As the battle raged on, another branch was brought down by a beam of golden light, shot from the same flagship. It was evident where the Pillar of the South was. The young woman they had seen earlier was indeed the Pillar of the South. But this time, there was something different about her. She looked even younger than before, a woman now full of vitality and strength. The divine magic flowing through her was not only making her near invincible but also reversing the effects of time itself. It was beginning to make sense how the Pillars could live for centuries if they did not age, always remaining in their prime.
The woman's eyes flashed with golden light, her overwhelming power taking a toll on her sanity. "She has gone mad with power, and a pain in the ass besides," Easton muttered as he summoned his blades of light and darkness, ready to face the formidable Pillar.
"I don't have the same advantage of time, however, so let's make this quick," Easton said as he made a bold move, leaping off the tree limb with a clear aim at the heart of the Pillar of the South's fleet.
Mike, sharing the same determination, chuckled. "I guess we both have an annoying ass sister." He, too, jumped off the trunk with their twin swords of fire and ice, using them to knock away bolts of gold and arrows as they descended. With a mighty boom and a crack of wood, Easton landed on the deck of the ship, shattering the wood and sending the crew flying in all directions.
Sophia couldn't help but comment, "That fucken hat never moves, besides the crazy sibling would be you in her situation, Mike." Sophia responded playfully as she and Mike used their sandals of flight to control their descent. They open fire on the crew and the Pillar of the South. A chaotic mix of demonic bolts of black magic and elemental attacks from lava to lightning tore through the deck of the flagship, creating an incredible display of magic and power.
The Pillar of the South, now fully aware of the threat posed by Valicar and Easton, summoned her magic. The golden light surrounding her intensified, and she retaliated with a blinding burst of energy. The battle was fierce, with each side unleashing their most potent attacks, leaving destruction in their wake as bodies hit the deck.
The crew of the flagship scrambled to respond to the sudden onslaught, but the sheer force of Easton, Mike, and Sophia's assault was overwhelming. The Pillar of the South, however, remained defiant and resilient, her golden aura serving as a powerful shield against their attacks.
Amid this chaotic battle, Easton and the Pillar of the South were locked in a fierce duel. Their blades moved with incredible speed and precision, a testament to their skill and power. The Pillar's double-sided spear clashed with Easton's swords of light and darkness. Despite the intensity of their fight, the Pillar of the South showed no signs of fatigue or slowing down. Her divine magic kept her in a perpetual state of strength and vitality.
As the battle raged on, Mike and Sophia focused on supporting Easton, seeking the perfect opportunity to use the teleportation dagger. They knew that using it at the wrong moment could lead to disaster, causing the precious artifact to break and their one chance to send the Pillar of the South away to be lost. Their combined efforts created a synergy of magic and power, essential in facing such a formidable adversary.
Bolts of black magic, flames, ice, and elemental attacks rained down upon the crew of the flagship, who struggled to defend themselves. The deck was a chaotic battleground as they unleashed their magic upon their foes. The Pillar of the South, with her golden aura ablaze, retaliated with unrelenting determination. Her divine magic met their attacks head-on, creating a dazzling display of power and wills clashing.
Sophia, determined to find a weakness, unleashed a renewed barrage of elemental attacks. Fire, water, earth, ice, and electricity were hurled at the Pillar, but nothing seemed to weaken her resolve. It was evident with each attack that the cost was high—another life extinguished, another soul consumed to maintain her near invincibility. Sophia felt the weight of this knowledge, but amid the battle, she had to set aside her guilt and focus on survival.
Mike, still wielding the twin swords of fire and ice, decided to try something new. Their armor had absorbed holy bolts, the holy magic dormant within. Drawing upon the power stored in their chestpiece, they activated the holy magic. The sword of fire now glowed gold with a blue flame and a radiant yellow light, a combination of light and dark that mirrored Easton's techniques. Easton, noticing Mike's newfound power, called out with a hint of amusement, "Oh, so you have learned a new trick!"
Mike, keeping up the banter, replied confidently, "It's a good combination, what can I say!" He boasted as he spun, his blade of black ice to match. They continued to fight with a mix of their demonic pact, elemental attacks, and the empowered twin swords. With each passing moment, they could feel the crowd's awe, they felt their magic grow, but it came at a price. They suffered wound after wound, their bodies slowly giving in to the relentless assault.
Their arms hung by mere threads of mana, and their flesh, though mended and healed by magic, showed signs of the battle's toll. Blood coursed through their bodies via pure mana, compensating for the veins that had been torn apart. Their bodies were held together like a patchwork of black stitches and necromancy, a testament to their resilience in the face of pain and injury.
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Easton, too, showed the effects of the fierce battle. Through a combination of his demonic pact and holy magic, he appeared to have aged about ten years in the short time they had been fighting. The intensity of the battle was taking its toll on all of them, and the situation was growing dire.
As the clash of magic and steel continued, the fate of the eastern continent remained in the balance.
Desperation hung in the air as Sophia cast her probability manipulation spell, calling upon the winds of fate to change their course. With the incantation "Gormai Hys Nalova Bavask," she sought to shift the balance of luck, making the unlikely into the likely. The outcome remained uncertain, but they had to seize any opportunity, no matter how slim.
