Chapter 94 – Zaqiel

Lireina glared at the three Halochassis hovering in the sky, her green eyes narrowing against the sunlight reflecting off their armored bodies. The powerful gusts sweeping across the battlefield tugged at her golden blonde hair and fluttered the edges of her adventurer clothes, but she paid them no attention. Her gaze remained fixed on the three mechanical warriors, each radiating enough mana to make the surrounding air tremble. She immediately recognized Apollyon and Azazel, having encountered them before. However, the pink Halochassis standing alongside the other two was a complete stranger to her. Its sleek armor and unusual design suggested that it was a relatively recent creation, perhaps another one of the First Prince’s scientific experiments before his untimely demise. Given the prince’s obsession with developing Halochassis, such a possibility hardly surprised her. Nevertheless, she had no intention of wasting time investigating another one of his creations. Her objective remained unchanged, and nothing else mattered to her at that moment.

To confront Azazel.

Before Lireina could launch herself toward the three Halochassis, several dozen Archangels suddenly flew into her path, forming a wide formation that blocked her access to the skies ahead. Their metallic wings spread in unison, while the weapons mounted on their power armors hummed as they prepared for battle. Lireina counted approximately thirty of them, each wearing the same mass-produced armor and carrying a bow designed to fire magically enhanced projectiles. Their featureless helmets turned toward her, and red lights flickered across their visors as their targeting systems locked onto her position.

“Untouchable Windwalker detected. Proceeding to eliminate the Celestial Warden!”

“Fire!”

The moment the command rang out, the Archangels raised their bows and released a tremendous volley of arrows. Thousands of projectiles streaked across the sky, their sharp whistles blending into a deafening roar as they descended upon Lireina from multiple directions. The sheer number of arrows made the attack resemble a heavy downpour, with countless dark streaks cutting through the sunlight and threatening to swallow her entire figure. Yet, instead of panicking, Lireina calmly watched the incoming barrage. Her Autonomous Evasion activated, allowing her body to respond to the danger before the arrows could reach her. She twisted her shoulders, tilted her head, and shifted her hips with astonishing precision, letting the projectiles pass within inches of her skin. From a distance, her movements resembled an elegant dance performed in the middle of a storm, each graceful step carrying her through gaps that should not have existed.

“Activating Second Form,” Lireina muttered.

A faint glow enveloped her body as her usual adventurer clothes transformed, the fabric dissolving into streams of magical light before reassembling into a frilly dress with a short skirt. Her new outfit fluttered around her thighs as the wind swept past, while her bladed boots gleamed beneath the sunlight. The transformation barely lasted a moment, yet the change in her presence was unmistakable. Mana gathered around her legs, creating ripples in the air that disturbed the falling arrows around her. Then, Lireina bent her knees and sprang upward, activating her Air Trampoline magic. The space beneath her feet compressed like an invisible spring before releasing its stored force, propelling her toward the Archangels with explosive speed. The wind roared against her ears as she crossed the distance between them, her golden hair streaming behind her like a banner.

Lireina enchanted her boots with extended blades of wind, transforming each kick into a deadly cutting attack. As she entered the Archangels’ formation, she twisted her body in midair and waltzed between their armored figures, her movements so fluid that it almost seemed as though she were performing for an invisible audience. However, there was nothing graceful about the destruction she left behind. Every time her boots struck an enemy, compressed wind blades sliced through their armor with a sharp, metallic shriek. Steel plating split apart, mechanical joints burst under the force of her attacks, and damaged Halochassis components scattered through the air before falling toward the streets below. Lireina continued spinning and kicking without allowing her momentum to fade, cutting through one opponent before immediately redirecting herself toward the next. To her, the heavily armored Archangels were little more than obstacles standing between her and Azazel.

“Those kicks of hers have piercing damage! Make sure to evade them!” one of the Archangels roared through his communication system.

His warning came too late for many of his comrades. Before the remaining Archangels could adjust their formation, a dozen of them had already fallen victim to Lireina’s assault. Their damaged power armors tumbled helplessly through the sky, trailing sparks, smoke, and fragments of shattered plating. Some struggled to stabilize their flight systems, while others dropped like broken puppets after their wings ceased functioning. Lireina had cut through their supposedly formidable defenses as effortlessly as a knife carving through a cake, leaving clean, decisive wounds wherever her bladed boots struck. The surviving Archangels watched their fallen comrades descend, their confidence rapidly crumbling as they realized that their numerical advantage meant very little against the Untouchable Windwalker.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” one of them cursed, desperately backing away from Lireina. His bow remained raised, but his hands trembled as he tried to keep her within his sights. “How are we even going to fight that?”

