"Roxy, you already know how all of this is going to end, right?" Shinji commented.
"I guess so," Roxy replied.
"Seeing our own friends and allies fall is just a really unsettling occurrence," Shinji exclaimed.
The rain continued to pour, making the scene more dramatic. The atmosphere surrounding them was filled with sorrow as Roxy giggled, her eyes watering.
"You know, I never expected to find our allies dying on the same battlefield where we're about to fall," Roxy commented.
"And why's that?" Shinji questioned.
"That's because I always believed we would come out victorious," Roxy answered. "And that our deaths would be caused by old age or natural causes. But I guess... that didn't happen."
"Heh..." Shinji sighed.
The stare-down was intense as everyone awaited the first move. As thunder struck, the fierce battle began.
Roxy and Shinji fought against the girls while Xialdre took on the king alone. When Xialdre's and the king's fists made contact, a strong wind from the storm intensified tenfold.
Nails surrounded Roxy, summoned by Emiko. Roxy dodged them with ease as she charged at Emiko. Ghosts crawled out of the ground, grabbing Roxy from below. Roxy used her blooded blade to cut through them, but they held fast, their ghostly forms hindering her escape.
Roxy was starting to feel overwhelmed as Emiko closed in, biting Roxy on the neck. Asabe and Xyrene fought against Shinji, who blocked their attacks with dark shadows. Asabe was impressed by Shinji's quick reactions, surpassing everyone she had fought before.
Tentacles sprouted from the ground, but before they could attack, portals opened in thin air, releasing a blast of white fire that disintegrated the tentacles.
"Cool, isn't it? I call it the Portal Blaster," Shinji commented, praising his ability.
Knives made of blood appeared in the air, aiming at Emiko. She dodged them skillfully, though one of the knives struck a ghost holding onto Roxy, turning it to ashes.
"My, my," Emiko commented.
"I don't intend to win like Shinji does, but I also don't intend to go down without a fight. Surrendering isn't an option, so I'll give it my all before I die," Roxy exclaimed.
More blood knives were summoned, surrounding Roxy as they aimed for Emiko. Emiko summoned ghosts to block the knives, and Rain charged at Roxy with full speed.
Rain scratched Roxy on the knee and arm while easily dodging the blood knives that emerged from Roxy's body. Roxy's wounds reopened, and her blood swords emerged, attempting to scratch Rain again. Emiko's living hair moved towards Roxy, but Roxy intercepted it with her blood sword, forcing Emiko to retreat.
As Emiko's hair continued to extend towards her, Roxy struggled to maintain her balance. Rain took advantage of Roxy's distraction and scratched her face, impairing her vision. Emiko's hair eventually pierced through Roxy's body, striking vital organs and leaving her paralyzed.
Despite her condition, Roxy's blood tentacles emerged from her body, moving independently. They lunged at Rain, who dodged them, but they continued to pursue her relentlessly. The blood tentacles engulfed Rain, and despite her efforts, Emiko was unable to stop them.
Knives made of blood materialized from the liquid and chased after Emiko and Rain. Emiko summoned ghosts to block them, but the knives pierced through, injuring Emiko in the chest and causing her to spit out blood. The blood she coughed up wasn't hers; it was from the blood tentacles that had invaded her body through her mouth, rendering her unconscious.
Rain ran to Emiko's side, carrying her back to Elara. However, the blood liquid continued to chase them, grabbing Rain's leg and slamming her to the ground. Rain spat out blood as Roxy emerged from the blood liquid, fully healed. Her eyes were completely black, and she wore a maniacal smile.
The blood being crawled back into Roxy's body through her wounds, and she laughed hysterically. Roxy charged at Rain with incredible speed, stabbing her with her blood sword. Despite being injured, Rain retaliated, clawing at Roxy's face. Roxy retreated, and Rain struggled to remain standing.
Then, an octopus tentacle grew from the ground, catching Roxy off guard as it dragged her across the battlefield and hurled her into the sky.
Rain fell unconscious to the ground, and Xyrene leaped into the air, the one who had summoned the tentacles that launched Roxy.
Roxy gripped her blooded blade tightly as she maneuvered through the sky, pointing her blade downwards.
As her body began to fall, Roxy aimed her blade towards Xyrene. Thinking she would pierce through Xyrene, Roxy faced her blade downwards. But Xyrene summoned portals in thin air, and tentacles shot out from them.
One tentacle grabbed Roxy's leg, halting her fall. Xyrene capitalized on this moment and punched Roxy in the face with full force, shattering it to pieces.
The tentacle then flung Roxy's body to the ground, and Xyrene continued summoning tentacles all around, crushing Roxy's body until there was nothing left but blood.
As Xyrene landed on the ground, Roxy's blood began to regenerate, forming her entire body once again. Roxy charged at Xyrene with renewed vigor.
