They clashed once more, their blades and fists meeting with diminishing power, the sound of their strikes no longer deafening. Both of them gasped, each breath a struggle, each moment a fight just to stay standing. Their bodies were betraying them, slowing with every heartbeat, their powers now a shadow of what they had been at the beginning of this catastrophic battle.

Yet neither of them stopped. Even as the world around them grew quieter and the dust settled, they fought on, screaming at the top of their lungs, their voices raw and broken. Each breath was a feral gasp, a reminder that they were still alive, still fighting, even as their power flickered and dimmed like dying embers.

They were pushing past every conceivable limit, not out of glory or pride, but out of sheer refusal to fall. Every clash was a testament to their unyielding will, their bodies battered and broken but still moving, still fighting. The ground beneath them cracked, but it no longer shattered. The air trembled, but it no longer screamed with the fury of their power.

With each strike, each gasp for air, they teetered closer to collapse, their bodies barely holding together through sheer force of will alone. And yet, despite the pain, the exhaustion, the fading strength, neither would stop until the other fell.

After what felt like an eternity of fighting, Lucy and Kergezkat staggered toward each other, their movements sluggish, barely able to hold their stances. Every muscle in their bodies screamed for rest, and yet, fueled by pure stubbornness, they raised their weapons for one final clash.

Lucy's ice sword glinted weakly in the fading light, her body trembling as she struggled to lift it for the strike. Kergezkat's hands, still flickering with remnants of light and darkness, shook violently as he summoned the last of his power. Their eyes locked for one fleeting moment, both aware that this would be their final clash.

With primal screams that tore from their already battered and bruised throats, they launched themselves forward. The ice sword clashed against Kergezkat's fists, the impact sending a muted shockwave through the air. It was a hollow sound, lacking the cataclysmic force of their earlier strikes.

For a second, the world seemed to freeze in place, time itself holding its breath. Their powers, barely flickering, collided and then… fizzled out.

Lucy's sword shattered in her hand, the fragile ice crumbling into fine shards that floated harmlessly to the ground. At the same moment, Kergezkat's fists, once blazing with the power of both the sun and moon, fell to his sides, limp and drained of strength.

The two deities stood there, their chests heaving as if struggling to breathe in the oppressive silence. They wavered, their bodies swaying with the effort of simply standing. Then, as if their strings had been cut, they collapsed simultaneously.

Kergezkat fell to his knees first, his wings barely fluttering as they drooped behind him, the light in them completely extinguished. His head lolled to the side, eyes rolling back until only the whites were visible. His body gave one final tremor before going still, the strength he had clung to so fiercely finally abandoning him.

Lucy followed almost immediately after, her legs buckling as she collapsed in front of him. Her once-majestic draconic form seemed to melt away, the icy armor shattering into mist as she slumped to the ground. Her eyes, too, rolled back, her breath coming in shallow gasps before her body surrendered to unconsciousness.

They knelt before each other, their faces inches apart, both utterly broken, their minds and bodies completely spent. Their chests barely rose and fell with each shallow breath, the energy that had fueled their world-shattering battle now nothing but a faint memory.

The battlefield, once filled with the sounds of their titanic clash, now lay in eerie silence, the two figures at the center of it all slumped in utter defeat. The world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the moment when either would stir, but none came. They remained there, motionless, their forms limp, locked in a forced and unconscious truce, neither able to claim victory.

As Lucy's vision faded into blackness, her body slumped forward, utterly drained. Her once boundless power now felt distant, slipping away as the last of her strength left her. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and in that moment, she felt an eerie sensation. All the mana in her body, the lifeblood of her immense draconic might, seemed to freeze—locking up as though trapped beneath a sheet of ice. She couldn't move, couldn't even feel the world around her anymore.

An oppressive darkness engulfed her mind, heavy and suffocating, as if the weight of her exhaustion had become a physical presence. There was nothing—no light, no sound—just the sensation of floating, her very existence suspended in the void.

Then, with a sharp breath, she gasped back into consciousness.

