Noah was amazed.
The attack that he had used to completely decimate Kireina's soul was now being properly blocked by her.
The source of such power was a combination of all her tricks into one.
First, her Gauntlets, which she had already created beforehand, further evolved into a new and completely overpowered form.
These gauntlets had the power to defy a percentage of Reality and Eternity, the concepts that make all of Existence.
Through this, Kireina was able to battle against Noah beyond her own Realm, which was stuck at the Peak of the Star Eater Realm.
Though, there was one thing that Kireina was wondering this entire time!
If Noah had been locked inside of Abyss this entire time, how did he manage to not only surpass Star Eater Realm, but reach even higher?
To get to the Nebula Realm he has to devour a Nebula, but Abyss has no such things, right?
Then he also had to absorb a Black Hole, and lastly, he had to assimilate a whole Galaxy to reach Galaxy Realm!
Could it be that devouring Outer Gods, who are beings beyond the cosmos who had already absorbed and eaten such things, allowed him to bypass such requirements?
Then, when she ate Shub-Niggurath, why wasn't she able to do the same thing he could? Or could it be that similarly to her...
"I think I've figured out something about you, Noah."
"Oh? What could that be?"
Noah smiled, swinging his blade against Kireina several times within a nanosecond, unleashing a storm of slashing attacks that could split entire planets easily.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Kireina didn't try to evade, nor she used any new bodies to tank these hits for her and sacrifice themselves, she rushed forward, using her fists, now wearing these wondrous gauntlets, to fight back.
"{Heavenly Light Hammer of Harmony}!"
She pushed forward with all her might, her cosmic, starry golden aura transformed into a massive hammer, which clashed against Noah's barrage of attacks.
BOOOMMM!!!
A massive explosion of conflicting cosmic energies erupted, blowing away the two opponents for several kilometers.
However, they pierced through space and immediately resumed their battle, Noah kicking, punching, and stabbing Kireina, while Kireina regenerated rapidly, while also taking much less damage than before, her fists punching through his body, as she targeted his wounds the most.
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
RUMBLE!
The ground beneath started to continuously shatter and fragment, and the skies above were being split apart, the atmosphere was being blown away from the simulated planet within the Other Side.
"You're not a true Galaxy Realm Cosmic Being, aren't you?!"
Kireina clashed against Noah, for the first time, her consecutive attack after the hammer finally pushed him back, her fists overflowing with golden stars as her aura transformed, a gate behind her opened, revealing endless light.
"{One Step From Nirvana}!"
CLAAASH!
As Noah was pushed back for the first time, he glared at Kireina with his same, expressionless, and unassumed face, despite the inside of his mind being quite amused.
"So I guess you've managed to figure it out," Noah nodded, his Blood Sea transforming into a Nebula, then Stars made of Void, and then into a miniature Galaxy. "I have never consumed, a Star, or a Nebula, or a Black Hole, or a Galaxy either."
"So you're the same as me..." Kireina said. "Your raw power and abilities surpass your actual Realm and go even further beyond... Hell, even your body."
"Yes, but what does that matters anyways?" Noah asked. "It's all the same. I am clearly superior to you, Kireina."
"Heh, I guess you're right, you're much stronger, Noah," Kireina nodded. "So strong I could never hope to defeat you."
Noah squinted his eyes; Kireina's attitude was strange.
She never seemed actually frustrated, she always was calm and carefree.
Despite everything...
Even at the moment of her death, there wasn't a single sign of panic, fear, or despair in her eyes.
"Is it because you're the son of Azathoth?"
When Kireina asked that question, Noah suddenly...
Snapped.
ВАААМ!
He destroyed the space behind him, shattering it into pieces as he moved faster than time, reaching Kireina in less than an instant and swinging his sword down, aiming to cut her into
two halves.
"What does that have to do with anything?! The powers that I've inherited from my father, I will never use them!"
SLAAASH!
As Kireina received the attack, she giggled.
"Hoh? Looks like I touched a nerve... Calm down, son of Azathoth."
The veins over Noah's forehead began popping in anger.
Yes, although Noah always remained calm.
When things like these were mentioned, he would sometimes lose his mind.
Why?
Because after enduring tens of thousands of years of battling Outer Gods endlessly.
All because he was the damned son of Azathoth...
It made him so furious!
There hasn't been a single thing he wanted the most than to stop being the spawn of that
cosmic monstrosity.
It was the source of all his misfortune, the cause of his family and friend's death before they reincarnated in Abyss thanks to Nyarlathotep.
If he hadn't been the son of that thing, wouldn't his life had been so much more peaceful?
So much better...
"I'll kill you no matter what."
Noah made his mind, as his entire body grew even larger, his pale white skin now began to
turn red, as his small horns grew longer, and he even gained a pair of bat-like wings from his
back.
"{Lifeblood Exceed: Level 7}"
"Hah, how many levels does that technique have, Noah?"
RUMBLE!
Noah shattered space as he punched Kireina with all his might, his Blood Sea merging with his
Cosmic Aura into a single, overwhelming strike.
It was at least ten times as stronger as the attack that completely decimated her!
BAAAMMM!!!
"I told you I would kill you, so die."
As Noah glanced down to see Kireina's demise, his eyes...
Widened!
Kireina was fine.
And surrounding her, countless of divine cosmic holy runes of reality spiraled around her
body.
"With these ten gauntlets, I command your attack to deal only one percent of its damage."
This was the limit of the ten gauntlets combined.
But with them, defying Reality was a possibility.
"She can manipulate Reality?!"
For the first time in tens of thousands of years...
Noah was shocked.