Naberiax immediately felt it.
As his sword sparked against Mordred's white blade, the High Commander realized.
The human child before him had copied his skills.
Amused, he tilted his head slightly, his fiery gaze locking onto Mordred's crimson eyes, eyes that glowed with an eerie, unnatural calm.
He would very much like to see how long this imitation would last.
Bloodfire flared like in a furnace as their blades slid against each other.
Mordred rushed forward, his face fixed in an expression of focused calm, his movements precise and eerily identical.
The air rippled as their blades met. The Bloodfire surrounding Mordred's sword flared as if it were alive and coiled around them, greedily licking at the edges of Naberiax's black armor.
Naberiax unleashed a rapid chain of sword slashes, all of which were parried and countered by Mordred.
Each counter came back at the correct angle, with the correct timing, and perfect stance.
The strength behind the attacks left much to be desired. It was just a technique without weight.
To Naberiax, it felt like he was fighting a younger, past version of himself, one who had mastered his blade but had not yet acquired the monstrous strength behind it.
That is all he could sense from Mordred. He doesn't have the strength to back the technique.
Then, he felt another presence.
A hooded shadow slid into his periphery.
Curved, serrated daggers struck from his blind spot, scraping against his armor as he parried Alisax's attack with one arm, while nearly avoiding Mordred's jab aimed for his throat.
The world outside the dome continued to collapse from the battle between Lilith and Phoebe. Space shattered, time stuttered, and causality was unraveled violently.
In the dome, Naberiax held his own against the combined assault from Mordred and Alisax.
They battled all across the courtyard like a storm of steel, narrowly missing the Pit as they engaged in an intricate dance of blades.
Mordred's every movement was a perfect reflection of Naberiax's techniques, his very being incorporated into the body of the human child before him.
And Alisax was always around, continuously aiming at his weak spots as he clashed against Mordred.
Using the rare gaps between Mordred's sword paths, she struck with ruthless precision, aiming for weaknesses only someone who knew Naberiax would know.
She seamlessly integrated herself with Mordred's movements, something that would've taken years of them working together.
An impossibility.
Unless…
She was not adapting, but remembering.
She was using the same movements she had perfected while fighting alongside Naberiax, long before they had become daemons.
She was using the same teamwork they created against him.
He couldn't help but be amused.
What a cruel twist of fate.
For the first time in millennia, Naberiax felt himself being overwhelmed.
The three of them were locked in a storm of blades, with no clear end to this destructive sequence. Mordred's imitation of the High Commander's techniques was flawless, and Alisax's attacks were merciless.
But Naberiax had an inkling of where it would end.
He could see it coming.
Mordred Pendragon's body is breaking.
His skills are too much for the child's body to handle.
As they fought, he observed Mordred's condition.
His eyes were bloodshot, with blood streaming down his face like tears, dripping from his nose, and staining his mouth.
Naberiax could hear his muscles tearing themselves apart and his heart thundering far beyond its physical limits.
Mordred Pendragon won't last much longer.
And then, it happened.
Alisax swooped in behind him, sword in hand.
At the same time, Mordred slashed his blade upward, forcing Naberiax between them.
Naberiax was ready for drastic measures.
All this time, he was holding back to prevent accidental killing.
But with the way things are proceeding, that wouldn't be possible.
And he was about to unfurl his torn wings.
And that's when Mordred's blade froze, just short of the High Commander's chin.
His arm trembled violently. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his teeth ground together in frustration.
Not utter pain, but sheer frustration.
It appears his body had reached its limit.
Just the opening Naberiax was looking for.
He instantly twisted around, burying the pommel of his sword into Alisax's midsection.
Her surprised and painful grunt echoed as she was launched into the far wall behind her, stone shattering and burying her.
Behind him, Naberiax heard a falling sound.
He turned around to see Mordred collapsed on his knees,
He was barely upright, hands locked around his sword, desperately trying to support himself.
His breath was ragged, wet.
He coughed up blood, staining the ruined white of the shattered floor.
"Looks like…" Mordred rasped, wearily lifting his head, his crimson eyes still burning. "...one minute was a bit too much."
His mouth parted to reveal a bloody grin. "I guess… Time is up."
