I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

Amidst the flying pebbles, his figure pierced through the rain of stones, his staff pointed directly at Eve's throat.

Eve dodged to the side, her longsword slashing horizontally.

The moment the sword and staff collided, a visible shockwave spread outwards, sending the surviving aberrations on the plaza flying dozens of meters.

Lynn was also pushed back several steps by the shockwave, and Anna reached out to support him.

"Get away," Eve's voice came from ahead.

Golden light shone from her longsword, and the earth responded to her will, with the ground within a twenty-meter radius simultaneously rising up and transforming into countless sharp rock spikes that pierced Karthus from all angles.

Karthus dodged most of the attacks with a swift movement, but a rock spike still managed to tear the hem of his robe.

"Hmph." Karthus glanced down at his torn robes, a playful smile on his face. "Interesting."

He raised his staff, and the dark purple sphere at the top of the staff suddenly expanded.

"Touch of the Abyss".

Dozens of jet-black tentacles, each as thick as an adult's arm, extended from the sphere and coiled around Eve as if they were alive.

Eve raised her sword and cleaved off the three nearest tentacles, but more tentacles gathered from different directions.

She retreated continuously, her longsword flashing as it severed one tendril after another.

However, once the tentacles are severed, they regenerate rapidly, becoming more numerous and denser.

"The Undying Wall." Eve uttered a low shout, and the ground beneath her feet rose up again with a roar. This time, it wasn't rock spikes, but a complete stone wall that enveloped her entirely, forming a sealed stone chamber.

The tentacles struck the stone wall with a dull thud, but could not break through.

Karthus retracted his tentacles and shook his head: "Safety inside the shell? Watchers... are nothing special."

Before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed.

A giant rocky hand emerged from the ground, its five fingers clenched, attempting to grasp Karthus entirely in its palm.

Karthus retreated rapidly, but Iwate was faster than he expected, her fingertips catching his ankle.

"Tsk."

Karthus raised his hand, and a deep purple beam of light slashed down, severing the Rock Hand from its wrist.

But the moment he broke free, the stone chamber exploded from the inside, and Eve's figure rushed out, her longsword pointing straight at Karthus's chest.

Eve's sword tip was imbued with the ultimate power of the earth; if this strike were to hit, even a level 85 demigod would likely be severely injured.

Karthus's expression finally changed.

He didn't have time to dodge.

He held the staff horizontally in front of him, and all the dark purple runes on the staff lit up, forming a magical barrier.

"Ding."

The sound of the sword tip colliding with the barrier rang out, and cracks appeared in Karthus's barrier.

The impact pushed his feet, leaving two deep grooves in the ground.

"Good." Karthus retreated a full ten meters before regaining his balance. "That's excellent."

He raised his left hand and flicked his fingers lightly in the direction of Lynn and Anna.

"Distract yourself for a moment."

A dark purple energy blast silently shot towards Lynn.

The speed was so fast that Lynn had no time to react.

"boom!"

A figure appeared in front of him.

Eve pressed her left hand on the ground, and a thick slab of rock rose from the ground, precisely blocking the energy blast.

The rock slab was pierced, but the power of the energy blast was completely neutralized; the remaining shockwave only ruffled Lynn's hair.

Eve stood in front of him without turning her head.

"Stand back."

In that instant, a surge of genuine gratitude welled up in Lynn's chest.

The feeling of being shielded from death is something that no words can fake.

However, at that moment, Eve's body paused slightly.

A warm power surged from the depths of my soul, a feeling like long-parched land suddenly receiving a refreshing rain.

My sanity has actually recovered?

"Oh?" Karthus tilted his head, his purple-flaming eyes scanning back and forth between Eve and Lynn.

"interesting."

He stopped probing, raised his staff high, and the dark purple sphere at the staff's tip spun rapidly above his head.

The magic in the air began to surge wildly, as if a giant vortex had formed above the entire square.

"Since Overwatch is so capable..."

Calsas's voice echoed throughout the square.

"Then I'll show you what an abyss is."

The dark purple runes on the obelisk all lit up at the same moment.

A terrifying power surged from the monument into Karthus's body.

The moment Karthus resonated with the obelisk, his aura surged dramatically.

The air grew scorching hot, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the ground beneath his feet, from which dark purple light seeped out.

Eve frowned.

She sensed Karthus's power rapidly increasing, as the abyssal magic contained within the obelisk was continuously pouring into his body.

