To-come: Lupus' pain triggers Hyper-Hermes, glad tidings for the Demon King: a prophecy of the reformation of his soul, the Rescue Mission Has Hardly begun, Victoria enters, the Fisherman student of Imam al-Tayyibi (peace be upon him) arrives, the Pro-Human movement of Okirun II in Timeline-Alpha, Timeline B Hermes vs. Timeline B Scott Greer, and something makes Ozzy do the truly unprecedented.
第３章:ルプスの痛みがハイパー・ヘルメスを呼び起こす――魔王への喜びの知らせ,魂の改革の予言,終わらぬ救出任務.ヴィクトリア登場,イマーム・アル＝タイイビー（彼に平安あれ）の弟子である漁師の到来.タイムライン・アルファにおけるオキルン二世の人類賛同運動,タイムラインＢのヘルメス対タイムラインＢのスコット・グリア.そしてオジーが前代未聞の行動を起こす.
Hermes stood before the powerful Demon King and held up Talus in his hands, "Don't move a muscle, or I'll crush this mongrel's filthy little skull." Hermes grew slightly annoyed: "You're in no position to dictate anything you prick, you're losing not us." The Demon King laughed, "Oh, is that a fact? You can get me to run off. I know why I've been beaten but I've just been informed the Federation is sending in the big guns." Talus screamed: "LET HIM GO!! PLEASE I'LL HAND MY CLOWN OVER!!" Lupus grimaced in pain: "Don't do it. Hermes, destroy this monster, my pride as a warrior will not let it pass that those I fight for are destroyed by this monster…" The Demon King was intrigued, so he let Lupus continue to speak. "Lupus…Hermes… strike this monster down, he's bluffing, I know he's scared…" The Demon King laughed, crushing his skull for an amount: "Oh really is this a bluff. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Lupus stepped forward but Hermes stopped him. "No way! One step closer and this guy will get a headache that he'll never forget." Hermes told Lupus telepathically: "He's just buying time for the reinforcements, just be calm." Hermes replied: "I can't strike you down for I foresaw a Prophecy where you will join the sign of light, you will become one of our allies, but not only an ally, a true friend, a member of our family, and it will happen sooner than you think, it will not take long in your case. Knowing what I know of what is to come, I cannot in good conscience destroy you," said Hermes. The Imam was deeply proud of her.
The Demon King was shocked and then began to howl with laughter. "OHOHOHOHOHOBWAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOINING YOU, THE HEROES?! OHO, IS THAT'S RICH. If that's the set-up I can't wait for the punch-line!!" said the Demon King. The Demon smirked, "Admit it, it's over. You have no recourse." Above the sky an army of angels, cherebs, Nagas and a large hulking figure appeared in the sky, the figure was over 9 feet tall. The figure was the Chinese deity Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li, the bearer of the Heavenly Pagoda and Dharma rites. Narcis looked over with anger: "You are working with the ones aligned with the Void. Have you no shame?" Li Jing laughed: "The Void is not a matter of concern, it's a threat largely over blown." The Demon King retorted: "Don't waste your breath, these freaks are just as zealous and our ally Blondie." The demon king looked down at Lupus as he held him by the head, "Well I guess its your lucky day wolf. You've served your purpose so I'll give you back to your little friends," he threw Lupus over to the heroes and Narcis immediately began to heal him. Another wound to his pride first Corona now the Demon King laid him low.
He would be returned to health but it would take a moment. The Demon King, Li Jing and Gabriel were all not affiliated with the Void so Talus appealed to common interest. "Narics is right, the Void will destroy all of you. You should defeat them." Gabriel laughed: "I will eventually destroy the demons of the void, and I will destroy this giant so-called God (meaning Li-Jing) and this filthy demon king and all of you because all of you are AMONG THE WORST OF CREATION!! DON'T LECTURE ME, WHEN YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THE DEMONS OF THE VOID!!" said Gabriel. Lupus was stunned, he couldn't believe what he just heard.
Li Jing 李靖—better known in Journey to the West ("西游记") as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li (托塔李天王)—is one of the major celestial generals in Daoist-Buddhist mythology and a recurring figure in the novel (Journey to the Western Lands).
The coming of Victoria and the Fisherman:
"바다처럼 넓은 마음이 진짜 아름다움이다."
(Badacheoreom neolbeun maeumi jinjja areumdaumida.)
"A heart as wide as the sea is the truest beauty."
