Aurelion returned toward Noctis without opening his surviving wing, driving himself forward through direct divine propulsion while Judicael remained close to the right side of his body. The puncture through his shoulder and wing-root had changed the way he carried the blade-scepter, reducing the wider corrections he had used immediately after abandoning Titan Form, but the smaller body still allowed him to attack with far less wasted movement than before. Malgoryth was already preparing another displacement from the opposite side, rift reinforcement extending from his wounded right forearm into several points along Ghorvath so the damaged hand no longer had to carry the axe alone. Thousands of Bloodfang Reapers filled the space between all three gods, crossing one another in layered streams of crimson blades that never settled into a fixed formation and never stopped attacking long enough for either opponent to find a clean route through them.
Judicael entered Noctis's reach through a compact thrust toward the chest, and Sanguinastra caught the weapon near its lower section before the point could reach Aegis. Noctis did not immediately force the lance into a counterattack because the Reaper storm was already closing around Aurelion's weapon side; several blades struck white-gold reinforcement along his ribs and shoulder while others crossed beneath his arm toward the forearm holding Judicael. Aurelion destroyed two constructs by turning the blade-scepter through them and shifted his leg away from another, but that same movement allowed a Reaper coming from below to cut across the outside of his thigh while another drove toward the damaged shoulder. He pulled Judicael inward to keep the forearm from being pierced and rotated his torso away from the blade approaching the wing-root, and Noctis used those defensive movements to release pressure from Sanguinastra and bring the Bloodfang sword across the opening near the ribs.
Aurelion intercepted the sword with Judicael before the cut reached flesh, but the interception placed the weapon farther across his body than the wounded shoulder could comfortably support. The Reaper storm immediately filled the directions he could no longer cover, blades striking the reinforcement across his back and hip while another passed close enough to his face that he had to turn his head and upper body instead of continuing to press Noctis. Sanguinastra came forward during that turn, forcing Judicael down toward the lance while the Bloodfang sword remained near the divine god's forearm. Aurelion finally broke the exchange through direct propulsion, accepting a second shallow cut across his thigh rather than continuing to hold both weapons in front of Noctis while hundreds of additional Reapers were already converging on his exposed side.
Malgoryth completed his displacement before Aurelion had moved far enough to leave the storm surrounding Noctis. His chosen exit formed behind and below Noctis, but it did not deliver him into open air; dozens of Bloodfang Reapers were already crossing that region as part of the larger storm, and Ghorvath had to break through several simply to establish an attack line. The axe shattered three blades during its upward movement while rift reinforcement absorbed impacts from others along Malgoryth's flank and legs, but one Reaper still cut the back of his thigh and another struck the brace wrapped around his wounded forearm hard enough to make his fingers tighten involuntarily around the haft. "Damn these things," Malgoryth snarled as he forced more rift power into the injured wrist and continued driving Ghorvath toward Noctis.
Noctis turned only enough to bring the Bloodfang sword against Ghorvath's haft, leaving Sanguinastra between himself and the retreating Aurelion instead of fully surrendering the first engagement. Ghorvath drove into the blood-forged blade with enough force to push both weapons several inches toward Noctis, but the Reaper storm immediately attacked the position Malgoryth had to maintain to keep that pressure. Two Bloodfangs crossed beneath the axe toward the wounded forearm while others cut at the ribs, legs, and back, and Malgoryth had to thicken the rift reinforcement around his hand before one of the blades could enter the already damaged wrist. Noctis watched the support gather around the injury and shifted Sanguinastra toward the thinner protection beneath Malgoryth's missing arm. "Keep protecting the wrist," he said quietly. "It makes the rest easier."
Malgoryth twisted away before the lance could penetrate deeply, but Sanguinastra still cut through the weakened seal beneath the severed arm and released another stream of black-red blood into the storm. Ghorvath came back across to force Noctis away from the wound, and Noctis allowed the Bloodfang sword to follow the haft rather than meeting the returning axe head with brute force. A Reaper passed between Malgoryth's ribs and the weapon during that recovery, forcing him to shift his elbow and wrist, and another cut the outside of his thigh as he tried to recover the axe. "Fuck you," Malgoryth growled, wrenching Ghorvath free before Sanguinastra could enter again.
Aurelion reentered before Malgoryth completely regained the weapon line, Judicael cutting through several Reapers as the divine god drove toward Noctis from the opposite side. The three weapons converged within a few meters, but Noctis did not abandon one opponent to face the other; Sanguinastra caught Judicael while the Bloodfang sword remained against Ghorvath, and the storm surrounding them continued striking both gods from angles Noctis's hands could not physically occupy. Aurelion destroyed one blade near his right forearm and turned away from another approaching the punctured shoulder, while Malgoryth accepted a shallow cut across his back so he could keep Ghorvath pressing against the Bloodfang sword. Their willingness to ignore some of the lesser wounds allowed both of them to maintain pressure, but it also fed more divine and demonic blood into the same battlefield Noctis already controlled.
Devour pulled thin streams of that blood toward Noctis while his weapons remained engaged. Divine blood from Aurelion's thigh and shoulder entered Genesis Vessel alongside Malgoryth's demonic blood without creating any conflict between the different essences, and the unified bloodline processed both while Noctis continued moving between Judicael and Ghorvath. The additional essence supported regeneration, blood manipulation, and the density of his constructs without requiring him to interrupt the exchange or consciously redirect the internal flow. Aurelion noticed one of the streams leave the wound along his ribs and curve toward Noctis, and his expression tightened even though he said nothing.
Malgoryth noticed his own blood moving a moment later. A narrow ribbon slipped away from the wound beneath his missing arm, joining the larger circulation around Noctis before disappearing into Genesis Vessel. "Stop taking my blood," he snapped as he drove more force through Ghorvath and tried to break the Bloodfang sword away from the haft. Noctis shifted his wrist with the pressure rather than resisting it directly, allowing another Reaper to cut Malgoryth across the side as he answered, "Then stop bleeding."
Aurelion tried to use the simultaneous pressure to drive Judicael farther through Sanguinastra, expecting Malgoryth's attack from the opposite side to keep Noctis from adjusting his stance. The movement forced the divine god's right shoulder forward, and the storm around him immediately reacted to the exposed line, several Reapers striking the torso reinforcement while another drove directly toward the forearm holding Judicael. He destroyed the closest blade and shifted the weapon just enough to keep the second from piercing the arm, but the change loosened the pressure against Sanguinastra. Noctis rotated the lance through that weakening contact and used Aurelion's own movement to turn his body farther away from Ghorvath, allowing the Bloodfang sword to slide off the axe and strike toward Malgoryth's wrist at the same time.
