Gran and the others fought with everything they had—slashing and stabbing with their weapon, casting powerful magic, and calling upon both primal and primarch powers—but no matter how much damage they inflicted, the Avatar simply regenerated each time, undeterred by their efforts.
Meanwhile, Orchid was doing her best to control Luminiera's power, guiding everyone to dodge most of the Avatar's attacks. But managing so many people at once quickly drained her stamina.
"*Rooaaarrrrr!*"
"Woah! That almost hit me!" Io shouted, narrowly dodging another attack from the Avatar with a burst of her magic.
"It's no use! None of our attacks are doing anything! It just keeps regenerating!" Eugen yelled, firing his rifle, imbued with the power of Leviathan, directly at the Avatar.
But as expected, the wounds he inflicted regenerated instantly, leaving no lasting damage.
"Haaahhhh! Tempest Vortex!" Gran slashed at the Avatar's chest repeatedly, his sword glowing with vibrant green energy.
"*Roaaar!*" The Avatar retaliated, using its two tails to strike at Gran.
"Gyaaaah!?" Gran was hit hard, sent tumbling through the air, falling rapidly from the sky.
"Captain!" Rosetta reacted quickly, extending vines from her arms to catch Gran before he could fall too far.
"I got you!" But just as Gran was about to fall deeper to the bottom of the sky, the Grandcypher swooped in, catching him safely on the deck.
"Good job, Rackam!" Katalina shouted toward them, relieved.
But the reprieve was short-lived. The Avatar, relentless in its assault, lashed out again with its massive tails, while its eyes fired blasts of energy, forcing everyone to stay fully focused on dodging its attacks. The battle was taking a heavy toll on their stamina and coordination, and it was clear they couldn't keep this up for long without a new strategy.
"Oww, its attacks really hurt. If we don't come up with a plan, we're not going to make any progress at all," Gran muttered, taking a moment to catch his breath as he sat on the deck. He glanced over at Lyria and Lyria², who were working hard to heal Rei, then looked toward the Avatar, where the others were still fighting with everything they had.
"Looks like we really don't have any choice but to wait for the other primarchs to show up and help us, huh," he sighed before taking off once more to join the battle.
Meanwhile, Lyria and Lyria² continued their efforts to heal Rei. Their persistence began to pay off as the wounds on Rei's body slowly closed and started to heal.
"He's almost healed. Just keep focusing, my other self," Lyria encouraged, glancing at Lyria², who was sweating and concentrating intensely.
Over the past year, Lyria had taught Lyria² how to heal others and how to properly use the power of primal beasts. But despite their efforts, Lyria² had only managed to master healing. When it came to fully utilizing the primal beast's power, she was still struggling to make progress.
She didn't know why her other self couldn't use primal beast power like she did. Was it because she was sharing her power with Gran? Or was she simply not used to it yet?
"Ugh..." Suddenly, both Lyrias heard a groan from Rei. He slowly opened his eyes.
"You're finally awake! Do you feel any discomfort? Is anything hurting?" Lyria immediately asked, worry in her voice.
"Lyria? And... other Lyria²?" Rei mumbled, blinking in confusion before the memory of his battle with the Avatar hit him. He tried to get up.
"No, no, your body's still not fully recovered!" Both Lyrias rushed to stop him.
"No... I still need to help them. With their current power, there's no way they can deal enough damage to bypass Avatar's regeneration..."
"Yeah, but in your current condition, there's no way you can fight either!" Lyria² responded, firm but concerned.
Hearing that made Rei pause. He knew she was right—his condition was too poor to take on the Avatar again. Frustrated but understanding, he stayed down, trying to think of a plan.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Sandalphon concentrated her energy. "Ethereal Prison!" she murmured as multiple blue lights shot out from her body and flew toward the Avatar. The lights circled the beast, catching it off guard. With a quick gesture, Sandalphon clenched her hand into a fist, tightening the ethereal lights around the Avatar.
The blue light pressed against the beast's body, binding it and halting its rampage.
"*ROOOAAARRRR!*" The Avatar roared in fury, thrashing violently to break free from the blue bindings.
"Ugh... it's so heavy! Everyone, attack with everything you've got!" Sandalphon shouted, struggling to maintain her hold.
"Perpetuo!" Halluel and Malluel chanted in unison, causing a golden and black aura to envelop Gran and the others, boosting their power.
"We've enhanced your attacks! Use your strongest abilities!" Halluel called out as they flew higher alongside Malluel.
"Stella Repentina!" A massive golden magic circle formed behind them, glowing with intense energy.
Gran and the others, hearing this, prepared their strongest techniques to strike the Avatar.
"Tempest Blade!"
"Blades of Frost II!"
"Elemental Evolution!"
"Eternal Rose!"
"Die Bandekanone!"
One after another, their attacks launched toward the bound Avatar, followed by a massive explosion as the combined force of their abilities, enhanced by Halluel and Malluel's magic, slammed into the beast. The sky erupted with the sound of power colliding, the force shaking the very air around them.
"Woahh..." Lyria² was awestruck by the sight of their combined attack, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Do you think that's enough?" Lyria asked Rei, her voice hopeful but uncertain.
"It should be enough to hurt Avatar... but it's just going to regenerate," Rei replied, watching as, just as he predicted, Avatar's wounds began to heal, its body returning to its original form.
