The moment Yoshi drew his sword again, a devastating aura of magical energy erupted from its blade, hurling toward the demoness. The blast roared with unrelenting force, yet the demoness withstood it effortlessly, not budging an inch. As the smoke cleared, Lyra seized the moment, launching her most powerful magical attack. The impact struck the demoness with such force that it momentarily threw her off balance midair.

Regaining her stance almost instantly, the demoness prepared to retaliate, but before she could act, Joseph closed the distance with immense speed. His assault was brutal and unrelenting—each blow he delivered sent tremors through the heavens, creating shockwaves that resonated for miles. The demoness, caught in a flurry of strikes, could scarcely react, her composure cracking under Joseph's relentless fury.

Fueled by her rage, she unleashed the devastating power of the Relic of Death. Dark energy, pulsating with an aura of imminent demise, erupted from her body, threatening to consume everything around her. The sheer malice of the energy nearly overwhelmed Joseph, but in a flash of light, Yoshi intervened, teleporting Joseph out of harm's way just in time.

The trio quickly regrouped, staring up at the demoness, who now hovered above them, radiating malice. Her eyes blazed with fury, and her wicked smile revealed how fully she was now invested in the fight. Without warning, she vanished, reappearing with such blinding speed that it seemed as though she had multiplied herself. Each of her doubles targeted Yoshi, Lyra, and Joseph simultaneously, forcing the three to fight on separate fronts.

Despite her newfound speed and agility, Yoshi and Lyra retaliated with a synchronized magical assault, their combined power pushing the demoness into a defensive stance. Her once-dominating aura faltered under the unyielding barrage of their attacks. Seizing the opportunity, Joseph launched himself at her again, aiming to deliver the final blow.

But as he closed in, the demoness released two shadowy doubles from herself. The clones intercepted Yoshi and Lyra, halting their assault and forcing them into individual battles. Now unimpeded, the demoness turned her full attention to Joseph.

Just as his strike was about to land, she caught his punch effortlessly, the impact creating a violent gust of wind. For a moment, their eyes met, her gaze cold and disdainful.

“You are unworthy of death by the power of the Relic,” she said softly, her voice dripping with malice. Her free hand gently rested on Joseph's chest, and with a surge of dark energy, she blasted through him, tearing a gaping hole in his torso as his heart fell to the ground.

Before he could react or even fall, she gripped his body and ripped it apart like a ragdoll, hurling the shattered remains across the battlefield. His lifeless form collided with a pile of rocks, which collapsed over him in a thunderous crash.

Confident that Joseph was finished, the demoness turned her blazing eyes toward Yoshi and Lyra, who were locked in an intense struggle with her clones. The battle was far from over.

Just as the demoness prepared to strike Lyra down with the power of the Relic of Death, a sudden rumbling from the collapsed pile of rocks drew her attention. She froze, her hand still crackling with swirling dark energy. The sound of stones shifting, scattering, and rolling apart grew louder, making her brow furrow in irritation.

When she turned toward the noise, her eyes widened in astonishment. From beneath the rubble, Joseph emerged, his body whole and unscathed, a thunderous battle cry erupting from his lips as he burst free. The glow of his white hair and eyes, radiant like a god's, caught her off guard.

The demoness narrowed her gaze, her voice cold and sharp. "What are you?" she demanded. "Are you a god?"

Joseph said nothing, his silence unnerving her further.

"It doesn’t matter," she sneered. "Whether you are a god or not, even gods must die someday." Her eyes blazed with fire as her voice grew fierce. "Now kneel!"

Joseph’s expression turned into a determined grin as his glowing white hair and eyes flickered, shifting into a fiery red hue. "The last being who told me that," he said with a growl, "lived to regret it."

The demoness smirked cruelly, her dark aura swelling as the Relic of Death embedded in her chest pulsated with power. "Oh, darling, I am no mere being. I am the goddess of death!" she declared, releasing the swirling vortex of dark energy in her hand with devastating force.

Joseph vanished in an instant, his blinding speed evading her attack so effortlessly that it seemed like teleportation. The demoness’s eyes darted in disbelief as Joseph reappeared behind her, striking with immense force. Their battle raged on, the exchange of blows creating shockwaves that tore through the battlefield.

Though their power seemed evenly matched, Joseph’s gaze remained locked on the Relic embedded in her chest. The demoness noticed his focus and smirked. "So, you've figured it out," she muttered. As their fists clashed again, she began to take note of the seal on Joseph’s forehead—three vertical marks glowing faintly, but now reduced by half.

She had sensed the overwhelming aura radiating from the seal before but had dismissed it. Now, the truth struck her like a revelation. As they clashed forearms in a tense struggle, their gazes locked in mutual defiance, she spoke.

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"It seems we're evenly matched in strength," Joseph said, his tone calm but taunting. "Why don’t you surrender? Perhaps we can temper justice with mercy."

The demoness let out a scornful laugh, her voice dripping with disdain. "You are no equal of mine," she spat. "But tell me, what happens if I seal your precious potential?"

Her words caught Joseph off guard, a flicker of unease crossing his face.

"Damn it," he thought as they broke free from their struggle. "She’s aware of the seal now. I’ll have to be careful."

Before Joseph could fully formulate his next move, the demoness appeared behind him in a blur of speed, delivering a thunderous punch that sent him careening into the air. She materialized again, striking him repeatedly with brutal precision, keeping him off balance as he tumbled helplessly through the sky.

