As the feather vortex continued to swirl fiercely, the expressions of Eva and Agatha turned worse. Hank’s, on the other hand, turned pleased.
Only White Angel’s expression remained the same as ever, cold and detached. She made a squeezing motion, and in response, the glowing vortex brutally shrank inward.
"This is the end!" Hank said happily. "I have won!"
Just then, an ear-piercing crackling sound erupted from the vortex. Dazzling, twisting colorful lights followed, scattering through the layers of feathers. As the feathers spread apart, the colorful lights shot straight into the sky, turning it into psychedelic.
The expressions of everyone drastically changed and they looked at the collapsing vortex in utter disbelief.
Among the swirling feathers, Kiba stood, his eyes shut and body torn opened with wounds.
"Purgatory: Effulgence."
His eyes opened up violently, glowing with warping colorful patterns.
RIIPP
The psychedelic sky split apart and a crevice burst into existence; forming a gateway to the dimension filled with depthless, twisting colorful stripes.
These stripes shot down and spread around like a curtain.
Swoosh~!
They covered everything, from the ground to the sky, making everyone feel as if they were thrust into a kaleidoscope.
OOO!
Vengeful cries and shrieking howls rang out as colorful shadows emerged from the stripes, resembling ghosts and demons.
"What the hell are they?!"
Loqua’s eyes dramatically bulged. He sensed energy so dreadful and menacing that his very soul trembled, feeling as if it was both refined and punished.
The alien creatures around him seemed to agree with his feelings as they scrambled backward. Just seeing the shadows made them feel as if they were in the presence of the almighty figures that carried the power of judgment, murder, and mercilessness.
Hank was similarly scared. He quickly retreated while wondering what was going on.
"What type of purgatory is this?"
...
Inside the isolated space, Agatha and Eva similarly felt dizzy despite being in incorporeal forms.
Only Hope looked excitedly at the colorful world; her eyes flashing with the fleeting blurs of shadows.
White Angel lifted her arms up as the vague shadows flew towards her. Glowing wings materialized in her hands and she whipped them out.
Not only her feathers were extremely sharp and filled with power to penetrate anything, but they also shouldered the weight of thousands of tons; strong enough to crush everything.
Such frightening feathers made the wings!
TRINGGGG
The wings tore through the air at a speed that left behind hundreds of afterimages, making it impossible for others to even notice the movements.
Space trembled, air whooshed ominously, and piercing winds spread around.
A ghost howled as a glowing wing stabbed through it.
BANG
Its frightening figure shattered like a brittle mirror, fading into the air.
Even as this ghost disappeared, White Angel sliced apart a hundred more. Her casual whipping carried the power to destroy those others found terrifying!
Swoosh~!
As colorful dust scattered into the air, she thrust one wing at Kiba while using the other to fend more ghosts.
Seeing the wing stabbing forward, Kiba pulled a colorful stripe and snapped it. Ghosts flew out and crunched down on the wing with their mouths.
"!"
Sparkling colorful lights erupted, turning into icy patterns that embedded on the wing like a tattoo.
White Angel narrowed her eyes and observed the icy patterns.
Instead of eating, the ghosts were "purifying" the wing. But unlike the humane concepts of purgatory and its function, this purifying was different.
The colorful patterns were refining her source of existence! That too by stripping off her energy and will!
And instead of heavens, if the purgatory succeeded, what awaited for her was an existence that was no different than these ghosts!
BOOM
An extremely fierce aura exploded out of her. Her powers amplified and the ghosts on the wing detonated.
~tap~
At the same time, Kiba charged at her, wielding multiple stripes. At an equally impossible speed, White Angel brought the wing facing the ghosts in front of her, slashing it out diagonally.
BOOOOOM
The stripes and wing collided, creating a dazzling explosion. The colorful shockwaves swept out, wreaking havoc in all directions. Everything in their range instantly reduced to pulp.
The ground sank further and further, and even before the direct collision ended, Kiba summoned another ability.
"Gravity Cage."
As the terrifying pull of gravity emerged, White Angel’s body bulged down and her hands trembled.
The ghosts used this opportunity to attack her face and neck; branding her angelic white features with colorful patterns.
White Angel was different than the earlier victims of Gravity Cage.
Despite the overbearing force of gravity, she neither kneeled nor let the weapons in her hands turn into dust.
Grabbing the wings tightly, she sliced them through the intangible cage of gravity.
SCREECH~!
The powerful gravitational force shattered with a loud screeching sound. The intangible shards of gravity scattered around, bursting past Kiba and White Angel.
"That’s how a battle should be!" Kiba exclaimed. "The enemy having the power to nullify your attacks!"
White Angel remained silent.
Ignoring the attacks of ghosts and demons that continue to decorate her body with sparkling patterns, she smashed the wings on Kiba.
