Chapter 458 The Perilous Annihilation Divine Light

"First observation."

Crackle, crackle......

Crimson sparks flared to life between her palms once more.

Hulim Heyerar stared at the glowing light before her, musing aloud,

"I may not be satisfied with the results, but I’ve finally managed to cap the power at a somewhat controllable level."

"It’s just... why can’t I push it any further than this?"

After a moment of silence,

Hulim went on with her reflection.

"Second observation: I can confirm that Infinite Strikes works on Annihilation Divine Light too."

Crackle!

The red glow in her hands suddenly surged in size.

This wasn’t because Hulim had slackened her control—it was because she’d layered the effects of Infinite Strikes, amplifying the Annihilation Divine Light.

"But......"

Hulim shook her head almost immediately.

"It’s completely pointless."

"This ability—Annihilation Divine Light—is a bottomless pit on its own. It doesn’t need any extra amplification. If anything, figuring out how to weaken its power is my top priority right now!"

"Conclusion."

"It sounds amazing in theory, but right now? It’s totally useless!"

Crackle!!

At that very instant, the crimson light in her palms began to spiral out of control.

"Oh no—!"

Hulim panicked and hurled the unstable energy away.

BOOM!

A deafening crash rang out, leaving a crater in the courtyard far larger than any of the previous ones.

"......"

Hulim stared at the scene, utterly speechless.

"Third observation——"

"It’s way too prone to losing control......"

That summed up all of Hulim’s gains from her training.

The second point was useless for now and could be set aside. The third was nothing but a flaw. And while the first was somewhat reassuring, it was also the source of her biggest frustration.

Her progress had hit a wall!

No matter how many times she tried, she seemed to have reached the absolute limit of how precise her control could be.

Yet Hulim couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still so much room for improvement.

"If it’s not a problem with my own control skills... then it must be an issue with the ability itself......"

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With that thought,

Hulim stood up and walked over to the nearest crater.

She knelt down, studying the edge of the hole intently, even reaching out to touch the smooth, empty space where earth had once been.

"It really is gone without a trace......"

That was the part she could never wrap her head around.

Anyone with half-decent strength could make a hole in the ground—all it took was a strong spell or a brute-force attack.

But those kinds of craters were always the result of matter being moved or transformed.

Rock melted into magma, soil blown to bits, or even the most devastating attacks that reduced matter to its basic mana particles.

But this was different......

No matter was moved, no energy was released. It simply vanished completely, without a single wisp of mana essence left behind!

It was as if that patch of ground had never existed at all.

Hulim had never even heard of a power like this, let alone understood it.

It felt wrong. Like a force that had no business existing in this world.

That constant, unsettling sense of disharmony always threw off her control. She could correct the errors when she was using large bursts of power, but when she tried to refine it to a precise level, she always hit an invisible wall beyond which she couldn’t go.

"Just like this......"

Hulim held up two fingers of her right hand.

Crackle, crackle......

A tiny spark of red light flickered between them.

"If I force myself to shrink the control threshold any further, it’ll go haywire instantly."

Snap——!

The red light flashed, slicing through the air just above her head.

A lock of her hair fell off, cut clean in half—and before it even hit the ground, it dissolved into nothingness, vanishing without a trace.

"N-N-No way......"

Hulim froze, her face draining of color, her voice catching in her throat.

"That’s terrifying!"

This was bad!

This was really bad!

One wrong move and she could’ve killed herself!

Hulim clutched her chest, her heart pounding with fear.

"Lucky... lucky that I have the same kind of power inside me to counteract it. Otherwise, even a single strand of hair touching that light would’ve erased my entire head."

"Okay, no more reckless experiments for today. I think I’ve had enough."

With that, Hulim raised her right hand and pointed it at the ruined courtyard.

Rumble.

The ground trembled, churning like liquid.

The craters she’d made moments ago smoothed out, filling back in until the courtyard looked exactly as it had before she started her training.

"......Or at least, it looks the same."

Hulim muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Only she knew that the soil that filled those holes wasn’t the same as before. The original matter was gone, vanished forever—no one knew where.

"Well, there’s plenty of dirt in the world. Losing a little bit can’t hurt, right?"

"......"

"Probably?"

After a few seconds of awkward silence,

Hulim turned and walked toward the courtyard gate.

But as she neared the entrance, her steps slowed down, until she came to a complete stop, frozen in place.

"......"

She stood there, torn, her expression twisted in indecision.

Finally,

She threw her hands up in frustration and screamed.

"Ugh! I can’t just give up like this!"

Without a second thought,

She spun around and ran back into the courtyard.

"I refuse to believe I can’t master this! At the very least—at the very least—I need to control it well enough to cut my hair with it! Annihilate—!"

BOOM!

"Failed again! One more time! Annihilate!"

BOOM!

"Still failing! Keep going!"

BOOM......

......

Noon arrived.

Prarlulu stumbled out of the training chamber, leaning heavily against the wall, her face a picture of utter despair.

As soon as she stepped through the door, her legs gave out and she collapsed face-first onto the floor.

"I can’t take it anymore...... I’m gonna die......"

"Your face isn’t a mop, you know, little Prarlulu~."

A playful voice rang out, and a hand reached down to grab the back of Prarlulu’s tunic, lifting her off the ground.

"Aunt Irus!"

Prarlulu’s eyes lit up when she saw who it was.

Then her face crumpled into a pout, and she burst into tears.

"Waaaaah! I can’t stand the training anymore! Aunt Irus, take me away from here! Let’s run away together!"

Irus chuckled, reaching out to tap Prarlulu lightly on the forehead.

"Sorry, can’t do that, Prarlulu. You’re the Hero, remember? If you’ve taken on this responsibility, you have to see it through to the end~."

"But—but the training is so hard!"

"I know it is. But it’s the only way to help you grow strong quickly."

"No! I don’t wanna! It’s too tiring! I quit!"

"......"

Irus tapped her chin, looking thoughtful.

After a moment, she smiled mischievously.

"Nuh-uh~."

"Aww, why not?!"

"Because......"

Irus’s smile widened, turning into a grin that was far too cheerful.

"I’m the one who’s going to be teaching you this afternoon~."

"Huh——?!"

The light faded from Prarlulu’s eyes, her face going pale with betrayal. She stared at Irus in disbelief.

"Aunt Irus......"

"Yes, dear~?"

"Do you not love me anymore?!"

Thump!

"Ow! That hurts!"

......