Chapter 187 Aurielle Is Her Name
"So," she said with a playful smirk, the faintest edge of mockery in her tone. "All cleared up? Ready for the real fun now?"
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Linsley didn't respond immediately, his gaze unwavering.
After a moment of tense silence, he spoke, his voice firm and direct. "I don't fight nobodies. What's your name?"
Her head tilted slightly, as if she were caught off guard by the question.
Then, with a smile that was equal parts mischief and intrigue, she said, "You can call me Aurielle. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Aurielle," he repeated, his tone cold and measured, locking the name in his memory. "Then you'll know who bested you. I'm Linsley Sinclair."
Her grin widened, a flicker of delight crossing her features. "Linsley. A name worth remembering."
She lowered her hands to her sides, her posture relaxed despite the palpable tension in the air. "Well then, let's see if you live up to it."
Without hesitation, the battle began.
Linsley's weapons moved in perfect synchrony as his Unlimited Gun Works activated once more. Cannons, rifles, and blasters formed an intricate web of destruction, each weapon glowing faintly with flux energy as they zeroed in on Aurielle.
The first barrage rained down on her, each shot designed to test her reflexes and defenses.
Aurielle didn't flinch. With a single gesture, space rippled around her like water, bending and twisting to deflect the incoming projectiles.
Linsley watched as his attacks were redirected harmlessly into the ground or vanished into the air.
"Not bad," she mused, her voice light as she stepped forward, unbothered by the onslaught. Then, her tone shifted. "But let's see how well you handle this."
She raised her hand, and her voice rang out, clear and commanding. "Drop down and sleep."
For an instant, Linsley felt the weight of her words press against him, a force that attempted to impose itself over his mind and body.
But it faltered, the compulsion shattering against his immunity to rule-based powers due to his Lawless (Gold) talent. He didn't even stagger as he continued his assault, his eyes flashing with realization.
"Rule-based commands," he muttered under his breath. "Not going to work."
Aurielle blinked, momentarily surprised, before her grin returned. "Oh? Interesting." She raised her hand again, her tone curious as she issued another command. "Halt."
Again, the command had no effect. Linsley advanced, his weapons continuing to fire with relentless precision.
"Stay still," she said, almost experimentally, as though testing a hypothesis. When it failed yet again, she laughed, a genuine and delighted sound. "You really are full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Let's see if you can counter this," Linsley said, his voice low and determined.
He raised a hand, summoning the full force of his Real Fantasy gift. The weapons surrounding him shimmered, transforming into a single, enormous cannon that pulsed with flux energy.
"Follow my command," he said, his words sharp and deliberate as he activated a rule-based command of his own using his Real Fantasy gift. "Your movements are sealed."
For a brief moment, Aurielle's body locked into place, her smile freezing as she realized the command had taken effect. But before Linsley could press his advantage, her violet eyes glimmered with determination.
Just a second after her movements were sealed, Aurielle freed herself in time to extend her hand forward.
The enormous cannon Linsley had created unleashed a massive flux laser blast, hurtling toward Aurielle with devastating speed. But before it could reach her, a dark portal materialized in front of her outstretched palm, effortlessly swallowing the attack.
Behind Linsley, another dark portal appeared, and the flux laser emerged from it, roaring back toward him with unrelenting force.
In response, Linsley activated his Social Distancing (Purple) talent. An invisible barrier formed around him, and as the flux laser approached, it froze two meters away, unable to advance further.
No matter how fast or powerful the blast, it seemed trapped in an infinite journey to bridge the gap between it and Linsley.
Taking advantage of the moment, Linsley extended his hand toward the stalled laser and absorbed it, regaining the flux he had expended in its creation.
His Real Fantasy gift was a power that turned his fantasies into reality. If he imagined something—whether it was wielding another gift or altering the fabric of existence—it would be realized through his Real Fantasy gift.
The only drawback was the immense flux cost. Unlike specialized users of specific gifts, Linsley paid a far higher price in energy, making his lack of flux the single greatest limitation to his abilities.
This scarcity was why he had founded the Sinclair Order during the previous god simulation, to gather faith power and use it as an alternative energy source to fuel his gift.
