The Fight Between Two Forces II

Aether's body screamed in protest, his limits pushed to the brink. 

His light affinity was being drained rapidly, struggling against the poison coursing through his veins and the last spell Claude had cast upon him, thinning his power even further.

He could feel his holy energy fading, his vision blurring at the edges.

'No… I can't fall yet… I need to win this fight and drag that filthy daemon and that witch to the church!'

Biting his lower lip until it bled, Aether forced himself to think, to grasp at any solution.

His fingers tightened around his bow. There was one technique left. One he had sworn never to use unless absolutely necessary. 

A forbidden art that transcended affinity itself, granting overwhelming power at a price—his very life force.

Closing his eyes, he focused. With what little mana he had left, he traced a stigmata upon his skin, an unholy gift masked as divine providence. 

A final present from his Goddess.

"The Holy Ascendance."

The whispered invocation ignited his body in a torrent of raw, unchecked power. 

Divine radiance surged through him, scorching away the poison and sealing his wounds. 

The air around him warped, distorting beneath the sheer magnitude of his energy.

What was once a flickering candle had become a raging inferno.

Claude's eyes narrowed, his instincts screaming at him. He had felt this shift before—but never to this degree.

"This... This isn't a spell… what is this power," he muttered, stepping back. 

His fingers twitched around his weapon, a cold realization settling over him.

But he couldn't retreat now. The moment of victory was within reach.

'All or nothing.'

Claude clenched his jaw, inhaled sharply tried to think rationally. 

Watching too much anime and reading manga has taught him that power wasn't without cost. Magic was just a manifestation of mana he has paid. 

What Aether did wasn't even a fair banter, 'He must sacrifice something…' 

And one thing about OP spell or technique, they usually have a limited time limit. Smile flickering on his mouth. 

'This is a fight against time.' 

Without hesitation, he lunged forward, obsidian blade in hand, slicing through the air toward Aether.

Aether moved like lightning.

With newfound speed, he twisted away, his bow igniting with celestial fire as he notched an arrow. 

He loosed it instantly, the golden streak cutting through the battlefield. Claude barely had time to react, his shadows coiling around him for defense. 

The impact sent him skidding backward, dark tendrils sizzling under the holy radiance.

Claude growled in frustration. "Can't be helped. Face combat isn't the best choice." 

He snapped his fingers.

From the darkness behind him, three monstrous figures emerged. Sun, Moon, and Star—his Chaos Hounds. 

Their black-purple fur bristled with crackling electricity, their eyes glowing like dying embers in the night. 

"Rip him apart."

The Chaos Hounds sprang forward. Star, the most vicious, reached Aether first, its fangs crackling with purple lightning as it lunged for his throat.

Aether reacted on instinct. He twisted his body mid-air, golden energy flaring around him as he slammed his bow into Star's skull, sending the beast hurtling into the ground. 

The creature snarled, already recovering, but Aether didn't let up. He fired another arrow, striking Star directly in the chest.

Star let out a choked howl before collapsing, its body dissolving into the void.

Claude's eyes darkened. "Tch, that's easy, huh?" 

Claude didn't stay idle. As his Chaos Hounds attacked, he raised his hand, black magic circle appeared in the sky. 

Thunder crackled, and in an instant, dozens of purple lightning spears manifested above him.

"Die."

The lances rained down like divine punishment twisted by chaos itself, striking at Aether from every direction.

But Aether was faster, he could dodge all of it and could even see Moon, close to Aether's blind spot. 

But he anticipated it—his enhanced senses warning him just in time. He spun, his bow glowing with divine sigils as he struck the beast's flank. 

Moon yelped but recovered instantly, its claws sparking with chaotic energy as it swiped at him.

Aether grimaced as the claws tore into his side. Blood splattered onto the ground, but he pushed through the pain, retaliating with a burst of holy light. 

The energy engulfed Moon, its agonized howl echoing through the battlefield before it, too, vanished.

Claude clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he watched his Cacodemons fall one by one. 

These creatures had been by his side since childhood, raised alongside him, their loyalty unwavering—only to be slaughtered so easily.

A seething rage clawed at his chest, burning hotter with every passing second. 

His vision blurred with fury as he bellowed, "Sun, fall back! I'll kill him myself!"

The Alpha Hound hesitated, his snarling maw snapping shut. His blood boiled with grief, with the overwhelming urge to tear the Saint apart for what he had done. 

But one look at his master's face—the sheer, unwavering resolve in his eyes—made him relent. 

With a reluctant growl, Sun retreated to a safer distance.

Claude's expression twisted, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. His entire body trembled with unbridled wrath.

"Die, damn you!"

He raised his hand, the dark magic spell appeared below him as he conjured a vortex of shadows. 

From within, the darkness condensed into a swirling mass of devouring void—a chaotic storm of malice given form.

"The Evernight Maw."

The spell pulsed with power, distorting space itself as he hurled it toward Aether. 

The very air howled as the abyssal storm surged forward, its tendrils reaching hungrily to consume everything in its path.

Aether's body ached looking at the darkness in front of him wanting to devour him alive. His life force was dwindling at an alarming rate, but he had one final shot left.

'Haaahhh… I need to survive, just one more, one more spell.' 

With shaking hands, he lifted his bow.

A golden arrow, crackling with the remnants of his very soul, formed at his fingertips. This wasn't just an attack—his last desperate attempt to win. 

He pulled the string back, his vision tunneling, his body screaming at him to stop.

The arrow tore through the battlefield like a divine comet, colliding with the Evernight Maw mid-air.

The explosion was cataclysmic, swallowing everything in its path, consuming even the darkness itself.

Claude barely had time to register the pain before the arrow struck his body, tearing through him like searing light splitting the abyss. 

Agony erupted in every nerve, his strength unraveling, his body breaking apart from within.

'Fuck… I'm going to die again?! Damn it!'

Blood spilled from his lips as he gasped, his chest rising in shallow, uneven breaths. His limbs were leaden, refusing to obey. 

The battlefield blurred at the edges of his vision, his world dimming.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard Aether collapse as well, the Saint's body finally giving in to exhaustion. Yet, Aether was still alive—barely.

But as Claude's vision wavered, the most devastating sound reached him. A voice—frantic, desperate—carried by the cold wind.

"Claude!"

His heart lurched.

'No… Why is she here? This land is poisonous… Damn it, Shawn, she'll die!'

With immense effort, he turned his head, his breath hitching at the sight of her.

Dalia.

She was running toward him, her silver hair blending with the endless white snow, a haunting contrast to the bloodstained ground. 

Even through his haze of pain, she looked breathtaking—beautiful. 

Oh, so beautiful. 

She collapsed beside him, her trembling hands cradling his broken body, shifting him gently so his head rested on her lap.

"Claude, please… stay alive! Don't leave me alone!" she sobbed, her wails piercing through the cruel, unforgiving silence.

His fingers twitched. Slowly, painfully, he raised his hand, brushing her tears away with a weak, fleeting touch.

"I… I'm sorry, Mom," he rasped, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Please… be safe… and happy…"

His vision darkened, the pain intensifying, clawing at his very soul.

"L-Live the way… you wanted to…"

His eyes fluttered shut.

His body felt unbearably heavy, yet his heart ached more than his wounds ever could. 

'I want to be born in this life again… just so I can meet you over and over again…'

That was his last thought as the abyss finally swallowed him whole.

[Ding!] 

[The requirement has been fulfilled!] 

[Awaken The Lord Of Cataclysm.]