The angel was different from the billions of other angels.
The two wings spread behind its body resembled those of the angels who had previously descended before Valt. Even the halo floating above its head showed nothing particularly unusual at first glance. However, the longer Valt observed it, the clearer it became that this angel existed on an entirely different level.
It did not need an army.
It did not need numbers.
It did not need the pressure generated by the existence of billions of other angels.
Simply by standing there, its existence felt like a decision that had already been made—one that could not be challenged.
In its right hand was a simple white sword.
It had no engravings.
No jewels.
No excessive aura of destruction.
Yet it was precisely that simplicity that made the sword far more terrifying.
The sword had not been created to destroy the world.
It had been created to ignore everything that should stand between itself and its target.
The angel raised its sword.
"By the decree of Seraphine Gabriel..."
Its voice remained calm amid the shattered reality.
"...Nacht must be executed."
Valt did not answer.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
But something changed.
His usual calmness slowly disappeared.
A crimson glow began to emerge from behind his half-black, half-white mask.
"You..."
Valt's voice was low.
"...are really making me angry."
In an instant, the angel disappeared.
There was no visible movement.
No trace of motion.
Its sword was already directly in front of Valt's face.
SHRAAAK!
Valt tilted his head.
The slash passed beside his head and continued far into the distance, splitting space along a single, endless line.
However, Valt did not allow the angel to continue its assault.
His hand moved instantly.
BOOOM!
Valt's fist slammed into the angel's face.
The angel's body was sent flying so violently that space shattered along its trajectory one fragment after another.
Valt immediately pursued it.
In an instant, he was behind the angel.
A kick struck its back.
BRAAAK!
The angel was sent flying once again.
However, its two wings immediately spread open and halted its momentum.
The halo above its head began spinning faster.
The angel raised its sword.
Valt was already standing before it.
The next punch struck its face.
Then a second.
A third.
A fourth.
Valt gave it no opportunity to create distance.
Every blow carried an anger that he had never shown before.
The angel finally managed to swing its sword.
Valt did not dodge.
SHRAAAK!
The slash struck Valt's body.
Yet there was no blood.
No wound.
No severed limb.
The only sound was that of something cracking.
KRAK!
One of the seven layers surrounding Valt's existence was finally destroyed.
The angel fell silent.
Valt himself had not even moved.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at his body.
There was not even a scratch.
Even his clothes remained completely intact.
"Is that all?"
The angel raised its sword again.
A second slash was unleashed.
This time, it was far more powerful.
The sword did not merely cut through space.
It ignored space as a medium altogether.
Distance was no longer necessary.
Dimensions were no longer barriers.
Even the boundaries separating one structure of reality from another held no meaning before that sword.
The slash reached Valt directly.
But before the sword could touch him—
the second layer took the place of the first layer that had already been destroyed.
SHRAAAK!
The slash struck the second layer.
Yet nothing happened.
No cracks.
No destruction.
The angel stared at Valt, its expression beginning to change.
Valt raised one hand.
"You destroyed the first layer."
He looked directly at the angel.
"But you didn't destroy my body."
Valt clenched his fist.
"You haven't even touched my existence."
The angel moved again.
This time, dozens of slashes appeared simultaneously.
Then hundreds.
Each slash followed a different pattern.
Some ignored space.
Some passed through dimensions.
Some directly targeted the deepest structure of Valt's existence.
Several even attempted to sever the connection that allowed Valt to remain anchored to reality.
The entire sky transformed into a sea of white lines.
Valt stood in the middle of it.
No blood.
No wounds.
Yet one after another, the seven layers of his defense began to respond.
The second layer received the first attack.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
Each layer was not merely another barrier.
It analyzed what had happened to the previous layer.
It understood how the attack worked.
Then it corrected the weakness that had allowed the previous layer to be destroyed.
Therefore, an attack capable of destroying the first layer could not automatically destroy the second.
And a method that succeeded against the second layer would not produce the same result against the third.
The angel began changing its attack patterns.
The next slash was even capable of penetrating the narrative structure existing beyond reality.
Yet when it reached Valt—
KRAK!
The third layer cracked.
But the fourth layer immediately took over.
The next attack changed again.
The fourth layer adapted.
Then the fifth.
Then the sixth.
Every failure became information for the next layer.
The angel began attacking without pause.
Space was torn apart.
Dimensions collapsed.
Various structures of reality were severed by its sword.
Yet Valt remained standing.
No blood flowed from his body.
