Chapter 104: Anna Arrives!

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FLASH!

As the foot of the Netherworld King was about to crush the weakened Jack, a flash of bright light emerged, descending right in front of him. An angelic lady wearing golden armor and with beautiful, long blonde hair appeared in front of him. Her eyes, filled with decisiveness and strength, were those that conquered his heart.

"GRRHH?!"

The Netherworld King suddenly felt something painful, the light of Henrietta's divine sword piercing not only through his rotten flesh but even hurting his soul, a patchwork of many soul fragments from the fallen Jotunn.

"Henrietta…!"

Jack felt relieved to see her once more. He couldn't believe how much he had grown to rely on her strength; at this point, they were almost inseparable together.

Back then, he only relied on himself and himself alone, but after so many events and things that have happened, he has learned the value of companionship and that he simply couldn't do all things alone.

It was yet another ripple within the original continuity of this world's protagonist.

"Sorry for being late! I was taking Eckert and Dimitri back to the city! Hilda's holding back any leftover Undead in the walls alongside the rest of my guild!" Henrietta said.

She always thought about others and always made sure to bring those wounded to safety, prioritizing them even before fighting a threatening foe.

This mindset might have made Jack angry at first, but he had grown to admire her benevolent heart because it was this heart of hers that healed him.

"Yeah, you're a bit too late!" Jack laughed, his Darkness Energy surging uncontrollably from his body as he channeled dozens of strengthening skills at once from the many he had acquired by devouring different kinds of monsters.

His Darkness Energy started to spiral alongside Henrietta's own Holy Light Energy; both energies converged together and erupted towards the Netherworld's King's endlessly powerful leg.

CLASH!

Both of their swords unleashed a barrage of slashing attacks as light and darkness converged together, creating a third element that fused them both: Eclipse!

The Netherworld King quickly retrieved its leg back to Helheim's depths. Hel glanced in shock as the two sword-wielding hunters flew towards her together, swinging their swords against her.

"You persistent insects!"

With a furious roar, Hel intercepted Jack's attack using her powerful Scythe, while two of her Netherworld King's arms quickly attacked Henrietta, unleashing a pummeling barrage of punches!

The holy-blade-wielding huntress swung her blade rapidly, while many magic circles emerged around her body, shooting rays of light against the two huge arms. However, she was getting tired. Henrietta had grown weaker the more she used Gabriel's descent into her body, but it wasn't as if she had any option either.

"Dammit!"

At the same time, Jack kept being bested by Hel, whose scythe moved more masterfully than any weapon master he had ever fought through his entire life.

"You do have talent, however…" Hel smiled; her Phantasmal Aura was constantly growing stronger as she continued to absorb the wandering souls within this desolate wasteland. "You're far from reaching the heights I've achieved myself. {Netherworld King's Accursed Eye}"

A huge black portal opened right above Jack and Henrietta, as a gigantic red eye glanced down at them, gathering Mana and unleashing a devastating ray!

"Henrietta!"

Jack jumped towards Henrietta to protect her, erecting countless barriers using his Darkness Energy and a combination of other elements he could wield with lesser expertise.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

However, each barrier shattered into pieces, as if they were made of glass, one after another. The red ray coming from the Netherworld King's eye was exceedingly powerful.

"{Holy Shield}!"

Henrietta put her shield in front of herself and Jack, imbuing all the energy she had left, as a huge golden aura emerged from the divine relic, transforming into a barrier that protected the two of them as they fell to the ground.

BOOOMMM!!

The ray was so incredibly hot that the ground below started to melt into lava, covering the entire landscape with flames. Henrietta looked into the skies with Jack, and Hel started to laugh while seeing the destroyed landscape.

"Hahah… HAHAHAHA! Pathetic, you're all pathetic!"

