As Hei Yan spoke, a violent tremor erupted from her side, blasting the pursuing Setsuna backward. Setsuna was startled, and then, centered around Hei Yan, four black holes, each over two meters in diameter, suddenly appeared to her southeast, northwest, and the other cardinal directions. Four figures slowly emerged from these voids.

To the east stood a girl with black hair, green eyes, and pale skin, clad in a black, skin-tight suit. She bore a pair of tailbone-like horns on her head, wielded a pitch-black Reaper’s Scythe, and two enormous black skulls floated beside her, radiating a terrifying green light that inspired awe.

Damn it! Isn't that the Death Sovereign?!

The moment Lin Luo saw her, his eyeballs nearly popped out. That demonic-looking girl was none other than the entity who coexisted with Hei Yan in the Pure White World—and also Hei Yan's sworn enemy, the ruler of the Doomsday World. Lin Luo was shocked that this formidable being would serve as one of Hei Yan's Guardian Seals!

What about the others?

Lin Luo looked again. Emerging from the southern black hole was a short-haired, white-haired Loli, wearing a black hood that covered her mouth area. She sported massive steel gauntlets on both hands, disproportionate to her slight frame, and a metallic, spine-like tail twitched slightly behind her... Lin Luo recognized this person too; she was also an inhabitant of the Pure White World, named Power!

Over in the west was another woman with horns, sporting long hair that was half black and half red, pale skin, and red eyes. Red flames burned in her right eye, and even her devil horns were crimson. Her hands were replaced by two sets of bone claws, and her attire mirrored Hei Yan’s. In her right hand, she carried a massive serrated greatsword nearly as tall as she was... Naturally, this creature was the Black Gold Serrated Hand from the Pure White World!

Finally, from the northern black hole walked out a blonde girl wearing a spiked circlet. Her limbs were encased in cold iron armor, but her feet were composed of two rolling wheels. Most striking, however, was her gaze—so cold it seemed capable of piercing the soul, as if she were an emotionless entity... This one was also from the Pure White World: the Battle Wheel Fairy!

Although the names suggested that Hei Yan's Guardian Seals were not just one person but an entire cohort, Lin Luo never imagined Hei Yan would summon these beings. Despite their connection, their relationships seemed far from cordial!

And this wasn't a "Berserk Squad"—it was clearly a monster legion!

Lin Luo felt a profound sense of incongruity.

Setsuna and Kinoka had likely never witnessed Hei Yan’s Guardian Seals either. Seeing so many bizarre creatures suddenly appear startled them both.

"Wow, there are so many of them. They look terrifying," Kinoka exclaimed, covering her mouth. Yet, despite her words, her eyes showed no fear; instead, they looked quite fascinated.

"Mistress, do not be careless. These individuals are immensely powerful!" Setsuna warned, knowing Kinoka naturally lacked a sense of tension. In Setsuna’s view, any one of these four was an opponent on par with herself.

Although this was supposed to be a friendly spar where no one would face mortal danger given their strength, both sides were fighting all out. Just in case, Setsuna instinctively retreated to Kinoka’s side, shielding her.

"Heh heh." As Setsuna moved to defend, the Death Sovereign let out a wicked laugh and instantly lunged forward. The two floating skulls spewed green light to disrupt Setsuna’s vision, while her pitch-black Reaper’s Scythe aimed directly for Setsuna’s neck, threatening a lethal blow.

Setsuna’s expression tightened. Ignoring the interference of the green light, she unleashed a sword strike at top speed. Clang! The katana met the scythe, spitting out fierce sparks.

Simultaneously, the Black Gold Serrated Hand attacked rapidly from another angle, her serrated blade chopping down toward Setsuna's head.

Setsuna, occupied defending against the Death Sovereign's relentless assault, found herself unable to parry. Out of options, she brought her feet together, narrowly blocking the Black Gold Serrated Hand’s attack.

But this was a battle fought against superior numbers. At that moment, Power flashed forward with lightning speed, her steel-forged wrists slamming heavily into Setsuna’s abdomen—BOOM!

True to her name, Power had no other discernible advantage besides brute strength, which was unparalleled among the Pure White World inhabitants; perhaps even the other three combined couldn't match her. With this single blow, Setsuna nearly blacked out, her face paling. Even Kinoka, standing not far behind her, was knocked back by the sheer force.

She truly was a Monster Loli of immense strength.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The Berserk Squad’s assault did not cease. As the trio landed their strikes, the Battle Wheel Fairy’s wheels spun rapidly, igniting flames where they scraped the air, as she charged down toward Setsuna from above.

"Ugh!" Facing four opponents, all of whom were her equal, it was almost impossible for Setsuna to prevail.

Now, facing the Battle Wheel Fairy’s attack, she couldn't even defend, much less evade.

