THIRD PERSON POV
Hilde had not forgotten her initial goal. Sure she'd been sidetracked with surviving the attacks from the devilings. Now though with the contract in place, she had reverted to her initial goal.
Practicing her insights.
First was the golem armor. She found how to alternate between heavy and thick defensive stone armor and lighter ones for an offense. How to shape up a part of her armor to add more offensive capabilities to it. Like spiked gauntlets and boots. Stone blades that could just out of the golem's knuckles like a wolverine and stray rock bullets of varying sizes.
She practiced striking with both Daemon's fist and a huge earth gauntlet wrapped around her knuckles. Each strike aimed to at least destroy or affect Bali's Liquid silver. She learned how both Devil's fire and Divinity reacted to each other.
Like opposing ends of magnets pushing the other way. It made for more questions, questions that Hilde pocketed and focused on the current matters.
Next came Mellifluent. But instead of creating water from herself, she tugged on the Primordial waters within the pond.
"All in the imagination." Realizing that using the insights was 50% understanding and 50% imagination and shaping whatever you wanted out of the water while still playing with the set patterns and rules of the insights.
First was a wall of water to defend from a frontal attack of the silver beam from a still-smiling Bali. The wall withdrew and whipped at the devil who leaped right over it. Hilde leaned back in a bend she was very aware her real body could never accomplish. Her head almost touching the ground her left palm took all her weight as she completed the spin instantly, leg whipping up to strike the devil's jaw.
Unfortunately, such a trick was not capable of catching the nifty being. His head leaned back just in time to avoid it.
Alas, Devils were prideful and powerful but not tricksters or devious. They were not demons.
The whip behind him lashed at his head sending the devil flying past into the ground. Hilde wasn't one to let up on an advantage. The waters of the pond rose to drag the devil down as he stood. The ground beneath him glowed green for just a moment.
Bali leaped up expecting an earth strike. His ears twitched at the sound of the blade cutting the air. Liquid Silver flowed with speed into a blade that blocked the strike for his neck. Wind gusts blew as he caught the sight of a feathered wing flapping.
Bali was faster. The blade lost shape and flowed into a lasso that shot out catching her feet. In a spin, her body crashed into the ground. A hiss of pain rushed up her back from the broken form of the wings. Divine Purity flowed through her instantly mending the broken wing bone and sewing the torn muscles.
Bali was not halting. She barely rolled away as his feet came crashing where her wings should have been. Both appendages quickly folded back into her skin and away from sight right before she stomped her foot aiming to displace the Devil. Green energy shot out in a ripple, the floor shattering and the earth upheaved as rocks and spikes jutted out in tandem.
She raced to the side before sliding to halt her momentum and crouched leveling her gaze on Bali. The God Slayer, unfortunately, remained in his position his eyes fixed on her a silver flame in the shape of a shield halting the ascending earthen projectiles trying to impale him while he hovered in the air his wings flapping.
Hilde frowned. Bali had been controlling the flow of the fight since the beginning. All her attempts to strike and defend had been at his beck and call. Now even trying to engage in aerial had been stumped by his simple act of targeting her wings.
She glared at the devil as she exhaled and inhaled. She wasn't tired, the activity just helped to control her heart and also to help her beyond the cluster of white noise that was fear of falling here.
'Can't show too much prowess, at least until I'm close enough to take his head without him knowing.' she exhaled one final time before she stood straight.
Mentally perusing through all her skills Hilde exhaled and then dismissed the sword. Bane of Heroes weaving itself next into the grasp.of her left hand. Bali's expression froze for a moment before he smiled gleefully.
"Stronger?. GOOD. GOOD. Now I come".
Bali vanished. A tingle to her neck at the right side made her body move in a push of muscle memory making her evade and bend to the left even as the bow dissolved. Blue eyes rolled to the side where dust stirred. The devil barely missed the sharp glow of green in them as the ground blew up raising dust and stone right before his blade could connect.
A chuckle escaped the Son of Ozdane as he stood in the dust. His head tilted back as he inhaled sharply.
" I smell your strength Hilde." his shoulders shook with glee.
"Enticing." black tongue shot out licking his lips. The devil darted out of the now fading smoke in the direction he perceived the divine energy.
WHOOSH
Bali ducked to the side just as an arrow whipped past his face. His eyes glinted.
WHOOSH
A second arrow slit his left bicep. A hiss left his lips before he looked just as a blue arrow slammed into him. His right arm shot up fast enough to block the bolt with his palm. A chill went up his hand to his elbow blue frost climbing eagerly.
"Lucky" he looked to the still-moving goddess. She was fast. But not fast enough. But soon. She was close. Just a bit more pushing and ripening to be done and he could pluck the fruit. Earn his true title.
Bali tightened his fist wreathing his arm up to the elbow in Devil's fire.
[A/N: Liquid fire - Forged into weaponry.
Devil's fire - Used as elemental or energy attack]
Hilde frowned as her body jerked to a stop. A crawling feeling rushed over her body. It felt like a million insects crawling over her skin.