No wounds appeared.
No part of his body was lost.
The only thing that changed was the layers of defense that continued adapting to each attack.
The angel suddenly appeared directly in front of Valt.
Its sword was aimed straight at his body.
Valt stared at it.
The sword moved.
SHRAAAK!
But before the attack could finish, Valt caught the angel's wrist.
The angel tried to pull its hand away.
It failed.
Valt tightened his grip.
"Enough."
The crimson light in Valt's eyes grew brighter.
The angel attempted to attack with its sword at close range.
Valt shifted slightly and struck its face.
BOOM!
The angel was thrown backward.
Valt immediately pursued it.
He caught the angel's body in mid-flight and slammed it downward.
BRAAAK!
The surface of reality cracked from the impact.
Before the angel could rise, Valt was already above it.
One punch.
Then a second.
A third.
A fourth.
A fifth.
Valt struck it repeatedly, giving it no opportunity to retaliate.
However, the angel finally opened both wings and released an explosion of light that forced Valt backward.
The angel rose again.
Its sword was raised.
"Execution."
One word.
Its sword descended.
The slash was far larger than before.
The entire space before the angel seemed to be erased by a single white line.
Valt did not dodge.
The slash struck him.
KRAK!
The sixth layer was damaged.
But the seventh layer immediately took over.
The attack stopped.
The angel's sword could not penetrate any further.
The angel finally realized something.
It had used countless methods to penetrate Valt's defenses.
It had ignored space.
It had passed through dimensions.
It had attacked deeper structures.
It had even attempted to reach the narrative layer.
Yet all it had accomplished was destroying several layers of Valt's defenses.
Valt himself still stood without a wound.
The angel silently stared at Valt's body.
Valt then slowly walked toward it.
"So now you understand."
The angel did not answer.
"What you destroyed were merely the layers of my defense."
Valt stopped several steps away.
"As long as another layer remains, the failure of the previous layer becomes the foundation for its improvement."
Valt's gaze grew colder.
"You may be able to destroy one."
He raised his hand.
"But you won't get the same opportunity twice."
The angel tightened its grip around its sword.
But this time, Valt did not wait.
He disappeared.
In an instant, his body was directly in front of the angel.
Valt's fist slammed into its stomach.
BOOOOM!
The angel was sent flying.
Valt chased after it.
A second punch struck its face.
Then a kick slammed into its body.
Valt then grabbed one of its wings and violently pulled it, sending the angel crashing back into space.
The angel struggled to rise.
Valt was already waiting for it.
"Get up."
His voice was cold.
"I'm not finished."
The angel attacked again.
Its sword moved.
Valt blocked it.
Sword met Valt's hand.
There was no wound.
No blood.
Only a collision of forces that caused the entire space between them to tremble.
The angel pushed its sword with even greater force.
Valt moved forward instead.
The distance between them grew smaller.
"You're different from the others."
Valt stared directly into its eyes.
"That's why I'll take you a little more seriously."
The crimson light behind his mask grew brighter.
"But don't misunderstand."
Valt tightened his grip around the sword.
"I'm still angry."
In one brutal motion, Valt pulled the angel toward him and slammed his forehead into its face.
BOOOM!
The halo above the angel's head shook violently.
Valt did not stop.
One punch.
One kick.
One strike.
Then another.
The angel was thrown repeatedly, yet it continued forcing itself back to its feet.
The two collided once again.
Sword and fist.
Light and black cards.
The angel continued attempting to penetrate Valt's seven layers of defense, while Valt continued assaulting it with increasingly brutal attacks.
Every collision caused the surrounding space to collapse before reforming once again.
Yet the longer the battle continued, the clearer the outcome became.
The angel was beginning to lose its opportunities.
While Valt...
was only becoming more ferocious.
He was no longer fighting to prove anything.
He was fighting because he genuinely wanted to destroy his opponent.
The angel finally retreated several steps.
Its sword was still in its hand.
But for the first time since descending onto the battlefield, its movements stopped.
Valt stood before it.
Seven layers of his defense still remained.
Several had been damaged.
Several had been destroyed.
Yet Valt's body itself remained perfect.
No blood.
No wounds.
No lost limbs.
Valt then took a black card from between his fingers.
"Enough playing."
His red eyes glowed.
"You came here to execute me."
The card slowly rotated between his fingers.
"Unfortunately..."
A faint smile appeared behind his mask.
"...now I'm the one who's going to execute you."