Morvath and the Angel King stood across from one another, the ground between them a ruined mosaic of scorched earth and jagged cracks. Neither advanced, and neither retreated; they simply watched. High above, a pillar of green light erupted, carrying Eiden and Yajin into the night like a streak of divine fire. Morvath followed the trail with steady eyes.
"So they've gone," he murmured.
The Angel King nodded, his wings folding behind him. "It seems their struggle continues elsewhere."
As the last fragments of green light dissolved into the wind, Morvath rolled his shoulders, his twin blades humming. "Then it's just us."
The wind shifted and the moonlight sharpened. Both warriors lifted their steel—Morvath with his fanged swords, the Angel King with his silver divine blade—and pointed them at each other's throats. Their voices overlapped, low and resonant: "Rise of the Eternal Gods."
Morvath's aura detonated in a surge of black and crimson. His skin deepened into a stone-grey tone, pulsed by red lines that glowed like magma beneath the surface. His frame expanded into a massive, ogre-sized silhouette. Four horns burst from his forehead to form an obsidian crown, a powerful demon tail lashed behind him, and leathery black wings tore from his back, pulsing with a living shadow. His blades grew into void-black slabs of metal that distorted the air with heat.
Across from him, the Angel King erupted in white radiance. His frame widened to match Morvath's towering size, his armor shifting into plates of living starlight. His skin grew marble-pale, and his blue eyes burned with celestial fire. Massive, glowing wings cast a holy shadow across the plains as his silver blade lengthened into a colossal greatsword.
The two titans moved. Black and white streaks tore across the battlefield, colliding in the center with a thunderous crack that flattened the grass for miles. Morvath's fanged blades carved upward in a cross-cut of tearing shadows; the Angel King met him with a rising sweep of radiant light.
"Stop holding back, you glowing bastard!" Morvath roared, pushing against the divine steel.
"You speak of restraint," the Angel King replied, his voice calm but edged with steel, "yet you swing like a child throwing a tantrum."
They broke apart and vanished, reappearing mid-air as their blades rang like celestial bells. Morvath spun with a horizontal slash, but the Angel King folded his wings, dropping beneath the strike to deliver a rising cut that streaked white light through the night. Morvath twisted to block, the impact sending him skidding through the sky.
"Fast," Morvath muttered. "Annoyingly fast."
"You rely on rage instead of discipline," the Angel King countered.
Morvath barked a laugh. "I'm a demon, not a damn monk!"
He lunged, but the Angel King thrust a palm forward: "Divine Pulse." A sphere of white aura rippled through the sky. Morvath countered with "Abyssal Rend," a crescent of black shadow that tore through the divine energy. The collision detonated like a dying star.
The fight intensified into a blur of miniature explosions. The Angel King slammed the flat of his blade into Morvath's ribs, sending him crashing into the ground. Morvath burst from the crater instantly, launching upward like a cannonball and driving the Angel King backward through the clouds.
"Oblivion Burst!" Morvath screamed, unleashing a torrent of jagged black energy.
"Sanctum Breaker!" the Angel King answered, calling down a pillar of white light.
They clashed again and again, each impact a flash of lightning. Morvath slipped inside the Angel King's guard, his tail striking like a spear, but the Angel King retaliated with a horizontal cut that grazed Morvath's shoulder, cracking his armor.
"You're slowing," the Angel King observed.
"No," Morvath grinned, fangs gleaming. "I'm getting warmed up."
He lunged again, parrying the greatsword and bringing his second blade across the Angel King's side. The cut tore through divine armor, leaving a gash that bled white aura. The Angel King's eyes narrowed as he retaliated with a downward strike that clipped Morvath's wing.
The sky shook as they spiraled higher into the clouds. Morvath swung both blades in a cross-cut, tearing through the Angel King's arm-guards. The Angel King drove his elbow into Morvath's jaw, snapping his head back.
"Abyssal Collapse!" Morvath hurled a pulsing sphere of black energy.
"Divine Severance!" the Angel King met it with a wave of starlight.
The explosion sent them both reeling, but Morvath was the first to recover. He surged upward, forcing the Angel King off balance with a relentless flurry. His tail whipped around, striking the Angel King's ribs, and in that moment of hesitation, Morvath brought both fanged blades down in a brutal arc.
The blades tore through one of the Angel King's wings. A violent burst of white light erupted as the wing tore free, dissolving into scattered motes. The Angel King gasped, his balance failing as he plummeted.
"Fall!" Morvath roared. He drove forward, black aura spiraling around him like a collapsing star. His blade struck the Angel King's chest with a force that cracked the sky.
The two plummeted through the clouds like twin comets. The impact with the plains sent a massive shockwave across the land, carving a deep crater into the earth.
Silence followed.