The Queen of Helheim couldn't help but laugh maniacally. The power her vessel could channel wasn't all her might, but it was incredibly compatible with hers! This was thanks to nurturing Sara from a young age to become her perfect vessel and tricking the stupid girl into making a deadly contract where she would give up her body to her if she happened to die.

"Hahhh… She's tough." Henrietta sighed.

"Yeah, honestly, I'm out of options. Our strength… It can't pierce through her defenses and those stupid arms…" Jack muttered.

"What? Talking already? Please, go on! I'll simply… Crush you to death while you're at it!"

Hel didn't even let the two continue their talk; as more portals emerged, the Netherworld King didn't just have a single pair of arms, but dozens, all of them rained down towards Jack and Henrietta, crushing the entire landscape on their descent.

Using their barriers and shields, by swinging their swords and parrying the blows, the two fought together, synchronizing their attacks at the same time and covering each other's backs.

However, as much as they tried, the difference in power became clearer the more exhausted they became. Not even Jack could devour the Netherworld King's flesh; the moment he tried to bite it, he would feel an intense acidic substance melting his mouth, so he never tried again.

"I wonder how much you will struggle before your death!" Hel laughed. "I'll kill not only you two but all the incarnations I can find! I'll ruin those Constellations plans and forge my own path towards supremacy."

"{Niflheim's Coffin}!"

However, Hel suddenly felt an incredibly cold blizzard erupt from the west, beginning to quickly freeze the gigantic arms of the Netherworld's King one after another, and not just temporarily; they simply couldn't move.

"W-Wha…?! Who dares?!"

She glanced into the distance, finding Dan Baihe rushing across the frozen arms while riding a huge white wolf, Kevin, and Annabelle behind her.

"Skadi's favorite girl and Odin's Incarnation…" Hel smiled. "Well, this is not bad! I'll take you on as well! The more, the merrier, as they say!"

The Queen of Helheim fearlessly confronted the endless blizzard coming from Dan Baihe's magic, swinging her huge scythe and instantly clearing the blizzard, only for Kevin and Annabelle to emerge from above, unleashing a barrage of combined attacks.

"Take this, you damn bitch!"

"Hyaaaah!"

Kevin attacked with hundreds of fast strikes using his golden spear, while Annabelle swung her sharp claws and used her spiderwebs to wrap around Hel's Netherworld King's Arms, stopping them from catching them in midair.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

"Hmph, your tricks are amusing, but you're even weaker than those two insects!" Hel laughed, kicking Kevin in the stomach and throwing him down into the ground below, while Annabelle evaded her scythe attack but was slapped by a huge phantasmal hand.

BAAAM!

However, in that very moment when Hel struck them both down, fully putting all her senses into hitting them, Dan Baihe sneaked right behind her while rushing across a bridge made of frost, leaping directly toward Hel's back.

"What will you even do? A sneak attack has no use against me-"

"Now, Anna!"

Hel's words were interrupted the moment Anna suddenly leaped out of her back, her presence going almost completely unnoticed by Hel, as Anna had completely sealed her magical presence.

"YOU?!"

In Anna's hands, a black-colored urn decorated with several paintings of a white and black-colored jackal could be seen. It emanated an ancient, divine aura that surprised even the Queen of Helheim.

"W-What's that?!" Hel screamed, swinging her scythe against Anna to stop her from doing whatever she was trying to do.

But it was too late already; Anna was already within range!

"{Ramses' Soul Eating Urn: Open}! Devour as many souls as you want! Here, have a feast!"

FLUOSH!

The urn opened as a bright light emerged from within its depths. Hel realized that her Phantasmal Veil was beginning to be sucked inside the urn with its mysterious powers.

[You have activated the [Ramses' Soul Eating Urn (S Rank)]!]

[The Soul Eating Urn will not be satiated until it has eaten 100 Souls or more!]

[Unless you meet the quota, you cannot close the lid, and the Urn will devour any available souls, prioritizing souls without a body over living beings.]

