Rita emptied her potion bag, throwing out every healing potion she had—low, medium, high-tier, and even a few special-grade potions Hecipah had rewarded her with.
[Ten Thousand Volts]!
Thousands of potion bottles shattered in an instant, their contents merging with the surrounding water.
If Miyaas' skeletal form could still suffer negative effects from seawater, then there was no reason why positive effects couldn't also work.
Daughter's Whiskey was a no-go; the whale was too massive. Even with over 800ml of the whiskey poured in, she couldn't control how much Miyaas would absorb or what stage of the effect might be triggered.
After this, she raised her left hand, locking Miyaas' Luck to 1. Although she couldn't see his exact stats, the modification succeeded!
In her right hand, she activated Fountain of Light—a pure, radiant healing skill.
"If this doesn't heal you to death, I'll admit defeat," she muttered.
She activated [I Want This, That, and That] four times in rapid succession, the repeated strain pushing her own HP to 20%. The poisonous herbs she had consumed earlier brought it down further—below 10%.
The currents blocking Nivalis' healing skills left Miyaas seemingly unchanged. Rita couldn't be sure if she was currently at a disadvantage.
But this was Miyaas' domain. Even if he had weakened himself drastically, his sheer level disparity—at least ten times greater than hers—naturally put her in an inferior position.
Yet she still couldn't use Moment of Reversal, for one crucial reason: Miyaas hadn't attacked her.
He had meticulously avoided crossing that line from the moment he made his presence known.
The water hand and mechanical chains had never harmed her; the latter were carving beneficial runes onto her body.
The chilling herbs that froze her body and mind increased her resistances.
The soul-binding melody inflated her maximum HP by 10%.
In short, every method he employed was technically "helping" her, not harming her.
Thinking about Miyaas' clear precautions against Moment of Reversal, Rita grew suspicious. Had he really not foreseen his fate?
Could all these elaborate preparations have been based on a single clue?
People who claim to love mystery often peek at the ending first.
For Miyaas to plan so thoroughly against Moment of Reversal, while also preemptively sealing Nivalis' time-reversal ability, there was no doubt in her mind: He must have seen the ending!
In whatever climactic conclusion he had glimpsed—whether he won or lost—Miyaas must have witnessed her use of Moment of Reversal, with [Wrathful Moon] and Time-Stealing Dragon playing pivotal roles. He had painstakingly laid his traps to neutralize all three elements.
But in a twist of irony, Soul Catcher, the tool Miyaas used to guide her here, had also indirectly enabled her to acquire Moment of Reversal.
Now, Rita hovered above Miyaas' remains in a spread-eagle position. The currents stilled, and the materials suspended within them stopped moving, as if everything had reached its final destination.
Facing Miyaas' skeletal frame, their distance was a mere meter.
The runes inscribed on his skeleton, numbering in the thousands, illuminated with a blue glow.
Above the skeleton and below Rita, two six-pointed star arrays appeared, spinning slowly. Two beams of light shot out like bullets, striking her forehead and Miyaas' skull simultaneously.
The world fell silent.
Nivalis' distant, tearful roar echoed faintly in her ears.
But Rita felt no fear. Her heart, once consumed by greed, had become utterly fearless—just as it had when she first gazed upon Rick's Divine Gift in that dimly lit chamber.
The two six-pointed star arrays began to merge.
Beneath her, Miyaas' skull seemed to grin at her mockingly.
Every chain and binding around her shattered.
Regaining her freedom, Rita dodged the chains lunging back toward her but didn't immediately flee.
She couldn't. Not only was this a rare opportunity, but Miyaas' influence over her was evident. When she tried to imagine a safe place to escape to, her mind insisted the safest place was right here—inside the whale.
Once again, she marveled at how there was no such thing as a flawless skill in this world.
Between her fingers, a skill crystal appeared: [Cut and Paste].
This skill allowed her to sever an object and store it temporarily in her palm for later placement.
With her fingers too stiff to crush the crystal, Rita conjured a Magic Missile, smashing the crystal instead.
The skill activated. Aiming at the skeletal hand that once was Soul Catcher, Rita used [Cut and Paste].
As the crystal's fragments dissolved into the water, Miyaas' right hand disappeared and entered Rita's grasp.
A moment later, she extracted the hand from her palm. It was smooth and glossy, like polished jade, devoid of any sharp edges.
Miyaas attempted to recall the hand, and Rita felt it resisting her grip. Without hesitation, she plunged the bone's fingers into her left eye and released her hold.
The hand, now embedded in her eye socket, was pulled back to Miyaas. Blood gushed from her wound.
Whether or not Miyaas' first attempt counted as an attack, his second strike ensured it.
Rita reached for the two six-pointed star arrays, realizing Moment of Reversal was still unusable. Her limbs grew colder and more sluggish by the second.
Her blood spread in the water, forming crimson tendrils. She could sense her HP dropping—down to 3%. Still not enough?
Suddenly, she recalled the racial trait she had painstakingly chosen during the beta test.
[Undead Will]: As one who is already dead, the deeper your peril, the stronger your resolve. When HP drops below 5%, all attributes double. When HP drops below 1%, your current attributes double again.
Drinking a healing potion stored in her false tooth, she raised her HP to 6%.
Immediately, Moment of Reversal became available.
Without hesitation, she activated it, targeting the two six-pointed star arrays.
In the blink of an eye, the arrays swapped places.
A notification appeared:
"You are devouring the sea demon Miyaas' Divine Gift: [Thief God] to evolve your Divine Gift."
The entire exchange—from retrieving the skeletal hand to activating Moment of Reversal—had taken less than two seconds.
As the skeletal hand returned to Miyaas, the two six-pointed stars fired at each other.
The radiant Fountain of Light still glowed in the background, healing the surrounding area.
Nivalis continued to bombard the whale with skills, shouting: "Are you okay?!"
Rita reassured her: "I'm fine! Everything's under control!"
Nivalis hesitated but began to calm down: "Really?"
Rita: "Not entirely. Stay put and wait for my signal."
Celebrating prematurely was a grave mistake—just look at Miyaas. He'd been grinning at her moments ago. Where was his smug smile now?