The first god's collapse into ash-light left the battlefield in a stunned, unnatural silence. The glowing dust drifted upward, carried by the wind across the silver plains like the cooling embers of a dead star.
The remaining nine gods stared at the fading particles with a sensation they had not tasted in millennia:
Fear.
They knew the terrifying truth of the blade Yajin held. The Sword of Judgment did not merely wound; it did not kill or destroy. It erased. A single touch, and the soul was unmade—consigned to an absolute nothingness.
Yajin lowered the steel, a green aura spiraling around him like a hungry storm. "One down."
The gods reacted with the frantic precision of the hunted. White sigils erupted beneath their feet, blooming into massive, concentric circles that turned the plains into a blinding mirror of light. The atmosphere vibrated with a low, resonant thrum. Behind each deity, a colossal halo of white magic rose like wings of light.
They spoke in unison, their voices a choir of crystalline judgment that shook the very air.
"LIMITERS RELEASED TO LEVEL ONE."
The plains exploded. Ten beams of white magic, each thick enough to bisect a mountain, lanced toward the Devils. They twisted in flight, spiraling like serpents of pure, predatory radiance.
Yajin met them head-on. He swung his blade in a wide arc, sending a crescent of green energy tearing through the barrage. The shockwave ripped deep trenches through the white grass, sending ripples of pressure across the horizon.
Civilar took to the sky, his chains snapping behind him like localized thunder. He spun in a violent blur, his blades carving arcs of black lightning that detonated the white beams in spectacular bursts of shadow and light.
Eiden remained a statue amidst the chaos. He raised a single hand. Black sigils formed around him in a perfect, rotating sphere, absorbing the divine light like water into parched sand. The sigils pulsed with a heavy heartbeat, then shattered outward in a shockwave of black energy that forced the gods to brace themselves against the recoil.
As the white storm faded, the plains lay scarred and the air crackled with dying mana. Civilar's smirk was razor-sharp. "Level one? That's all?"
The gods did not hesitate. They raised their hands, and the sky itself fractured. White chains descended from the heavens by the thousands, glowing with the weight of divine authority. They fell like rain, seeking to bind and seal the Devils beneath the earth.
Yajin became a ghost. He reappeared mid-air, his blade a blur of green light as he sliced through the falling links. Each cut released a burst of energy that shattered dozens of chains into dust. Civilar snatched two chains out of the air, yanking them down with such brute force that they snapped, recoiling upward to strike the gods who had summoned them.
Eiden lifted his longsword. Black magic surged from the metal, forming a massive, sweeping arc of darkness that erased the remaining chains in a silent wave of shadow.
The gods were relentless, teleporting across the plains in flashes of strobe-like light. Their hands wove runes of blinding intensity—ten symbols of ten final judgments.
"LIMITERS RELEASED TO LEVEL TWO."
Pillars of white light erupted from the soil, encaging the Devils in a prison of divine power. The cage began to shrink.
Yajin slammed his heel into the ground, a dome of emerald magic clashing against the closing pillars. It cracked instantly, but it bought a second of time. Civilar roared, his chains lashing out with black lightning that forced the pillars to flicker and fade.
Eiden closed his eyes. Black sigils rose from the earth like a blooming flower of shadow, layering and multiplying into a geometric nightmare of ancient power.
He opened his eyes. "Break."
The detonation was not loud—it was absolute. The white pillars vanished, replaced by a fine mist of ash-light. The gods recoiled, their divine poise shattered. One stumbled; another gasped as their trembling hands failed to hold their form.
Eiden stepped forward, his blades humming with a low, predatory frequency. "Your limiters won't save you."
A god lunged, a spear of light extending from his palm like a focused beam. Eiden sidestepped, the light slicing his cloak, and caught the spear with his armored sleeve. With a sharp twist, he snapped the divine construct in two.
Eiden vanished, reappearing behind the deity with his katanas crossed in an X-shaped slash. The impact sent a surge of black energy through the god, cracking his form like fragile porcelain.
"You… cannot—"
A flash of green interrupted the god's final words. Yajin appeared beside Eiden, his blade already returning to its sheath. A single line of green light ran across the god's chest. His form unraveled into ash.
Two down. Eight remained.
Three gods rushed Civilar, a synchronized assault of blades and shields. Civilar's grin was terrifying. "Finally."
He launched himself into the fray, his chains wrapping around their weapons to pull them off-balance. He spun like a whirlwind, his blades carving through their defenses. He shattered a barrier with a single punch and tore through a storm of spears as if they were paper. He caught a third god mid-teleport, slamming him into the cracked earth before delivering a single, crushing strike.
Three down. Seven remained.
Yajin was a storm of emerald light. He met two gods at once, his blade evaporating their barriers and slicing through their beams with surgical ease. He vanished and reappeared behind them, swinging once. A wave of green energy tore through the space they occupied, erasing them from existence.
Five down. Five remained.
The survivors huddled into a defensive circle, their robes flickering and their eyes dimmed by the mounting pressure.
"They're… monsters…" one whispered, his voice cracking. "We must release level three—"
Eiden appeared before the speaker in a flicker of shadow. He slashed once.
Six down. Four remained.
The final four gods gathered their remaining essence, forming a massive, pulsing sphere of white magic above them. The sky went black; the plains trembled under the weight of the spell.
Civilar cracked his neck. "Finally taking us seriously." Yajin raised his blade. "About time." Eiden stepped into the light. "Let's end this."
The sphere descended like a falling moon. The Three Devils charged.