The once grassy green plains had turned to a barren and scarred brown plot of Earth as Xenia and Gregory engaged in an intense battle complete with energy blasts, shockwaves from sword strikes, and explosions of various kinds.
Gregory huffed and puffed as he held his sword tightly. He called out to Xenia, “You think your ki to be bottomless, but even you have limits! I intend to find it!”
Although fatigued, Xenia’s condition fared much better owing to her healing ability. She didn’t smile or quip back at his comment. She had 100% of her concentration on the battlefield analyzing any and all inputs in order to pinpoint the source of Gregory’s aid in this battle.
She knew Gregory was right about one thing though as she thought to herself, “I do have limits. This can’t go on forever. Not at this pace.”
She gripped BloodBane and attacked Gregory once more. She bloodbent him to the ground and prepared to strike; however, as had always been the case, the mysterious golden light attacked her preventing her from landing a blow on Gregory.
A large slash across her chest bled profusely but slowed as it healed. She then began to bloodbend Gregory from afar with no intent of attacking. Instead, she allowed the blood to flow freely while she listened to it. Her bloodbending had risen to new heights after her prior brush with death in Houston, and she could transfer information to and from those she bloodbent including images, words, and thoughts.
Gregory knew not her purpose in idly bloodbending him; however, he went on the offensive. She remained in a meditative state while lending some of her focus to dodging his attacks on her.
He charged up a huge ki blast and threw it in her vicinity. She raced to outrun the blast radius only to have Gregory cut her off with a strong sword slash in her path. She stopped on a dime and was slammed from behind by the golden light fighting alongside Gregory.
She slammed into the ground face first, and the impact formed a sizeable crater. As she made impact, a flash of a single image appeared in her mind. The image what crisp and clear as day. It was an image of Gregory’s God sword.
She immediately looked to Gregory who showed no change in his demeanor; however, the golden light covering parts of the battlefield went into an active frenzy.
She smirked, “Finally. I can end this battle.”
Gregory noticed the change in the golden light’s behavior as it became more erratic. He softly said to himself, “Fear?... She knows.”
He powered up his aura to as of yet unseen heights screaming louder and louder as the ki surrounding him grew to immense and terrifying heights. He recalled the golden light into his sword causing the blade to glow with a golden brilliance blinding those who dare look directly at it.
Xenia in turn gave a battle cry to summon her remaining energy around her as well. She threw her head back and an immense sphere of ki formed around her.
After only a few moments, the deafening roar of swirling ki pervaded the battlefield as two giant spheres of aura clashed into one another. One black and red fighting against the other gold and white as the two auras faced off evenly.
Gregory roared to battle as he yelled, “Lightbringer! 100%!” The clouds above began to flicker with a golden light above until a column of golden light shot down upon Xenia.
In her activated Bloodlust state, Lightbringer at 100% dealt minimal damage while she was fully powered up as her aura protected her. She stood in the middle of the column with her flame-like aura flickering freely within the light.
Gregory had not called Lightbringer to seriously finish her but to distract her. He then seemingly vanished and appeared directly in front of her and thrust his brilliant golden sword into her chest.
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The God Sword pushed through her sternum, into her lungs, and out the other side as it burst through a cervical vertebral body injuring part of her spinal cord in the process. She felt both hands and arms go numb from the lack of neural innervation.
Although normally a crippling and fatal injury, Xenia could still manipulate her body using bloodbending so long as there was blood coursing through her veins, and that’s exactly what she did.
In the next instant, Xenia recalled the massive amounts of energy protecting her from the column of Lightbringer energy, and she refocused it on her right hand. The energy rained down on her mutilating her unprotected skin, hair, and remaining armor.
She shaped her hand into a sword-like extension as she manipulated her own body’s morphology for the purpose of one singular and perfect strike. She then expertly bloodbent her hand with the near entirety of her gathered ki and aimed it at the God sword thrust into her chest.
She struck the blade with all of her might. The blade, although powerful, snapped in two at the point of impact, and a loud cry of several mixed voices rang throughout the air as a golden light appeared to evaporate into the ether.
The Lightbringer column abated. The two fragments of the God sword fell to the ground. Xenia fell to her knees and collapsed to the ground. Gregory fell to a knee huffing and puffing weak from the exchange.
Xenia’s collapsed body was hardly recognizable from the damage she took from Lightbringer while completely defenseless. Even in her Bloodlust state she couldn’t bear such damage without protective ki. The shard of the God sword was still implanted in her chest. Gregory recognized this as his moment.
He thought to himself, “I will not allow my ancestors to die in vain! I will not forsake the future of humanity! I will leave this battlefield victorious!”
He looked to the fallen half of the God sword with the hilt and broken blade only feet away from him. His ki reserves were completely drained. He doubted whether or not he could even form the smallest of energy balls to throw at her at the moment.
However, he knew if he could only grab the sword, he could behead her and be done. He would even resort to smashing her head in with his own two hands so long as the outcome results in her death.
He stood to his feet and motioned towards the sword. However, as he intended to take a step… he found that… he couldn’t move.
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Within a Texas mansion, Arthur Davis sat with his generals watching the climax of the battle. Arthur himself had never been more on edge. He had hoped for this to be a decisive victory for Xenia even if he knew the chances of that were slim to none.
Instead, what he got was a nerve wrecking back and forth thriller of momentous tides shifting throughout the course of the battle with one combatant topping the other time and time again.
The top general of the Texas army watched on as Gregory thrust his sword into Xenia’s chest as she stood in a firm column of destructive Lightbringer energy. As Gregory thrust his sword into her chest and through to the other side, her aura seemingly vanished leaving her defenseless. The act of her shattering his blade appeared to be a desperate final attempt to fight back that had failed.
He muttered to Arthur, “A well fought battle. Xenia will be remembered as the only youthful heir to ever go toe to toe with a fully realized Master and nearly win.”
Arthur watched the final seconds of the battle in pain. He had developed a special relationship with Xenia, and she was his ticket to pleasure and power in the world. He wasn’t just watching Xenia die, he was watching his own death.
The general looked to Arthur and said, “Mr. President? This battle is over. You shouldn’t have to watch what comes next.”
Arthur grimaced and shook his head, “It is important that I watch.”
The two men along with other high-ranking generals and politicians looked on. Gregory stood from his knee and didn’t move as he looked on to a fallen Xenia with innumerable wounds and the blade of his sword through her chest.
As Gregory remained standing motionless, Arthur and the others began to look to one another for an explanation. One member asked, “Is this some kind of mercy he is showing? Why isn’t he finishing her?”
The general stroked his beard, “Hmm. She is still alive. Perhaps he is merely enjoying watching her writhe in pain?”
Another politician said, “Perhaps he thinks her too weak to finish, and she will perish on her own accord?”
Arthur quietly said, “No.”
The members of the congregation turned to him and awaited his elaboration.
He smiled and repeated himself, “No!”
The top-ranking general quietly said, “Arthur, if you need to take a leave from this meeting, we would all understand.”
He stood from his chair, “No! Xenia has won!”
The group of his cabinet and military leaders looked at him with furrowed brows as they all believed he had gone crazy. The emotional toll had toppled their leader at last.
He then shook his head and ran to the large TV, “He isn’t waiting, observing, or showing mercy. He is stuck!”
The room continued to look at him in silence with furrowed brows.
Arthur yelled, “Don’t you see?! He is bloodbent! He can’t move! She is alive!”
The room lit up with wide eyes at the revelation, and Arthur turned to the TV with brimming optimism as he shouted, “Come on, Xenia! Get up! Finish the fight!”