Miles away, Ranni's mouth hung open. In the long life of the Princess of the Moon, such a dazed expression rarely appeared. A moment later, she took a deep breath, preparing to exhaust all her knowledge to curse Throne for being a fool, but before she could speak—
Bang! The meteorite staff swung violently, smashing the hunter's head into a rotten watermelon.
Throne flicked his long blade, tossing the headless corpse aside like trash, his eyes locked firmly ahead. Using the terrain to his advantage, he could see the Valkyrie surging with a death wish, preparing to counter the meteor with her blade. As Ranni had said, the outcome was decided; either she would be smashed to death, or she would have no choice after being severely injured.
The train of fate had reached its terminus, and a swordsman was preparing to rush onto the tracks, roaring at the rumbling steel behemoth:
"Isn't it just a Scarlet Flower?" "Watch me push it back!!"
The battle of the demigods had been going on for several hours. A battle of this intensity was not like martial arts novels where a few moves decided life and death, nor was it like epic biographies that required three days and three nights to determine a victor. The two simply struck decisively at the most critical moments, fighting from the main camp all the way to the north of the swamp.
All the experts from both sides had been deployed, and the reserves had already been committed, forming a melee that spanned several miles in length and ten miles in depth. No one could intervene in the battle between the two demigods, so this war, which concerned the fate of The Lands Between, returned to its most primitive form:
Soldier against soldier, general against general, king against king!
Craters and sword marks extended northward. Greatswords and long blades clashed, the wind pressure they stirred barely raising dust before being crushed back to the ground by Gravity Magic. "Hahaha, Malenia, it's been how many years since we've played like this!!" Radahn laughed loudly.
His powerful Gravity Magic pinned even the birds in the sky to the ground, causing the flowing, agile figure to slow down. He swept his eyes across, spotting the Valkyrie leaping backward to escape the range, and directly threw his two greatswords. Whoosh—
The strangely shaped Starscourge Greatswords moved with eerie unpredictability, like boomerangs.
Malenia pursed her lips slightly, hiding her prosthetic blade behind her, and slashed out without warning. Waterfowl Slash! She flicked her wrist, and two crescent-shaped sword auras extended forward, accurately hitting the greatswords flying in an'S' trajectory. The Valkyrie, devoid of sorrow or joy, crouched to the ground like a dancer after unleashing the two sword auras. Swish— Boom!!
The sound of wind nearby and the roar in the distance arrived in succession. A Starscourge heavy arrow grazed her back, and a second later, it blasted a small hill into oblivion. 'Gravity Magic cannot maintain more than three instances at once.' She seemed to realize something, tapped the ground lightly, and rose like a whirlpool.
Looking forward again, Radahn was charging violently, thrusting his blade from dozens of meters away. The sword aura was silent, like a laser sweeping across, carving a path through the forest. But Radahn had already leaped up in advance, looking down from a hundred meters in the air, his arms spread wide. Come, swords!
The Starscourge Greatswords that had just been knocked away by the Waterfowl Slash instantly returned to his hands. His seemingly clumsy and massive body rolled in the air, whistling down toward the earth. Meteor— Falling! Boom!! One stone stirred up a thousand waves. The shockwave and billowing dust expanded in a ring, wiping out everything in its path.
The earth gave way beneath them, but a blade of light tore through the dust-filled air. In the heart of a crater stretching a hundred meters wide and ten deep, Radahn stood wreathed in white-hot steam, his presence a furnace.
Starscourge Greatswords clashed against Malenia's prosthetic blade, the edges screaming as they ground together. Her knees bent slightly, every muscle straining against the force. The Valkyrie's silence was a sharp contrast to Radahn's booming laughter. "Damn it, it's finally heating up!!"
Power surged. The ground sank deeper, meters collapsing under the pressure. Malenia, pushed to her limit, couldn't hold. She flicked her blade to the side, stepping back to dissipate the force. The greatsword grazed her shoulder armor, the rest of its momentum shattering the crater floor.
