Miya's grip tightened on the spear buried in Selena's throat.

Her knuckles turned white as she twisted the weapon...

Her voice dripping with years of pent-up rage.

"You always were a fucking terrible mother..."

A sudden gust of foul wind made her hair stand on end.

She barely had time to react before the white-boned dragon came crashing down behind her, its massive jaws snapping shut where her head had been just a millisecond earlier.

Miya's body moved on instinct!

She dashed sideward, barely avoiding death by inches.

As she landed, a gleaming silver sword materialized in her palm.

With one fluid motion, she slashed downward.

The ground split open as a razor-sharp energy wave raced toward the dragon...

Then it multiplied mid-air!

Dozens of slashes, each imbued with different energies.

Spiritual, magical, physical slashes tore into the creature's bony frame!

SCREEEECH!

The dragon's unearthly wail sent visible sound waves rippling through the air.

Miya's ears exploded in pain as blood gushed from her nose and mouth.

She collapsed to one knee, her vision swimming.

Just then, a deep voice sounded out.

"[Mercy]." Read ahead and get updates by visiting M^VLEMPYR.

Adam stood far behind her.

A red crown materialized above his head, glowing faintly with crimson light.

Miya gasped as her injuries knitted themselves back together...

The bleeding stopped and the pain faded.

"The essence...of attacks from nonhuman beings...are weakened..."

Raiden struggled to say as he stumbled to Miya's side, his own wounds still fresh but no longer life-threatening.

On the ground, Selena clawed at the spear still embedded in her throat.

With a sickening wet sound, she slammed both palms against the earth.

CRACK.

The gravity in the area quintupled!

Adam's knees buckled as the very air became thick as lead.

The white-boned dragon lumbered toward its master, its hollow eye sockets fixed on Selena.

Then... something impossible happened!

A ghostly figure that looked exactly like the dead Kristoff Hariv emerged from the dragon's gaping maw.

Selena opened her own mouth unnaturally wide as the specter flowed down her throat.

Her wound sealed instantly.

The spear clattered to the ground, useless.

Just then—

Adam sensed a flicker behind him.

His eyes widened as Celestia emerged from the swirling shadows.

Her cold gaze locked onto his back....

Her lips curled into a faint smile.

She had escaped the [Temporary Erasure]!

Celestia's form solidified, her eyes glowing with cold disdain as her gaze locked onto Adam once more.

With both S-authority users back, and one now at full strength, Adam didn't waste even a second.

His fingers flicked open the viewer chat as his eyes scanned for gifts.

[Nael_Longguard has donated an E-tier gift.]

[You have received] Sorcerer's Borrowed Time: Cursed energy will flow through your eyes temporarily, allowing you to perceive time at a rate which slows down all others. (2 minutes)

[Nael_Longguard]: Use this first, it'll give you time to read the other gifts while still being able to fend for yourself.

Adam didn't have time to thank him.

Without hesitation, he activated the gift.

His vision burned with an ominous flame, shadows of humanity's fears and sins flickering within his eyes.

The world slowed around him, each movement stretching out like syrup in water.

His body was slowed as well, but his thoughts… his thoughts were as fast as lightning!

Good enough.

He continued reading the gifts.

[Ocaro has donated a D-tier gift.]

[You have received] Hands of Ocaro: Once activated, a glimpse of a hand will reveal itself temporarily. All those who glance at it will be stunned due to its dimensionality. (one-time use)

[Nemori has donated a C-tier gift.]

[You have received] A Deep Slumbering Tone: Release a slumbering tone in a given area. All those who hear it will lose "purpose" and "motivation," as if everything is but a dream needing to wake up. As the tone continues, listeners will gradually develop suicidal tendencies. (one-time use)

[Nemori contemplates sending a better gift to ensure survival…]

[Nemori is asking why the gift is taking so long to send!]

[CatoSergius has sent a B-tier gift.]

[You have received] A Supporter's Joy: Once activated, user and those deemed as "allies" will effectively become immortal and immune to all forms of attacks, including those with high existence powers. (20 minutes) (one-time use)

[CatoSergius] : Take this and survive!

As the cursed time wore off, the golden flame in Adam's eyes dimmed.

He didn't manage to read the rest of the gifts before the world resumed its crushing pace.

Immediately, he activated [Surreal Creation].

Massive, grotesque tentacles rose from the shattered earth...

Twisting upwards with teeth-lined maws, aiming for Celestia and Selena!

But Selena merely raised her hand, her voice cold and absolute.

"As I decree, illusions are forbidden here."

The tentacles flickered and vanished before they could even form completely.

Raiden, standing beside Miya and Adam, grit his teeth and pressed his bleeding palm to his chest.

His mana released as he whispered,

"The essence of decrees… has been locked here…"

A faint glow flickered from his body, rippling outward.

The tentacles flickered back into existence, half-formed and semi-transparent.

Raiden frowned deeply, his forehead dripping with sweat.

"I can't… fully dispel her decree…"

Adam's eyes met his older brother's.

He gave him a small nod, acknowledging his effort.

He was about to suggest they stay together when suddenly, space warped around him.

His vision blurred as the distance between him and his siblings stretched infinitely.

Celestia's lips curled into a smile as she used her [Authority of Omnipresence] to separate them.

Selena's cold eyes flicked to Miya and Raiden.

She raised a finger, pointing towards them.

"Kill them."

At her command, the white bone dragon roared and lunged towards his siblings.

Adam's heart clenched as his thoughts raced for a solution.

Then, before the dragon reached them—

A massive palm, veined with unnatural black light, appeared from the sky, pressing down with suffocating force.

[Hands of Ocaro].

Celestia and Selena froze as the hand flickered across their vision.

Their minds screamed in pain, their bodies falling to their knees as blood leaked from their noses and ears.

Even the dragon recoiled, letting out a distorted screech as its skeletal claws dug into the stone floor.

Miya's eyes flashed with resolve.

She gripped her sword, channeling all the mana in her soul, her hair whipping around her as a violent wind erupted.

She slammed her blade into the ground.

Boom!

A violent explosion swallowed the entire battlefield, flames surging in a roaring inferno.

The shockwave rippled outward, tearing apart debris, stone, and bone.

Adam braced himself—

But he felt no pain.

He opened his eyes to see the raging flames twist around him harmlessly, leaving his body untouched.

He realized immediately.

This was Miya's wide-scale destructive art.

A move designed to destroy everything while sparing anything her soul deemed as "ally."

For a brief moment, relief filled Adam's chest.

But just as his body loosened—

He felt something pressing against his thigh.

His eyes darted down to his pocket.

It was a small crescent-shaped item, glowing faintly with changing lines of blue and violet.

His heart sank.

This… this was the item Celestia had shown him back when they were planning Elaric's death.

When did this slip into my pocket…?