Brain bloom

"Wait, dealing with demons never ends well. I'll keep trying. But no wonder you dared to come here and unleash your ultimate attack right away; you activated anti-interruption..."

She left behind these words, which she didn't know she'd learned from anyone, and Mori heard them all. But before his nostalgia and sighs could turn into real feelings, Melia disappeared.

Then, she transformed into a streak of light, spreading her wings from the spot and soaring into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, she raised her giant axe high, and under the influence of magic, she accelerated like an arrow released from a bow, plummeting towards the ground.

The fall was instantaneous; she planned to use a powerful slash to instantly obliterate this creation of the god.

Volume 1, Chapter 213: They've Come to the Rescue!

That was no ordinary attack—her understanding of magic and close combat had reached an extraordinary level.

So, along the way, he imbued his giant axe with a great deal of advanced magic. The power of all the elements gathered within it, and not only that, the axe blade was also wrapped with some kind of self-created spatial magic.

That was her trump card, called "The World's Thin Blade".

In all realms, any sharp weapon, regardless of the material used, will lose its durability and strength if it is crafted to be thin and sharp. Every craftsman hones their skills in search of the optimal balance.

And this is also the limit of materials and craftsmanship.

But she found another solution in an extraordinary way.

Conceptually, a layer of space, "extremely thin yet sturdy and resilient," is created to envelop one's weapon. Although it can only last for a few seconds, this blade forged by space completely transcends materials, making it an indestructible and invincible weapon.

She had no idea what to do if she failed, because she was certain that this attack would succeed.

And so—she fell to earth like a shooting star.

The axe blade rose and fell.

The blade of space clashed with the messenger of the gods.

The touch in her hand was very smooth, which meant that the enemy was like a piece of paper that she had sliced ​​through.

It seems she'd cut right at the head? It lacked limbs and facial features, its shape was bizarre, so Melia couldn't figure out where to cut. In that case, a few more cuts would do.

The moment her feet touched the ground, her axe blade was already retracted, and she swung it horizontally once more at the enemy whose body had been severed.

The giant axe roared with a metallic clang, its unstoppable spatial blade cleaving the enemy in two.

Now, God's messengers were divided into four.

To finish safely, she squeezed out all the explosive power in her body and went for two more thrusts.

Diagonal cross slash.

Having done all this, Melia's arms felt weak. She slung the axe over her shoulder, let out a long breath, and a confident smile appeared on her lips. For the messengers of God had become a pile of unyielding flesh.

“Ancient things aren’t anything special to chop up.”

"...Does this count as a win?" Mori murmured.

"Won."

But Mori was still unsure, because the name box for the messenger of the gods was still visible in his field of vision. Moreover, looking at that strange cross-section, it felt like something was about to overflow…

This is a lump of enemies that's about to explode. Is it really okay to just chop it up?

"—Melia, you... stupid banshee!" But the next moment, the ancient demon king shouted, "I have to make everyone sever ties with you, or they'll become stupid! Everyone, hurry up and make a deal with me!"

"I'll come, but what's the price?" Mori asked hastily. The owl's panicked state indicated that something was wrong.

"The price is—"

"The price is this bird's feathers, which look white and soft..." A gentle voice suddenly appeared, which was inconsistent with the anxiety on the battlefield. "Also, little Melia and I will not sever ties."

Unconsciously, she strolled in leisurely, and this vast world truly was her backyard.

She gripped her left shoulder, unfastened the clasp with her fingers, and casually pulled off the cloak covered in black feathers, which billowed up like a flag.

The cloak fluttered wildly, the wind carrying a mixture of curses and the power of the ancient demon king. This power, no longer restrained, instantly filled the air, stinging everyone who was about to greet it.

As this power is being used, the surrounding space... no, the entire realm of demons, is thus shrouded in a tormenting gloom.

This was the first time Mori had ever seen such a large-scale force stirring.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to ask any questions, for fear of disturbing her.

However, no surprising move was made afterward, and the earth-shattering attack that Mori had anticipated never appeared.

She simply opened her one-shoulder cloak and covered the pile of meat that Melia had cut up, wrapping it all up like cleaning up trash, and finally, she carefully tied a bow.

Hopefully, the six wings were deliberately left outside, so there's just enough space.

"This is?"

“This bird looks like it’s going to explode, so… three… two…” Yuan covered her ears, “one.”

As she finished counting down—the cloak suddenly inflated into a ball, and a few feathers were even shaken off. At the same time, a sound came from inside, but it was muffled by the cloak and the force within it.

I was a little disappointed when they let go of the hands covering my ears.

"I thought it would be very loud."

"...Can't you stop taking risks?! Do you know how much you have left... I mean, the coffin carrier was just about to make a deal with me! I could have intervened; you didn't need to take any risks!"

In contrast, the rebuke from the ancient demon king was far more intense.

It immediately flew to Yuan's shoulder and scolded him several times right in the ear. Yuan just looked disgusted, held the Ancient Demon King in his arms, and then casually tossed it into the sky.

She excitedly picked up the cloak, forcefully untied the knotted ribbon, and gently shook the ashes of the corpse onto the ground. The messenger of God thus returned to a state of humiliation.

Mori snapped out of her daze and let out a long sigh of relief. She hadn't expected that it was Yuan who had solved the problem in the end. Unlike usual, she was very reliable in crucial moments.