“Let me!” a feminine cybernetic voice echoed through their communication channels.

The Archangels immediately turned toward the source of the voice. Behind them hovered the pink Halochassis, its smooth armor reflecting the sunlight in pale rose-colored highlights. Unlike the mass-produced Archangels, this machine possessed a more distinctive silhouette, with carefully designed plating that concealed its internal mechanisms. Suddenly, its back opened with a series of mechanical clicks, and streams of concentrated mana erupted from its armor. The energy gathered behind its shoulders before bursting into enormous wings of flame. Their brilliant pinkish glow illuminated the surrounding clouds, while the heat rolling off them distorted the air around her. The Archangels instinctively moved aside, recognizing that the newcomer intended to take over the battle.

“I’ll handle Lireina Ashford. You lot, focus on storming the cathedral,” Zaqiel ordered.

“Yes, Ma’am!” the Archangels responded in unison.

Without wasting another second, the remaining soldiers saluted before turning away from the battlefield. Their mechanical wings beat against the air as they dived toward the cathedral, their figures rapidly shrinking as they descended toward the enormous structure below. Lireina briefly glanced in their direction, but before she could pursue them, Zaqiel moved into her path. The pink Halochassis spread her flaming wings wide, positioning herself between Lireina and the cathedral-bound Archangels. The flames crackled behind her, releasing occasional sparks that drifted through the air before fading into nothingness. Her stance made her intentions unmistakable. She had no intention of allowing Lireina to interfere with the assault.

“Zaqiel!” Azazel called from a distance. His voice carried across the battlefield as he hovered beside Apollyon, both machines preparing to descend toward the cathedral. “Are you sure you can handle Lireina?”

Zaqiel turned her helmet toward him, the pink armor around her neck shifting with a quiet mechanical whir. For a brief moment, she remained motionless, her flaming wings casting a warm glow across the polished surface of her armor. Then, she answered with unwavering confidence, her feminine cybernetic voice cutting through the howling wind.

“Don’t worry, Azazel. I’ll be sure to protect you, even if I’m going to face the Untouchable Windwalker herself.”

Azazel watched her for another moment before finally nodding. Although his concern had not entirely disappeared, he seemed willing to trust her judgment. He and Apollyon then folded their wings slightly and dived toward the cathedral, accelerating as they passed through the clouds. Their armored bodies left faint trails in the air before disappearing farther below, joining the growing chaos surrounding the enormous structure. Lireina followed their descent with her eyes, her expression hardening as she realized that another obstacle now stood between her and Azazel. She had already wasted enough time dealing with the Archangels, and the thought of allowing her target to escape irritated her more than she cared to admit.

Now, only Zaqiel and Lireina remained in that stretch of sky, with the open air around them becoming their personal battlefield. The distant sounds of explosions and weapons fire rose from the cathedral below, carried upward by the wind, while the scattered remains of destroyed Archangels continued falling through the clouds. Zaqiel hovered several meters away, her flaming wings spreading like a pair of burning fans. Across from her, Lireina steadied herself in midair, the hem of her frilly dress fluttering around her legs as she prepared for another fight. Neither woman moved immediately. They simply stared at each other, measuring the opponent standing in their way.

This is for you, Shin. I will get rid of Lireina for you, Risha muttered from within Zaqiel’s cockpit.

Behind the pink Halochassis’s impassive helmet, Risha clenched her fists, her knuckles pressing against the controls as the machinery responded to her movements. The heat from Zaqiel’s flaming wings seeped through the cockpit’s protective systems, while the low hum of the Halochassis’s mana reactor vibrated beneath her seat. She knew how dangerous Lireina Ashford was. The woman standing before her was no ordinary opponent, and challenging the Untouchable Windwalker meant risking everything in a battle she could not afford to lose. Yet, the thought of Shin pushed her doubts aside. Whatever happened next, Risha was determined to protect him, even if it meant standing against one of the most powerful Celestial Wardens in the world.

