Arrows struck both of Noir's eyes. Hundreds more arrows followed through and pierced through Noir’s body. In just a moment, she looked like a porcupine with hundreds of needles sticking out of her.
Naturally, these were no ordinary arrows. The arrows created from soul power carried an absolute force, even without having to intend it.
They were imbued solely with the intent to kill. The obliteration of Noir Giabella was the only purpose imbued within the arrows, and hundreds of such sharps had been thrust into her.
Sienna gasped as her soul returned to her body. The shock awakened her from forced slumber. This method couldn't entirely avoid forced slumber, but it could prevent the much worse fate of being trapped in Oneiric Cascade. Even for Sienna, being dragged into a dream while asleep would leave her with no recourse.
That was why she had separated her body and soul. The moment she fell asleep, she had temporarily rendered her body lifeless. Not even Noir could induce dreams in a dead adversary.
However, this was not a method that could be used repeatedly. Not only was the strain of revival burdensome, but repeated separations could gradually weaken the connection between her body and soul. Eventually, she might separate her soul from her body and never return, which would effectively be the same as dying.
‘Still, it's possible,’ Sienna surmised.
Destroying the city's nightmare had been effective. The dream Noir had imposed on the city was still in a disarray. Otherwise, even with her soul separated, Sienna would have been trapped in the city's dream.
The dream Noir was now showing operated only within the consciousness of one person instead of the entire city. Although repeating it could indeed become a form of suicide, Sienna still had an answer to Noir’s attack.
But honestly, Sienna didn’t want to repeat this method several times. She hoped to end it with just this one time. The magical attack had been effective. The arrows of soul power had certainly destroyed Noir. Hundreds of sharps containing murderous intent had been simultaneously lodged into her."Hmm." Despite this, Noir still moved. Her body slowly leaned forward.
The arrows lodged in her body made an unpleasant noise as Noir moved. With a swish, she pulled out the arrows in her eyes. Her eyeballs weren’t plucked out along with the arrows. The shattered irises regenerated before Sienna’s eyes.
"It hurts,” Noir commented.
The arrows piercing her cheeks and lips fell out. Noir smacked her lips and her torn cheeks a few times before smirking.
She turned her purple gaze towards Sienna. Sienna attempted to separate her body and soul again, but it proved unnecessary. Noir had not used forced slumber. Seeing Sienna jolt, Noir laughed mockingly.
"Scared?" she asked.
It was a taunt. Sienna’s eyebrows furrowed in anger, but she couldn't retaliate. Noir's attack was much faster than Sienna's. Noir suddenly appeared in the air and swung her foot.
That was all it took to end Sienna's flight. She could no longer fly and crashed to the ground.
"Sienna Merdein, your magic hurts. Sure... I'll admit it’s a fine murderous intent, but you can't kill me,” Noir sang softly.
Noir spread her arms wide as Sienna, flattened on the ground, cursed and slammed her hands into the earth. Chains shot up from the ground and wrapped around Sienna’s wrists. It was the power of the Demoneye of Divine Glory, the chains of Incarceration.
"The only murderous intent that can kill me belongs to Hamel. The only murderous intent I wish to die by is Hamel's,” continued Noir.
The chains continued to sprout and bind Sienna’s body. Noir looked down at Sienna’s form as it was forced against the ground, then murmured softly, "I will not die by the likes of your malice. No matter how much you hate me and wish to kill me, your hostility is nothing to me. You do not belong here. You should not have come to this place."
"Crazy bitch…!" Sienna cursed.
"Ahahaha! That's a phrase I've heard too often. It's not even offensive anymore. Yes, I am crazy. Crazy with love for Hamel!" Noir shouted.
Noir raised a finger. She continued to shake her fingers to conjure illusions. One by one, kitchen utensils appeared before her — knives for chopping vegetables and cutting meat, a pot for stirring soup, forks, spoons, plates, cups, and other implements that seemed unlikely to harm anyone.
"Hmm, perhaps this would be better for you?" Noir's lips twisted into a mischievous smile.
Fwooosh!
The crowded array of tools transformed entirely into books. A large bookshelf suitable for a library, a rocking chair, and even a fireplace appeared. Sienna's face contorted horribly. She barely managed to lift her head and look upward.
She understood what Noir's illusion meant. It was a tremendous insult and disrespect.
"I won't kill you," Noir said with a smile. "You just need to lie there on the floor as you are now, buried and crushed under the boring, insignificant dreams you cherish, doing nothing. Stay alive and just watch as I kill Hamel and Hamel kills me."
The library furniture and books began to fall toward Sienna. Could such an impact alone be fatal? Noir entertained the thought and laughed softly.