Morvath staggered to his feet, chest heaving and black aura flickering weakly. His blades trembled in his hands as he looked down. The Angel King lay motionless in the center of the crater, his armor shattered and his remaining wing still. His aura had vanished.
"…It's done," Morvath muttered, his voice ragged. "You're finished."
He turned away, his wings folding behind him as the moonlight washed over the quiet battlefield. The Angel King did not rise. In the exhausted certainty of his gaze, Morvath believed he had finally killed a god.
Morvath and the Angel King stood across from one another, the ground cracked and scorched between them. Neither advanced; neither retreated. They simply watched as a pillar of green light erupted upward, carrying Eiden and Yajin into the sky like a streak of divine fire.
Morvath followed the trail with steady eyes. "So they've gone."
The Angel King nodded, wings folding behind him. "Looks like their fight continues elsewhere."
As the last fragments of green light drifted away, Morvath rolled his shoulders. "Then it's just us now."
"Seems that way," the Angel King replied, his aura settling around him like a mantle.
The moonlight sharpened as both warriors lifted their weapons—Morvath with his twin fanged swords, the Angel King with his silver divine blade. Their voices overlapped, low and resonant: "Rise of the Eternal Gods."
Morvath's aura detonated in a surge of black and crimson. His skin deepened to a stone-grey, pulsed by magma-like veins, and his frame expanded into a towering, ogre-sized demonic form. Four obsidian horns formed a crown upon his head, a powerful tail thrummed against the air, and massive, leathery wings tore from his back. His fanged blades stretched into void-black steel, distorting the air with heat.
"Angel King," Morvath rumbled.
The Angel King erupted in white radiance. His body widened to match Morvath's size, his armor reshaping into plates of living starlight. His skin became luminous marble, and his eyes burned like twin stars. Colossal feathered wings expanded to cast a holy shadow, and his silver blade lengthened into a massive greatsword pulsing with celestial waves.
"Morvath," the Angel King answered.
They moved as streaks of black and white, colliding with a crack that shook the plains. Morvath's cross-cut met a rising sweep of the greatsword, lighting the sky like lightning. "Stop holding back, you glowing bastard!" Morvath roared.
"You swing like a child throwing a tantrum," the Angel King replied calmly.
They shot into the sky, clashing mid-air in violent bursts. Morvath slashed horizontally; the Angel King dropped beneath the strike and countered with a streak of white light. "Fast," Morvath muttered. "Annoyingly fast."
"You rely on rage instead of discipline," the Angel King noted.
Morvath barked a laugh. "I'm a demon, not a damn monk!"
The battle escalated into a storm of spells. A "Divine Pulse" met an "Abyssal Rend," detonating like a dying star. The Angel King slammed the flat of his blade into Morvath's ribs, sending him spiraling toward the earth, but Morvath burst from the crater like a cannonball, driving the King backward through the clouds.
"Oblivion Burst!" Morvath unleashed a torrent of black energy.
"Sanctum Breaker!" The Angel King countered with a descending pillar of light.
The shockwave sent both flying. Morvath wiped dust from his face, his eyes burning red. "I'll rip those shiny wings off."
"You may try."
They collided again, the night splitting open under the force of their blades. Morvath's tail struck like a spear; the Angel King sidestepped and carved a shallow slash across Morvath's shoulder. Morvath grinned through the pain. "Now you're getting fun."
Flashes of movement blurred too quick for mortal eyes. The Angel King drove an elbow into Morvath's jaw, but Morvath retaliated by twisting mid-strike and tearing a long gash across the King's side. White aura sputtered from the divine armor.
"Impressive," the Angel King admitted.
"Shut up and fight!"
They spiraled higher, a deadly dance of silver and shadow. Morvath's blade grazed the King's arm; the King's downward strike clipped Morvath's wing. Finally, Morvath forced the Angel King off balance with his tail and surged upward. He brought both blades down in a brutal cross-cut that tore through one of the King's wings.
The wing dissolved into scattered light. The Angel King lurched sideways, his balance shattered. "You—you damn demon—"
"Fall!" Morvath roared.
He drove forward like a collapsing star, his blade striking the Angel King's chest with a force that cracked the sky. They plummeted together through the clouds, aura trailing like twin comets. The impact shook the plains, sending a massive shockwave across the shattered earth.
Silence followed.
Morvath staggered to his feet in the center of a fresh crater, his breath ragged and his black aura flickering. He looked down at the motionless figure before him. The Angel King lay with shattered armor, his remaining wing twitching once before going still.
"…It's done," Morvath muttered, his voice thin with exhaustion. "You're finished."
He turned away, wings folding. Though the Angel King did not rise and his aura did not return, Morvath carried a quiet, hollow certainty—he believed he had finally killed the King of Angels.