SHOWDOWN WITH THE DEMON KING!! 魔王との対決!!
The Demon King laughed, "I'm going to have a little fun." He raised his hands. He created a portal that sucked him and two of the heroes, Hermes and Talus into it. The sands stretched endlessly, a sun like a burning jewel suspended above. The air was suffocating, no sound but the crunch of sand and the Demon King's laughter. The world snapped shut like a trap. The desert stretched without end, dunes piled high like frozen waves, their peaks sharp as blades, their valleys deep as graves. The air was heavy, dense, pressing down on lungs and bones alike. No wind stirred. No stars shone above. There was nothing beyond the sealed dome but sand, sky, and the will of the Demon King.
He stood at the center, tall and terrible, eyes burning like coals from a sun long since dead. His laughter rolled across the dunes, so deep and jagged it seemed to rattle the bones in their chests.
"Ohohohohoho—BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How pitiful. Two little flames, locked in a world that belongs only to me. You've stepped into my domain, you have no chance of defeating me." The sand beneath his claws writhed in answer. It surged upward in coils, rising into monstrous serpents of molten grains and black fire, their jaws splitting wide, each hiss echoing like mockery. The desert itself bent to his laughter.
Hermes stood still, her blade a single streak of pale light against the choking glare. The Spirit Blade hummed in her grip, its glow struggling to survive in the furnace heat. Her gaze cut through the haze, unflinching.
Talus was fire embodied. Sparks cracked from his fists as his aura blazed hotter, restless as a storm desperate to break. The ground beneath him glowed where his feet touched, the sand already melting into glass. Talus couldn't believe it but, "Times like this really get my heart pumping, I can't wait to see what this guy is capable of." "Two against one," Hermes said, her voice firm, as if speaking a law into existence. "This world may be your creation, but it is your cage as much as ours."
The Demon King's grin widened. He lowered his head, eyes narrowing, and his voice slid across the air like a blade on stone. "You dare lecture me? You are gnats swatting against a god. Do you think the desert needs walls or doors? No that there isn't a man or beast that has bested me in battle, and that won't end today." Talus spat, the sound sizzling as it struck the ground. "Then let's just see what you can do, big guy, cause I'm all fired up and ready to go." The Demon King's laughter grew darker, almost hungry. "Yes. Struggle. Burn brighter. It will make your end all the sweeter. HO! YOU PAIN WILL BE EXQUISITE!!" The dunes ruptured, rivers of molten sand spilling upward, serpents uncoiling to strike. Their bodies twisted like living whips, their scales a furnace of black-veined fire.
Talus lunged into the storm, his fist tearing through one serpent's skull in a single blow. It shattered into shards of glass and fire, its fragments raining around him. He landed hard, heat blazing outward, his aura burning so fiercely the air itself warped. Hermes followed, her blade singing through the heavy air. One stroke cut down two serpents in unison, their bodies writhing as they collapsed into dunes of glowing ash. Yet even as they fell, new ones rose, summoned by the will of their master.
The Demon King raised his hand, and the sky cracked like a mirror. A false sun broke through, its light not warm but crushing, a weight pressing on shoulders, bending knees. It was domination made manifest. "Feel it," he thundered. "The weight of my world. Every grain of sand bends to my command. This is the kingdom of demons, and in it, there is no hope, no light—only obedience, or annihilation." The demon king continued, "Weaklings and insects are only fit to perish in this world, know that this world of evil I have created has no need for you, it will expel you like the refuse you are!!"
Talus snarled under the heat, his knees bending, his outline blurring as the desert's weight tried to bury him. But instead of breaking, he roared, and his aura burst upward, a fiery pillar that clashed against the false sun's crushing light. Hermes darted past him, her movements cutting like scripture written in steel. The Spirit Blade shone brighter, a line of silver defiance across the suffocating heat. "If your kingdom is built on despair, Demon King," she said, "then it will crumble before hope." The Demon yelled: "NO YOU'RE PLACE VERMIN, Under the heel of my boot. And furthermore…"
The Demon King's eyes flashed with cruel delight. "Hope? Do you not see? Hope is the sweetest fuel. The higher it climbs, the more satisfying it is to watch it burn." The ground shuddered, dunes collapsing, pits opening like mouths eager to swallow the two whole. The micro-world tightened, shrinking like a vice. The three of them were alone here: Hermes, Prophet-Warrior of light; Talus, martial flame unbound; and the Demon King, tyrant of sand and fire. And in the silence before the storm broke again, his voice cut across the desert like a sentence of death:
"Hehehe, Get ready, this is where the real torment begins…"
A Humble Traveling walks upon the misty fields:
The horizon opened wide before her. Endless hills of grass swayed in the ocean-winds, each blade glinting with dew like a field of tiny emeralds. Hermes stepped lightly across the earth, her Spirit Blade bound in white cloth upon her back, her hair catching the sunlight in strands of gold. The silence was not empty—birds called distantly, a stream chuckled over smooth stones, and the hum of the sea far away filled the air with a living stillness. To her left, jagged cliffs descended into the mist. At their feet, foamy waves clawed at black rocks. Beyond, the sapphire expanse of Umi's sea shimmered, dotted with islets shaped like the shells of sleeping titans. To her right, a grove of trees bent under salt winds, their roots coiled like serpents gripping the earth, their blossoms spilling petals across her path.
