Chapter 38: The Eye of Darkness

‘Phew… cough, cough!’

The dragon head, which had been spewing flames, reverted to its natural form.

Silvya struggled to regulate her breathing, the parched sensation in her throat provoking two sharp coughs that expelled nothing more than a few minuscule embers.

This starkly revealed that she had entirely expended her reserves of dragonfire.

Despite this devastating assault, the spherical barrier enveloping Noah remained utterly pristine, devoid of even the slightest blemish.

‘Are the flames truly ineffective?’

Silvya inhaled deeply, her repeated failures to gain the upper hand leaving her breath unsteady.

Dragonfire stood as one of her most formidable offensive capabilities; if even this proved futile, she found herself at a loss, unable to conceive of any means to inflict harm upon Noah.

“Oh my? What’s the matter, Lady Silvya~? Is that truly the extent of your power?”

In stark contrast, Noah exuded an effortless grace, her countenance brimming with the vibrant energy of youth.

She playfully flicked her tail, then, gazing at the weary Silvya, she blinked mischievously and spoke.

“To pose a physical threat to my sanctuary, you would require the impact force of at least a hundred-thousand-ton meteorite.”

“Heheheh~, Lady Silvya, do you believe you can achieve such a feat? His Majesty the Demon King is vastly more powerful than I am~.

If you cannot even reach this modest level, perhaps it would be wiser to abandon your challenge against the Demon King altogether~.”

From her throne, Letitia heard these words, and a subtle twitch played at the corner of her lips.

“Hmph… I… I have not yet lost…”

Silvya coughed, expelling two more tiny embers.

In her eyes, now dim and close to exhaustion, a defiant wildness stubbornly clung, as she desperately racked her brain for any method that could turn the tide.

Among the demon race, there were indeed many individuals who possessed exceptionally high, even near-immune, resistance to flames.

However, Silvya’s intuition whispered that Noah’s sanctuary wasn’t merely highly resistant to dragonfire; rather, it constituted an almost perfect, all-encompassing defensive law, impenetrable from every conceivable angle.

Direct physical assaults, bolts of lightning, raging infernos, or even the purest magical energies – all struggled in vain to pose any credible threat to Noah’s sanctuary.

While specialized magic might be a different story, Silvya, as a Dragon Demon, had acquired her abilities by devouring numerous wyrms, and none of these granted her a means to bypass a sanctuary.

In essence, Noah’s sanctuary alone was enough to utterly neutralize Silvya, holding her in an unbreakable bind.

“Sister Joshua, can you manifest a sanctuary of such power?”

Issac, observing the battle from the sidelines, gazed upon the pure, mysterious domain surrounding Noah and whispered her question.

A sanctuary was a skill inherent to every Saintess, yet Issac’s own sanctuary could not achieve such a magnitude.

Having joined their ranks relatively late, she possessed limited understanding of the other Saintesses’ sanctuaries.

“…No, I can confidently assert that Alice and the others would also be incapable of it.”

After a brief period of thoughtful silence, Joshua analyzed the available data and shook her head.

“The fundamental nature of a sanctuary is intrinsically linked to the Saintess’s unique characteristics.

For example, my sanctuary specifically targets mysteries and magic, Alice’s focuses on authority and laws, and Dres’s is tailored for flames, among others.”

“However, a sanctuary of such unparalleled purity as Noah’s, I have never before encountered.”

“It is highly probable that Noah has received the favor of some potent force within this very Demon King’s Castle.”

“What’s wrong? It’s still not too late to concede now~.”

Observing Silvya’s silence, Noah subtly puffed out her chest, as if her ample bosom had effortlessly deflected the recent attack, and spoke in a soft, gentle tone.

She appeared to hold Silvya’s assaults in utter contempt, treating the entire engagement as nothing more than a playful diversion.

‘Do I possess a means to breach that sanctuary?’

Silvya seemed deaf to Noah’s taunts.

She drew a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

It was as though she had arrived at a profound and unshakeable decision.

‘No, I do!’

Silvya lifted her head, and her eyes transformed into an inky black, her entire orbs consumed by that profound darkness.

“Is that… the Eye of Darkness?”

Abraham, standing beside the throne, gasped aloud, having recognized this forbidden, almost heretical, secret art.

“Even among the numerous individuals who undertake the Dark Pilgrimage, only a select few possess the ability to master and effectively wield this secret art.”

“It is likely that some potent obsession is providing her with the necessary sustenance.”

Abraham advanced a step, raising his five fingers, poised to intervene in the trial.

“Ah….. Ah!!!!”

Silvya’s resilient dragon body began to fracture in myriad layers, like ancient masonry cracking under an unbearable, immense force.

Her eyes bulged as if threatening to burst from their sockets, and dense, inky black fissures spread from them, connecting across her entire form.

She found herself incapable of enduring the annihilating power inherent in the Eye of Darkness; theoretically, her physical body would have self-destructed before she could even direct this secret art towards Noah.

Yet, an overwhelming obsession miraculously stabilized her body, allowing her to fix her gaze upon the Noah before her.

Noah’s eyes narrowed sharply, revealing a serious expression for the very first time since the commencement of the battle.

She took a decisive step back, adopting a truly combative stance.

She sensed the profound emptiness and ominous aura emanating from those black, void-like eyes.

Abraham extended his hand; even if it was merely a nominal title, Noah was a young woman highly regarded within the royal court.

He could not permit her to be destroyed by a madwoman’s suicidal attack.

However, Letitia swiftly restrained him, the runes surrounding her dissipating rapidly, and her surging magical energy cooling down.

“Simply observe.”

Amidst Abraham’s anxious and questioning gaze, Letitia’s expression remained languid.

She watched the two combatants, her eyes utterly devoid of any shadow or concern.

‘For the power I have ceaselessly pursued, a power capable of transcending all;

For my warriors who uphold me and place their unwavering faith in me…

I cannot afford to lose this battle!’

Silvya’s eyes were bloodshot and tearing, as a fine, concentrated black ray burst forth from her rapidly disintegrating eyes.

This weighty ray seemed capable of devouring even light itself, condensing infinite destruction and decay, and shot inexorably towards Noah’s body, utterly unavoidable.

Like a hot knife gliding through butter, the black ray passed through the sanctuary’s boundary without the slightest hindrance.

As Noah had stated, her sanctuary’s physical defense was flawless; even from a mystical perspective, a significant accumulation of power would be required to pose any threat.

Yet, this black ray was unequivocally a potent entity akin to a fundamental law, much like an inescapable, destined death.

Regardless of how formidable Noah’s defenses, it was bound to imprint itself upon her physical form.

The ray’s advance was not swift, yet Noah appeared utterly transfixed, rooted to the spot, compelled to witness the approach of her destined annihilation.

…While this might have been the superficial impression, Noah’s movements had, in fact, never ceased.

From the cleavage of her chest, she drew forth a sword—a blade of excessive length, its overly ornate and delicate embellishments leading one to question if it was truly a weapon, or merely an exquisite work of art.

And it was precisely this slender sword, appearing as delicate as a young maiden, that now rose to meet the black ray of death.