Chapter 277: Aestrea Versus The Goddess Of Light (Final) [IV]

Fwip!

Without hesitation, I drew [Midnight].

The black blade hummed faintly, drinking in the light around it.

“…That sword.”

The Goddess of Light’s gaze locked onto it, her golden eyes narrowing. Her voice carried both surprise and suspicion.

“How do you possess it?”

Her words almost made me laugh. Instead, I tilted my head and smirked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Her expression hardened, wings twitching as Solara lifted, its golden edge burning like the sun itself.

“I see… but even with that cursed blade, you cannot hope to defeat me.” Her tone was final, a divine judgment cast before the fight had even begun.

I raised Midnight slowly, its black edge catching nothing, reflecting nothing.

Only void.

“…We’ll see.”

My grip tightened.

’Chaos output… maximum.’

Instantly, I felt the energy around being pulled towards me, but hesitation was no longer an option.

This was life or death.

“Haah…”

A cold breath escaped my lips.

BOOOM!

The battlefield warped as I lunged forward, Midnight’s edge dragging black lines through the air.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』

My body vanished for an instant, reappearing in front of her with the blade already arcing down.

The void-infused strike tore across the space, splitting the barrier wall behind her like paper.

Fwip!

The Goddess of Light tilted her head slightly, golden wings flaring, and my sword only caught her afterimage.

Her voice followed from behind me, soft but sharp:

“—Word of Law: Radiance.”

Light exploded outward, swallowing the cracks my strike had opened, stitching the broken space back together as if my attack had never existed.

Clang!

Her counterstrike came immediately, Solara sweeping sideways.

I barely managed to parry, my arm jolted, bones creaking under the pressure. The collision sent shockwaves tearing across the golden barrier, distorting the sky.

I gritted my teeth.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Fourth Move! (✦ Lunar Collapse ✦) 』

Midnight twisted in my grip, the blade dragging an arc of condensed moonlight before detonating in a crushing wave of gravity.

The air itself buckled, the ground underneath caving inward as dozens of black lotus sigils spun outward like collapsing stars.

CRAAACK—THUUUM!

The barrier shuddered violently, warping under the gravitational crush. The Goddess, however, only raised one glowing hand.

“Word of Law: Sanctify.

”

Her voice boomed across the battlefield.

A blinding halo devoured my collapsing lotus storm; every fragment of my attack was vaporized before it could reach her body.

She stepped forward through the carnage, golden light flickering in her wake, wings spreading wide.

I gasped for breath, but I didn’t stop, continuing with my sword art.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Fifth Move! (✦ Thousand-Lotus Guillotine ✦) 』

The blade blurred, slashing faster than sight.

Each swing left behind a crystalline lotus of black ice, until thousands filled the air above her, shimmering, suspended like a falling blizzard of death.

SHRRRIIIP!

All of them descended at once, countless petals tearing space apart, the barrier screaming as it strained to contain the onslaught.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The impact was catastrophic.

Golden and black shockwaves collided, the barrier trembling but refusing to break. A storm of distorted space rolled outward, shredding everything within.

For a moment, I thought I had buried her…

But then the golden light emerged, flawless.

She stepped out through the falling lotus shards, her golden gown untouched, Solara resting lazily at her side.

“…Pathetic.”

Her wings flapped once, and the entire storm of black ice lotuses disintegrated into dust.

Then she pointed Solara at me again.

“Word of Law: Judgment.”

A beam of condensed divinity erupted, burning straight through the battlefield.

I raised Midnight just in time.

BAAAM!

The impact crushed me backward, my feet gouging trenches into the collapsing ground as the divine beam dragged me across the barrier itself.

Every muscle screamed, Chaos energy raging to keep Midnight intact under the holy flood.

’Fuck, she’s overwhelming me!’

Still, I planted my feet, my knuckles white on the hilt.

Crack…

I rolled my neck, blood dripping from my lips, breath heavy. Midnight trembled in my hand, but I raised it anyway, pointing the blade straight at her.

’I need to find a way to get out of here…’

My eyes began to glow faintly, about to activate the Judgment Eye. But before it could fully open…

[Ding!]

A translucent panel snapped into view in front of me.

[The skill Judgment Eye has evolved to Eye of Law.]

My vision warped.

『 ✯ Eye of Law ✯ 』

The world stuttered, then split.

Suddenly, I saw it.

Five seconds ahead.

Her wings flaring, Solara thrusting.

The radiant Law exploding.

“…The hell—?”

The future bent back into the present.

My eye burned, veins spiderwebbing red across my temple, but I could see it, clear as day.

Faint crimson dots lit across her body, weak points veiled beneath layers of divine light.