Hermes paused on a rise. The land stretched vast and uncharted—no walls, no towers, only horizon. She pulled from her satchel a fragment of parchment—half map, half riddle. The ink shifted in colors, as though alive. Its lines pointed not to roads, but to places only her intuition could reveal: a shrine hidden beneath coral cliffs, a cave whose mouth opened only at moonrise, a ruin where wind sang like voices in prayer. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the world. The Spirit Blade hummed faintly, resonating with the rhythm of Umi. Somewhere in this land, trial and wisdom awaited her. But the land itself was the trial—its rivers demanded crossings, its storms demanded patience, and its winds whispered lessons no master could teach.
Hermes began to walk again. Her boots pressed into soft moss, leaving fleeting prints that the breeze soon erased. Every step felt like it carried her deeper into the imaginal heart of Umi, where the boundary between dream and waking blurred. And in the distance, across a field of silver reeds, something glowed—faint, steady, like a shrine waiting for her arrival.
The glow at the horizon was not a shrine. It was a shadow rising. Across the field of silver reeds, a colossal shape stirred. At first, Hermes thought it was a mountain shifting under the weight of clouds. Then it stood. Metal groaned like the voice of the deep sea. A giant—mechanical, half-rusted, half-living—rose from its slumber. Its form was humanoid but immense, towering high enough to blot the moon. Coral and ivy wound around its joints. Its chest glowed with an ancient sigil, flickering like the heart of a storm. The head turned with painful slowness, revealing a single slit of crimson light that scanned the land like a lighthouse. Hermes gripped her Spirit Blade. This… this is Umi's test.
The Giant bent, pressing one palm to the earth. The ground shook. A low hum filled the air, resonating in her bones, and then a beam of red lightning carved across the plains. The reeds disintegrated to ash. Hermes dove, the earth exploding behind her, shards of stone pelting her back. She rolled, stood, and steadied her breath. The Spirit Blade thrummed, harmonizing with the Giant's hum. She realized it wasn't simply attacking—it was singing. Its movements, its blasts, all followed a rhythm, like a cosmic chant buried under machine violence. The Giant raised its arm, a finger of metal the size of a tower pointing toward her. Its palm opened, revealing a furnace of light. A second blast. Hermes sprinted, the blast tearing apart the field behind her. She leapt onto a jagged boulder, then another, ascending toward the giant's knee.
Every machine has a flaw, she remembered Ungar's words. Not weakness—purpose. Find it. She climbed higher as the Giant swatted, its hand smashing boulders to dust. Its movements were slow, ancient, but terrible in force. Finally, she reached the knee-joint, glowing faintly where the coral had cracked the plating. Hermes drove the Spirit Blade deep. Sparks flew. The Giant roared—not in pain, but in awakening. The glow in its chest brightened, as if she had not wounded it but triggered its true form. The colossus staggered, then straightened, looming taller than ever. Its arms unfolded into vast cannons. The land of Umi trembled beneath its steps.
Hermes stood upon its leg, cloak whipping in the gale, eyes fixed on the burning sigil at its chest. She whispered: "Then let us finish the song." And she leapt toward its heart.
The Demon King Unleashes his Ace in the Hole:
The Demon stared down Talus and Hermes, Talus got ahead of the situation by creating a smaller clone of himself. A clone of a clone if you will. The blast ripped across the battlefield, sand dunes flattened into glassy plains by the sheer force. When the dust cleared, Talus and Hermes stood panting, their auras flickering but still blazing. The Demon King loomed in the haze, clutching his ribs where Talus' punch had landed. He dragged his claw slowly down his side—then laughed. A deep, guttural sound that shook the sky. "Impressive…" he growled, his jagged teeth glinting. "But you still don't understand. What you struck wasn't me—only the shell I allowed you to touch."
