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That attack with the golems and his black staff was Gregorius’ special move. He had used it to win against many highly skilled opponents in the past, reducing them to ashes. But he was worried now. In a way, he trusted Mira’s skills. The thought that she had taken a direct hit and was gone under the lava did not appear in his mind.

Unless he saw her face contorted with pain, unless he pierced her heart, he would never feel sure of his victory. That was why he now looked for her. Not because he was worried for her safety, but because he had no idea how she would attack next.

(Burial Skills have a high synergy with golems, so he threw them as projectiles to cover for his lack of accuracy. That’s quite the commendable tactic.)

There were still five golems remaining, and Mira stood behind them. She saw her Holy Knight fall apart after attempting to defend itself, and the tall golems turning into molten stone.

Mira was familiar with the strength of her summons, so she anticipated her Holy Knight failing to deter the attack, so rather than standing behind it, she used Ground Shrink to escape when the golems approached, moving between them and reaching the other side.

Gregorius kept looking around, but Mira was hidden between the five golems that had not been used yet, watching him as she gently touched the backs of a golem.

Sage Art – Heaven: Refined Impact

Mira focused mana onto her palm, which turned into a powerful shockwave that blew the tall golem away. As it flew, its body began to crack, which turned to rubble in mid-air as it headed towards Gregorius.

「There!」

Hearing the loud noise, Gregorius turned around. But the flying rubble was already in front him, too late for him to evade or raise a Stone Wall to protect himself.

「Grgh-」

Gregorius groaned as he raised his arms onto a defensive stance. Mira merely glanced at him as she did the same thing with a second, and a third golem. It was like a tidal wave of rubble rushing towards Gregorius.

「You’re quite sturdy even without your armor, I see.」
「Mm… it’s not as strong as the one you destroyed, but this is what I wore before. At least it’s enough for something like that.」

Gregorius managed to resist the onrush of rubble, grinning when it was over as he looked at Mira.

He wore a spirit arm robe. While it was made out of cloth, it was still more resistant than many full suits of armor. On top of that, it also absorbed shocks incredibly well, and after the large mass of rubble it resisted, Gregorius had not taken a single step back. It had all lost its momentum when touching the robe, falling to the ground.

Gregorius had looked less armed than during their last encounter, but he still had a solid defense. Mira would not pull back, however, holding her white staff ready as she studied Gregorius’ next movements.

He also looked back at her, firmly holding onto his black staff. Then a moment later he swung it up, and all the rubble on the ground lifted into the air, before being shot like bullets towards Mira.

(I guess he can still control the rubble, then.)

The dense pebbles rained mercilessly over Mira. But an instantly summoned Holy Knight stopped it all. However, Gregorius was not done yet. In total, there were the remains of ten large golems at his disposal. That was quite a large quantity to work with, and his staff could give every piece a dangerous speed that could prove lethal if it hit.

Even when the pieces fell to the ground, they flew again, if shattered, the smaller shards would rise again, repeating until only dust was left. That constant pressure was starting to whittle down the Holy Knight’s shield, pushing it back.

Then something large came mixed with the rubble, sending the Holy Knight flying. It was a newly formed golem. After a loud crash, the golem held onto the Holy Knight and carried it into the air under the influence of the black staff. Having lost her shield, the rubble and yet another golem flew towards Mira.

Nevertheless, Mira did not despair, and prepared to face it. She still had ways to defend herself. She summoned another Holy Knight, which used its shield to ward off the incoming rubble, and then swung its large sword to smash the golem.

The blows were heavy and loud. Gregorius’ eyes were entranced by it all, but the pressure began sending chills down his spine, and he had to look away.

「Can you resist this attack, I wonder?」

Mira ran under the shadow of the golem and Holy Knight wrestling in mid-air, quickly reaching Gregorius.

「S̲h̲i̲t̲!」

Gregorius cursed himself for lowering his guard like that and instantly created a Stone Wall. But it served no purpose, as Mira shattered it merely by touching it. Passing through the broken wall, Mira swung her white staff broadly, showing it off with a provoking smile.

Gregorius tried to think. Mira had already seen through his armor’s weakness in the past. Even armed with spirit arms, he had to be careful about taking a direct hit, though he had no way to dodge now that she was so close.

Left with no options, Gregorius quickly held his black staff in front of him, awaiting the hit. But then he realized his mistake. Mira had planned it all, waiting for him to take exactly that stance.

Mira’s white staff clashed with Gregorius’ black one. There was a high pitched metallic sound, like something breaking off.

「No way… a Demonic Black Bone Weapon…」

The black staff he held had snapped in two, and it was quickly turning into a black dust that dispersed on the floor. He stared in shock, while Mira muttered 「The effect was instant,」 slightly shocked herself.

「Your Demonic Black something or other you mentioned? I obviously came prepared to deal with those things.」

Mira spoke full of herself, as if she had been the one who came up with and created the countermeasures. But Gregorius did not seem to pay any attention to her, his eyes turning to his pocket watch, which quickly filled his face with glee.

Around them, the Valkyrie Sisters continued waging war on the Stalwart Dolls. But the conflict was almost over. There had been losses on both sides, but Mira’s army was largely still standing, while less than half of the dolls remained.

Gregorius looked around to check on the state of the fight, and then uttered some words.

‘Never yield, never retreat, thine bodies shalt carve victory!’

A series of words Mira had never heard before. She readied herself assuming it was the chanting for a spell she had never seen before, but that was no chant. It was an order to the Stalwart Dolls, something akin to a password.

The moment he finished, all the Stalwart Dolls stopped moving. An instant later there were bright flashes and heat, followed by shockwaves, throughout the entire room.

「Oh, a voice command!」

The Valkyrie Sisters attempted to neutralize the suicidal spirit bombs contained inside each doll, but there were too many to deal with now. It had a tremendous effect, the largest part of Mira’s army disappearing inside the bright lights.

It was a simple yet powerful tactic, though it also meant the destruction of all Stalwart Dolls. But Gregorius still chose to do it. There had to be a reason for it. The simplest answer was that he wanted to destroy as much of her army before he was defeated. At first he outnumbered her by a factor of four, but still struggled in the end. That was their difference in strength and strategy.

If his defeat was just a matter of time, then it was best if he took her army with him.
But Mira doubted that was the case. He had checked his watch first, and only took action afterwards. The timing was too suspicious, and she had a good theory. Gregorius had been waiting for something, but the wait was over now.

「Master, I feel an ominous presence approaching.」

Wondering what was going to happen next, Alfina and her sisters gathered around Mira.

Mira had anticipated a group self-detonation, and ordered the sisters to gather like that when it happened. Thanks to that, they had all managed to escape instantly. Though the spirit bombs were still powerful enough that their summon shields were damaged.