Chapter 163 - Final Battle.

While Drako was helping Lavinia, Thalia was facing Augusta.

Augusta flashed a nasty smile when she saw the teenager in front of her.

"Kakakakaka."

Thalia seemed like a normal girl right now. Her aura gave off nothing special, unlike Drako's, and she was not famous in the supernatural world as she had joined the slayers of Artemis only months before.

Even though Augusta had a relaxed, mocking attitude, however, the fire giant at her side remained ready to attack at any time.

"Child, who are you? Do you really think you can stop me?"

Thalia's eyebrow trembled slightly as she heard how arrogant Augusta was.

She slowly lowered her head, then raised it with an extremely arrogant smile.

"Old woman, who are you? I don't even have to strive to defeat an old woman at death's door. Tell me, how old are you? 80? 90? I see, you're ashamed to see that your face looks like a rotten peach, that's why you want to take Lavinia's body.

Thalia attacked Augusta directly with words. But Augusta simply let out that nasty laugh once more as she waved her hand.

"Kakakaka."

Thalia sensed danger, and rushed to play with the bracelet in her hand.

The bracelet began to transform me, growing in size and taking on a circular shape. The bronze circle surrounded Thalia's arm, protecting her in time from the purple fireball.

The fireball, which had thrown Incinerate Anthem, impacted directly on the shield.

Augusta laughed again when she saw this.

"Kakakakaka- Know your place, child."

Augusta's laughter stopped when she saw that Thalia was totally intact. The attack of the Longinus had done her no harm. s

"You..."

Augusta's eyes widened when she saw the shield in Thalia's hands. More than the shield, she recognized the image that was carved into it. She stepped back instinctively, a trace of fear running through her eyes for a moment.

Augusta quickly calmed down, and analyzed the situation better.

"The head of Medusa... that's Aegis."

The reason Augusta had felt fear had to do with the shield itself. One of its abilities was to interfere with the minds of its wearer's enemies, causing them to instinctively fear the shield.

It seemed that Augusta had guessed the identity of the shield. However, Thalia shook her head.

"This is not a real shield, but a gift from my father. The real shield was turned into a Sacred Gear, after all."

It might not be the real shield, but Augusta wasn't going to let her guard down over that. If her deductions weren't wrong, the material that had been used to create the shield was celestial bronze.

Celestial bronze, along with imperial gold, were the two most precious metals in Greek mythology. However, the celestial bronze was much better than the imperial gold.

The celestial bronze is extracted by the Cyclops from Mount Olympus. The ore is formed by tempering the metal on Mount Etna and cooling it in the river Lethe.

The metal is deadly to the creatures of the magical world, but it is useless against humans. The only exceptions to this were the semi humans (semi-gods, semi youkai's, semi devils...) and the users of Sacred Gears.

Weapons made from celestial bronze cannot harm other humans and simply pass through mortal bodies as if they were made of smoke. This is because humans are at a lower level than demigods or gods, so they are not worthy enough to be harmed by the weapon.

Celestial bronze was a very precious material for Greek mythology, and no one outside of this mythology could use it.

Augusta asked as she clenched her teeth.

"What is a Greek doing in this place?"

Thalia shrugged.

"My job was to watch that boy, but now I'm a little upset. I'm sure humiliating an old lady will brighten my day."

Augusta showed an immense reaction of rage, and began to create various magical circles.

The first attacks were easily dodged by Thalia, they posed no danger to her. However, Augusta increased the intensity of her attacks, probably outraged by the ease with which Thalia evaded her attacks. Not only did the magical circles increase in power and number, but Incinerate Anthem (The Fire Giant) began throwing huge purple fireballs.

Finally, there came a time when Thalia was going to be hit by an attack.

Once again, Thalia took a small object out of her pocket. It appeared to be a small hilt, but it began to expand until it reached its maximum length.

