Chapter 220: Above Heaven, Below Earth, I Alone Am Supreme

That straight beam of light pierced through the vault of the Origin Space, then plunged beneath the water's surface, extending who knows how far into the abyss reflected in the world below.

The smile on the red-haired girl's face remained undiminished, but the Witch King before her frowned once again.

Flying Sword of the Heavens - Celestial Dragon Flash!

As everyone knows... or perhaps not everyone knows.

In "Staking Sword and Heart, Dodging Soldiers of All Sizes," the Celestial Dragon Flash, as the ultimate technique that surpasses the Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, works on the principle that the ultra-high air pressure created by the extreme speed of the blade draws surrounding air inward, pinning the opponent in place.

Of course, she didn't actually know the Flying Sword of the Heavens style, but that didn't stop her from replicating the effect using the gravitational pull of [Azure].

When this blade was unleashed, the blue light gathered at the sword's tip flew toward the infinite heights of the sky, as if it would never return.

But the witch reacted in an instant, her body folding together once more, and her sword light, wrapped in black fog, swept out horizontally again, intent on cutting the girl before her in two.

The world-erasing sword light appeared once more.

Yet Lin Guang still moved as if playing, leaning backward with the flow, her asymmetrical wings carrying her in an extremely relaxed arc as she floated backward to dodge, then smoothly soared back into the sky.

At the center of the battlefield, that expressionless face of the Pride Witch once again showed visible displeasure.

Even...

Deep in her eyes, a hint of human-like tension flashed uncontrollably.

Not because she had been struck.

Essentially, as long as she denied the fact that she was injured, she couldn't be injured, let alone die - that was the terrifying aspect of the Pride Domain. The impact of physical-world attacks could be almost completely ignored.

The most baffling part of all this was...

Even with the Pride Witch suppressing with all her might, her Domain was still being drained away.

In just these few brief exchanges of attacks, her authority had already evaporated by another seven percent!

[Pride Domain: 10.1% → 17.1%]

Lin Guang's gaze left the system panel. She still stood weightlessly in the sky, making no move to attack, not even bothering to look at the Witch King. Instead, she turned her head and casually waved her asymmetrical wings.

Sparks scattered in abundance, drifting toward the phoenix-born Sacred Tree, merging into it.

The golden leaves seemed to be dyed in vibrant, vigorous crimson.

Kazenari Town.

The Sacred Tree Barrier's suppression of the demon beasts was restored, even more powerful than at its peak.

On the battered streets, nearly all the Claw-types and dangerous species dissipated into black fog amidst their cries, leaving only the monstrous Nightmare Seeds, though they too had been greatly weakened.

In contrast.

Golden rain fell once again, and all the magical girls felt that inexhaustible vitality surging back. Even the holes torn in the void were healing at breakneck speed.

Smiles reappeared on the faces of the Previous Magical Girls.

They steeled themselves with renewed vigor and threw themselves back into battle, clearing out the remaining enemies.

Seeing that the girl before her still had the leisure to influence the outside world through the Place of Origin, the pitch-black witch seemed truly enraged.

She waved her hand violently.

The reflected world seemed to boil.

Endless black fog condensed into terrifying sword energy, surging up from the water's surface, then erupting at light speed toward the red-haired girl from every conceivable angle without a single blind spot.

Every single one carried terrifying erasure power!

Lin Guang hovered in midair, calmly raising her left hand.

Humm -

All the black sword energy came to an abrupt standstill exactly one meter from her body.

As if blocked by an absolutely impassable invisible barrier, the sword energy trembled violently but couldn't advance even a single millimeter further. Instead, it was continuously erased in reverse, dissolving into nothingness.

It was eerily similar to the scene at the beginning when everyone had surrounded the Witch King and attacked to no avail.

Except this time, the one whose attacks were ineffective was her.

Not only that, but Su Fang, Zihan, Amber, and even Tang Keren's pink domain all seemed to be protected by her as well, unharmed by anything.

Everyone watched as the red-haired girl stood at the center of a cage formed by pitch-black blades, gazing up at the sky with a composed expression.

Her right hand's sword pointed at the heavens still faintly glowing with blue light, her other hand pointed at the water surface reflecting the black-fog world below, and her sweet yet calm voice resounded across the entire world:

"Above heaven, below earth, I alone am supreme."

The moment the words fell.

Kazenari Town erupted in earth-shaking cheers.

Inside the shelters, the children who had been crying moments ago now stared intently at the massive light screen in the sky, forgetting even to wipe their noses, their faces flushed with excitement. The adults likewise pumped their fists vigorously, shouting the girl's name at the top of their lungs.

And the magical girls of past generations who had just beaten back a wave of demon beasts at the rift, watching that leisurely combat stance on the light screen, couldn't suppress their excited grins either.

"Well done! My dearest friend! Take her down just like that!"

Zihan waved her fist and shouted with excitement.

Su Fang had already returned to everyone's position, her azure eyes filled with awe: "Amazing! Senior Mengmengxiang is just too strong!"

"Speaking of which... those moves were all aimed at lethal spots, right? Has Senior Mengmengxiang already forgotten about Senior Airwen?"

Phoenix: "...Hard to say."

Tang Keren snorted: "Doesn't matter. Let her be forgotten."

Su Fang stuck out her tongue in a playful gesture, then switched topics: "By the way, what were those strange magical techniques?"

"And the staff turned into a sword... does the senior actually know swordsmanship?"

"Domain-type powers are too high-level. Even I've only heard of them. How would I know?"

Phoenix ribbed: "But her swordsmanship is... I mean, it barely looks like it has some form, but it feels like the kind of body-training ordinary people do. The only reason she can fight like this is pure raw power and fast reflexes."

Amber, sitting on her broom, watched the battlefield and spoke slowly in a soft voice: "I do have a theory, though."

"Those seemingly flashy magical techniques and incantation chants don't actually have any special meaning. They're just Mengmengxiang's imagination."

"The so-called Pride Domain means that whatever you believe to be real, becomes real."

Tang Keren covered her mouth: "That powerful?!"

- Doesn't that mean anything she wishes comes true?

"Hmm... it probably isn't as exaggerated as you're thinking. It only works this well because we're in a world that's neither fully real nor fully fake."

"And besides, the essence of their battle is actually a contest over the world's authority. Physical wounds probably can't kill the other party, so they can't produce a decisive effect."

"Whether they use their Domain to erase everything or create everything, at their core they're just using the Domain. It should be an even match."

Amber paused, her amber-colored eyes shimmering with the light of contemplation:

"At most, if you can gain the upper hand in battle, interfere with the other's use of power, or make the other feel distracted or waver in resolve, it helps in seizing authority... probably?"