Chapter 1563: Danger [2]

It wasn't as if something unexpected approached Claire and put her in danger. She only entered a situation that she'd been ready to enter for a long time.

Just like everyone else in the palace, Claire, Serena, Hugo, and Persia also dispatched themselves to take care of the enemies from Straea.

While Hugo and Persia led the 16 Swords to fight against Malefice Straea's most powerful and loyal Gods, Claire and Serena confronted Malefice himself.

They were the most powerful people in the entire palace, so it was only right for them to take on the fight themselves.

Malefice was second only to Malevalon, and with Malevalon gone, he was now the highest authority of the Straea Clan. As long as he died, the rest would lose their morale and reason to fight.

It wasn't like danger instantly revealed itself to the two women.

They, Damien's mother and aunt, confidently approached the battle.

Together, the two of them were an unstoppable force. They didn't need to worry about a mere Malefice Straea.

But their opinions changed when the battle began.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Rock pillars several meters long and hundreds of meters high shot out of the ground, only to be instantly destroyed by an explosive force.

Claire gritted her teeth and retreated. Using her power of Creation, she blocked all of the force being thrown at her.

The battle had only just kicked off. She arrived in the vicinity, and before Serena could even come to back her up, Malefice attacked as if he'd been waiting for this very moment for years.

The Heavenly God Plane enveloped her. The surrounding environment changed, becoming something completely unlike the Heavenly World.

This was a true battle of Gods. It could not be sustained within the Heavenly World.

To ensure that they could fight at their strongest, and to ensure that they could end it without either being able to escape, they fought in the Heavenly God Plane.

Here, they could not be touched by anyone other than another God of equal caliber.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions of darkness filled the sky and the earth. The entire environment was flooded with a liquid that felt like oil but had far different properties.

Malefice caught her by surprise, so Claire wasn't able to immediately respond.

However, she wasn't unfamiliar with the man's abilities.

When Claire and Dante were growing up and making names for themselves, the Straea Clan was also in the process of rising.

They'd clashed against Straea more times than they could count, and as the years passed, the enmity between their two groups only heightened.

As such, the palace always kept records of the Straea Clan to make sure people wouldn't be surprised if they were to ever find themselves in a confrontation with its members.

The particular power that Malefice used was only granted to the upper echelons of the clan. It was created by Malevalon himself, and though it was a human invention, it held the same power as a law.

Just like Swords and Weapon Laws, the "Law of the Dark Star" that Malevalon developed was considered a Human Law. It was a dark and mysterious power that others couldn't fathom, but to the people of Straea, it was the easiest possible thing to comprehend,

The Law of the Dark Star was, in essence, Darkness Law. However, it was mixed with certain celestial elements to give it a twist that others wouldn't expect, and as time went on, it was corrupted by the properties of malakh, setting it apart from the normal mana-based techniques that everyone else used.

Malevalon and Malefice were skilled in the Law of the Dark Star beyond anyone else, since they were its creators.

Malevalon might have ran, but Malefice wasn't the same.

He knew his brother was going to leave.

Malevalon didn't tell him, but judging by his behavior over the past few weeks, Malefice was able to tell.

Still, he decided to stay behind and fight, because unlike his brother, he truly would do anything for Straea.

Malevalon used Straea as a stepping stone. He seemed like he would do anything for its sake, however, he was really just acting for his own benefit.

When the clan couldn't help him anymore, he stopped caring about the clan.

Malefice put so much more into Straea than Malevalon ever did.

He was the one who raised the Gods who were loyal to their clan. He was the one who created a system to provide them with a constant source of talent. He was the one who handled the economic and political needs of the clan.

In almost every way, the Straea Clan actually belonged to Malefice, but he never wanted to be the one everyone looked to for leadership.

That was a job his brother was more suitable for.

Since they were in this situation now, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Either he took control or the clan got destroyed.

It wasn't a choice he'd made yet, but the frustration he felt because of it all...

Who would he release it on?

Naturally, it was the first enemy he saw, and unfortunately, that was Claire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Darkness blasted through the air like a rain of ink.

The sea of darkness below was Malefice's domain. Claire couldn't touch the ground if she wanted to keep fighting an even battle.

The explosions that were being thrown around weren't particularly harmful, but they were meant to probe her power so Malefice could determine the best way for him to fight.

He was primarily an assassin. He liked attacking from the shadows. However, he wasn't bad at fighting directly. It just wasn't his preferred style.

Well, when it came to Malefice's preferences, the method that killed the enemy most efficiently was the one he'd want to use.

Claire knew that well, so she was giving him nothing.

She used the most basic Material Creation to fight him, using powers that even regular elementalists could use. Still, with Claire's power as its base, even these simple defenses held great power.

Claire's Creation Law was far more developed than Iris'. While the two women used the same power, it hardly bore any resemblance.

Iris never confronted Claire for advice on her power. It wasn't just because of pride, but because of their individual takes on the law.

While Iris focused more on material creation, taking it to its heights to create stars and galaxies...

Claire raised her arm.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive shadow appeared and covered the ground, however, it never stepped foot into the sea of darkness.

ROAAAAAAR!

A terrifying call from a beast over a thousand kilometers long. It wasn't a beast that had appeared here without notice.

It was a beast that had been "created."

Claire's speciality was not in the creation of materials. Claire focused on the creation of living organisms.

The best way to understand her power was to think of her as a summoner.

The beasts she summoned were not merely physical entities, but full true Godly Beings that had their own Laws and abilities.

Every single one of them had been formed with years of effort, and with the power they'd been bestowed, they gave Claire access to a wide variety of powers.

She rarely fought in close combat, which made her completely the opposite of Malefice Straea.

And as the two faced each other on the battlefield, one backed by a massive Godbeast and the other backed by a million-

kilometer sea of darkness, they didn't look too unmatched.

But...

How long would that image of fairness be able to maintain itself?