Chapter 142: Jump off a cliff

“Unbelievable…” Josuna murmured.

In her memory, the [Azure Wrath Flame] had never shown such power. Yet in Elisa’s hands, it moved as naturally as water flowing—its abilities far beyond anything Josuna had ever seen.

Was this… the true power only its rightful owner could bring out?

Anasha finally understood.

Why Fakena had never once used that so-called “Wrath” until his death. Why even the divine-origin weapon once in his possession had disappeared.

From the very beginning—

She had been wrong about one thing.

The one blessed by the God of Wrath… was never Fakena.

It was his daughter—Elisa.

Realizing this, Anasha steadied herself, raising her weapon and looking at Elisa.

“If you want to kill me, then come and take my life with your own strength. I’ll fight you to the end. Even if you’re a child, I won’t hold back.”

“Then die!”

Elisa didn’t hesitate. Several more blade winds burst forth. At this distance, Anasha could only dodge in haste.

Peleti tried to step in, wanting to calm Elisa down—but in this state, how could Elisa possibly listen?

She forced the fight to continue.

On the surface, it looked like Elisa had the upper hand.

But in reality—

Anasha hadn’t been injured at all.

Every single attack had been avoided.

She was waiting.

Waiting for a single opening—

And then she would deliver a killing blow.

The gap in combat experience between them was simply too great. Pure anger alone couldn’t make up for it.

Bruce grew anxious, about to rush in and support Elisa—but Peleti stepped in front of him and stopped him.

“What are you doing? Can’t you see she’s no match for that woman?!”

“Don’t act on impulse. Xiao Sha wouldn’t want anyone interfering. Even if she wins that way, she won’t be happy. You go deal with the woman who killed you last time… I’ll handle the rest.”

Bruce stared at Peleti’s serious expression. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

“…Alright!”

Once Peleti cast a layer of protective blessing over him, Bruce charged straight toward Mephisto.

Everyone present knew how important Mephisto was to this mission.

Capturing the Witch of Light—and controlling her during transport—both required her.

Without Mephisto, they couldn’t take Peleti out of the desert at all.

Four members of the tuning squad joined forces to block Bruce’s attack, striking him together and sending him flying several meters away.

“Tch—is that all you’ve got?!”

Bruce charged again recklessly. Just before colliding with a blade, his massive frame suddenly shifted—dodging with unbelievable speed.

“Not good—!”

The squad member only had time to cry out before Bruce’s sword cut him clean in half like slicing through leaves.

After that, he carved through the remaining attendants like chopping vegetables.

Peleti’s actions also startled the others who tried to stop Bruce—

They were instantly swallowed by [Lumen].

Even the remaining tuning squad members—and Josuna—stood warily before Peleti, none daring to make the first move.

Though they had the advantage in numbers—

The problem was, all three of Peleti’s group were incredibly powerful.

Among them, only Anasha could match them head-on.

And she was currently tied up by Elisa.

Peleti had no intention of attacking.

Instead, she walked over to one of the fallen attendants and pulled off his mask.

Just as she expected—

His face was pale.

Dead.

Long dead.

From the beginning, when these attendants showed no reaction to attacks, Peleti had suspected this possibility.

Only now did she confirm it.

These masked attendants… could no longer be considered human.

Thinking of this, Peleti turned toward Mephisto with burning anger, completely ignoring the others.

After all—

They were too weak.

Protected at the rear, Mephisto revealed a confident smile.

She wasn’t afraid of death.

At worst, she’d just lose a disposable body.

But failure of the mission—that was something she couldn’t accept.

“So confident? Then I’ll kill you again.”

Bruce raised his sword, preparing to strike her down just like before—

But suddenly—

His body collapsed like a kite with its strings cut, falling to the ground, unable to move.

“Beastmen really are beasts. Stupid to the core. Did you think I wouldn’t prepare something specifically for you after being killed once?”

“Damn it—! Fight me head-on if you’ve got guts! What kind of coward uses tricks?!”

“Using potions is my proper method.”

As she spoke, Mephisto raised her hand. A dark gray light gathered in her palm, dissolving an incoming sphere of light into countless particles.

“Heh… don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt others?”

“Rude? You think you deserve that?”

Behind her, Peleti condensed five massive spheres of [Lumen], each with a radius of four meters.

“…Such immense magic…” one tuning squad member muttered, stunned.

They had never seen such overwhelming magical power.

And yet—Peleti showed no sign of exhaustion.

“So you really want me dead that badly.”

Mephisto said casually, glancing toward Anasha.

That battle was nearing its conclusion.

With Bruce neutralized, the biggest obstacle was gone.

Against Anasha, a lone Peleti wouldn’t be difficult to handle.

The next moment—

All five spheres crashed down onto Mephisto at once.

She tried to resist—

But before the light could dissipate, her entire form was erased.

Nothing remained.

“Are you alright?”

Peleti hurried over to Bruce, who lay motionless.

“I’m fine… just can’t move.”

The protective blessing could block damage—but not the air.

Mephisto must have anticipated that, using a drug beforehand.

“Damn it… that’s low…”

Bruce cursed under his breath—

Then his pupils suddenly shrank.

Before Peleti could even turn her head—

A small figure flew past her—

Falling straight off the cliff.

“Elisa!!!”

Bruce roared, forcing his body up with sheer willpower. A surge of strength erupted from within him as he leapt after her.

Peleti moved to jump as well—

But a wall of flames rose before her.

Her body instinctively recoiled, legs trembling uncontrollably.

“Stop. From that height, they’re as good as dead. There’s no need to throw your life away for corpses.”

Anasha’s emotionless voice sounded beside her, as if certain Peleti wouldn’t jump.

“…What kind of joke is that…?”

“Do you really have to go this far?! She’s just a child!”

“But she is the Wrath God’s chosen. Killing her is my duty.”

“What kind of bullshit duty is that?!”

Peleti took a deep breath—

Closed her eyes—

And forced her way through the wall of flames.

Then—

She leapt off the cliff.

“Peleti!”

The nearby Josuna tried to grab her—but she was too slow.

She could only watch as Peleti disappeared over the edge.

For a moment, she moved to jump after her—

But Anasha grabbed her arm tightly.

“Why are you stopping me, but letting Sister jump?!”

Anasha replied calmly:

“She won’t die.”

“But if you jump—you definitely will.”

“Come. We’ll go down and find her.”