Malgoryth pulled Ghorvath back to protect the injured arm, and the retreating haft crossed a Reaper already moving through the space behind it. The construct broke against the weapon and returned to droplets that flowed around Malgoryth's hand, while another blade cut the ribs he had weakened to reinforce the wrist. "Again?" Noctis asked as the Bloodfang sword followed the retreating haft and forced Malgoryth to keep withdrawing the arm. Malgoryth's face tightened with anger, but he abandoned the bind rather than allowing the sword and surrounding Reapers to attack the same damaged limb together.
Noctis used Genesis Step to leave the narrow space between the gods before Aurelion could exploit the movement. He reappeared above Aurelion's right side while the Reaper storm continued saturating the space below, forcing both gods to recover their weapons inside the same relentless pressure rather than being granted the distance normally created by a successful disengagement. The Doctrine of Absolute Sovereignty adjusted Noctis's transitions without any separate activation, turning spear pressure into sword positioning and then into displacement while thousands of Reapers continued responding to the same combat rhythm. Aurelion turned Judicael upward, but the movement required him to pull the weapon through the damaged shoulder while several Bloodfangs were already crossing the lower guard from different directions.
The lance cut through white-gold reinforcement before Aurelion could finish turning. He moved backward under propulsion, refusing to open the wounded wing, and Judicael remained close enough to his body to prevent the shoulder from carrying another wide correction. Bloodfangs followed the retreat in dense streams, some striking reinforcement and others forcing changes of direction simply by threatening wounds Aurelion could not afford to ignore. A blade passing toward the punctured wing-root made him tilt away, and the altered body angle allowed another Reaper to cut the outside of his calf before Judicael could reach it.
Noctis did not immediately use Genesis Step to pursue. The Bloodfang sword dissolved from his right hand and returned to the storm while Nocturne formed in its place, the pistol rising toward Aurelion as hundreds of Reapers continued forcing the divine god to defend different parts of his body. Several blades converged on the damaged shoulder and weapon arm, prompting Aurelion to draw Judicael toward that side and reinforce the same region. Crimson Omen Sight showed Noctis the opening created lower along the blade-scepter, while Blood Memory supplied the internal transfer route Aurelion was relying on to keep the shoulder and weapon protected at the same time.
Nocturne fired into that lower line while Aurelion was still dealing with the Reapers around his shoulder. Judicael moved down to intercept the shot, but the change exposed the upper arm and flank to blades crossing from behind, and one Reaper cut the forearm before another struck the torso reinforcement hard enough to make Aurelion shift his stance. Noctis fired a second time toward the altered transfer path rather than repeating the first target, and Aurelion redirected the weapon again to keep the shot from reaching the junction cleanly. "You already know where it moves," Aurelion said, the irritation in his voice controlled but unmistakable.
"Your blood showed me," Noctis replied, firing again as the Reaper storm continued attacking Aurelion's back and legs. Judicael caught the next shot, but the defensive movement opened the ribs to two passing Bloodfangs, one breaking against reinforcement and the other cutting flesh before Aurelion accelerated farther away. Noctis did not chase immediately with his body, allowing the pistols and storm to make the retreat expensive instead. The implication of his answer stayed with Aurelion as much as the wounds did, because every additional drop he lost could give Noctis more than strength.
The engagement never became a ranged duel. Nocturne existed only as another part of the same pressure already being applied by the Reapers, forcing Aurelion to defend lines he would otherwise have left covered by Judicael while the storm punished whatever he exposed to make those defenses. Noctis moved forward through the same blood-filled space without rushing, allowing the Bloodfangs to keep Aurelion occupied until the divine god's retreat brought him close enough for Genesis Step to become useful again. Nocturne dissolved during the displacement, and the Bloodfang sword reformed before Noctis emerged beside Aurelion's right side.
Judicael turned toward him immediately, but the Reaper storm had already forced Aurelion to keep the weapon lower than he preferred. Sanguinastra met the blade-scepter near the lower guard while the Bloodfang sword attacked the forearm from above, and several Reapers struck from behind during the same contact. Aurelion protected the weapon arm, allowing one blade to cut across his back and another to strike the reinforcement over the thigh, then turned Judicael against the Bloodfang sword before it could enter deeply. Noctis used the resulting movement to bring Sanguinastra across the ribs rather than trying to force either weapon through the strongest portion of Aurelion's defense.
Aurelion blocked the lance, but the cross-body defense pulled sharply through the wounded shoulder. His expression tightened as the puncture opened again beneath the reinforcement and sent another thin line of divine blood into the storm. Noctis kept the lance against Judicael long enough to feel the change in resistance before saying, "That shoulder is getting worse." Aurelion drove himself backward rather than answer, but the sharper movement through the wound made Noctis's observation impossible to dismiss.
Malgoryth opened another rift while Noctis remained close to Aurelion. Blood Memory tracked the relationship between the anchors as the demon god shifted the exit away from the densest concentrations of the storm, but there was no region in the immediate battlefield completely free of Reapers. Noctis released the Bloodfang sword as the main support point became clear, allowing Ruin to form in his right hand while Sanguinastra remained against Judicael. The pistol fired across the battlefield into the rift structure before Malgoryth finished the displacement.
The shot struck one of the support points carrying Ghorvath's reinforced weapon line and forced Malgoryth to redistribute power through the developing route. He changed the exit rather than allowing the structure to destabilize completely, emerging several meters from the original destination inside another section of the Bloodfang storm. Ghorvath immediately destroyed several blades while rift pressure scattered others, but Reapers continued crossing from beyond the cleared space, one cutting the back of his shoulder and another striking the reinforcement around the wounded forearm before he could turn toward Noctis. "Stop shooting the damned anchors!" Malgoryth roared as Ruin fired again into the external brace.
Noctis did not even turn fully toward him. "Make better ones."
The second shot struck a different rift junction and forced more demonic power into the weapon at the same moment several Reapers were attacking Malgoryth's ribs and legs. He strengthened the support enough to keep the axe stable, but a Bloodfang passed through the thinner protection across his side and opened another wound. The storm closed the temporary space his pulse had created before he could use it as an approach lane, and Malgoryth's anger rose as he realized that destroying the nearest constructs only changed their shape for a few moments. Blood droplets from shattered Reapers were already reforming around his back and weapon arm.