She and the ancient demon king, who had just thrashed back to the ground, discussed the matter and roughly figured it out.

The messenger of God stored up a great deal of energy and was using divine magic to gradually transform it into divine wrath. It was like a bomb that had been ignited and was about to explode. Melia's handling of the situation was flawed; while those few axe blows carried it away, they also ignited this energy.

If it weren't for the willingness to act in time, and Sen Shi's failure to make a deal with the Ancient Demon King to get it to take action, the scale of this explosion would have been immeasurable.

"Won's clothes, where did you buy them again? What's the price? I want to buy a set too." After hearing this, Mori had only this one thought.

"Don't even think about it. You all have to thank me for escaping unscathed this time. My curse and the power above it are evil in nature and of a higher level than the other side, which created a restraint and weakened this sacred explosion disaster."

"Thank you for the curse?"

"...I...I misspoke, I'm sorry." The Ancient Demon King lowered his head.

Two helpless eyes turned to Yuan, who was counting the feathers.

She seemed to have received a sufficient price: the wings on the back of the messenger of the gods. Unlike their twisted and bizarre shape, these six wings were beautiful. The holy white feathers were quite full, each one containing an inextinguishable power.

She plucked them one by one and carefully arranged them. Melia walked up to her, wanting to feel guilty for her foolishness, but also curious about Yuan's actions.

"What do you, a devil, want to do with this kind of thing?"

"Essentially, I am human. This bird's feathers are beautiful, and unlike its body, they don't bristle. Can't I collect them?"

"Uh... but this isn't a bird..."

"Who cares? It has wings and feathers, it can fly, so it can be considered a bird. This is the price I pay for helping you. My father taught me from a young age that whatever I do, I can use 'price' as an excuse to ask for what I want."

Volume 1, Chapter 214: Wings and Fate

"King of Ancient Demons, it seems your daughter let something slip?"

“Coffin bearer, this is what happened… What my foolish daughter means is that although she is human, she is also a devil who learned the virtue of ‘equal exchange’ under my tutelage.”

The ancient Demon King explained righteously, his majestic owl face even more serious than usual.

However, Mori was skeptical: "But unlike you, these devilish rules aren't enforced on Yuan..."

"This is a meaningless question! Coffin bearer, have you ever trusted your own heart? Have you ever faced your own soul?! As long as you set rules for yourself in your heart and abide by them, whether it's forced or not makes no difference! May you be a strong person who follows your own heart..."

"Okay, okay, you're right."

Sen Shi didn't believe the owl's explanation at all, because when it was giving its passionate explanation, its eyes were always wandering.

Ignoring those explanations, Mori pondered for a moment.

The ancient Demon King himself was certainly bound by rules. Therefore, even in that emergency situation, he could only use his power by accepting deals from others.

But her daughter… Mori glanced at Yuki, who was counting feathers, and his lips relaxed slightly.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that. If you want something, you should put in an equal amount of effort to get it. The ancient Demon King probably taught this so that his gentle daughter could use the excuse of "equal exchange" to gain more happiness…

It deeply loves Wish.

Just like now, she is working on it, plucking some of the black feathers from her cloak and replacing them with the white feathers of the messenger of the gods, creating a black and white contrast.

They seem to be enjoying it.

Melia and she were together, and the two good friends chatted casually about the battle they had just fought.

"Yuan, how did you arrive at such perfect time? You're like a hero, appearing at the perfect moment. Thank you so much..."

"Hmph, I'm not happy at all by your praise. After I finished talking with the Balrog and assigned the moving work, I saw a really bright pillar of light over here! This world is my home, so of course I had to come and see... but then I saw you randomly slashing at that big bird."

"Blindly hacking? That's...that's a fierce and ruthless fighting technique! It's the history and heritage of our female demon race!"

"Let's not talk about that anymore. I've plucked all the feathers off these wings... Do you want to use them for barbecue?"

"no."

On the other side, with the threat of battle gone, B simply sat back down at the conference table, embracing her sword and entering a meditative state. She was merely expressing her intention to stand guard by the true god's side, but this process was destined to be tedious; sitting was far more comfortable than standing idly as a loyal guard.

Mori noticed something: "Owl, your daughter seems to really like feathers?"

"That's true, so my wings... sigh."

"Why? It doesn't seem like it's meant to suppress curses, so why is it stuck on the cloak?"

This question suddenly made the ancient Demon King shy. It wanted to speak immediately, but coughed to mask its inner joy. It leaped and bounced onto Sen Shi's shoulder, like a drunkard, its old face flushed, sharing its little secret with its drinking buddy in a swaying voice—

"She says it's an ornament, but actually... it's a daughter's awkward identification with her father... cough cough, don't tell anyone! You see, my appearance and race are different from humans, but she accepts me as her father and wears my feathers to subtly express this..."

"Hmm... well, Old Owl, I think she's really just a decoration."

"Go ahead and be jealous."

After the ancient demon king finished speaking happily, he immediately flew back to the conference table and continued to maintain a serious and majestic appearance.

Mori couldn't help but laugh, because it felt like two sets of parents were chatting idly on the sidelines while their children played together. It was such a fun experience that it made her temporarily forget her troubles.