The battlefield held its breath.
The woman hovered midair, her presence alone enough to silence gods and demons alike. Lightning still crackled beneath her feet—its aftershock splitting the ground between Kai and Azrael.
Kai slowly lifted his gaze, eyes locked onto the glowing figure above.
"...Alexa," he said, voice low, almost reverent, but heavy with something deeper—loss, anger, memory.
She looked down at him with an unreadable expression. "Kai. How are you?"
Her voice was melodic—graceful, like wind through the stars—but the weight behind it could crush armies.
Azrael growled from the distance, rage twisting his face.
"How dare you… speak the Fallen Lady's name with your filthy mouth!"
But before he could continue, Alexa's voice cut through the air like divine judgment.
"Silence, Azrael."
Her tone shook the very clouds. Even he, born of the abyss, stepped back.
She returned her gaze to Kai.
"I ask you again... Why are you here?"
"You're not the type to fight for kingdoms, gold, or glory. Not anymore."
The wind around Kai stirred. His coat rippled. His twin blades lowered slightly, but his stance remained unshaken.
His voice, though calm, struck like a hammer.
"I came here… for only one reason."
He raised his eyes, filled with a storm of buried pain.
"To ask you a single question."
The battlefield fell still.
"How did Alen die?"
Alexa smiled faintly, tilting her head in the air.
"Oh, Kai… you're still thinking about that man?"
Her voice was teasing, but cold.
"You do realize... you killed him."
Kai's eyes darkened.
He stood silent for a moment, his fists slowly tightening. The memory of that dream flickered through his mind—Alen's dying breath, the blood, the sorrow.
"No…" he muttered. Then louder—firmer—"No. That wasn't real."
Alexa's gaze sharpened, but she masked her surprise.
"Oh? And how would you know that?"
Kai didn't answer directly. He remained still, but his eyes burned—not with confusion, but certainty.
Alexa stared at him a moment longer.
And then it clicked.
He's figured it out.
He doesn't have his full power back… but he knows.
In her mind, a whisper echoed: "If Kai were whole… Azrael would already be dead."
Then—
Kai's voice roared like thunder.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
His swords rose again, aura crackling faintly.
"I remember the mark. The tattoo burned into the killer's hand—
It's the same as yours."
Alexa's eyes flashed. Her smile faded.
Silence.
Then—
"Yes."
Her voice turned venomous, prideful.
"I killed Alen."
She descended slowly, no longer hiding her aura. Divine power and arrogance flowed from her like a storm.
"So what will you do now, Dark Knight?"
She laughed—low, dangerous, echoing with madness.
"You're broken. Your power's gone. And you want to fight me?"
"You've lost everything, Kai," she sneered.
"No divine strength. No title. No glory."
Her laughter echoed like thunder rolling across the battlefield.
"You're just a broken warrior pretending to be something more."
She grinned wildly, her aura exploding outward, warping the air.
"You're nothing without the gods."
The sky rumbled, but it wasn't from her power.
It was from Kai.
He raised his head slowly—his eyes burning, not with magic... but pure fury.
His voice came low, heavy, like steel dragged across stone:
"Enough."
The word silenced even the storm.
"You really think I need godhood… to kill you?"
He stepped forward, the ground beneath his feet cracking.
"I was never their pawn. I was never their hero."
He pointed a sword toward her, and the wind bent to his wrath.
"My anger... is enough."
Alexa's smile faded.
The air shifted.
For the first time—she felt it.
That pressure.
Not divine. Not magical.
Primal. Ruthless. Human.
And far more terrifying than any god.
With a burst of speed that defied human sight, Kai vanished—a streak of black light shooting skyward.
In an instant, he was in front of Alexa.
Twin blades flashed like lightning.
CLANG!
Alexa's Heavenly White Sword met his attack midair, sparks exploding in the night sky. The shockwave threw Kai downwards—slamming into the ground far across the battlefield.
Dust billowed. The earth cracked.
But Kai rose. Slowly. Calmly.
Alexa's smirk returned.
"Azrael—kill him."
Azrael roared, surging forward with a dark aura wrapping his blade.
"Dark Slash!"
Kai crossed his twin blades—steel met darkness—and unleashed a deadly counterstrike, pushing Azrael back a few steps.
Before he could breathe, Alexa descended, her sword swinging in a wide arc.
"Fury Swipe!"
Kai gritted his teeth, barely blocking her blow. The impact shook the ground beneath him. Two against one—and they weren't holding back.