[After devouring over a hundred souls, the souls contained within the urn can be processed into [Liquified Soul Wine (A Rank)]!]

"OOOOHHH!"

The Divine Relic gave a terrific groan; like a hungry demon, it quickly absorbed over half of Hel's Phantasmal Veil and any other soul she was controlling in less than a second!

"W-What is that?! A Soul Eating Urn?! H-How did you get your hands into a relic of the Egyptian Gods?!" Hel screamed in horror, immediately attempting to flee!

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere!"

Jack and Henrietta appeared right in front of her, swinging their swords and unleashing a storm of slashing attacks combining darkness and light!

"AAARRGGH!"

With an agonizing scream, Hel felt her flesh being cut down easily; without her amazing protective magic doing its work properly, she was defenseless!

"{Netherworld King's Arms and Eyes}!"

She desperately tried to summon the Arms and Eyes of her creation, only failing to do so as she did not have any more souls to offer her Undead to summon himself into the world of mortals!

"I-It's not working?! Ah, my veil's gone already?!"

Hel was rather slow; she took a few seconds to realize her resources were completely gone, the urn now closing its lid as it glowed with a bright, golden aura.

[The [Ramses' Soul Eating Urn (S Rank)] has devoured 84015 Souls! You have closed the urn.]

[The souls have now begun to ferment into fine wine…]

"Perfect!"

Anna converted a crisis into an opportunity once more, storing the Urn inside her inventory and quickly dual-wielding Gram and Oblivion, smacking Hel down. Her body hit the floor, vomiting blood; her bones broke; and her energy was gone. She was powerless; in just a second, the tables were turned by something she could have never ever predicted.

"T-This is... impossible! Just impossible…!" Hel cried, vomiting blood.

"Now, brother!" Anna said.

"Got it!" Jack quickly used his shadow-wielding abilities, rushing towards Hel and grabbing her own shadow, opening it, and taking the unconscious Hector from inside, thankfully still alive.

"Shiro, heal Hector!" Anna said as her Mythic Best flew towards the unconscious hunter and started to heal him right away, barely saving him from a death provoked by blood loss.

"Y-YOU….!" Hel groaned, trying to get up; her scythe fell onto the floor, shattering into pieces. "It was all your fault! Who... just who are you?!"

"I don't need to answer your stupid questions." Anna sighed, smacking Hel down and then grabbing her head with her hands.

"Y-You! What do you intend to do to my vessel?!" Hel groaned, powerless to fight back.

"I'll take her back, of course." Anna smiled. "She never belonged to you; Sara's this city hunter!"

Holding all her holy equipment, including the pendant Gabriel had gifted her, and also channeling all her leftover Yang Ki, Celestial Energy, and Mana into her hands, Anna prepared herself.

"{Celestial Exorcism}!"

FLAAASH!

A radiant light descended from the heavens, piercing the black clouds and imbuing itself inside of Hel- no, Sara's body! The light burned Hel's soul, making her scream in utter agony.

"UUUUAAAAGHH! IT BURNS! IT BURNSSSSS…!"

Like an accursed specter, she quickly dissipated from Sara's body, the divine light completely consuming her manifesting soul, until nothing was left behind.

"Ungh…!"

Sara gave a slight groan before falling unconscious. Anna felt like her heart was still not beating, and her body was still slightly broken and cold, yet she felt Sara's soul there.

Her body was no longer a human being, yet she was still there after Hel was taken away. Whatever she had become, Anna would do her best to make him recover.

[The Constellations are in awe!]

[Your amazing achievements have surprised many Constellations, some that had never been interested in you are now intrigued!]

[You have completed the {Special Subjugation Quest}: {Defeat Hel's Incarnation}!]

"It's done…" Anna sighed in relief.

[The Effect of the [Let's be Friends! (F Rank Privilege)] has been activated.]

[The [Netherworld's Specter: Sara (A Rank)] has become your [Friend]

"Huh?"

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