Hermes' eyes widened. The Spirit Blade trembled faintly in her grip. So that entire exchange… just the surface? The Demon King straightened, stretching his massive frame as black wings of shadow fully unfurled. His aura towered above them like a storm, pressing down until even Talus' boosted energy felt small. Talus spat to the side, grinning through the pressure. "Good. Means we're getting closer to the real fight." Hermes stepped forward, sliding beside him, her green cloak whipping in the gale. "Talus… he's still holding back. Don't throw yourself away just to prove a point." The Demon King's voice rumbled like thunder. "You two have spirit. But spirit is a candle in a hurricane. IT'S NOTHING!! I will not fall here. Not to mortals who bleed."
He raised one clawed hand, and the desert itself answered—pillars of black stone erupted from beneath the sands, forming a jagged arena that sealed them in. The sky cracked open with scarlet lightning. He waved his hand and a terrible wind was unleashed. Talus clenched his fists, aura sparking. Hermes lifted the Spirit Blade, light intensifying until it hummed like a star. The Demon King grinned, blood still dripping from his nose. "Now… show me why you think you deserve to challenge a king. Beings that shed red blood have no right to challenge a superior lifeform."
The Demon King's claws slammed into Hermes' staff. For a heartbeat, the world froze—light and shadow grinding against each other. Then something shifted. Behind Hermes, the air rippled like water, and from the rift rose a colossal silhouette. A monstrous octopus, its vast body unfurling above her, tentacles coiling with unnatural grace. Its countless eyes blinked open one by one, glowing like suns in a storm. Each gaze carried unbearable weight, a presence that pressed against the soul itself.
Talus' jaw tightened. "She's… calling it forth…" Hermes' eyes blazed white, her voice shaking the air:
"LET'S SEE WHAT COLOR YOUR BLOOD IS!"
The octopus's many eyes all turned on the Demon King. The creature reared back, and when Hermes swung her staff again, the avatar struck with her—a tidal surge of light and eldritch force slamming into his chest. The Demon King staggered. For the first time in ages, his footing slipped. Black stone cracked beneath his heels as the impact forced him back. He snarled, clutching his face—blood dripping, red as theirs, staining his fangs. He froze. His hand trembled as he wiped it from his nose, staring at the crimson smear on his claw. His molten eyes widened, fury mixing with a flicker of… disbelief.
He raised his gaze to Hermes, voice low and guttural, almost shaken:
"…Are you… some kind of monster?"
The octopus loomed higher behind her, eyes blinking in eerie unison, watching him in silence. Hermes stood unyielding, white staff leveled at his heart, her cloak whipping in the storm. Talus grinned through his ragged breath. "Heh. Guess your superior lifeform theory just took a hit." The Demon King bared his fangs, rage boiling over the edges of his calm façade. The storm above roared louder, scarlet lightning tearing the sky apart.
The Demon King staggered back again and wiped the crimson blood that dripped from his nose, he replied: "What are you some kind of damn monster." Hermes giggled and replied: "It's funny, I've been asked that for as long as I can remember so maybe there's something to it. Weird if it were a coincidence right? But I don't know. I'm a mother after all, how will explain to my children that their mom is a monster," said Hermes. The Demon King began to snarl: "Real cute all you're managing to do is piss me off!! And one more thing you little shit… where did you get that fucking stick?!" Hermes laughed: "I don't know. But let's see what it can do!" Hermes leaped back into battle with the Demon King.
Hermes' staff cracked against the Demon King's claws, each strike echoing like thunder. Talus' fists followed, aura blazing in a rhythm that turned their assault into a relentless storm. The Demon King refused to yield. His massive frame surged forward, every counterstrike shaking the black stone beneath their feet. Blood streaked from his nose and mouth, but his smirk never faded. Hermes spun her staff for a decisive thrust. Talus lunged in with a crushing hook. The Demon King met them both at once—his claws clashing with Hermes' staff, his forearm catching Talus' fist. The collision froze the battlefield, power locked in perfect balance.