A long spear of heavenly bronze appeared in Thalia's hands. She cut with it horizontally, successfully cutting down the fire giant's attack.

Thalia's blue eyes shone like lightning, and sparks leapt from the spear.

Augusta's face darkened as she murmured.

"Daughter of Zeus..."

To which Thalia responded with a smile.

"It's time to finish your last dance, old lady."

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Drako was helping Lavinia get rid of the curse when he heard the sound of footsteps.

He did not put himself on alert, as he had already felt the presence of this person for a few seconds.

"Big brother, Lavinia!"

Valina came out of the trees. She didn't know anything about the situation Lavinia was in, so she looked quite energetic.

But her face changed when she saw the black fog surrounding Lavinia.

"What's happened?"

Valina rushed to the side of Drako and Lavinia.

Although Drako was wrapping his arms around Lavinia's waist, he was not doing so because he had lewd intentions. With his arms surrounded by golden scales, Drako was helping Lavinia recover.

Lavinia's eyes were closed, and she didn't seem to have noticed Valina's arrival. She was too busy fighting the curse of Augusta to pay attention to what was going on outside.

"I'll be brief, Augusta is trying to take Lavinia's body for herself. Lavinia is fighting the curse, and I'm helping her."

A big explosion happened at that time.

Actually, it had been going on for a while, the result of the battle between Thalia and Augusta.

"I need you to use your Sacred Gear, Valina. Just once is enough to help Lavinia."

Valina nodded after listening to Drako, and two wings of light flew from her back.

She touched Lavinia's forehead lightly and a noise came out of the wings of light.

"Divide!!!"

In a single moment, the fog surrounding Lavinia was halved. Lavinia's face, which before seemed to be suffering a lot, visibly relaxed.

With Valina's help, Lavinia was no longer going to have problems recovering. These were the advantages of having Longinus on the same team.

Even if Augusta could take Lavinia's body, Drako had a way of dealing with that. And that way had a name and a surname.

Tobio Ikuse.

Canis Lycaon could cut through anything, including divine concepts. If so, why couldn't he cut through the soul of Augusta that resided inside Lavinia?

Drako asked Valina.

"Valina, how long can you use your Balance Breaker?"

Valina seemed to hesitate for a moment. She was probably arguing with Albion about something. She finally nodded and turned to Drako.

"10 seconds."

Drako nodded, ten seconds was enough.

"I want you to go and help Thalia face Augusta. I will support you from here. Wait for my signal to use your Balance Breaker."

"What's the signal?"

"You'll understand when you see it"

Valina nodded her head, and flew off in the direction that Thalia and Augusta were fighting.

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Valina was surprised when she arrived.

The area where the fight was taking place was completely destroyed.

The fire giant that used to be 3 meters tall was now over 10 meters. It seems that Augusta hadn't been fighting seriously before.

The witch was constantly creating spells, putting pressure on Thalia.

The slayer constantly dodged attacks, or protected herself from them with the shield. From time to time, she would throw lightning bolts with her spear at Augusta, forcing the witch to defend herself.

Overall, the fight was pretty evenly matched.

Suddenly, a white flash fell on the battlefield.

It was none other than Valina flapping her wings of light. She exuded a very powerful aura, more powerful than she had ever shown before.

She had not advanced directly into the fight, but had prepared herself for maximum performance.

Augusta tells Valina, who was floating in the sky.

"So you finally appeared, Hakuryuukou."

Valina says to Augusta with an extremely upset expression.

"Lavinia was very careless. If this is all your level, I was not wrong to think she was enough to face you. However, having that person on your side... must have had some negative influence on her Sacred Gear."

After hearing those words, Augusta, showing a smile full of displeasure, made use of something she should never have done.

"Va-chan, I wish you wouldn't get so upset about this. Don't you want to be the great Va-chan you always are?"

Augusta spoke with Lavinia's voice.

"What do you think? Once I take control of that girl's body, I can keep pretending to be your big sister."