Radahn's eyes widened as she lunged forward, her left palm tapping lightly against his chest armor. Bang! A short-range strike, but the force hit like a pressurized cannon, hurling him back over ten meters.
His heels touched the ground, and he twisted sideways just as her blade flashed past, grazing his armor. Flowing Dash. Stillness to motion, distance to closeness—all in an instant. Malenia tilted her head, her toes tapping the ground lightly before she leapt into the air. Blade light erupted. Waterfowl Dance!
Swish swish swish… Dozens of strikes in a breath. A few strands of Radahn's red mane drifted, shredded into dust. She pursed her lips as he reappeared ten meters above. Gravity Magic. Again. The weight crushed her, slowing her sword's momentum, while he soared with unmatched agility.
Point-blank range, yet he controlled the magic with terrifying precision. 'In fighting style, he counters me utterly.' The thought of a natural enemy took root in her mind. She raised her head slowly.
"Radahn, you're stronger than you were at Leyndell." "A man who falls must rise again—stronger!"
Radahn clenched his fists, his eyes ablaze. "Malenia, I thank you for your pride. It lets me test my full strength fairly!"
The battle could have been fought differently. The Haligtree Army held the advantage in numbers. Below the demigods, an army's siege was decisive.
Malenia could have traded losses. Use soldiers to pin down the Redmane generals, rally experts like Finlay to overwhelm Radahn. A despicable tactic, but effective. She didn't acknowledge his words, only straightened slowly. "Radahn, do you truly intend to stop me?" The air thickened with danger.
Radahn nodded without hesitation. "You have your resolve. I have my duty."
Was this fate? Malenia sighed. Her brother could be in Leyndell, Limgrave, anywhere—yet here he was, in Caelid, Radahn's domain. Another demigod might have negotiated. Another expert might not have suppressed her so completely.
So, should she beg? Should she threaten? Chaotic thoughts lingered for a moment, then were severed. Never! A desolate yet powerful aura radiated from her upright form. She gripped her blade and looked up. "Then, I can sacrifice everything!" Reputation, honor, status—she would cast them all aside.
Faced with this sharp and unyielding spirit, Radahn simply nodded heavily, countering that sharpness with heroism! He acknowledged her resolve. Coupled with Throne's reminder, as a hero and a warrior, the only response to this resolve was to fight with all his might! "Mm, so let's decide the winner, Malenia!!"
He gripped his greatbow, nocked three heavy arrows, and as his voice fell, they burst forth. Starscourge Barrage! Three purple meteors fell from the sky. They spun, intertwined, and then pounced on Malenia from multiple directions simultaneously! Water Flow Movement. The Valkyrie remained as cold as ice, her body flickering in and out of existence.
Her speed was almost impossible to track, while the heavy arrows fell one after another, grazing her afterimage and slamming into the earth. Boom! Boom! Boom! Craters were created one after another, the dust stirred up broken through by the figure. Malenia was still dodging rapidly, but all her attention was focused on the sky.
Radahn was still rising, as if he wanted to touch the firmament, until an undeniable, powerful force descended from the sky. It's coming! Without the need for mental locking, she saw the ring-shaped airflow unfold in the sky one after another. A 'meteor' burning from high-temperature friction was heading her way. The battlefield for dozens of miles fell silent for an instant.
Both sides, exhausted from the death struggle, looked up simultaneously and saw this celestial fire-meteor. The Haligtree Army was horrified, while the Redmanes cheered toward the sky, like fanatical believers seeing a miracle descend. And the experts on both sides clearly knew:
The Star Meteor has appeared, the outcome will be decided!
This terrifying suppression was a hundred times heavier for Malenia. Her legs had sunk into the ground, as if several mountain peaks were pressing on her shoulders. If it were an ordinary hero, even moving would be a luxury.
But she thought of nothing, just stood straight, returned her brain to a state of void, and toward that meteor, just like the countless slashing practices she had done, thrust out the most simple, yet most powerful sword. Waterfowl: All Ends. The sword aura penetrated the long blade, expanding, extending, and finally forming a vast great blade, clashing against the celestial fire-meteor.
