Chapter 708: Chapter 708: The Trial (Part 9)
Point-of-View: Cleo Nova
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"I-Im...impossible...!" Gasped Kerubiel, as his Halo shattered to pieces.
"You underestimated us from start to finish. It’s true that Ciel didn’t have enough Mana to cast her Magic...but that wasn’t the case with activating her Personalis Arma. Right before you killed me, I put my faith in counting on her taking advantage of my Phoenix Resurrection. I figured it’d distract you and give her the opening she needed to wipe out the last bit of your Mana," I uttered, stumbling back and collapsing onto the ground with a strained, exhausted sigh.
"Th-This...this can’t be happening! Th-The Gods granted me all the power I could possibly need to kill you, so how...how could I fail?! How could I let them down like this?!" He cried in anguish, his body starting to fade away.
"Yeah, you had a tremendous amount of power. But you lacked the skill to make any real use of that power. Baraqiel only had two thirds of the power you did, but he put up much more of a fight. We might have been in serious trouble if he’d been granted the same level of power as you. I hope the other Angel is as incompetent as you are. Because if so, I have no doubt that Kai’s already taken him down," I smirked, before blinking in bemusement as I fell back and hit the ground, finding myself staring up at the ceiling of the barrier.
W-Woah, everything’s starting to fade...between the Mana depletion and the exhaustion that comes with Phoenix Resurrection, I’ve blown well past my limit.
But it’s fine...I’ve done my job. And from the look of it, he’ll completely fade away in...a matter of...seconds...crap, I...I can’t think anymore...everything is...going...dark...
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Point-of-View: Kaivel Intrix
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"D-Damn it...!" Gasped Aria, collapsing onto one knee as she reverted to her base form, beads of sweat pouring down her face.
We’re more or less evenly matched, but she’s got less Mana than I do, so in a battle of attrition, I win. That said, I’m seriously worn down myself. I can’t help but pull my punches against her, which has resulted in her landing several hits against me.
While she was chasing and attacking me earlier, I managed to get near the other barrier and tried to eat through it using Drain, but it was no use. Ciel and Cleo are on their own, I’ll just have to count on them to get it done.
Well, if the Angel they’re up against is less powerful than Matriel, so if they’re around the same level as Matriel in terms of skill and combat ability, Ciel and Cleo should just about be able to pull it off, I’d say.
"I...I don’t get it. You had several opportunities to land serious hits against me, but you pulled your punches every single time," Frowned Aria, eyeing me warily.
"If things go well, you’ll soon know why. There’s no point in explaining right now. But if nothing else, I’m not your enemy, quite the contrary, in fact," I responded with a wry smile.
It still hurts to have her look at me like I’m a stranger, but it’s not her fault. There’s literal Divine intervention at play here, we’re up against actual Gods.
"What’s that supposed to mean? And...what the hell is this feeling? This strange pang in my chest, these conflicting, contradictory emotions...some kind of debuff? No, that shouldn’t work on me...," She muttered, shaking her head with a vexed look on her face.
I see...even with the brainwashing, her actual emotions haven’t been overridden. The altered memories are simply suppressing them, which is what’s causing this confusion.
"One way or another, this’ll all be over soon. So, let’s stop fighting. You’re out of steam, anyway, aren’t you?" I pointed out, taking a seat on the ground.
"Damn it...the more I fought you, the harder and harder it was to maintain my animosity. And now, I can’t even stand anymore, I’m completely vulnerable, but you’re showing no signs of attacking me. What the hell is-...?" She began with a frown, before trailing off in alarm as I sprang onto my feet and shot towards her as fast as I could.
No, no, no!
I gritted my teeth as I strained my legs to move with as much speed as I could generate, before launching myself forward with a burst of Negative Energy, a sense of desperation welling up inside me.
"Now, die! <Touch of Death>!" Snarled Leto, as he dropped down towards Aria from atop a nearby building.
Right as his hand closed in on the top of her head, dark energy swirling around it, I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her out of the way, Leto’s hand striking my forehead before I hit the ground with a thud.
"What the...?!" Blurted out Aria in bewilderment, as he stomped on me back with a gleeful chuckle.
"Hahaha...HAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, that’s what you fucking get, asshole! You arrogant prick, you thought you could humiliate me just because you’re supposedly the strongest?! Well, fuck you, you’re dead and I’m-...w-woah! Shit!" He blurted out, as I pushed him off my back and sprang back onto my feet in a murderous rage.
"I should’ve trusted my instincts and killed you earlier. I warned you, didn’t I? So, you’ve brought this on yourself, you bastard," I uttered icily, taking a step forward as he stumbled back in terror.
"W-Wait, hold on...!" He stuttered, his gaze darting about frantically.
Ai analyzed his Touch of Death Skill, and while it’s powerful enough to override Status Effect Immunity, my Immortality Skill counters it. And since Aria has the same Skill, it wouldn’t have worked on her either. Even so...it doesn’t change the fact that he just tried to kill her.
"As much as I’d like to take my time making you suffer, I think I’ll just go ahead and get it over with. Now, die, you worthless piece of shit!" I snapped, drawing out Desecrator as I shot towards him.
"N-No, please, don’t-...!" He wailed desperately, falling over as I leapt forward and swung my blade down towards the top of his head-...
Huh?
Right as my blade got within millimeters of his skull, my surroundings abruptly changed, an endless stretch of glowing white all around me. This is...!
"Wha-...? Oh, right, I passed out," Came Ciel’s voice.
"Same here," Spoke up Cleo.
"O-Oh, thank goodness, you guys won! Sorry, I just hid for most of the battle," Chimed in Alkimia sheepishly, as I glanced around at the others, before narrowing my eyes at Leto as he entered my line of sight.
He cowered and shrunk back, averting his gaze fearfully.
"I suppose congratulations are in order, mortals. You have successfully cleared the trial," Chronos’s voice suddenly boomed out around us...
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