Ashgrave vanished into the darkness, and instantly, he reappeared behind Seraphae, already mid-swing. Evershade screamed through the darkness, a crescent arc of midnight-blue. The blade grazed her shoulder, sending a spray of divine frost and shadowy sparks into the air.
Seraphae hissed, her body twisting just in time as she launched into the sky. Wings of glacial wind erupted behind her, flinging shards of frost in every direction like razors.
Her wound sealed instantly with a hiss of vapor.
Then her eyes—those cold, sacred glacial-blue eyes—ignited like flames.
She raised her hand skyward, fingers spread wide.
In a breath, the temperature plunged.
The chamber howled as a blizzard exploded into existence, the force so intense that the ancient stone walls cracked beneath the pressure. Snow didn't fall—it slammed into the earth in violent sheets.
She snapped her fingers.
A wave of suspended frost formed mid-air—ice locked in time, like the world itself was frozen by her will.
Ashgrave saw this and decided to charge forward with monstrous speed, cloak of shadows trailing behind him like the tail of a comet. His feet struck the suspended frost, using it as a platform—step, step, step—ascending toward her, wielding her own ability as if he were a nightmare—chasing a simple dream.
With one final leap, his body surged through the air, and he reached her instantly. Evershade flared with a violent-black blaze, enchanted by [Forbidden Flame].
Without hesitation, he swung the blade toward her, and within that same second, the edge grazed her cheek. A flash of fire cut across her pale skin as she forced herself backward, landing hard on the ground. She froze on impact, her body fracturing into a statue of jagged ice before shattering into a thousand gleaming shards.
The shards hit the floor like broken glass.
And from the center of the wreckage, Seraphae reformed—kneeling, breath heavy. A spear of divine ice materialized in her grip with a burst of frost. She stood tall, silent... regal.
But blood—her blood—sizzled on her cheek, a single streak of flame still burning.
A smile appeared on her face as she raised her hand, and with a hiss of pain, froze the flame on her own face. Ice spread across the wound.
She stood in silence for a heartbeat longer, the frost hissing along her skin as the wound sealed shut. Suddenly, she smiled. Not kindly. Not gently. But with a cruel curl of the lips that reeked of disgust barely restrained.
Her voice cut through the dark like a frozen blade, low, venom-laced, and trembling with righteous fury.
"Abomination."
She took a slow step forward, her heels cracking against the ice. The room grew colder with every breath she took, her long hair freezing into crystalline strands that floated around her like blades of winter. She raised a hand, [Divine Light] activated. Instantly, the pitch-black chamber was swallowed in a golden radiance, light pouring from her palm and smothering the shadows like holy fire purging blight.
Her voice trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer ecstasy of hatred. Her arms shook with restrained violence, the anticipation of destruction buzzing beneath her skin.
"I tried to cleanse you... I tried my best." Her words cracked with venom. "But not anymore. Cleansing is for the redeemable. And you—" her lip curled, "you are a mistake. A rotting, crawling nightmare that should never have existed. A mistake that shouldn't even have been thought of."
She took another step. The ice beneath her splintered like glass under divine judgment.
"You will not breathe another day in my presence. You will kneel to the divine. And you will accept your death... gracefully." Her hand tightened around the shaft of the spear, golden veins of light pulsing through the weapon as her eyes flared—glacial-blue erased by a searing gold that turned her gaze into that of a wrathful goddess.
"Do not worry," she whispered, voice thick with sadistic promise. "I will carve your sins out of your flesh. I will destroy your Aura Core and..." she grinned, eyes blazing, "your Monster Core. Because that's all you are, isn't it? A beast. Filth. A monument to disgust."
Divine light surrounded her as her form began to shift—every inch of her skin glowing with sanctified brilliance. Her trait, [Judicator's Requiem], activated upon herself, and her aura erupted into a golden blaze so blinding it scorched the shadows from existence.
Runes from the Language of Design carved themselves into Seraphae's skin like glowing scripture—golden etchings that pulsed with sacred rhythm. The symbols slithered along her arms, weaving into her veins, converging down her wrist and into the length of her divine spear. The weapon pulsed in her grasp, no longer a tool—but an extension of her judgment.