"Get these damned things off me!" Malgoryth shouted as Ghorvath came around in a broad sweep that destroyed another cluster of Reapers.
"No," Noctis answered.
The simplicity of the reply seemed to anger him more than any elaborate taunt could have. Malgoryth drove rift pressure outward hard enough to blast the nearest droplets away, then forced himself forward before the storm closed again. The opening lasted barely long enough for him to gain several meters before Reapers from above and below crossed back into the space and began attacking the legs and weapon arm once more.
Noctis remained physically engaged with Aurelion throughout the distant exchange. Sanguinastra held Judicael away from his center while Ruin fired across the battlefield, and several Bloodfangs kept forcing Aurelion to change the divine weapon's position while the pistol pressured Malgoryth's rift structures. The ability to manage both opponents without separating the combat into individual exchanges came from more than raw perception; Crimson Omen Sight, Blood Memory, the doctrinal lattice, and the harmonized Genesis systems shared the workload beneath conscious motion. Noctis could read Aurelion's weapon transfer, track Malgoryth's rift support, guide thousands of Bloodfangs, maintain Devour, and control two different weapons without any one system requiring him to abandon the others.
Aurelion used the moment when Ruin fired to force Judicael harder against Sanguinastra, but several Reapers immediately struck the arm and shoulder carrying the increased pressure. He destroyed two constructs without surrendering the bind and accepted a shallow cut across his thigh to keep moving forward, yet another blade approaching the wing-root forced him to rotate away before he could drive through Noctis's guard. Sanguinastra followed the retreating weapon and cut along the ribs while Ruin dissolved back into blood. "Watch me, not him," Aurelion said sharply as he tried to restore the weapon line.
"I am," Noctis replied, and the Bloodfang sword returned to his right hand in time to strike Judicael as Aurelion recovered the lower guard.
Malgoryth crossed the remaining distance through another displacement before Noctis could continue against Aurelion. Ghorvath emerged already moving, supported by several rift points along the haft so the damaged wrist could remain comparatively rigid, but the storm around the exit struck both the weapon and its supporting structures as soon as he appeared. Several Reapers shattered against the axe and brace while others cut at his legs and torso, and one blade reached the injured forearm deeply enough to release blood before rift pressure broke it apart. Malgoryth pushed through the impacts and entered Noctis's reach anyway, his face tightening as another ribbon of blood immediately began curving away from the wound.
Noctis caught Ghorvath with the Bloodfang sword while Sanguinastra remained occupied by Judicael. The resulting contact placed him between both gods again, but the Reaper storm made the geometry fundamentally different from an ordinary two-sided attack. Aurelion could not devote all of Judicael's movement to Noctis because blades were striking from behind and below, and Malgoryth could not commit Ghorvath fully while multiple Reapers attacked the forearm and rift braces carrying the weapon. Noctis shifted his weight between both contacts and let the pressure from one opponent alter his angle against the other instead of attempting to overpower two god-level weapons simultaneously.
Aurelion changed Judicael's line and tried to use the movement to trap Sanguinastra against the blade-scepter. The shift exposed the outside of his forearm, and two Reapers arrived nearly together, one forcing him to rotate his wrist while the other cut through reinforcement along the upper arm. Noctis released the lance before it could be trapped and redirected Sanguinastra toward Malgoryth's ribs, where the demon god had just weakened his protection to maintain Ghorvath against the Bloodfang sword. Malgoryth saw the lance changing targets and swore as he twisted away. "Fight him for five damned seconds!"
Noctis's gaze remained on both gods. "Why?"
The lance cut through the edge of Malgoryth's reinforcement before he could retreat, while the Bloodfang sword slid farther along Ghorvath toward the damaged wrist. Aurelion attacked again during the same movement, and Noctis used Genesis Step before Judicael could enter his side, appearing several meters away as both gods were forced to recover inside the storm. Malgoryth stared after him with open fury while Aurelion's expression remained harder to read, though the tension around his jaw had deepened.
A Sovereign Chain emerged from the blood crossing beneath Aurelion and wrapped around his lower leg while he was turning away from several Reapers near the wounded shoulder. The chain was never expected to hold him for more than an instant, and white-gold power broke it almost immediately, but the interruption altered the line of his propulsion enough that he entered another stream of Bloodfangs rather than the open route he had intended. Judicael cut through two constructs while another struck the reinforcement across his hip, and a blade approaching the wing-root forced him to bring the weapon back toward his right side before he could regain momentum.
Nocturne formed in Noctis's hand as that forced correction happened. The first shot went toward the lower guard while Aurelion was protecting the shoulder, making him move Judicael downward before the Reapers behind him could be cleared. A second chain crossed toward the weapon arm at the same time, and although Aurelion broke it before it wrapped completely around the forearm, the movement kept the blade-scepter from returning to a neutral position. Nocturne fired again through the resulting line, striking reinforcement along the weapon and forcing Aurelion farther from a stable attack stance.
Malgoryth attempted to use the ranged pressure on Aurelion as an opportunity to form a wider defensive region around himself. Rift power expanded outward and pushed the closest Reapers away, creating a moving shell that gave Ghorvath enough space to recover while the forearm brace was reinforced. Noctis turned his attention toward the structure without releasing the pressure on Aurelion, allowing Nocturne to dissolve as Ruin formed in its place. The first shot struck one part of the rift shell while hundreds of Reapers pressed against the rest of it, and Malgoryth immediately reinforced the impacted section before the projectile could break deeper.
Ruin fired again at a different junction before the first region had fully stabilized, and several Sovereign Chains emerged through the surrounding storm to pull against separate points in the defensive structure. Malgoryth destroyed the nearest chain with a rift pulse and redistributed power across the barrier, but the repeated changes forced the shell to thin over the opposite side. Bloodfangs entered through that weaker region and immediately began attacking the ribs, back, and weapon arm. "You irritating bastard," Malgoryth growled as he turned Ghorvath through the intrusion and shattered dozens of Reapers.
The destroyed constructs became a cloud of droplets around him instead of disappearing. Noctis watched the rift shell adjust around that blood and raised Ruin toward a support point Malgoryth had just strengthened. "You keep clearing space for my blood," he said before firing. The shot struck the rift structure while lightning traveled through the same disrupted region, forcing Malgoryth to move additional power into the barrier as the droplets around him began reforming.
The combined pressure made the shell distort around the weapon side. Bloodfangs poured through the instability from several directions at once, forcing Malgoryth to abandon the static defense and shift into another displacement before the barrier collapsed around him. He disappeared while cursing under his breath, but Blood Memory continued tracking the support relationship through the transition. Ruin fired into one anchor and forced him to change the route, while a Sovereign Chain struck another and pulled against it long enough to demand additional stabilization.