Xyrene summoned another tentacle from the ground, grabbing Roxy just as she was about to strike. Roxy attempted to pierce Xyrene's eyes with her blooded sword, but Xyrene acted swiftly, cutting the tentacle and causing Roxy to fall to the ground.
Roxy quickly maneuvered and sliced at Xyrene's legs as she fell, but Xyrene blocked with her tentacles and her legs quickly regenerated.
"You're fast..." Xyrene commented.
Xyrene then transformed into her beast form, drawing the attention of all the creatures around them, causing them to flee in fear. Her immense size loomed over Roxy, pressing her down, though Roxy continued to regenerate.
In response to Roxy's persistent attacks, Xyrene transformed back into her human form, seeking a way to end Roxy's life. Roxy relentlessly attempted to strike Xyrene, who blocked with her tentacles or dodged swiftly.
"If I keep doing what I'm doing right now, I'll only slowly lose my stamina. This girl seems to have endless stamina... If I can guess, the only way to defeat her is to burn and disintegrate her entire body," Xyrene exclaimed.
Asabe struggled to land a single hit on Shinji. She attempted to use her claws to strike him, but he evaded by teleporting out of her attack.
Shinji then manipulated gravity, slamming Asabe to the ground and commenting, "Looks like you're about to have a bad time."
Asabe attempted to flick her finger to stop time, but Shinji countered by flicking his own finger, returning time to normal. He laughed and continued to smile confidently.
Breathing out fire directly at Shinji, Asabe's attack was met by Shinji summoning a portal blaster that blasted away her fire breath. Meanwhile, a metal object created from shadows struck below her, piercing through her chest.
"You see, sometimes surrender is the bravest option. It takes more courage to acknowledge defeat than to fight against the inevitable," Shinji exclaimed.
Asabe dodged the upcoming shadow shards aimed at her and swiftly maneuvered close to Shinji. However, Shinji casually dodged her claws and summoned more shadow shards that struck the ground, causing Asabe to lose momentum.
Hit by the shards and facing a portal blaster shot directly at her, Asabe endured and regenerated from the damage.
Shinji teleported away, creating distance between them, and summoned more shadow shards in the air. These shards charged at Asabe, piercing through her body as she struggled and then fully regenerated.
"Even in the face of unwinnable odds and without blame to assign, I still fought on—because sometimes the battle is about more than victory; it's about resilience and the fight within ourselves," Shinji commented.
Roxy continued summoning knives and fighting Xyrene, who struggled to keep up with her speed due to her diminishing stamina.
Xyrene summoned tentacles everywhere, each crushing Roxy one by one, but Roxy remained standing due to her regeneration abilities.
"Knowing we were about to end a dynasty, we pressed on. Isn't that the ultimate testament to our resolve—willing to sacrifice a kingdom to safeguard our lives?" Shinji exclaimed.
Asabe grew wings behind her back and continued to try her best to land a hit on Shinji, but he effortlessly dodged her attacks and countered with ease.
Asabe grunted in frustration, attacking with fire and using her claws to stop time, but none of her strategies seemed to work as Shinji laughed and dodged every move.
Finally, Asabe reached Shinji's location, but before she could strike, a tree was flung directly at her, throwing her away. The tree, levitated by Shinji, slammed into her with great force. As Asabe stood up, more portal blasters were summoned and blasted at her. Despite the immense pain, she kept regenerating as Shinji began to lose mana and stamina.
The portal blasters stopped as Shinji made Asabe levitate, dragging her into the sky before slamming her down. Shadow shards appeared below, but Asabe dodged the attack by jumping away. Shinji then slammed her into a tree, levitating another tree and attempting to slam it into Asabe, but she punched the tree, breaking it.
Shinji sighed and continued slamming her between the ground and trees. Asabe seemed to slowly understand his attacks, getting closer to him.
"Girl, it seems like you already know projectile attacks are all I can do, right?" Shinji exclaimed.
Asabe remained silent, dodging shadow shards from the ground and above. Suddenly, she breathed out a fireball directly at Shinji. He teleported out of the way, but Asabe continued her assault, breathing fire everywhere and disintegrating the shadow shards surrounding her.
Asabe charged at Shinji faster, finally reaching him. She breathed fire at him, but Shinji dodged. Asabe swung her leg at him, but Shinji dodged again. He summoned a portal blaster above Asabe, but she leaped into the air, summoning a hundred fireballs that charged at Shinji.
Shinji dodged each fireball, but he was slowly getting tired. He backed up and made Asabe levitate again, slamming her into the ground. He summoned portal blasters above her, but she leaped again, dodging his attacks. Asabe lunged at Shinji, but he dodged again, summoning shadow shards where she landed. The shards pierced her, and portal blasters surrounded her.
One by one, the blasters fired at Asabe, who maneuvered herself to dodge them. The blasts circled around her as she ran away, leaping into the sky and lunging at Shinji. Struggling to breathe, Shinji was now at his limit. Asabe attempted to hit him, but he dodged and made her levitate, slamming her into a rock, then the ground, and a tree repeatedly.
