"You finally figured out how to cut me human,"Asriel said touching her cheek.
Stephan smiled."I was starting to think that you’re invincible. Turns out even beings worth a thousand years can be killed."
"Don’t push it human you just scratched me..."Asriel said.
"Scratch or no scratch, now I know that you are beatable."Stephan smiled.
"How did you figure it out?"Asriel said.
"When I hit you with my whip lash technique, it went through you. It burned the walls but your form stayed pristine. When I attack your form solidifies for a split second, which is enough to strike with force."he paused looking at her in the eyes."Those chains that were binding you before I released you. They weren’t just bindings, they were anchors that prevented you from staying in phased form permanently."
"Well you are intelligent I admire that,"Asriel said."I call this technique Soul phasing. So you decided to infuse your blade with souls to be able to cut me? But how many souls will you need to beat me? That’s if you can manage to land a hit again..."
Stephan grinned."Oh I will burn every soul I have got to collect your soul."
Asriel’s playful facade shattered. The amused glint in her eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating intensity. "Humans and their dreams," she said, her voice now a low, dangerous growl. "Let’s see if you can survive my next attacks."
Without warning, the air around her thickened. A violet energy pulsed from her, a vibrant, ethereal glow that made the very space around them shimmer. The stone walls of the chamber groaned under an unseen pressure, cracks spiderwebbing across their surface. Dust and small bits of debris rained down from the ceiling as the tremors intensified, the entire room shaking violently.
Asriel’s form, which had been fluid and indistinct moments before, solidified completely. Her eyes, once a soft silver, flared to life, glowing with an intense, burning violet light that cast long, dancing shadows. Her lips peeled back into a snarl, revealing teeth that seemed sharper, more predatory. The air crackled with a raw, volatile power, a sense of danger that Stephan felt deep in his bones.
Stephan tightened his grip on his sword, the hilt digging into his palm. He inhaled deeply, the dusty, charged air filling his lungs. It was a foolish, desperate thing to do, but he had no other choice.
[System notification: Activating Rage]
A jolt of fire surged through his veins, the world narrowing to a single point of focus: Asriel. All rational thought, all fear, was drowned out by a raw, primal fury. His eyes flared, a brilliant, blood-red crimson that mirrored the violet glow of his opponent. The pain in his body, the exhaustion of the battle faded away, replaced by a single, burning purpose. He wasn’t fighting for his life anymore. He was fighting to destroy.
Then they launched towards each other at the same time. The air hissed as they clashed. To Stephan’s surprise Asriel could block his sword slashes with her hands which were reinforced with soul energy. But is was quiet releasing because now his strikes weren’t going through her but actually landing. Original content can be found at novel_fіre.net
"I wonder how long the two souls I burned into my souls will last. There has to be a time limit to this technique,"he thought as he swung his blade at Asriel.
The impact sent a jolt of force up Stephan’s arm, and a wide, predatory grin spread across Asriel’s face. "Your little trick worked, human! You’ve made me solid!"
But the grin faltered as Stephan’s sword, instead of bouncing off, bit deep into the energy field. He wasn’t just landing hits; he was carving through her defenses. The violet energy sizzled and bled away where his blade touched it, and Asriel winced, pulling back her hand.
This is it. This is real. Stephan didn’t have to wonder if his attacks would land anymore. The exhilaration was a heady rush, a sharp contrast to the cold calculation in his mind.
He pressed his advantage, his blade a furious storm of slashes. Asriel, no longer an ethereal phantom, met his onslaught with shocking speed and grace. She was a whirlwind of violet energy, parrying his strikes with reinforced forearms, blocking his sword with her hands, each clash sending a shockwave that reverberated through the chamber. The sound was deafening, a percussive rhythm of metal against solidified energy, like a blacksmith hammering a piece of celestial ore.
The intensity of their battle began to tear the environment apart. The violet energy radiating from Asriel and the crimson power from Stephan hammered against the surroundings. Cracks in the ceiling widened, and small pieces of rock began to rain down on them, but neither fighter seemed to notice. They were locked in their own world, a maelstrom of destruction and raw power.
Stephan feinted low, forcing Asriel to drop her guard, then spun the blade in a tight arc, aiming for her head. She was faster than he anticipated. She bent her head backward, the blade missing her by a hair’s breadth. She lashed out with her palm, the blow hitting Stephan in the chest and sending him skidding back across the stone floor. He dug his heels in, the stone cracking under the force.
Asriel used the momentary separation to unleash a barrage of ethereal violet lances, each one a solidified spike of soul energy. Stephan dodged the first two, but the third caught him in the shoulder, tearing through his armor. He gritted his teeth, the pain a secondary concern as he charged through the volley, his blade held high.
Their next clash was the most powerful yet. Stephan’s sword met Asriel’s two hands held in a cross-guard. The impact created a shockwave that blew out the remaining windows of the chamber. The ground under their feet fractured and cratered, and the ceiling above began to crumble in earnest, large chunks of stone plummeting toward the floor.
"You’re not so tough without your phasing," Stephan taunted, pushing forward with all his might.
Asriel’s eyes narrowed. "And you’re not so clever without your little tricks, human. Let’s see how you handle a real fight!"
With a cry, she unleashed a wave of violet energy, sending Stephan flying backward. He tumbled end over end, his sword skittering across the floor. Before he could recover, Asriel was upon him, her foot pressed down on his chest, her hands wrapped around his neck.
"Give up, human," she growled. "You’ve proven your point. You can’t beat me."
Stephan just smiled, a thin line of crimson blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Not yet."
His body erupted in a final, desperate surge of crimson energy. The floor beneath Asriel’s feet shattered. She was caught off guard, forced to leap back, and in that split second, Stephan was back on his feet, his sword in hand, his eyes burning with renewed fury.
Stephan pursued her, following up with a brutal, high-speed slash aimed at her head. Time seemed to slow. Asriel, caught off guard by his sudden surge of power, was too slow to react. Her wide eyes followed the crimson blade as it came, a swift, merciless arc designed to rip her head clean from her shoulders.
"No, I can’t die here!" The scream tore from her throat, a mix of pure terror and disbelief.
The slash came straight for her neck. She closed her eyes, bracing for the final, agonizing slice.
The sound was there, the familiar hiss of steel cutting through the air, but nothing else. No pain. No sensation of a head falling away. Confused, she opened her eyes, and the sight that met her was pure, unadulterated triumph.
Stephan was standing before her, panting, his eyes wide with a different kind of shock. The blade was still in motion, but it had passed straight through her neck, leaving her pristine and unharmed. He stared at his sword, the brilliant crimson glow that had defined his rage now faded to a dull, mundane steel. The souls he had burned, the very fuel of his technique, had run out.
An evil smirk, slow and deliberate, crossed Asriel’s face. All traces of fear and surprise were gone, replaced by a cold, calculating victory. "Seems like you can only use that fancy technique of yours for a single minute," she purred, her voice a low, mocking hum. "Too bad. I can go on forever."
With a sudden, explosive kick, she sent him flying. The blow was solid, raw force, unlike the ethereal attacks she had been using. Stephan crashed into a crumbling wall, the impact sending a shudder through the already-damaged structure. His body crumpled to the floor, his sword clattering a few feet away.
Asriel stalked toward him, her footsteps light and confident. Her violet energy pulsed with renewed power, the air around her humming with a deadly finality. The game was over. She was a god once more, and he was just a human. "Now," she said, looming over him, "where were we?"