Chapter 19 : Cataclysm of the gods.

I see the bottom. I push off the wall and launch myself, Elvaria still in my arms. We pass through the space of the last floor, entering the final dimension of the dungeon. The crater from my skill ends here. I fall toward an immense palace floating above an infinite ocean, made of gleaming marble. Massive towers rise up to the artificial sky of the dungeon. This palace is the final zone: the lair of the ultimate boss of Aqualida's S-rank dungeon, Chronos, the titan god.

"Aley, it's okay, you can let me go. I'm ready to fight," says Elvaria, her eyes blazing with excitement. She jumps out of my arms, then shouts, "Flash Step!" Instantly, her speed explodes as we continue to fall.

"Quick Step," I say in turn, bouncing in the air as I head toward the palace. Suddenly, a massive titan emerges from the ocean. The creature, made of stone, has a vaguely human appearance, but hydra heads writhe all over its body. One of these heads charges straight at me. I bounce again in the air, barely avoiding its attack, but my dodge is clumsy, and I crash into one of the towers of the suspended palace, destroying it on impact.

Elvaria, more agile, lands gracefully on the hydra's head, running over it with blinding speed, sword in hand. Her "Flash Step" has accelerated her so much that I struggle to keep up with her movement. The stone titan, barely out of the water, tries to counter her advance by projecting more hydra heads in her direction. But she slices through them effortlessly, dodging with grace and speed, her velocity only increasing.

I get up from the rubble of the tower. "Quick Step," I murmur with a smile on my lips, before chaining it repeatedly, reaching insane speeds as I run through the air toward the titan. It doesn't even have time to notice me. I draw my sword and plunge straight into its colossal chest, creating a shockwave that lifts immense waves on the surface of the ocean below. This entire floor is an infinite ocean, a perfect playground for Elvaria and me, both capable of running through the air.

The giant staggers, then retreats under the impact of my attack.

-CLASHK

A deafening sound echoes. The titan smashes its own chest with its gigantic fist, trying to crush me like an insect.

"Aley!" cries Elvaria. But I'm still alive, pinned against its massive chest. The giant's fist is only inches away from crushing me, but I block the cataclysmic power of its blow with my sword, every muscle in my body straining.

"Aleystria's Reinforcement !" I shout, boosting my strength to free myself from this desperate situation.

"I'm fine, Elvie!" I say to reassure her. The titan, however, has taken no damage from my previous attack. Meanwhile, Elvaria races over its body at the speed of light, moving from head to toe in a blink of an eye. Every hydra head she encounters is sliced before they can even react.

She's like a goddess of war. Her fighting style feels familiar to me, almost... nostalgic.

— The goddess slayer, suddenly a voice whispers in my head. That nickname... It seems oddly fitting for Elvaria.

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No time to think. Another hydra charges at me. I slice it cleanly before the impact.

The shockwaves of our battle are unleashing the ocean beneath us, creating tsunamis of unimaginable scale. The water is thrown so high into the air that it falls back in a dense rain.

"Will to Live!" I activate my skill. Like last time, I don't feel anything, but I know its power is real.

"Elvaria, get off its body, I'm going to try a massive attack!" At my words, she leaps off the titan but continues to run through the air, moving so fast that even I can no longer see her.

I charge straight at the titan, swinging my sword with all my might. A cataclysmic force shakes the entire arena. A blast of pure energy sweeps the ocean, vaporizing the water around me. The titan is hit squarely, and a massive crack forms on its stone head.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shoots toward the crack. The impact triggers another devastating explosion. It's Elvaria. Using all the momentum of her skill, she's turned into a divine meteor, her attack sending the titan crashing backward.

In a final act of defense, it releases all the hydras from its body, thousands of heads charging toward us.

But in an instant, they turn into corpses, falling from the sky. Elvaria has sliced through them all before I could even perceive them. At this speed, she seems to surpass my own power.

While Elvaria reduces the hydras to dust, I charge toward the titan, which is trying to get back up. I leap over its body and bring down my sword. No damage. Another strike, nothing. Again and again, still nothing. The titan eventually gets back up and punches me with a titanic blow, sending me crashing into the palace. The shockwave cracks the wall that stops me.

Elvaria, seeing this, launches herself at a speed beyond comprehension. The shocks from her movements distort the inside of the dungeon. The battle reaches supersonic speed. Even a god wouldn't survive this. The titan is completely overwhelmed.

"Aley, use your skill on repeat!" she shouts, while I can only catch glimpses of her movements.

I get up from the debris, determined.

"Will to Live, Will to Live, Will to Live..." I'm going to defy the impossible.

"Quick Step, Quick Step, Quick Step, Quick Step..."

"Aleystria's Reinforcement..."

I anchor myself to the ground and propel myself toward the titan, whose body Elvaria continues to pummel, leaving it unable to retaliate. I move faster, so much faster that the world around me seems to slow down. I finally catch sight of Elvaria; she appears almost frozen in time. My speed has surpassed hers.

I raise my sword, placing it on my shoulder, ready to strike. The titan is right in front of me. I lower the weapon, and suddenly... time returns to normal.

-Title acquired: Cataclysm of the gods.

A brilliant light rips through the space, then everything turns colorless before exploding into a myriad of colors. A dull sound echoes all the way to Orthosomo, shattering the barrier of space and dimensions. The source? My attack. The titan, once there, is gone. To be precise, there's nothing left here. My strike cut through time itself, erasing the water, the palace, everything. Only Elvaria remained, as if she were immune to temporal distortions.

The titan took on human form, its last resort to survive. It charges toward Elvaria, but she parries its blows with ease, dodging and slicing it with every movement. The being that ruled over Aqualida is now a mere opponent. Elvaria dominates it effortlessly.

"Hammering of Veron," murmurs Elvaria, lifting her weapon before striking repeatedly with the back of it. The titan, still made of stone, is vulnerable to these attacks. I didn't even know she had this skill.

"What do you think? I got this skill by watching you hammer the titan earlier!" she says, smiling, as she finishes the creature off with ferocity.

The boss of the hundredth floor finally collapses, its magical energy extinguished. We've just conquered the Aqualida dungeon. Sure, my body is covered in wounds, but the fight was worth it.

Author note : I might rewrite this fight 10 times until I make it an ultimate banger, but it's not gonna be the best fight of the arc, since for the best one you'll have to wait a bit more eheh...