Chapter 388: Demon Queen vs Queen of Angels Part 1

"Nice dress, Evelyn," Qyraen says to me after getting way too close and eyeing the dress I made with my threads. I look at her, still completely naked, but she doesn't show the slightest hint of shame.

"You really are disgusting." Esther Marionete stands behind me, waiting for any command, while I criticize Qyraen.

"It's a shame, but you're no longer useful to me." She points at me and fires the same attack she used against Shizuka — an absurdly massive beam of Hikishin — but Esther Marionete easily blocks the attack with a single hand, shielding me. When the attack stops, Qyraen looks confused.

"Attack." I give the order, and my puppet surges forward, driving a punch into Qyraen's face that sends her flying. I use threads and my nymph powers to link part of my movements with Esther Marionete.

Qyraen charges at me, veering around Esther Marionete, but the puppet intercepts her instantly, grabbing her hair and kicking her in the back. I pull [Infinity +1] from my storage ring.

While Esther Marionete strikes Qyraen, I appear from behind the puppet and thrust my blade at Qyraen, who barely dodges. She kicks my puppet, shoving her back.

Esther Marionete quickly grabs my hand and pulls me in, shielding me from a Hikishin blast. Right after, she takes a spear I hand her and defends me, blocking every attack Qyraen throws out with extreme ease.

Esther Marionete's physical capabilities are lower than they seem, but I've realized her blessing is always active, constantly working to refine her movements and guide them toward the best possible outcome — a use not even Esther herself knows how to tap into yet.

"Gonna keep hiding?" she asks angrily, pulling a sword from her storage ring. The spear and the sword collide as Esther Marionete closes the distance, striking. Behind her, I follow the movements through the threads I'm using.

The clash of the blades is devastatingly strong, cracking the ground around us as Qyraen realizes she's being pushed back.

"If you had a puppet this strong, why did you use that inexperienced little brat?" she asks through gritted teeth as I slide to the side and try to cut Qyraen with my katana. She barely dodges, and Esther Marionete is already stepping in front of me, blocking a thrust.

"..." I offer no answer to this vile woman as Esther Marionete kicks her leg out from under her. She tries to drive the spear in, but Qyraen rolls backward across the ground and grabs my tail.

"Urgh!!" Before she can attack me, Esther Marionete kicks her away. Even though I don't know exactly how many spells Esther Marionete has, I do know every single blow she lands is unbelievably heavy and powerful — because she's a Demon King-level being, without a doubt.

"...ENOUGH!" Qyraen rises from the ground in fury as the Hikishin around her turns silver. She moves so fast I can't even see her, but I'm protected by my puppet, who blocks every single one of the thousands of Hikishin beams with her spear.

I place my entire trust in this puppet as I wait for an opening. I just need to hit Qyraen with this sword to incapacitate her, depending on where she gets struck.

"..." Qyraen is moving too fast around us, but at some point, she collides with my threads and is stopped from passing through. I spent Shizuka's entire fight spreading threads.

'Got her.'

"ATTACK THERE WITH MAGIC!!!" I shout at Esther Marionete, who immediately abandons all defense and aims where Qyraen collided with the threads.

"[Divine Abyssal Cataclysm]." She casts a spell that generates a kind of black sphere just above the area, and from that sphere, a black ray with a golden glow cascades down in a violent torrent, striking Qyraen.

The tension on my threads is so intense that every single one I placed across the battlefield trembles, showing just how absurdly powerful this spell is. I see Qyraen emerge from inside the attack and advance fast toward us, despite several wounds across her body.

'W-What a monster... so damn resilient.'

Esther Marionete hurls her spear at her, and Qyraen dodges, her charge interrupted. But my puppet takes the opening to leap at her, landing a punch that slams her down. She falls on top of Qyraen, throwing punch after punch, while Qyraen can do nothing but try to block.

I run as fast as I can, using the threads to propel myself and try to land a hit. I drop from above, aiming my katana downward as my puppet rolls to the side. Qyraen, unfortunately, manages to dodge sideways and backflip away, recovering — but I see her arms are bleeding heavily, and she can no longer use healing magic.

"Tsk..." I click my tongue, realizing just how absurd Qyraen's Hikishin reserves are. Maybe it's her evolution's doing — she gained far, far more Hikishin, to the point she recovers more than she expends.