At the peak of his faith-powered reign, he had even bestowed gifts upon his archbishops and followers, elevating them to the ranks of overlords and royalty.
As long as he had sufficient energy, there was virtually nothing his Real Fantasy gift couldn't achieve.
Aurielle's abilities remained a mystery to him, but her actions strongly suggested a reality manipulation gift akin to his own.
While he couldn't be certain, the sheer variety and potency of her abilities far exceeded the limits of any single gift category. It was likely that her power belonged to the rare Enigma category, just like his Real Fantasy gift.
What surprised Linsley most, however, wasn't just the nature of her abilities but the level of power she wielded. Even though he was holding back and only using Unlimited Gun Works, the fact that she could effortlessly neutralize his attacks proved she was a Level 9.9 Overlord, the same as him.
Her ability to break free from his command with such ease was another indication. A Level 9.8 Overlord, no matter how skilled, would have struggled significantly more.
As he watched Aurielle, her carefree demeanor and apparent delight in their battle only heightened his certainty—if he continued to restrict himself to Unlimited Gun Works, he had no chance of defeating her.
Although Linsley was aware of the situation, he continued testing Aurielle for another minute, relentlessly using his Unlimited Gun Works against her.
As the minute passed, the stalemate between them remained unbroken.
"You're holding back," Aurielle teased, effortlessly dodging a volley of suppression bullets. "Why not show me what you're really capable of? Or are you afraid of what might happen if you do?"
Linsley didn't respond verbally, maintaining his stoic expression as he unleashed another spray of countless bullets in her direction.
Perhaps it was because his attacks weren't designed to be lethal—his bullets were focused on sealing, negation, and suppression, dealing little to no damage—that Aurielle didn't seem to treat the battle seriously.
Instead, she appeared to be enjoying herself, weaving through the barrage of projectiles as though playing a real-life bullet hell game.
But this wasn't an act of mercy on Linsley's part. He deliberately avoided aggression, intending to test her limits and uncover the nature of her gift.
His calculated approach seemed to be working, as Aurielle showed no signs of escalating the fight to a deadly level, matching his non-lethal tactics with playful evasion.
Her teasing, while slightly irksome, didn't faze Linsley. Years of being teased by his two beautiful wives, Seraphina and Evangeline, had already tempered his patience. Compared to them, Aurielle's taunts barely registered.
So even if Aurielle was beautiful, Linsley might have fallen for her charm if he were single. But as a married man, he wouldn't take the initiative to woo a girl, no matter how stunning she was.
His resistance to charm was already unparalleled among others at his power level, honed further by his steadfast commitment to his wives. Even if he wasn't against the idea of having more wives, he wasn't lustful or insatiable enough to constantly seek more, as if he were some beast driven by unquenchable hunger.
Instead of being distracted, Linsley focused on analyzing her gift, using his attacks to observe how she countered them.
Through his calculated probing, he noticed several key abilities: her teleportation was swift and precise; her speed rivaled his own; she could tank his bullets with what seemed to be an immensely durable defense.
She could create barriers, distort reality, mimic his attacks, and summon objects from nothingness—all gifts that were absurdly versatile and powerful.
Such an arsenal would have been impossible for a single diviner to possess under normal circumstances, confirming what Linsley had already suspected—Aurielle's power was an enigma, one that defied conventional understanding.
Further analyzing Aurielle's display of power, Linsley noted that the gifts she wielded seemed almost limitless. Any attack he launched was countered as though she possessed a specific gift tailored to neutralize that exact threat.
'Aurielle's gift seems similar to my Real Fantasy gift,' he thought, narrowing his eyes. 'But while the end result is the same, the process or cause appears to be entirely different. At least her flux cost isn't as high as mine, and she seems to have a set of gifts specifically prepared for every situation.'
After a few more minutes of observing and analyzing her actions, Linsley finally ceased fire. The guns created by his Unlimited Gun Works vanished into thin air, leaving the battlefield quiet once again.
Aurielle, true to her nature, didn't take the opportunity to attack. Instead, she tilted her head, her usual lively smile as bright and carefree as golden sunlight, clearly curious about why he had stopped. She waited patiently, almost playfully, for his response.
Linsley's expression remained guarded, but his voice was steady as he finally spoke. "Your gift should be…"