The sky was divided by a thin line. The sword aura and the meteor's 'air shield' touched, then were rapidly crushed. Apart from slowing the meteor down, it couldn't be suppressed at all. There was no sound, not even the sonic boom of air. A breath later—
The meteor crashed to the ground.
Like the silence before a storm, the much-anticipated celestial fire-meteor crashed into the earth. The world seemed to go quiet for a second, and then the afternoon in The Lands Between was pierced by a blinding light. The sun seemed to have fallen to the ground, causing everyone to close their eyes.
Subsequently, the ground undulated like waves, and then a thunderous roar exploded in everyone's ears. Boom— Rumble!!! For a time, no one knew how many people covered their ears. The giant trees in the swamp shook their trunks frantically, shedding all their withered yellow leaves.
The collision between the Star Meteor and All Ends made people's scalps tingle, like a basin of cold water poured onto the raging fighting spirit. Both sides of the death struggle were stunned for a moment, then reacted in the same way. "Your Highness!" "General!" That collision attracted everyone's attention like a magnet. Without any orders, both armies surged in one direction.
Whether to protect their lord or to witness an epic, the two'steel dragons' attacked each other while frantically accelerating. And the blood-soaked Finlay was charging at the very front. The battle of the demigods stirred hearts; the battlefield over ten miles away was disrupted, and Throne, who was closer, was completely sucked in. Bang bang bang...
He tumbled across the ground like a rubber ball, helpless against the shockwave's force. The last thing he saw was Malenia driving her sword into Radahn's crossed greatswords. Is this the clash of demigods at full power? Throne plunged his blade into the earth to halt his momentum. Too close. The unleashed sword energy sliced through him like a razor.
His heavy armor shredded instantly. Blood drenched his body. Yet he threw his head back and laughed, wild and unhinged—nothing like an 'ant' crushed by the weight of a miracle. The peak he sought in his heart grew taller. The power he couldn't resist filled him with fear—and longing. He didn't want to run. He wanted to wield that power himself, someday.
The world fell silent. Dust hung thick as fog, obscuring everything, but the final scene burned into his mind: Malenia had failed to stop the blow. "Ranni, guide me!" The girl in the magic tower widened her eyes. Through the haze, she saw a battered swordsman, calm amidst the chaos. The ground around him was carved into deep ravines by the sword's aura. Bloodied, yet composed.
For a moment, her long life failed to define him. A madman? A fool? A hero? The doubt lingered briefly. Ranni, a demigod herself, didn't try to dissuade him. No melodrama, no theatrics. "Follow my guidance!" In this chaos, only a demigod could navigate with precision.
Throne crouched low, coiled his body like a spring, and leapt forward with everything he had. Life, death, fatigue—he forgot it all. "Good!" At the blast's epicenter, the ground appeared flat, but on closer inspection, it was a crater hundreds of meters wide.
Radahn rose to his feet, teeth bared. He looked down at the gaping wound in his chest. Was it the fighting spirit taking over? Or the hidden danger Throne had warned him about? Without hesitation, Radahn unleashed his full power, and Malenia did the same. Pressure forced instinct. She thrust her blade with everything she had.
"A bit excessive, but I won." Radahn pressed his hands down, and the dust settled. Through the clearing haze, he saw Malenia kneeling ten meters away. A deep gash split her chest armor, running from her left shoulder to her right abdomen. Blood pooled beneath her.
She felt his gaze and lifted her head sluggishly. Radahn stood before her, weary but still standing. He had strength left to fight. "Is this the end?" Malenia raised her chin, her pride unbroken. Without hesitation, she pressed her prosthetic blade to her chest.
The gesture—so close to suicide—gave Radahn pause. He gripped his Starscourge Greatswords, ready to strike, but he knew her speed surpassed his. And the power within her was far more terrifying. "Is it necessary to go this far?" Radahn's voice was steady, but tinged with resignation.
He had fought with everything he had, yet their strength was evenly matched. It made sense he hadn't ended her instantly. Drip, drip…