"Should the two of us stop her together, knock her out, and then escape?"
Watching Artoria in the heat of battle with Dormammu, Steve spoke to Galacta beside him. To tell the truth, he wanted to leave immediately, go to the rift in the barrier, and use the Time Stone to repair it. That way, it would be impossible for Dormammu to enter Earth. Everything sounded wonderful, but while the idea was great, reality was harsh. Miss Artoria seemed a bit too enthusiastic about fighting, which wasn't a good thing. So, he planned to discuss it with the strangely dressed beauty next to him to see if she was confident in taking Miss Artoria down. Steve looked at Galacta expectantly.
"Artoria looks so happy!"
To Steve's disappointment, Galacta didn't even acknowledge him. She watched Artoria, who had a smile on her face as she used Rhongomyniad to launch various attacks at Dormammu. Galacta remarked that it had been a long time since she had seen Artoria this happy. She herself loved to eat, and Gaea loved to cook, but they rarely saw Artoria truly enjoy anything. At this moment, Galacta was absolutely certain: Artoria definitely loved the thrill of battle. Galacta had met a few such people in the Universe, but she didn't dislike Artoria's current state at all!
"So, there's no room for discussion."
Seeing Galacta's attitude, Steve sat on the ground helplessly, acting as a mere spectator. He was no longer worried about things taking an unexpected turn. Since Artoria could counterattack under Dormammu's assault, it meant she had the ability to stand against him. She didn't look like a brainless maniac when fighting. This sudden surge of trust calmed Steve's heart as he watched the battle.
"It's useless, human. No matter how many times you attack, I can recover. As long as this world exists, I am an immortal god."
Being attacked by Artoria, Dormammu looked at her—no larger than an ant in its eyes—and couldn't understand why she was so excited. The places it had just been hit restored themselves instantly. Any ordinary sapient lifeform would have given up resistance long ago upon seeing this. Why was this ant before it still so hyper, relentlessly attacking? Even if it wouldn't die or get hurt, Dormammu was still annoyed to no end. It couldn't hit the agile Artoria either, so it could only advise her to give up sooner. After all, in its mind, aside from dealing with that person called the Ancient One, no one could defeat it.
"Indeed, with such a size and this special world... it's more accurate to say this entire world is your body, isn't it?"
Dormammu's words didn't make Artoria have any intention of giving up. The pupils in her holy green eyes turned into slits. These Dragon Eyes were currently emitting a golden glow, identical to the light radiating from the shaft of Rhongomyniad. Artoria had entered a very peculiar state. Rhongomyniad's divine power sought to enter Artoria's body to sublimate it and turn her into a god. Her dragon blood boiled wildly. At this moment, if anyone could get close to Artoria, they would surely feel the heat radiating from her. The power of light and dragon blood intertwined. Additionally, the mysterious potion Artoria had concocted earlier also refused to be left out, flowing from her heart to her entire body, merging with her dragon blood. This situation didn't make Artoria feel any abnormality; instead, she felt an inexhaustible strength surging up.
Artoria looked up at Dormammu's giant eyes. Seeing her stop her attacks, Dormammu thought she had given up. But hearing what she said, it seemed she was analyzing its body, which puzzled Dormammu. Hadn't it just said so? This world is me! As long as this world exists, it is immortal.
"Such a situation might be a desperate plight for others, but Dormammu, I actually have many ways to make you disappear from this world."
Facing Dormammu's look as if he were staring at a fool, along with one pair of admiring eyes and one pair of doubting eyes below, Artoria made such a statement. The admiration, of course, came from Galacta, who believed Artoria could definitely do it. The doubt came from Steve; how could such an enemy be defeated? Naturally, he thought only negotiation would work. But he didn't know that Artoria really had a way. If she could pull out Gilgamesh's EA, it would simply be a matter of injecting mana. However, Artoria hadn't drawn it yet. It seemed the African totem engraved on her soul wasn't something that disappeared just by changing bodies. Right now, the trump card in Artoria's hand was the full release of Rhongomyniad. Artoria didn't want to do that; once she did, the powerful divine power would directly sublimate her Spirit Origin into a deity. At that point, she would be a goddess, and her humanity might vanish.
"How many years has it been since your power was last displayed, 'The Sword in the Stone, excalibur'?"
Artoria put away the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad. Facing its Master's recall command, Rhongomyniad seemed a bit reluctant but still obeyed. Seeing Artoria's behavior, which was almost like surrendering, Dormammu didn't feel happy at all. Bizarrely, Dormammu felt an emotion of fear, which left it dazed. It was a joke—Dormammu, the demon god of the Dark Dimension, would actually feel afraid? How ridiculous.
"Descend upon this world! Sword of the King."
Ignoring Dormammu's abnormality, Artoria took off the necklace from her neck with both hands and called out with a sacred and solemn expression. Immediately, the necklace floated up on its own, shrouded in golden light. The necklace began to melt, as if being pulled long by a pair of invisible hands. Soon, the golden light dissipated, and a magnificent double-edged sword appeared before Artoria. Looking at the somewhat familiar sword, Artoria felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment, as if a relative she had lost contact with for a long time had returned to her.
"Wuu~!"
When excalibur appeared before Artoria, its entire blade trembled slightly, letting out a series of melodious hums as if rejoicing at reuniting with its Master. It was calling for Artoria to hold it, to let them fight together once more. Artoria didn't pick up excalibur immediately. At this moment, she seemed to see a knight smiling very happily, kneeling before her. The knight's face was blurred and impossible to see clearly, but Artoria felt he was smiling—smiling very happily. The knight was saying something, but Artoria couldn't hear it at all, though it felt very familiar.
"Sir Bedivere."
For some reason, a crystalline tear fell from the corner of Artoria's eye. And for some reason, Artoria seemed to know the knight's name. Her heart ached, and she instantly snapped back to reality. Dormammu had actually launched an attack, a giant energy claw reaching out to grab her.
"This woman is dangerous; I can't let her continue."
From the moment excalibur appeared, Dormammu's fear completely exploded. Such energy fluctuations... it was indeed that divine sword. How could it appear here? Uncountable years ago, it had once been defeated by the wielder of this sword, and it was a very brutal defeat at that. With this weapon appearing, what was the relationship between this human and the one called the King?
"Hmph!"
Such an action—it wasn't quite a sneak attack, and the attack was too slow. This Dormammu was simply too stupid. Artoria didn't hesitate any longer. With an expressionless face, she gripped excalibur with both hands. Intense golden light instantly erupted from her body, and a pillar of golden energy blasted upward through the Dark Dimension. Dormammu's attack was instantly disintegrated. A white light that even sliced through space suddenly appeared, instantly cutting off one of Dormammu's eyes.
"Dormammu, today I'll let you experience the pleasure of being shredded."
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