The stone arena groaned, fissures spreading like spiderwebs. Sand and debris whirled in the dead air, suspended in the crushing pressure of their stalemate. Then—silence. All three staggered back a step, breathing hard, yet none collapsing. Hermes' staff still glowed faintly, Talus' aura still burned, and the Demon King stood tall, blood dripping down his chin but his stance unbroken. "…You two are more trouble than you're worth," he growled, wiping the crimson from his face. Hermes smirked, her voice sharp despite her exhaustion. "Funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you." Talus clenched his fists, sparks still flickering across his arms. "Call it what it is—a stalemate." The Demon King's eyes narrowed, molten fury simmering behind them. "Next time, there won't be one."
He turned, the ground trembling with each heavy step as his figure faded into the storm of dust and broken stone. Hermes finally lowered her staff, shoulders rising and falling with each breath. "We made him bleed. That's proof he can be beaten." Talus grinned through the ache in his jaw. "Yeah… next time, he's going down." The battlefield fell quiet, the last echoes of their clash dying in the still air.
The Demon King's shoulders rose and fell, his breaths heavy but steady, molten eyes glowing like twin furnaces. His lips curled back into a jagged grin. "You've drawn my blood. That's twice now. But you're still children… and I'll show you why no mortal dares raise their hand against me." He crossed his arms tight against his chest, almost hugging himself, a strange, mocking gesture that immediately made the air tremble. The moment his claws touched his shoulders, the pressure in the arena spiked. Black stone cracked beneath his feet, splintering outward in jagged webs. Dust and pebbles rose into the air, suspended by the force.
Talus squinted, sweat dripping down his temple as his aura sputtered under the crushing weight. "Hermes… I don't like this. He's pulling it all inside himself—compressing it—" Hermes braced her staff, eyes locked on the Demon King's hulking frame. "He's building something catastrophic… if he releases it, this entire desert might not exist anymore." The Demon King's entire body trembled as more and more energy poured inward. His muscles swelled, cords of power tightening across his frame. The sound that filled the air was a shrill hum, like glass vibrating to its breaking point. The sky itself began to twist above him, dark clouds pulled into a violent whirlpool that centered on his body. Scarlet flashes crackled in the heavens, bolts stabbing down and vanishing into him.
He grinned wider, eyes blazing with malice. "Conceited little punks. I'll enjoy breaking both of you." The ground collapsed further as the energy intensified, entire slabs of stone tearing free and hovering around him like shattered islands. The heat rose with it, choking and metallic, until the air seared their lungs. Hermes and Talus both dug their heels into the fractured stone to keep from being blown back by the sheer suction of the gathering force. Talus' jaw tightened. His fists glowed, sparks flickering erratically around him as he tried to reinforce his aura. "If he lets that go, Hermes, we won't have time to dodge!"
The Demon King's laughter echoed through the storm, guttural and mad. His arms squeezed tighter against his chest, energy writhing visibly across his body now, crackling like serpents of fire. The humming turned into a deafening roar, a vibration that rattled bone and split the air. Finally, with a voice that tore through the chaos, he bellowed:
"WITNESS TRUE POWER!" His arms ripped wide open, releasing the colossal force he had caged within.
The Demon King tore his arms wide, and the world split apart. A torrent of destructive force exploded outward, vaporizing stone, sand, and sky alike. The ground buckled under the shock, erupting into jagged fissures that swallowed whole slabs of the battlefield. Light and darkness mingled in a blinding storm, a raw wave of annihilation radiating in every direction.
Hermes slammed her staff into the earth, pouring every drop of will into its core. White light burst outward, a dome forming around her and Talus, its edges cracking and warping under the strain. Talus roared beside her, aura erupting into a second barrier, raw and violent, bolstering the defense. And there, standing at his side, Talus' clone mirrored his every move, doubling the effort, splitting the weight of the storm.
The blast raged on without end, a ceaseless tide that clawed at them, seeking to tear flesh and bone from existence. The sound was unbearable, like the planet itself screaming in protest. Hermes gritted her teeth until her jaw ached, arms shaking as the staff threatened to splinter. Talus' aura flickered violently, his clone flaring with unstable energy as cracks spread across its form.
Then, silence. The maelstrom died. The storm faded into a rolling haze of dust and smoke. The battlefield was gone—transformed into a massive crater, its edges jagged and molten, glowing faintly from the heat of the blast. The only sound was the hiss of settling debris. From the heart of the crater, three silhouettes stood unmoved. Hermes leaned heavily on her staff, bruised, battered, but still upright. Talus stood beside her, chest heaving, his aura sparking faintly around his shoulders. And beside him, the smaller clone staggered, its form fractured, unstable—but still intact. The Demon King narrowed his eyes. His grin faltered. "You survived? You should both be dust. No, you should be atoms at best." he snarled, voice low with disbelief. Talus exhaled hard, then gave a sharp grin. "Not just survived." The clone looked at him, then let out a final roar as its glowing form unraveled. Streams of light rushed into the original Talus, fusing into his aura. Talus' energy surged, brighter and steadier, his stance firm despite the devastation. "Back together again," Talus muttered, rolling his shoulders. "And stronger for it."