He was fast.
He was skilled.
But even he couldn't handle both without strain.
Alexa and Azrael leaped back—forming a triangle with Kai in the center.
Then came the real storm.
Azrael roared:
"Dark Flame: Dimension Strike!"
His blade ignited with black fire, slicing through the air—ripping a hole in the dimension itself.
At the same time, Alexa floated upward, her sword raised to the sky.
"Heavenly Sword Art: Rain Dance!"
The sky answered.
Thousands of glowing swords formed in the air—blades of divine light raining down like a holy storm.
Kai raised his head, watching the two attacks descend.
He was being buried by a fallen angel and a half demon at once.
But he didn't run.
He gripped his swords tightly, his coat whipping in the wind.
His voice, calm and fearless:
"Come then… all of you."
Just as the sky was about to shatter with Alexa's and Azrael's combined assault—
A golden flame surged across the field.
CLANG!!!
The burning sword collided with Azrael's dark strike in midair—exploding in a storm of fire and shadows.
From the smoke, Yuhi emerged, her Sword of Judgment glowing with crimson fire.
"Judgment Flame: Flame Charge!"
The fire around her blade twisted into the shape of a phoenix, crashing into Azrael's dark energy—neutralizing it in a fiery blast.
Before Alexa's rain of swords could land, the ground shook with thunderous might.
A massive hammer, spinning like a cyclone, smashed through the incoming divine blades, sending shockwaves outward.
"Rolling Hammer Art: Limitless Strike!!"
From the side, Boros charged in, his hammer growing in size mid-swing as it smashed into the ground, cracking the very land between them and Alexa.
He landed beside Kai with a grin, tossing his hammer onto his shoulder.
"Missed me, buddy?" he smirked. "Or should I say… Masked Man?"
Yuhi ran to Kai's side, her expression fierce, yet worried.
"Are you alright?"
Kai exhaled, still catching his breath. The fight was intense, and he could feel the drain from blocking the dual attack.
"…Thanks, guys." His voice was low, but steady. "But this woman—she's mine."
He turned his gaze to Alexa, fury still burning in his eyes.
"You two take care of that freak." He pointed at Azrael.
Yuhi nodded.
"Got it."
Boros cracked his neck.
"Finally, I get to beat the hell outta someone again."
Yuhi tightened her grip on the Sword of Judgment, fire crackling around the blade like dancing embers.
Boros slammed the end of his hammer on the ground once, letting it pulse with raw energy.
"Time to break some bones."
Both of them charged toward Azrael, who leaped forward, his dark cloak slicing through the air as shadows curled around his blade.
Clang! Boom! Slash!
Steel clashed. Flame roared. Thunder echoed.
Meanwhile, Kai sprinted toward Alexa, his eyes glowing faintly with rage and focus.
She flew through the air like a streak of divine light, descending upon him.
Kai gripped his twin blades tightly.
With a shout—
"Twin Blade Art: Ripper Strike!!"
The two swords merged into a double-edged weapon, sharp on both sides, and Kai swung it with brutal force. A crescent of slashing energy ripped through the air—tearing the ground and soaring toward Alexa.
But Alexa didn't dodge.
"Heavenly Moonlight… Grant me strength."
She lifted her glowing white sword into the sky—absorbing power directly from the moon.
The blade shimmered with silver radiance, and she descended like a falling meteor.
"Moonlight Divine Art: Heavenly Strike!"
Her sword gleamed with holy energy as she sliced through the ripper slash, causing a massive shockwave that split the clouds and shattered the trees below.
BOOOM!!
The impact rocked the battlefield. Kai was blasted backward but flipped midair and landed, skidding across the ground.
He wiped the blood from his lip.
"Tch… She's using moon energy now."
But he smiled faintly.
"Good. Push me harder."
Yuhi slashes down with her flaming blade—
"Judgment of Flame: Phoenix Barrage!"
Flames burst out in the shape of a fiery phoenix, soaring toward Azrael. But Azrael smirks, spinning his sword and releasing a pulse of shadow.
"Dark Domain: Abyss Shield!"
A dome of swirling black energy forms around him, blocking the phoenix with a violent explosion.
Boros comes from above, spinning with his giant hammer glowing—
"Limitless Strike: Thunder Slam!"
CRACK!!
His hammer crashes into the ground, creating a shockwave so strong it cracks the earth beneath Azrael's feet. Azrael stumbles back, but then shadows rise and form into spears, launching toward both Yuhi and Boros.