The final route emerged farther left than Malgoryth intended and placed him inside another moving layer of Reapers. Ghorvath and rift pressure cleared enough space for his body to appear, but several blades still struck the legs and back before he could establish a new weapon position. One sliced into the wounded forearm just beyond the brace and made his fingers jerk around the haft. "Fuck!" Malgoryth roared, clamping the hand shut with additional rift reinforcement before the axe could slip.
Noctis was already moving toward Aurelion again when Malgoryth emerged. Ruin remained in his right hand long enough to fire one more shot into the external support along Ghorvath, then dissolved as the Bloodfang sword reformed during Genesis Step. Sanguinastra returned to the center of his stance before the displacement ended. The transition placed Noctis beside Aurelion while Malgoryth was still rebuilding the weapon brace under the distant storm.
Aurelion responded with a compact Judicael thrust intended to catch Noctis immediately after the Step. Sanguinastra turned the point outside his torso, and the Bloodfang sword came toward the forearm while dozens of Reapers crossed around Aurelion's surviving side. He stopped the sword with Judicael and used white-gold reinforcement to break several constructs without abandoning the weapon contact, but one Reaper still cut across his back and another struck the thigh as he shifted his weight. Noctis kept the lance against Judicael until the divine god moved the weapon to protect his forearm, then changed Sanguinastra's angle toward the ribs instead of forcing the bind.
Aurelion caught the lance with the blade-scepter and retreated through propulsion, allowing one Bloodfang to strike reinforcement across the shoulder rather than opening the wing to create lateral distance. Noctis followed only far enough to keep Judicael from settling before releasing the Bloodfang sword into the surrounding storm. An iron-marrow projectile formed in his right hand and launched toward a secondary structural point Blood Memory had exposed in Aurelion's defensive distribution. Judicael moved to intercept it, and Noctis watched the reinforcement around the ribs thin exactly where he expected.
"Too much to cover?" Noctis asked.
Aurelion deflected the projectile and immediately brought Judicael back toward Sanguinastra. "You talk more when you think you're winning."
"I am winning."
The answer came without emphasis, and Noctis Genesis Stepped inside Aurelion's recovering guard before the divine god could respond. Sanguinastra cut across the right side while the Bloodfang sword reformed in his opposite hand and struck Judicael near the lower guard. Reapers attacked the back and thigh during the same exchange, forcing Aurelion to use propulsion to escape before the lance could deepen the wound.
The brief exchange left more divine blood moving through the storm. Aurelion saw one stream curve away from his ribs and disappear into Noctis, but instead of answering the taunt he thickened reinforcement around the shoulder and torso before reentering. His silence carried more restraint than calm now. The repeated need to defend the same damaged structures was beginning to shape every choice he made with Judicael.
Aurelion tried to change the rhythm of the next exchange by delaying his attack and allowing Noctis to approach farther before thrusting. The tactic would have punished an opponent committed to a familiar cadence, but Absolute Sovereignty did not leave Noctis trapped inside a single rhythm. His stance shortened as Aurelion delayed, the Bloodfang storm continued applying independent pressure, and Crimson Omen Sight caught the shift through the divine god's shoulder and torso before Judicael accelerated. Sanguinastra met the thrust while several Reapers struck the weapon arm during its extension.
One blade cut the forearm. Another passed close to the punctured shoulder and forced Aurelion to turn away from the bind before he could build pressure through Judicael. The Bloodfang sword entered as the divine weapon withdrew and cut the ribs, while a Reaper striking the back of the leg prevented Aurelion from immediately changing his propulsion line. Noctis moved with him and said, "That timing worked better in your memories."
Aurelion's eyes hardened. "Stay out of my memories."
"Stop giving them to me."
The Reaper storm followed Aurelion's retreat, and for the first time his control visibly slipped enough for him to destroy several nearby constructs with far more force than the situation required. White-gold pressure tore through them and blasted the resulting blood outward, but the droplets remained suspended in the broader field and began curving back as soon as the burst dissipated. Noctis did not comment further. The sight of the blood returning was enough.
Malgoryth came back through a more complex rift arrangement, multiple anchors appearing around the fight while the external supports along Ghorvath connected into the same network. Blood Memory showed Noctis the underlying geometry without revealing the final exit until Malgoryth committed enough power to one path. Noctis did not attempt to guess, continuing to attack Aurelion while thousands of Reapers remained distributed through all viable arrival regions. The first real route began forming above and behind him.
Nocturne replaced the Bloodfang sword and fired into a supporting junction while Aurelion was still engaged by Sanguinastra. Malgoryth shifted the route and transferred power into a second anchor, but the revised exit placed Ghorvath inside a region already crossed by hundreds of Reapers. Several struck the developing rift structure before Malgoryth emerged, forcing him to thicken its support while the pistol fire continued from outside. "Will you stop that?" Malgoryth shouted from within the distortion as another shot struck the network.
Noctis fired again. "No."
The final route stabilized anyway, and Malgoryth completed the displacement with Ghorvath descending toward Noctis as dozens of Reapers struck the axe, torso, legs, and wounded forearm during the arrival. He shattered several constructs with the weapon and pushed through the others rather than abandoning the attack. A Bloodfang still opened the outside of his thigh while another cut across the back, and the rift brace over the wrist absorbed repeated impacts as Ghorvath closed. Malgoryth was already roaring by the time the axe reached Noctis.
Genesis Step moved Noctis across the descending weapon. Nocturne dissolved during the movement, and the Bloodfang sword reformed in time to strike Ghorvath's haft near the injured wrist when Noctis appeared beside Malgoryth. Sanguinastra left Judicael and came toward the demon god's ribs from the opposite side, forcing Malgoryth to defend his body while the Reaper storm continued hammering at the same weapon arm Noctis was pressuring physically. The rift brace around Malgoryth's wrist thickened as the sword pushed against Ghorvath.
Several Reapers attacked the brace directly while others cut across the thigh and missing-arm side. Malgoryth had to choose between continuing to reinforce the weapon and restoring protection to the wounds opening around his torso, and he kept Ghorvath stable long enough for another Reaper to cut the ribs. Sanguinastra followed that opening and deepened the wound before Malgoryth could shift the axe across himself. "Damn you!" he roared as a short displacement finally pulled him away.
Noctis let him go. "Still using the same arm."
