Chapter 476: The Kitten’s Jaws

Alice flicked her wrist, and a volley of void spheres shot toward Wincent, each one trailing shadow like a comet’s tail. Wincent raised the God Hand, the crimson veins pulsing as the space around him warped. The spheres slowed, trembled, then dissolved into wisps of light that coiled toward the mechanical arm and vanished.

"I told you," he said. "Your attacks won’t touch me."

"I know," Alice said.

Azrynn was already behind him.

She had circled wide while the void spheres drew his attention, her footsteps silent on the shattered stone. Her dagger came in low, aimed at the gap between his armor plates.

Wincent twisted, the God Hand snapping up to block. But Azrynn didn’t strike. She feinted, then spun, her other hand pressing flat against his back.

The runes along her palm flared bright purple.

"[Runic Seal]."

A pulse of purple light exploded from her hand, and Wincent’s body locked up.

"It’s useles—" he started.

Azrynn didn’t give him time to finish. She drove her dagger toward his throat.

But Wincent’s eyes sharpened. The white aura around him flared, and the rune seal shattered instantly. He caught her wrist mid-strike, the Hand of God’s grip pinning her to the spot.

"You’ve earned my attention. That’s rarely a mercy."

He squeezed Azrynn’s wrist tightly.

Azrynn bit back a scream as the bones in her wrist creaked. Her dagger slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground.

Then a black kitten’s head slammed into Wincent’s side.

The void construct’s jaws clamped down on his torso, biting through armor and flesh. Wincent grunted, his grip loosening. Azrynn ripped her hand free and leaped back, cradling her wrist.

Alice stood a few paces away, her hand extended, her expression cold.

"Let go of her."

Wincent looked down at the void jaws embedded in his side. Blood seeped between the construct’s teeth. The God Hand pulsed, and the void energy began to dissolve, absorbed into the arm.

"Annoying," he muttered.

He grabbed the construct with both hands and tore it apart. The void energy scattered, then dissolved into wisps that sank into the God Hand.

Azrynn did not give up and attacked again.

She pressed her good hand against the ground, and the runes along her arm flared purple.

"[Runic Mastery: Bladefield]."

The ground erupted.

Spikes of jagged stone shot upward in every direction, a forest of blades that turned the plaza into a death trap. Wincent leaped back, the God Hand carving through spikes as he retreated.

He twisted mid-step, the God Hand snapping up to absorb another wave of spikes. The crimson veins pulsed, drinking in the stone and mana alike, converting them into fuel. Steam hissed from the joints. His aura flared brighter.

The moment Wincent committed to absorbing Azrynn’s Bladefield, Alice struck.

Void spheres erupted from her palm, dozens at once, dense and dark. They curved around him, slipping into the gaps. The blind spots where the God Hand couldn’t reach in time.

Wincent raised the God Hand, the crimson veins flaring as the absorption field expanded. The first few spheres dissolved, their energy sinking into the metal. But then—

The fourth sphere didn’t dissolve.

It passed through the absorption field like it wasn’t there. It struck his shoulder and detonated, sending a shockwave through his body. The fifth hit his ribs. The sixth grazed his hip.

Wincent’s breath caught. His mind raced.

’What...? Why didn’t they absorb? That’s not mana... It’s—’

The seventh sphere hit him square in the chest.

The impact lifted him off his feet and hurled him backward. He crashed into the wall of a collapsed building, the stone shattering under the force. His body slumped, blood dripping from a dozen wounds.

Alice lowered her hand slowly, void energy still coiling around her fingers. Her lips curled into a small, satisfied smile.

"Heh! Feel that?"

She tilted her head, her tail flicking lazily behind her.

"Turns out your arm isn’t as special as you thought."

Wincent pushed himself up from the rubble, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Not bad," he said, wiping the blood from his chin. "That was truly unexpected."

Alice raised her hand, void energy gathering in her palm, denser than before. The air around her warped, shadows curling at her feet.

"Have you finally realized what you’re dealing with?" Her voice was cold, sharp. "I suggest you think twice before making me angry."

She flicked her wrist. The sphere shot forward, trailing a ribbon of shadow, faster than the ones before.

Wincent watched it come. His lips curled into a thin smile.

"Angry, huh..."

He raised the God Hand. The crimson veins flared, and the air around him twisted. The sphere slammed into his palm—

CRACK!

A sound like shattering glass echoed across the plaza. Cracks spread across the void sphere, branching outward like veins of lightning. The energy trembled, then collapsed inward, compressing into a swirling vortex that spiraled around Wincent’s hand.

Then it vanished, pulled into the God Hand.

Azrynn’s eyes widened. She took a step back, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He... he destroyed my runes again...?"

Wincent flexed the God Hand, steam hissing from its joints. The crimson veins pulsed brighter now, laced with faint traces of violet light, the remnants of Alice’s void energy, now fuel for his arm.

"It seems your tricks have limits too," he said quietly. "And I’m starting to learn them."

Alice stared at Wincent’s hand, then turned her head sharply toward Azrynn.

"Hey, what’s going on? Didn’t you say he couldn’t absorb your runes?"

Azrynn pressed her good hand against her wounded side, her breathing uneven. She watched the violet light fading inside the God Hand, and her expression tightened.

"He’s not absorbing the runes," she said. "He’s destroying them."

Alice’s eyes narrowed. "Destroying them?"

Azrynn’s voice was quiet, grim.

"When I sealed him earlier, he shattered the seal before it could take hold. The same thing just happened now. He’s not draining the runes, he’s breaking them apart first, then absorbing the raw energy released when they shatter."

Alice blinked. Then her expression flattened into something between annoyance and disbelief.

"What the hell is that? That’s so unfair."

Wincent took a slow step forward, his presence pressing down on the ruined plaza. The white aura around him flared brighter. His wounds had already closed.

"It’s time to end this."