Tense silence enveloped the deserted ara as both enemies stared at each other—the woman with a bright, confident smile, and the young man with slight indifference and caution.
Any moment, and it seemed like the entire area would collapse as a result of the heavy tension.
'As expected. A Shadows Of Light Star, huh? Just like the one Jared faced...'
It all slowly began to make sense to Kuzon,. especially considering what Jared told him.
'So this is what he meant by something interesting. Not bad.' Kuzon nearly leaked out a smirk, but he maintained his serious demeanor before the woman in front of him.
'At the very least, my journey here wasn't completely in vain. I should be able to practice something if she's the target.'
As Kuzon was engaging in his thoughts, Gluttony vanished from her location, becoming a blur that could hardly be perceived by anyone.
>WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH<
Closing the distance between them in a single moment, she launched her hand towards Kuzon, the whole thing being coated by a dark red aura.
'What's this...?' Kuzon swiftly dodged the attack at the last minute, sensing something off about his interaction with the lady.
>WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH<
Not giving him room to breathe, she vanished again, this time appearing behind him. Just as before, he dodged, and then she kept switching positions and attacking with such speed and veracity that the entire room vibrated.
'Her speed isn't bad. It's just not enough.' However, despite that, his focus wasn't on the woman's speed.
It was on something she wielded that kept drawing Kuzon's senses toward it.
"Hey, what's that you have in your pocket?" Kuzon asked her, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
Unfortunately, her blow was already fast approaching him when he began his inquisition, and it seemed inevitable that she would hit him.
But...
"H-huh??"
She suddenly froze on the spot, her fist a mere inch from Kuzon's face.
No, it wasn't like she froze. It seemed more like something restrained her, holding her still despite her best efforts to move.
"Looks like [Marionette] works just well. In any case, what's the stuff you have in your pocket? It's the first time I'm sending something like that in this reality."
"Y-you bastard! Let me go!" The. Star called Gluttony yelled.
Of course, Kuzon ignored her and went straight for the item she had in her breast pocket.
"Argh! W-what are you doing, you—"
"You're too loud. Jeez..." Finally feeling something warm in the pocket, Kuzon grabbed it and brought his hand outside. "Here we go."
Locked in his grasp was a brimming crimson stone. It had a malevolent aura emanated from it, and it contained a considerably large chunk of Mana.
"So this is the Blood Stone Jared talked about. A bit underwhelming, but—"
"Kuku... kuukukuku..." As Kuzon began appraising the stone, Gluttony began to laugh, her eyes narrowing as her lips widened in delight.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Hahahahahaha! You fool! You've made your worst mistake! Now that you've touched the Blood Stone, there's no going back!"
'What the hell is she talking about?' Kuzon thought to himself.
"Looks like I can't go easy on you any longer. I'll use my Trump Card!"
Kuzon's eyes widened as the stone in his palm suddenly began to grow incredibly hot. Of course, no harm came to him, but the sensation made him wonder.
>VWUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!!!<
Suddenly, something akin to a veil enveloped the surroundings.
It took over everything, coursing through the ceilings and floors as well, transforming everything into a world of crimson hue.
The woman, who had been still before, was suddenly freed by teleporting away from her previous position.
The stone in his grasp also vanished, returning to her possession.
The world became fully formed, and it seemed like a desolate reality drenched in blood, cut off from the rest of the world.
'Is this... an alternate dimension?' Kuzon thought as he observed the newly changed world.
He felt completely disconnected from the reality he was in just moments ago. The sensation was similar what he felt in a Dungeon.
'So, I'm trapped once again, huh?'
"Welcome to my [Blood Dimension]!" Gluttony roared in both amusement and pride. "It's my Ultimate Skill, an S Ranked Skill!"
******
Unlike the Sin of Sloth who focused on obtaining three S Class Skills, Gluttony spread her Skill sets more broadly. She had only two S Class Skills, and a couple of other inferior ones.
Out of all of them, though, her most powerful Skill was the [Blood Dimension], which created a realm that she had absolute control over.
Coupled with her Special Ability of teleportation, she was invincible.
"It seems I've wasted too much time messing around. It's time to show you my full power and destroy you!"
There were so many ways she could go about her enemy's elimination. Just thinking about how to pay him back for humiliating her, and also due to the orders of their leader, made her lick her lips in delight.
"I agree. It also seems like I've wasted my time." The golden haired opponent suddenly said, his tone depicting nothing short of boredom
Perhaps even disinterest.
"Since I've seen your Trump Card, I've deemed this battle to be a waste of time."
"What?!"
"You're pretty proud of this stifling room you call a dimension. It's disheartening."
"You..." Veins began appearing on Gluttony's head as she glared at the ignorant fool who spoke.
Her special dimension was as large as a house. She could manipulate anything within it, and she could easily kill him now if she wanted.
How dare he degrade her power to such an extent?
"You deserve to be punished!" As soon as she said this, with a widened, murderous gaze, several spikes emanated from all over—the floor, ceilings, sides, etc., and sharply launched themselves at the young man.
Gluttony expected to see blood strewn on the floor, or the boy turning into mincemeat. Ah, even seeing his guts spilled all over her dimension wouldn't be bad.
Using Skills below S Rank didn't work in this world, and even the S Rank Skills used would instantly be detected by her at the moment of activation.
She was quite literally invincible!
"Disappointing..." With a single mutter, the crimson spikes that closed in on the young man began to change color.
All of them turned golden.
"W-what?!"
"Perhaps I should show you what a true domain ought to look like."
The floors, the ceilings, and everything around began to take on a golden form.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Taking over your special dimension. But even this isn't enough." A wide smile formed on his face, causing Gluttony to break into an anxious sweat
Gold covered everywhere, and a bright light took over her senses.
It felt like she was being transported to get another new reality.
"You need to see for yourself. What a superior domain is."
