Crossover: With Heaven-Defying Insight, I'm Shaking the Very Aeons

"Your energy is immense, yet your attacks are so feeble. Who in the world are you?"

That was the essence of Lancelot's question.

In reality, the strength of Jibril's attack could hardly be described as feeble. In fact, the power of her spear of light was far greater than the offensive Authorities of a typical Heretic God.

If not for the protection of the Sword's Origin, which granted him a defense superior to the Divine Protection of Steel, Lancelot was certain he would have been injured, perhaps even severely, by his previous defensive standards.

However, that was precisely the problem.

Why did such a colossal amount of energy result in a final destructive force that was only slightly stronger than a standard offensive Authority? If he were wielding that much energy himself, he could have easily pierced his own defense, yet his opponent had failed to do so.

Lancelot simply couldn't understand it.

Neither could Artoria.

"Could it be… you were holding back?" Lancelot guessed.

"No." Jibril shook her head, her expression blank. "My attacks always have this much power… Rather, how did you withstand it?"

She truly couldn't comprehend it. In her world, not even a Gigant could completely ignore her previous attack. Only the Dragonia and the Old Deus were unconcerned by her power.

And both those races could withstand her attacks because their own Elemental reserves far surpassed her own, allowing them to simply ignore her.

But the being before her was different. His internal energy was clearly so weak, yet his defensive power was so immense.

"As a War God of Steel, I am inherently imbued with the attribute of Steel. Ordinary Authorities have little effect on me. After receiving my Lord's protection, they can no longer harm me at all."

Lancelot had a very clear understanding of his own strength. With his current defensive capabilities, no Heretic God or Godslayer without an Authority of the Sun could break through his guard.

"However, with your strength, you should have been able to break through the defense of Steel…" Lancelot looked at Jibril strangely.

The defense of Steel was formidable, but it still required divine power to maintain its effect.

Even if the Authority could provide ten points of defense for every one point of divine power, it couldn't protect its user against an attack with more than ten times the energy.

Given the scale of energy Jibril had condensed, all she needed was to imbue it with a slight offensive Authority—even one without a counter-attribute like the sun or high heat—and it would have been more than enough to shatter his defense.

Yet, she hadn't done so. All Lancelot had felt was a pure, unadulterated torrent of energy.

"Could it be… she hasn't mastered any Authorities at all?" Guinevere, watching from the side, voiced her suspicion. "She might not even have mastered magecraft… It's just that her fine control over magical energy is astonishing."

After regaining her composure, she quickly realized that the opponent's attack was merely a simple discharge of energy.

While not entirely without skill—in fact, her ability to condense energy surpassed that of a god—her application of magical arts, conceptual manipulation, and Authority was a complete zero.

"That does seem to be the case." Lancelot pondered for a moment and quickly accepted Guinevere's theory.

"The scale of your energy far surpasses ours, yet your skill in wielding that power is inferior to that of some divine beasts…"

In terms of energy, Jibril might have held an overwhelming advantage.

But in terms of skill, her level seemed to be even lower than that of an ordinary paladin. Even Erica knew a few Godslayer-slaying arts to enhance her attacks, yet Jibril could only compress and condense energy.

This method undoubtedly lowered the upper limit of the energy's potential power, significantly reducing its destructive force. That was why Lancelot had been able to take her attack without a scratch.

"Authorities? Isn't that a power only gods possess?" Jibril didn't see anything wrong with her approach.

"But isn't that the most basic prerequisite?" Lancelot retorted.

They stared at each other, both realizing that the other's power system was completely different from what they knew.

Jibril finally understood that the beings before her were indeed genuine gods, not some lower race she could slaughter at will. She had been far too arrogant.

And Lancelot finally understood that his earlier worries had been excessive. The Flügel before him was more like a divine beast that had acquired an immense amount of energy—powerful, but not without weaknesses.

Rin Tohsaka: You scared me! I thought you could one-shot a Heretic God! Turns out you can't even do that.

Rin Tohsaka: A friendly reminder: Lord Su Mo one-shotted that Heretic God.

Seeing Jibril falter, Rin's spirits immediately lifted, her fear gone. She had been worried that if Jibril won, she would actually come to visit her. Now it seemed she couldn't even handle Lancelot, so how could she possibly handle Su Mo?

Time to kick her while she's down. All the fear she had felt earlier, she would now vent.

Jibril's expression had been somewhat serious, but after seeing Rin's taunt, her brow twitched.

"Hmph! It's too early to celebrate!"

"The only reason it failed before was because I underestimated my opponent. Even without mastering Authorities, it won't affect my victory in the slightest."

"If one portion of energy isn't enough, I'll use two. If two isn't enough, I'll use ten! A true powerhouse, like Lord Artosh, should destroy everything with absolute violence!"

With an incredibly fervent attitude, Jibril finally mobilized every last bit of the Elementals in her body. Her previous attack had merely been a probe using five percent of her power. This time, she was getting serious.

Hearing this, Lancelot shook his head.

"No wonder my Lord said you don't understand power."

Trying to crush everything with pure violence? That was underestimating the power of gods and Heretic Gods. Authorities were the crystallization of a god's power, the ultimate application of a concept. Without mastering that, it was difficult to stand on the same stage as a god.

Hearing this, Jibril sneered.

"I don't understand power? No, it is you who do not understand what the purest form of violence is!"

As she spoke, the geometric halo above her head flashed until it nearly dimmed, and every last Elemental in her body was wrung dry. The terrifying aura from before vanished, leaving only a deathly silence.

If another Flügel were here, they would have recognized this classic opening move. This was clearly the stance for a Flügel's ultimate technique: Heaven's Strike.

To drain one's entire body of power and then unleash it all in a single breath. Even a Flügel would need years to recover after using this move. It was, without a doubt, a last resort.