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"RAHAHAHAHA! YOU'RE A WEAKLING! I AM STRONG! GAHAHAHA!"
"Hmph! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The Heavenly Empress faced one of Lucifer's summoned demons, a giant over twenty meters tall with fiery red skin. Six muscular arms wielded six blazing weapons, and three faces sat atop his bald head, each crowned with six horns. His lower body resembled that of a giant black horse, ending in a tail like a massive, purple-scaled snake.
Each face displayed a distinct expression and personality. The central face remained perpetually serious, glaring at her with sharp, meticulous eyes. The left face laughed wildly, constantly proclaiming itself the strongest. The right face burned with fury, baring sharp teeth in a bitter scowl.
This bizarre creature was unlike anything the Heavenly Empress had ever encountered. To her surprise, such beings seemed to infest many worlds beyond Bestia.
Demons.
Not the so-called "Demonic Cultivators" from her own world, often misnamed because true demons had never existed there. These were genuine otherworldly entities from the 999 Hells ruled by the Fallen Archangel Lucifer, King of all Demons and the first of his kind.
The one before her was a general in Lucifer's vast army, commander of five thousand demonic battalions. He was frequently deployed to conquer other worlds through Apocalypse Events.
{Three-Faced Bloodthirsty Warlord: Centurion}.
With overwhelming strength and demonic power, he had shattered the Heavenly Empress's Constellation of Hope technique, destroying the silhouette of the Heavenly Demon. He then pursued her relentlessly with his giant weapons: two axes, two maces, and two swords, all forged from black and red metal and blazing with spectral red flames.
"KILL! WE MUST KILL HER IMMEDIATELY! TEAR HER TO SHREDS! DEVOUR HER FLESH AND BLOOD! I CRAVE BLOOD AND DEATH!"
The furious face roared insults without pause, while the smiling face laughed and conversed with itself.
Such a strange being placed her in a truly precarious situation. She was further irritated that they had been gaining the upper hand, only for Lucifer to unleash this outrageous technique and completely halt their momentum.
"I suppose that is the King of all Demons for you. If he could not do at least this much, I would doubt his title…!"
She was furious, of course. The only man she had ever loved was now dead, and she could not even find time to mourn him, especially since she had failed to kill the monster responsible.
"Dammit! If only we had been faster. But I had to recover from my own wounds…! If I had risked my life further…! But… I was afraid of dying, wasn't I?!"
As she dodged Centurion's attacks and his powerful Demonic Battle Aura, shaped like a multi-armed fiery red giant constantly trying to strike her, the Heavenly Empress was tormented by self-doubt and regret.
"I was afraid of dying because… I don't want to leave Song alone."
She glanced into the distance. Her son was fighting another demon in the skies, a giant praying mantis-like creature that proved a fearsome opponent even for him.
"ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP RUNNING AWAY, LITTLE BIRDIE?"
"IF YOU'RE SO AFRAID OF DEATH, WHY DON'T YOU FLEE AND STAY OUT OF OUR KING'S WAY?!"
"Cowards like you don't belong on a battlefield where lives are at stake."
All three of Centurion's faces spoke in turn. The smiling face mocked her, the furious face raged, and the serious face branded her a coward.
"Hah…"
She stopped flying and landed firmly on the ground, facing the twenty-meter-tall giant. All three faces looked pleased as their giant weapons blazed with immense demonic power.
"Oh? Have you finally made up your mind, weakling?"
"Will you face us?! FINALLY?!"
"And die by our hands?"
"Die? I'm sorry, but I cannot grant myself that privilege yet…" The Heavenly Empress smiled. "I have a son to raise and a world to protect…"
"WE DON'T GIVE A DAMN!"
All six blazing weapons rushed toward her, slicing through the air and generating powerful shockwaves as they descended.
The flames and demonic energy were immensely potent, burning even her Heavenly Ki, which she had once believed invincible.
"But just as he did, if I don't put my life on the line… can I even call myself a Venerable who aims to protect this world? No, a true fighter? A warrior?"
As she sighed, the world around her seemed to slow. Her Heart of Hope began to shift, half transforming into the Heart of Despair while the other half remained pure Hope.
