The heavens and the earth cried out in unison.
The moment the Adversary took a step forward, the soil fractured and the sky churned into a black vortex, unleashing a tempest.
KWAANG!
The sword of Julien collided with the fist of the Adversary. This was no ordinary clash of metal and bone; the shockwave felt as though the world itself was splintering. Day and night became a tangled mess as the environment buckled under the weight of two beings it was never meant to contain. Beams of radiance from the blade carved through the obsidian clouds, only for the surging gloom from the fist to consume the light once more. Every time these polar forces met, the atmosphere tore open and lightning hissed through the air. The surrounding landscape disintegrated like a fortress made of dry sand.
KWAANG!
A black cyclone erupted when the Adversary swung his limb again. Yet, in that instant, the prayer of Deneb echoed across the chaos. A shimmering silver light descended from above, smothering the dark storm. Julien seized the opportunity immediately. Elevating his weapon, he drew upon the essence of a multitude of spirits.
FWAAASH!
His horizontal slash flooded the horizon with brilliance. Spears of pure light lunged toward the Adversary. The Adversary merely chuckled at the sight.
"Impressive… truly. To think that you, who started as simple mercenaries, have ascended to such heights…"
Gloom exploded from his form. This was far more than a surge of mana; it was a tide of pure hopelessness that dimmed the very stars in the firmament.
KWAANG!
Julien stood firm against the encroaching shadow. The holy aura provided by Deneb surged around him like a protective flame. United in purpose, the two of them held their ground against the Adversary's might—and as the seconds ticked by, they began to force the Adversary to retreat. This world-shaking struggle was not limited to the Hero and the Saintess.
KWAANG!
An Apostle thrust a charcoal-colored spear, cleaving the earth into a deep ravine. Lionel took the hit and kept moving forward. He no longer had to focus solely on shielding Deneb, as she and Julien were holding their own against the Adversary. He realized that neutralizing an Apostle would be a far greater contribution to the Allied Forces.
THUD!
Lionel's massive blade swung down toward his foe. His technique was now so refined and steady that he appeared the very definition of a master knight. The Apostle flickered like a spectral image, searching for a weakness in his stance, but Lionel remained as immovable as a fortress wall. No matter how chaotic the Apostle's strikes became, they could not bypass Lionel's ironclad guard. Impatience began to bleed through the Apostle's movements, while Lionel remained the picture of calm, methodically tightening the noose.
Elsewhere, another Apostle engaged Ereneth. The dark figure vaulted into the sky, raining down bolts of shadow like a storm.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
However, the massive fire spirit summoned by Ereneth incinerated the darkness before it could land. Simultaneously, a wind spirit formed a localized cyclone, ensnaring the Apostle and slamming them violently into the dirt. Every shadow-bolt fired was intercepted by Ereneth's spirits. Visibly rattled by her flawless spirit arts, the Apostle was forced into a desperate, reactive defense.
FWAAASH!
By combining the fire and wind spirits, a massive inferno-cyclone roared to life. The Apostle attempted to manifest a shroud of darkness for protection, but the heat consumed it instantly. Ereneth darted through the gap, extending her hand as a surge of brilliant emerald energy blasted the Apostle backward.
KWAANG!
The Apostle staggered back, realizing that death was inevitable if the momentum didn't shift.
"That holy power…"
High above, a massive tear in the sky began to pour out a fountain of celestial light. The miracle invoked by the Saintess was systematically purging the darkness. As the light intensified, the cultists of the Salvation Order felt their strength draining away. The other Apostles were faring no better.
FWAAASH!
With a sharp motion from Marika, hundreds of throwing knives whistled through the air. These daggers, infused with divine energy, sliced through the lingering shadows. The streaks of light they left behind pursued the Apostle relentlessly. The Apostle moved with incredible speed to deflect the metallic hail.
PAPAPAPAPAP!
The two combatants moved with such velocity that they became a blur to the naked eye; only the luminous trails of Marika's blades marked their positions. Initially, the fight seemed balanced, but the sheer volume of the daggers eventually overwhelmed the Apostle, who began to cede ground.
While everyone was performing admirably, Kyle was the one dismantling an Apostle with the most raw ferocity.
KWAANG!
Every time Kyle's blade cut through the air, a devastating shockwave erupted, causing his opponent to reel. Having danced on the edge of the grave for a decade, Kyle was a transformed man. With his hair a wild mess and his clothes nothing but tattered rags, he wielded a rough, unrefined iron slab of a sword. To an outsider, he looked like a vagabond warrior, yet his martial prowess was terrifying. His style was chaotic and lacked any formal structure, resembling a predator acting on pure reflex.
KWANG! KWANG! KWANG!
It appeared as though a child was swinging a stick without thought, yet every movement perfectly countered the Apostle's sophisticated strikes. His unpredictable, wild style gave the Apostle no room to breathe. The Apostle was in disbelief; in terms of pure technical skill, this opponent was easily among the finest on the continent. But there was something more grating than his skill.
"Man… I'm definitely stronger than Julien, but nobody wants to admit it. After this war, I'm going to have to settle the score with him. I guess Julien is the only one I can call a true rival."
"How's it feel? Facing a real sword? You're struggling, aren't you? You can feel the gap between us. You're thinking about running, I bet."
"Honestly, even if Ghislain showed up right now, I'd take him in a duel. Don't you agree? Oh, you don't know Ghislain. Want me to fill you in?"
Kyle rambled incessantly throughout the life-or-death struggle. To a stranger, he seemed to have lost his mind during his solitary training. In truth, Kyle had become obsessed with combat to the point of eccentricity. He had discarded everything else to reach a state where he and his blade were an extension of the world itself.
