I stepped closer to Zereth's battle arena, leaving Nana and Clarissa still recovering. The sound of clashing metal echoed loudly in the night air, each blow creating a wave of energy that made the ground tremble.
CLANG! CLANG! BOOM!
Zereth swung his greatsword with brutal force, its jet-black blade shrouded in a dense aura of darkness. Each slash left a trail of dark energy that cut through the air like a giant razor.
[SHADOW CLEAVE]
The giant sword hurtled toward Gregorius's neck with terrifying speed. But the senior Paladin wasn't easily defeated—he raised his massive shield, shimmering with holy light.
CRASH!
The clash of the two weapons created an explosion of energy that burned the grass within a five-meter radius. Gregorius was pushed back, his feet scraping the ground to create a small ditch, but he remained standing.
"This dark aura is just like the Demon I killed three years ago," Gregorius muttered in a deep voice, a thin layer of blood leaking from the corner of his lips from the shock. "He was confident, too, until I ripped his throat out with my bare hands."
Gregorius charged forward with an explosive movement, his greatsword gleaming with blinding white light.
[DIVINE JUDGMENT STRIKE]
Holy light blazed from the tip of his sword like a miniature sun. The strike was aimed straight at Zereth's heart.
Zereth tilted his body at the last second, the holy sword merely ripping through his black armor and leaving a deep gash in his shoulder. Dark blood gushed out, but Zereth didn't even groan.
"Too slow," Zereth whispered coldly.
[DARKNESS ERUPTION]
Zereth stabbed his sword into the ground. A dark aura exploded from that point, creating a vortex of dark energy that rapidly spread toward Gregorius.
Gregorius leaped into the air, his wings of holy light spreading wide. But the darkness moved faster—dark tentacles stretched into the air, chasing the flying Paladin.
"You think you can escape?!" Zereth leaped high, his sword raised overhead.
[ABYSSAL SLAM]
Zereth dove down like a black meteor. Gregorius twisted in midair, his shield and sword forming a cross to block.
BOOM!
The impact created a large crater in the ground. Gregorius was thrown to the ground, his silver armor cracking in several places. Fresh blood flowed from his mouth and nose.
But the veteran Paladin quickly got back to his feet, his golden eyes blazing with rage.
[HOLY DOMAIN: SACRED SANCTUARY]
White light expanded from Gregorius's body, creating a holy dome that suppressed Zereth's dark aura. Within the domain, Gregorius's power increased dramatically, while Zereth felt his energy being sapped away.
"Experience the difference in our classes, demon!" Gregorius shouted.
He dashed forward at double the speed, his sword and shield moving in a deadly combination—slash, stab, smash, stab again.
CLANG! CLANG! SPLURT!
Zereth tried to parry, but in the Holy Domain, his movements were slowed. Gregorius's sword broke through—piercing Zereth's left thigh, then slashing through his stomach, nearly spilling his intestines.
Black blood gushed out, but Zereth smiled viciously.
"What a pleasant pain," Zereth laughed, spitting blood. "But not enough to kill me!"
[SHADOW BIND: MUTUAL DESTRUCTION]
Zereth's shadow exploded, creating chains of darkness that wrapped around Gregorius. The two warriors were tightly bound, unable to move far from each other.
"What the—?!" Gregorius tried to cut the chains, but every time he struck them, identical wounds appeared on Zereth's body—and vice versa.
"Now we are one," Zereth said with a sinister smile. "Every wound you make is mine. Every wound I make is yours."
Zereth plunged his sword into his own stomach.
SPLURT!
The same stab wound appeared in Gregorius's abdomen. The paladin screamed in pain, blood gushing from his mouth.
"You're mad!" Gregorius was shocked.
"No," Zereth pulled the sword from his abdomen, blood gushing out. "I simply don't fear death."
Zereth stabbed his own shoulder, then his thigh. Each wound appeared precisely on Gregorius's body. The two warriors were now covered in blood, standing face to face in a circle of chains of darkness.