“You must be one of the old Halochassis users, since you seem well acquainted with Azazel and Adzeel Schwarzer,” Lireina said, her green eyes studying the pink armored warrior hovering before her. The flames spreading from Zaqiel’s wings illuminated the surrounding clouds, casting shifting orange and pink reflections across Lireina’s face. She could not be certain of the identity hidden beneath that unfamiliar armor, but the way Zaqiel had spoken to Azazel suggested that the two had a history together. Unfortunately, Lireina had neither the time nor the patience to uncover the details. Every second she spent fighting this woman was another second Azazel could use to escape. “I can’t go easy on you. I have to confront Azazel.”

Wind began swirling around Lireina, gathering into increasingly powerful currents that tugged at her clothes and sent her golden hair fluttering wildly behind her. The air pressure around her body changed, causing the loose clouds nearby to twist into spirals. She drew in a deep breath, feeling the natural mana carried by the wind flow into her body, and then raised her voice above the howling gale.

“Activating Third Form!”

A brilliant flash of light enveloped her figure as her frilly dress dissolved into countless glowing particles. The magical energy swirled around her before reforming into a pure white nightgown adorned with delicate flower ornaments. Her golden hair flowed freely behind her, dancing in the wind as the transformation settled into place. At the same time, several flintlock rifles materialized around her, each one emerging from a shimmering distortion in the air. The weapons floated effortlessly beside her, their barrels turning toward Zaqiel as though guided by an invisible hand. Faint traces of wind mana gathered around their muzzles, and their mechanisms clicked into place, ready to unleash a relentless barrage of bullets.

“Come, Untouchable Windwalker!” Zaqiel shouted.

The pink Halochassis thrust her arms outward, and two short swords materialized in her hands. Flames immediately engulfed their blades, bathing her armored gauntlets in a fierce orange glow. The heat radiating from the weapons distorted the air around their edges, while sparks scattered whenever she moved them. Zaqiel adjusted her stance, bending her knees slightly as her flaming wings spread behind her. The twin swords hummed with concentrated mana, and she leaned forward, prepared to meet Lireina’s attack head-on.

The flintlock rifles fired almost simultaneously.

A deafening series of gunshots erupted across the sky, their sharp reports overlapping until they sounded like a continuous thunderclap. Thousands of bullets tore through the air toward Zaqiel, leaving faint trails of disturbed mana in their wake. The projectiles approached from different angles, forcing her to contend with an attack that threatened to overwhelm her defenses. Yet, Zaqiel refused to retreat. Her flaming wings burst into motion as she weaved through the incoming bullets, her body twisting between the projectiles with astonishing precision. Whenever a bullet threatened to strike her, she brought one of her short swords around in a swift, controlled movement, deflecting the projectile with a metallic ping. The flames surrounding her blades flared whenever they made contact, scattering tiny sparks across the battlefield. She could not evade every bullet, but the ones she failed to avoid were knocked aside by her swords before they could penetrate her armor.

“Huh!?” Lireina gasped, her eyes widening beneath the glare of the sunlight.

She had expected Zaqiel to struggle against the sheer volume of projectiles, yet the pink Halochassis had managed to defend herself with remarkable efficiency. The opponent before her was clearly more than another mass-produced machine. Her movements possessed an unusual sharpness, and the way she adjusted her trajectory in midair suggested that she could analyze incoming attacks almost as quickly as Lireina could launch them. Before Lireina could formulate another strategy, Zaqiel suddenly accelerated, her flaming wings erupting behind her as she closed the distance between them.

With a fierce cry, Zaqiel crossed her short swords and unleashed a powerful cross slash aimed directly at Lireina’s torso. The twin blades carved two burning arcs through the air, their combined momentum producing a sharp explosion of heat and mana. However, Lireina’s Autonomous Evasion activated before the attack could connect. Her body tilted backward, and she slipped between the intersecting blades with barely an inch to spare. The burning swords passed in front of her chest, leaving behind trails of heat that brushed against her white dress. Zaqiel’s attack missed completely, but she immediately twisted her body to prepare another strike.

“I need to be faster and stronger!” Zaqiel roared.