If that was how she died, if such a trivial death were to be Sienna Merdein’s end, then….
Well, that couldn’t be helped, could it? Noir harbored no killing intent with this attack. She was merely pouring the library Sienna dreamed of over her. If Sienna were to die from this, it would be nothing more than an unfortunate accident.
Frankly, witnessing such an accident might even be enjoyable. Noir watched with a mischievous grin as Sienna was squashed by the library.
Boom!
Everything halted just before the final crash.
"Wow," Sienna exclaimed.
Noir's eyes widened as she observed. She didn’t stop just with words but continued with actual applause.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of ordinary applause rose into the night sky. This wasn’t mere mockery. Noir sincerely admired the present Sienna.
The chains of Incarceration that were created by the Demoneye of Divine Glory had been severed. Naturally, it was not Noir who had broken them. Sienna had done it herself, breaking the chains and rising to her feet. Though Noir claimed no malice in her action, everything she had caused to fall had stopped in their tracks. That, too, was Sienna's doing.
"Quite impressive," Noir said sincerely.
The chains of Incarceration blocked mana and magic. It was a deadly antithesis to any sorcerer. Breaking them with magic and stopping the fall so promptly was no small feat.
"Perhaps I underestimated you? Maybe I should have paid more attention," Noir chuckled as she spoke.
Sienna did not reply. She stood, wavering slightly, exhaling a labored breath.
Sharp pain radiated throughout her body, and a burning rage simmered within her chest and mind. Sienna bit her lip hard as she lifted her head defiantly.
"Ahaha!" Noir burst into laughter upon seeing Sienna's face. Sienna’s eyes were bloodshot. Blood streamed from her nose, lips, and eyes. It was evident that Sienna had exerted herself greatly in her struggle to escape the chains.
"You seem to be having a hard time, huh? Hmm, perhaps that's for the best. Sienna Merdein, I won't retract my statement about not killing you. Given your recent efforts, you've maintained your dignity, so why don't you just sit quietly and watch?" Noir suggested.
Sienna did not respond. More precisely, she couldn't hear Noir’s cackling laughter.
"Do you have the means to treat your wounds? Oh, it looks painful even to me. Sorry, I'm not accustomed to using the Demoneye of Divine Glory like this. It’s a bit difficult for me to control the power,” Noir admitted.
She could see that Sienna’s limbs were bloodied. In her struggle to break free, Sienna’s flesh had been crushed and bones broken. Noir clicked her tongue and waved her finger.
Whoosh!
A large armchair appeared next to Sienna. It was a rocking chair.
"There, sit comfortably. There are plenty of books…. Ahaha, just pick one and read. I really don't want to bother with you," Noir said and turned around nonchalantly.
Only a short time had passed. The attacks she had focused on Eugene had not yet ceased. The bombardment continued incessantly, blinding to the point that the scenery was obscured. The onslaught would not end as long as Noir wished for it. No matter how much Eugene destroyed, slashed, and burned things to ashes, Noir could always conjure more attacks from those ashes.
"Really now." Noir's eyebrows furrowed. She didn’t even need to look back. She had created a chair and even provided books. Had she needed to create a lake or river as well?
"You're too greedy,” Noir uttered in annoyance.
She turned her head to look behind. She could see Sienna gripping her staff with her bloodied hands and pointing it toward her.
Her eyes were bloodshot and red as she glared at Noir.
"If you disregard my kindness, even I cannot help but become angry. Should I tear off your limbs to make you behave?" Noir asked.
Still, Sienna did not respond. Her anger had long surpassed its limits, preventing her from hearing Noir's taunts. Instead, she distinctly heard other voices — Kristina and Anise's. Despite being busy with other matters , they were aware of Sienna's injuries and intended to treat them.
'No need,' Sienna thought, directly rejecting the Saints' offer for healing. 'I like it better this way.'
The restriction and pain of her broken limbs made her acutely aware of her pitiful state. Sienna bit her lip once more.
Whoosh!
Soul energy surged, and a galaxy appeared behind her.
This spectacle annoyed Noir. She saw the vast galaxy unfolding behind Sienna.
It was different in depth and intensity from anything she had seen in Hauria. Noir felt it, though she could not fully comprehend the depth and potential it held.
Noir pondered for a moment. Should she put Sienna under forced slumber again? Even if Sienna could separate her soul and extract herself from the dream, she would not be able to launch any counterattacks.
Or perhaps she should reconstruct the enormous dream she had ended — the dream that had been broken by shaking the city awake. Although it would be a more fragile, brittle dream than the original, it would still suffice to imprison and kill Sienna.