The Goddess of Light tilted her head at me, noticing the shift.

“…You’ve awakened that?”

She didn’t wait.

“Word of Law: Smite.”

Solara flickered, and in my vision, I watched her appear behind me five seconds early.

“Not this time—!”

CLANG!

I twisted just as she slashed, my blade intercepting hers at the last instant. Sparks ignited like stars.

Fwip—!

I spun, black petals scattering, thrusting Midnight at one of those crimson dots near her ribs.

The strike was perfect.

SHHRRKK!

Blood sprayed.

Her golden eyes widened, just slightly, as the blade grazed her side.

“…Impossible!”

She flared her wings, detonating with light.

BOOOOM!

The explosion hurled me away, body skidding across the fractured barrier floor. My ribs screamed, my arms nearly snapping from the impact.

But I was already on my feet.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』

My body vanished, reappearing behind her.

Midnight struck, her future counterstrike was already flashing before me, so I ducked beneath it, dragging my blade across another red mark on her thigh.

SPLURT!

She staggered a step, golden ichor dripping.

“…You dare wound me… twice?”

Her voice was cold now, divine rage simmering beneath the calm. The entire barrier began to vibrate, fissures of light cracking across the surface.

“Shut it… ahh… haa…”

I tightened my grip, panting, chest heaving.

The Eye showed me another five seconds, her blade descending, the holy wings shattering space itself.

I blocked.

CRAAASH!

The sheer force launched me backward like a ragdoll, slamming me into the barrier wall hard enough to crater it.

My shoulder snapped; bone jutting out.

Blood poured.

But I didn’t fall.

I pushed off the wall, dragging Midnight back into guard.

The Goddess narrowed her glowing eyes. For the first time… her lips curved, just faintly.

“…You shouldn’t be able to touch me. Yet you did.”

She lifted Solara, its radiance swallowing my vision.

“Let’s see how many more times you can.”

CRAAASH!

She swung her sword two consecutive times, but thanks to the Eye of Law I barely dodged them.

And this continued for a while…

Her wings flared—I saw it.

Her sword spun—I dodged it.

Her thrust stabbed—I parried it.

Each prediction gave me just enough to survive, just enough to nick her.

CLANG!

Midnight caught Solara head-on, and I twisted, dragging the edge across her waist. A thin golden line split open, blood glistening as ichor dripped.

She snarled.

“Insolence.”

BOOOOM!

Her palm crashed into my ribs with divine force.

My body bent unnaturally, bones cracking. I spat blood mid-air and slammed into the ground, shattering stone into dust.

But my body surged up again, trembling, as I raised Midnight.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Fourth Move! (✦ Lunar Collapse ✦) 』

Midnight howled, arcs of pale moonlight spiraling forward. They ripped through space, gouging the battlefield as they sought her.

She slipped through them with ease, wings weaving like ribbons of sunlight, stepping across the fractures in reality as though she walked on glass.

Even so, one arc grazed her shoulder.

Flesh burned, her golden dress ripping open.

Her expression hardened, fury breaking through that radiant calm.

“You…”

She blurred, appearing right in front of me.

SHHRRRK!

Solara drove forward.

My vision caught the strike five seconds early. I tried to twist aside, but she shifted at the last moment, bypassing my prediction entirely.

PUUUCHHHH!

Her sword punched through my chest.

“KEUGHHH!”

I gagged, blood erupting from my lips, spraying down my chin. Midnight clattered against the ground.

My knees buckled.

The Goddess leaned in close, voice a hiss of venom and glory.

“…Pathetic. Even with your tricks, you are still nothing but weak.”

But as she tried to wrench Solara free…

Thump!

My arms closed around her. I pulled her into me, blood smearing across her divine gown.

Her body froze.

“…What—?”

A smile curled at the corner of my lips, blood dripping down my teeth.

The Goddess immediately struggled, wings thrashing violently as radiant power burst outward, trying to shake me off.

“Y-You dare—! How dare a mere mortal put his filthy hands on me!” she spat, shoving, clawing at my arms, her divine light screaming against my grip.

But then…

Hummmmm…

A silver aura leaked from my battered body, spreading like moonlight over a dark ocean.

Her eyes widened as she turned back to me.

My gaze was no longer crimson.

They glowed faintly silver mixed with pale blue, reflecting both the calmness of the night and the chill of winter.

And on my forehead, shimmering as if etched by the cosmos itself, a luminous sigil burned to life.

『 ✯Moon Mark ✯』

The Goddess of Light froze completely, her strength wavering for the first time.

“…No… that mark…”

My arms only tightened around her trembling frame, my smile widening through the blood.

“Looks like I’m not done yet, bitch…”

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