The flames engulfing her wings suddenly intensified. Instead of remaining steady streams of fire, they began erupting in rapid succession, each explosion releasing a violent burst of energy that propelled her forward. The repeated detonations produced a deafening series of blasts, sending shockwaves through the surrounding clouds as Zaqiel surged toward Lireina again. Her short swords flashed from multiple directions, each swing aimed at a different part of her opponent’s body. She attacked with little hesitation, alternating between horizontal slashes, downward strikes, and sudden thrusts designed to catch Lireina during her evasive movements.

Lireina could do little except dodge.

Her Autonomous Evasion continued guiding her body away from every incoming strike, allowing her to twist, bend, and drift through the narrowest openings in Zaqiel’s relentless assault. However, each successful evasion left her with less time to respond. Whenever she attempted to launch a counterattack, her instincts forced her to prioritize avoiding the next sword slash instead. Her arms shifted to maintain her balance, her legs adjusted her position, and her body moved before she could deliberately direct it toward an offensive maneuver. Zaqiel, meanwhile, seemed to anticipate every opportunity to strike, keeping up with Lireina’s movements through sheer speed and relentless pressure. The sound of their weapons and the explosions from Zaqiel’s wings filled the air, while the surrounding clouds were torn apart by their rapid exchanges.

“Much faster!” Zaqiel roared. “Quintuple Accel!”

The mana reactor inside her Halochassis surged, releasing a tremendous wave of energy through her armor. Her flaming wings erupted with such force that the surrounding air seemed to explode around her. In the next instant, Zaqiel accelerated to a speed ten times greater than the speed of sound, leaving behind successive afterimages of her pink power armor. The shockwaves from her movement rolled across the sky, while the thunderous booms of her acceleration echoed far beyond their immediate battlefield. To an ordinary observer, she would have appeared to teleport from one location to another, her flaming swords materializing beside Lireina before the eye could properly follow her movements.

Lireina continued dodging, narrowly avoiding each slash as Zaqiel attacked from different directions. A sword swept past her shoulder, another grazed the edge of her dress, and a third came dangerously close to her neck before her body twisted away. Her golden hair whipped around her face as the turbulent air battered her from every direction. Although her Autonomous Evasion kept her from being struck, she could feel the strain of maintaining her defense against such a relentless opponent. She had no opportunity to steady herself, much less gather enough momentum for a proper counterattack.

I’m a sitting duck here! If this continues, I won’t be able to catch up to Azazel! Lireina thought.

Her jaw tightened as she considered her options. Zaqiel’s acceleration had turned the battle into a contest of endurance, and every moment spent dodging brought Azazel farther away from her reach. If she continued fighting defensively, she might survive the encounter, but survival alone would accomplish nothing. She needed to end the battle quickly, preferably with a single decisive attack. To do that, she would have to unleash a technique powerful enough to overcome Zaqiel’s extraordinary speed and defenses.

While evading another pair of sword slashes, Lireina began drawing upon the wind energy surrounding her. She did not need to stop moving or perform an elaborate incantation. Instead, she breathed naturally, allowing each inhalation to draw more of the ambient mana into her body. The air flowing around her carried the energy she needed, and her control over wind magic allowed her to gather it without interrupting her evasive movements. She kept her breathing steady despite the explosions erupting around her, all the while allowing the accumulated energy to settle within her body. Every dodge bought her another fraction of a second to prepare, and she used each one to bring herself closer to the power she needed.

Then, as Zaqiel lunged toward her once more, Lireina made her decision.

“Activating Final Form!”

A blinding radiance burst from Lireina’s body, momentarily illuminating the surrounding clouds. Her white nightgown dissolved into streams of magical light, which gathered around her figure before transforming into an elaborate white goddess’s dress. Delicate ornaments shimmered across the fabric, and the garment flowed around her body as though it were floating in water rather than exposed to the violent winds. A pure white blindfold materialized over her eyes, concealing her green irises completely. At the same time, her golden hair began to lengthen, strands cascading past her waist before continuing downward until they reached her feet. The magical energy surrounding her intensified, and two pieces of mithril equipment manifested over her limbs: sturdy gauntlets that enclosed her hands and forearms, and reinforced boots that covered her feet. Their polished surfaces reflected the light surrounding her, while faint currents of wind spiraled around their edges.

Zaqiel immediately recognized that something had changed, but she did not hesitate. With her flaming wings still erupting behind her, she calculated Lireina’s movements and adjusted her approach accordingly. She had already matched the Celestial Warden’s speed, and her repeated attacks had forced Lireina into a defensive position. As far as she could tell, another direct assault should have produced the same result.