Valicar saw an opening and decided to exploit it. They charged forward, hurling their sword of black ice to distract the Pillar of the South. The blade exploded into a storm of speeding ebony crystals, creating a blinding spectacle to draw the Pillar's attention. In the chaos, Easton lunged forward and grabbed her, holding her still.
The onslaught of ebony crystals struck the Pillar of the South, momentarily turning her into a pincushion. Wounds appeared all over her body, but they vanished almost as quickly as they had appeared. She was relentless, striking back and impaling Easton through the chest. He gritted his teeth and did not flinch, instead pulling himself closer to his sister, using his own body to lock her in place.
"D-Do it!" Easton shouted, blood pouring from his mouth as his body took the toll of the battle. Valicar, fueled by both Sophia's magic and Mike's blade skills, lunged with blinding speed, the dagger poised for the critical strike. Their target was the heart of a volcano, the pre-determined location etched into their mind. The Pillar was about to meet her fiery fate, or so it seemed.
In a flash of gold, the dagger was wrenched from Valicar's grasp, chipped but not broken, landing a dozen feet away. Before they could react to the shock of their sudden failure, the Pillar of the South had them by the throat, holding Valicar off the ground. With a ruthless motion, she tossed Easton off her blade, sending him crashing to the ground.
But Easton was not done yet. Gathering the last reserves of his power, his eyes flared with black and gold. Years of his life were sacrificed for this final, desperate attack. He unleashed a devastating blast that sent the Pillar of the South flying, giving Valicar precious seconds to regain their breath and find their feet.
"Fool! You gave up your right to divinity, your right to immortality. And for what, Easton? To save some mortals because Mother was a miserable heretic?" The Pillar of the South emerged unhurt, her voice laced with disdain.
Easton retorted with determination, "Only a psycho like you could take pride in having that monster's blood in your veins. You were always unworthy of our mother's love, and it's no wonder you're so fucked up, Talia." Sophia began to heal his wounds, but it was too late. His pact had taken too much from him, and his formidable power was on the verge of consuming him.
"I have long since given up that name. Father has blessed me with a new one, and you will not disgrace our divinity by breathing any longer, brother. This witch you have trained will die here before she can do any more damage to our father's plans." The Pillar of the South's inhuman speed made her strikes fall like thunderbolts, and Mike, despite his demonic enhancements, could barely parry her blows. Their arms were tattered, with bones breaking and mending only to break again as their blades clashed with the Pillar's relentless fury. They were held together by necromancy, their dead cells working as if alive, and each life they took was devoured by the demon Anna Sha, who, although unwilling to lose her new favorite toy, could only do so much in the face of a half-deity.
The situation seemed dire, but Easton's final words echoed with defiance, "You and the Pillar of the North may kill me now, but know my disciple will bring an end to that accursed Church! The Empire will finally be free from that mad half-god! Father will die!"
With a swift and lethal motion, the Pillar of the South kicked Valicar away before striking down Easton Von White, ending his life. Sophia's blood-curdling scream filled the air, and the depths of her despair were met with Mike's furious rage. His pact cried out, demanding retribution as the words "Kill them all!" resounded in his mind. In a desperate and instinctual move, the magical nuke materialized in their hands, its potential for destruction a final option.
Before they could comprehend what they were doing, the Pillar of the South proved faster, using her blade to slice most of Valicar's left hand along with several fingers, sending the nuke hurtling into the sea below. Her malicious smile taunted Sophia as she mocked them, "That will not work again, girl."
The battle still raged on all around them, and in a last-ditch effort, Sophia tried to call back the souls of those they had not consumed to fill their bloody bodies once again, But in an instant, they were cut down, their bodies torn apart by holy magic, their souls sent screaming back to the afterlife.
Desperation and pain filled the air as Sophia found herself thrown into the guardrail, shattered ribs adding to their agony. But Mike, fueled by grief and anger, called out, “I will avenge him by carving out your fucking heart, cunt!" Summoning another black blade, he prepared to fight to the bitter end.
The Pillar of the South sneered with brutal disdain, "Enough! You and your little rebellion end here, girl! Hand over the keys and your family's death will be swift and merciful, unlike that man El, Ela, something... anyway, he cried like a maiden, on her wedding night as they flayed him alive."
The revelation of their great uncle's gruesome death, a fresh and shocking wound, only added fuel to the fire of their rage. "There's nothing left to lose then," Sophia chuckled darkly. The harsh reality of their dire situation and the brutality they had witnessed pushed them to a breaking point, and vengeance was all they could see through their pain and anger. Sophia released a spell that she had held back for far too long, "Alvu!" The call for the legendary blade Blue Dawn echoed across the sea, reaching out to anyone who might be listening. The blade, locked away in the Emperor's palace, broke free and began flying at unimaginable speeds. But it wasn't the only one that heard the call.
Far in the north of the central continent, the roar of a colossal dragon shook the world. Ignial had found his blade. The Dragon of the North was on a collision course, heading straight for the epicenter of the unfolding conflict.