Rei's mind raced, trying to figure out a way to defeat the Avatar. The only thing he could think of was using *The End*, an ability capable of erasing an existence entirely. But the problem was that he didn't know how to control it properly. It was too risky to use, and there was no guarantee it would work.
"That's it!" Rei suddenly remembered the feather Lucifer had given him before his death—the one filled with Lucifer's power meant for Sandalphon.
Determined, he stood up, his dark wings spreading behind him as he ignored the protests of both Lyrias. But unlike the usual twelve wings, only six dark wings appeared this time, a sign he was still far from fully recovered. He soared into the sky toward Sandalphon.
"Sandalphon!"
"Rei? You're already up?" Sandalphon was surprised but quickly noticed his weakened state, her eyes narrowing at the sight of only six wings. "What are you doing? You still need to rest. Let us handle this."
"I have an idea," Rei said, though his tone held uncertainty. "I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a shot."
Rei quickly explained the events of Lucifer's death and how he had entrusted Rei with a feather filled with his power to give to Sandalphon. He didn't have time to explain everything in detail, so he pulled out the feather and handed it to her. "Here. I don't know exactly what you're supposed to do with it, but... it's worth trying."
Sandalphon stared at the feather, hesitation flickering in her eyes. After everything she had done the previous year, did she deserve to wield Lucifer's power? But they had no time to waste. The others were struggling, and Orchid was barely able to control the wings now due to exhaustion.
Taking a deep breath, Sandalphon finally took the feather.
"Now what?" she asked, looking at Rei.
"Dunno," Rei shrugged, causing her to glare at him in disbelief. *What do you mean, 'dunno'?*
With no other choice, Sandalphon closed her eyes, trying to feel something from the feather. Nothing. She tried placing it over her chest. Still nothing. She tried a number of things, but no matter what, there was no reaction from the feather.
"Uahhh!" Meanwhile, the others continued to struggle against Avatar's relentless attacks. Orchid's control over their wings was waning, and the group was becoming less agile, more vulnerable to the beast's relentless assaults.
"Nothing is working, Rei! Did Lucifer tell you how to use this?" Sandalphon exclaimed in frustration, unable to find a way to activate the Feather while the others struggled against Avatar.
"No, he didn't tell me anything. He only said to give it to you... Wait, that's it!" Rei realized suddenly.
"Give the Feather to me!"
"Huh? Here!" Sandalphon quickly handed it over.
Rei studied the Feather for a moment, then his wings transformed into six pure white wings. As soon as they did, the Feather began to respond, glowing brighter and brighter.
"It's working!" Sandalphon exclaimed, watching in awe.
But then, the Feather suddenly absorbed into Rei, disappearing from his hand, while his entire body began to radiate a brilliant white light.
"Now to test it," he muttered, feeling Lucifer's power flow more intensely through him.
Rei, now glowing with pure white light, felt the immense surge of Lucifer's power coursing through him. His eyes locked onto Sandalphon, and without hesitation, he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer in one fluid motion. Sandalphon, startled but trusting, looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Rei, what are you—"
Before she could finish, Rei leaned in, their faces inches apart. The energy radiating from his body began to pulse between them, and in that instant, he kissed her. The contact wasn't just physical; it was a merging of their energies, the raw power of Lucifer flowing from him into her.
Sandalphon gasped, feeling the surge of energy entering her body, igniting something deep within her. Her wings flared with a brilliant white light, matching Rei's transformation. The warmth and power were overwhelming, but instead of feeling consumed, she felt strengthened—her power kept increasing, more and more.
As they continued kissing, Sandalphon's wings began to grow. From two, they expanded to four, and then finally, six pure white wings emerged from her back, shining with radiant energy.
When they finally parted, Sandalphon gazed in awe at her transformed wings.
"My wings... So this is the Supreme Primarch's power," she muttered to herself, still processing the immense strength she now held.
"Now, let's finish this and defeat that Primal Beast," Rei said with a smile, his voice calm but filled with determination.
"Sure," Sandalphon agreed, her eyes gleaming with the same resolve. Though they let go of each other, their hands remained intertwined, a connection of shared power and purpose.
Now, the two stood together, both wielding the immense strength of Supreme Primarchs, facing the Primal Beast Avatar with renewed confidence.
Rei started first by amplifying his voice so everyone could hear him clearly. "Everyone, get out of the way! I'm going to try something!"
Those who heard him looked confused at first, but when they glanced in Rei and Sandalphon's direction, they immediately understood what was about to happen.
"Everyone, retreat to the Grandcypher!" Gran shouted to the others, and without hesitation, they quickly flew back toward the airship.
Now, with the others safely away, Rei and Sandalphon could unleash their full power without holding back.
"Now, Sandalphon, let's do this!" Rei called out, his eyes gleaming with determination.
"Yeah!" Sandalphon replied.
Their wings began to glow, radiating an intense, pure light. A massive magic circle formed behind them, followed by thousands of smaller circles surrounding the larger one. The air buzzed with overwhelming energy.
"Now, I will bring you to ruin," Rei muttered to himself, and the magic circles responded, glowing even brighter.
"Paradise..." Rei began.
"...Lost!" Sandalphon finished.
In unison, the thousands of magic circles fired rays of light, all targeting Avatar with incredible speed and force. The sky was filled with beams of light, crashing down upon the Primal Beast, their combined attack relentless and overwhelming.