Ella, her eyes cold and unblinking, kept her focus locked on the system. Nearly an hour had passed with her perfect clone in use, and only forty-two kneeling points remained.
To conceal her next move and stall for the arrival of the authority skill, she deliberately provoked the Dark Emperor. The result was precise and merciless.
He knelt in utter humiliation, his forehead pressed into the dirt. A series of prompts immediately followed, one after another.
Ding
[Reward Calculation Complete.]
You have obtained:
Technique: Equilibrium Body Technique
Grade: Divine
Type: Body Tempering
Effect: [A supreme technique that balances every part of the body. Power, speed, durability, senses, and energy flow become one. The user stays at peak condition at all times. It prevents backlash during breakthroughs. It helps the body and soul evolve smoothly.]
[Battle Experience Gained.]
[Your understanding of combat in the Inferno Realm has deepened. You now move with sharper instinct. You resist heat and soul pressure more naturally.]
Kneeling Points Gained:
+2,000 Kneeling Points
+1,000 Kneeling Points
+500 Kneeling Points
+100 Kneeling Points
+50 Kneeling Points
[Random Talent Card Acquired]
Category: Physique, Bloodline, or Race – Unopened
Ding
[All rewards have been flawlessly integrated into the host's system.]
Ella didn't react much to the rewards. Her mentality had shifted.
Though pleased, she had no time to celebrate. An unkillable opponent stood before her, a looming threat that could turn the tide in an instant.
She continued commanding the system through sheer thought, forcing the Dark Emperor to kneel with nearly every movement.
Countless eyes locked onto the two of them, but she didn't care. All that filled her mind was how to gain more from this disaster.
"I want to make everyone kneel," she said calmly. "But if he moves now, I'll perish without question."
She could already sense a deadly power poised to annihilate her the moment she faltered in forcing the Dark Emperor to kneel.
Her clone, too, hovered on the edge of collapse. Cracks snaked through its form, but her physique worked tirelessly, regenerating torn flesh and and shattered limbs.
Though her kneeling points dwindled to the edge, the spoils taken from the Dark Emperor gave her just enough to keep the clone intact.
She glanced at her hands, then willed destructive essence to gather. There wasn't much left. But that didn't matter.
She had already accounted for that.
She activated Bloodlit Perdition.
The technique was intricate, demanding far more than simple intent.
It required raw, overwhelming hatred, laced with agony so deep it could tear the soul apart. Yet she had already prepared for it.
Her current form was a perfect clone of her original self, a flawless replication of both body and soul, with only her active consciousness inhabiting it. Her true body remained untouched.
The thought was terrifying. If her opponent managed to trap her consciousness here, the consequences could be irreversible.
For the first time, she had to admit this was the most formidable opponent she had ever faced. And so, she would treat it with the seriousness it deserved.
Without hesitation, she triggered the self-imposed mental failsafe she'd designed for this very purpose.
In a flash, a torrent of fabricated memories surged through her mind, each one more harrowing than the last. A thousand simulated tragedies burst within her consciousness in a span of heartbeats.
She watched Olivia die again and again, in endless variations.
Her cries.
Her silence.
Her blood.
She saw her past life's family slaughtered before her eyes, faces she hadn't seen in years reduced to lifeless husks.
She imagined betrayal, helplessness, love torn apart, and hope devoured. And through it all, she held the rampaging force of the Dark Emperor at bay, forcing him to kneel like a beast thrashing in chains.
Her body trembled.
Her breath hitched.
And then, she opened her eyes.
They weren't the same.
Gone was the warmth. Gone was the hesitation.
In its place blazed a fury so profound the air around her quaked.
Crimson light bled from her skin as her aura spiraled into a vortex of abyssal devastation. Destructive essence flooded her limbs, endless and wild, surging with the wrath of every imagined loss she had just endured.
Taking a deep breath, Ella activated her Abyssal Annihilation Eyes, channeling all her killing intent, will, and destructive essence into a singular force of pure abyssal devastation capable of erasing anything it touched from existence.
The moment her gaze shifted, its pressure swept across the battlefield.
Even distant spectators felt their souls tremble, as if they might turn to ashes at any second. A chill ran through every onlooker, but Ella remained unmoved. All that power had been locked onto one target from the start.
Without hesitation, she released it.
A suffocating pressure erupted outward, pulsing in every direction. The moment the Dark Emperor looked into her eyes, his body disintegrated into ash.
A deafening boom followed, rupturing the ground beneath and carving a vast fissure across the earth. The surrounding area vanished into void alongside him. But Ella didn't stop.
She extended her divine sense in every direction, scanning without rest. Her body was overflowing with power from Bloodlit Perdition, converting her fury into limitless strength.
The technique would only last an hour before consuming her clone completely, but she didn't care. Not while he still existed.
The moment she sensed even the faintest fluctuation, she moved.
In a single stride, she pushed her technique to its limit and commanded the system to enforce the kneeling.
Instantly, the strange suppression returned, binding the Dark Emperor where he stood.
Fury flashed across his face, but he could not move. That power, eerie and unseen, held him down like an invisible executioner's hand.
All eyes turned to Ella.
Her movements left only afterimages, and the divine pressure crushing the Dark Emperor repeatedly left onlookers frozen in shock. Each time he fell to his knees, the crowd gasped in disbelief.
But Ella ignored them.
In an instant, she was in front of him. With no hesitation, she threw a barrage of punches. Each strike tore through his body, reducing him to a mangled mess. Her crimson dress was drenched in gore, but she didn't slow.
Splat.
A sharp sound echoed as blood struck stone, followed by the pitter-patter of droplets scattering across the earth.
Ella's expression didn't waver. With blood on her dress and death in her eyes, she looked like a goddess of carnage.
The spectators watched in silence, terrified by the one-sided slaughter. Even Mary and her grandmother frowned at the transformation in the young girl.
They never expected to see the Dark Emperor humiliated, broken like a beast, and butchered without mercy.
Ella didn't stop. Again and again, she struck. Each time the Dark Emperor revived, she shattered him once more. He couldn't resist. Not even once.
He stared at her, seething with fury and disbelief. For the first time, he was completely helpless before a child.
"Damn it... What is this power? I can't use any divine skill," he growled.
Ella didn't answer.
She absorbed parts of his shattered body, destroyed others entirely. Yet no matter how many times she killed him, he always returned.
Finally, the Dark Emperor laughed. It was hollow, bitter, deranged.
"Haha... You can't kill me, brat. Unless you reach this realm, you'll never end me. As long as a shadow exists, I will live on. My Dao has already transcended death."
Still, Ella gave no reply.
Instead, she summoned the five elements—earth, fire, water, and more—then wove their combined essence into her next punch and unleashed it with calm precision. Calmly, she struck, reducing his body to ashes once more.
Far away, Mary stood dazed. Her heart pounded as she stared at the cold, beautiful goddess. Ella fought the legendary Dark Emperor as if he were nothing.
Her presence was terrifying, and yet so captivating it made Mary tremble with awe.
Ella, unaware of the effect she had, continued her relentless assault. Her fists and kicks landed with blinding speed, cracking space itself.
Each time the Dark Emperor revived, she was already there, killing him again.
And again.
And again.
The Witch of Calamity watched in silent fear. Even the Thirteen Guardians of the Human Realm felt a chill in their bones.
For an entire hour, the Dark Emperor revived only to die again, never once landing a single blow.
In the stunned silence that followed, someone whispered the only truth they could grasp.
"What an absolute monster."