n

n

nLauria... The Apostle of Hades.

nShe has displayed two major abilities. The first is to make physical objects vanish, disappearing from sight and substance. Her second allows her to summon blades in any number she so desires.

nBut, are these two abilities so distinct from each other? Or...

n

"Let's see how long you can keep this up, little Apostle

" I said to her.

nShe looked flustered and discouraged, seeing as she was outgunned in every way. Not only are my own weapons superior to hers in quality, now they have also vastly surpassed hers in quantity as well. Her Grace won't be able to make all these blades disappear instantly.

nI don't want to be the one to spell it out for her. Rather, I want her to be so cornered that she'll have no choice but to reveal the fatal loophole in her seemingly overpowered Grace.

n

"There can't be much left that you can take. I wonder... Will you be able to handle a thousand more? Maybe two, three? I can't tell. But there's only one way to find out, isn't there

" I grinned.

nI launched a fraction of the blades suspended in the air at her. They rushed toward their target at full speed, however, she predicted this and quickly launched hers as well. She used her Grace to take out some of my blades and her swords clashed with some as well. But those still weren't enough to stop everything.

n

"Tch

" She grunted.

nShe hurriedly dashed away from her position and leaped backwards, barely avoiding a fatal hit. That's fortunate. It won't do for her to die so quickly, now will it?

n

"Bastard

" She said underneath her breath.

nHer vision got blurry and her head started to spin. She felt uncomfortable all of a sudden and nearly collapsed from the strange feeling squirming about in her body.

n

"You... You...

" She huffed as she glared at me.

nMaybe I should just tell her. It'll save me the trouble of waiting for her to reveal everything she has. After all, she's being this way because she isn't aware I know of the nature of her Grace.

n

"When will you start using my weapons that you took?

" I asked her.

nHer eyes widened in surprise at the sound of my words.

n

"Oh? Don't make such a pathetic face. You're most likely wondering how I know something like that since you've taken such great pains to hide it. Well, don't bother any longer. I know the secrets and mechanics of your Grace.

" I told her.

n

"How impudent of you. You dare say you understand the workings of the blessing of god?

" She responded defiantly.

nLooks like I haven't pushed her enough. But at this point I want to end things quickly. There's no more time to play around.

n

"The Grace of Hades you use... It's called REALM OF LIMBO, isn't it?

" I asked her.

nHer surprised face grew even more intense as she couldn't fathom how I could know such information. Poor girl. She possesses so much confidence in a power that isn't even hers and look what it causes. Uncertainty and despair lie at the end of anything one doesn't fully comprehend.

n

"Hades, the god of Limbo. I suppose it is to be expected that your Grace will have the same attribute as his. You are only able to use a small fraction of it, but for most opponents it'll be more than enough to completely overwhelm them. However, I am different

" I said to her.

n

"Who... Are you...?

" She asked me with emotions tilting more to nervousness than curiosity.

n

"Both abilities of yours, the one that makes an object disappear and the one that summons swords, they are actually one and the same. You only fool your opponents into thinking they are distinct from each other.

" I revealed.

nShe clenched her teeth when she heard this.

n

"It is all connected to your actual Grace. Realm Of Limbo is an alternate space created by you, or rather, the Grace you possess which allows you to transport anything inside it, or bring anything out of it. Since it does not exist in the bounds of reality, it isn't connected to any world, making it seem as though you render such object nonexistent.

" I explained.

n

"T-That is...

" She muttered, unable to fully express words.

nHer Grace is just a miniature version of Hades Divine Power. The entire scape of Limbo is his domain, and that expanse of space is nearly infinite. He isn't one of the top gods for nothing. Compared to him, however, this Apostle's power is nearly laughable. Just from taking in a few hundred of my blades, her storage is running very low, and that is affecting her body since it is directly connected to her version of 'Limbo'.

nWell, to be fair she must have taken in a lot of other objects, not just my weapons, but still... Just how little is her space? I also wonder...

n

"Why do you only use swords?

" I asked her.

nShe was taken aback by my question and was fazed, unable to render a proper response.

n

"Normally, you should be able to bring out anything you send to your 'Limbo', yet you only use swords. Do you not have any other thing in your arsenal?

" I added.

nWithin her she was having conflicting thoughts as to what she should do now that she has been exposed.

n

"This heathen... Damnit! I didn't want him to know of the connection between the both my abilities, that's why I never used any of the weapons I collected from him. I only used the ones I had in my possession prior to meeting him.

