyes seemed to glow slightly in the dim light.
"The vibrations from your earth manipulation created small fractures in the stone that made it easy to predict your attacks."
Rebecca's mouth fell open at the explanation that no normal being would do in a fast-paced combat.
And not especially when you're being attacked at all angles…
Just what kind of superhuman bullshit was this?
"..."
Let alone Rebecca, even Jin was also staring at Aurelia like she'd just witnessed someone solve a paradox with her eyes closed.
This level of environmental awareness wasn't normal.
Hell, it wasn't even close to abnormal.
It's downright goddamn outrageous at this point.
"And your movement left faint traces in the earth that were detectable if you knew what to look for…"
Aurelia tilted her head slightly, like she was genuinely curious,
"Did you really think such basic camouflage would work?"
"That's... that's impossible!"
Rebecca almost choked on her own saliva. Her face was somehow getting even paler than white… if that was even possible.
"...H-How can a person have such minute detailed observation?"
The question caused a moment of silence to linger.
Only after a moment did something change in Aurelia's expression.
It's something that looked almost like... Some sort of amusement?
A smile spread across her blossom lips.
Actually, scratch that.
It was definitely a smirk.
The exact same kind of confident, slightly cocky expression that Nero would make when he figured out something clever and cunning.
"Observing Lord Nero has been very beneficial for me too."
Now that is interesting.
Never did they expect that the usually pure looking Aurelia would make that playful expression.
During their countless training sessions together, Aurelia spent just as much time watching Nero as she had teaching him.
At first, it was purely tactical.
She needed to understand his fighting style to help him improve.
But somewhere along the way, she started noticing other things.
Like how Nero would unconsciously pause before making decisions, his body language shifting in subtle ways that most people would never notice.
How he would instinctively position himself to maintain escape routes, even when he wasn't actively thinking about it.
The way his eyes would dart to potential cover spots or advantageous positions without him even realizing he was doing it.
And these weren't deliberate strategies on Nero's part.
He wasn't consciously trying to demonstrate environmental awareness.
Bro probably didn't even know he was doing half of these things.
But Aurelia noticed everything.
Every one of his unconscious gestures.
Every instinctive movement.
And every cunning little habit that Nero had developed without even being aware of it.
All for those small details that most people would overlook.
But of course, Aurelia wasn't most people.
She's the dedicated angelic warrior waifu who protects and guides her Lord Nero.
A divine being designed for warfare, and pattern recognition was hardwired into her very existence.
Watching her Lord Nero had taught her something she never really focused much before…
It wasn't about conscious observation skills.
She has plenty of that.
It was about developing unconscious cunning.
The kind of survival instincts that operated below the level of active thinking.
Because Nero had somehow developed these habits naturally… and probably without even realizing it.
But Aurelia, being the absolute stoic warrior she is, had noted every single unconscious behavior her Lord made.
And with that, she deliberately practiced and applied them to her fighting style.
"I… I REFUSE TO DIE!"
Rebecca's panicked shout snapped everyone back to the present moment.
*CRASH!*
She immediately raised a massive earth wall between herself and Aurelia, pouring every ounce of remaining power into the barrier.
The wall was easily 6-meters tall and several meters thick.
Reinforced with enough magical energy to stop a tank.
*SLICE!*
But Aurelia's cold blade sliced it through like warm butter.
The entire structure collapsed in less than two seconds.
But Rebecca was already gone.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
Her voice echoed from somewhere deeper in the maze as she ran for her life.
Aurelia didn't immediately pursue.
Instead, she stood perfectly still and listened.
Footsteps.
Heavy breathing.
The sound of earth manipulation being used in desperate, sloppy bursts.
Rebecca was burning through her remaining mana at an alarming rate.
Each wall she created to block pursuit was weaker than the last.
Each of the spike traps was slower and less precise.
*Clink! Clink! Clink!*
The sound of glass bottles hitting stone echoed through the maze.
"No, no, NO!"
Rebecca's voice was filled with despair.
She's been carrying emergency mana potions this entire time.
It's how she's able to summon manipulate a massive amount of earth wantonly, and how she's able to make this earthen maze.
But now, judging by the sound of empty bottles being thrown in frustration, her magical battery pack was officially dead.
And no more potions meant no more earth manipulation.
And no more earth manipulation meant she was just a regular person trying to outrun a divine killing blender.
And that the thought of being fucked up, made her panic as she ran through the maze she created herself.
She ran towards where the exit was.
*Step... Step... Step...*
And Aurelia, who deliberately allowed Rebecca to escape, began following her at a leisurely pace.
Meanwhile, Rebecca was still stumbling through her own maze like a drunk person trying to navigate a funhouse.
Turns out, when you create a complex labyrinth in a state of panic, you don't always remember the layout perfectly.
It's a lesson learned a little too late.
Rebecca was now cursing her past self in regret.
But as many people would say, "there's no pill for regret".
"Where's the fucking exit?!"
She bounced off walls.
Took wrong turns.
Doubled back on herself multiple times.
The maze that used to be her greatest advantage was now her worst nightmare.
But fortunately God heard her call,
She finally found the opening.
She can see the light!
The beautiful, wonderful, and life-saving light streaming in from the maze entrance.
And freedom was less than 50-meters away.
Rebecca pushed herself harder, ignoring the burning in her lungs and the ache in her legs.
Just a little further.
Almost there.
The freedom is close; she could practically taste the fresh air.
*THUD!*
"Kahacckk–!"
And then Rebecca collapsed face-first onto the stone floor.
Her legs gave out like someone had cut the strings on a marionette.
Pain exploded through her abdomen.
A single, perfectly placed punch to the gut had neutralized her completely.
"Haaahh… ha…ahhh…"
She rolled over, gasping for air, and found herself staring up at golden eyes that glowed with the same cold indifference as winter starlight.
And there, Aurelia stood over her with the kind of casual dominance that made everything seem small.
Her divine aura radiated, making her seem pristine.
This wasn't just power.
This was something far beyond anything Rebecca had ever encountered.
Something that existed on a completely different level of existence.
For the first time in her life, Rebecca Torres finally understood that what she was facing wasn't just an overrated angel.
Not just a winged being with some flashy abilities.
Not just an overglorified being from the legends.
This was the overwhelming, absolute, terrifying power of a true angel.
"It's over."
Aurelia's voice carried the weight of divine judgment.
Her golden eyes were as calm and stoic as usual.
"..."
She raised her sword for the final strike.
***
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