That was most likely a taboo. That was a line not to be crossed.

The aura that enveloped Valina's body... was expelled at an extraordinary level. The young woman's expression had turned to anger.

"...you dare to use that voice... you dare to call me by that name... How dare you?"

Trembling, Valina screamed.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Valina was very angry. Lavinia, one of the three people she loved most, had been the victim of a mental attack. They'd played on her emotions, and they'd practically made her collapse.

And now... and now... did this witch dare to use the nickname that only Lavinia had the right to use? Did she dare to use the voice of her dear older sister? Did she dare to suggest the possibility of supplanting her?

Unacceptable.

Valina wanted to activate her Balance Breaker already, but she still remembered what Drako had told her. She had to wait for the signal.

Luckily, it came just seconds later.

And the signal was...

"GRRRROOOOARARGRAR!"

...the roar of a dragon.

The dragon's roar filled the entire forest, even to where Mordred and the rest were waiting. It was a majestic roar, full of royalty. The same could be said of the aura it displayed, which could be divided into two types. A mixture of extremely dark, and extremely sacred, dragon aura. A perfect blend of two things that were thought impossible to combine.

Valina recognized the signal Drako had sent her.

Without a second thought, she screamed.

"Balance Breaker!!!"

"Vanishing Dragon, Balance Breaker!"

With Albion's voice resounding, Valina's body threw a dazzling white glow.

After the light faded, what was revealed was pure white armour with a pair of wings of light.

It was Valina's Balance Breaker, the Armor of the White Dragon Emperor "Divine Dividing Scale Mail".

Albion shouted in Valina's mind.

"Valina! You can only assume the shape of the armour for a short time!"

"Even ten seconds will be more than enough!"

Valina, having invoked the skill, used high speed to touch Augusta only once before taking some distance. To avoid Valina, Augusta began to expand countless magic circles.

"How terrifying! So you can use the Balance Breaker even with that little body! It's wonderful! It's amazing!"

From the countless circles of magic, she was firing magic repeatedly on a scale that was unmatched by anything she had used before.

Flames, ice, bursts, lightning, darkness, light, it was a complete burst of every attribute. Even Thalia had to temporarily protect herself from the barrage of attacks.

Valina didn't flinch at all, however, and approaching at high speed, raising the aura in which her body was wrapped to the maximum, she held her right hand forward.

"Divide Dividing!!!"

"Divide Divide Divide Divide Divide!!!"

Along with the voice pointing to the skill, which resonated several times, there was a change in the mass and scale of the many spells intended for Valina. The magical attacks decreased by half, then by half again, and again by half as they seemed to be reduced repeatedly.

In the end, the entire explosion of magical attacks had diminished in scale to the point where they were almost non-existent. Valina easily denied it with a wave of her hand. She had not been able to halve Augusta's power, but it had been possible for the magic of the Maga.

Augusta was in shock.

"Divine Dividing of the White Dragon Emperor! As far as the Balance Breaker is concerned, her power is exorbitant!"

Even in this situation, the magician's eyes glowed with greed. She wanted that Sacred Gear so she could break it down and study it quietly.

Valina gathered a tremendous aura in her hand and shot it at Augusta.

Augusta expanded a defensive-type magic circle, but...

Due to Valina's greatly increased power, who assumed that the armoured form had exceeded Augusta's expectations in both power and density, the witch immediately assumed a heavy stance.

"...For a girl to have so much power...! This is one of the two heavenly dragons...! Then this is Lucifer!"

Realizing that Augusta had fallen to her knees on the spot, Valina looked back at the fire giant behind her.

"I will deny that!"

Extending her hand, Valina unleashed an aura bombardment on the fire giant!"

Feeling this, the fire giant moved his cross and created countless fireballs of enormous power.

However, Valina dodged with agility and quickly got to where the fire giant was. She only had to touch it once.

"Half Dimension!"

