When Lilith raised her hand up, a startling transformation occurred.
The fabric of reality split, and cracks cut through space like a broken mirror, revealing an endless void.
And from within it, the shattered space formed into a spear, leaving no scar in its wake.
Lilith couldn't marvel at the beauty of the weapon as she was still in a dire situation.
With determination, she charged at the javeline that came from behind her back and tried to deflect it with the spear.
But, to her surprise, when the projectile that was created by a spell met the head of her mysterious weapon, it dispersed instead of changing course.
An unexpected development, but a welcome one nevertheless.
Now, she created a breach and broke through the barrage of spells.
But her predicament was far from over, as she sensed that the javelins behind her were about to detonate.
Cursing under her breath, she used her momentum to slide through the snow, and then, turned around to face the imminent explosion while using the shaft of the spear to cover herself.
Boom!
The shockwave first hit her, pushing further than the ball of fire, she felt the shock travel through her body and shake her organs.
As she was sliding through the ground and creating a long trail of broken rocks, the burning inferno reached her and covered her.
The spear glowed, and it negated much of the energy carried with the spell; otherwise, she would've gotten badly burned.
Finally, Lilith stopped. Her knees buckled, and she almost fell. But she held firm, refusing to let up.
Patches of her skin were burned, and those that didn't, were releasing smoke.
She groaned from the pain, but her mind was clear.
... In fact, it was much clearer than her whole life. And the strange influence that tried to confuse her was extinguished.
[Lily, are you alright?]
The familiar voice resounded in her mind, and the nervousness she held in her heart lessened.
[Un, I can still fight...]
After a moment of silence, the voice scoffed:
[Yeah, no shit. You would've turned into a fried chicken if not for me... Also, we can talk after we get rid of that bastard, i know that you have a lot of questions, but your situation is bad.]
Lilith forced her curiosity aside and couldn't help but agree.
[True... Although I have this spear now, it's still not enough to turn the situation around. I think that Valeric is still holding back.]
The voice scolded her:
[And yet, you went after him when you hadn't created any spells as a Calamity. Sometimes, you're just as reckless as you are smart, Lily.]
Lilith rolled her eyes.
[Alright, what's done is done. Only one of us is leaving this place alive, so we have to focus. Say, can you counter his Mind Pathway?]
The voice seemed offended by the question.
[Obviously, I can. With your reservoir as a Calamity, dealing with a Rank 2 Mind Pathway user is no trouble for me. Just focus on yourself.]
She gripped the spear tighter.
[Alright, I do have a plan... But it would mostly be a gamble.]
The voice responded with confidence:
[Then do it, I'll protect your mind for you. I trust that you can pull whatever bullshit you have in mind.]
She smiled widely, and the smoke of the explosion cleared a little, revealing Valeric who was on the other side.
He exuded the same noble demeanor, and the crimson fire that engulfed him added more to his heroic charm.
His face, however, was emotionless and cold. His golden eyes pierced her with much more killing intent than previously.
Lilith channeled the heavenly essence through her pathways, though it had a more erratic and unpredictable nature to its flow.
Nevertheless, she pointed the spear at her foe and charged fearlessly.
Boom!
Looking at her, Valeric decided to change his pace.
"[Javelins of Destruction]!"
He evoked the spell again, but this time, it was drastically different.
He summoned the crimson javelins again, but instead of a dozen or so, tens of them appeared.
He pointed his rapier at her, and his spell obeyed.
Shew! Shew! Shew!
The projectiles almost formed a wall, and they suffocated Lilith with their heat.
Yet, overwhelmed as she was, she kept her mind clear and shifted her path to the right flank.
While she did so, she dispersed several of the javelins with one sweep of her spear and slid on the ground to evade others with minimal effort.
Seeing the advantage that her weapon gave her, Valeric merely snorted with disdain and waved his sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Instead of penetrating her body, he commanded the summoned javelins to detonate at a further distance than her weapon's range.
Lilith gritted her teeth as she felt the searing heat of the nearby explosions, they didn't kill her or cause a fatal injury thanks to the spear, but they obstructed her and her wounds were accumulating
She was running out of time. The erratic and unpredictable movement of her heavenly essence was even adding to the pressure of [Output Overload]
Just then, Valeric charged as well.
Voom!
Just when an explosion faded near her, he used his teleportation spell and appeared at her side.
He stabbed at her ribs, but she didn't even look at him when she blocked his sword due to sensing it coming.
Clink!