Naberiax tilted his head, his fiery gaze narrowed. "What-"
The rest of his question was drowned out by a massive light beam that engulfed him from above.
*******
"Ten minutes are up."
Phoebe's divine voice echoed across the landscape, now a tapestry of restored destruction and suspended ruin.
The beam of pure light she fired on Naberiax as soon as the time was up had shattered a section of the dome like glass.
Fractured pieces of the dome peeled away and disintegrated midair.
The raging storms of ardor around Phoebe barely affected her, just like her battle with Lilith.
"Now this is rude."
Lilith's siren-like voice shifted Phoebe's attention.
Unlike her, Lilith truly wore the evidence of their battle.
Her black dress was tattered along the edges, and her pale skin was covered in thin cuts, oozing slow rivulets of black blood.
Yet her purple eyes danced with delight and madness.
"Are you implying that I am not worth ten minutes of your time?" she asked, placing a hand to her chest as though wounded by the thought.
Phoebe didn't respond
She simply looked at her with her vacant gaze, devoid of any emotions.
Lilith's smile wavered.
She held out her hand, palm up, her fingers trembling. "It breaks my heart." She said softly. "To see you, the most powerful Incarnus, being reduced to being the servant of a human."
Phoebe tilted her head.
"That human you are talking about is my master," she replied evenly. "You always praised my selflessness, and you know where that led me."
Her words were factual, as if they had been recorded.
"With him," Phoebe continued, "using me as his familiar, I would be able to experience selfishness."
"Selfishness is a flaw," Lilith snapped, her expression cracking. "We are gods."
"Selflessness is also a part of human nature, Lilith," Phoebe replied calmly. "And yes, we are gods… yet we take the form of humans."
She tilted her head, the ghost of amusement flickering on her face. "An interesting thing, I must say."
Lilith's demeanor changed.
"If you hadn't brought in Naberiax… " she muttered.
"If you hadn't accepted that damned Malakh's request…"
She clenched her trembling hands into a fist so hard that blood flowed.
"If you had simply ignored me all those years ago…"
Suddenly, she calmed down and straightened with a smile that adorned her face.
"Oops." She stuck out her tongue. "I almost slipped."
Snapping her fingers, the darkness surrounding her swirled, coalescing into massive Agony Thorns that glowed an eerie purple.
It was for a second, but Lilith saw Phoebe's expression falter.
The memory of those digging into her flesh, the trauma.
"See?" she said gently. "I told you millennia ago you would never forget the pain."
Massive chains of pure, smoky darkness coiled around her, attaching themselves to the Agony Thorns.
"This time, I will chain you up properly," Lilith promised as numerous Agony Thorns crept towards her sister, as if to pounce and trap her.
Phoebe met her gaze, and for the first time during their battle, Lilith saw something that lingered in the vacant eyes of the Goddess of Restoration.
Certainty.
"No," Phoebe said simply. "You won't."
And that's when Lilith felt a deep pain blossom on her torso.
She looked down and saw a huge, smooth shard of light piercing her abdomen.
She didn't even notice it approaching.
Her body didn't even realize it was injured, as black blood slowly seeped from the edges of the shard, as if unsure if it should bleed or not.
She raised her gaze and saw Phoebe floating right before her. So close that Lilith could see her reflection in her eyes.
Those vacant, crystalline eyes that gazed straight into her very existence.
Billions of light needles ripped through her Agony Thorns. Tearing them apart and further reducing them to dust.
The light shard piercing her abdomen dissolved into light particles.
Lilith's breath hitched.
It took only a mere moment for Phoebe to inflict a critical injury on her.
Their devastating battle could've easily been over in an instant, yet Phoebe extended it for ten minutes.
Lilith couldn't help but let out a rueful chuckle.
Even after millennia of imprisonment, her sister's absolute power had barely wavered.
So this is the power of the God Slayer, the oldest and strongest Incarnus.
Phoebe drifted closer, and Lilith unconsciously flinched
But what happened next surprised even her.
Phoebe wrapped her arms around Lilith, covering her in an embrace that had a warmth she had never experienced.
