My champion charged his blade with pale gleam and aimed his cut at his foe's neck, but his holy sword crossed the Fallen Hero's unholy weapon, who returned it in kind, light and shadow clashing, neither yielding easily.
Veronico swung his sword in a horizontal semicircle, and as Cruz retreated, the trail of energy left behind by Dawn's blade took the form of a dozen swords of light, and threw themselves at the Fallen Hero.
In turn, Cruz's shadow left the tower's floor and destroyed the projectiles while the little rebel's true right hand counterattacked with a thrust, extending Strong Cleave's black silhouette with magic, forcing Veronico to retreat.
— Magna Guillotine — Celestino conjured, pointing at the Hero, and making an instrument of execution appear right above him.
— Bherǵsōr Split — replied Saulo, shattering the magical construct. — Bherǵsōr Volley — he threw them at high speed towards Cruz.
— Counter! — Vincente appeared in front of his friend in an explosion of shadows and with the plane of his daggers, redirected each of the thousands of barbs in the direction of the leader of the Heroic team.
— Kneel! — Veronico used an Imperial Skill without taking his eyes off his opponent, and all the barbs fell to the ground and stayed there. — Heart of White Gold — he used another, and made his heart beat in a hypnotic and disorienting rhythm for all enemies who heard it.
— Weight of the World — Cruz replied, nullifying the hypnotic effects with equivalent power.
— Steal! — Landa pointed a hand in Cruz's direction, and while she failed to knock the sword out of his hand with the Skill, she stole a boot from him, throwing him off balance only slightly, but enough to put his companion at an advantage.
— DAW-
— Silence! — Celestino stopped the Hero.
— Bherǵsōr Breaking Silence.
In a structure entirely made of divine metal, Veronico and Cruz's attacks, much less those of the others, did not significantly alter the environment, and surrounded by a sea of lava on the outside, the two groups exchanged high-grade Spells and Skills in a space that was little more than a staircase landing, interfering with each other, without a single second passing without everyone finding themselves trapped in a labyrinth of death of their own creation.
Landa jumped between the thousands of cutting rays of a blue star conjured by Celestino, Vincente slid under a hydra of flames conjured by Saulo, and both Mages protected themselves with pure brute force, their shields partly absorbing, partly reflecting everything that was fired at them, and in the middle of it all, without ever taking their eyes off each other, without even blinking, avoiding the attacks directed at them with such grace that they seemed to be dancing as a pair across the battlefield, Cruz and Veronico exchanged thrusts, cuts, feints and shoves. Each time the opposing energies of light and shadow met, they repelled each other and dangerously sparked in random directions, painting even the divine metal a dark orange tone, raising its temperature above that of the sea of lava below.
— Why?! — Veronico questioned. — Leaving your family, betraying your own kind, joining the shadows... Why?! — he insisted, but Cruz could only frown deeper.
The truth was that the Fallen Hero didn't know how to explain himself, the speeches that I made come so naturally to his mouth no longer satisfied him. And what could he really say? That he was fighting against a divinity that the Hero didn't know about, that everything Veronico had experienced was nothing more than a generic script to entertain me at least a little?
— Because it was my decision — Cruz finally replied.
— For a stupid reason like that, you abandoned Criscina?
— Are you not talking about yourself, boy? — he smiled, trying not to show his self-contempt.
— You...!
My current champion and his predecessor ceased their conversation and let their weapons speak for themselves, but another pair there were not finished catching up:
— ...That angry expression doesn't suit you, young man. — Celestino, with no more reason to wear it, took off his goat mask.
— Shut up. Don't you ever dare to even pretend you know anything about me again.
Both mages threw projectiles, conjured monsters and elemental animals, and produced all sorts of creative, fantastic forms of murder, receiving everything squarely on their shields, dodging only the energy flashes produced by the swordsmen.
— Saulo- — Celestino opened his mouth, but closed it right away. He hated fighting his pupil, but he couldn't apologize, he had no right to, not when, even if Saulo stopped his attacks and begged Celestino to do the same and reconsider his actions, the Fallen Hero wouldn't change his answer. — Show me how you've grown. I certainly won't hold back. The Hero will die today. Disaster of Death.
—You old traitor! Bherǵsōr Total Annihilation!
Storms of all elements collided, and right between all the lightning, between every drop of lava, surfing the ice stalagmites, and pirouetting over Cruz and Veronico's stray projectiles, a pair of Rogues faced each other while guiding their daggers into each other's vitals, one serious, the other with an awkward smile on his face.
