As the Earth God’s estimation of Alice’s prowess continued to climb, the ferocity of the battle escalated. The light bullets fired from the deity’s wings were far swifter than before, raining down in a relentless, powerful barrage, yet they still failed to graze her.
The Earth God processed every twitch as it watched Alice evade the attacks with movements that bordered on the artistic. She wasn't exceptionally fast, yet she remained untouchable. To its eyes, Alice possessed power on par with the highest tier of beings in this world. Usually, those who wielded such overwhelming strength became sloppy in their combat, but Alice’s techniques were the perfection of the "weapon of the weak," polished to an absolute sheen.
At the root of her strength lay an impossibly sharp sense of crisis perception and an equally profound adaptability. She sensed approaching danger with terrifying speed, accurately selecting the perfect counter from her vast repertoire of maneuvers. It was a level of mastery born from a mountain of combat experience. The Earth God surmised she was well-acquainted with facing opponents far beyond her own caliber.
This realization, however, brought a contradiction. As a being who already ranked among the world's elite, why was she so used to being the underdog? Her ability to react to novel attacks and unfamiliar angles suggested she was intimately familiar with being outmatched. This proved that Alice was not a powerhouse by birth, like the Earth God. She was a being who had clawed her way up from weakness to godhood.
Admiration swelled within the Earth God. It wondered just how many staggering death-denying trials she had endured to sharpen her blade to the point where she could hold her own against it. Yet, it could not afford to remain distracted by its awe. It had yet to achieve its primary objective: observing Kaito. From the surface, Kaito appeared to be nothing more than a common mortal, but the Earth God doubted that was the whole truth. It had intended to look deeper into his soul when Alice had interfered, drawing it far away from him.
"Ending... quickly."
Alice’s combat style was fascinating, and the deity had been holding back until now, but it could no longer afford to delay. A prolonged battle was of no consequence to the Earth God, and the girl could likely keep pace, but a flicker of unease gnawed at the deity. I am eternal, and the girl before me is likely the same. But what of the human? Unlike a god, humans could not generate energy indefinitely. If this fight lasted days or years, he might perish. Even if he survived, if that human were to suffer from hunger, would that not count as having harmed him?
If that happened, Shallow Vernal's other half would intervene. That was the worst-case scenario; it would prevent any further evaluation of the human’s worth. With that conclusion, the Earth God finally unleashed an attack at full power—at least in terms of raw output.
It conjured hundreds of millions of light bullets, each several meters across, and fired them at near-light speed. The resulting torrent of light filled the void, swallowing Alice and triggering an explosion of cataclysmic proportions.
"Settled...?"
"Heh... Hehehe... Hahaha..."
Even as the Earth God questioned the result, Alice’s laughter echoed through the dissipating smoke. She stood there, completely unscathed.
"Ever since I lost everyone, I’ve always been incomplete... like I was mismatched and missing parts," she said.
"Magic power... rising rapidly?"
"There’s an enemy in front of me that I have to defeat, and a precious existence behind me that I must protect. Ah, this is it... This is the real me. Finally, finally... I’ve caught up to my old self."
"!?"
"This is it—this very moment—the zenith of my soul! Surpass the limits and weave the world! Hecatoncheir!!"
With a fierce cry, the countless motes of light surrounding her were absorbed into her body. Her presence swelled, and her magic power spiked in response. Though she stood alone, it felt as though an entire army was manifesting behind her. A predator's smile played across her lips.
"Iris, Noel... everyone, lend me your strength. I won’t let Kaito-san be taken. I won’t lose him. I won’t lose to anyone! Now... let’s begin! The Second God-slaying!"
"Capabilities rising... threat confirmed."
Flashes of light detonated across the infinite void. The Earth God discarded all restraint, unleashing a barrage of diverse attacks. Alice remained untouchable. When the deity formed a massive sword of light to sweep the area, she dissolved into a mist-like state to evade. When it enclosed The Four directions with walls of light to eliminate escape routes and fired attacks inside, Alice, having shifted into yet another form, slipped through the barriers.
Through the exchange, the Earth God came to recognize the nature of her power. The ability she called Hecatoncheir allowed her to transform into and wield the powers of those who met certain criteria. There were two versions: instantaneous bursts and sustained transformations. The latter were the most troublesome. A girl with two-toned hair and a massive staff; a golden-haired woman wielding twin blades of light; a red-haired spear knight who seemed cloaked in flame; and a man in Ritual Robes clutching a scripture. Though the Earth God had only seen these four so far, the opponents holding weapons were clearly superior to her other forms. Even against the Earth God's relentless adaptation, Alice countered every move with precision.
Currently, half of the Earth God’s wings had been shorn away, and its body was marred by numerous cuts. It was being pressured. Of course, it was far from defeated; it could choose to let its body undergo annihilation and then reconstruct it at will. It only left the wounds alone because they hadn't hindered its movements.
However, its offensive moves were reaching a stalemate. It could surmise that the most effective means of attack against Alice would be a super-wide-range attack that was impossible to evade, but Kaito might be caught in the crossfire. Even physical combat might generate shockwaves that would endanger him. Bound by its promise to Shallow Vernal, the Earth God could not choose those paths. As it pondered its next move, it leveled its hand at the approaching girl.
"!? Tsk..."
Alice’s brow furrowed for a fraction of a second. She lunged forward with sudden impatience, closing the gap at a moment she usually would have evaded. The Earth God didn't miss the opening. It pulled back its hand and braced itself, taking the full force of her fist and being sent flying.
"...Eh?"
Because the strike had landed so cleanly, Alice's eyes widened in surprise. She wore an expression of deep contemplation as she stopped moving for a moment. Then, after seeing the Earth God regain its posture, she vanished, reappearing instantly at Kaito’s side.
"Eh? Alice!? What just happened?"
To Kaito’s human eyes, the battle had been nothing more than distant, incomprehensible flashes of light. He looked at her in confusion as she suddenly reappeared. Alice ignored his question for a moment, keeping her eyes fixed on the distant deity.
"Kaito-san... it seems that guy has no intention of hurting you."
"...Eh?"
"A moment ago, for just a second, you and I were lined up perfectly from its perspective. I had a plan to handle it if it fired, but for that deity, it was a golden opportunity—an attack I couldn't have dodged without leaving you exposed. But it stopped."
Alice had realized that while she had been fighting to keep the conflict away from Kaito, the Earth God had been doing the same. It hadn't used any wide-range annihilation techniques.
"It likely avoided attacking because it didn't want me to dodge and have the attack hit you. It seems that guy has circumstances that prevent it from hurting you. So, what do you want to do? It looks like we might be able to settle this peacefully."
Recognizing the high probability that the Earth God would not or could not hurt Kaito, Alice's heated mind cooled, and she sought his judgment. Kaito remained silent, processing the sudden shift. Then, the Earth God, its wounds now completely healed, drifted closer toward them.