Uriel looked at his two opponents. He watched as Sunny's two shadows enveloped him, one around his sword and the other around his body, strengthening him. Nephis burst into flames, finishing the healing of her wounds. However, after a few seconds, the flames weakened and went out as a grimace covered her face.
Uriel simply raised his sword, ready for combat. He would have a two-on-one battle against two bearers of Divine-rank Aspects, two mortal combatants synchronized at an incredible level.
For anyone else, it would be deadly, but Uriel felt no fear, anger, or sadness—only happiness and excitement for the fight. He wanted to see the final outcome.
Uriel watched as both began to flank him from both sides. A second later, the three moved at great speed.
Uriel attacked Sunny with a swift movement of his black sword. The boy blocked the attack with the Midnight Shard, generating sparks. Applying pressure, Uriel sent Sunny flying before dodging Nephis's sword, raising his leg to deliver a kick. The girl ducked and attacked with an upward thrust.
Uriel leaned back, avoiding the sharp sword.
Jumping back, he put a few meters of distance between them.
The two lunged into the attack again, using their incredible coordination and teamwork to push him back.
Avoiding and blocking the deadliest attacks, he let the less serious wounds scratch his Ascended armor.
Soon, Uriel adapted to the combat, beginning to gain ground. His speed, strength, and precision increased abnormally, surpassing Sunny and Nephis, who could barely keep up with the pace of the fight.
Uriel deflected Nephis's sword, focusing on her as she was his greatest threat.
Both exchanged rapid sword strikes. Unlike their previous duels, this one was much more serious, with more at stake for each of them.
All were willing to go to the end for their own selfish desires.
Uriel, for a moment, left an opening that Nephis used to slash with her sword. However, the sword slid off the chest plate of his armor without causing damage.
Uriel clenched his fist and punched Nephis in the face with force, sending her crashing into the wall.
Sunny immediately attacked him, and the two began an intense duel. Uriel could see every movement perfectly. The young man was beginning to replicate his movements, but it wasn't enough.
If he wanted to have even a chance, he would have to adapt much faster than he could.
Uriel used his black sword to parry the Midnight Shard and, without hesitation, slashed Sunny's chest, leaving a large wound, though it didn't bleed.
Sunny retreated, reuniting with Nephis.
An instant later, they returned to their intense combat, letting steel reveal their true faces.
Uriel blocked Sunny's sword for a moment, which Nephis took advantage of to attack his face. Tilting his head, he avoided the sword blade—or so he thought—when a cut opened on his cheek, drawing a few drops of blood.
Uriel retreated. In his hand, sparks began to form as he summoned a new Memory, which would take a few seconds to materialize—or so Sunny and Nephis thought as they attacked. However, their eyes widened as a long katana instantly materialized in Uriel's hand, which he used to attack with more intensity and ferocity, switching his style to one of two swords.
The confrontation continued as the seconds passed. The three made increasingly desperate attacks to end the fight quickly.
Their figures became blurs: a white blur, a dark blur, and then a black blur that seemed to devour the other two as they clashed continuously, moving from one place to another.
After a few intense seconds of these clashes, the three separated. Uriel breathed with difficulty, multiple wounds covering his body. He felt as if his body weighed a ton.
The damage he had suffered in the siege, the massive damage to his soul, and then the ascension and leading the way had pushed his body beyond bearable limits.
But he still remained standing, his dark eyes staring fixedly without a trace of pain—only the same intense and excited gaze.
Uriel looked at Sunny and Nephis. Both had many more wounds than he did, but they had more strength than him, who weakened with every passing second.
Once again, the three launched into the attack.
Using his two swords, he blocked Sunny and Nephis's weapons, letting the impact shake him.
The combat continued. Uriel kept using the style he had developed based on his fights and training, adding the combat styles of his enemies to his own, making his style complex to read and predict in combat. He added Sunny's cunning, Nephis's strength, Caster's speed, Gunlaug's creativity, the Abandoned Knight's toughness, Kai's pressure, and Effie's determination.
