Golden light poured through the canopy of the Jura Forest like judgment made visible.
The trees bent away from it.
The ground surrendered.
Loki hovered inches above the earth, long golden hair drifting as though submerged in holy water. His white garments shimmered faintly, not reflecting sunlight but generating their own.
His eyes held no mirth now.
Only divinity.
"What insolence," he said softly, though his voice carried across the forest as if spoken from the heavens. "Mere lizards, daring to claim ownership over our master."
The air tightened.
"We shall not let such disrespect remain unpunished."
High above, the blue dragon halted mid-motion.
Velgrynd's vast form cast a burning shadow over the land.
"Impossible!…" she murmured, staring down. "An Angel. Loki… is an Angel?"
Beside her, frost spiraled in slow arcs around Velzard's immense body.
Velzard chuckled quietly.
"So Guy's theory was correct."
Her cold eyes narrowed.
"Loki truly is half angel."
She paused.
"And that ever-increasing magicule count… it's approaching the level of a True Dragon. Is it not?"
Below them, Loki slowly turned his head not to the sisters—
But elsewhere.
"But first," he said calmly, raising one hand, "before we deal with you… we must punish those who dare refer to themselves as 'God' while our master exists."
His palm faced the horizon.
Velgrynd frowned.
"What is he doing?"
Velzard's gaze sharpened.
"And what is happening with his speech…? Is this truly Loki?"
Light gathered.
It condensed.
A singularity of holy radiance formed at the center of his palm. The air around it distorted from absolute authority.
The forest fell silent.
Then—
It fired.
A beam of condensed light tore through the sky.
No sound.
No warning.
It simply disappeared beyond the horizon.
---
Far away.
Within the Holy Empire of Lubelius.
Inside a cathedral bathed in stained-glass illumination—
Luminous Valentine felt it a fraction too late.
Her eyes widened.
A thread of light pierced straight through her chest.
She looked down.
Just… a clean, immaculate hole of golden radiance passing through her body and the sacred hall behind her.
"What… is this…?"
Before comprehension could settle—
Another beam struck.
And another.
And another.
Each pierced her from different angles, passing through layers of multilayered holy barriers as if they were decorative curtains.
The cathedral walls erupted in shafts of descending gold.
"These beams…" she whispered, staggering slightly. "They passed through our barriers with relative ease…"
Her lips trembled faintly.
"Just what… is this?"
The holy city shook as columns of light rained down with surgical precision targeting only her.
---
Back in the Jura Forest—
Loki lowered his hand.
He scoffed.
"Such weak barriers are not enough to stop us."
His golden eyes gleamed coldly.
"Stay there and disintegrate… you fake God."
A sudden gust swept through the clearing.
Velzard descended first.
The frost dragon's immense form shimmered—
And folded inward.
When she touched the ground, she stood in human form, long silver-blue hair flowing gently, expression unreadable but displeasure etched across her features.
She stepped forward.
"Who," she asked flatly, "the hell are you?"
Her aura pressed outward, compressing trees into crystalline sculptures.
"And what have you done with Loki?"
Velgrynd followed, flames spiraling inward as her colossal form condensed into that of a tall woman cloaked in red and gold. Heat radiated faintly from her presence, grass near her feet smoldering before reigniting stubbornly.
She studied Loki with sharp curiosity.
"So Loki is an Angel, huh…? This is an intriguing development."
Velzard's eyes did not leave him.
"It seems he's been taken over by his own power."
A faint frown touched her lips.
"Is Loki truly this weak?"
The golden figure tilted his head.
"You shall not insult our master."
The air cracked.
"Know your place."
Velgrynd chuckled softly.
"Well, whoever you are… Loki is an Angel, you know."
She stepped forward casually, though the earth beneath her feet blackened.
"And Angels are meant to submit to True Dragons."
Her eyes glinted challengingly.
"Are you really set on going against the natural order for the sake of your master?"
Loki's smile sharpened.
"Your rules do not apply to our master."
The wind stopped.
"He exists outside your reality."
Golden light pulsed outward in a controlled ring.
"To suggest submission…"
His eyes flared.
"Do you truly wish to accelerate your death?"
Velzard exhaled slowly.
"It's pointless, Velgrynd."
Her aura cooled further.
"Clearly Loki has been overtaken by his skill."
She studied the radiance surrounding him.
"And it appears… quite loyal."
Her gaze hardened.
"The only way to stop him now is to beat him."
Velgrynd rolled her shoulders once, flames licking faintly around her arms.
"I agree."
She glanced at her sister sideways.
"But you can feel it too, can't you?"
Velzard nodded once.
"Of course."
Her voice was steady but her pupils had narrowed sharply.
"In just a few minutes… Loki has surpassed us."
A pause.
"He has exceeded the output of a True Dragon."
The forest creaked under pressure.
"This makes no sense."
Velgrynd's lips curved slowly.
