Chapter 630 - 630: The Void of Sloth

Pain amplified to such an extreme degree would have been unbearable even for someone with Erza's monstrous endurance, let alone Dimaria.

Ever since inheriting the God of Time's power, Dimaria had grown accustomed to fighting without worrying about defense. Her ability to stop time made it extraordinarily difficult for opponents to injure her, so she had never needed to develop the same tolerance for punishment as mages who regularly endured devastating attacks.

And now she was paying for it.

Agony surged through every part of her body, drawing increasingly frantic screams from her throat. As Mirajane's electrical currents grew stronger, the emotions raging inside Dimaria became even more unstable.

Then, without warning, she threw herself against the nearest wall.

BOOOOM!

The thick stone barrier collapsed beneath the impact.

But Dimaria didn't stop.

She repeatedly slammed herself against the surrounding walls and floor, striking the stone with such violence that the entire corridor trembled.

To an outside observer, it looked as though she had suffered a complete mental breakdown and was deliberately torturing herself with even greater pain.

Yet the more violently she moved, the more determined her expression became.

She had bitten through her own lip, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, but beneath that frightening appearance, a desperate plan was beginning to take shape.

Mirajane immediately became wary.

She watched Dimaria's increasingly erratic movements and intensified the electrical current flowing through her Enhancement Curse.

Whatever Dimaria intended to accomplish by hurting herself, the human body ultimately had its limits.

At least, that was what Mirajane believed.

Dimaria, however, hadn't completely lost her mind.

In the depths of her suffering, she had remembered the Divine Rings on her fingers.

The Lust Ring possessed remarkable regenerative abilities.

As long as she continued triggering that power through her injuries, she could recover from the damage inflicted by her own reckless actions.

More importantly, she hoped that the ring's influence might somehow counteract the unbearable pain caused by Mirajane's curse.

It was hardly a pleasant solution, but anything was preferable to being slowly tortured to death by an endless succession of agonizing sensations.

Dimaria straightened.

Then she charged toward Mirajane with renewed fury.

Mirajane frowned and raised her claws, meeting the attack without holding anything back.

The two women collided.

At first, Dimaria fought with almost no recognizable technique.

Her enormous blade repeatedly missed its target, and she couldn't maintain enough concentration to organize a proper magical assault.

Mirajane exploited every opening.

Her demonic claws slashed across Dimaria's body, repeatedly forcing her into situations where a single mistake could have proved fatal.

More and more bloody wounds appeared across Dimaria's skin.

But the longer the fight continued, the stranger her behavior became.

Little by little, Dimaria began recovering her combat rhythm.

Her movements grew sharper.

Her attacks became more aggressive.

Then her enormous blade collided with Mirajane's claws in a tremendous explosion of Magic Power.

BOOOOM!

The resulting shock wave swept through the corridor, sending the already injured Gajeel and Juvia flying from their positions nearby.

And in the middle of the violent exchange, Dimaria burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Despite the agonizing pain tormenting her entire body, she looked positively exhilarated.

"Yes! That's it!"

Her smile widened into something almost feral.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!"

Her movements became even wilder than before.

Rather than weakening her, the pain now seemed to be driving her into a state of frenzied excitement, stimulating her fighting spirit with every passing moment.

Mirajane's claws no longer drew screams from her opponent.

Whenever Dimaria was injured, she became even more enthusiastic, her expression taking on a distinctly unhealthy fascination.

The side effects of the Lust Ring had combined with Mirajane's maximized pain amplification in the worst possible way.

Dimaria had already possessed a sadistic streak, taking pleasure in tormenting her enemies during battle.

Now, under the overlapping influences of the ring and the Enhancement Curse, the War Princess had undergone a rather disturbing reversal.

She had become a masochist who positively reveled in being hurt.

Another swing of Dimaria's enormous blade forced Mirajane backward several steps.

Mirajane stared at her opponent, who had actually closed her eyes as though savoring the pain.

"...What a strange woman."

She genuinely couldn't understand it.

Instead of being broken by suffering, Dimaria had somehow transformed that suffering into a source of enjoyment.

"You little girl…"

Dimaria slowly opened her eyes.

A deranged smile spread across her face.

"You don't understand anything…"

She raised her sword.

An intricate mark formed from Time Magic appeared above her hand before settling along the blade.

Then the enormous weapon swept forward with surprising speed, moving almost like a leaf carried by the wind.

Mirajane's expression immediately tightened.

She recognized that technique.

Time Scar.

It allowed Dimaria to reach into an opponent's past and reproduce injuries they had previously suffered, bringing both the damage and pain into the present.

Mirajane had already suffered from the technique once.

She wasn't going to make the mistake of blocking it directly again.

Instead of meeting the sword with her claws, she immediately dropped into a roll and slipped beneath the descending slash.