Thanks to all this, although he wasn't at his optimal moment, he still remained above Sunny and Nephis.
Uriel continued the combat. However, everything had a limit. He felt his body begin to fail; his vision blurred for an instant, and that was all they needed.
Sunny opened his defense, and Nephis infused her flames into her sword, launching a thrust that hit him squarely, making him spit blood from his mouth. Nephis's sword slid from his shoulder to his chest, leaving a large wound.
Gritting his teeth, his hand became surrounded by darkness that exploded forward, pushing both away from him.
An instant later, the darkness dissipated, unable to sustain his ability.
A jet of blood gushed from his wound, making him feel weaker and more lethargic.
Uriel summoned the Blood Flower, which, by feeding on the blood in the environment, gave his body a boost, allowing him to get back up and attack again.
The trio launched into the attack, but the ground beneath them finally gave way, collapsing into the darkness below.
Uriel righted himself in the air.
As they fell into the darkness that had surrounded the Forgotten Shore, Sunny and Nephis continued attacking Uriel, who used his sword to deflect the attacks and launch his own.
Around him, a fourth Memory manifested—the Winged Cloak. The black tunic split in two, becoming two large raven-like wings. But he wasn't the only one; Sunny and Nephis created their own Memories to fly and dodge the fragments falling from the top of the tower.
Uriel avoided a large slab of granite, using it as a springboard to shoot toward Nephis, launching a thrust with the Moonlight Shard. The girl blocked his attack, letting the clash of both weapons generate sparks.
Uriel felt pain. Glancing down, he saw a kunai embedded in his thigh, belonging to Sunny, who grabbed a thin thread and, after applying force, shot forward, tearing out the kunai with a piece of flesh.
Uriel grunted in pain but remained focused on the combat.
Grabbing Nephis, he slammed her head against a granite fragment, disorienting the young woman.
Beating his wings, he moved away just in time to dodge a slash from Sunny's sword, who had caught up to them.
The three had to concentrate on avoiding the rain of debris as they ascended back to the top of the Crimson Spire.
Uriel lunged at his two enemies, sending them back to the large hole where the portal was.
The three crashed into the hard ground at high speed.
Uriel recomposed himself. Behind him was the portal, whose runes still shone brightly, ready to be used.
The three knew they were using their last reserves of strength.
Uriel ran toward the duo, swinging the black sword at Sunny, who blocked the attack. Both desperately pushed each other away.
Uriel received a powerful kick that sent him flying several meters backward.
Righting himself, he raised his sword and attacked Nephis.
The white-haired girl had her silver sword wrapped in white flames.
Uriel swung his black sword at Nephis's face but grimaced; his body failed him at that instant, making him slower than Nephis.
Nephis struck her sword against the black sword. Her flames cut through the tempered steel, slicing it completely, letting the attack fully impact his body.
Uriel coughed up blood before collapsing, his last strength abandoning his body.
A few moments later, Nephis fell to her knees, equally exhausted, wounded, and feeling an enormous amount of pain coursing through her entire body.
Uriel looked at the ceiling as fragments and dust slowly fell.
"I have lost. You have won," said Uriel, his voice sounding weak and tired—truly tired, lacking the lively tone it usually had.
Sunny approached with slow, staggering steps. His eyes looked at Uriel with a strange expression that Uriel couldn't describe.
Sunny and Nephis watched as Uriel dragged himself toward a pile of rubble, leaving a trail of blood, and used the rubble to lean against.
Slowly, Nephis and Sunny turned around and headed toward the portal, leaving Uriel behind.
Uriel watched as both were moving away, a satisfied smile on his face. Finally, Uriel saw Nephis reach the portal and give him a strange look—perhaps guilt? Sadness? Joy at having won? He truly didn't know.
"Goodbye, Uriel," was all Nephis said.
After the light faded, Changing Star was gone.
Finally, he saw Sunny, who turned around.
"Congratulations, you almost fooled me..."
Uriel blinked, confused.
'What is this brat talking about?' Uriel thought.