Badum.

Badum.

Badum.

In his centuries of life, Raziel couldn't remember the last time his heart pounded so hard.

As the crescent slash tore toward him, Raziel felt a danger the likes of which he'd never felt before. He instinctively knew…

'I'll die.'

It was too late to gather enough will to repel this attack. It was too late to try to get out of the way. Its trajectory was true, the middle of his forehead down to his crotch.

If it hit, he would be split in two.

'He's insane.'

Despite the impending doom, Raziel grinned. This insane boy had combined three different sets of elements to form new ones whose powers were as broken as they were powerful.

But that wasn't even all. For a Baron, Raziel had never come across a flame hotter than Atticus'. Even the flames of the Redflame, the so-called hottest flames in the middle planes, couldn't compare.

Aside from all this, Atticus had still pushed him, HIM, to a wall.

'I must recruit him.'

Their story couldn't possibly end here. There was still a lot to look forward to. Lots of insane, world ending battles to come.

'This can't be the end.'

Raziel clenched his fists. His vision began to darken as Solvath's emotions surged through him.

Atticus' new element had somehow shaken him off Logoth, rendering his control over his emotions obsolete.

However, Raziel had lived with the power of Solvath for far too long to not be able to hold back his emotions for a moment.

His eyes flashed purple as he roared.

"Like hell this is over!"

His body detonated in a wave of blinding violet that slammed into the crescent slash, the collision staining the heavens in swirling crimson and purple.

Atticus' eyes narrowed.

'What's happening?'

Even through the explosion, his crescent slash pushed through and reached Raziel. From the center of Raziel's forehead, it had begun to split him cleanly in two, yet just inches in, something shifted.

'It's losing power…'

The momentum that had been tearing through Raziel's body bled away at an alarming rate. What had been a killing arc had slowed to a crawling drag.

'He's absorbing it.'

Atticus' gaze sharpened. His attack carried everything lethal he possessed, his fused elements, his mana, his will, yet none of it stopped Raziel. He wasn't resisting the slash.

He was drinking it in.

'Solvath's fragment.'

Atticus had determined this earlier, but now, he'd just confirmed another one of his assumptions.

'He has multiple fragments.'

It was the only reasonable explanation. Atticus had a fragment, Anorah also had one, yet neither had the same powers Raziel was currently displaying.

'Unification.'

Atticus was starting to understand the extent of Raziel's power, rather, Solvath's.

His awakening had granted him unification of mana and will, something he never thought possible. And now, with multiple fragments, Raziel seemed able to absorb and unify any energy thrown at him.

'He's dangerous.'

Atticus watched with cold eyes as the crescent slash vanished into Raziel.

His forehead down to his crotch was split inches deep, yet he still maintained that crazed smile.

"I told you, didn't I?" Raziel said, blood dripping from his torn lips. "We still have a lot to look forward to."

The purple light spilling from him shifted, twisting and folding into new shapes. His will deepened into a dark, blood red hue, and the elements spiraled around him as if welcoming their prodigal son home.

Atticus narrowed his eyes.

"We have nothing."

Raziel chuckled and lazily raised his arms. His bisected body sealed shut at an inhuman pace until he stood whole again.

"I'll make you see."

"You won't see anything."

Atticus' will roared around him as he tapped his chest.

A black mass surged outward, crawling over his body and locking into place from his neck down in a skin tight armor. A crimson shroud ignited around his face, blazing in perfect rhythm with his will.

Atticus couldn't remember the last time he used the exosuit. However, even he realized that he'd abandoned it.

In a world where Will was might, he hadn't seen a reason to focus on bodily enhancement. However, now was different. Now, he'd met a foe that could absorb his energy and use it against him.

Now, he needed something more, a weapon that would let him answer Raziel's power in manifold.

They vanished in a blur, colliding in a chain of impacts that shattered the sky.

Raziel's movements had no fixed nature. One instant he moved like an unshakable mountain, the next like wildfire, then like pure elemental flow.

His spear spun along his body, carving arcs and thrusts that ripped open the firmament.

Meanwhile, Atticus moved fast and silent. His head trailed crimson light, his body a streak of black as he flickered through the air.

His exosuit drank mana from the atmosphere as fast as he burned it. His katana flashed in relentless waves, each slash tearing the air apart.

From the distance, Magnus fixed his darkened gaze on the sky, then clenched his fist.

'Atticus.'

What grandfather would be okay sitting still while his grandson fought for their lives?

'Be safe.'

"He's coming."

Magnus narrowed his eyes and nodded at Kiara, who gripped her weapon tight. He fixed his eyes on the distance where Raziel's champion was approaching at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, the princess had long since escaped Raziel's influence. She hovered in the sky, staring at the ongoing battle with a darkened gaze.

The battle between Atticus and Raziel had grown in its intensity.

Raziel's will no longer only pressed down on the world, it burned. With every passing moment, he absorbed more and more of Atticus' will.

Yet no matter how much he took, Atticus' will only grew hotter.

They clashed in an explosion that sent them hurling apart. Raziel twisted mid air, regaining his momentum almost instantly.

"I'll make you see what I see, Atticus Ravenstein!"

His will flared violently around him. He was about to rush forward when the air shifted.

'Huh?'

Atticus hovered in the sky, both hands resting on his sheathed katana, stance lowered. Yet to Raziel…

'…he's not there.'

Raziel heard the snnk of a katana being drawn, followed by a brief, terrifying disconnect. His eyes widened as the Atticus before him dissolved into the wind.

"What…?"

The soft click of a katana entering its sheath echoed behind him, making his eyes narrow. He turned sharply, only to see Atticus hovering calmly at his back.

'How did he get there?'

Even now, Raziel struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Atticus had moved, yet Raziel hadn't seen a thing.

The only evidence of his movement was the crimson and black trails faintly fading in the air behind him.

'Where did the power come from?'

He focused his eyes on Atticus' skin-tight suit and smiled.

'It's the suit.'

A sharp pain snapped him out of his thoughts. His hands shot to his neck, only to feel something wet and sticky spilling down his fingers.

'My neck…'

Now he understood where that moment of disconnect had come from.

His neck had been… severed.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.