But the world she awoke to wasn't the crater where she had collapsed, nor was it before that crazed angel, Kergezkat. The battlefield, the destruction, the ruins of the Monster Kingdom—it was all gone.

Lucy found herself standing once again on that strange, unsettling plane of dark water. The surface beneath her feet rippled gently, a mirror-like expanse of obsidian liquid that stretched endlessly in all directions. Above her, looming in the sky, was the same ominous dark sun she had seen before. Its sickly light cast long, distorted shadows across the water, shimmering with a cold, unnatural glow. The air was still, unnervingly silent as if the very world around her had stopped.

She glanced down at herself, expecting to see the brutal injuries that had once marred her body, but they were gone. No bruises, no blood, no shattered ice armor—she was whole again, her body in its normal state, free from the agonizing pain that had consumed her just moments ago.

A sense of unease crept over her as she looked around, her eyes scanning the endless darkness that surrounded her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was watching her, lurking just beyond her vision. The vast emptiness stretched out in every direction, an infinite ocean of dark water and sky, devoid of life, yet pregnant with the weight of something unseen.

As Lucy stood on the still, dark waters, the unsettling quiet seemed to press in from all sides. Her gaze swept over the endless expanse of darkness, the cold light from the eerie sun above casting an unnatural sheen across the plane. Something felt different this time—heavier, more sinister.

Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, every breath sharper than the last. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as a strange, instinctual fear crept through her. Something was here, lurking just beyond the edges of her perception. She turned slowly, trying to pinpoint the source of the growing dread that gnawed at her.

Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw it.

A figure—vague and distant at first—materialized far out on the dark horizon. It stood against the backdrop of the strange sun, blending into the darkness like a shadow come to life. Lucy's heart skipped a beat, her pulse quickening as the figure began to move, gliding over the surface of the water with unnatural speed.

Before she could process what was happening, the figure was upon her, closing the impossible distance in an instant.

A gasp escaped Lucy's lips, and her breath caught in her throat. The suddenness of the figure's arrival paralyzed her, and fear surged through her veins like ice. Standing mere inches away was the same goddess she had encountered before—the one who had haunted her every thought since that fateful meeting.

The goddess was as terrifying as she was beautiful. Her massive black wings, so dark they seemed to absorb the very light from the sun above, stretched out imposingly behind her. Each feather shimmered with a sinister gleam, pulsating as if alive. Her pale skin was flawless, glowing faintly against the darkness, the curves of her body accentuated by a skimpy, form-fitting black dress that clung to her like a second skin.

But it was her face that chilled Lucy to the core.

The goddess's long, midnight-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing a face that was both mesmerizing and dreadful. Her onyx black eyes, voids of darkness, locked onto Lucy's with an intensity that felt like they were piercing straight through her soul. The longer Lucy stared into those eyes, the more it felt like she was being pulled into an abyss, her very essence unraveling as if her soul was being drained from her body.

A slow, sadistic smile curled on the goddess's lips, her gaze gleaming with twisted amusement.

Lucy's legs buckled beneath her as an overwhelming pressure bore down on her. The power radiating from the goddess was suffocating—so immense that Lucy couldn't even muster the strength to resist. Her body trembled violently, and before she realized what was happening, she had fallen to her knees, her head bowed low in submission. The once mighty warrior, now helpless and quivering, was reduced to nothing more than a cowering figure before this divine being.

She could barely breathe, her body refusing to obey her commands. Every fiber of her being screamed in protest, but she couldn't fight it. The weight of the goddess's presence alone had broken her will. Lucy's hands clenched into fists, her knuckles white as she fought the primal urge to flee, yet her body remained frozen in place, paralyzed by fear and awe.

The goddess tilted her head slightly, her smile widening as she gazed down at Lucy, as though she were a predator toying with prey. "So fragile," the goddess whispered, her voice soft and lilting, yet dripping with malice.

Lucy shuddered, unable to speak, unable to even think clearly in the presence of such raw, terrifying power. Every inch of her body quaked as the goddess watched her, clearly reveling in her helplessness.

"I'm sorry, but… you can't die just yet, sweetie."

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.