Reincarnated as a Holy Nun, I Refuse to Lose! v3c5

Chapter 5: A Full-Blown Battle

Doris unleashed another punch, the ground where the castle once stood now just a pile of rubble. She had transformed, her hands now claws, her crimson eyes gleaming, her white hair grown down to her waist, two furry ears on her head, her sharp fangs bared.

“Does her magic power have no limit…?”

Doris had almost completely revealed her true form. Xia, her face pale, leaned against a tree, having exhausted her power. Although she had only cast one spell, the high frequency of its use had drained her.

“I admit, you two are a bit of a headache…”

The Time Witch looked down at them from the sky, her giant mechanical clock spinning behind her, her magic power growing with each tick. Every time Doris entered her Time Domain, Xia had to cast her divine art to break the time stop.

“You’re no match for me. Every time I use my ability, my magic power returns to its state from a second ago. If you try to wear me down, you’ll be the ones to tire first…”

“Enough with the talk! Just die!”

[Unique Magic: Body Enhancement]
[Unique Magic: Bloodline Enhancement]
[Unique Magic: Sensory Enhancement]
[Unique Magic: Tear]

Doris’s crimson domain expanded, the trees around her being shredded by her killing intent. Two golden lights enhanced her body.

[Divine Art: Power Amplification]
[Divine Art: Physical Enhancement]
[Divine Art: Continuous Recovery]

“The rest… is up to you…”

Xia collapsed, her power spent. Doris, now at her strongest, charged into the Time Witch’s domain.

“Walking right into my trap…”

[Unique Magic: Time Stop]

The Time Witch raised her hand, but Doris smirked. The Time Witch had a bad feeling, but seeing the frozen Doris, she conjured a spear.

“A bluff. If I kill you again, you’ll probably be more obedient…”

The Time Witch stabbed Doris with the spear, but it passed right through her. It was just an afterimage.

“Not the real body! Where is she? Behind me? To the left…? Above?!”

The Time Witch looked around, but there was no sign of Doris. Time Stop consumed a massive amount of magic power, so she had to release it and revert her magic to its previous state. The moment she did, she felt a sense of danger.

“Have you ever died…?”

“!!!”

A sharp pain in her chest, a claw piercing through her. The Time Witch looked at Doris in disbelief.

“H-How…?”

Doris withdrew her hand, and the Time Witch, a gaping hole in her chest, fell to the ground, her blood staining the earth, her silver eyes dimming, the clock behind her vanishing.

“Did I win? That last move took everything, I’m out of magic…”

Doris, exhausted, walked over to the Time Witch’s body.

“Heh, so this is First Order. Just a troublesome ability to control time~”

Doris kicked the body and turned to Xia. She had won thanks to the little girl. But as she turned, she heard the familiar sound of a clock ticking.

“!!!”

“How pathetic. So I would have died in the next second? How interesting…”

Doris turned in disbelief and saw the Time Witch standing there, unharmed. She had pierced her chest and crushed her heart. Even a witch with incredible regenerative abilities couldn’t have survived that.

“You look shocked. It must be despairing to kill someone with all your might, only to see them standing before you, alive and well…”

The Time Witch’s tone was indifferent, but Doris was trembling. Even a First Order being shouldn’t be such a monster. She looked down and saw the corpse she had killed still lying there. Why was the Time Witch standing before her?

“You only killed the me from a second ago. But the me from the next second is still alive. It’s that simple.”

“Damn it! If you can live once, I can kill you again!”

Doris, despite her exhaustion, prepared to fight again. But the Time Witch simply used Time Stop and stabbed her in the stomach.

“Look at you now, so pathetic. Do you really think you can kill me a second time…?”

“Damn it!”

Doris pulled out the dagger, the wound healing instantly, but the magical exhaustion remained. How could she defeat such a monster? A sense of helplessness washed over her.

“Desperate? Then let’s make you even more desperate…”

[Divine Art: Pure White Domain]

The Time Witch took a step forward, and a white domain expanded from her, turning everything within it white. Doris’s instincts screamed at her not to enter.

“I don’t usually like using this power, since I’ve betrayed the gods, but for a little intimidation, it’s fine…”

The Time Witch withdrew the domain. Doris was now filled with self-doubt. As the Time Witch approached, Doris didn’t know what to do. She was out of power, and even at her strongest, she couldn’t resist Time Stop.

“So just come back to the castle with me…”

“Oh my, it seems I’ve come at a bad time. But the most important characters always make their entrance at the end, don’t they~?”

A familiar voice interrupted the Time Witch. Doris looked and saw a figure standing beside her. The Time Witch also paused.

“My dear friend, you look so pathetic~”

“You… are…”

A girl with long, red and black hair stood between them, her gray, jewel-like eyes filled with arrogance.

“The Pride Witch, Peronice…”

“It seems you remember me, Time Witch. To be remembered by you is an honor~”

Doris stood up, exhausted, looking at Peronice with annoyance.

“What are you doing here? To capture me, the traitor…?”

“No, no, I don’t think you’re a traitor. That’s just what they say~”

Peronice approached Doris and patted her shoulder, but Doris shrugged her off. Peronice simply smiled and looked at the Time Witch.

“Oh my, you’re still the same, so tsundere~”

“I really hate you, you bastard!”

Doris punched Peronice, but even in her weakened state, the blow was still powerful. Peronice didn’t even flinch, taking the punch to her chest.

“You… are you okay…?”

“Cough… a true powerhouse doesn’t dodge a weakling’s attack~”

Doris looked at Peronice, who was now coughing up blood. Although they were both Deadly Sins, Peronice rarely revealed her abilities, so much so that Doris had once thought her ability was just being stubborn.

“But you’re bleeding…”

“It’s nothing, just heartburn, my mouth is a little dry.”

Peronice wiped the blood from her lips and bowed to the Time Witch with a gentlemanly air.

“Now, let me be your opponent. You don’t mind, do you~?”

“Oh, you think you’re my opponent…?”

The Time Witch didn’t take her seriously. Although she recognized her as a Deadly Sin Witch, her power was only enough to be remembered by name. But Peronice, who had been squinting, slowly opened her eyes.

“We won’t know until we try, right~?”

[Unique Magic: Magic Mirror]

A mirror with strange markings appeared beside Peronice. The Time Witch’s eyes narrowed, sensing something was different about this Pride Witch compared to the one she had faced decades ago.

“First Order…?”

The Time Witch looked at Peronice, whose magic power was different from before. As Doris’s reflection appeared in the mirror, Peronice said,

“A little improvement~”