Chapter 1275 (2/2)

There was no one between Alana and the Winged Serpent. Alana’s eyes were a burning orange as she adjusted the shaft of her spear so that the tip was pointed to lance through the Winged Serpent’s scaled torso. The Winged Serpent’s tongue flicked outward lightning-fast and tasted the air. It would likely survive the experience of Alana’s brutal attack, but him being wounded would make their escape that much more-

A burning light appeared in the sky above the stadium. From a soft yellow, illumination became a harsh white. The shadows quickly lengthened and darkened. Just as Alana’s foot touched the ground to launch her the last ten or so meters and strike at the Winged Serpent, a giant beam of energy shot downward like a judgment from a furious deity. The Winged Serpent was struck dumb for almost a full second and then hummed in pleasure.

The time from shooting Mjolnir and the beam arriving at this location is likely about two minutes… That foolish President likely fired before the Ghosthound even arrived to finish off Straud… and based on the different brightness, she paid a dear cost to up the power in the hopes that this version of Mjolnir would be able to break the barrier… Heh, humans, always your own worst enemy...

The Winged Serpent lowered its gaze and met the eyes of Alana. That orange fire raged furiously in her eyes with an intensity that made the Winged Serpent slightly nervous she would be swayed by emotion. But she twisted her foot and dispersed her forward momentum. The moment hung their as the Winged Serpent even took the chance to smile slyly at Alana. Her returned gaze was cold, despite the flames.

Her leg flexed and she threw herself up into the air, her image rapidly gathering around her body. The wings growing from her Valkyrie’s helmet stretched wide into the air.

That’s why I always wanted to be a Nemesis, not a Champion, The Winged Serpent thought contentedly as he looked up at Alana preparing to meet the blast of energy that was heading toward the Stadium. Don’t need to worry about protecting civilians.

Five seconds.

Hank Howard spun the cylinder of his revolver and then flicked it into place. When he fired his pistol, a blast of energy ripped upward and smashed into the side of Mjolnir’s descent. To the Winged Serpent’s surprise, the bullet and image had impacted the attack in the right position to shift Mjolnir’s descent very slightly to head directly toward Alana’s position.

That took a lot of control. Hank Howard is also dangerous… the people of this planet are growing quickly...

One of the men who had been fighting the Grey Lich waved his hands and several twisted mirrors spun upward to hem in the radiant energy spreading along the periphery of the attack. The mirrors seemed to strain to contain it, but no blast of force smashed outward as the hammer descended to the area right above the stadium. As long as the main beam could be contained, there likely wouldn’t be any ancillary damage.

Of course, if the beam were to smash into the turf and collapse the many sub-basements beneath the stadium, several of the surrounding blocks were likely to also collapse from the aftershocks. This area would become a swamp of melted concrete and molten steel. Setting aside the people in the stadium as the whole thing came tumbling down, there would likely be casualties in the surrounding area.

Of course, that was assuming that Alana was unable to block this empowered version of Mjolnir.

Her image was pure and strong, but it wasn’t at the tier of the Grim Chimera or Straud. Without their clarity or detail… the power would become relevant. And with the obvious difference in Mjolnir’s light...

For the second time in the last minute, Thea and the Winged Serpent looked at each other. Yet this time there was a hard set to Thea’s jaw that let the Winged Serpent know that she was not willing to indulge its idea this time. The Winged Serpent could see why she was unwilling: Although it was a good chance to weaken the forces of Earth, if they went too far, so many people would die from Mjolnir fallout.

The Winged Serpent’s gaze flickered in something between exasperation and amusement. Yet you already let so many die today, Thea. Ten thousand lives ended to create a single drop of lifeblood… and you let it happen. How is this different than that?

She obviously couldn’t hear the Winged Serpent’s thoughts, but it was clear from her glare that she understood the implications of its heavy glance. And then she sighed and whistled again.

Instantly, all the Nemesai straightened and came together in a tight formation. It seemed that everyone understood what was about to happen, although this hadn’t been in any of the contingency plans they had prepared. But no one survived to their level of experience fighting without being able to recognize a chance when it was presented.

Zero.

The ritual finally finished and the precious Lifeblood Accumulation that Straud had arranged all this to make fell to the turf. As it was a clearly powerful material that the Winged Serpent didn’t understand, it didn’t rush to pick it up right now. Instead, it memorized the spot it had dropped and joined the other Nemesai as they exploded into motion.

BOOOOOOM!

The stadium shook once more as Alana used her image to impact the blast from Mjolnir. A split second later, the people of Earth shouted in fear as they noticed that the Nemesai came to wound Alana Donal while she was distracted.