— Dreams are, after all, meant to be awakened from.
She recalled the voice. A thin smile graced Noir’s lips. That alone made her abandon the idea of reconstructing the city's dream.
"Really now,” Noir muttered under her breath once more while shaking her finger.
Ching!
Chains appeared around Sienna.
"You should consider yourself lucky,” said Noir.
Hamel had wished for reality, not dreams. Thus, Noir had willingly died to Eugene in the dream and had forsaken the dream.
She did not recreate the demolished dream. This was fortunate for Sienna. If Noir had not abandoned the city's dream — Sienna's magic would never have threatened her.
"So, you should appreciate your current luck and mercy. Stay still," she advised.
The chains slithered towards Sienna. She did not react and stood motionless.
Sienna kept Mary pointed towards Noir, just like before. The anger that had swelled in her chest cooled, and her mind became tranquil. In the frozen silence, only the clinking of the chains rang clear.
She listened more intently. Beyond the sound of the chains, she heard faint whispers. This was not human language but the voices of mana she always heard while metamorphosing. She listened to these whispers.
The chains of Incarceration were one of her many traumas. She remembered how helpless she had been in Babel after being restricted by those chains. She had been left unable to do anything.
But this was not Babel. This was the city of Noir Giabella, the Queen of Whores whom Sienna had despised. Sienna admitted it: Noir was stronger than her. Even if she was the Queen of Whores, she was truly powerful.
Do nothing and just stay still? Watch as she and Hamel kill each other?
Of course not. Sienna despised everything that mocked her powerlessness. She had already been sick of this damn emotion three hundred years ago. She never wanted to experience it again.
To overcome it, she needed to surmount those damn chains. The chains of Incarceration moved towards her, and at that moment—
Sienna's time stopped. The world's time flowed uninterrupted, but Sienna's did not. In her own eternity, her consciousness accelerated. The moment the chains touched Sienna, the galaxy unfolded behind her radiated light.
This was the manifestation of her endless mana. Sienna herself had dismantled the Eternal Hole, which she thought was already complete, in the process of reaching the divine level of magic.
The present form was not merely infinity in words. It spoke of infinity and did not remain finite.
The infinite magic comprehended the power of Incarceration. Like a blooming flower, the magic pushed the chains away.
Fsssst!
The chains began to corrode after being wrapped in magic. All of this happened in an instant.
“…?” Noir could not comprehend what had happened to her. It all felt like a sudden illusion.
It wasn't much different, really. Just as Noir had transformed illusions into reality through the Demoneye of Fantasy, Sienna had conjured miracles and illusions originating from mana. These were chains replicated through magic. Hundreds of chains swiftly bound Noir.
"Aha..." Noir gasped.
Sienna’s chains possessed a power similar to that of the chains of Incarceration. Noir’s dark power was being suppressed. Noir laughed in delight as she felt her power being drained rapidly.
She was quite pleased with Sienna Merdein's current malice. If not for Hamel, such malice alone might have excited her.
But with Hamel present, infidelity was out of the question. How could she stray when the man she loved was watching her with wide eyes?
Noir chuckled and tried to move her body, but it barely responded. The chains were incredibly strong, and even Noir couldn't easily shake them off.
Yet, Noir whispered without a hint of panic, "Is this your true limit?"
Sienna had just knelt on one knee after staggering. She gasped for air and clutched her chest with her hand. Replicating the chains of Incarceration through magic, suppressing Noir Giabella's endless and ferocious dark power — all of it placed a great strain on Sienna.
"I'd clap again, but my hands are tied. Or maybe I should kill you with praise…." Noir gave a deep sigh. "This is why I didn't want to play with you."
The smile vanished from Noir's face. "Me being like this, and you like that. It's as if I'm…."
A delightful chill ran down her back. She wanted to be deeply embraced by the murderous intent.
"…a villainess tormenting the heroine." Noir sighed heavily and turned her head.
Eugene, who should have been trapped in an endless bombardment, was now looking this way, not with a single wing but a pair of blazing wings of fire.
Noir saw the swirling black ashes around Eugene. Had he obliterated the attacks with a single strike? Impossible. The bombardment should have continued.
'He must have burned the very illusion I created,' Noir realized.
She saw Levantein glowing with a dark, burning flame.
Eugene was exuding more firepower than when he had killed Gavid Lindman. It didn’t look like he had used Ignition. So what were those wings? Noir felt a moment of doubt but quickly composed herself.
She grimaced.
Noir struggled within the binding of chains and burst into tears.
"Help me, Hamel!" she cried.