“Come on,” Karthus slowly raised his staff. “Let me see how many moves you can withstand.”

Point the staff at the ground.

The ground beneath Eve's feet suddenly cracked open, and a dark purple beam of light shot out from the crack. Eve reacted extremely quickly, and her figure flashed to appear three meters away.

But those beams of light followed her closely.

"The ground is your domain?" Karthus sneered. "Then I'll start with the ground."

His magic continued to seep into the earth, attempting to corrupt the very foundation upon which Eve relied for her battle.

Eve felt the ground beneath her feet being eroded, and the area covered by her "walls" was being eaten away little by little.

“That’s not enough,” Eve said softly.

She plunged her longsword deep into the ground, golden light spreading from the blade and colliding head-on with the dark purple erosion. The two forces clashed underground, causing the plaza to tremble violently, and stone slabs shattered and flew one after another.

However, Karthus, empowered by the obelisk, is clearly more powerful than Eve.

The golden field was slowly receding.

Karthus witnessed this, and his smile returned.

He raised his hand, and a dark purple energy ball with a diameter of three meters condensed in the magic circle.

"Got it."

An energy ball is launched.

Eve raised her left hand, and the earth responded, with three thick rock walls stacked together, attempting to block the attack.

"boom!"

The entire plaza trembled the moment the energy ball struck the rock wall.

The first layer of rock wall collapsed instantly, the second layer developed dense cracks, and it wasn't until the third layer that it barely held on.

Eve's face was noticeably paler.

"Oh!"

Another loud bang was heard.

Karthus unleashed three energy orbs at Eve from different angles. Eve's rock wall defenses were too late to rebuild, so she chose to dodge.

Eve darted across the plaza, each step she took creating a temporary stone platform beneath her feet, propelling her forward once more.

Extremely fast and agile.

But Calsas is faster.

He appeared in Eve's path, sweeping his staff across.

Eve was forced to raise her sword to parry.

The moment the metal clashed with the staff, a terrifying force traveled through the weapon to Eve's arm. She was thrown back more than ten meters.

"Just admit defeat. You can't use your full strength right now. The battle of the Underworld has probably already exhausted your power."

Eve exhaled and regained her balance.

"To deal with you, I don't need to use my full strength at all."

She lifted her left foot and stomped it down hard.

With her as the center, the ground within a radius of 100 meters simultaneously rose by half a meter, forming a huge circular platform.

A dozen or so stone walls, each five meters high, suddenly rise from the edge of the platform, resembling an arena.

Karthus glanced at the surrounding stone walls and laughed dismissively. "You think this can trap me?"

Golden patterns lit up the stone walls, spreading across each wall like veins, forming the entire circular platform into a complete domain.

Within this realm, Eve's control over the earth reached its limit.

"It seems... you want to settle things with me here."

Karthus surveyed the surrounding stone walls, finally abandoning his dismissive expression.

"Okay. I'll grant your request."

The next instant, he rushed forward.

The staff transformed into a purple afterimage, stabbing towards Eve's chest. Eve dodged to the side, her longsword flashing upwards, the sword light intertwining with the purple glow.

The two fought fiercely within the area enclosed by the stone walls.

Each collision generates a terrifying shockwave, causing cracks to appear on the stone wall surface, but the golden veins quickly repair the damage.

Eve's swordsmanship was sharp and precise, and with the help of the ground beneath her feet, she launched attacks from all sorts of tricky angles.

Rock spikes suddenly attacked from below, stone walls pressed down from behind, and the ground could collapse or rise at any moment.

The entire battlefield is her weapon.

But Karthus's reaction and strength were ultimately superior to hers.

His staff was both an offensive tool and a defensive weapon. Dark purple magic formed a thin layer of armor covering his entire body, and most of Eve's attacks were deflected by the armor, losing about 70-80% of their force.

His attacks, however, always forced Eve to defend herself with all her might.

After thirty moves, Eve had several more wounds on her body.

But her gaze remained firm, without the slightest hesitation.

"drink!"

Eve suddenly retreated, creating distance as she gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands. The power of the earth surged wildly into the blade, and the golden light grew brighter and brighter.

"Oh?" Karthus stopped and looked on with interest.

He did not stop it.

Eve's sword strike was charged up extremely quickly, taking less than two seconds.

"Earth-shattering!"

She slashed the ground with her sword.

The moment the sword pierced the ground, the entire circular platform split in two, and a chasm several meters wide stretched from Eve's feet to Karthus's feet.