Malgoryth emerged from the short rift already turning back toward him. "It's the arm I have left!"
"That sounds like your problem."
Aurelion reached Noctis before Malgoryth could answer, Judicael thrusting through several Bloodfangs and catching Sanguinastra before the lance returned fully from the previous exchange. The divine god forced pressure through the blade-scepter while the Bloodfang sword remained pointed toward Malgoryth's retreat, but Reapers struck Aurelion's back and legs as he drove forward. Noctis allowed the lance to yield several inches before turning the sword away from Malgoryth and bringing it against Judicael's lower guard.
The weapon contact became a layered contest rather than a simple bind. Aurelion tried to keep Judicael pressing through Sanguinastra while Noctis attacked the lower guard with the Bloodfang sword, and the Reaper storm continuously forced the divine god to adjust his body and reinforcement around both hands. Several blades struck the torso field, another cut the back of the thigh, and one approached the wounded shoulder closely enough that Aurelion had to pull Judicael farther across his body to protect it. That movement released the pressure against Sanguinastra, allowing Noctis to turn the lance through the opening and cut across the ribs.
Aurelion withdrew before the lance entered deeper, but the storm followed. Hundreds of Reapers continued through his route rather than treating the retreat as the end of the exchange, and Judicael moved constantly to keep the more dangerous trajectories away from the shoulder and weapon arm. A blade still found the outside of his calf, another cut the surviving side, and several struck reinforcement hard enough to keep him from immediately reversing direction. Noctis watched the defensive pattern settle around the damaged shoulder and quietly said, "You're protecting it before I even attack now."
Aurelion did not answer.
Malgoryth had used the distance to rebuild the external supports along Ghorvath and thicken the brace around the injured forearm. Noctis did not respond by attacking the wrist again immediately. Ruin formed in his right hand as the Bloodfang sword dissolved, and the pistol fired at one of the external rift supports while the larger storm continued hitting Malgoryth's entire body from different directions. The shot forced him to reinforce the threatened support, which reduced the amount of power available to the wound seal beneath his missing arm.
Reapers struck that weakened side before Noctis fired again. One cut through the seal while others hammered the ribs and back, forcing Malgoryth to restore protection there. Ruin's second shot hit a different support point while the redistribution was occurring, and Ghorvath tilted under the interruption enough that the demon god had to use the wounded hand more actively to keep the weapon aligned. "I'm going to rip that gun out of your hand," Malgoryth snarled.
Noctis lowered Ruin slightly as Genesis Step began folding space around him. "Come take it."
He disappeared before Malgoryth could close the distance normally. Ruin dissolved during the Step, the Bloodfang sword returned, and Sanguinastra remained ready in the opposite hand when Noctis appeared beside the demon god. The sword struck Ghorvath close to the wrist while the lance attacked the ribs, and several Reapers converged on the arm and legs during the same contact. Malgoryth blocked the lance with rift pressure and strengthened the forearm brace, allowing one of the blades at his back to cut through reinforcement rather than sacrificing the weapon line.
Noctis shifted the Bloodfang sword along the haft instead of trying to tear Ghorvath from Malgoryth's grip. A Reaper passed beneath the weapon and attacked the wrist from another direction, forcing Malgoryth to move his hand even while Noctis maintained pressure from the front. Sanguinastra changed angle with that movement and cut through the ribs again. Malgoryth retreated through a rift after creating only enough distance to prevent Noctis from entering the displacement beside him.
Aurelion had begun gathering divine power through Judicael while the other exchange unfolded. The physical pattern differed from the attacks he had used during the current battle, and the transfer route initially appeared unfamiliar to Noctis's direct experience. Blood Memory supplied another layer of information as the structure developed, drawing on memories taken from Aurelion's blood and revealing the same execution being used in battles long before the current confrontation. Noctis did not inherit Aurelion's power or the ability itself, but he understood which portions of Judicael had to carry the buildup and where the secondary transfer could not be avoided.
The Reaper storm was already attacking those regions. Aurelion destroyed several Bloodfangs around the lower guard and reinforced the wounded shoulder while keeping the developing execution intact, but every defensive movement demanded power that had to remain coordinated with the transfer through Judicael. Ruin formed in Noctis's right hand and fired into a secondary junction as Sanguinastra remained ready for the physical approach. The shot struck reinforcement before reaching the structure cleanly, yet Aurelion still had to alter the route to preserve the technique.
Several Reapers concentrated on the new transfer region while others continued striking the rest of Aurelion's body. He destroyed a cluster near Judicael, accepted a cut along the thigh, and increased reinforcement around the shoulder as another blade approached the wing-root. Ruin fired again when the transfer shifted, forcing Judicael to move across the path of the shot while a Sovereign Chain reached the lower leg from within the storm. Aurelion broke the chain immediately, but the interruption altered the alignment between his torso and weapon while the execution was still building.
Noctis watched the transfer adjust and spoke without raising his voice. "You shifted it too early."
Aurelion's eyes snapped toward him.
Ruin fired into the newly exposed junction before he could correct it. The developing technique became unstable enough that Aurelion released part of the gathered energy outward rather than allowing it to collapse through Judicael. White-gold force expanded through the surrounding storm and destroyed dozens of Bloodfang Reapers, carrying blood outward in a widening pressure wave.
For several meters around Aurelion, the storm finally thinned.
The relief lasted less than a breath. Hundreds of other Reapers remained outside the blast, and the scattered blood from those he had destroyed curved back as soon as the pressure weakened, droplets joining into blades while fresh constructs crossed through the temporary clearing. Aurelion watched them return from every direction, and the composure he had maintained throughout most of the chapter finally fractured. "Enough!" he roared, driving Judicael through the first Reaper that reached him and blasting another apart with white-gold force.
Noctis Genesis Stepped through the recovering field before Aurelion could rebuild Judicael's structure. Ruin dissolved, the Bloodfang sword returned, and Sanguinastra struck the blade-scepter while the divine god was still bringing it back into a defensive position. "That won't help," Noctis said as another cluster of Reapers closed around Aurelion's back and surviving side. "You can keep breaking them."
The Bloodfang sword attacked the right forearm while Sanguinastra held Judicael away from Noctis's center. Aurelion reinforced the arm and moved the weapon to intercept the sword, exposing the ribs to several Reapers and forcing his torso to turn farther through the wounded shoulder. Noctis released the sword contact before Aurelion could trap it and changed Sanguinastra toward the ribs. "They'll keep coming back," he finished as the lance cut through reinforcement before direct propulsion carried Aurelion away.
