Chapter 135 — Dandelion [25] - Nothingness

Anyone who had managed to become a Great Knight was ruthless and, above all else, decisive.

Once a Great Knight had settled on a decision, they wouldn’t hesitate for long and would immediately act accordingly.

Marquis Lavender, being a Great Knight and a famous noble, also belonged to this type of people.

Thus, the moment that thought arose, vast Life Force began flowing into his hands and then flying out of his body.

His muscles and tendons trembled as the unbearable Life Force coursed through him, and even the outpouring of his Life Seed paused for a brief moment, as if it were unable to support such high intensity.

Marquis Lavender perceived these changes and also felt the agonizing pain assaulting his body.

However, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

Violet Life Force continuously flowed out of his body and gathered in the air before him, taking the form of a massive purple sword, more than five meters in length from its tip to the handle.

Intricate symbols and patterns were woven across its surface, while its edge shone with a radiant light that betrayed its supreme sharpness.

A powerful aura that faintly surpassed the Great Knight rank emanated from it, presenting an air of majesty, authority, and power.

It seemed that a lot of time had passed.

But in reality, from the moment that Marquis Lavender made his decision to the time when the giant purple sword manifested, less than a split second had gone by.

Before Liora could interfere, the blade had already taken form not far away from her, its sharp edge reflected in her blood-red eyes.

Then, a soft, quiet whisper echoed in her ears, coming straight out of Marquis Lavender’s mouth.

"Amethyst Swordfall!", he whispered.

The second his words fell, the purple sword flashed through the air.

In the blink of an eye, it teleported a few meters above her.

Violet brilliance shone across its surface and fell like gentle sunlight, as if a divine being was descending into this world.

However, faced with what should have been a stunning and heartwarming scene, Liora didn’t feel cozy at all.

As the violet light brushed against her skin, she detected that an invisible domain was being constructed, blocking the space around her and locking her in place.

At the same time, her Life Force suddenly went out of control, becoming increasingly difficult to manipulate and thus impossible to form a defense.

"A Lesser Devil attack.", Liora mumbled.

Although it seemed impossible for a mere Great Knight to be able to unleash such a powerful strike, Liora understood that she was not mistaken.

The move that Marquis Lavender unleashed had indeed surpassed the Young Devil stage and reached the level of a Lesser Devil.

Though it had only crossed the threshold, this was still not a power that a being below the Lesser Devil stage should wield.

’Is this related to the rank above Great Knights? Perhaps it’s a skill that Knights of this rank can use. The Marquis is only able to activate it due to igniting his Life Seed and recklessly overdrafting his own vitality.’, Liora realized.

But her analysis didn’t solve her current predicament.

After blocking the space around her, the purple sword didn’t remain motionless.

Just like its name—Amethyst Swordfall—would suggest, the sword descended, firing towards her like a crumbling mountain.

Liora’s first instinct was to activate Life Ignition and break free. But, recalling the aura she had sensed not long ago, she restrained that impulse.

She understood that getting rid of the Marquis was never going to be the end of today’s events. Therefore, it would be wiser to keep a trump card hidden.

Thinking of this, Liora didn’t choose to rely on her Devil abilities, nor did she utilize her power as a Great Knight.

Rather, she chose to activate something she had not made use of in quite some time—Tongue of the Abyss.

Having acquired the Space Orb, Liora’s study of the mysterious blood had resumed. Thus, this self-developed ability—whose effects had once been quite straightforward—had undergone a major upgrade.

As Liora raised her head, her lips parted.

An unexplainable power rose from her throat and emerged from her mouth, turning into a mess of garbled and disorderly words.

Accompanying these words was a flurry of symbols, which hurried towards the falling purple sword.

The symbols soon stopped along its path and contorted, combining in the air as if they were pieces of a larger puzzle.

The air in the hall froze.

The symbols soon united, transforming into a bizarre and squirming Devil Rune that seemed to describe everything evil.

The next second, its surface snapped, and from within shot a thin black thread.

Resembling a tentacle, the thread whistled through the air, its glossy tip soon touching the purple sword.

As it did, the sword’s momentum halted.

In the distance, Marquis Lavender sensed that his connection with the sword had been severed, as if an invisible power had interfered with his authority over its control.

His Life Force surged and poured into this connection, wishing to wipe this power out.

Fortunately, the Marquis discovered that this power was surprisingly fragile and that it wouldn’t take him long to erase it.

In his opinion, it would take less than a second—no, less than half a second—for the power to dissipate completely.

Unfortunately, what he did not know was that Liora was not going to give him the time required.

Noticing that the sword’s downward charge had stopped and realizing that Tongue of the Abyss had taken effect, Liora’s eyes narrowed.

Her mind moved, and a pale domain expanded with her as its center, soon reaching the Marquis’s location and engulfing him.

The next moment, she pointed at him with her fingers and brought her hand upwards while her lips parted.

"Soul Annihilation...", she whispered.

As her words fell, a white light flashed, and her field of vision shifted.

Before her eyes, the Silent Domain beneath Marquis Lavender twisted and transformed into a pale hand.

Unbeknownst to the Marquis, the hand slowly rose and dug into his body, reaching for his soul and exiling it to Nothingness.