Arinthal stood up slowly from the ground, ignoring the intense pain racking his entire body. His eyes were completely white and blank. The hue of the blood moon dyed his silvery hair, creating a fearsome silhouette.
"Die," he said quietly.
A massive wave of aura burst out from Arinthal on the spur of the moment. It was so strong that it swept across the area in a powerful shockwave, forcing Moiraxys back for a few seconds. Arinthal's velori materialized into large ribbons of a blue hue, moving haphazardly around him. Still radiating this immense aura, he dashed toward Moiraxys with Moonshade clasped tightly in his right hand.
Moiraxys frowned before activating her power. She formed a circular array of crackling black orbs and shot them at the speeding elf. Ten powerful red beams blasted toward him, but he simply maneuvered through them and even managed to slice one apart. As quick as a bolt of lightning, he was suddenly in front of Moiraxys, Moonshade resting inches from her neck.
The goddess quickly sidestepped to the right. She summoned a longsword and retaliated with a slash at Arinthal's midriff. The latter contorted his body at an unnatural angle and blocked the strike with his sword.
"By the heavens! You've gone berserk, you little shit," she cursed as she exchanged serious blows with the elf. An elf with unstable magic was bad enough, let alone one with no remaining sense of humanity.
Arinthal executed a somersault, and as soon as he landed, he slashed six successive times. Moiraxys dodged and parried each strike before delivering an intended coup de grâce. The strike created a sword wave that Arinthal dodged; instead, it cut through her statue, causing it to crumple under the intense force.
With that, the cave began to collapse, but Arinthal didn't mind it. He jumped through the falling debris and delivered another sword wave to cut down Moiraxys. She simply disappeared from the cave, leaving Arinthal, Aetheris, and the six maidens behind.
Aetheris' eyes flickered open just in time before a large boulder could crush her to death. Quickly, she raised a mass of shadow orbs, destroying it completely. Since her leg was badly bruised, she created a shadow beast and mounted it, riding it out of the cave.
Arinthal, completely berserk, destroyed all the boulders in his way and burst out of the cave, leaving a trail of blue aura describing his path. Moiraxys stood in front of them, perfectly aligning with the blood moon with her hands outstretched.
"Know your place, elf. I am a divine being, and I will not be defeated by the likes of you!" Moiraxys turned and released a stream of dark power, darkening the skies.
Arinthal paid her no heed and propelled himself high into the air before striking with seven sword waves as long as towers. Moiraxys smiled cunningly, her eyes glowing a vibrant crimson hue.
"I am Fate. I know everything that you will do and every strike that you will bring, mister," she laughed sardonically at the berserk elf who was striking at her with every ounce of strength in his body.
"He's not alone, Elyrian bitch!" Aetheris called out from behind the goddess. She had used her power to create wings and was speeding toward the two from behind.
Moiraxys released two whips of dark energy and lashed out at her. Aetheris disappeared into a black fog and reappeared right in front of Moiraxys, but the goddess proved quicker. She caught Aetheris with those very whips, letting her hang helplessly in front of her.
"Got you!" Aetheris laughed.
A huge wolf made purely of darkness appeared behind them and bit Moiraxys, swallowing her whole.
"Arinthal, now!"
Arinthal, however, didn't even look at her since he had already dashed into the illusory wolf. Whatever happened inside the shadow beast occurred incredibly fast; the beast was quickly destroyed from the inside out by the collision of the two entities' blades.
The explosion revealed Arinthal trying to cut Moiraxys laterally, while she held her own blade above her, parrying Arinthal's attack. Aetheris saw her chance, rushed behind Moiraxys, and silently struck.
To the surprise of both Moiraxys and Aetheris, the attack hit home, leaving a deep gash across the goddess's back. Moiraxys spun around and, in a fury, used her power to seize Aetheris' body and slam her into the ground. Aetheris' crash created a small crater, though she mitigated the damage by encasing herself in a shield of velori.
"A beast-kin not bound by fate, and a berserk elf. This is getting quite tiring," she mused.
Suddenly, Arinthal rushed back and drew an absurd amount of velori out of his body, coating himself in it. Armed with that explosive power, he shot toward her like a comet, painting the night sky blue.
"Oh, shit!" Moiraxys cursed before the elf's attack landed.
Both the elf and the goddess descended into the ground, creating an enormous explosion that devoured everything within a mile's radius.
The old man stood in the town, watching the approaching cataclysm. Activating his own velori, he managed to create a shield large enough to protect the entire town.
Meanwhile, Arinthal's sword moved downward in an attempt to pierce Moiraxys' neck. However, before he could touch the immobile goddess, two chains of purple velori pulled him back.
"Arinthal, listen to me! If you kill her, she won't die. Cirien will... That is not her true body, it's just an avatar!" Aetheris shouted, desperately trying to talk sense into the berserk elf.
Arinthal looked at her with blank eyes, entirely devoid of reasoning and emotion. He forced his wrists against the restraints, ripping the flesh right off his hands to break free. He grabbed Moonshade and raised it high into the air with both hands. The blade glistened in the moonlight as Arinthal brought it downward.
"Is that what your sister would have wanted? Killing an innocent, frightened girl just because a demon has possessed her?" Aetheris said softly.
Arinthal froze, stopping his sword mid-path, and turned his gaze toward Aetheris.
"You told me about her once, remember? How she was kind, brave, and strong. I believe that she would be furious at you right now, Arinthal," she continued.
Her words finally hit home. Arinthal's aura decreased drastically, and his blue pupils returned to their proper place.
"Hope you have a plan, beast," he sighed.