586 Off With His Hand!

The phrase to activate Sharkie had changed, but the plushie did nothing different from what it usually did — for example, transforming into a Batarang that moved on its own, decapitating angels in its way. Instead, upon activation, the hammerhead shark plushie expanded in size, becoming gigantic in seconds. The giant shark plushie streaked through the air with its maw wide open, sucking in every angel it could find. This was akin to a shark feeding on a huge school of fish.

"Papa — er, I mean, Mr. Hope needs to amass power to return to the world; I'll leave that job to Sharkie," Mia said, shifting her gaze to the fort in which Noirciel was kept. "How's Lulu doing?"

"Lulu?" Tisdale looked confused. "Do you mean Noirciel? Do you already know what happened here?"

"Mm-hmm." Mia nodded. "Mr. Hope told me all about it: how Lulu went through so much to see me, only to be severely punished for it," Mia said with a sad expression. "Will she be okay? How about Attie?"

"Noirciel's fine, but she is yet to wake up," Tisdale replied. "As for Attie — well, she did just use up a lot of energy, so she's utterly worn out."

"Thank goodness, then! Everything's still okay," Mia said with a sigh of relief and a pat of her flat chest. Then, Mia looked around destroyed Arfin City with a sad expression and whispered, "Once Mr.Hope returns home, everything here will return to normal, okay?"

"Um, Mia, why do I keep getting this weird feeling that you look different?" Tisdale asked. She leaned in closer and pinched Mia's soft cheeks. "It's as if you, uh, have reduced in size?"

When Mia heard that, she quickly checked her chest. After confirming that nothing had happened to her boob, Mia flashed Tisdale an awkward smile. "About that... Mr. Hope came up with a lot of ideas on how to get me home; in the end, the idea to sacrifice my future succeeded. I've been frozen at twelve-years-old, forever."

"W-what? 'Sacrifice'? 'Freeze?!" Tisdale's eyes widened in shock.

"Yea; I don't understand it either. I'll have to wait till Mr.Hope returns and explains it to you all. Nevertheless, I think I'm gonna be stuck as a twelve-years-old for a very, very long time, [1]" Mia said, looking down at her flat chest with regret in her eyes. "As it stands, I'll never get to grow up."

Although Tisdale did not understand the complexity or extent of Baiyi's deed, she did know that being a child forever was a punishment. Filled with pity, Tisdale pulled Mia into a comforting hug. It really is quite cruel to be forced to stay at age twelve forever!

This was a sentiment that a certain group of gentlemen would disagree with.

While both girls made up for the lost time, the Archangels — who were far away, watching things unfold — frowned, as their side were now at a disadvantage. At what point did these mortals recover and gain even more power? Even if they were able to regain their youth, just how are they suddenly able to overwhelm the angels? Mortals could use only combat chi and mana — mundane forms of energy that could not hold a candle to the Divine Energy of angels! Right now, these mortals look as though they could keep fighting forever!

"Something is very wrong. The power they now wield should be out of reach to mortals!" Baal said; it was as though he had uncovered a deadly secret. "The mana and combat chi you can see is merely an illusion!"

Despite wearing a blindfold and standing far away, the Archangel could clearly see through the mortals' illusion. In his eyes, the Voidwalkers were humanoid tongues of black flame. The combat chi and mana they used were extensions of these very flames.

These mortals were using a power that rivaled Divine Energy. It was a forbidden power born from darkness; it was pure in gloom and doom, the opposite of Divine Energy.

The Archangel also noticed that the Voidwalkers now had the same constitution as the angels. Previously, the Voidwalkers' bodies were made of pure energy, not matter, but now, they controlled a great power that rivaled that of angels. One could now call the Voidwalkers "Angels of the Void". Who could have done this? Who was powerful enough to make bodies from energy and, later on, make their own angels?

Has the Void, a wasteland of darkness, given birth to a new god?

"No, that cannot be! That would make their status equal to ours. It also means that a new god has risen from the darkness! Is this possible? No one can become a god without having an Arbiter's Right, and at present, every Arbiter's Right found so far is being guarded by the Divine Realm. There is nothing outside our realm with which one would ascend to godhood," Paimon said. It was unusual for angels to show human emotion.

Suddenly, an ominous thought appeared in Paimon's mind. "U-unless —"

"Unless the person responsible was somehow able to usurp the power of a god," Baal said, uttering the thought that Paimon had been too scared to say.

The Archangels believed they had now grasped the meat of the matter.

"The time for indecision has passed! If I have... if I have to make the ultimate sacrifice, I will do it with haste, for victory is compulsory. If this does not end with our victory, then my Lord will..." Paimon was uneasy, imagining the worst scenario.