Aurelion retreated through the storm with visibly less restraint than before. Judicael destroyed the Bloodfangs entering his immediate path, but the motions were sharper and more forceful, making the wounded shoulder work harder every time the weapon crossed his body. One Reaper struck the forearm while another cut the back of the thigh, and Aurelion's answering burst of divine force shattered both. More blades replaced them almost immediately.
"Stop wasting power!" Malgoryth shouted from farther away as he prepared another rift. "You're only scattering them!"
Aurelion turned toward him with open anger. "Then stop opening rifts where they can follow you!"
"They are everywhere!"
"Yes," Noctis said from between them. "They are."
Malgoryth glared toward him as the rift network continued forming. "Shut up."
Noctis raised Nocturne. "No."
The pistol fired into one supporting anchor while a Sovereign Chain struck another. Malgoryth shifted the true route and broke the chain with rift pressure, but the adjustment transferred more power away from the brace around his wounded forearm. The final exit opened inside a thick layer of Bloodfangs, and Ghorvath immediately began clearing them as Malgoryth emerged. Reapers struck his torso and legs during the arrival while others hit the weakened forearm brace hard enough to open part of the earlier wound again.
Nocturne fired through the storm into an external Ghorvath support before Malgoryth could regain a full attack line. The shot destabilized one section of the rift network and forced him to alter the axe's angle, allowing several Bloodfangs to pass the weapon and cut across the ribs. Noctis used Genesis Step to close the distance while the demon god was repairing the support. The pistol dissolved, the Bloodfang sword returned, and Sanguinastra shifted into position as Noctis appeared inside Ghorvath's preferred arc.
The sword struck the haft while the lance went toward the ribs, and the storm continued attacking the wounded wrist, thighs, back, and missing-arm side throughout the contact. Malgoryth increased the reinforcement around Ghorvath and used rift pressure to block Sanguinastra, but every additional layer committed to the weapon reduced the protection available elsewhere. One Reaper cut the side, another struck the forearm brace, and a third passed close enough to the wrist that Malgoryth had to pull Ghorvath inward rather than continuing to press the sword.
"Damn it!" Malgoryth shouted as another blade cut through his flank.
Noctis followed the retreating axe with the Bloodfang sword. "You're getting slower."
"I'm going to kill you."
"You've been trying."
Sanguinastra changed angle toward Malgoryth's abdomen while he was still pulling Ghorvath inward, forcing the demon god to turn away and open a short displacement. He escaped before the lance could enter deeply, but another line of blood joined the surrounding field before the rift closed. Devour drew part of it toward Noctis while the rest remained available to the storm.
Aurelion returned through that pressure from the opposite side, Judicael held close and the damaged wing still folded. His attacks had become more economical as the shoulder worsened, relying on thrusts and short cuts that minimized cross-body motion, but the Reaper storm continued forcing exactly the kinds of corrections he was trying to avoid. Several blades attacked the right side while others crossed his legs and back, requiring changes in stance and weapon angle before he could reach Noctis. He still drove through enough of them to enter close range with Judicael pointed toward the chest.
Noctis caught the thrust with the Bloodfang sword instead of Sanguinastra. The blade-scepter slid along the blood-forged edge while the lance remained free, and Aurelion used that difference to pull Judicael toward the weapon and try to dominate the bind. Reapers struck the arm and shoulder supporting the movement, forcing him to reinforce the same structures Noctis was loading through the sword contact. Sanguinastra entered beneath the bind toward the ribs.
Aurelion moved Judicael down to stop the lance, releasing pressure from the Bloodfang sword. Noctis turned the sword toward the forearm while the Reaper storm attacked the lower guard and thigh, leaving Aurelion no single direction in which to move without exposing something else. "Every time," Noctis said as Aurelion chose to retreat through propulsion rather than continue the exchange. "You protect the weapon, the Reapers cut you. You protect yourself, I get the weapon."
Aurelion took a shallow cut along the back and another across the calf while Judicael remained close to the wounded shoulder. "Then come closer and finish it."
Noctis stayed where he was while Nocturne formed in his hand. "Why?"
The pistol fired as Aurelion's expression hardened. Judicael caught the shot, but the movement exposed his lower body to the surrounding Reapers, and one cut the thigh while another drove toward his hip. Aurelion accelerated sideways, only to find more Bloodfangs already crossing the route.
Frost spread through one section of the blood moving around Judicael as Aurelion cut through several Reapers. It did not attempt to freeze the divine weapon or overpower Aurelion's god-level resistance; the cold concentrated briefly along part of the lower guard and the reinforcement surrounding it, changing the response of that section just as another group of Bloodfangs attacked from behind. Judicael's movement slowed only enough for one Reaper to cut the forearm and another to strike the ribs before Aurelion broke the frost apart with divine power.
Noctis did not repeat the effect. The opening had already served its purpose, and Absolute Sovereignty shifted seamlessly back into the weapon rhythm as Genesis Step carried him closer. Sanguinastra met Judicael while the Bloodfang sword attacked the weakened forearm, and several Reapers crossed the remaining defensive angles. Aurelion blocked the sword and allowed reinforcement to absorb the lance long enough to retreat, but the continued need to protect the shoulder, lower guard, legs, and back kept his divine power distributed across the whole body.
Malgoryth entered the same region with Ghorvath supported by a rebuilt network of rift points. Noctis kept Sanguinastra against Judicael while the Bloodfang sword turned toward the incoming axe, and the surrounding Reapers struck both gods throughout the overlapping weapon contacts. Aurelion took another cut across the forearm while blocking two blades near the shoulder, and Malgoryth suffered a puncture through the thigh when he concentrated rift support around Ghorvath rather than protecting the leg. Neither wound ended their attack, but both added blood to a battlefield already dominated by Noctis's control.
The pressure from Judicael shifted Noctis slightly toward Malgoryth. Rather than resisting that movement, he used it to alter the angle of the Bloodfang sword against Ghorvath, forcing the axe farther from the demon god's torso while Sanguinastra slid along Judicael instead of holding it rigidly. Aurelion tried to increase the divine weapon's pressure at the same moment, but several Reapers drove toward his weapon arm and forced him to shorten the movement. Noctis released Sanguinastra from Judicael and brought the lance across toward Malgoryth's side while the Bloodfang sword changed targets and struck the divine weapon.
