Geniuses were annoying.

Aertemi was a genius herself, so she understood this principle well.

An incredibly strong premonition rose in her heart.

It seemed this next strike would plunge her into an extreme crisis.

’Could I... actually die?’

’How is that possible?’

She had no idea what this child before her could possibly use to kill her.

But Aertemi chose to trust her Intuition.

The premonitions born from Intuition were often more useful than logic. Logic could only extrapolate from the known, but Intuition could predict the unknown.

Her Speed was far greater than Lu Cang’s. She was confident she could dodge an impromptu attack like this.

Trading her life for his... was utterly meaningless.

Even if Lu Cang died, what would she gain?

Lu Cang’s unrecoverable corpse? A Kumironi she couldn’t take back with her?

A direct confrontation like this was the worst possible strategy.

Having figured this out in an instant, Aertemi shot backward, intending to dodge his attack completely.

’A Tier Four Root Magic?’

’I’m a god who has witnessed Tier Eight Root Magic. What can a mere Tier Four Root Magic possibly do to me!’

Aertemi naturally paid the technique no mind.

WHOOSH!

The instant Lu Cang’s "Core" was about to touch Aertemi, she vanished from before his eyes.

Lu Cang’s attack hit nothing but air.

The Core he had thrust toward Aertemi shot off into the empty distance!

BOOM—

And in almost the same instant, a Dagger pierced through Lu Cang’s body from behind.

Dodging didn’t just mean dodging.

The battle-hardened Aertemi was, of course, well aware of a very simple principle of combat: the moment you evade an attack is the best time to launch your own.

"A breakthrough in the heat of battle. A genius, indeed~"

SHLICK—

The Dagger had pierced Lu Cang’s heart.

This time, it was a solid hit.

Not just a slight brush of Aertemi’s skin against Lu Cang’s clothes.

But a sharp Dagger, driven straight through his heart.

Aertemi licked her lips.

She twisted the Dagger a full circle.

"It’s a shame, though. In my day, I’ve seen quite a few geniuses~"

"And in the end? All those so-called geniuses became part of my little collection of skins~"

"You must be the most surprising genius I’ve ever met."

"Don’t worry~ You’ll receive the best treatment in my collection."

Lu Cang’s entire body seemed to unravel into countless silken threads.

He had completely disintegrated.

Aertemi watched the single, brilliant Core as it flew off into the distance.

So that was this guy’s Tier Four Root Magic.

’How many Root Mages have I seen in my life? The last Root Magic that posed a threat to me was Tier Eight.’

’That was already two thousand years ago.’

’It was a while before I gave up on becoming a Level 9 Skin Taker and chose to ascend to godhood instead.’

’It was a pity I hadn’t managed to slaughter that Level 8 Mage back then, or I would have had another valuable skin for my collection.’

’I wonder if that Mage managed to ascend to Level 9 after escaping.’

Aertemi twirled the Skinning Dagger in her hand before putting it away behind her back.

At the same time, she stretched out a hand.

Lu Cang’s disintegrated skin was drawn into Aertemi’s hand like streams of paper.

’Time to go deal with Kumironi.’

’This took longer than I expected.’

’If I drag this out until Izparut arrives, things might get a little troublesome.’

’One day, I’ll strip the skin off that little brat Izparut, too... but not this time.’

’At least, not with the body I’m currently using.’

The Ruelun Continent, for all its small size, was full of hidden masters.

Aertemi felt like she was forgetting something.

But seeing the skin in her hand, she knew the guy was already dead...

Even after she became a god, that nameless Moon still had an influence on her.

"Oh well, as long as I get Kumironi, I’ll have a chance to vie for the position of a Moon."

"Conveniently, the fifth Moon is now vacant."

Aertemi cupped her face, a captivated smile spreading from the corners of her eyes. "The Moon of Shedding and Shaping... that has a rather nice ring to it."

CRACK—

Suddenly!

An intense chill erupted!

In a single instant, all creation was frozen solid! Even Aertemi’s body came to a sudden halt!

A physical body materialized in the extreme cold, appearing right above Aertemi’s head!

"Azure Sky Stream—Sixth Form: Extreme·Empty Hand"

"Root Magic: Core of All Things"

Three brilliantly colored Cores spun at high speed in Lu Cang’s single hand!

He brought them crashing down on Aertemi’s head!

BOOM!

The Ice shattered!

Aertemi’s entire body, like an ice sculpture, was instantly smashed into countless fine particles of ice dust!

[Date of Death: 10 years, 1 month, 1 day >> 0]

BANG!

The very instant she was shattered, Aertemi immediately reformed amidst the extreme cold! Upon reforming, the all-freezing chill could no longer affect her in the slightest.

Seeing Lu Cang appear once more, Aertemi’s mind was in turmoil.

’Why?’

’I should have killed him!’

’As a god, can I not even tell if someone is dead or not?’

’Fine.’

’No matter how many times you come back to life, I’ll kill you every single time!’

Just as Aertemi was about to raise her hand again to crush Lu Cang...

WHOOSH!

She saw that her right hand, which she had just raised...

...was sloughing off her arm like a colorful ribbon.

?

Meanwhile, Lu Cang simply stood in the distance.

His eyes were dark and heavy, staring at her as if gazing into the Abyss of Death.

Aertemi could see it clearly.

It was the way one looks at a dead person.

’What kind of look is that? How dare a mere mortal like you look at me, Aertemi, that way!’

Aertemi raised her left hand!