Hermes smirked, lifting her staff again. "So much for your 'true power.'" The Demon King growled, wiping fresh blood from his mouth. His eyes blazed hotter than before. "You insolent little…"
Just as the Demon King was about to lunge forward he was contacted by the Knight Gabriel telepathically. "Demon King, the Federation wants us back at the base immediately. You need to end this battle, let them go and destroy the world you created, bring all three of you back to the real world. Even more sufficient resources have arrived. The battlefield shook beneath their feet, the last echoes of the Demon King's attack still rumbling through the desert. The air shimmered with heat, the crater glowing like a dying sun. Hermes steadied herself on her staff, Talus stood beside her, both battered but unbroken. The Demon King glared at them through the haze, his chest heaving, his face streaked with blood. The Demon King simply told Talus and Hermes: "We'll finish this later."
For a long moment, none of them moved. Then the ground gave a final, low groan. The sky cracked like glass. The desert world began to unravel. First the sands dissolved into streams of light, then the stone pillars, then the very air around them. The horizon folded in on itself, colors bleeding away until only white remained. Hermes felt her body grow weightless, her staff humming as though it too sensed the collapse. Talus cursed under his breath. "The whole place… it's evaporating." And then—silence. When the light cleared, the desert world was gone. Hermes blinked, her breath catching in her throat. The dry heat was replaced by cool air, the endless sands by polished golden floors beneath her boots. The faint hum of engines and the glow of lanterns filled her ears.
They were back. The golden airship drifted through the real sky, stars stretching infinitely across the windows. Crew members gasped in relief as Hermes and Talus appeared on the deck, battered but alive. Talus rolled his shoulders, aura faint but steady, and let out a sharp exhale. "Guess that's it. The desert's gone." Hermes nodded slowly, lowering her staff. "And we're back where we belong."
The Demon King was nowhere to be seen. Only the quiet of the ship remained, as though the nightmare had been nothing but a fleeting dream. But both Hermes and Talus knew better.
The Demon King Daimao 魔王 in battle position.
Far from the golden airship, in the mountains where clouds coiled like dragons, Ungar stood on a jagged cliff edge. His cloak whipped in the high winds, his spear gleaming faintly in the morning haze. Across from him, descending in radiant armor, was Li Jing — the great Celestial Marshal of the Chinese heavens, golden tower-helm glinting, his three-pointed, two-edged spear in hand. Ungar's eyes narrowed, his stance lowering. "So… the heavens send their marshal to test me." His voice was low, like grinding stone. Li Jing's feet touched the earth with the weight of judgment. His presence was calm, but it pressed down like a mountain. "Ungar, Knight of Shadows. You've strayed into realms you were never meant to tread. I am here to drive you back."
Ungar tilted his head, the faintest his eyes narrowed. "Drive me back? No, Marshal. You're standing in my way." The air shifted. Thunder rolled across the peaks as the two warriors moved at once. Li Jing's spear lashed out in a blur of golden arcs, each strike splitting the air like lightning. Ungar met him with his own spear, black steel ringing as it clashed against divine bronze. Sparks burst with every collision, their blows shaking the cliffside until boulders broke free and plummeted into the valleys below.
Ungar twisted, his spear trailing shadows as it hooked Li Jing's strike, forcing the marshal back a step. But Li Jing only smiled, his form blazing brighter, each movement perfectly measured. With a cry, he leapt into the air, his spear descending like the judgment of heaven itself.
Ungar braced, aura flaring, his own strike roaring upward to meet it. The clash detonated between them, a shockwave tearing the clouds apart, sunlight breaking through in radiant beams. For a heartbeat, the world was only thunder, steel, and fire. Then both landed again, standing at opposite ends of the ruined cliff. Ungar wiped the blood from his lip, his smile sharper now. "Good. A god who doesn't break at the first exchange."
Li Jing spun his spear once, the air around him crackling with celestial light. "And a mortal who hasn't yet learned humility. This battle has only begun.