(Meanwhile, Execution Livestream Continuation, near the Execution Platform)
Raymond felt his strength recover bit by bit as the fight dragged on, his divine circulation finally stabilizing as he shook off the lingering backlash of powering the Chakravyuh for far too long, his body responding better with each passing exchange as the discomfort that had once slowed him gradually faded away.
’Leo Skyshard is not anything special.’
The thought came easily to him now, reinforced by experience rather than assumption.
’The boy is fast, and he is strong, but he is still a far cry from being a threat to me.’
Raymond reflected calmly, as after crossing blades with Leo multiple times already, he had developed a clear and confident understanding of the gap that separated them, the difference in refinement, endurance, and control becoming more apparent with every clash.
’What’s funny, though, is how intensely he stares at me.’
Raymond noted with mild amusement, as he observed Leo’s eyes never leaving him, never flickering with doubt or hesitation even as blood stained his clothes and exhaustion crept deeper into his movements.
’I must give him credit for that.’
Raymond smiled faintly.
’He probably can’t kill me in a million years, and still looks at me like I’m prey.’
As that thought settled comfortably in his mind, Raymond tightened his grip around his blades, his killing intent thickening as Leo surged forward once more, daggers flashing as he attempted another direct engagement.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*SLASH*
Raymond intercepted the initial strikes effortlessly, his movements precise and economical, before twisting his wrist and drawing a clean line across Leo’s shoulder, the blade biting just deep enough to draw blood as a thin red streak blossomed instantly.
*Drip*
*Drip*
Blood rolled down Leo’s arm, slipping from his fingertips and staining the broken ground beneath them, as Raymond’s smile widened slowly, satisfaction curling through his chest as he watched Leo grit his teeth and step back.
’I’m going to take my time with you, Skyshard.’
Raymond decided.
’I’ll show the entire universe just how fragile you really are, before I end this.’
When Leo charged again, desperation mixed carefully into his movements, Raymond met him without urgency, blocking and parrying with ease before slicing into his hamstring with deliberate cruelty, the strike landing cleanly as Leo stumbled backward, balance faltering.
*SPLAT*
*Hobble*
*Hobble*
Leo retreated unevenly, blood trailing behind him, while Raymond remained rooted and composed, his posture relaxed, his confidence now absolute, as he failed to realize that he was being slowly lured into a deliberate trap by Leo.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
Leo adjusted his rhythm, tricking Raymond to settle into a predictable tempo, as he allowed injuries to accumulate just enough to sell weakness without collapsing outright, as every stagger, every labored breath, every delayed reaction subtly reinforced the story Raymond already wanted to believe, as the Demi God began to grin ear to ear the longer the battle dragged.
’That’s it, you bastard.’
Leo thought grimly, even as another shallow cut opened along his ribs.
’Grow even more confident. Even more cocky....
Hell, start fighting with your eyes closed.’
He prayed, as minutes passed in brutal exchange, wounds layering over wounds as Leo’s body became increasingly battered, while Raymond’s grin stretched wider and wider, arrogance blooming fully as he mistook restraint for incapacity.
"Do you see it now?" Raymond declared loudly, spreading his arms as if presenting a lesson to the watching universe.
"The inevitable disparity between our power?"
He laughed.
"You are nothing but a mortal, cousin."
His divine aura flared proudly.
"While I— I am a Demi-God!"
And in that exact moment, with Raymond’s arms wide and his attention turned outward rather than inward, Leo felt something click into place.
’This is it.’
The certainty arrived with terrifying calm.
’I can do it now.’
He thought, as he drew deeply into the life essence reservoirs etched into his flesh, the ancient tattoos burning painfully as they emptied themselves all at once, their contents flooding his circuits with volatile force as he invoked the fifteenth forbidden move of the Cult.
[Temporal Shift]
*Step*
*Vanish*
The instant Leo moved, the world broke.
Space folded inward violently around him, distance compressing into something meaningless as his body was hurled forward at a speed approaching half that of light, reality itself bending to accommodate a motion it was never meant to witness, the battlefield smearing into incomprehensible streaks of color and pressure.
Every nerve in Leo’s body screamed.
Bones vibrated violently, muscles tearing microscopically under the strain as inertia tried desperately to rip him apart, life essence burning like acid through his circuits as it struggled to stabilize a movement that demanded divine refinement.
*Burst*
Blood burst from his mouth as his organs lagged half a fraction behind his frame.
Yet he did not stop.
Before Raymond’s eyes could even widen, before his instincts could fully register the distortion racing toward him, Leo chained the movement seamlessly, forcing his battered body into one final command.
[Crownfall]
His blade descended in a motion so clean and unadorned that it carried no wasted curve or flourish, cutting forward in a perfectly straight, absolute line that sliced through space, time, and resistance as though none of them truly existed.
Raymond saw it.
For a single, horrifying instant, comprehension dawned in his eyes, as instinct finally caught up to reality.
But with his arms still spread wide and his confidence having dulled his readiness for such a sudden escalation in speed, his reaction arrived a fraction too late....
And in a battle like this, that fraction was everything.
*SPLAT*
Leo’s blade passed cleanly through Raymond’s neck, severing flesh, bone, and divine circuitry in one flawless motion, the Demi-God’s head lifting from his shoulders as if gently placed upon the air before tumbling end over end.
*FSHHHHH*
Blood exploded outward in a crimson arc, spraying across the execution platform as Raymond’s body stood frozen for a heartbeat longer, divine essence spilling uselessly from a corpse that no longer knew how to command it.
Then it collapsed.
Leo landed hard on the other side, knees buckling as he skidded across shattered stone, coughing violently as blood poured freely from his mouth, his vision swimming as the backlash of [Temporal Shift] ravaged his already exhausted body.
*Drip*
*Drip*
Yet even as pain tore through him, even as his muscles trembled and his bones felt dangerously close to fracturing, Leo smiled.
A wide, genuine smile.
Because Raymond was dead.
Because the impossible had been done.
And because no amount of pain, no backlash, no future consequence could ever outweigh the satisfaction of knowing that his blade had ended the monster who took Charles from him.
As he simply smiled and said, "This one was for you, smoking man."