"What on Earth is happening? That sword is so strong!"
Steve, whose eyes were stinging from the light on Artoria's body, looked at the sword in her hand. This sword was truly too powerful; a casual swing could release such a formidable attack. It was completely different from the spear she had held earlier. The sharp intent within that attack... even if he wasn't the target, Steve felt that if it were him, he would probably be cut directly in half without any hesitation. Galacta also felt the power of excalibur, but she had no other thoughts. The stronger Artoria was, the happier she became. Moreover, Artoria looked even more beautiful under that light! The 'flavor' of this light also seemed very delicious. Galacta seemed to have developed an appetite for the divine power on Artoria's body, and her mouth was almost watering as she looked at her.
"That sword... just who are you?"
The slash wounds on Dormammu's body didn't recover as quickly as before. It was likely because excalibur's powerful light attribute countered Dormammu. Unlike Rhongomyniad, which was under seal, excalibur had no seals at all. At this moment, it could go all out, but the Master's quality influenced its performance. The stronger the Master, the stronger it became. Artoria's current physical strength was comparable to a god's. Most importantly, she possessed the King's Destiny. Artoria was destined to become one, and excalibur was the Sword of Selection. The Elven Inscriptions on the blade clearly stated the condition for the wielder: 'Whoso pulleth out this sword is rightwise King of all Britain.'
"Dormammu, do you give up on your invasion of Earth?"
Facing Dormammu's questioning, Artoria smiled slightly and didn't answer him. There was no point in answering this Dormammu; she didn't even know her own situation, let alone have a reason to explain anything to this guy invading Earth. "You're a villain! Why should I explain anything to you? You idiot." After inwardly looking down on Dormammu with disdain, Artoria made her suggestion.
"You're dreaming! You humans use my power, and then you turn around and attack me. I will use Earth to wipe out the humiliation you humans have caused me for so long."
Artoria's words made Dormammu roar. The shame the Ancient One brought to Dormammu caused him to completely ignore the threat of the sword in Artoria's hand. Facing Artoria, the now-furious Dormammu no longer feared the sword and began attacking her again. Seeing this, Artoria showed no surprise and raised her sword to strike at Dormammu once more.
"This sword is an artifact capable of splitting the Omniverse."
Easily carving a large gash in Dormammu's body, Artoria smiled and stroked excalibur as she spoke to him. As if in response to her words, the blade of excalibur began to vibrate, its light becoming even more dazzling. Artoria's aura grew stronger, and the dark world lit up as if a sun were rising. This was the first time such a thing had happened in this world. The life forms eroded by darkness, who had been as still as statues, reacted for the first time as their numb nerves felt the light.
"Light?"
Their first reaction was confusion; they didn't even know how long it had been since they last saw light. In this darkness, they were immortal and eternal, unable to be released, unable to see light or feel its warmth. To them, this world was hell—perhaps even worse than hell. At least in hell, there was hope; after atoning for their sins, they could be reincarnated. But in this world, immortality ground away all hope. If given the choice, even staying in hell would be much better than this.
"The Sword in the Stone"
A heroic female voice echoed through the world, calling out the name of the Holy Sword. The Holy Sword responded to its Master's call, and a powerful force erupted instantly. Golden light illuminated the entire world, and the massive power shook this dark realm. Countless creatures merged with dark energy were instantly turned to ash, but there were no wails of pain. Instead, happy smiles seemed to appear on their darkness-corroded faces. They accepted their Death and even welcomed its arrival. They could finally stop suffering in this world. They walked into Death's embrace with gratitude.
"I wondered why the number of souls was wrong; so they were here."
Such a large-scale return of souls caught the attention of Death. Dormammu's Dark Dimension couldn't truly keep out a goddess like her. Following the point of return, Death arrived in the space of the Dark Dimension. Seeing the liberated souls and the dazzling light within the Dark Dimension, Death quickly discovered Artoria's presence. Death liked this child who spoke to her directly and didn't fear Death. She had given the Soul Stone to Artoria, not expecting the child to give her such a big surprise so soon. No wonder so many souls were missing from the cycle; they were being controlled here.
"Dormammu, a mere Demon God, actually imprisoned souls here and violated the cycle of life. The living tribunal will give you a fitting judgment."
Perhaps Artoria couldn't completely kill Dormammu, but as one of the primordial gods, Death didn't take him seriously at all. She calmly reached out her hand and grabbed him, dragging a massive consciousness out of the Dark Dimension—it was Dormammu. Then, Death looked at Artoria's heroic figure wrapped in golden light. Although she really wanted to chat with the child, she had things to handle now. Next time! Once this child lived out her natural life, it would be nice to have her by her side forever.
"Let's go!"
Artoria, surrounded by golden light, quickly flew to Galacta and Steve. She grabbed Galacta and spoke as they moved. With that last strike, Artoria had sensed something was wrong. Her intuition told her that a being who could kill her at any moment had appeared. Under these circumstances, Artoria had no desire to check if Dormammu was dead or not. She pulled Galacta along, and Steve followed them intelligently. The three quickly reached the rift in the barrier. Artoria glanced back and waved her right hand, retrieving three Red boxes that were invisible to others. After doing all this, she pulled Galacta into the opening without looking back, with Steve following close behind.
"Are you okay, Artoria?"
Gaea, who had been waiting anxiously outside, finally saw Artoria emerge safely, emitting a faint golden light. As for Galacta next to her, she was completely ignored. Seeing Artoria return safely, Gaea rushed forward to check for injuries. Regardless of anything, she immediately gave Artoria a large mass of life energy. She had plenty of it; even a small amount could bring a normal creature back to life as long as the body hadn't rotted. Gaea gave Artoria a huge amount. Although Artoria was touched by Gaea's concern, such a large amount of life energy entering her body made her feel uncomfortably bloated.
"It's okay, it's all over."
Gently patting Gaea's hand to comfort her, Artoria turned to look at Steve. The man was very clever; upon returning, he immediately used the Time Stone to begin repairing the barrier. Watching the black hole shrink and finally disappear, Artoria breathed a sigh of relief. This time, her gains were the greatest. She didn't know what good things would come out of those three treasure chests, but they definitely wouldn't be bad. Moreover, she had gained some combat experience. If there was one downside, it was that she didn't stall for more time and used excalibur directly. However, this exposed Artoria's weakness against immortal enemies; it seemed such undying foes could only be fought with Supreme Artifacts.
"Let's go home!"
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