"L…look!"

Rossetti was pointing frantically. I glanced around and saw that the gra.s.s in the academy garden was shriveling as they were unable to retain whatever moisture was left in the air.

"My skin feels dry too…" Rossetti murmured as she rubbed at her face.

"This…this is…" Kufa gulped. "At this rate…the whole of Saint Teresa Academy will be destroyed!'

"…yeah." As much as I wanted to grumble about him making hyperbolic statements, I knew that he wasn't exaggerating. The sheer power that Teresa Taylor was emanating right now was suffocating us, almost as if a tidal ocean had swept across the school to drown every single one of us in her wrath.

Some distance away, Teacher Einsberg paused. He raised his hand to test his frosty mana and cast ice spells, only to produce nothing. Whatever ice he created instantly melted away, vaporizing into small wisps of steam. He sighed and shook his head as he turned to look at his vampire opponents. They had broken free of the ice he had entombed them within, only to be hacked into pieces by his sword.

"Good thing I finished you guys off when I had the chance," he remarked and shook his head. "All the water and moisture in the air are gradually disappearing. If I had been a bit later, I would be in huge trouble."

He could sense the moisture in the air vaporizing and escaping higher into the atmosphere from the sheer heat. Hee knew that he wouldn't be able to cast any of his ice spells for now, not until the headmistress released her Angelic Descent.

In another place, Fu Xiao Zhang blocked the blow from his opponent, who then fired a shot at him. He managed to duck and responded with a slash that forced the old man back. As the two retreated to a safe distance, Fu placed a hand on his mouth.

"Oh…this isn't good," he remarked when he found that his lip was bleeding. "Looks like the old lady is going all out."

His vampire opponent glared at him, and Fu shrugged.

"You feel it too, don't you? Like an ocean is pressing down on you. And the blazing heat that seems to scorch you from the inside out…"

"So what?" the old vampire spat. "His majesty will definitely win!"

"Oh boy." Fu Xiao Zhang was thoroughly amused. He shook his head, almost sadly. "You have no idea who you've just p.i.s.sed off, do you?"

Nope, the idiot certainly did not. Cue a panel flas.h.i.+ng back to the White Witch and the vampire king. Sorry for the rough transition.

Taking a step forward, Teresay Taylor lunged forward and slashed at Fan Fu Qing, who managed to jump back and avoid a direct hit. The blade caught his billowing cape and cut a thin line through the black fabric. Fan Fu Qing narrowed his eyes as he stared at the tear.

He cut it.

The vampire king returned his gaze to the White Witch's blade with a bewildered frown. The white sword remained outwardly unimpressive.

But no holy flame came out.

Righting himself, Fan Fu Qing retreated to put as much distance between himself and Teresa Talyor as possible, contemplating the implication.

Why? Is the Blessing of G.o.d…the Angelic Descent of today really that different from twenty-five years ago?

Of course I couldn't read minds. I was just speculating on what Fan Fu Qing was thinking. Since he was a carbon copy of a certain manga character, it was but a simple matter for me to guess exactly what he was thinking about without relying on telepathy.

As Teresa Taylor raised her sword, Fan Fu Qing continued to think, perplexed by the situation, and leaped away.

It doesn't matter what form her technique manifests in. If she is using holy magic, then it should take the shape of holy spells.

Oh, that was useful. So what shape do holy spells normally take? Flames?

Yet, Fan Fu Qing was clearly troubled over where the holy flames had gone. Instead of parrying Teresa Taylor's strike with his own blade, he catiously jumped back. The former paladin's sword sank deeply into the ground, the tip scratching the surface for just a second.

The entire ground was incinerated immediately, the concrete disintegrating from the extreme heat.

Fan Fu Qing's eyes widened when he took in the sight, realization dawning on him. Twisting toward his opponent, he let out a cry of understanding.

"The point!"

"Correct."

Teresa Taylor coolly glanced at him from the corner of her eye before slas.h.i.+ng upward and almost catching Fan Fu Qing by surprise. Fortunately, the vampire king managed to evade that strike by just a hair's breadth, stepping away to his right.

The headmistress held her sword parallel to the ground, as if to demonstrate her power. A thin wisp of smoke wafted from her white blade, and her radiant halo continued to gleam brilliantly. Her white wings flapped, sending more spectral feathers fluttering across the ground.

"The scales of justice shall tip once more," Teresa Taylor p.r.o.nounced, placing her faith in G.o.d. She reminded me of a Saint, somehow, the one chosen by G.o.d to receive His holy benediction. "His judgement strikes true, each of its stroke precise. The innocent will be spared, whereas the guilty will suffer. All of the holy power I can muster has been focused along the edge of my blade. I place my faith in His judgement."

