The golden divine energy surrounding Leo intensified as his wounds rapidly closed. The bruising faded, the blood disappeared, and the exhaustion that had begun to weigh on his body was replaced by an overwhelming pressure.
Leo slowly straightened himself and looked toward Denma.
"I won't hold back anymore."
The moment those words left his mouth, golden armor began forming around his body. Plates of radiant divine armor appeared across his chest, shoulders, arms, and legs, while his hair gradually turned completely golden. The pressure emanating from him transformed the surrounding air into a shimmering field of divine energy.
Leo raised one hand toward the sky. Multiple golden swords materialized above him. For a brief moment, they remained suspended in perfect formation. Then Leo lowered his hand.
The swords descended. Hundreds of golden blades tore through the air toward Denma.
Denma immediately moved.
He slipped between the first wave of swords, twisting his body sideways as several blades passed within inches of him. He ducked beneath another, then drove his foot into the ground and launched himself through the remaining dust.
His body shot upward. Leo immediately formed a golden sword in his hand and swung downward. Denma raised his fist. CLANG!
His fist collided directly with the golden blade. The impact produced a shockwave that scattered the clouds overhead. Neither gave the other time to recover.
Leo twisted his wrist and brought the sword across horizontally. Denma leaned backward, allowing the blade to pass over his face before driving a punch toward Leo's ribs.
Leo turned his body and blocked with his forearm. Denma followed with another punch. Leo parried it with the flat of his sword. Their movements became increasingly rapid.
Leo's golden blade flashed repeatedly through the air, each swing aimed at a vital point, while Denma answered with nothing but his fists. Their bodies crossed through the sky again and again, exchanging strikes so quickly that only flashes of gold and red could be seen.
Leo suddenly noticed something. Denma was beginning to descend. Unlike him, Denma couldn't remain suspended in the air.
Leo's eyes narrowed. He saw his opportunity. He raised his sword above his head and brought it down toward Denma but Denma calmly reached out. His palm caught the blade. Leo's eyes widened.
Denma tightened his grip around the sword.
"Got you."
With one violent motion, Denma pulled Leo toward him, shifted his weight, and flipped him over his shoulder. Leo's body crashed into the ground.
BOOM! The earth shattered beneath him. Denma descended immediately afterward and landed nearby. He didn't give Leo even a second to recover.
Denma rushed forward, jumped onto him, and began driving punches downward. One. Two. Three. Each strike shook the ground. Leo raised his arms to defend himself, but Denma continued hammering down with overwhelming physical force.
"Get off me!"
Golden energy erupted from Leo's body. A massive divine wave exploded outward.
Denma was blasted backward and rolled several times across the ground before stopping himself. Leo slowly rose. His armor was damaged, but his eyes burned with fury.
"How dare you…"
He raised both hands. Golden energy gathered between his palms.
The energy rapidly expanded into a gigantic sphere, illuminating the battlefield. Leo pushed both hands forward. The sphere shot toward Denma….Denma stared at it.
"Is this your desperate attempt to win?"
He folded his right fist. Then he planted his right foot firmly into the ground and centered his gravity.
His breathing slowed. For one brief moment, the battlefield became silent. A gigantic spiritual image of Kratos appeared behind Denma. It was only there for an instant. Denma inhaled.
"Godless."
His fist moved. BOOOOOOM! The punch collided with the sphere.
The gigantic construct of divine energy burst apart. The resulting explosion erupted near Leo, swallowing him in golden light but Denma's punch had done more than destroy the attack. Space itself cracked.
The surrounding atmosphere distorted violently as the colloids throughout the area dispersed from the overwhelming force. Leo was thrown several meters away and slammed into the ground.
The smoke slowly cleared. Denma walked toward him as leo struggled to move. Denma stopped above him and placed one foot against his chest.
"That is true strength."
Leo's eyes widened. A moment later, Denma finished the battle.
The battlefield fell silent.
Denma remained standing for several seconds before his strength finally began leaving his body. He staggered toward a nearby wall, leaned against it, and slowly lowered himself until he was sitting.
He breathed heavily.
"It's my first time using that much strength."
He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.
"I better go find Faith."
Then Denma suddenly felt something. A tremendous shockwave rolled across the horizon.
He opened his eyes. Far in the distance, an entire mountain range had been split in half. Denma stared toward the destruction.
"Jessica?"
Meanwhile…Across the battlefield, Jess and Genesis were already engaged in combat. Their swords collided repeatedly, steel ringing through the open terrain. Genesis stepped forward and swung horizontally.
Jess raised her sword and blocked the attack, redirecting the blade away from her body before immediately answering with a vertical slash aimed toward Genesis's throat.
Genesis tilted his head backward and raised his sword just in time to block. The blades collided. Genesis smiled slightly.
"You don't talk much, do you?"
Jess pushed his sword aside.
"Why talk to a dead person?"
Her expression remained cold.
Genesis's smile faded for a moment before returning.
"How cold. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot."
Jess didn't answer. She thrust her sword toward him. Genesis shifted his body sideways.
Jess immediately rotated with the motion, using the momentum of her thrust to spin around him before driving her leg toward his torso.
Genesis raised his arm and blocked the kick. Jess landed smoothly and brought her sword back into position. Her eyes remained fixed on Genesis.
"Since you chose war, I have enough reason to kill you."