Yuhi jumps, spinning midair and slicing through them.
Boros blocks two with his hammer, gritting his teeth.
"This guy's no joke!"
--------------------------------------------------------
Kai wipes blood off his chin.
"You've grown stronger, Alexa… but I'm not done."
He dashes forward, his blade glowing faintly red with anger and suppressed divine energy.
Alexa smiles coldly.
"Come, warrior of the gods without divinity… Let me show you mercy."
Their swords clash midair—clang after clang, sparks flying with each brutal strike. Kai ducks a horizontal slash, slides behind her in the air, and tries a reverse uppercut with his blade.
Alexa spins midair, blocks it, and counters with a palm blast of moonlight.
BOOM!
Kai is sent flying, but mid-flight, he twists and throws his blade like a spinning wheel of destruction.
Alexa deflects it, but Kai is already behind her—he grabs the blade midair and slashes down.
She blocks it—barely.
Alexa's eyes narrow.
"You're faster than before…"
Kai lands. His blade cracked. His body bruised. But his eyes—burning with resolve.
--------------------------------------------------------
Azrael roars and raises both hands.
"Shadow Fang Prison!"
Dozens of giant shadow fangs burst from the ground around Yuhi and Boros, trying to trap them.
Yuhi leaps, spinning and slicing them as her flames burn brighter.
Boros smashes the rest like toothpicks.
"Heh. You'll need bigger traps for me, Shadow Boy."
Yuhi dashes through the flames, her blade covered in holy fire—
"Final Judgment: Divine Cleave!!"
She strikes directly at Azrael's chest.
Azrael blocks with his sword, but the holy fire scorches his arm.
He growls.
Yuhi and Boros lock eyes, both wounded, both breathing heavily. They know—it's now or never.
Yuhi steps forward, her sword raised high. A golden flame wraps around it as if the heavens themselves are watching.
Yuhi:
"Last Judgment – Heavenly Flame Slash!"
Her entire body ignites in celestial fire, her sword shining like a divine sun.
Boros roars, lifting his massive hammer above his head.
"LIMITLESS STRIKE – GODBREAKER!!"
His hammer expands with unending energy, thunder roaring through the air.
Azrael, already on his knees, bleeding from his mouth and chest, grits his teeth. His sword trembles as he lifts it one last time.
"Demon's Dimension Slash!"
A rift of pure void forms, trying to devour everything.
But it's too late.
Yuhi's holy slash cuts through the darkness, and Boros' hammer smashes down like a god's judgment.
Azrael's sword shatters. His body engulfed by light and flame.
He screams… then silence.
Azrael is no more.
---
Far above, in the sky—
Alexa's eyes widen, feeling Azrael's energy vanish.
Her lips tremble with rage.
Alexa:
"You… bastard!!"
She explodes in divine fury, her body transforming.
Wings burst from her back—two vast white angelic wings, pulsing with moonlight.
Two white, curved horns emerge from her forehead. Her eyes glow crimson, like a dragon who has tasted blood.
Her once-golden armor fades into an elegant, terrifying form—a beautiful beast of pure destruction.
Her sword dissolves into her body.
She lifts her hand—
"Moonlight Beam – Divine Purge!"
A colossal beam of white energy, straight from the moon itself, fires toward Kai like judgment from the stars.
---
But then—
Kai steps forward, slowly…
Blood dripping from his mouth…
Eyes glowing dimly with something ancient, something terrifying.
He drops his twin blades into the ground.
Kai reaches behind him—
Pulls out his third sword.
"The Ruler."
A pure black blade, sleek and ancient, glowing like a black diamond under the moonlight. It hums with a power that makes the very air tremble.
Kai grips it tightly.
His voice low… but it echoes like thunder.
Kai:
"I am the Destroyer."
He swings the sword.
A massive black slash tears through the air, colliding with Alexa's Moonlight Beam.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The beam shatters.
Alexa's body is caught in the wave.
Her form is split in two—the wings torn, the horns cracked, the light fading.
She crashes into the earth, creating a deep crater.
---
Silence.
Dust and moonlight settle over the battlefield.
Alexa, broken, barely breathing, smiles softly for the first time.
Alexa (weakly):
"Thank you… for this… Now… I'm free…"
Her body turns into glowing fragments of light…
And vanishes into the moonlight above.
---
Kai drops to one knee.
He exhales.
Then falls.
He faints beside his shattered blades, the black sword still glowing softly in the night.