Malgoryth shifted rift reinforcement toward the ribs to stop Sanguinastra. The weapon support around Ghorvath weakened, and an iron-marrow projectile launched through the storm and struck one of the external brace points before he could redistribute the power. The support flickered, allowing several Bloodfangs to attack the wounded forearm while Noctis kept the lance pressed against the side. Malgoryth's grip loosened for an instant before rift pressure forced the fingers closed again.
"No," Malgoryth growled as Ghorvath dipped. "Not again."
Noctis glanced at the trembling hand. "Again."
Lightning struck the weakened support as the Bloodfang sword pressed Judicael away from Aurelion. Malgoryth roared and poured more rift power into the brace, keeping Ghorvath from slipping completely while several Reapers cut into the ribs and back he had left underprotected. Sanguinastra entered the opening before he displaced away.
Aurelion was left alone inside the immediate melee for less than a second, but Noctis redirected everything he controlled toward that moment. The Bloodfang sword pressed the lower guard while Sanguinastra threatened the ribs, and Reapers struck from behind and below with enough density that Aurelion had to keep moving even while both handheld weapons were in front of him. He destroyed several constructs, took another shallow cut across the thigh, and finally used propulsion to break away before the wounded shoulder could be forced through another wide defense. The storm continued after him without losing density around Malgoryth farther away.
Noctis remained where the two gods had separated and allowed Devour to draw more of their spilled blood into Genesis Vessel. His regeneration continued operating beneath Nocthyrael while the Genesis Bloodline harmonized the divine and demonic essences feeding the rest of his systems. The Bloodfang storm showed no sign of thinning despite the number of blades Judicael and Ghorvath had destroyed, because every shattered Reaper simply returned to blood and reentered the circulating mass. Thousands of attack trajectories continued filling the battlefield.
Aurelion and Malgoryth adjusted by committing more power to preventing additional blood loss. White-gold reinforcement thickened around Aurelion's wounded shoulder, ribs, and weapon arm before he moved forward again, leaving less divine energy concentrated exclusively through Judicael. Malgoryth strengthened the rift brace around his forearm and the seal beneath the missing arm while rebuilding Ghorvath's external supports, reducing the amount of rift power available for the widest displacements. Their weapons retained god-level force, but every increase in protection was power unavailable somewhere else.
Noctis stopped concentrating the Reaper storm primarily on the existing wounds. The blades spread their pressure across legs, backs, hips, shoulders, weapon arms, ribs, and retreat routes, forcing both gods to protect their entire bodies rather than simply thickening the reinforcement around the places he had already damaged. Aurelion blocked several blades aimed at the shoulder and took cuts along the calf and flank, while Malgoryth kept the forearm brace intact and suffered repeated strikes against the ribs and back. The storm's purpose was not merely to hit the same weak points until something broke; it was to move their defenses until one of Noctis's other weapons could exploit the resulting imbalance.
Malgoryth recognized the change first. "He's spreading them out," he said as Ghorvath cut through several Reapers attacking his legs while others struck the ribs.
"I can see that," Aurelion answered, Judicael moving through a cluster near his shoulder.
"Then do something about it."
Aurelion's control cracked again. "I am fighting the same damned storm you are."
Noctis moved toward them as Sanguinastra and the Bloodfang sword settled into his hands. "You could keep arguing."
Neither god answered him, but both attacked.
Aurelion entered first, Judicael striking through a line of Bloodfangs while Malgoryth prepared another displacement from the opposite side. Noctis caught the blade-scepter with Sanguinastra and allowed the Bloodfang sword to remain free while the storm attacked Aurelion's weapon arm and lower body. The divine god destroyed two constructs near the forearm and shifted his leg away from another, but that movement reduced his ability to push through the lance contact. Noctis used the weakening bind to bring the Bloodfang sword toward the ribs.
Judicael moved to stop the sword, opening the path of Sanguinastra. Aurelion adjusted again, and several Reapers struck through the directions abandoned by the weapon, one cutting the thigh while another drove across the back. Noctis did not need either handheld weapon to land immediately because each attack forced Aurelion to move something that allowed the storm to strike somewhere else, while every Reaper attack forced another response that changed the geometry of the melee. The divine god's breathing remained controlled, but his expression had lost the detached certainty he had carried into the earlier stages of the battle.
Malgoryth emerged behind Noctis during that sequence and met the same problem before reaching him. Ghorvath shattered several Bloodfangs and rift pressure scattered others, yet blades continued striking the weapon supports, legs, and torso while the demon god pushed forward. Noctis kept Sanguinastra engaged with Aurelion and allowed the storm to slow Malgoryth's approach until the axe entered close range. The Bloodfang sword turned away from Judicael and met Ghorvath near the wounded wrist.
A Sovereign Chain wrapped around the axe haft during the contact. Malgoryth broke the chain with a burst of rift pressure before it could interfere for more than a moment, but that burst reduced support around the forearm brace while several Reapers were already attacking it. Noctis pressed the Bloodfang sword into the weakened weapon line as lightning struck the same region, forcing Malgoryth to restore the brace before Ghorvath could continue forward. Sanguinastra released Aurelion and came across toward Malgoryth's ribs while the demon god's attention remained divided between the sword, lightning, Reapers, and damaged wrist.
Aurelion immediately tried to use the freed weapon line, but Noctis Genesis Stepped through the space between them before Judicael could complete the follow-up. The displacement changed which opponent each handheld weapon faced, Sanguinastra emerging against Ghorvath while the Bloodfang sword returned toward Judicael. The Reaper storm never needed to reposition as a whole because it already occupied every direction around them, and the gods were forced to reverse their defenses while still dealing with blades striking from behind and below.
Malgoryth pulled Ghorvath across his body to stop the lance, placing more strain on the reinforced wrist. A Reaper struck the brace during the movement, while another cut the side when he shifted support into the hand. Aurelion caught the Bloodfang sword with Judicael, but the wounded shoulder limited how quickly he could pull the weapon across his center, allowing another Reaper to cut the forearm before white-gold pressure destroyed it. Noctis stayed between both gods and let their defensive movements create the next set of openings rather than withdrawing from the convergence.
Ruin replaced the Bloodfang sword for less than a second. The pistol fired point-blank into Judicael's lower transfer structure while Sanguinastra remained against Ghorvath, forcing Aurelion to reinforce the weapon before he could continue pressing Noctis. Ruin dissolved immediately after the shot, and the Bloodfang sword reformed as Aurelion recovered. Malgoryth tried to move Ghorvath off the lance at the same time, only for several Reapers to strike the external rift supports and force another reinforcement shift around the wrist.