He was at a disadvantage in the first exchange and was pushed back, but that was only temporary.
Shew! Shew! Shew!
Several javelins attacked her simultaneously, just like before. They didn't detonate, probably not to injure its caster. She was forced to block them while having a melee fight with him.
She dispersed three of the projectiles, but she was forced to let Valeric slash her left in exchange.
Lilith frowned, it was getting worse...
[Lily, he tried to use a mental spell on you with that last slash. I blocked it, but he doesn't know.]
Hearing that, she tried to exchange with Valeric again, but her knees buckled, and she swayed.
Seeing that, he decisively teleported multiple steps back.
Voom!
The range of his spell was much shorter than before, and his exhausted face betrayed how spent he was.
Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and growled:
"[Mind Piercer Swarm]!"
During their melee exchange, many javelins couldn't, join in because of the lack of space, so they simply encircled them from above like a hellish dome.
But now, as he evoked another spell, a change happened.
The javelins, which were crimson in color, turned golden. They didn't look material, as they were translucent and seemed weightless.
And then, they fell.
Much faster than before.
Lilith tried to block them, but she only managed to disperse some of them.
The others, they shattered into countless sparks of gold when they made contact with her body.
Lilith stepped back, barely standing.
Then, Valeric made one final charge at her.
She tried to use her spear to block, but he was content with making an explosion under his feet and kicking the shaft with all of his strength.
Bam!
She was sent flying, rising high into the air.
Taking a deep breath, Valeric screamed and evoked another spell with all he had left.
"[Javelins of Destruction]!"
The remaining half a dozen golden javelins changed color again, turning crimson.
They were heavier, and a lot slower, but so was their target.
Shew! Shew! Shew!
They aimed at the point that Lilith's body was going to land, not giving any chance of escape.
She twisted in the air, making her feet the first to touch the ground when she eventually landed.
Her eyes were closed, and her bloodied face was serene.
The erratic movement of her heavenly essence continued, an inner turmoil that she was hiding.
She thought back to the spell that Valeric used to teleport, the small explosions that he used to speed himself up, and his mastery over his Pathway.
She remembered the flow of his heavenly essence, how it interacted with the outside world. Elegant, purposeful, and unique.
After immersing herself in that fascinating mystical communication, she applied it to her erratic heavenly essence.
Her pathways changed.
The flow of the heavenly essence became purposeful, aspiring to order rather than chaos. It was like a dam had opened, and everything clicked into place.
Tap!
Time seemed to slow down, and come to a still. Her feet had touched the ground, and the javelins were just a step away, ready to detonate in the closest proximity. But Lilith...
She opened her eyes.
"[Soul Flash]!"
Shwoo!
And disappeared.
Boom!
The javelins exploded, but Valeric felt his heart run cold. What?! Where did she go?!
He had used the majority of his heavenly essence in that last attack, and his opponent was nowhere to be seen.
"Ugh!"
To prove his worst expectations, he felt something stab from his back, break his spine, and destroy his heart.
He coughed blood, a malicious influence entered his body, and even his soul. Everything was coming undone, surrendering to something foreign.
He looked down, and the head of a spear had come out of his chest.
"NO!"
Desperately, he slashed back with his sword, only to for it meet nothing but air.
Shwoo!
The spear disappeared from his chest with terrifying speed, and Valeric fell on his knees.
He groaned, and more blood spilled. The proud fire that engulfed him as a crimson mane had long since abandoned him.
He was surrounded by darkness yet again.
Valeric clutched his chest, failing to close the hole there.
He felt a shadow cast over him, and he looked up with difficulty.
"You..."
His opponent, Lady Etherea, loomed above him.
She was badly injured, with multiple burns and cuts. Her pale skin didn't make it any better as it made her look more like a corpse than those among the living.
She held her spear, his blood still dripping from its tip.
But all of that didn't matter.
Her eyes, they were clear and focused. Their creepy, ghostly-blue color gazed down at his soul emotionlessly.
His Mind Pathway spells had done nothing to her.
"H-how...?!"
Not only had she created a spell in the middle of the battle, but his mental spells didn't have any effect.
He desperately tried to find a reason for his loss.
Lady Etherea, however, spoke emotionlessly:
"Valeric, you're not the Curse... I am."
His heart shook, and bitterness and regret overwhelmed him.
She reached his face with her hand, her pace slow deliberately.
However, Valeric simply closed his golden eyes.
He didn't beg or plead, even when the cold hand touched his face.
And even when his soul shattered.