Time goes back for a few seconds.
Having slightly decreased her combat power, Liora seemed to be caught in a fierce battle against the Colossal Undead.
No one would ever guess that part of her mind was actually not paying attention to the fight, but was fixed on the System Panel before her.
Taking a brief glance at her displayed information, Liora didn't linger for long and, with a thought, summoned the Ability Creation Panel.
She knew that only by creating a new ability and introducing a new, external factor would she have an opportunity to profit amidst the chaos.
Looking at the panel before her, she fell into deep thought.
Having possessed the System for so long and created a few abilities, she had roughly deduced the way it operated.
The cost of the abilities she created was not only related to their power and rarity, but also to other, extraordinary factors.
For example, if Liora wanted to create an ability that could resurrect people, it would cost a huge amount of Evolution Points.
But if that ability had limitations, only being able to resurrect a single person at the cost of her own life, the points required would be significantly fewer.
The Myriad Devils Armor was another example.
Although extremely strong right now, it didn't cost many Evolution Points to create because it was a growth-oriented skill, needing to consume blood and flesh to enhance its defenses.
Taking a look at her points—now more than ten thousand—Liora's thoughts moved.
Countless abilities flashed in her eyes one after another as she slowly adjusted their form, effects, and functions.
Finally, all of her ideas were integrated, taking the form of a single, final ability.
--
[Spear of the Blighted Sun: Mimicking the signature ability of the Fallen Angels, the user can create a spear of corrupted light. Born from sanctified radiance and tainted by demonic energy, its brilliance embodies both judgment and blasphemy.] Cost: 12,500 Evolution Points.
[Effects:]
[1. Holy Damage: Retaining its divine nature, the Spear of the Blighted Sun inflicts devastating damage to undead, demonic and shadow entities, and sinful beings.]
[2. Holy Sin: Amplifies the negative emotions in the hearts of divine and holy beings, tempting them to fall.]
--
As the ability she had envisioned materialized in front of her, Liora didn't dwell for long and immediately confirmed its creation.
The next moment, she felt her demonic energy changing, while her muscles, tendons, and even bones trembled violently as if they were under extreme pressure.
Yet, these sensations retreated as quickly as they appeared.
The grand scene that had occurred during the creation of Dusk Armament and Myriad Devils Armor didn't happen, leaving Liora wondering why.
But in the end, she lightly shook her head and pushed the matter aside.
Raising her claws to meet the Colossal Undead's fist in the air, she was forced to take a few steps back, leaving deep footprints along the way.
But this time, she didn't try to dissipate the force.
Instead, she made use of the momentum, opening some distance between her and the undead giant.
Shifting her gaze to the battle between the two ranked Devils, her eyes narrowed as she calmly waited for an opportunity to arrive.
In such battles, opportunities arose every second, and as such, she didn't need to wait for long.
Only half a second later, before the Colossal Undead could even steady itself, her opportunity came.
Glancing at Lord Embers—who was stunned by the Two-Headed Devil's sinister mutters—her mind moved.
The demonic energy in her body boiled and took a slight golden hue as it coursed through her body, converging toward her right hand.
A black light shone, and the next moment, it solidified into a spear of radiant gold entwined with crimson demonic fire, its jagged tip flickering like molten lightning.
Liora felt the weight of the spear in her hand, almost causing her to lose her footing.
However, she barely paid it any mind. She had much more important things to worry about.
The moment her hand gripped the spear's handle, its demonic flames rustled while its golden hue deepened even further.
A soul-tearing pain shot through her body, as if every single one of her cells had caught on fire. Her hand, which directly touched the spear, turned charred black as the acrid scent of burnt flesh filled the air.
That's right. Although she was the weapon's wielder, Liora—as a Devil—was also affected by its Holy Damage. And the impact was quite severe.
Liora gritted her teeth, her face pale, as blood continuously traveled down her lips, staining them red.
Bearing the pain, she steadied herself and, with great difficulty, corrected her posture and lifted the heavy spear.
Then, she hurled it toward the sky—or, more accurately, toward the two ranked Devils.
The heavy weight pressing on her immediately vanished, and she slumped to the ground, raising her head just enough to follow the spear's trajectory.
Having left her hands, the Spear of the Blighted Sun whistled through the air, brushing by the Colossal Undead and soaring into the sky.
The mere divine aura emanating from the spear was unbearable to the Colossal Undead, causing it to scream in agony.
Its scream alerted Lord Embers, who turned to look at what was happening.
But by then, it was already too late.
The Spear of the Blighted Sun was already right in front of him, and before he could react, it penetrated straight through his chest.
Lord Embers, shocked by this strange sequence of events, felt his whole body burning as divine energy surged throughout his body.
In horror, he activated his life-saving ability, turning into a swarm of bats and flying away.
Unfortunately, the Spear of the Blighted Sun seemed to have locked onto his figure.
No matter how far away the bats traveled, they were all wiped out by the spear's remaining aura, letting out a loud shriek in their final moments.
When one last bat remained, it transformed back into Lord Embers, his face now paler than ever.
"How—how could this happen?", he stuttered, confusion, fear, and unwillingness flashing on his face.
He had made countless plans, possessed various trump cards, and had even memorized various retreating routes in case anything unexpected happened.
But despite all of his preparations, he failed.
Until his final breath, Lord Embers didn't understand what went wrong.