" She thought within herself.

n

"Besides, how can an Apostle such as myself stoop to the level of using such an evil entity's own weapons? I just couldn't! But, to think only his weapons would take such a huge chunk of my 'Realm'... I miscalculated

"

nI smiled as I watched her agonize internally.

n

"You should use your Grace without holding back, since I plan on ending it in the next round

" I said to her.

nWhen she heard this she gritted her teeth.

n

"This is no time to be indecisive, I have to finish off this bastard... But how?

" She deliberated within herself.

nHow does this heathen know about my Grace? No, at this point there's no use thinking about that. I have to end this quickly. My 'Realm' is at its limit, I can't push it any further... I'll just have to use all I have to defeat this bastard, no matter what it takes!

" She resolved.

nLooks like she's ready now.

n

"I have tolerated you long enough heathen. Behold your punishment!

" She declared.

n

"Realm of Limbo OPEN!

"

nSuddenly, like lightening, a blinding light shone. For a split second, out of reflex, I covered my eyes to avoid the blinding glare of the light. I immediately adjusted my eyes to be able to see in such a condition without side effects and opened them to witness what new trick she performed.

n

"Oh?

" I said with an amused smile.

nAll around her were thousands of weapons, not just swords. There were axes, spears, bows, arrows, hammers, shields... So many weapons and objects floated in the air all about her. Not just around her, but they spread and surrounded me too. Among the floating objects, most of belong to me.

n

"So she's finally decided to use mine as well. Heh, she must be desperate

" I muttered to myself.

nFrom the looks of it she has used up most of her actual weapons in our earlier exchange, leaving only a few left, with other non attack objects like shields and ropes. The bulk of her offensive power lies in my weapons, which I must say, are of great quality.

n

"That's quite the number of good cards you have

" I said to her.

nShe ignored my words and raised her hands, steadying the weapons among her arsenals, aiming them at me.

n

"This is the end, abomination!

" She said in spite.

nAbomination, eh? That's a new one.

n

"I agree. This is the final act

" I replied.

nCurrently, her total number of weapons exceed mine. Not only that, but now that she has emptied her 'Realm', she should be able to take in even more of my own weapons.

n

"How smart, impressive. But then, this is what you should have done anyway

" I said, half talking to myself about the Apostle.

nI can decide to match her summoned objects with mine, or even overwhelm her numbers. However... Maybe I ought to show her a little bit of despair.

n

"ROOT...

" I whispered.

n

"Return...

"

nAll my weapons among her arsenal immediately vanished at once. As they returned to ROOT, they left the sky whence they were suspended, leaving empty spaces behind. Within moments, the filled expanse of space and field which contained her summoned tools was rendered nearly empty. To compare the numbers of offensive objects she has... Maybe a few hundred.

nHer eyes widened as she couldn't fully comprehend what just occurred.

n

"Eh?

" Her expression grew empty and blank, devoid of hope.

n

"You were saying?

"

nAs I said this, a wide grin formed on my face. Slowly, the harsh reality is seeping into her. Now, with even less than her cumulative offensive power and my overwhelming advantage, she suddenly began to tremble in fear.

n

"N-No... This can't be it. It can't end like this... Just when, just when I...

" She stuttered as she said to herself.

nHer eyes shook as she spoke silently, unable to think of any other route to follow. I suppose this is the end. A bit disappointing, but what can I say? The real fun comes afterward.

n

"To commemorate the end of this grand event.. Maybe I ought to try something else too?

" I announced.

n

"ROOT

"

nImmediately, all the portals around me closed. After this, in the sky a massive portal appeared and something equally monstrous started emerging from within it.

nShe slowly looked up at the appearance in the sky. He eyes bulged and her countenance changed from that of mere defeat and frustration... To complete terror!

n

"W-What is... What is that?!

" She asked herself.

nHer body refused to move, as she could only tremble and feel a myriad of emotions surging through her.

n

"Run

"

n

"Escape

"

n

"I'm... Dead?!

"

nWithin the 'Root of All', I possess several treasures. They are classified under many categories and have grades. There are the Sacred Grade Treasures, Divine Grade Treasures and even the Primordial Grade ones. Failures and Miscellaneous also exist. So far, I have been spamming Failures at her. But now... I want to switch things up a little.

n

"T-Those are... Relics?!

" She muttered with trembling.

nFrom within the massive portal emerged hundreds of my Sacred Grade Treasures. Any more and it could mean trouble.

n

"I-I.... I...

"She stuttered, unable to speak any intelligible words.

n

"Well, the final act is over. Time for the 'Curtains Fall'

" I smiled casually.

n

"Descend

"

n