The blade passed over her.

As Dimaria completed the swing, Mirajane took advantage of the brief opening and extended one hand.

"Five Senses Deprivation!"

The effect was instantaneous.

Dimaria's vision went black.

The sounds of the battle vanished from her ears.

Her entire awareness seemed to plunge into an endless darkness.

She instinctively tightened her grip on her sword, but she could no longer feel the weapon in her hand.

Sight.

Hearing.

Smell.

Taste.

Touch.

All five senses had been stripped away.

Yet Dimaria's mind remained feverishly excited.

Trapped in that absolute darkness, she didn't waste time panicking.

Instead, she immediately resorted to the simplest solution she could think of.

Relying entirely on muscle memory, she raised one hand and brushed her fingers across another Divine Ring.

The Lust Ring could heal physical injuries, but it couldn't directly negate the curse Mirajane had placed upon her.

So this time, Dimaria activated a different artifact.

Mirajane had no intention of wasting the opportunity.

With Dimaria deprived of both sight and hearing, she lunged forward and drove her sharpened claws straight toward the woman's chest.

But instead of piercing flesh—

her claws passed directly through.

There was no resistance.

It was like striking a mirage.

"What?"

Mirajane's eyes widened.

She turned sharply toward Dimaria, only to see a contemptuous smile spreading across the woman's face.

"Surprised?"

Dimaria's voice was filled with satisfaction.

"I can't see you right now, but I bet you're wondering why you can't hit me."

Mirajane's expression darkened.

She moved in again, launching a rapid series of claw strikes toward Dimaria's vital points.

Her hands pierced through the woman's body time after time.

But none of the attacks left so much as a scratch.

It was as though Dimaria had ceased to exist within the same physical space.

And in a certain sense, that was exactly what had happened.

The ring she had activated was the Bear Ring of Sloth.

In the traditional religious definition of the seven deadly sins, Sloth encompassed the avoidance of responsibility, unwillingness to confront reality, the waste of time, and the refusal to act.

When Yuluye created the artifact, he had given that concept a rather extraordinary interpretation.

The Sloth Ring allowed its wearer to become someone who existed outside reality.

Once activated, the user could no longer be physically interfered with by anyone in the ordinary world.

It was almost as though they occupied a separate, transparent dimension that existed independently of reality while remaining visible within it.

Inside that isolated space, time stood still for the wearer.

Their interaction with the outside world was reduced to almost nothing.

They became something resembling a ghost observing existence from a detached, omniscient perspective.

Mirajane's attacks couldn't reach Dimaria because, for all practical purposes, Dimaria was no longer occupying the same reality.

Unfortunately, such an absurd ability came with equally mysterious consequences.

The Sloth Ring consumed two things belonging to its wearer.

Existence Value and Intervention Value.

Those were the only descriptions provided by the artifact.

Even after wearing the ring for some time, Dimaria still hadn't figured out what those abstract terms actually meant.

And considering the nature of the other Divine Rings, the consequences of exhausting either value were unlikely to be pleasant.

But she had more immediate concerns.

Dimaria steadied her breathing and began gathering her Magic Power.

As long as the Sloth Ring protected her from external interference, she had a chance to prepare her strongest attack without Mirajane stopping her.

Her Magic Power and physical stamina had already been badly depleted by the prolonged battle and Mirajane's relentless torture.

She didn't know precisely what price the Sloth Ring would eventually demand, but she was certain it wouldn't be anything good.

She couldn't afford to prolong the battle any further.

It was time to gamble everything on one final attack.

Dimaria slowly raised her head.

Then she roared.

"God Soul Take Over!"

Golden light erupted from her body.

An indistinct, sacred figure appeared behind her, its presence radiating an authority that seemed to transcend ordinary magic.

The divine silhouette gradually merged with Dimaria.

"God of Time—Chronos!"

Black-and-gold markings spread across her body, intertwining in intricate patterns.

Her feet slowly lifted from the ground.

Her disheveled blonde hair began shining with brilliant golden light, floating wildly around her head.

And her face became increasingly difficult to distinguish.

Her features blurred beneath an overwhelming divine radiance, leaving behind a cold, emotionless presence that seemed utterly indifferent to the lives of mortals.

With the power of Chronos flowing through her, Dimaria's vision gradually returned.

The darkness surrounding her senses receded, and she could once again see the dungeon corridor.

More importantly, she could see Mirajane standing before her, now watching with unmistakable caution.

Dimaria hovered above the ground, her voice transformed into something majestic and ethereal.

"With these Divine Rings, my offense and defense have already approached the realm of the gods."

Her golden aura intensified.

"Mirajane!"

She raised her head, looking down upon her opponent with an expression of absolute divine superiority.

"REPENT FOR YOUR BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE GODS!"