As Sebas' punch got ever bigger until it appeared to be the size of a cannonball, Zesshi desperately tried to get the pole of her war scythe between his punch and its target which was her head. Only someone with the inhuman reflexes that she possessed could try and pull this off in this situation, nonetheless.
"[Invuln… Uwaaaaaah!"
By miracle, Zesshi managed to squeeze her pole between Sebas' punch, but even she could not activate her martial skill in time to try and fully block the attack. Instead, she pushed back by the force of the blow, just barely avoiding being sent flying again.
"Miss, are you fighting at full strength? If you aren't, please feel free to attack with full force this time, I may not look it, but I can take a hit or two."
Sebas merely smiled earnestly as he looked at Zesshi. Although he could not tell her expression, he had a feeling that beneath that helmet right about now was quite the unsightly look.
"You bastard!"
… He was right
Zesshi fumed with rage! All her life, she had always looked down upon all who challenged her. Even Lycan, who could be said to be an admirable foe, was in the end inferior. But this old man actually dared to challenge her directly and demand that she use her full force. It was beyond aggravating.
"OK! Heard you loud and clear, old man! So you want to see what my full power is like?! Well then pay close attention! [Stride of Wind], [Phantom Dancer], [Evasion Boost], [Greater Evasion Boost], [Ability Boost], [Greater Ability Boost], [Supreme Ability Boost], and finally [Death God Slice]!"
Enraged by her opponent, Zesshi consecutively activated all her strongest martial skills as she finally dashed forward at an even greater speed than before. Her scythe now glowed with a faint light that seemed to radiate a chilling coldness that seemed out of this world as she swung it towards Sebas' neck with pinpoint accuracy.
This time it would hit. Of this, Zesshi was convinced. Even if her opponent was freakishly strong and fast, this time he would be caught off guard and…
At this moment, time seemed to have stopped. This was not due to some form of magic or ability as Zesshi's armor would shield her from such things. Rather, this was the result of her concentration and senses being heightened to beyond even her usual limit. Through them, she was able to see with incredible accuracy what was happening and yet her brain refused to believe it which was why time seemed to have frozen for just an instant as she tried to understand what she saw.
Before her very eyes, the scythe which she was in the middle of swinging down upon her enemy was easily grabbed and halted in place. This alone made her reel as not even she could stop the motion of this attack once it began. And yet there it was undeniably, her attack had been stopped by a black hand which seemingly had sprung from the darkness of the void as a large gaping hole had manifested itself in the corridor through which this hand had swiftly reached out and grabbed hold of Zesshi's scythe as it was moving towards its target.
Before she could even react in any kind of way, another incredible thing happened as something or rather someone invaded her timeless world and began to move as if nothing was wrong. This figure was none other than Sebas, who had been waiting for the opening to strike and was not about to let it slip through his fingers.
In truth, he didn't need to wait for an opening with someone of only this level. But the armor and helmet which outstripped even his own equipment made it somewhat difficult to properly deal with Zesshi in one blow. His attack needed to be of such a kind that Zesshi would not be killed but also could not flee as soon as she found herself outmatched. Hence the best kind of attack would have to be…
"64 concussive blows [Bellowing Punch]"
Sebas' fist glowed with an intense light and began to vibrate violently as even the air around it seemed to quake from the power contained within. It was an incredibly easy and precise strike, but effective as it finally struck towards Zesshi and hit her right in the face.
Although the helmet protected her from the fist itself, the vibrations that were transmitted through both the steel and the air rattled Zesshi's brain to the core as she felt her head spin. The secret of this punch was that it was imbued with a powerful stun effect that even none of the other guardians could properly defend against. Zesshi was not even worth mentioning as the effect of the punch quickly kicked in and caused her to fall lifelessly to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Not a single trace of joy or elation could be seen on either guardian's face as they had never doubted the outcome of this battle for a second. Although they could sort of see why Lycan had lost, it was still not enough to even consider her a threat to Nazarick's strongest.
Lycan himself had been watching the spectacle from a distance and could but click his tongue as he saw the ease the two had dispatched his greatest adversary with. For someone like him who valued strength above all these two were like living gods compared to him.
"Looks like she's out cold…"
Sebas looked at the unmoving body of Zesshi who no longer so much as twitched after that last blow. In the end, Demiurge's assistance was completely unnecessary, but this was to be expected when someone of Sebas' level was involved in the fight.
To everyone his own trade.
Demiurge could but sigh as he took another look at Zesshi's corpse which still hadn't so much as spasmed after getting hit like that by just one skill punch from Sebas.
"Well, that's to be expected. Still she hanged on longer than I would've thought for a lesser…"
Demiurge's words were cut off by a terrible explosion combined with an eye-blinding flash of light that shone with a radiant resplendence and was clearly divine in nature. The entire corridor lit up as the light enveloped every nook and cranny of the room with its brilliance as a gigantic wave of residual holy energy swept over everyone in the corridor. Although it was just the aftershock of the divine attack that had been launched, it was still enough to make even Demiurge frown in slight disturbance followed by a shout of sheer panic.
"Ainz-sama!"
Surprisingly, it was Sebas who was the quicker one to react this time. Faced with the threat of losing their master, no matter how small the possibility, caused them to throw all reason and logic out the window as the two dashed towards the entrance to the treasury at max speed. They did not bother to cover their rear as the only one behind them was the unconscious corpse of Zesshi who although was a tough nut to crack could not inflict any real harm on them whatsoever.
At least, that was how it had been so far…
"Wait for us, Ainz-sama!
"… Hmm?"
For just an instant although it was hard to call it even that, for just the smallest fraction of a second a vague disturbance formed inside Demiurge's heart. For just one small moment he felt it. Fear
As he turned around to look at the cause of this worry, his entire vision went white as he was bombarded with a vicious stream of energy. His entire being screamed out as, for the first time in as long as he could remember. He felt pain coursing through his entire body, his very essence rejecting the energy that was trying to corrupt him. Only one type of attack could make him feel this kind of suffering.
"Khhhhg, divine magic?"
Likewise, Sebas had also felt the disturbance behind him, only to turn around and likewise be attacked with a vicious stream of energy that tried to erase his entire being. Contrary to Demiurge, this attack was not a stream of white and holy energy, but rather a dark current of negative energy most known for being associated with undead. He himself did not have as high of a resistance against magic attacks as Demiurge so he could more clearly feel as this unholy energy tried to invade and corrupt his body, draining it down to a lifeless husk!