"Ah, I won't allow you to bully Little Setsa like this!" Seeing Setsuna utterly defenseless against the combined assault of the four, Kinoka grew agitated. With a casual wave of her hand, the East Wind Fan and the South Wind Fan flew out, whipping up four massive columns of water from the sea surface, instantly forming water dragons a hundred meters long that swept toward the Berserk Squad.

"I won't let you succeed." Hei Yan charged toward her rapidly. She knew Kinoka’s laid-back nature well and understood that Kinoka would never use her full strength unless absolutely necessary. If Kinoka wanted a real fight, Hei Yan needed to employ extraordinary measures, and this was the perfect opportunity.

"Hehe, although Earth counters Water, we are currently in the sea. That saves me a lot of trouble; who counters whom isn't decided yet."

Kinoka remained fearless, retaining her unconcerned demeanor. She waved her hand again: "Aria of the Water God!"

Instantly, a water giant over a hundred meters high materialized on the sea surface. It not only neutralized Hei Yan’s attack but also brought its massive, sky-obscuring palm down forcefully toward Hei Yan.

"Earth is everywhere." Hei Yan seemed unfazed, flicking her finger forward. An aura of earth surged from the sea surface. Before the Water God’s attack could land, the entire water giant was petrified by her power.

"Oh my! That was amazing, it seems there really is a counter," a flicker of surprise crossed Kinoka’s face. The next instant, unparalleled magic surged from within her body, channeled entirely into the petrified water giant. In mere moments, the surface stone shattered. The water giant’s palm continued its descent, catching Hei Yan unprepared and smashing her backward.

Earth countering Water is the common rule, but if the power levels are too disparate, no counter holds true. In terms of power density, Kinoka, possessing infinite magic reserves, clearly surpassed Hei Yan.

On the other side, the four water dragons also displayed formidable power. Before the Battle Wheel Fairy’s attack could reach Setsuna, one of the water dragons viciously clamped down on her and dragged her into the ocean depths.

The other three quickly retreated when they saw the unfavorable situation, narrowly evading the water dragon’s strikes.

Simultaneously, a band of water coiled around Setsuna’s waist, pulling her back to Kinoka’s side.

Repelling Hei Yan single-handedly, forcing back the Berserk Squad, and rescuing Setsuna from their combined attack—Kinoka’s formidable strength was finally revealed. Even Lin Luo watched in astonishment.

Who was it that said Kinoka had poor direct combat ability? Step forward!

...Right, just ignore that statement; pretend you never saw it.

"Little Setsa, I’m so glad you’re alright," Kinoka chuckled.

"Mistress..." Setsuna was somewhat surprised. She had expected to lose badly, only to be saved by Kinoka. Even she hadn't known Kinoka’s strength was this immense.

However, despite her astonishment, she had no time to ponder it, as the Berserk Squad and Hei Yan were already flying back from a distance. Although repelled by Kinoka, they appeared completely unharmed.

"Oh dear, looks like things are getting complicated," Kinoka continued to smile leisurely, though she started taking the situation more seriously internally. Her offensive skills were few, and her attack patterns were simple—just bashing things with water, relying purely on her infinite magic reserves to make her strikes ferocious. Against minor characters, this might be enough to scare enemies into submission, but facing opponents on her level, especially the main target, presented problems.

The saying, 'You can't use the same move twice on a Saint,' can be loosely applied here.

"I guess we have no choice but to use our ultimate move, Little Setsa." Facing this situation, Kinoka suddenly grasped Setsuna’s hand and winked.

Setsuna was initially confused but quickly understood, nodding firmly. "Mm." At this moment, the distance between Hei Yan plus the Berserk Squad and Kinoka and Setsuna stretched over a thousand meters. Seemingly far, it was actually quite close. Hei Yan’s heart gave a sudden jolt upon seeing them link hands: "Danger! Retreat quickly!" Hearing this, the Berserk Squad instantly backed away, but it was too late. "Our Bond..." Kinoka and Setsuna held hands, a surge of water lifting them upward, and they spoke in unison: "Whale! Swallow! Heaven!" BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a colossal whale, stretching over a thousand meters long, leaped from the Black Sea, spraying seawater that blotted out the sky. Its cavernous mouth, large enough to swallow a small mountain, gaped wide. The Battle Wheel Fairy and the Monster Loli, being closest, couldn't dodge in time and were instantly swallowed whole before the whale crashed back into the sea with a deafening sound.

Seeing this, even Lin Luo was stunned. Two mid-tier Earth-rank experts had been swallowed whole... and not just the people—the very sky in that area had been consumed by the whale!

Somewhere above the Black Sea, the previously blue sky now bore a massive, uneven gash, revealing endless blackness within the opening—this was the sky that had been swallowed!

That whale was Kinoka's original Guardian Seal: the Sky-Swallowing Whale!

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