It was a one-sided beating, quite literally. The other guardians did not even dare Lucy or get in her way.

Veia tried her best to defend herself by swinging around her sword or raising her shield to defend, however, her opponent's raw strength was simply too monstrous.

In just a matter of thirty seconds, Veia was beaten into a bloody pulp. There were bruises all over her body, which was now exposed due Lucy's kicks and punches. The resistant armor that was supposed to defend her had broken in pieces, and even her shield was on the verge of shattering.

There were occasions when the girl managed to land a hit, but even that did not cause a single scratch on Lucy's skin.

"You defeated my pupil using that thunderbolt, yes?"

"..."

"I'll let you summon it. Go Ahead."

The white specter displayed a devilish smile as she stood a couple of paces away from the bloodied girl. Not an ounce of Nether Energy or Mana was emitting from Lucy, she was totally exposed.

Veia gritted her teeth and, with a lot of difficulty, stood up and took the stance of prayer with her sword positioned vertically across her half-broken breastplate. With no one stopping or interfering with her brief, Veia was able to quickly conjure the thick thunderbolt, which soon descended upon Lucy.

Even at that point, Lucy did not make use of Ice Lotuses, her exceptional and deadly fusion fire, her devastating silver revolver, or even her Godspirit. Her right arm drastically changed in appearance and thick steam burst from the miniature holes throughout her frightening devil arm.

Just like earlier, she merely clenched her right hand and punched the incoming thunderbolt, resulting in an earth-shattering shock wave that sent Veia blowing hundreds of meters away.

It all happened within a couple of seconds and when the steam and dust cleared out, Lucy was standing still, unscathed and unperturbed.

"Is that it?"

"..."

She was like a ghost, her silhouette blurring and instantaneously appearing right in front of the fallen Veia.

"So much confidence and yet nothing to show off?"

It was apparent that Veia was beginning to taste the bitter taste of defeat, desperation and urgency showcased on her face, which lacked its usual composure.

The girl was glaring daggers at Lucy, her Holy Magic exploding forth, coupled with a loud war cry.

It did not take a genius to figure out what she was doing; Veia was using her Blood Essence, consequently, weakening her future potential and shortening her lifespan, in order to gain a brief but explosive burst of power.

****

Outside of the trial stage, Cardinal Patrick, who was rendered dumbstruck by the miserable defeat of Veia, was currently panicking, especially after he witnessed his pupil's foolish attempt to retaliate against Lucy.

Very much like Veia, a threatening amount of Holy Magic emanated from his body and shining staff, but before he could do anything, an invisible and mountainous pressure weighed down on him.

"Cardinal, I don't think you should do that."

Arthur appeared a couple of meters away, his eyes locked onto the old man. The High Priest, Melissa, attempted to interfere and explain things but one glance at Arthur made her lose the will to speak or even move. She dumbly stood there, trembling in fear and sweating profusely.

It wasn't the effect of the Black Dragon Formation, it was only Arthur and his unseen Dark Magic. It was so concentrated and seemed to devour everything in its way, including the Cardinal's pure and supposedly unrivaled Holy Magic.

"No one is allowed to interfere in the trials. I think I've made myself clear before."

"I want my pupil out."

The Cardinal, who was already weakened due to sacrificing much of his power to strengthen Veia, was barely able to squeeze those words before coughing a mouthful of blood and falling back on the chair, his expression extremely pale.

"Out? I'm afraid that's not possible, Cardinal. Unless a participant falls unconscious or willingly surrenders, there's no way out. Also, wasn't it you who wanted that girl to participate? I'm not pointing fingers but… such an outcome is to be expected when you throw an inexperienced young girl amidst a fight between experts."

"I-if Veia dies, the Dominion won't stand fo-"

"I'm sure I also told you that threatening anyone with your background is forbidden. I'll let this slide but if it happens one more time then…"

The parasite winked at Melissa and Patrick then added with a chilling voice,

"You won't be able to return to your lovely home."

****

"Did you have fun scaring them?"

Seeing both the Cardinal and the High Priest pale-faced, Isadore chuckled at Arthur, who had just come back to his seat.

"I was only reminding them of the rules."

"Is that so…"

The young King rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze back to the screen. He had to admit that Lucy's fighting capabilities were beyond his expectations, even as someone particularly close to the MoonStar couple.

"Your wife is really going all out."

"All out? No way… hahaha"

…

Thanks to consuming her own vitality and Blood Essence, Veia's cultivation increased again but it could not break through the limits of the Overgod Realm.

She was enveloped by a majestic golden light, her sword now elongated and her shield transformed into a bigger, square-shaped one.

Veia no longer cared about the flags or the trial, she was wholly focused on Lucy. When her transformation, which took a fair amount of time, was done, she lunged at the White Specter while thrusting her shining sword.

Alas, before she could grasp what just happened, Veia found herself flying backwards, her aura diminishing at insane pace and her sword nowhere to be seen.

Mid-air, the girl, still in-shock, saw Lucy appear right above her and spin around, lashing out with a lightning-fast kick which struck her abdomen.

It was a series of simple attacks but it was more than enough to incapacitate and defeat the young girl. Before she even touched the ground, Veia had already fallen unconscious. The golden aura vanished and her gear along with her weapons were completely broken.

"What a waste of time."

Lucy coldly looked at the girl and clicked her tongue, not feeling as good as she had expected. Veia had strengthened herself multiple times but she could not fight back or provide enough entertainment, which meant that it was time to switch targets.

Lucy wasn't that interested in capturing or defending the flags, so she opted to attack those who successfully acquired one of the flying flags. There were a decent amount of targets she could fight, but, by far, the most interesting ones were the Elven Maid and the Demon, both were still standing still and nonchalantly talking to each other.