Unlike Anna, the Heavenly Empress had lived for hundreds of thousands of years and had mastered control over her emotions to an extraordinary degree. Her mind had reached the level of a Sage.
Blending Despair and Hope to unlock unprecedented power was no longer beyond her.
"I will show you the strength of the Venerables of Bestia."
Six powerful blows struck her, shattering the ground and distorting space as cracks spread everywhere. An inferno of fire consumed all else.
"HAH! TRYING TO ACT ALL TOUGH NOW?!"
"PATHETIC!"
"A pitiful death."
Yet when the smoke cleared, the Heavenly Empress stood firm, encased in golden armor that appeared mechanical. It covered most of her body and merged seamlessly with her dress, creating a stunning blend of beauty, modernity, and raw toughness far beyond the demon's imagination.
"HUH?!"
All three faces twisted in utter disbelief as her armor held strong against their assault.
"It is just as I imagined… It was my pride that had been obstructing my growth. The incredible technology those machines possessed could withstand even our blows. Through the power of my Heavenly Imperial Armament manifestation, I have successfully replicated it."
She had been secretly analyzing, disassembling, and imitating the components of those machines for years, mostly in private. She did so to understand their inner workings and uncover any weaknesses.
Every part of every model was memorized in her mind. As she studied them, she realized that with her powers she could replicate each piece, assemble them, and even improve the design and strength.
A multi-layered mechanical armor with several internal engines and adaptive force fields that grew stronger as they absorbed kinetic force, all powered by cores that enhanced the flow and effectiveness of Ki.
And much more.
All this incredible technology, which she had once tried to ignore out of pride, she now recognized as necessary.
"Pride is not my priority right now… Losing face or whatever no longer matters. The only thing that matters is surviving and protecting those I love and my world. I will not hesitate anymore."
"BULLSHIT!!!"
Centurion roared with all three voices and stepped forward, his body overflowing with flames. He unleashed a skill, leaping into the air and descending upon her with all six weapons blazing.
"{Falling Demonic Meteor}!"
As he neared, the Heavenly Empress's armor, still completing its intricate internal structure…
Finished forming.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
Her head and every inch of her body were now fully encased in the metallic suit. She resembled a majestic golden crane. Her feathers turned golden, and her hair-like plumage transformed into hundreds of flowing metallic strands that shone brightly from her helmet.
"{Heavenly Imperial Armament Creation}: {Golden Divine Immortal Mechanical Goddess Armor}"
FLUOSH!
Her armor overflowed with immense power, drawing from her Heavenly Ki and multiplying its strength through twenty internal engines and power cores.
It granted her an unprecedented boost to all her abilities.
A surge of power like she had never felt before.
"The power that once tormented and destroyed my world… I will now wield it to save it!"
She leaped into the skies, spreading her metallic wings that glowed with brilliant golden light, and faced Centurion head-on.
CRAAASH!
Her two arms swung forward, manifesting a pair of katanas forged from golden metal and heavenly sunlight. She clashed with the Demonic General, her rapid swings generating explosions of light and demonic flames.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
"UNNGGH?!"
"S-SHE…!"
"SHE'S HOLDING HER OWN AGAINST US?!"
Even the calm face of Centurion began to show despair and panic as the Heavenly Empress wielded her katanas, spreading cracks across their demonic weapons.
"{Perpetual Cycle of Harmony Blade Arts}: {Heavenly Myriad Blades}!"
Drawing on Anna's techniques and everything she had learned from her, she infused them into her attacks. Her sword strikes suddenly multiplied at a terrifying speed. The technique was incredibly difficult to replicate without a proper Skill like Anna's, but for someone as ancient and experienced as the Heavenly Empress, enhanced by this level of power and her mechanical armor, it became possible.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"GRUUUAAAAGGGHH?!"
Centurion screamed in horror and agony. His entire body was suddenly covered in countless glowing golden slashing wounds. At the same time, all six of his weapons…
Crack… crack…!
CRASH!
…shattered into pieces one after another, leaving him with nothing but his fists.
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