Devil’s Finger

While Regis was battling the gigantic worm formed by more than a hundred demonic children…

Anna frowned slightly as she observed the giant demonic circle in the sky.

'If only I have pure divine power…'

Divine Power, like Demonic Power, was an energy at a higher level.

It also wasn't something that mortals were meant to wield as doing so would come with certain consequences.

Vsshhhh~

Red flames covered her sword as she prepared herself.

Upon looking closer at the flames that surrounded her sword, one could see a tinge of gold in it.

Demonic Power could taint one's energy, strengthening it in exchange for their humanity.

Meanwhile, Divine Power could enhance one's energy, giving it a holy attribute that vanquishes demons.

Rumble—!!!

The center of the demonic circle in the sky started to ripple wildly.

"Just what did that demon do…"

Anna brandished her sword, preparing herself for any attack.

RUMBLE!!!

Something could be seen exiting the demonic circle.

'Is it a portal of some sort?'

Anna thought as she felt tremendous demonic power coming from the sky.

Then, she saw it.

Something that caused her to widen her bright golden eyes.

A finger that was larger than the whole of Toran City slowly emerged from the demonic circle in the sky.

The demonic circle seemed to have difficulties containing the giant finger within it.

"That demon…"

…summoned a Devil.

Anna couldn't complete her words as she tried to think of countermeasures.

'Toran City has a huge population. I assume that the demon sacrificed the entirety of the city to summon a portal that could accommodate a fraction of the Devil's power.'

Her mind worked at high speeds as she inferred the events that led to her current circumstances.

'It's only a finger, but…'

Seeing the giant, pale gray finger with red tattoo marks on it emerging from the portal, Anna squinted her eyes.

'...it's still a Devil.'

Something that she couldn't possibly fight at this point in time.

Gods and Devils were the two superpowers that stood at the top of this world, their prowess was not something a mere mortal like her could possibly match up to.

'Even with Angelize, I don't think I can stop the Devil's finger from causing damage in human territory…'

However, the Devil clearly wasn't going to give her the time to keep thinking.

The finger, though slowly, gradually made its way from the demonic circle in the sky towards Toran City.

Sweat trickled down the side of Anna's face.

'A touch from the Devil's finger is all it's going to take to destroy about 50% of the human territory…'

She bit her lips as she became fully aware of what was about to happen.

'...no, maybe even up to 70%.'

Such would be the aftermath of just a single Devil's touch.

'The red marks on it must mean that it's the finger of the Devil of Destruction. Ugh, my head is aching…'

Anna tapped the pendant of her necklace and said, "If you receive this message, immediately send reinforcements to Toran City. A Devil has descended."

Afterwards, she then threw the necklace towards the ground.

She couldn't afford the time to actually have a conversation, so she just reported the situation in the form of a one-way message.

It was to save even a millisecond.

"Huuu… I might die here, but oh well~"

A grin formed on her lips as six red aura stars lit up on her chest.

Like her flames, her stars had a gold tint too.

Anna then clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she knelt down.

[Dear Goddess of Light]

She started praying.

[Through my authority…]

Conviction apparent with her every word.

[...as one of your Executors…]

Desperation that filled the depths of her heart.

[I hereby evoke a Holy Miracle]

She pleaded with the Goddess above.

[Angelize]

As she faithfully chanted a Holy Miracle.

Wooooongggggggg—!!!!

Golden energy came from the sky like a beacon and struck Anna's body.

A pair of golden wings sprouted from her back as the color of the flames on her sword turned fully golden.

Sssthhhhh—

However, she sheathed her sword.

"I know that none of my aura arts will work on the Devil's finger…"

Clap—

Anna clapped both of her hands and cracked her knuckles.

Woov— Swoosh!!!

The golden wings on her back flapped once as it produced a massive shockwave.

Her figure then disappeared, appearing right in front of the enormous Devil's finger.

"Argh, fuck it!"

Anna cursed as she placed both of her hands on it.

Woov— Woov—

Her golden wings continued flapping as golden flames erupted from beneath her feet.

That's right, she was trying to push the Devil's finger back towards the demonic portal it came from.

Anna knew that such a feat wouldn't be possible with her alone.

However, her efforts weren't fruitless.

The descent of the Devil's finger became noticeably slower.

She knew that she couldn't damage a Devil.

She knew that she couldn't do this alone.

Therefore, she decided that she would buy time for Ligera'a reinforcements to arrive.

"However… I don't know how much longer I can retain this state." Anna gritted her teeth as she complained.

Divine Power was an energy at a higher level along with Demonic Power.

A mortal trying to wield a Holy Miracle wouldn't be any better than an inferior demonic human performing an Evil Craft.

Along with the significant boost in strength that Anna was experiencing, her life was slipping away.

***

In a dark place…

A figure smiled, "Oho? To think that a mere executor of that bitch is able to slow my finger down…"

Demonic power with a tinge of red started to materialize around the figure.

However, it soon disappeared as the figure shook their head, "If only I could use more of my power…"

"...then crushing this fly won't be a problem."

The figure spoke out loud as they observed the portal in front of them that was only huge enough to fit their finger.

A figure with only their index finger inserted through a portal.

The scene seemed so unserious that it didn't do any justice to what was happening on the other side.

"It's a pity that my minion was only able to sacrifice a city…"

"...whatever. I don't really care about this that much to be honest."

A playful smirk formed on the figure's lips, "But seeing this fly working so hard just to slow my finger down…"

"...makes me want to destroy her more and more~"