Lireina suddenly drew back one leg and unleashed a powerful kick.

Zaqiel analyzed the movement and calculated the trajectory of the incoming attack. Her combat systems processed Lireina’s position, the angle of her leg, and the distance separating them, determining that she could avoid the strike by shifting her body to the side. She immediately followed that calculation, activating her wings to propel herself away from the incoming blow. From her perspective, the maneuver should have been enough to escape the attack completely.

Yet, despite her calculations and rapid evasive movement, the kick struck her.

A tremendous shockwave exploded through the air, accompanied by a deafening impact that drowned out the sound of her flaming wings. The force traveled through Zaqiel’s armor, sending violent vibrations throughout her mechanical frame. Before she could recover, the mithril-reinforced kick tore through her defenses, chipping away nearly half of her power armor. Large fragments of pink plating broke apart and scattered through the sky, exposing damaged internal mechanisms beneath the shattered exterior. Sparks burst from the exposed components, and flames flickered wildly around her wings as her flight systems struggled to compensate for the sudden damage.

“Gah!” Risha cried from inside the cockpit, her body jolting violently against the restraints. Warning signals flashed across her displays, accompanied by a chorus of alarms that nearly drowned out her own voice. She struggled to regain control as the damaged Halochassis lurched through the air. “How come...?”

Zaqiel had calculated the attack correctly. She had reacted quickly enough to avoid an ordinary kick, and her movement should have carried her beyond Lireina’s reach. Yet the attack had connected regardless, as though the distance between them and her attempted evasion had meant nothing.

“My Second Goddess Blessing, Autonomous Aim, allows me to land any attack I unleash,” Lireina explained, her voice calm despite the turbulent battlefield around them. Her blindfold concealed her eyes, but her head remained directed toward the damaged Halochassis. “Even if it is a melee attack.”

Risha barely had time to process the explanation before Zaqiel began losing altitude. The damaged wings sputtered, their flames flickering unevenly as the Halochassis struggled to maintain flight. She tried to activate her thrusters, but the damaged armor responded sluggishly, and the remaining energy failed to compensate for the force of Lireina’s attack. A moment later, Zaqiel plummeted toward the ground like a meteor, trailing sparks, smoke, and fragments of pink armor behind her. The sound of her descent grew louder as she tore through the clouds, followed by a tremendous crash that sent dust and debris billowing into the surrounding area.

Lireina immediately followed her opponent downward, her elongated golden hair streaming behind her as she descended toward the crash site. However, she soon deactivated her Final Form. Maintaining that transformation consumed considerable stamina, and she had no intention of exhausting herself when Azazel was still somewhere ahead of her. The divine radiance surrounding her faded, her blindfold vanished, and her mithril gauntlets and boots dissolved into magical particles. Her golden hair returned to its usual length, and her goddess’s dress transformed back into her earlier outfit. Although the battle had demanded considerable concentration, she still had enough strength to continue pursuing her original target.

As Lireina approached the crash site, the stench of scorched metal and burning machinery reached her nose. Dust drifted through the air, mixing with the acrid smell of smoke rising from the crater. Fragments of pink armor lay scattered across the broken ground, some still glowing from the heat of the impact. The damaged Halochassis had carved a deep depression into the earth, leaving cracks radiating outward from the point of impact. Lireina slowed her descent before touching down near the wreckage, her boots stirring loose dust across the ground.

She cautiously approached the fallen warrior, expecting to find the damaged Halochassis still occupying the center of the crater. Instead, she discovered a teenage girl with short pink hair lying among the scattered armor fragments. The girl's clothes were torn and dirtied from the impact, and numerous cuts covered her exposed skin. Blood flowed from several wounds, staining her clothes and trickling down her arms and legs. Her body trembled faintly as she struggled to remain conscious, while her breathing came in shallow, uneven gasps. The sight of an ordinary human lying where the powerful Halochassis had crashed caught Lireina off guard.

Then, as she examined the girl's face, recognition struck her.

Lireina's eyes widened, and she instinctively stepped closer. Beneath the dirt, blood, and disheveled pink hair was a face she remembered encountering before. She had not expected to see this girl again, much less discover her piloting a Halochassis and fighting alongside Azazel.

“Rika...” Lireina whispered.