Her eyes rose.
Ashgrave—still wearing Zay's form, cloaked in abyssal black—clung to the side of a broken pillar like a creature born of wrath and shadows. His eyes, pitiless and depthless, met hers without fear. Then, in a blink he vanished from her sight and appeared directly in front of her, blade already swinging—Evershade thrumming with dark hunger, flames of [Forbidden Flame] licking the edges like it yearned for divine blood.
Metal screamed and sparks tore the air apart as spear met katana, and the chamber erupted into chaos.
She lunged forward, spinning her spear in a sweeping arc—Ashgrave ducked low, sliding across the frost-cracked floor as the shaft sliced the air above him. He spun into a crouch and launched upward, slashing horizontally—Seraphae blocked it mid-air, the force of their weapons crashing shook the entire chamber. Ice cracked. Statues shattered.
Ashgrave twisted, bringing Evershade down in a reverse grip. She sidestepped, twirling the spear with one hand and thrusting it forward. He caught the shaft between his claws, aura flaring violently as the shadows warped around them.
BOOM
A shockwave burst outward from their clash. The blizzard she'd summoned earlier warped and twisted, spiraling around them like twin dragons of frost and flame.
Ashgrave shifted first, vanishing again—reappearing above her with both hands gripping his katana. He brought it down like a guillotine, flame screaming downward.
She twirled, the butt of her spear rising to meet the strike—the clash sent both warriors skidding through across the chamber. Ashgrave rebounded off a wall and bolted forward. Seraphae didn't move as she regained her composure, at the last second, she pivoted—spear sweeping around in a brutal arc. Ashgrave ducked under it, stepped in close, and jabbed the hilt of his blade into her ribs.
She gasped—just once.
He used the moment to strike again, katana flashing for her throat, but she caught the blade mid-swing with her bare hand—divine runes glowing bright as her blood sizzled around the cursed metal.
She kneed him in the gut with force that cracked the air, then brought her spear up to impale him mid-chest. But Ashgrave let himself bend back unnaturally, landing on all fours before lunging upward like a beast, claws slashing in a relentless, furious manner.
Their battle tore across the chamber.
They clashed across shattered pews of ice and divine murals. They ran across walls, weapons crashing in a blur of motion. Divine light and unholy fire lit the air in every direction—shadows dancing madly with each strike. Every exchange more violent, more surgical.
Seraphae swept her spear in a horizontal arc—Ashgrave didn't react in time as the spear's tip pierced through his shoulder. Divine light ignited from within, burning violently. He leapt backward as [Unholy Regeneration] activated, sealing the wound instantly.
Before he could land, Seraphae surged through the chamber. Her spear swept high—he ducked beneath it, but the moment he lowered himself, she unleashed a torrent of frozen frost fused with divine flame that swallowed him whole.
[Unholy Regeneration] triggered once more, but this time, [Unholy Hunger] activated on its own. Ashgrave devoured the divine flames, absorbing them like a starving beast. He clutched his stomach as the sacred fire turned to fuel, igniting his core. Flames of black and gold surged through his veins as he looked up—locking eyes with Seraphae.
His claws lashed out, seizing her wrist—and [Forbidden Flame] erupted, surging directly into her body from the contact point. Her eyes widened, frost instantly blooming across her skin. In that frozen moment, Ashgrave pivoted and unleashed a brutal kick —infused with aura, divine flame, and the searing wrath of [Forbidden Flame], all fused into one.
She reappeared in the center of the chamber, resurrected by [Judicator's Requiem], locking eyes with the kick that would have landed… if she hadn't killed herself first.
The kick collided with the fractured ice shards, triggering an eruption—an explosion of ash, divinity, and the most unholy flame she had ever witnessed.
'A beast who can absorb divinity?' she thought, exhaling slowly.
"A mere beast who can consume divinity...—"
Ashgrave appeared in front of her without warning, not allowing her to finish speaking. His hand shot out, grabbing her throat, and his grip tightened, claws sinking into her skin. He raised his other hand and slammed it into her stomach. [Forbidden Flames] activated, and it began to devour her from the inside.