86 Chapter 86
Aruno shot forward again, aiming for Caelith's neck with a hooked strike. Caelith parried with the spear and countered with a downward cut that nearly clipped the top of Aruno's skull.
Aruno slammed a kick into Caelith's knee, forcing his stance to buckle. Caelith recovered instantly, but Aruno had already read it. He drove an elbow into Caelith's temple, snapping the god's head sideways.
Caelith regained balance, golden wings of light igniting behind him.
He tried to rise.
Aruno grabbed his ankle mid-takeoff and yanked him back down to earth. Caelith crashed face-first into the pavement, carving a long trench through concrete.
Caelith growled low—actually growled.
Aruno smirked. "Stay here."
Caelith's wings flared again, but sputtered. The light flickered erratically, collapsing inward. Aruno understood instantly-
He can't stabilize them.
He's burning too much divinity maintaining this fight.
Caelith stood, expression colder than steel. "It seems you've forced me lower than expected."
"Good," Aruno said. "Stop running."
Caelith launched forward.
Their weapons met again, Durandal grinding against the spear as they pushed into each other, foreheads almost touching. Power pulsed between them, cracking the air like thunder.
Aruno's patience snapped first.
He tore Durandal free, threw it aside, and stepped in with a straight punch.
Caelith caught the fist in his palm, expression unreadable.
Aruno's grin widened.
Caelith's spear dropped a heartbeat later, clattering to the ground.
Both stood there, bare-fisted, silent except for their pounding breaths.
"I'm finished entertaining steel," Caelith said.
"Good," Aruno answered. "I was waiting for this."
They moved.
Caelith struck first, a clean jab aimed for Aruno's jaw. Aruno weaved under it and buried a hook into Caelith's liver. The god flinched—barely—but his knee immediately shot upward and cracked Aruno's ribs.
Aruno coughed blood and retaliated with a spinning elbow. It connected hard, splitting Caelith's cheek open. Golden blood dripped down his face.
Caelith wiped it with the back of his hand and threw a short, brutal cross that snapped Aruno's head sideways. Aruno stumbled but returned fire with a headbutt. Bone met bone. Both staggered.
The ground shattered around their feet as they collided again—shoulders, fists, knees, elbows, everything violent and tight. They were no longer fighting like swordsmen.
They were fighting like animals.
Caelith drove Aruno into a wall, fists pummeling his ribs, each impact echoing like gunshots. Aruno gritted his teeth, grabbed Caelith by the collar, and hurled him over his shoulder into the street. Caelith rolled, sprang to his feet, and tackled Aruno through the broken remains of a storefront.
Glass exploded as they slammed into counters.
Aruno got on top first, raining down punches—left, right, left, right—breaking knuckles on Caelith's skull, not caring. Caelith's arm shot up, grabbed Aruno by the throat, and flipped their positions. He hammered down two punches that shook dust from the ceiling.
Aruno wrapped his legs around Caelith's waist, twisted, and reversed the mount again. His fists tore open Caelith's eyebrow, gold spraying across the cracked floor.
Caelith roared and shoved him off with a shockwave of raw force. Aruno skidded across the street, tearing a long gouge in the pavement before stopping.
They stared at each other.
Chest heaving. Blood dripping. Eyes burning with something feral.
Caelith spoke through labored breaths. "You are… relentless."
Aruno wiped blood from his mouth. "You're bleeding more than before."
"Do you think that matters?"
"No," Aruno said, stepping forward. "But it means I can hit harder."
They launched at the same moment.
Their fists collided in the center of the ruined street—an impact so violent the nearby buildings buckled. Neither man moved. Neither gave ground.
Caelith's wings flickered again and died completely.
The god was grounded.
And Aruno smiled wide, almost cruel.
"Now you don't run."
Caelith raised his fists again, eyes narrowing.
"Then come break me."
Aruno surged forward.
Caelith staggered back, blood running down his face in thin molten streaks. His breathing had gone rough, uneven. He stood tall, but his aura cracked around the edges like broken glass. Aruno saw it.
He was near death.
Caelith realized it too.
His eyes narrowed, cold and furious. "Child… you push me this far…?"
He reached inward.
And the sky split.
Nine beams of golden light descended like falling pillars. Each one hit the ruins around them and burst open, revealing armored figures stepping out of them with perfect formation.
The Solarii.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Nine.
Ten.
The elite. The last remaining kingslayers. The loyal blades of Caelith.
All nine stood encircling Aruno, spearpoints lowered, divine pressure so strong the cracked city trembled.
Aruno rolled his shoulders, staring at them without fear. "You brought everyone."
Caelith wiped blood off his lip. "You have forced my hand. Consider your existence… an honor."
One and Four look at each other for a ready sign.
One stepped forward first, his aura heavy and suffocating. "We end this."
Four spit to the side. "I'll take his other eye."
Seven lifted his spear, the street groaning beneath his feet. "Do not resist."
All of them moved.
It was a storm of gold. Nine knights descending at once. The air screamed as their spears shot forward with perfect synchronization, aiming for Aruno's chest, throat, skull, spine, heart.
It didn't matter.
They never reached him.
A sound burst out of Aruno — not a shout, not a roar, but something deeper. A force that didn't vibrate the air, but the soul. A pulse that rippled outward like an invisible shockwave.
And everything stopped.
Every Solarii froze mid-lunge. Every spear locked inches from Aruno's skin. Their bodies trembled, but couldn't move. Their armor cracked at the pressure.
Even Caelith flinched.
"What is… this power?"
Aruno looked around slowly, eyes glowing like a void lit by dying stars.
"I told you," he said calmly, "you don't get to touch her again."
And then—
Far away, miles across destroyed blocks of city, Ko suddenly staggered as the ground beneath him shook.
"What the hell was that!?" he shouted.
Rin snapped her head up. "That pressure—it's Aruno!"
Yoru's pupils sharpened. "That's… not human. Even Vamps can't do that, he's always breaking limits ."
Serenia didn't speak. She sprinted. The others followed.
They blurred across the ruined district, leaping over collapsed roads and splintered buildings until the heat in the air felt like it was burning their lungs.
Then they saw it.
The battlefield scorched black. The sky split. Nine Solarii immobilized like statues beneath Aruno's pressure. Caelith staring in disbelief. And Aruno standing at the center, hand raised slightly, eyes locked on everyone at once.
Serenia's breath caught. "Aruno…"
Ko's voice cracked. "He froze the knights…?All of them…"
Rin whispered, awe-struck. "What are you turning into…?"
Yoru clenched his jaw. "This is… beyond anything we've seen."
Aruno didn't turn toward them. His focus remained locked on Caelith and the Solarii.
He lowered his hand just a little.
The ground shook harder. The Solarii began to crack within their armor, blood trickling from their fingers, unable to even scream.
Caelith tried to step forward.
He couldn't.
Aruno finally spoke again, voice low, calm, almost tired.
"You touched my heart."
He glanced down at the wound in his chest where the spear had gone through.
"Now I touch yours."
He took a step forward.
The golden light around the Solarii began to shatter.
"Projection magic, useful as always wouldn't you agree Kaigor and Azazel?"
"He's more capable than we thought, our lives are in your hands now Lysrael." Azazel speaks.
Kaigor looks on and speaks up. "Master let's leave, no dwelling on the past now. Caelith will be long gone at the hands of Aruno. We can mourn Ryū back "home" wouldn't you agree?"
"One- Kaigor. Let me witness this please. I want that child gone. I want to witness the