Each impact from Shinji's relentless attacks was strong enough to shatter where Asabe was slammed. Despite his mana exhaustion, Shinji continued summoning portal blasters, blasting her with them along with shadow shards, combining all his attacks into a final assault. But suddenly, all of Shinji's attacks ceased as he struggled to catch his breath, falling to his knees. Asabe, also unable to move, lay on the ground slowly regenerating.
Shinji sighed heavily, looking at Asabe as he remarked, "I guess this is the end, huh?"
The rain continued to pour heavily as Asabe finally stood up, charging at Shinji in an instant. However, Shinji dodged her attack.
"You think I'll fall that eas–" Before Shinji could finish, Asabe struck again.
And again, Shinji continued to dodge until Asabe stopped attacking, prompting Shinji to laugh weakly.
"That's right. I won't let you win, even with my mana exhausted," Shinji replied.
"You're a determined man, you know that, right?" Asabe exclaimed.
"I guess so," Shinji muttered as he began to fall asleep.
Suddenly, Asabe attacked again, but Shinji dodged, and Asabe's claws finally penetrated Shinji's chest. He spat out blood as Asabe drove her claws deeper into his chest. Shinji woke up, teleporting to create distance between them.
"Slow down, monster. I... I still want to see Roxy live before I die. I at least want to die with her by my side," Shinji exclaimed, tears streaming down his face in disbelief. He sat down, watching Roxy continue her fierce battle against Xyrene.
"This girl is insane," Xyrene exclaimed.
Roxy leaped above Xyrene, but a tentacle grabbed her leg and slammed her back to the ground. Knives made of blood sprouted from the ground as Xyrene leaped up, and Roxy followed suit. Xyrene blocked with her tentacles, but Roxy pierced through. Xyrene teleported above Roxy, kicking her head, which quickly regenerated. Roxy summoned knives everywhere, aiming them at Xyrene, who dodged them. Xyrene then noticed Asabe charging directly at Roxy and penetrating her soul with her claws.
She extracted Roxy's soul, absorbing the immense power within it before returning the soul to Roxy's body and throwed her beside Shinji.
"A-Asabe, what are you doing?" Xyrene questioned.
"I made a deal with Shinji, the guy I fought. He asked me to let him live long enough to see Roxy one last time before I kill him. In return, he told me the only ways to kill her. We can either disintegrate her entire body to ashes or weaken her until you bleed out," Asabe explained.
"Though what her remarked is that I should take her soul, absorb the power inside it, and then place Roxy gently beside him," Asabe concluded.
"That wasn't exactly gentle, but... and you trusted him?" Xyrene asked.
"Well, he told me that no matter what he does, he can't win. He pleaded with me to grant his final request before he dies," Asabe replied.
"And when I looked into his eyes, it wasn't the gaze of a liar. It was the eyes of someone who had given up all hope," Asabe added.
"Whatever you say," Xyrene commented skeptically.
Asabe surveyed the battlefield, the ground littered with the bodies of their fallen foes. She sighed, turning back to her group and noticed everyone was awake except for Arisawa.
"Xyrene, I'll heal them. You protect us from Master and Avias," Asabe instructed.
Asabe assisted Elara in healing their allies, each of whom had sustained fatal injuries. Meanwhile, Xyrene created a Dark Shield using her Dark Magic to shield them from the ongoing battle between Xialdre and Avias in the sky.
High above, Xialdre and Avias locked eyes, exchanging tense words.
"You ruined me," Avias spat.
"You're mistaken if you think I ruined you. Your decision to attack us was the choice that sealed your fate—a reckless gambit that ended in your inevitable demise," Xialdre retorted coldly.
"You piece of sh*t," Avias blurted out in anger.
"It seems you're the only one left," Xialdre observed calmly.
"If you think you can defeat me, then you better know your choice of that is fatal."
"The world is vast. Choosing violence against another may seem easy, believing your strength is sufficient to defeat them, yet ignorant of their true capabilities."
"Your confidence and pride are what ruined you, not me," Xialdre concluded dismissively.
"Who are you exactly?" King Avias demanded to know.
"Me? Well, let's just say I'm the Creator," Xialdre responded cryptically.
"The Creator?" Avias pressed further.
"The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. That's who I am," Xialdre clarified.
Avias laughed derisively. "I suppose I should feel pressured fighting you."
"I'm not easily fooled," Avias declared.
"I see. But know that it takes someone like me to fool me," Xialdre countered with a hint of amusement.
As the rain poured relentlessly, a thunderclap shattered the brief silence that hung between them. The atmosphere crackled with tension as Avias and Xialdre faced each other in the sky, unfazed by the thunder that rumbled around them.
"I suppose it's time to fight once more," King Avias remarked grimly.
"But this time, let's bring this to an end," Xialdre declared firmly.