Whity bowed his head, a gesture of apparent surrender. Golden light faded from his eyes.
The Chaos Temptress paused, her form writhing with victorious glee. "What? You accept your defeat so easily?" She drifted closer, a vortex of seductive, corrupting energy. "Then... I won't miss this chance to claim a Gate-Twin's essence!"
As she closed in, her dark tentacles poised to strike, Whity's head snapped up. His eyes blazed not with gold, but with a pure, stark white light.
The Temptress recoiled as if scalded. "The Light of Neutral Karma?!" she shrieked, her voice losing its allure, filled instead with raw disbelief and terror. "How can a lowly being like you wield the Karma that nullifies all others?!"
Ignoring her shock, she drove her shadowy tendrils deep into Whity's body, flooding him with corrupted Karmic Energy. It was a suicide attack.
"You know the rule," Whity gritted out, his body shuddering under the violent invasion. "No Karma can ever truly control a Twin's consciousness. But you can kill us. Overload us. Turn us into mindless beasts. If you die... you'll take me with you."
His mind, a supercomputer of battle analysis, raced. Calculating: Rate of corruption vs. Time required to purify Ilena and eradicate the Temptress. The result flashed in his mind, cold and absolute. *Result: 1.00-second advantage... to the Temptress.* He was going to lose.
This is my Lord's ultimate purification technique. It requires perfect concentration and immense power. I have to kill her first, save Ilena second. If I die before it's complete... my corrupted body will become a new, stronger vessel for her. There are only nanoseconds left.
The corrupting darkness was inches from his core, from his very soul.
SHIIING!
A blade of incandescent light, burning with an aura of absolute nobility and resolve, descended from above. It was the Emperor's Strike. It didn't hit Whity; it slammed onto the head of the Temptress, stunning her, shattering her focus for a single, critical moment.
The corrupting flow into Whity stuttered.
It was all he needed.
"PURGE!" Whity roared. The white light of Neutral Karma erupted from him, not as an attack, but as a wave of absolute nullification. It washed over the Temptress, not destroying her, but unmaking her, severing her connection to Ilena and dissolving her back into the void from where she came.
Whity gasped, the corrupting energy in his veins dissipating. He turned, stunned, to see the source of the saving strike.
Prince Rei stood outside the protective barrier, his body glowing with a magnificent, regal light. Emperor's Aura. An energy only granted to those with a heart of unwavering resolve, immense moral integrity, and a will dedicated purely to the welfare of others.
The Temptress tried to reform one last time, a final shriek of defiance. Rei didn't hesitate. He raised his sword, and with Whity joining him, they unleashed a combined blast of pure aura and nullifying light, obliterating the last vestige of the entity from existence.
Ilena awoke on the astral ground, her mind clear for the first time in years. Whity, recovering nearby, gave her a faint nod.
"Thank you... Mr. Twin," she said, her voice weak but genuine.
Rei stood to the side, watching the exchange with a poorly disguised look of jealousy. He got to save her...
Whity, ever perceptive, gestured to the prince. "If you wish to thank anyone, thank Prince Rei. Without his timely intervention, I would be dead, and you would be lost."
Ilena turned her gaze to Rei, a soft smile touching her lips. "Thank you, Prince Rei."
Rei's stern expression melted into flustered embarrassment. "W-Well, it was nothing! It is my duty to protect the people of my nation!" He rushed to her side. "A-Are you alright? Please, forgive me if my strike grazed you!"
"It's fine," Ilena assured him. "It only hit the Temptress. And Whity has already healed my injuries."
You bastard! Rei thought, shooting a glare at Whity. I wanted to be the one to heal her! Out loud, he said, "I... I still recommend a full health examination when we return!"
Ilena chuckled softly. "If you insist, though I feel fine."
Whity leaned in, whispering into Rei's ear so only he could hear: "When your emotions spike, your thoughts become an open book. Stop wasting time and just confess already."
Rei jumped back, his face turning crimson. "I am a prince! I will do things properly and with manners! And you, stop spying on me!" He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and turned back to Ilena.
He closed his eyes, rehearsing the words in his mind, over and over. I, Prince of Aryavarta... No, no. Too formal. I, as a common man... Here to ask you to be my life's companion...
He was so lost in his mental preparation, he didn't realize the words were spilling from his lips in a quiet, earnest mumble. "...don't care about my post or authority... please be by my side... I love you... ever since I first met you... not forcing you... promise to fill your life with joy..."
He opened his eyes. Ilena was staring at him, a deep blush coloring her cheeks.
In the capital, Rei was known as the perfect prince, a role model of composure. No one knew he became a complete, lovable mess when confessing his feelings.
He saw her blush and finally found his courage. "Ilena... I... I...!"
"I love you too, Rei," Ilena said softly, and before he could process it, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
Rei stood frozen in shock, then pure, unadulterated joy flooded him. From the grins on Whity and the Devil Brothers' faces, he realized he'd already confessed out loud. He returned the hug, and they shared their first, tender kiss.
Match 6: Officially Over.
Winners: Whity & Rei.
With all seven matches concluded, Whity prepared to send the group back to Aryavarta.
"Are you not coming?" Rei asked.
Whity shook his head, his gaze turning toward the distant, cataclysmic energy storm where Nero fought. "The true battle is just beginning. My place is here."
They reappeared in a blood-soaked Aryavarta. The Frost Calamity, Ella, was waiting, her icy gaze locking onto them. She tensed, ready to attack.
'Stand down, Ella. They are allies now,' Whity's telepathic command echoed in her mind.
Ella relaxed slightly, though her tone was cold. "You may hold hatred for me, for slaying your army."
Rei looked at the carnage, his face solemn but clear-eyed. "No. Their fate was sealed the moment they chose to follow a monster. We cannot change the past." He knelt, and the others followed suit. Together, they offered a silent prayer for the souls of the fallen. "Please, guide our comrades in the afterlife."
The Final Battle: Nero vs. Fernando
The scene shifted to the heart of the Astral Plain. Fernando, battered and bleeding, was barely holding on in his Resurrection Form against Nero's relentless assault.
Suddenly, a new portal, reeking of sulfur and brimstone, tore open. Reinforcements from Hell arrived, led by Astarion, a Prince of a lesser branch of the infernal family, accompanied by Zornak, the Doomweaver, and the Frostbane Shadow.
Fernando laughed, a manic sound of relief. "You see, Nero?! My allies are here! Your end is—"
Nero cut him off, his voice chillingly calm. "Celebrating already?" A new aura erupted from him, vast and ancient. "Resurrection State: Wanderer of Wilderness. Activate."
The Divine Gates within him flared to life. A surge of power, primordial and immense, flooded his veins. Ancient, glowing circles, scripts of a forgotten language, materialized and began rotating slowly behind him. A crown of shimmering blue energy settled upon his head.
Fernando could only watch in horror as Nero's form seemed to glitch for a microsecond. In that same instant, the entire demonic backup force—Astarion, Zornak, and all—was silently, instantly crushed into a fine, dark mist.
Nero didn't even look at the carnage. He simply walked past a petrified Fernando, his eyes fixed on a point in the empty void.
"You can come out now," Nero said, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "What's the point in hiding?"
The space before him twisted, and an entity materialized. Its power level was staggering, dwarfing even Nero's newly ascended form. It radiated the authority of a Third Gate Divine User.
The figure smiled, a cold, predatory thing. "Laughs Well, well," it said, its voice like grinding tectonic plates. "You caught me."
The true final enemy had arrived.