"Cough!"
Kiba coughed up a mouthful of blood. His chest and hands ripped open, and hot blood splashed out.
Kiba ignored the pain as the impact sent him flying. He put his feet on the ground forcefully and stopped himself from dragging back any further.
"This is so much fun!" Kiba grinned as blood trickled down his lips. "But now is the time we bring this to the end!"
He lifted his bloody hand towards the crevice in the sky before abruptly bringing it down.
"!"
White Angel crushed the ghosts and demons on her body and looked up.
More colorful stripes shot down, but unlike anything before, they transformed into ghostly chains.
They pierced through space and swung directly at her!
White Angel’s eyes constricted and she jumped up. Even as she jumped, more chains followed, trying to coil around her.
In mid-air, she spread her arms and flapped the wings in circular motions. The air churned and wind currents swirled together to transform into multiple vortexes!
BOOM
The vortexes smashed onto the crevice. Terrifying fluctuations rippled out and multiple chains scattered into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Kiba lifted an arm and a ghostly chain flashed in his hand. Just like the other chains, its end part extended into the crevice.
Feeling the chain in his hand, White Angel locked her eyes on him. Grabbing her left wing like an arrow, she shot it at him, embedding it with all her strength.
The wing screeched through the air like a tornado, glowing with sharp swirls, ready to stab him to death.
"Thanks for the offer, but I’m not interested in dying!"
The colorful patterns in his eyes brightened and hundreds of ghosts swept around him, stopping the wing.
KRRRR
The wing sliced through the vengeful ghosts like a sword beam. The resulting shockwaves cut through the surrounding ghosts.
BANG
The ghosts died instantly, but that time was enough for him to dodge to the side and break the wing with Gravity Punch.
At the same time, as White Angel continued to clash with the ghostly chains, she leaped backward as she sensed Kiba closing onto her.
"Please, don’t dodge this time!"
Kiba increased his speed to the limit and charged at her.
White Angel reacted with extraordinary speed to bring wings to stop him. Cyclonic ripples swept out, surging with violent winds.
RIPPPP
The wind currents shredded Kiba’s flesh, making his blood spill out. To her surprise, he neither winced nor cried, and instead, smiled with madness.
"!!"
White Angele’s expression twisted.
Under her dumbstruck eyes, the ghostly chain shot through the wings and stabbed right into her chest.
Instantly, she sensed the "purifying" force blooming. Colorful patterns emerged on her chest and spread into her insides, erasing her source of existence.
She felt herself turning a part of something else, something extremely sinister!
Cough!
Her heart sank further as the chain yanked out of her back and then shot back into the crevice. Now, both ends of chains were in the crevice, and she was stuck in between!
Even as this happened, the other ghostly chains fused with the chain stuck inside her, enhancing its durability.
White Angel realized destroying the chain was impossible. Still, she couldn’t let her target go.
And how could she?
Her existence was that of Alpha!
An early-stage Level VII being!
Something the mortals of this world regarded as Gods!
Snapping her teeth, she materialized more wings and crushed them on Kiba.
"Your speed has reduced and so has your strength."
Kiba said as he easily avoided the shocking crushing power.
"So it is time for goodbye."
White Angel disagreed. She refused to give up.
As the crevice began to pull the chain up, and her by the extension, she brightened her body with dazzling power.
Multiple vortexes swept out and submerged Kiba into fatal airwaves.
By the time White Angel managed to do so, the chain dragged her struggling body into the crevice.
The countless ghosts and demons - that couldn’t leave the gateway due to Kiba’s limitations - eagerly opened their mouths. They looked forward to adding a powerful existence to their ranks...
BANG
Kiba destroyed the airwaves and landed on the ground. The wounds on his body started healing rapidly and he eyed the fading crevice.
"We will meet again, but with different roles."
Kiba said with a sigh as the purgatory disappeared.
...
Since he never got the opportunity to practice Purgatory: Effulgence, he wasn’t able to use it as he wished. Nor was he able to bring out its true power.
"Oh well, there might be opportunities in the future."
Kiba thought with a smile.
The reason he spend so many efforts in facing White Angel was that he wanted to test the weakness of his abilities. His intention was never to gain battle experience.
Shaking his head, he turned towards Hank. The latter was kilometers away, but when he sensed the gaze, he flinched and swallowed down.
Trembling, he turned around.
"Forgive me!"
Hank kneeled down.
"Well...."
Kiba was about to continue when, out of nowhere, energy threads pierced through Hank’s armor. The cybernetic circuits imploded and the armor shortcircuited.
"AHHHHH!"
Hank screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
"Pardon my intrusion, Mister Kiba."
Loqua said as he appeared before Hank.
"I have to thank Chairman Hank for his help in progressing our well-laid-out plan."