Chapter 752: [Final Event] [Blood Moon Festival] [34] Against Cyril Raven

"Are Gods immortal?" Cleenah repeated my question, tilting her head a bit.

"Yeah, are you guys immortal or what?" I asked again, my eyes drifting over the endless green landscape surrounding us.

Cleenah’s dimension was... breathtaking. A quiet, eternal meadow where the sky glowed a soft pearly white and the air smelled clean, untouched—nothing like that damned prison I’d been rotting in.

Honestly, if I could just stay here every day, I would.

Well, I guess it didn’t matter. I’d be sent to Sancta Vedelia soon. At least that hellish cage would finally be behind me.

"Immortal, hmm? Do you think we’re immortal?" Cleenah asked, her tone teasing but also strangely thoughtful.

"Aren’t you Gods? And if you can all reincarnate like Persephone—into Vessels or whatever—then that’s basically immortality, right?"

Cleenah let out a long sigh. "Persephone didn’t reincarnate into Mary, Amael."

"Aren’t they the same person anyway?"

"In some ways, yes," she said, tapping a finger on her knee. "Persephone shared all of Mary’s memories. If I had to describe it... Mary is like the Persephone before she was taken by Hades. Actually—now that I say it out loud—it’s exactly like that. She really does feel like the old Persephone again."

I dropped onto the soft grass, folding my arms behind my head and staring up at the glowing sky.

"I want to see her already," I muttered.

"If you want Hades to personally remove your head from your body, be my guest," Cleenah replied dryly.

"Can’t I just... meet her secretly?" I asked, already knowing how stupid it sounded, but still trying.

"You really have no sense of self-preservation, do you?" She shot back.

I snorted under my breath, and the two of us fell quiet for a moment.

Then the question slipped out, softer. "You said she was different now... what did you mean? I know she’s Mary, but she’s also more Persephone, right? If I go down to the Underworld to see her... will she come with me?"

Cleenah hummed, her voice thoughtful. "Hard to say. Knowing Persephone, she’s unpredictable. And Amael... compared to her, you’re still practically a child. She’s seen more worlds, more lifetimes, more pain. She may have a pure, innocent love for you, but in the end, her true nature—her real personality—will always surface."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

She shifted and sat beside me, hugging her knees to her chest. "It means," she said slowly, "that she might reject you even if she loves you... and even if you love her."

"What?" I turned to stare at her.

"It might be hard for you to grasp," she said, "but sometimes, you have to make choices that go against everything you feel—even if it means hurting the people you love the most."

As she said that, her gaze lifted to the bright sky, growing distant—nostalgic. It was rare to see Cleenah look like that. A gentle breeze brushed through her long, glossy green hair, making it shimmer like emerald silk. From the side, her face looked almost unreal—perfect features softened by a quiet sadness. Her long lashes fluttered, catching the light, and her gemstone-like eyes seemed to hold entire stories. Her lips parted slightly, as if she were about to say something she wasn’t sure she should.

I couldn’t help it—I was drawn in again. No matter how many times I think I’ve gotten used to her, I never actually do.

Feeling my gaze, Cleenah suddenly turned toward me, and I jerked my eyes away instantly, heat rushing up my cheeks. If she noticed my blush, she’d tease me for the next five centuries.

"You still didn’t answer my question," I said quickly.

"Oh, that," she said, tapping her chin. "Well, it depends on what you think immortality means."

"Stop dodging the question already."

"How impatient," she laughed.

"Nevia is going to disappear," I said bluntly.

"Yes," Cleenah replied with a small nod.

"Why? Isn’t she a Goddess?"

She sighed softly. "Things aren’t that simple. We’re Gods, yes, but that doesn’t make us invincible. We can die. I can die too."

"What? What kind of death flag line is that?" I glared at her.

She turned to me with a mischievous smile. "My sweet Nyr, are you afraid I’ll leave you alone?"

"It wouldn’t be the first time," I grumbled. "What the hell do you even disappear for days for?"

"You missed me that much, huh?" She smirked.

I groaned. It’s impossible to have a normal conversation with her.

I turned my head away, but Cleenah leaned over me suddenly, her face hovering just inches above mine. Her scent—fresh, sweet, almost hypnotic—washed over me. A few strands of her hair fell onto my cheek, soft like silk.

I felt my heart hammering in my chest.

She smiled, close enough that I could feel her breath.

"Don’t worry," she whispered. "I will always be with you."

***

-BOOOOM!!

A violent shockwave shattered the ground beneath us.

"Ugh—!" I groaned, leaping back as something sharp grazed my right arm. Warm blood trickled down my sleeve.

One of Cyril’s blood puppets—those twisted abominations—lunged at me with inhuman screech.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kendel asked as he cleaved through another puppet. But even as he destroyed one, two more crawled out of Cyril’s swirling sphere of blood.

