The fire the goddess emanated had formed a kind of armor around her body, with pronounced pauldrons rising from it, and her claws were now far larger. Her boots resembled leonine talons, and a massive tail of fire emerged from her lower back, ending in two blazing tips. Her hair had risen wildly, disheveled, blazing like a furnace, and from her back protruded two flaming, bat-like wings.

  The goddess Tania turned to look at Sekhmet as the Egyptian deity reassembled herself, her wounds healing once more.

  “Do you know manticores, Sekhmet?” the Punic goddess asked, her expression still melancholic.

  Sekhmet rose, irritated, drawing a deep breath.

  “They are formidable beasts that dwell in Persia—lions with human faces and long, venomous tails. During my battles in North Africa, some Libyan malakim used them, and I decided to imitate that form. Under this transformation, my speed and strength increase exponentially,” Tania continued, walking calmly toward the Egyptian goddess.

  “Pat Mewet (Genocide)!” Sekhmet shouted, her body turning a deep crimson, as if made of blood itself. She launched hundreds of attacks at Tania—but the Punic goddess evaded them all with complete indifference.

  At that moment, a sound like a vehicle tearing through the air at full speed echoed across the battlefield. Without warning, Tania had once again split Sekhmet in half, her wings raised like blades.

  Calmly, the goddess murmured, “Rahafu Sharshi (Flying creature).”

  “I haven’t used this power since I invaded Rome long ago. I never felt capable of wielding the strength of these children’s voices within my mind. But I must fight for them, Sekhmet—for humanity, which you mock and despise. I must fight to stop genocidal monsters like you, no matter how much I once respected you,” Tania said, turning to face the Egyptian goddess.

  “This can’t be happening! You were merely a Moon, and I am a Sun—the daughter of mighty Ra!” Sekhmet screamed in fury.

  “And I am the daughter of El. But my power has nothing to do with my blood. I am a goddess who chose to accept her mistakes and walk forward by her own will,” Tania replied calmly as Sekhmet lunged at her once more.

  The Punic goddess spoke again:

  “Resha Rebal Alym (Poisonous tail).”

  Tania lashed her flaming tail forward, impaling Sekhmet’s left arm—the very arm she had tried to strike with.

  The Egyptian goddess’s arm turned red and began to burn violently, bubbling like boiling oil.

  “What have you done to me!?” Sekhmet screamed in rage.

  “It is manticore venom. Your arm will burn in agony until it becomes completely paralyzed. While this effect lasts, you will not be able to heal it—and even if you tear it off and destroy it, you will not recover it. If you do nothing, the venom will spread to your heart, and you will burn alive, dying in excruciating pain,” Tania explained calmly as Sekhmet leapt away in desperation.

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  The Egyptian goddess launched multiple energy barrages with her right hand—the only one still intact. The beams were effortlessly avoided by Tania, whose expression remained unchanged.

  “Shahar (Heat),” Tania said, releasing several bursts of fire that struck the lion goddess mercilessly.

  Sekhmet struggled to rise and began to laugh.

  “The more power you accumulate, the faster time advances. Haven’t you noticed you’ve already made your allies lose more than three hours?” she mocked.

  “That’s true—but I only use my maximum power for millionths of a second. Time advances rapidly in those brief instants, but it is enough to defeat you,” Tania replied without emotion.

  “Then I’ll use all my power and go kill your friend fighting over there!” Sekhmet screamed desperately.

  The Egyptian goddess flew out of the battlefield toward Ana, who was still fighting Ishtar in the distance—but before she could do anything, Sekhmet was split in half again, this time by a vertical cut from head to pelvis. Tania had sliced through her in a single high-speed flight.

  “I won’t let you escape from here, Sekhmet,” Tania said without even looking back.

  Sekhmet snarled in rage, then suddenly calmed and began to laugh.

  “Very well. Then I’ll show you my true power, Tannit,” she said, flying upward toward the dimensional barrier.

  “Only a few Egyptian gods can use this technique: Iaret Aten, the Solar Circle of the Royal Cobra. The power of this technique is immense—capable of destroying entire galaxies with ease,” Sekhmet declared, raising her right index finger toward the sky.

  A colossal sphere of fire began to form—a blazing circle radiating light like a miniature sun. Its size was enormous, nearly a kilometer in diameter. Around the fiery circle coiled a cobra made entirely of flames.

  Tania watched the attack without a trace of emotion.

  “I’ll soon wipe that calm look from your face and replace it with pure terror. It’s a shame this planet will vanish because of this technique—but you left me no choice,” Sekhmet said.

  She brought her arm down sharply, pointing at Tania, and the gigantic sphere of fire began to descend rapidly.

  “Master Sekhmet, this battle has been the most painful of my life. I always admired you. I always wanted to be like you. Yet I never truly knew you—and still, I cannot stop feeling affection for you, even as a repulsive being. I hope that if you are reborn, you will return as a creature of goodness, one who loves life and the multiverse we inhabit,” Tania said as a tear slid down her cheek. She wiped her face and raised both hands clasped together toward the sky.

  “Galad esh qoph (Sphere of Fire no. 200).”

  A small sphere of fire formed between her fists. She lowered her arms and launched it toward Sekhmet’s massive solar sphere, whose heat and energy were already tearing the planet’s surface apart.

  “You’re insane, Sekhmet! How could you unleash that monstrosity!?” Ishtar shouted furiously from afar.

  The malakim begged Sekhmet for mercy, but she ignored them, continuing to pour her power into forcing the colossal sphere downward.

  Tania’s fireball collided with Sekhmet’s massive sun. The two spheres struggled against each other, generating crimson thunder that devastated everything around them as all of Mars began to quake. Both spheres froze in place, pushing against one another without yielding.

  Tania closed her eyes.

  “Farewell, Master Sekhmet. Thank you… for everything,” she said softly—then opened her eyes with fierce resolve and roared.

  Tania’s small sphere expanded violently, devouring Sekhmet’s attack. The Egyptian goddess desperately injected more power into her technique, but it was futile. Terror overtook her expression.

  Tania’s solar sphere completely absorbed Sekhmet’s attack and shot forward at incredible speed. Sekhmet tried to defend herself with her right arm—the only one she could still use—but the impact was overwhelming.

  The explosion was cataclysmic.

  All of Mars trembled. Mountains were erased, the ground split apart, and the sky blazed with blinding light. When the explosion faded, a colossal pillar of smoke rose into the Martian sky.

  Sekhmet had been utterly annihilated by Tania’s attack.

  Three and a half hours remained.

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  The next part will be released tomorrow.