One last battle remained.
The news of the end of the war had not yet reached Cer’s ears. Raoul on the other hand received Uriel’s message to retreat. A bloody vial rattled on the side of his hip, indicating that his time here was over.
“The Red Wing calls for our retreat.” The half-Corrupted Raoul spoke gravelly. Between each word was the sound of a forced howl as he dragged a 10-meter long, 3-headed blade.
The blade was enriched with the same colors that came off his scarves. Thorns of red exploded with each swing. Waves of blue shot out from the tip of his blade. Green shockwaves pulsed every several seconds with a hideous, high-pitched frequency that tore Cer’s eardrums.
“Unnecessary… Your ambitions were destined to die here!”
Blood trailed down the side of her head as she kept the pressure against Raoul. Neither of them was close to defeating the other. While Cer had manifested the powers of Arbitration, Raoul has also claimed the power of the Corruption.
“Your safety was always my priority. Mother taught me that it was my responsibility to protect you!”
The worst part was that it did not impede his consciousness. It further amplified his beliefs, turning him into a living weapon that represented his will to carve his own path forward. It began with Cer’s fall as a Moon, but she had the strongest ‘Moon’ of them all by her side.
“Leading us to Corruption was not the way to do it! You would rather that we live like stuffed toys than to be who we want! Living as husks with no past… it was already no different from those scarves of us you’re wearing!”
“Taxidermizing you would’ve been another valuable prospect. But I thought: How do I keep you alive? Iscario was driven to an endless pursuit because of the death of his sister. Mother’s death drove me mad, but you became worse!”
“Hah. Grandis? Is what this is about? Take a good look at yourself… You ran the Solemn Paw. Just how many did you kill?”
“All of it was in my footsteps.”
“It’s all in the past Raoul! What the fuck is it going to take to get that into your head!?”
“When you cease chasing the light of this fallen Star!”
His Corrupted attacks were powerful beyond belief. Stars were already beings that rivalled Eternal Night Corrupted. But Raoul, right now, was firmly within the realms of the highest kinds of Eternal Night entities, dare Cer call him a low Woe of the Fallen Star.
Since the Risk Classification Classes prioritized the danger of a threat, and subsequently their power – Raoul easily fit into this category. Attacks that were once limited to several thousand damage now did tens of thousands of damage.
< [O] Supercharged Field [O] >
< EFFECT: Discharge electricity over a 30-meter radius. Deal 2,000 damage per 2 seconds >
< [O] Galvanized Flow [O] >
< EFFECT: Become surrounded by an electric coat. Increase AGI by 50%. Skill uses generated Nex >
< [O] Ultraelectric Fang [O] >
< EFFECT: Your maw produces electrical aberrations. Deal 5x base ATT and MAG ATT damage. Multiplier varies depending on your Emotional State. Highly effective against Qliphoth Fields >
Cer’s attacks did 22,500 damage, or 45,000 in total if counted her MAG ATT. Although, in this state, MAG ATT may as well be bundled with her ATT.
It made no difference in distinguishing between the two.
The sheer amount of damage was nearly enough to instantly kill a Moon. A single attack would maim one, leaving them in a critical, near-death state. But Raoul tanked these attacks. His body was significantly strengthened and it infuriated Cer that she could not see his stats to tell if she was doing anything.
However, the few attacks that managed to reach him caused the dark swirls that protected him to fizzle away into particles of black and gold. Absolution was undeniably powerful, and she had gotten the gist of how Tohu and Tikkun worked. Emotions that were generated became internalized Nex, but it could only be used so long as she could control those emotions.
Traumatic memories were her fuel.
Equally, those memories were her blade against Raoul.
“My life as a Moon didn’t start because of you… I’ve been chasing fragments of mom my whole life. Every full moon I’d call out to it and reminisce on those precious moments. They were never because of you. You’re a Star. You were my sun. My light…”
“Ah. The old Cer does still exist. That childish way of thinking was always like you. I, who considered leaving you to drown in that river, am you light for the mere reason that I have saved you.”
Hearing those words from Raoul further stirred her heart. She couldn’t believe it. None of Raoul’s words were true. Just as he had always tried to push her away, he did it here with his lies.
Indeed, she knew Raoul was lying. But the fact the he would go to such an extent…
“But you did save me, didn’t you?”
“I did. Saving you only drew you closer. The once innocent Cer took her first steps towards me.”
Raoul reminisced as the two clashed endlessly. It was a never-ending cycle.
“The small hands that once took mine slowly began to reach for my dagger. The Cer who was never meant to know the stench of blood tore through chests with her fangs. The little footprints you used to leave behind slowly started to leave prints of blood… you became that because I allowed you to chase me. It must end, Cer… You’ll become worse than I. Father will know of your existence.”
“It was all because of that? Couldn’t you just say something to me? Raoul… all this secrecy, this – this – belief that you know what’s good for us, when you’ve never once check to see us.”
“Serum G guaranteed we’d stay the same! But we changed! The phases of the moon have been changing! You never turned around to see it! Instead, you kept going forward… you didn’t spare a single glance at us! The drug we relied on was our shackle… and you…!”
Cer suddenly reached an epiphany.
The light that she embodied intensified. Raoul and Cer went for one last clash. The tips of her fangs flowed a subtle gold as she ran on all fours. She couldn’t believe she had only realized this now.
Memories of the past stirred in her heart. The storm of memories of the kind Raoul were marred by the truth of the kind of person he had become. What were once memories of warmth corroded like a burning picture.
“… You, from the very beginning – since I became a Moon – were my shackle all along!”
< [OO] [Fang of The Electric Moon] [OO] >
< EFFECT: Absolution version of the Electric Fang. Your maw produces electrical aberrations. Deals 12x base ATT and MAG ATT. MAG ATT damage is converted into pure ATT damage. Multiplier varies depending on your Emotional State. Extremely effective against Qliphoth Fields >
108,000 ATT damage. It was an absurd number that would annihilate a Star, Moon, and Exalted all the same. The sheer magnitude of this power promised death and elevated Cer to a height beyond even her own sisters.
This one attack was all she needed to kill Raoul.
“A mighty blow from the familial wolf.”
– A dark spear descended from the skies. The weapon emitted a repulse force that sent both Cer and Raoul flying tens of meters backwards. Blades of grass fizzled away as the ground was carved into a concave shape.
The force alone caused Cer’s limbs to snap. [Defibrillation] kicked into overdrive. Just being in the mere presence of that spear caused her entire body to rapidly lose HP. She plunged her hands into the ground to stop herself from being repelled any further.
She looked up to see Iscario and a woman enshrouded in darkness descend upon Raoul.
“Such a vibrant one will attract Typhoon’s attention.”
“Ghh… He will know nothing.” Raoul waved his blade as they joined him. “It’s already time. I had hoped to finish this here. But this may work better… it will be torturous for you, Cer the false Moon.”
A heavily shriveled Iscario stared at Cer with utter contempt. His trembling hand rose and pointed at her.
“That was not part of the deal. I alone will make that decision with my own two hands.” Raoul stated. “With my own weapons, under my own strength. Nothing of this world must influence it. That dream of yours must shatter until you suffer like I have.”
“… No… You’re not… going… Gaagh!”
Fresh pain filled Cer’s body. That spear that merely remained impaled in the ground dominated every fiber of her being. Limbs shattered the moment they healed.
Her Defibrillation Stacks were rapidly depleting.