[You are being sullied]
[Status Effect - Nether Corruption]
The feeling crept into her body sending her to her knees. Bali descended striking her sharply to the side of the face with his ablaze fist. Hilde hit the ground gasping even as the corruption wrecked her insides.
Purple veins were visible on her palms and neck. Her face turned blue almost like oxygen was being denied to her brain.
'Divine Purity'
Thinking of the skill's name while unnecessary helped her focus through the disgusting and painful feeling within her.
"Ahhhhhh" a scream tore out her lips as a searing heat rushed through her system. Bali striding about watched with interest as the goddess steamed. Purple veins that were attempting to snake their way up her face receded even as the notable glow of gold in her eyes grew brighter.
The steam increased escaping her armor and pores while the purple veins reduced and vanished.
Bali sighed before his smile returned.
"Was worth a shot". a chuckle escaped him with a shrug.
A water spout hit him suddenly followed by a fist-sized rock to the head. The goddess was already on the roll away trying to put distance between both as she moved and fired several arrows from her bow.
Two of the arrows hit exploding and pushing him back a couple of steps. Bali cackled as he stepped back through the blown-up area.
" I'm a devil. Fire is my thing"
A look around spotted his prey atop a rock to the far side. How she got there he didn't care to ask.
His wings flapped sending him airborne and after the golden lady. Another whoosh just beside him had him jerking for just a minute.
"She grows bolder. Good. Good." Ascending till he was high enough to gaze down at the female he paused his trademark smirk creeping up his face before folding his wings and diving down. His head aimed straight at her like a preying eagle.
Hilde dismissed the Bane of Heroes and recalled the Unborn gift. Her legs shifted changing into that of an Argat, Argonne wings unfurling out of her back. An exhale left her lips right before her body burst forward, feet shattering the floor even as the earth lifted her off.
The earth wrapped her up in its embrace with a green glow enclosing her within the Golem's armor. The wings flapped harshly as she burst higher in a straight path for the descending Devil.
Dust hid the little spark of flame from her feet which added to the velocity in her rise just before earth enclosed the soles of her feet. Setting the blade to her lower left she pushed out divinity letting it slip into the sword and also into the shard on her armor.
Bali watched in slow perception as the goddess drew nearer, earth sheltering her and her sword lighting up in a dull divine glow. His lip stretched to the left side in a sadistic smile as he pumped his Devil fire into his wings even more and made more flood into the forged liquid silver strengthening it.
With an inch left, rocks encased her head leaving just her eyes as her left hand slightly rose out of the sword grip leaving only the right hand to grasp the blade.
Bali struck.
Her wrist flicked.
Mellifluemt answered with a roar.
Liquid metal and devil fire screeched as it was doused. Wings flapped with thunder as courses were corrected.
Bali howled as pain flashed through his back. The ground shook as the golem landed rolling a few feet away just as Devil flame blasted her former position.
'No time to waste.' she pushed as she watched the one-winged Devil drop to the ground a smile on his face now gone.
'Can't let him hit the ground.' Her feet shattered the floor as she pushed embers of the flame down to her soles. What little responded enough to boss her speed. The golem parts crumbled as she broke away revealing her strained figure.
A shockwave left the spot as she shot forward.
Hilde frowned as she quickly and mentally ordered the system to dump all her unallocated stat points into Str, Agi, and Will with a 1, 2, 1 ratio. 25 to Str, 40 to Agi, and 25 to Will.
The world blurred even more.
Bali's eyes widened as he noted the goddess flicker.
Hilde cursed as she realized it wouldn't be enough.
'I can't halt now. He might consider this strong enough. Can't fail here. All out'
"TITAN'S STEP!" Her roar alerted Bali. A tingle went down his spine. Then he smiled.
"Yes. Yes. She grows STRONGER. I feel DANGER!" a wild look of lust for battle filled his eyes as he aligned his falling body feet first. Liquid silver grew even longer into a narrow bastard-long sword while fighting the dampness on his body.
The last wing folded in to increase his acceleration.
Then he felt the world shiver.
"This feeling. "Bali blurted the smile wiped from his face. Looking to the goddess he blanched.
"Impossible!".
It was too late though. Bali could only watch as the world froze.
[Titan's Step]
The true incarnate. The glorious embodiment of existence and will.
Hilde had barely been able to activate this particular insight ever since she bought it. Why?. She hadn't been certain. Unlike Embers of the flame which just needed practicing Hilde had found it harder to activate this insight.
And the one time she did had been nothing but a flash of the skill. Like lightning streaking through the dark sky. A sharp imprint of its glory in your mind.
Yet she had found something from it. While it was hard to activate, even harder to maintain its presence affected things in a way she was yet to understand. All she got from the effect was how the creatures in the dungeon she had been in refused to go anywhere close to whatever it had near. Which meant her.
Now, she had put it as the last minute use.
Bali felt the presence dim but not disappear. His eyes flashed about as he sought where it was. The goddess appeared right before him, his feet an inch from the ground.
The seriousness of the situation kept him from smiling. That feeling ensured it. It was lethal and dangerous. His eyes zeroed in on the goddess. All mirth and fun went from his gaze.
She had to die now. The game had just ended.