"I am the King of Swords, the greatest blade on this continent!"
Kyle suddenly ceased his rambling to let out a thunderous shout. The intensity of his training seemed to have warped his personality, leading to rumors that his intellect had suffered. Yet, no one could mock him, for his power was undeniable. The Apostle under his assault couldn't even manage a counter-offensive.
From the rear, Astion surveyed the battlefield with a confident grin.
"Excellent. Keep this up and the day is ours."
He was aware that in the original timeline, the Hero's companions and the Apostles were deadlocked. However, due to the influence of Ghislain, they had reached their potential much sooner, allowing them to dominate the field. Furthermore, unlike the original history, Astion wasn't forced into a direct confrontation with an Apostle because Ereneth had stepped up to handle one. In the timeline where Iralniel perished, Ereneth would have been busy leading the elven forces. With Iralniel alive, Ereneth remained with the Julien Mercenary Corps, freeing Astion to provide massive magical support.
He hovered in the air, pointing his staff toward the fray.
"Lightning Rod."
KWA-A-A-A-AANG!
A blinding flash erupted from his staff as a massive bolt of electricity thundered down. It disintegrated the Riftborn in its path and slammed into a high priest of the Salvation Order. The priest, already occupied with an Allied warrior, had half his torso vaporized by the impact. The warrior seized the moment to decapitate the cultist.
Astion shifted his focus, locating another high priest.
KWAANG!
Geysers of flame erupted from the earth, incinerating the priest and allowing the nearby Allied fighter to finish the job easily. Astion continued to methodically prune the enemy's leadership while clearing out the rank-and-file Riftborn.
I decided to leave the Apostles to my comrades. Since they were clearly winning, there was no reason for me to interfere and ruin their rhythm. It was far more effective to systematically dismantle the infrastructure of the Salvation Order. In a theater of war, a 9th-Circle mage with free rein is nothing short of a walking disaster for the opposition. Because of this strategy, the Salvation Order's numbers were plummeting.
We had secured a definitive lead. We even prepared for the possibility of the Adversary attempting an escape, but as long as the Demonic Realm was sealed, he was a dead man walking. Even a being as powerful as him couldn't survive indefinitely if isolated. We had already mapped out how to hunt down any survivors.
With most of the high priests neutralized, I provided long-range fire for the dragons fighting the minor deities from the other world on the perimeter. Now that my magic was potent enough to harm them, these lesser gods were being reduced to ash one by one.
Even though we were in the heart of the Demonic Realm, the arrival of new Riftborn was slowing down significantly. The endless waves were finally hitting their limit. The portals within this realm couldn't keep up with the rate at which we were destroying the monsters. The Adversary was also unable to open new rifts; he was too busy trying to survive the combined assault of Julien and Deneb's holy light.
The Great War, which had lasted a decade, was reaching its conclusion. My heart raced with anticipation, but I knew we couldn't relax until the Demonic Realm was fully sealed. I kept my focus sharp.
KWAANG!
The duel between Julien and the Adversary reached its absolute peak. The area around them was so volatile that no one else dared to get close. In that hollowed-out crater of a battlefield, only Julien and Deneb stood against the ultimate foe.
KWANG! KWANG! KWAANG!
Each collision of light and shadow tore the sky asunder and set the clouds ablaze. A shard of the Adversary's darkness nicked Julien's shoulder, causing a spray of crimson. But before the blood could even hit the ground, Deneb's power converted it into pure light.
Julien didn't flinch. He raised his weapon once more. During a brief pause in their exchange, the Adversary spoke.
"You've likely sensed it too. The heavy hand of destiny…"
"..."
"It's as if this entire sequence is a carefully written script. An inescapable fate that we are forced to act out, no matter how we resist…"
"..."
"This Ghislain you mention… he is still nowhere to be seen. Someone with the foresight to train you all and the knowledge to change things…"
"..."
"Tell me… is he the one pulling the strings of our destiny right now?"
Julien remained silent. He didn't care for the Adversary's philosophy, nor did he care to understand it. He had only two goals: to kill the Adversary and to keep Deneb safe.
The Adversary's eyes glowed with a predatory red light.
"And yet, I remain certain of my success…"
The momentum had clearly shifted toward the defeat of the Salvation Order. It was a reality that even the Adversary's immense power couldn't overturn. Even the dragons were now closing in on his position. Seeing his impending doom, the Adversary laughed.
"Because this is the fate that was written!"
KWA-A-A-A-AANG!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted, sounding as if the pillars of the world were snapping. Light and shadow merged into a singular, devouring void that blanketed the area. Even the approaching dragons were forced to stop and shield themselves. Julien was swallowed by the gloom. It seemed as though he would be torn apart at a molecular level.
In that moment of impending dissolution, Deneb's holy power surged around him.
FWAAASH!
Julien's body began to emit brilliant particles. His injuries vanished instantly as he lunged through the darkness toward his target. His sword ignited.
It wasn't just mana or steel. The blade was imbued with divine favor, the essence of spirits, the collective hope of every human, and the very will of the planet. The sword hummed with a vibration that sounded like a roar, slicing through the fabric of the sky. A hurricane of light followed in its wake.
This wasn't the strike of a single man. It was as if every living soul in existence was pouring their final ounce of strength into his arm. Julien drove the blade forward with everything he had. The path of light carved through the Adversary's darkness like it was nothing.
The Adversary didn't move. He simply watched the approaching end with those glowing red eyes.
KWA-A-A-A-AANG!
Finally, Julien's blade buried itself deep in the Adversary's chest. In that heartbeat, the entire battlefield fell into a silence so profound it felt as if time itself had ceased to exist.