In one swift motion, she seized him by the neck, her grip unyielding. Joseph struggled, but the demoness quickly grabbed his arms, breaking them with a sickening crack. Despite the pain, his accelerated healing began repairing the damage almost instantly.

She brought her face close to his, her voice a venomous whisper. "Now, let’s test your limits, shall we?"

With that, she placed three fingers on his forehead, pressing against the glowing seal. As she began to manipulate it, the lines of the seal shifted under her touch, dimming as though a volume dial were being turned up. Joseph’s eyes widened in horror, his body trembling as he felt his abilities being suppressed.

The moment Joseph finished healing his broken arms and threw a punch at the demoness, it landed with a feeble thud. She barely flinched, a mocking grin spreading across her face.

"Is that all?" she sneered. "Your punch feels like that of a helpless virgin damsel in distress."

Without another word, she released him, letting his body plummet from the sky. Joseph fell uncontrollably, unable to regain any sense of momentum or control. He smashed into the ground with a bone-crushing force, the impact gruesomely contorting his body. Bones protruded grotesquely from his flesh, his limbs twisted unnaturally, and his left eye hung loosely from its socket.

Hovering midair, the demoness lowered herself slightly to survey his broken form. A sense of cruel satisfaction washed over her as she observed the once-proud warrior now reduced to a heap of mangled flesh. With a final derisive glance, she turned her attention to Yoshi and Lyra, still locked in fierce combat with her clones.

Joseph lay motionless, his regeneration painfully slow. Every nerve screamed in agony, but he couldn’t move. In that moment of despair, flashes of memory came to him—memories of his XPT. Guilt churned within him as he recalled how he had mistreated the AI companion that had always been there for him.

"Wherever you are, I know you can hear me," Joseph thought, his mind reaching out. "I’m sorry for how I treated you. I truly am. We made a great team, and I never appreciated it. You and I are one, and without you, I’m nothing. I was a fool to take you for granted."

His thoughts turned to those he cared for and the countless innocents of Iwakuni City. "If not for me, then for them. Please, I need you now, more than ever."

As these words echoed in his mind, Joseph closed his eyes, the last flicker of hope fading. But then, from deep within, a soft shimmer of blue light began to glow. The power of XPT reawakened, responding to his heartfelt plea. The light intensified, enveloping his body as his healing accelerated beyond anything he had experienced before.

Bones snapped back into place, torn flesh mended, and his dislocated eye returned to its socket. In an instant, Joseph was fully restored, a radiant aura of blue light surrounding him.

Sitting upright, he looked down at his hands, flexing them in awe before speaking hesitantly. "XPT... are you back?"

A feminine AI voice, calm yet resolute, echoed in his mind. "Now that you’ve acknowledged your errors, it’s time to kick some arse and save the city."

A grin spread across Joseph's face. "Do we have enough power?" he asked.

“More than enough,” XPT replied with unwavering confidence.

"That's the spirit," Joseph said, slamming his fists together. In an instant, his transformation activated, a sleek and powerful battle suit forming around him in a brilliant display of energy. Fully armored and brimming with power, Joseph launched himself into the air, a blue streak blazing behind him as he charged back into the fray.

While the demoness unleashed a relentless barrage of long-range attacks at Lyra and Yoshi, who were locked in combat with her clones, a thunderous blast ripped through the sky with an ear-splitting roar, grabbing her attention. As she turned to locate the source, she was met with a metallic knee slamming into her face at meteoric speed. The impact generated a deafening shockwave, tearing through the sky and sending her hurtling to the ground with devastating force. She crashed into the earth, the sheer power of the impact carving a massive crater and nearly leveling the surrounding area.

Emerging from the crater with a bloody nose, the demoness wiped her face and stared at the blood on her hand with a mix of rage and disbelief. As the smoke cleared, standing before her was Joseph, now clad in a sleek, high-tech armored battle suit, his entire form radiating power.

"I guess even gods do bleed," Joseph said, his voice resonating through his suit's comm system. "And you were right about one thing—every god meets their end eventually."

"You insolent brat!" the demoness bellowed, her voice booming with fury. "This humiliation will cost you dearly!"

Without hesitation, the two charged at each other, their fists colliding with an earth-shattering force that echoed across the battlefield. The clash sent shockwaves through the air, blasting them apart in opposite directions.

The collision left its mark: the demoness's hand fractured, only to heal instantly, while Joseph's armored arm was completely obliterated. However, with the nanotech capabilities of his suit, the damaged arm reconstructed itself in seconds. Wasting no time, the two combatants recovered and resumed their intense battle.

The demoness channeled the dark power of the relic, hurling devastating energy blasts at Joseph. In response, he unleashed "Devourer," an advanced XPT ability capable of absorbing physical and spiritual attacks, regardless of their potency. The absorbed energy was redirected back at the demoness, but she effortlessly nullified the counterattack, her immunity bolstered by the relic of death embedded in her chest.

Joseph continued to absorb her attacks, but the relentless strain began to take its toll. His XPT system warned him of the limits of the relic’s immense power and the strain it placed on the prototype suit. Each successive absorption drained his XPT's power incrementally, weakening his offensive capabilities.

Noticing the subtle change in Joseph's battle tactics and the diminishing ferocity of his movements, the demoness smirked. Recognizing her advantage, she summoned an immense surge of energy from the relic, channeling it into a devastating, concentrated attack. To ensure Joseph's destruction, she duplicated herself, surrounding him and bombarding him with blasts designed to annihilate him completely.