Against the World II: Transgression
Chapter 52: Grand Foreigner, Part 4
The fear caused [Omni Intelligence] unknowingly made Kanna's control of her emotions slacken.
And, that was a big mistake he shouldn't have made. His eighteen pairs of wings began to slowly darken. The halo above his head was blackened and brittle and scattered in dust particles. His eyes returned to their natural color, as did the blonde hair that returned. All Edenian influence was abolished; the influence of Kanna el Vermillion again dominated.
Although his memory is still neatly confined, Kanna's characteristics have fully returned ‒ is clearly visible from the color of his hair and eyes that became darker. In fact, the crescent moon circuit symbol had disappeared from his skin. Kurtalaegon has become a part of the body of Kanna.
...— — — —...
Seeing Kanna speechless like that made Vermyna want to get out of place and escape to the moon. It's the same feeling as when he was in front of Fie in the form of a vampire. There was no thought of continuing the fight in his head. Vermyna was only thinking about how to get away from the creature that could kill him. What he feels now is the same.
His body, which should have been impossible to destroy, had been successfully cut into two pieces by Kanna. This was the first time it had happened, and he also felt something inside him disappear. His body has weakened drastically. If now Fie were to smash a fist into his body, his body would become a fatty. Therefore, he must leave here.
However, Vermyna did not do so. As Kanna said earlier, she felt Xavier's presence outside the barrier. He didn't know what was holding him back from entering. And for some reason he was hard to understand, what he felt was quite faint. [Complete Sensory] seemed to lose its absolute sensor when it made Xavier a target, as well as Kanna. They had been able to protect themselves from the plural [Complete Sensory].
Vermyna created the [Celestial White Flame] with the [Magic Reactor] and merged his white flame into the Concentrated Engulfing Silence technique. Not only that, he also combined all of his elemental magic to strengthen himself. Vermyna also gave rise to over a million self-replicates from different timelines. He also coats himself and all replicas of himself with a veil of space-time.
Vermyna Hellvarossa mustered everything he had in order to finish off the Edenia doll. If his total attack failed to kill Kanna, at least he would have to be badly hit. And, if he still failed to get him seriously injured, he would at least have to prolong the fight until Xavier came in. He had already killed Nueva, so it was certain that he had taken [Eternal Zero]. Moreover, if he were to use his strength from the past, the two of them might be able to make a difference.
Vermyna was swept away in irony. The thought of him waiting for Xavier to help him overcome the cursed creature before him reminds him of the time when Xavier helped Kanna attack him. The wheel of life is always spinning, sometimes above and sometimes below. Being arrogant, elevating one's own abilities and degrading others' abilities are short paths to making the wheels turn.
Ignoring that sweep of irony, in one breath Vermyna ordered all the replicas of herself to attack.
Vermyna's actions bring Kanna's attention back to him. And, with just a single slash of the sword without its hilt, the angel had obliterated all of Vermyana's replicas. All the defenses of the replica collapsed. They disappeared before they could do anything. Even all the existing hills have been cut flat to leave the neck as high as Kanna—s while the part of the hill that was cut has been smashed into grains of sand.
If Kanna's sword slash was just a little lower, Vermyna's head might have been cut off as well. Even all of his magic elements that he used to strengthen himself had disappeared, including the white flames and the veil of space-time. The only thing that still protected him was the life energy.
“Kneeled,” said Kanna with a flat face and sharp gaze, but her voice was cold and as if filled could. “Animals like you have been too big of a head all this time, it's time you were told what your place should be. But I have other intentions. Put your forehead on the ground, and then beg for me to let you live. Only then will I decide whether to let you live or not.”
“...What?” Vermyna could only look like someone who was struck by great confusion. “You...who are you?”
She's not Kanna el Vermillian she's known about all along. Vermyna had no doubts about it. Has Edenia rewrote her personality? Vermyna could think of no other reason than that. However, for reasons he did not understand, Vermyna was more afraid of this woman than Edenia herself. The evil aura that her body was emitting made Vermyna's bones shiver, even the color of Kanna's own wings had darkened perfectly.
If the Kanna that he knew was like a snow bathed in light, Kanna who is now a snowflake that fell into a comberan.
“What happened to Ka—!”
Vermyna was unable to finish his words. Kanna's left hand was already gripping the queen's throat. Kanna did not move from where she stood, and so did Vermyna. Only, the space between them had been wiped out. Worse than that, Vermyna was unaware of the incident—[Complete Sensory] was helpless.
“This is weird,” said Kanna—dia looks entertained with her own words. “I between trying to kill you and not wanting to kill you. I thought your life was worth killing vampires, but at the same time I wanted you dead. What am I supposed to do?”
Vermyna tried to exert her strength to break free, but she could not access her [Limit Breaker]. In line with his lost strength one by one, the life energy that was trailing his body disappeared. Not until there, the life energy in his body was decreasing rapidly. Kanna wiped out her magic one after another, and at the same time her life energy was absorbed.
“Do not worry,” said Kanna while lifting Vermyna's body until her legs floated. “I won't kill you. I won't wipe out all your power either. I left [One Space], [One Time], [Complete Sensory], and [Magic Reactor]. I'll also let you have the World Observer. However, my life energy is taken. I leave only a thousand years for you.”
Kanna immediately dumped Vermyna's body after saying that. However, Vermyna's body did not hit the ground. The chimera fell into the arms of Xavier who had been inside the barrier without destroying the two barriers.
“Ah, my little cat, it's great that you finally appeared before your master.” Kanna showed off her sweet smile. “Have you gathered enough courage to confess your sins?”