"A Primordial Demon-Angel…"
She looked back at the golden figure hovering before them.
"I suppose any power less than this would be unacceptable."
Loki spread his arms slightly.
Radiance cascaded downward like falling feathers of light.
"You are right. We are not our master. We are merely an extension of his soul."
His voice echoed in layers now.
"Our sole purpose is to protect our master from harm."
The golden aura intensified.
"And we have determined you two… as threats."
The ground beneath his feet lifted, stones rising and orbiting in slow, reverent arcs.
"Therefore—"
The sky above Jura Forest split open with converging halos of condensed light.
"We shall move accordingly."
Velzard stepped forward first.
Velgrynd stepped beside her.
Velzard did not take her eyes off the golden figure hovering before them.
"Sister," she said calmly, frost spiraling faintly around her fingertips, "shall we put our differences aside… just this once?"
Velgrynd exhaled through her nose, heat shimmering faintly around her.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Her lips curved slightly.
"With the two of us, we can surely defeat him."
Golden light pulsed.
"It is pointless," Loki replied, voice layered and resonant. "We are stronger than you."
His gaze shifted toward Velgrynd.
"But if you still wish to try… we would appreciate it if Velgrynd would take us seriously."
A faint tilt of his head.
"Do you intend to fight us while not at full power?"
Velgrynd's eyes narrowed.
The temperature spiked for a fraction of a second.
"This thing…" she muttered. "It figured out my parallel clones."
Loki's golden eyes gleamed.
"It does not matter. Once we are done with you… we shall eliminate the other versions of yourself as well."
Velgrynd smiled.
Those were not the words of someone bluffing.
"Big words for a mere skill," she said lightly. "But fine."
The flames around her deepened in hue.
"I shall take you seriously."
---
Eastern Empire
Within a vast chamber adorned in imperial gold, Rudra stood at ease, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
"How is everything progressing, Velgrynd?" he asked casually.
Beside him, the blue-haired woman paused mid-step.
For a brief instant, her eyes shifted.
"Rudra," she said quietly, "it seems my clone has encountered… a complication."
She turned.
"I must leave you for now."
Rudra arched a brow.
"Oh? Care to elaborate?"
"There is no time. I will explain when I return."
He studied her for a second longer… then nodded.
"Very well. Go."
Flames flickered.
She vanished.
Rudra remained alone.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"A Manas… just like me."
His eyes gleamed thoughtfully.
"Loki… you will be crucial in the revival of Veldanava."
---
Jura Forest
A distortion rippled in the air.
Flames spiraled inward—
Velgrynd's aura swelled.
She opened her eyes and smiled.
"There."
The pressure in the forest multiplied.
"Both my clones have fully returned."
The ground cracked beneath her heel.
"I am now at full power."
The golden radiance before her intensified in response.
"We see."
Loki extended one hand.
"Well then… shall we begin?"
Velzard stepped forward.
"Of course."
She raised her hand gently—
And the world stopped.
Wind halted mid-gust.
Leaves froze in the air.
Light itself seemed suspended.
Loki's golden figure stood motionless.
Velzard had just casually frozen time.
Velgrynd walked forward casually, flames flickering lazily around her shoulders.
"Well," she said, peering at him, "that's disappointing."
Velzard approached as well, crystalline frost forming delicate fractals along the ground.
"If he cannot convert his physical form into information particles… then this fight is already over."
Velgrynd folded her arms.
"And here I thought I needed full power."
She clicked her tongue lightly.
"So the only frightening thing was his absurd magicule count."
A faint smirk.
"A farce."
Silence.
Stillness.
Then—
The golden figure flickered.
Velzard's eyes sharpened.
"What—"
Loki vanished.
The frozen forest cracked with a microscopic fracture.
Behind Velzard—
Light reassembled.
A construct of pure radiance formed, its outline identical to Loki.
"You cannot possibly hope," it said calmly, "to keep one who moves at the speed of light… frozen in time."
Velgrynd's pupils contracted.
"Impossible!"
In the next instant—
A streak.
Loki appeared beside Velgrynd, golden leg already in motion.
"By the way," he said conversationally, "have you ever been kicked… at the speed of light?"
Impact.
Just an instantaneous displacement of space.
Velzard's body bent around the strike—
And she vanished.
The forest behind her tore open in a perfectly straight corridor stretching beyond the horizon.
Mountains in the far distance split silently.
Then sound returned—
A delayed thunderclap that flattened miles of trees.
Velgrynd stared at the path carved through the world.
"…So it was not a farce."
Heat rolled off her in waves now.
"It seems your power is the real thing."
Golden eyes turned toward her.
"1 down," Loki said softly.
Radiance gathered again around his limbs.
"1 to go."
His voice layered deeper.
"We shall not go easy on you."
Velgrynd smiled.
Flames erupted skyward behind her like wings.
"Good," she said.
"Neither will I."
And the forest braced itself for impact.
________________________________________
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