Chapter 731: Avatar of Machina vs. Riley Ross (1)

"..."

Despair.

Chihiro has never really known that sort of feeling even once in her life. How could she, when her System has always been by her side? Even at a young age, life was easy for her—in everything that she wanted to do, the System served as her guide.

If she wanted to be a villain, the System would have still probably helped her. But no, as the System helped her, she wanted to use her abilities to help people. She tried her best to actually be deserving of the power.

She grew stronger and stronger. If there was an enemy she couldn't defeat, the System would quickly ask her to retreat, and then train until she could once again challenge her opponent.

And now, as she saw a planet crumble into dust right in front of her, she wasn't afraid. After all, the System would be there for her.

[Run!]

...And right now, it was once again telling her to retreat—no. It was telling her to run...

...Something it has never really done before.

Chihiro was confused. The very reason she tried to find the Villain, and why she is challenging him now despite his reluctance was because the System told her to... and now it was telling her to run.

Once again, the System showed that it was afraid.

Afraid of Riley Ross.

Chihiro is too.

Riley was still not doing anything—he was just floating in the expanse of space with a smile on his face, and a shattered planet the same size as Earth withering behind him. Chihiro has never fought an opponent like this before, and her spar with Megawoman was perhaps the only thing that would ever come close.

Chihiro was afraid, but she wasn't going to retreat.

For the first time in her life, she will contravene the System's advice and fight the Villain in front of her.

As the System helped her in her entire life, it was time for Chihiro to pay her back. As the System god rid of her demons, she would rid it of the only demon it holds.

"I truly have nothing against you yet, Riley Ross," the extremely long silver staves that Chihiro was holding once again glowed as she focused on her reflection in Riley's almost transparent eyes,

"But it is true that you are a villain, and I have the obligation to rid you of this world."

"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have been waiting for you to finish your inner monologue, Chihiro."

"You have my gratitude," a blast of light then rippled from Chihiro's chest. And as it did so, several projections of what seemed like several different-looking armors flashed around Chihiro. Each of the translucent armors, wrapping tight around her before fading away,

"But I will not share the same courtesy!"

Chihiro floated back, and as she did so, a void appeared from behind her and swallowed her whole. And when she showed herself again, she was already beneath Riley, waving one of her silver staves.

And even from far away, the staves reached Riley at a speed that was almost unexplainable—or perhaps it was.

874,030 times the speed of sound, or at least that is what it seemed like as it penetrated and destroyed hundreds of layers of Riley's telekinetic barrier.

"..." Riley just looked at the glowing staff just a foot away from hitting him right in the face. And before he could even blink, another one appeared behind him... and then another one on his left, and then on his right.

"Interesting," Riley could not really even follow the staves as they just appeared everywhere. As for Chihiro, she was still just standing in the same spot.

There were, however, several voids appearing around her as she swung her exaggeratedly long staves. The voids connected toward other voids near Riley, making the staves appear everywhere—making Riley not really have any leeway to move away.

"Your powers are already convenient as they are." Even trapped, however, Riley still nodded in amusement, "And yet you manage to use them in an even more creative—"

And before Riley could finish his words, he raised his hand to catch a black spear that suddenly shot toward him out of nowhere.

"Hm," Riley stared at the black spear that was almost invisible in space. He then turned to look at where the spear should have come from, only to see another void closing there,

"If I'm correct," Riley said as he caught another spear that penetrated through his telekinetic barriers. With Chihiro still giving an endless barrage of strikes from her staves, the spears were able to shoot between the gaps—leaving Riley... slightly impressed,

"Based on what I have learned from Gary, this ability of yours is called an 'Item Box', correct? But you are using it in a way quite different from what he told me."

"..." Chihiro was not really listening to Riley—she wasn't even seeing him. All she saw were the floating words that filled her entire view, and it really only said one thing.

[Run!] [Run!] [Run!].

Chihiro completely ignored it, however, as she just continued to give it all she got. She breathed in and out, until finally, she saw Riley through the gaps of the floating words...

...and he was completely unharmed.

"Kh..." Chihiro could really only grit her teeth. Her frustration did not last long, however, as she once again let out a breath—and with air escaping her lips, her eyes started to glow.

Alchemy Symbols appeared in her eyes. Symbols that also appeared near Riley, covering him from all sides like endless voids that were already being thrown at him.

"..." And while still catching the spears shooting toward him and blocking the staves, Riley watched as these circular symbols that were floating around him lit up—and from them, emerged all sorts of elements that raged toward him like a dragon, literal dragons.

And with everything rushing toward him, Riley's defense gave out as he was pinned and crushed by existence itself.

Chihiro was about to stop attacking, but shook her head as she did not relent even though there were no signs of Riley being able to fight back.

She won't stop, not until the words that appeared in front of her stop. She won't stop until the System stops being afraid.

And finally, something else other than the System telling her to run appeared—but it wasn't a welcome notice.

[Maximum MP is starting to temporarily decrease due to fatigue.]

"..." A trickle of blood quickly spurt out of Chihiro's nose even before she could read the entirety of the notice. But once again, even then, she did not stop attacking and even forced herself.

If one were to see them from afar, Chihiro's attacks would look just like millions of lightning being concentrated on one point. A compressed storm of the elements that almost made a crystal as they all diverged into one single point.

This crystal, however, soon started to crack.

"!!!" Chihiro's small eyes saw this, and she started attacking even more and even faster. But alas, the crack just continues to crawl until finally, everything she gave was blown away along with her.

"Kyaa!" Chihiro let out a loud yelp as a violent force pushed her away, causing her unable to breathe in space for a few seconds as she was thrown miles and miles away in a single second—her long staves, shattering in her hands.

If she did not let go of them the time she did, her hands would have also probably shattered into pieces.

[Run!]

And as she felt herself getting tired and exhausted, the words that popped up in front of her seemed to not exhaust at all. Chihiro, however, once again ignored all of it as she focused her eyes on Riley, only to see that he was actually already right in front of her.

"!!!" Chihiro quickly collected herself as she pushed herself further back.

"How many abilities do you have, Chihiro?" Riley, on the other hand, still did not attack her and just tilted his head to the side, "Show me more, and I will show you mine."

"Kh..." Chihiro stretched her arm to the side, grabbing some sort of vial from a void and immediately consuming it. And as she did so, the exhaustion that could be seen on her face gradually disappeared until no trace of it was left.

"Oh, can I have some of that?" Riley let out a very tiny gasp, "It would be useful for—"

"Lady Divider!"

And before Riley could finish his words, he saw a somewhat familiar face suddenly emerge from a void that Chihiro summoned—it was a villain he killed way back, and Riley won't really forget her. After all, he wanted her to be his subordinate once upon a time.

Sophie Palmer, aka Lady Divider—the supervillain that could summon invisible blades that could split mountains. Well, at least a shadow of her, or perhaps it was better to say a spirit of her.

"Hypnos! Redhawk! Silver Shadow! Kerrigan!"

And before Riley could even ask about her abilities, several more voids opened up—and once again, spirits came out of them; two, Riley could recognize.

"You can summon people, Chihiro?" Riley squinted his eyes, "I am sure Gary has shared a novel with a main character just like—"

"Charge!" Once again, Chihiro did not let Riley finish his words as she ordered for her newly summoned shoulders to attack, and they did.

They rushed toward Riley on different sides. And as Riley was still completely amused with what he was seeing, he just let the summons grab him—with the spirit called Hypnos grabbing him by the head.

"Riley Ross," Hypnos whispered, "Sleep."

"..."

"..."

"But I'm not sleepy yet."