As she neared her opponent, her voice grew more threatening, more terrifying.

"Such is His judgement that all who sinned will not simply burn in the fires of purgatory. His wrath is so immense that He will not show mercy to those who commit atrocities after atrocities. Anything these holy flames touch will simply cease to exist, leaving no trace in this world. Such is the consequence of defying His rules."

Crouching down, she slashed at Fan Fu Qing again, who deftly dodged the dangerous blade. Growling, she reversed the direction of her sword for another strike with a determined yell.

"Not even your vaunted blood barrier and other vampire defensive spells will be able to defend you from divine punishment!"

"How boring."

Instead of being intimidated, Fan Fu Qing almost sounded disappointed. Twisting his body almost gracefully, he responded with a riposte.

"In other words, I just have to cut you without touching that sword."

Teresa Taylor made no move to dodge, merely standing still as Fan Fu Qing cut her down with his sword. But even as the latter's arm swung through the full motion, the former remained standing. Fan Fu Qing stared, stunned by the outcome.

Then he glanced at his sword. The blade was completely gone, as if it had never existed in the first place.

"You're too overconfident."

Teresa Taylor sneered as she raised her head. Like an angelic figure, she stood calmly in the scorched battlefield, her visage almost matching that of an angel of death. Her wings unfurled once more, and I understood what had happened. Fan Fu Qing's sword had been caught and obliterated by those golden wings.

The vampire king, also realizing the same thing, inadvertently took a step back, his body reacting to sudden danger.

"Do you really think you can harm my body, which is under the divine protection of G.o.d?" the White Witch gestured toward herself. "Did you think this angelic form is merely for show?"

Fan Fu Qing stared in shock, unable to reply. In the distance, Rossetti, Kufa and I watched the whole scene unfold, completely awestruck.

"The Blessings of G.o.d," Rossetti whispered. "Divine Protection. The headmistress…she is truly invincible right now."

"The ultimate defense," Kufa added, his tone reverent. "I've never seen anything like it."

At Fan Fu Qing's silence, Teresa Taylor smirked.

"None of your attacks can leave a scratch on this form of mine, not while I continue to receive the blessings of G.o.d. Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for G.o.d is with me. For He who is in me is greater than this world."

The halo flared brilliantly around the White Witch, and her wings appeared to wrap protectively around her. Still rooted to the spot, Fan Fu Qing stared in disbelief when more white feathers flapped around Teresa Taylor's figure, her body glowing slightly from being shrouded in an impenetrable armor of faith.

"This is what Angelic Descent truly means. To attain the body of an angel. It's been twenty-five years, and I am glad that I have the opportunity to demonstrate to you its complete form."

Fan Fu Qing subconsciously took a step back as he stared wide-eyed at the brilliant halo that bathed Teresa Taylor's body in holy light.

"A holy barrier that is impervious not to all blades but also all curses. There is no way for you to harm me."

Her voice taking on a tone of eventuality, Teresa Taylor took a step toward her ancient foe, her feet leaving molten craters on the ground.

The vampire and the angel. One of darkness and one of light. Two beings of opposite elements, clas.h.i.+ng in this battlefield.

"When I unleash my Angelic Descent and deliver judgement with my holy sword, no evil shall be permitted to stand before me."

"Impossible…"

A croak escaped from Fan Fu Qing's lips as he stumbled back, refusing to believe the miraculous sight before him. Meanwhile, You Shou, despite being his right-hand man, maintained his distance. Not just because he was a disloyal, cowardly subordinate, but also because he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do. Intervening in a fight between two superpowers would spell instant death for him. But as Fen Fu Qing rightly pointed out, he should cut down on the commentary.

That didn't mean I didn't know what he was thinking, however.

Holy magic.

Like his boss, You Shou was staring at Teresa Taylor in awe, unable to believe his eyes.

Is this truly a physical manifestation of G.o.d's blessings? The human body cannot possibly bear the power of an angel. Yet here she is, temporarily transforming into an angel. Is this an illusion?

Of course not.

Even without me telling him, You Shou understood. He narrowed his eyes as he examined the flickering halo that shrouded Teresa Taylor's body.

It's the formidable pressure of her holy mana that makes the mana resemble an angel's halo…

Taking a deep breath, he watched the most powerful enemy who had ever appeared before his eyes, unable to suppress a spike of fear in his heart.

Teresa Taylor…the headmistress of Saint Teresa Academy…the White Witch, one of the most powerful paladins to have ever served the Global Federation…

The elderly lady herself took a deep breath before she focused her attention on the overawed opponent before her.

"Now then," she began, her halo and wings glowing about her body. "I'll put an end to this, Fan Fu Qing."

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