Gregorius staggered, having lost much blood. "A mad technique, but I'm not alone in this battle."
He stared at Zereth with eyes that burned with fanaticism. "The gods see my every struggle. Every drop of blood I shed for their glory."
Zereth prepared for a final stab to his own heart, but Gregorius suddenly smiled hideously.
"If I must die, then I will make sure you die first!" Gregorius pointed his sword at his own neck. "I don't fear death—but you, demon, must fear losing your power!"
Their eyes locked in a deadly challenge. Who would kill themselves first to defeat their opponent?
But suddenly, a thunderous voice descended from the sky.
"MY FAITHFUL SERVANT, GREGORIUS!"
The voice boomed from above the clouds, making the entire area tremble. Golden light descended from the heavens, enveloping Gregory's dying body.
"RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF THE HEAVENLY PANTHEON!"
[DIVINE BLESSING: GODS' INTERVENTION]
The golden light seeped into Gregory's body. His wounds began to heal rapidly, the blood flowing out. Even more terrifying, his body began to expand—his muscles bulged, his height growing to nearly three meters.
Gregory's eyes turned pure gold, his wings of light grew larger and glistened like molten metal. The holy aura emanating from his body was now ten times stronger than before.
"Impossible!!!" Zereth stared at the transformation with wide eyes. His Shadow Bind chains began to crack and shatter under the immense pressure of the holy aura.
The newly awakened Gregory spoke with a voice that echoed like a choir.
"BY THE SACRED OATH I SWEAR ON THE GOLDEN ALTAR, BY EVERY SOUL I PROTECT—TODAY THE DARKNESS SHALL FALL!"
His voice was no longer human—it reverberated with divine power that made the air tremble. His sword and shield now shone with a light almost unbearable to look at.
The battleground transformed into a cosmic battlefield. The golden light from Gregory's body suppressed the darkness of Zereth, creating a clear line between the two opposing domains.
On Gregory's side, the grass grew back to full bloom, golden flowers bloomed in the air. On Zereth's side, the ground turned pitch black, cracks emitting dark smoke like the mouths of hell.
The two auras collided in the middle, creating a storm of energy that shook the surrounding reality. Rocks began to levitate, gravity became unstable, and the air itself was torn between holy light and absolute darkness.
Unlike the Bow Hero, my inner self analyzed the situation. Gregorius was a true veteran—he didn't panic in the face of a suicidal technique. But what was more worrying were the gods. If they started intervening directly, it would mean my experiment was now considered a continent-level threat.
I stared at the sky, which was beginning to change color. This was what I'd feared. Once the gods intervened, the game changed completely. But perhaps this was an opportunity to test the true limits of my power.
Zereth took a step back, showing for the first time hesitation. Blood still flowed from his wounds, while Gregorius now stood like the avatar of a war god.
"My Lord," Zereth glanced at me, asking for direction.
I smiled behind my mask. This was becoming more interesting than I thought. The gods were intervening—meaning they feared my power.
Gregorius raised his sword, now twice its size, enveloped in a golden light that burned the air.
"NOW, TASTE HEAVENLY JUSTICE!"
[DIVINE ANNIHILATION: GODS' WRATH]
Gregorius leaped into the air, his entire body transforming into a comet of golden light. This attack was no longer on the level of mortals—this was the power of a god descending upon the mortal world.
Zereth watched the attack approach. Under normal circumstances, he would probably die. But...
No, I thought. Zereth also had something he hadn't unleashed.
Zereth's eyes began to turn from red to a jet black that absorbed the surrounding light. The aura of darkness around him changed—from a deep purple to an absolute black that made the space around him look like a black hole.
"So the cowards in the heavens have intervened," Zereth laughed, his voice growing deeper, a bone-chilling resonance. "Alright, time to show you why darkness existed before light."
His domain of darkness began to push back against the golden light, creating cracks in reality itself. Where the two forces met, the air shimmered with unstable energy—sparks of gold and black that danced like cosmic lightning.