— It seems like we're the only ones here who don't have a past together. That's a little embarrassing — Vincente commented, throwing a hundred cuts at Landa's neck.
— True. Why don't you put me in your will? That way, when you die, I promise to pretend we had something special too — the Heroic Rogue replied with a half smile.
— Gold digger.
— Gold digger? You say it like there's something I'm interested in about you. I don't even know why the director of the most famous magic academy and the former king hang out with you, you cheap nobody.
— What!? I'm rich and famous too, okay?!
The fighting raged on but made no progress, neither side making any significant progress toward victory. When someone suffered a minor scratch or injury, their opponents soon found themselves in the same state. When an attacker made a mistake, their allies quickly filled the gaps in his defense. Empowered by the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of people, the old men were able to prove themselves a force to match.
Yes, it was a battle of equals, and any disturbance could drastically change the balance of fate. Disturbance like a golden aura that enveloped all the Heroics, healed the small wounds that plagued them, restored their lost breath, and even repaired their damaged equipment:
— Heavenly Glory — Mariah chanted from the rear.
Disorder such as the presence of a fourth member.
— Kill her — Cruz instructed.
— Protect her — Veronico replied, and the old Fallen failed to obey their leader and friend.
Little by little, scratch after scratch, sting after sting, second after second, the little rebel's allies lost their momentum, grew tired, accumulated more wounds, their movements were delayed by microseconds for each instant that the battle continued, and the glancing attacks became full blows, broken skin evolved into severe lacerations, broken nails into fragmented bones, and soon the Heroic Fallen found themselves in a situation not much different from the one before the sacrifice.
— That's enough, Mariah. Save your energy for now; Haicard hasn't shown his face yet and the damned man may have one more card up his sleeve, after all — Veronico stepped forward, facing his opponents at the foot of the stairs to the top of the tower's top floor. He wrinkled his nose, full of contempt. — You're mistaken if you think I'm going to allow you to continue to be remembered as saviors in the future — he pointed his sword at the three old men who could barely stand, and its blade began to emit an increasingly intense glow.
Heavy noises of metallic footsteps coming from the top of the stairs, however, made him hold back for a second; he didn't want to risk spending too much energy on targets that were already practically defeated when a new threat appeared.
— Hehe... You're late — Cruz smiled without looking back at the black figure far above him.
Standing two meters tall, wearing sinister armor made of metal, leather and bones, he exhaled steam through fans in his elbows and mouth, and wielded an even more macabre sword, resting on his shoulder as he stared down at the scene below.
— Haicard... — Veronico knew instinctively.
— Sorry — the little rebel replied to his friend, protector and right hand.
As he raised his sword, Veronico stepped back, unsure of what all that strange equipment meant, the technology displayed evidently similar to what the Hero knew from his last life, as well as the defenses he had faced in that fortress, and these had already proven superior to any standard magical item. He feared that the Shadow King was also a reincarnated, and possessor of power similar to his own, and wondered if he had not been mistaken about Haicard's assessment of power.
— I'm sorry — repeated the Shadow King, lowering his sword to the ground, against his own shadow, and making it multiply, leaving the shadow of all its targets, and piercing the chest of the three Fallen Heroes at the same time.
— Gah...?! — Cruz widened his eyes, gurgling blood, not understanding why the sword of bones and metal was piercing his chest.
— No...! — Vincente held the tip of the sword that pierced his chest, trembling and turning pale.
— Master! — Saulo bellowed, reaching out towards the Wizard whose robes were quickly staining red, his heart pierced and the life quickly draining from his eyes.
— I sacrifice.
The old Mage tried to reach his apprentice, but when Haicard drew his sword back, he brought with it the remnants of life from the Heroic Fallen; their corpses sank limply to the ground, and from their blood, the hands and heads of devils emerged to pull the bodies into the cauldrons of Hell.
— DAMN YOU! — Saulo's Potential suddenly soared, growing exponentially as the thirst for revenge grew within him. Casting a dozen Spells without announcing their names, he launched himself up the stairs and at Haicard with a ready attack.
— Saulo, no! — Veronico tried to stop his friend, running after him, but his reaction time had been delayed due to the shock of the scene.
But the Mage was not the only one there who had grown stronger.
"BOOM!", a shot from the shotgun attached to Epilogue shattered the Heroic attacker's skull and neck and even pierced the divine metal wall behind him, Saulo's body falling lifeless on the steps in front of Haicard.