She resumes firing countless golden and silver Hikishin beams at me, but thankfully, Esther Marionete hasn't even been wounded yet. Her reaction time is terrifyingly high, as is her speed.

Qyraen closes in fast, launching into a violent exchange of blows with my puppet. I just wait for an opening. I have to use my powers carefully so I don't get in Esther Marionete's way.

"You know, when I win here, I'm going to torture you for everything you put me through," I start talking to break her concentration.

"And once I've tortured you, I'm going to destroy your soul with this sword. It's the end a wretched piece of shit like you deserves." I'm not that good at provoking people, but Qyraen glances at me for a moment.

"So hurt over that little bit we did in the vault? So damn soft. Or maybe you're just mad because I was better than your wife?" When she says that, I lose it and attack on impulse. It makes Esther Marionete falter a step back, and Qyraen exploits it, kicking her far away and grabbing me by the throat.

She flies off quickly, fleeing from Esther Marionete while carrying me. I try to stab her with my sword, but she holds it without touching the blade.

"I'll make a point of killing you in the most brutal way possible, Evelyn. Do you think I'll let this humiliation slide? You're far too arrogant." She starts descending to grind me against the ground, but I immediately summon Esther Marionete, who strikes her and slams her into the floor.

The puppet catches me in her arms and lands softly, setting me down on the ground as she steps protectively in front of me, blocking a Hikishin blast with her hand.

"Evelyn, you coward!! Are you going to spend this whole fight hiding behind a toy? You're supposed to be a queen with such a pathetic approach?" She points both hands and fires an intensely concentrated beam of Hikishin. Esther Marionete keeps blocking with her hands while I use threads to climb above the attack and try to get close to her.

"!!!" She angles her hand upward, dragging the beam with it. Luckily, Esther Marionete moves in front, still maintaining her guard. Even though Esther Marionete is insanely strong, I still don't know how to use her properly, so the fight is, unfortunately, more balanced than I'd like.

"Is that all you know how to do? You're a pathetic whore!!" I shout at her as she begins stepping forward, trying to pressure my puppet even more.

"!!!" Before Esther Marionete can protect me, Qyraen hurls a spear at my chest. I hear a sound like shattering glass as the spear pierces my core.

"U-Urgh." I look at Esther Marionete, who can't stop to help me because she's defending an energy blast that's far too strong.

"How strange. Why don't you die, Evelyn? Is it something to do with your power? Must be nice, not dying easily," she says with sarcasm and a mocking tone as I pull the spear from my chest with a pained groan.

My body begins to rebuild the wounded area while I think about everything Nerina told me. I spit the fragments of my core into my hand and hurl them through the threads, propelling them straight at Qyraen.

"!!!!" The fragments explode violently, interrupting her attack and stopping her from continuing. Esther Marionete seizes the opening, charging forward and kicking her far, far away.

'Esther Marionete uses her legs a lot... a new fighting style?' I grow pensive for just a second before snapping my focus back to the fight.

I command Esther Marionete to prepare an extremely powerful spell while I raise a wall of threads to keep Qyraen from interfering.

"..." Qyraen circles around the thread barrier, reaching me far faster than I expected. Looks like those giant wings aren't just for show.

"You really think you're going to win this?" she asks, grabbing me and slamming me against the ground since she can't get to Esther Marionete.

"Can you really afford to waste this much time?" I question her with a grind of my teeth from the pain of being pressed so hard against the floor. Esther Marionete seems to be reciting a very large spell.

"..." Qyraen looks at her, and I immediately try to stab her with the blade of my katana, but she grabs my hand.

"She can't attack while you're this close to me."

"Wanna bet?"

"..."

"Cat got your tongue?! Your husband's already gone! You're the only one left, and you can bet I don't care if I get hit as long as you're mortally wounded." Even though Eve kind of "died," I can rebuild her body. Thankfully, it isn't a permanent death, since only her body sustained dangerous damage — and Eve did her job. She took out the Angel King, who would've interfered in this fight.

"What did you say? Do you have any idea what you've done, you miserable piece of shit!!!" She grabs my throat and starts suffocating me. I try to kick her, but I don't have the strength.

"Hahaha." I laugh at her, spitting in her face as Esther Marionete finishes what she was doing and moves toward us. She kicks Qyraen off me, grabs hold of me, points at Qyraen, and unleashes the spell she cast.