Nocturne appeared during the next transition and fired past Judicael toward Aurelion's exposed right side. The divine god turned the blade-scepter to cover the shot, and the resulting change allowed three Reapers to strike the torso and thigh while Sanguinastra disengaged from Ghorvath and came toward Aurelion's ribs. Nocturne disappeared before Judicael could trap the firing line, the Bloodfang sword returning as Genesis Step carried Noctis across Malgoryth's shoulder.
The weapon transitions never became a sequence of separate techniques. They were momentary changes inside the same exchange, selected because one opponent's defense exposed a target better suited to a pistol, chain, projectile, or elemental strike than another sword cut. Absolute Sovereignty maintained the rhythm through each change, while Crimson Omen Sight identified the immediate openings and Blood Memory supplied the deeper structural knowledge needed to decide which opening mattered. The result was not a rotation through an arsenal but a combat style in which the arsenal itself refused to remain fixed.
Malgoryth tried another displacement to escape the dense pressure, but Ruin appeared before the rift completed and fired into the main support anchor. He changed the exit, forcing more power into the network while the Reaper storm saturated the revised region. A chain struck another junction, and although Malgoryth broke it almost immediately, the combined disruption delayed the final transition long enough for several Bloodfangs to strike the forearm brace and ribs before he disappeared. His roar followed him through the rift.
He emerged farther away inside another stream of Reapers and was immediately forced to defend Ghorvath rather than attack. Aurelion tried to widen the distance in the opposite direction, only to encounter Nocturne fire whenever Judicael moved to clear a route. The pistols made retreat another form of pressure rather than a release from melee, while Genesis Step remained available whenever Noctis wanted to collapse the spacing again. Neither god found a range at which his problems actually diminished.
Aurelion changed direction to avoid several Reapers crossing the retreat route, and Nocturne fired into the opening created near the lower guard. Judicael caught the shot, but the defensive movement allowed another Reaper to cut the back of the thigh and one to strike the right shoulder. The divine god accelerated upward under propulsion, keeping the surviving wing folded, while Noctis allowed the storm to follow and turned his attention toward Malgoryth.
Ruin fired into one of Ghorvath's external supports while a Sovereign Chain pulled against another. Malgoryth reinforced both points, allowing Reapers to cut through the thinner protection along his side before he scattered them with rift pressure. The destroyed blades became droplets that continued circling his body, and the sight finally pushed him past another threshold of restraint. "Stay broken!" he roared at the blood as Ghorvath shattered a reforming Reaper before it finished hardening.
Noctis shifted Ruin back into the Bloodfang sword and Genesis Stepped through the storm as Malgoryth recovered. "They don't listen to you."
Malgoryth swung Ghorvath at him with enough force to tear a visible wake through the surrounding blood. Sanguinastra met the haft rather than the axe head, redirecting the line while the Bloodfang sword attacked the wounded forearm and hundreds of Reapers continued striking from outside the two-weapon exchange. Malgoryth blocked the sword with rift reinforcement and turned the axe against the lance, but a blade cutting the back of his leg forced his body lower while another struck the ribs.
Noctis moved with the change rather than trying to resist Ghorvath's raw strength, using Sanguinastra to guide the axe outward while the Bloodfang sword remained near the wrist. Malgoryth withdrew through another rift before the pressure could build further, and Aurelion descended through the storm before Noctis could follow. Judicael cut several Reapers from the approach and drove toward his chest.
Sanguinastra turned the point aside while the Bloodfang sword attacked the lower guard, and the surrounding storm converged on Aurelion's legs, back, and weapon arm as soon as the melee contact began. Aurelion blocked the sword and destroyed several nearby Reapers, but one blade struck the forearm and another cut the ribs when he moved Judicael to defend. Noctis remained inside the weapon's recovery and used the lance to attack the side while a short frost effect spread across part of the lower guard.
The cold altered the transfer only briefly, but that delay allowed the Bloodfang sword to push Judicael farther outward before Aurelion shattered the frost and retreated. "Lightning. Frost. Chains. Guns," Aurelion said as he moved backward through the storm, his voice carrying more anger than curiosity now. "How many things are you going to throw at us?"
Noctis followed with the Reapers instead of his body. "As many as I need."
Malgoryth reappeared at the edge of the exchange and barked a harsh laugh without amusement. "He has more."
"I know," Aurelion said.
"You sound unhappy about it."
Aurelion turned Judicael through another Reaper. "Shut up and attack him."
Malgoryth opened a rift.
Noctis raised Ruin.
"Damn it!" Malgoryth shouted before the shot even fired.
The pistol struck the anchor as he shifted the exit, and the Reaper storm filled the revised arrival region before he emerged. Ghorvath had to clear his way out while blades hammered the brace around the injured forearm and cut the legs. Noctis used the forced delay to return toward Aurelion, Bloodfang sword replacing Ruin while Sanguinastra came forward beneath Judicael.
The storm followed both gods as they separated and converged again, keeping every meter of distance contested. Devour continued pulling divine and demonic blood toward Noctis while Genesis Vessel processed it beneath the ongoing fight, and neither Aurelion nor Malgoryth could stop every cut without surrendering the offensive pressure they needed to threaten him. Every wound they accepted became another source of blood within a battlefield already filled with thousands of reusable weapons, while every defensive adjustment created another point Noctis could attack with some other part of his arsenal.
Noctis remained near the center of that storm as both gods prepared to enter again. Sanguinastra stayed in his left hand while the Bloodfang sword occupied his right, but neither weapon represented a permanent choice. Ruin and Nocturne remained available through Crimson Arsenal, Sovereign Chains moved through the surrounding blood, and older elemental and projectile abilities entered whenever a defensive response created the proper target. The passive systems beneath those weapons continued aligning his movement, recovery, perception, essence, and timing without interrupting the visible battle.
Aurelion advanced with Judicael held close to the wounded shoulder, accepting several Bloodfang strikes against his reinforcement so he could preserve a direct path toward Noctis. Malgoryth formed another rift from the opposite side, the damaged wrist already surrounded by enough support to keep Ghorvath stable through the displacement. Neither approach found empty space, and neither god managed to cross the storm without paying for it in power, attention, or blood.
Malgoryth emerged first and drove Ghorvath through several Bloodfangs while Aurelion forced Judicael through the opposite side. "This time, don't move," the demon god growled as he closed.
Noctis brought Sanguinastra against Judicael and the Bloodfang sword toward Ghorvath while hundreds of Reapers converged around both weapon arms. "Make me."
The next collision began before either god could answer.