1007: Beyond Sword God Transformation

Fran’s slash cleaved Meltritte’s torso.

「Kyaaaah!」

Meltritte’s let loose an anguished scream. Unlike our previous hits, she definitely felt that one. I haven’t done much experimentation with the divine attribute, but I have no doubt it went through her pain nullification skill.

And with that pain came a good amount of damage. The deep gash started oozing tons of mana and evil energy.

None of our earlier hits managed to draw blood, so the divine attribute must have been very effective against her antidemon body.

Moreover, Fran’s assault had only just begun.

「Haah!」

「Kuh!」

Fran’s second slash sent Meltritte’s left arm flying off. Even her durable antidemon body stood no chance in front of Sword God Transformation’s might.

With her overwhelming swordsmanship and the dense divine mana covering the blade, the strike could truly be called the work of the Sword God.

「How did……?」

「I won’t let you get away.」

「Damn you! Krgh!」

Meltritte panicked for the first time after Fran’s sudden boost of strength. She searched for a way to escape, but Fran would never allow that.

In spite of our overwhelming advantage, Fran wore a look of confusion that only I could see. I felt the same way.

（My body feels light?）

『Yeah, me too.』

Whenever we used Sword God Transformation previously, I always felt my life being chipped away.

I lost more than just durability. It was as if something within me was being worn out, exhausting me at a deeper level. But this time, the feeling had been reduced.

It’s nowhere near completely gone, but maybe less than half as usual.

Fran, too, seemed to be feeling much less recoil.

Was this due to the Beast-Bug God’s Blessing, since she could now manipulate the divine attribute by herself?

Up until now, I had to focus all my efforts into controlling the divine attribute. However, it seems the condition for mastering Sword God Transformation was for Fran to obtain the divine attribute herself. No wonder it was so difficult to handle before.

The reduced recoil and exhaustion was not the only proof of Fran’s mastery over this power.

Fran was no longer following Sword God Transformation’s optimized combat patterns. Her body moved according to her own will.

Rather than having the skill performing the ideal movements for her, Fran actually understood her options. She was clearly choosing what to do.

In our current state, I think we might be able to cut that. Fran seemed to agree.

I pointed her to the location, and Fran suddenly swung at the air. At first glance, it looked like she was pointlessly slashing at nothing.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Fran’s target was the thread of evil energy. The invisible thread extended from the cross-sword to the antidemon, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Izario.

Of course, my blade overlapped with the thread several times throughout our exchange, but I wasn’t able to do anything to it. Well, we’d have aimed for it in the first place if possible.

However, the current us could sever the thread. Both Fran and I were confident.

With the unconscious combination of Fran’s Sword God Transformation and my Evil Domination…

「It snapped.」

「N-No……! How!?」

The thread of evil energy vanished after getting cut. At the same time, we saw a visible change in the red-gold antidemon’s movements. He suddenly got really sluggish.

I had hoped the antidemon might break free from Meltritte’s control and start attacking her instead, but I guess we can’t ask for that much.

Meltritte shouted after seeing Izario blast the antidemon away.

「I was so close!」

She must have been empowering the antidemon through that thread somehow, since the antidemon’s aura clearly got weaker. He’s still undoubtedly strong, but no longer strong enough to beat Izario.

Seeing the red-gold antidemon in danger, Meltritte tried to head over and save him.

Apparently, she needed that antidemon alive at any cost. Was he required for her plans somehow?

「I won’t let you go.」

「Gyah!」

Meltritte left herself wide open in her panic, and Fran took the chance. After having her back slashed open, she certainly remembered that she couldn’t ignore Fran.

Meltritte glared back at Fran with spite-filled eyes. Meanwhile, Fran continued her onslaught without letting up for a second.

With the reduced recoil, we could use Sword God Transformation for a much longer duration. Fran still had the skill active.

We chopped up her arms, legs, and torso. Yet each stab or slash was regenerated practically instantly. She had the same resistance to the divine attribute shown by the high-level antidemons.

But even if she could heal her wounds, she had no way to get back the mana spent on regeneration. There was a clear drop in her energy levels.

Moreover, it wasn’t just us. Meltritte was getting forced on the defensive for another reason.

As if in inverse proportion to Fran’s excellent performance, Meltritte only got more sluggish. Taking so much damage must have dulled her body, but that wasn’t all.

She made the occasional strange decision, as if intentionally taking hits from us. For whatever reason, she seemed to be protecting her cross-sword.

Meltritte had been blocking attacks with her cross-sword since the beginning of our battle. But now, she attempted to evade us entirely. This threw her off rhythm and resulted in her taking even more damage from us.

I’m sure she could still put up a good fight if she calmed down and regained her composure, but Meltritte only got more impatient as the battle dragged on. Her eyes were fixated on the red-gold antidemon getting pummeled by Izario.

Izario seemed much more at ease than before, noticeable in how many counter strikes he dealt the antidemon. Meanwhile his opponent’s body was burning up thanks to Izario’s signature heat field. The battle was clearly tilting in Izario’s favor.

「Get out of my way, you damned girl!」

Without responding to Meltritte’s half-crazed roar, Fran held me right in front of her eyes. Then, she shouted with all her might.

「Black Lightning Divine Claw!」

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