Even the landscape around the fire giant was distorted. It seemed that Valina's ability could even affect space.

Valina's aura enveloped the fire giant and seemed to be reducing it. Still, the fire giant also threw up a purple aura and was able to resist it.

Valina's aura and the Fire Giant's aura were competing, and it seemed that the Fire Giant was retreating.

Could Valina in her present state defeat the Fire Giant?

No, compared to when she first transformed, Valina's aura had diminished. Based on this... it seemed like she was approaching her limit.

Valina's talent was a certainty. She had achieved Balance Breaker at such a young age. It should be noted that Lavinia, being five years older than Valina and recognized as a genius among geniuses, had not yet been able to achieve the Balance Breaker. Although Lavinia's case seemed to be more related to her state of mind than anything else.

However, Valina's talent was not packaged with her own amount of aura.

In other words, even if she could get into Balance Breaker, she was now running out of energy.

However, Valina... defended herself with her remaining aura without dissolving the transformation.

"Divide, divide! Divide! Divide! Divide Dividing!"

Like a child screaming about being lost, Valina somehow unleashed her plough to the limits of her power over the fire giant.

Valina screamed to the sky...

"If I can't stand this, even hitting that man, hitting Rizevim, will be impossible!!! Now, seeing a kind person hurt in my eyes is unacceptable!!"

She shed tears as she screamed at a frantic volume...

Valina launched what appeared to be the last of her power. A huge amount of aura was released from her tiny body.

"Therefore, DIVIDE DIVIDING!"

-It was at that moment.

A dry, grinding sound echoed throughout the area. The next thing they saw was the arm of the fire giant that had flown away. But it didn't stop there! The entire body of the fire giant was distorted both vertically and horizontally, as its size seemed to gradually decrease.

Another arm flew out, the cross collapsed, and finally even the head broke off.

Seeing the fire giant disappear, Albion shouted.

"That's it! It's done, Valina!"

The armour disappeared, and Valina returned to normal.

Her breathing was heavy and painful, but her expression showed her usual innocence.

"...Naturally. I'm Valina... the descendant of the Maou Lucifer..."

At that, Valina lost consciousness and fell to the sky.

A pair of arms caught her, she was none other than Thalia.

"You're so strong at such a young age... you impress me, and at the same time, you make me sad. What did you have to go through to acquire such a thirst for power?"

Thalia remembered her own past, and slowly shook her head.

Her mother used to beat her when she was small because she was the daughter of the god Zeus, and she even abandoned her younger brother because she believed that this would get Zeus' attention.

Thalia and Valina did not know this, but they shared certain things in common.

Footsteps were heard approaching, and Thalia turned to see Drako. He held Lavinia in his arms, and there was no longer a trace of the black mist.

The curse had been completely lifted!

Drako looked up at Augusta who seemed to have lost all hope. Her lifeless eyes stared at the ground, had she died already?

No, she was still alive. That was good, Drako could start to rise levels in this new evolution if that was the case.

Drako carefully left Lavinia on the floor, and pulled Gandiva out.

He pointed to the sky, and began to recite the chant he had already recited once.

"It's time to make a sacrifice to the goddess Artemis."

Drako created two magic arrows, and pointed them at the sky.

Not only was this a sacrifice to the goddess, but a warning to all who were watching this fight.

"With my bow and arrows, I respectfully ask for the divine protection of the sun god Apollo and the moon goddess Artemis."

Drako released the two arrows, which flew into the infinite sky. At some point, these arrows stopped.

"I offer thee this calamity."

The arrows, which were already two pseudo-Noble Phantasms, were divided into hundreds of these.

If this was a B-range Noble Phantasm with normal magic arrows, what was its true range at this time?

"Phoebus Catastrophe!"

The hundreds of arrows fell a few dozen meters away from Drako. They all fell around Augusta, making a circle with her in the centre.

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With Augusta's death, we have reached the end of this volume. What comes now are a few chapters of transition as always.