One would remain a god only if they retained their Arbiter's Right. If the Arbiter's Right gets lost, then that god and his angels would fall...

Paimon knew that he could no longer lead from afar, so he quickly donned his armor. "Warriors, your life is the fuel for the power needed to win!" Paimon hollered at the fighting angels. "Your lord's future is now in danger; you cannot afford to disappoint!"

"No more hesitation; victory is our only option! It is time to consummate your fealty to your lord!" Baal announced, putting on his own armor, as well.

Suddenly, Baal hurled his longsword at the floating island. He intended to wreck it and its inhabitants with a powerful Light of Judgement, one at an unstoppable level!

The longsword reached Arfin's airspace instantly, ready to become a conduit for a terrifying javelin of light. The gigantic hammerhead shark plushie suddenly charged over and swallowed the sword as though it were krill.

Baal froze, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Embarrassment and fear filled him as his stomach tightened.

Paimon had it better: he had already sacrificed his sword in a bid to stop Attie earlier, so he did not participate in that strike, saving himself the embarrassment that Baal just suffered. When Paimon arrived close to the scene of battle, he bellowed, "Cover thyself in flames!"

The angels that had survived thus far stirred their Divine Energy, and this caused them to be covered in white-hot, holy flames. The balls of white flame quickly flew towards Paimon and converged into a giant being of energy.

When the hammerhead shark plushie spotted the giant energy being, it charged over instantly.

Paimon, who was in control of the giant energy being, did not flinch or dodge. Instead, he swung a fist at the hammerhead shark plushie's soft underbelly, and the blow sent the plushie flying.

"You're weak and unworthy!" Paimon growled. "Who do you think you are, daring to stand before someone that shoulders the fates of his brothers and his lord? You're just a bloated toy, who knows nothing of the weight I now bear!"

Without sparing the giant plushie another glance, Paimon swung his fist again, aiming at the floating island this time.

A huge explosion caused the sky to tremble. The city had not been destroyed, as the punch had been stopped by something thousands of times smaller than the giant energy being.

"Yaaaarrgghhh!" The Caveman Walker, who was underneath the giant fist, cried out as golden light surged out of him. Every muscle in his body had expanded to their limits, making it seem as though he was close to blowing up. Despite his discomfort, the Caveman Walker held out against the giant fist's crushing force.

"This is impossible!" Paimon's eyes went wide. Was this any different from a mantis shaking a tree? He could not believe what he was seeing!

"The strength and courage of my ancestors flow through me!" The Caveman Walker shouted. Many golden mirages appeared behind him and raised their arms towards the gigantic fist.

The Caveman Walker was right; he was not resisting the Archangel alone.

Soon, other Voidwalkers arrived. The Knight Walker uttered a loud grunt as he jumped onto the giant energy being's outstretched arm. With a louder grunt, the Knight Walker stirred every bit of combat chi in his body and stabbed his sword into the giant fist.

This did very little, though, as it was akin to an attempt to stick a needle into an iron wall. Despite exerting all his power, the Knight Walker could do nothing against the skin formed from the Divine Energy harvested from hundreds of now-dead angels.

"Allow me," the Warrior Walker's calm voice rang out from behind. The Knight Walker nodded and stepped aside, and the Warrior Walker suddenly appeared, standing atop the hilt of the Knight Walker's sword. The Warrior Walker stirred every bit of combat chi in her body, refining it into energy so pure that it turned from ice-blue to colorless.

"We'll help!" The Archmage announced as the scepter in his hand became an old book again. reverting the scepter in his hand into its book form. The approach he had chosen this time was less refined. The Archmage concentrated his energy into beams, which he fired continuously at the hilt of the Knight Walker's sword.

A bell-like voice suddenly rang out: "I'll help with eradicating these imbeciles!"

Like the other Voidwalkers, the Scholar Walker had also recovered her human form. She was now a girl as young as Tisdale, with a pair of glasses atop her nose. The Scholar Walker was the visual representation of beauty and brains. By herself, she pinned down the other angels with her spells.

The Voidwalkers' concerted effort was beginning to yield results. An unfamiliar flame began to burn on the gigantic arm of the mighty Archangel.

'Is this what pain is?' Paimon thought. 'Am I now being subjected to something reserved for those being punished?'

The agonizing pain caused by the flame left Paimon dazed, causing him to ignore the Voidwalkers' attacks. Paimon's pupils widened, reflecting a large silhouette. A silver-white dragon had appeared out of nowhere, slamming its body into the face of the giant energy being, causing its outstretched arm to lose power.

Suddenly, a tiny, black sword appeared out of nowhere and severed the gigantic arm, which was even bigger than the floating Arfin City.