As soon as William and Belle clashed, the Half-Elf found himself crashing towards the ground due to the formidable power behind the black-haired beauty’s blow.
Correcting his posture mid-air, William’s two feet landed on the ground, destroying it completely. A dust cloud emerged from the point of impact, sending rocks and debris flying in every direction.
William’s subordinates, who saw this, gasped in shock because they didn’t expect that the Half-Elf would lose in a battle of strength against the young lady whom the Pope had called the greatest Champion of Light.
“Aigo! I knew that Claiomh Solais hit hard, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard!” Sharur commented as William used it to prop himself up off the ground. “It seems that we got our cheeks clapped instead, right partner?”
“… Just whose side are you on?” William replied before waving his hand to disperse the dust cloud around him.
“Of course, I am on your side. Come, let’s smack her silly!”
The chatty mace chuckled because it had been a while since it had met something that was able to blow it away on their first exchange.
William stared at the black-haired beauty whose hair fluttered behind her back.
Belle’s eyes had turned golden, similar to the Half-Elf’s as the power of Claiomh Solais bathed her in radiant light.
The Pope laughed crazily after seeing the outcome of the first clash between her Champion and the hateful Prince of Darkness. Right now, her confidence was soaring as the plan he had in mind was starting to become a reality.
Belle held the sword firmly in her hands before using the skill she had used earlier to escape Astrape, Bronte, Titania, and William’s two pronged attack.
“Magna Celeritate!”
William immediately raised Sharur in an attempt to block Belle’s attack, who was almost as fast as the speed of light.
One minute, the Half-Elf was standing holding Sharur in his hand, the next second, his entire body was skidding hundreds of meters across the ground after blocking Belle’s attack, which sent him flying.
The black-haired teenager forcefully righted himself and jumped upwards, turning into a black lightning bolt.
However, just as everyone thought that he was going to be able to launch a counterattack, Belle once again appeared in front of him, and swung her sword, sending the Half-Elf flying in the opposite direction.
“That chick is traveling at the speed of light,” Sharur commented. “Do you know? Light is more than 10,000 times faster than lightning? Oh boy, we’re f*cked!”
William, whose body had gained Sun Wukong’s sturdiness, and stamina, was able to withstand the blows that carried the Divinity of Light.
Just as he was about to think of a way in order to overcome his adversary, the world came to a complete stop.
Everything disappeared around him, and only darkness remained.
Pitch black darkness.
A darkness without end.
And from that darkness, a pair of cold hands cupped his face, and a silky voice whispered in his ear.
“It matters not how fast light may travel, Darkness shall always be there awaiting its arrival.”
A moment later, William felt a pair of soft, yet cold lips touch his own. Then a breath that was colder than a winter breeze, entered the black-haired teenager’s lips and passed through his entire body.
It removed all the warmth that he had shared with his lovers, just a day ago, and it made his obsidian heart grow cold.
“Do not forget, Will,” the voice said softly, making the Half-Elf’s golden iridii flicker for a brief moment before they became completely black. “Light is easy to love. Show me your darkness.”
The cold lips once again pressed over William’s before the world regained its color.
At that exact moment, Belle thrust her shining sword towards William’s chest, in an attempt to pierce the obsidian gem and shatter it completely.
However, before the blade could even touch it. The Half-Elf’s body turned into a black mist that dispersed in every direction, making the sword miss its target.
Storm clouds once again covered the sky and blocked the light of the stars. However, for some reason, there was one particular constellation that remained visible, and its light shone brilliantly in the heavens, despite the fact that the clouds covered everything for miles around the Palace of Light.
Dark lightning bolts snaked around William’s body as he held Sharur in his hands.
“Um, Partner, you should tone down on the energy drinks,” Sharur commented. “Those things have side effects like making people have eye problems, you know?”
William didn’t answer. Instead, he threw the chatty mace towards Medusa, who caught it with both of her hands.
“Come, weapon of old,” William muttered. “Your Master beckons, and war behold. Show them the might of those that have fallen. Show them the power of the one you have chosen.”
A brilliant sword appeared in William’s hand. It was a fairy blade with several runes embedded on its surface. However, the brilliance of the blade soon disappeared as its tip turned black. A blackness which spread down its entire body.
The runes remained, but instead of glowing golden, they glowed a crimson red, dying the dark blade with the colors of blood.
It was a sword that belonged to a King.
A sword that would always take a life whenever it was drawn, and any wounds inflicted by it would never heal.
William glanced down on the black-haired beauty who was shining brightly amidst the darkness.
He then pointed the tip of his sword towards her, as a devilish smile appeared on his face.
Gathering the power of darkness in the blade in his hands, the sword hummed as if waking up from a long slumber. It made the air around it crackle, and the laws of the world bend to its will.
Belle, who had the upper hand earlier, felt a heavy pressure pressing down on her, as William’s pitch-black eyes stared at her without blinking.
The black-haired beauty took a fighting stance and also gathered the power of light in her blade with the intention of facing the attack that William was about to unleash.
“Everyone get away!” Titania shouted as she used her vines to create layers upon layers of barriers to protect the people that belonged to William’s side.
Erinys steered her flying ship behind the Pseudo-Gods who had formed a wall in front of the Half-Elf’s forces in an attempt to block the aftermath that would ensue after their Master unleashed the attack that made their hearts tremble.
“Cleanse the world with your Holy Light!” Belle roared as she slashed her sword towards William.
“Claiomh Solais!”
William smiled faintly as he too swung his sword to meet the attack that could split the firmament in two.
“Cover the world in glorious, perpetual darkness,” William declared.
“Dainslief!”
Light and Dark rays of light collided with each other, pushing each other back like two roaring dragons in a dance of death.
The two attacks continued to overwhelm each other, and for a brief moment, time moved at a snail’s pace.
All sound disappeared.
All the sensations disappeared.
In that brief moment of calm, the world shuddered at its very core, and the Goddess who ruled it, felt her heart skip a beat.
Light and Dark pushed against each other, trying to gain the upper hand.
The Gods up in the Heavens gazed down upon the land, for they knew that the moment of truth…
was finally at hand.