A pure gentleness flowed through Lilith's body, the power of Restoration that wrapped her without consent.
An unnatural peace that felt utterly alien to the Darkling.
"Farewell, sister," Phoebe said in a voice that was not monotonous, but wistful.
Lilith didn't know what to do, nor did she have time to think, as thousands of light needles plunged into her body, igniting it into white-hot pain.
But she didn't scream.
When Phoebe let go of her, gravity got hold of Lilith.
With her power and authority collapsed, the Daemon Queen fell from the broken crimson sky.
A lone, young woman, plummeting towards the ground.
*******
[Back to Mordred]
"Well, isn't that a beautiful sight?"
I muttered as I watched Lilith, riddled with light needles, fall from the sky.
For a moment, I waited.
For her laughter.
I waited for her seductive voice to whisper in my ears as she recovered midair.
But she kept falling.
It didn't take long for her to disappear behind the spires of the now ruined palace.
A moment later, a wave of ardor hit me like a shockwave before dying down.
I smiled despite the pain ravaging my ruined body.
Lilith kissing the ground was music to my ears.
"LILITH!"
Naberiax's roar tore through the air and almost blew my eardrums off.
Despite being heavily injured, his armor broken, and black blood and smoke pouring out of his wounds, he immediately got to his feet.
Releasing a gust of wind, he unfurled his massive, mangled wings and launched like a missile towards the location where Lilith fell.
Damn. Even now… Even in his injured state…
He still couldn't help but be the High Commander who serves Lilith.
A second later, Phoebe appeared before me, covered in a dazzling white light.
"It's time to leave, Mordred," she said.
Without even lifting a finger, her warm light encompassed me, healing my body, knitting my torn muscles, and sealing my burst blood vessels with her authority over Restoration.
The pain disappeared, and a pleasant warmth seeped into me.
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, it's time," I agreed with a smile.
I can't believe I am finally leaving this wretched place.
I… just don't know how to feel about it.
Looking over Phoebe's shoulder, I called out.
"Alisax! You coming with us?"
The rubble against the far wall collapsed, and a battered Alisax rose from the dust.
"If Queen Pheobe wills it, I will go anywhere."
Phoebe and I shared a glance, and she nodded. "Let's leave together."
I let out a breath.
"Genisix will most likely have passed through the Tear by now," I muttered. "I will have to clean him up."
As Alisax approached us, I looked at her. "You and Phoebe will have to stay hidden as soon as we pass through the Tear."
"I don't know how people will react upon seeing me coming out of the Tear."
"I don't want to imagine what would happen when they see a daemon and an Incarnus accompanying me as well," I added with a grimace.
They nodded in agreement.
"I'll make sure we stay hidden," Phoebe said.
"Good," I nodded and grabbed Phoebe's hand. Alisax did the same.
In a blinding flash of white light, the world shifted, and I found myself hovering beside Phoebe, my vision dominated by the massive, ominous sight of the Tear.
Below us, a sea of daemons marched silently towards swirling darkness.
There was no sign of Genisix.
I frowned at the sight of the moving daemons, an uncomfortable chill going down my spine.
Even after falling from the sky and being critically injured, Lilith could still control her army.
That thought disturbed me a lot.
Letting out a sigh, I gave a glance back to the hellscape that imprisoned me for years.
This place broke me piece by piece.
I will never recover from my experience in Lilith's Abyss.
It will forever haunt me for the rest of my life.
"I hope this is the last time I'll be seeing this place," I muttered, looking at Alisax, who looked ahead, probably thinking about what lay beyond that swirling darkness.
My gaze went to Phoebe, who shone like a white sun before the massive, swirling eye of the Tear.
Even now, her thoughts remain a mystery to me.
She turned her head toward me. "Shall we?"
I nodded, taking out my sword, ready to lop off Genisix's head.
"Let's go."
Phoebe nodded, and we hovered towards the gaping maw of the Tear, its gravity pulling us despite Phoebe's divine protection.
As the Tear consumed us, the faces of everyone beyond the Tear flashed across my mind.
And one of them made me crack a smile.
A silver-haired warrior with heterochromia whose goddess I just made into my familiar.
"I can't wait to see Vanis's reaction."