"Kendel Teraquin... saving a Half-Human."

Cyril’s voice slithered behind him.

He appeared out of thin air, scarlet eyes glinting with amusement. "I’ve seen quite a few interesting things today."

His blade swung toward Kendel..

Kendel reacted instantly, summoning thick vines from the ground in a burst of emerald mana

.

Cyril sliced through them easily, but the vines slowed him just long enough for Kendel to raise his sword.

Steel clashed with a deafening crack, and Kendel was blasted backward, boots carving trenches into the dirt.

Then Cyril’s gaze snapped toward me.

And he vanished.

My instincts screamed. I threw up my arm—

-BAM!!

"Ugh!"

His blow sent me flying again. My ribs vibrated from the impact, but I forced myself to twist mid-air and land on my feet.

"Are you daydreaming?" Kendel yelled again, glaring at me.

I clenched my sword tighter, refusing to meet his eyes.

Yeah... I was daydreaming.

And at the worst possible time.

Why the hell was I thinking about Cleenah now?

The flashes kept coming—tiny shards of memories cutting into my focus. Her voice, her smile, that damn moment in her dimension. The more I remembered, the more it hurt.

She told me I wouldn’t see her again.

But if there was even the smallest, tiniest, microscopic chance... I would take it.

But to reach her, to see her again—I had to survive this place first.

"I have a plan," I said finally, stepping beside Kendel. "Listen."

I explained it quickly, the shortened version. Kendel stared at me for a long moment—like he wanted to question me, maybe even judge my sanity—but in the end, he just nodded.

"Then let’s get this done," I said, turning back toward Cyril.

Without another word, I launched myself forward.

The blood creatures reacted instantly, racing at me with clawed limbs and dripping maws. But Kendel slammed his sword into the ground.

Vines exploded in every direction—thick, wooden, and pulsing with Prana. They tore through the puppets in my path, clearing a direct line toward Cyril.

I didn’t waste a second.

I slipped through the opening and swung Trinity Nihil with all the strength I could muster.

-BOOOOM!!

Cyril parried it with a lazy flick of his crimson blade, smiling as sparks exploded between us.

The instant his blade met Trinity Nihil, the shock rattled up my arm like a lightning strike. The ground beneath our feet fractured in a spiderweb pattern, sharp cracks racing outward. Cyril’s smirk widened as he pushed me back, crimson eyes flickering with murderous delight.

Behind me, Kendel slammed his sword into the earth once more.

"Rise!"

The ground erupted.

Vines as thick as pillars tore free from the dirt, spiraling like serpents toward Cyril. Some were sharpened at the tips—like natural spears—and others bristled with hardened thorns the size of daggers. The air filled with the scent of living wood and crushed leaves.

Cyril didn’t even flinch.

His blood pulsed—literally pulsed—around him, forming a crimson aura. With a single motion, he swung his hand sideways.

A crescent arc of liquid blood shot outward, slicing through the first layer of vines like they were wet silk. Kendel gritted his teeth, summoning more. But the blood arc kept going—

Straight toward me.

I moved without thinking.

Purple flames burst from my skin, wrapping my arm in swirling. Then I swung Trinity Nihil downward, coating the blade in a near-black layer of fire.

The slash of blood and my fire collided.

-BOOOOOOM!!!

The explosion swallowed everything in a burst of red and purple. My ears rang. Dust and sparks flew in all directions, and for a brief second, I lost sight of everything.

Then a strong hand grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me sideways.

I stumbled just in time for Cyril’s sword to shred the air where I had been standing.

"Stay focused, human!" Kendel shouted, vines whipping around him like living whips. "He’s faster than both of us."

"Yeah, I noticed, Elf!" I snapped, dodging another blood puppet that lunged from the smoke.

The puppet shrieked—its body twisted, humanoid but malformed, with skin made of rushing blood. Its arms were long and blade-shaped, dripping crimson essence.

I thrust out my hand.

White Sand coiled around my wrist, swirling outward with a hiss. It expanded in midair, forming a glimmering shield of crystalline white.

The puppet crashed into it—and the sand devoured its form, grinding the blood into dust until nothing remained.

It seemed to work better than burning it actually and stopped them from reforming themselves but it was spending too much mana.

And Cyril was clearly not done.

He stepped out of the fading smoke. His sword gleamed, dripping with a thick whipping blood that writhed like it had a mind of its own.

He flicked then his wrist.

Bloody humanoids burst from the ground—four this time, bigger and more defined than the earlier ones. Their eyes glowed with a demonic red, and their teeth were jagged, animalistic.

Kendel cursed. "It’s never ending."

"Then I’ll burn them," I muttered. "Rings of Vysindra.

Before Kendel could stop me, I leapt forward. Purple fire roared from my feet, boosting my jump. I flipped over the first puppet, slashing downward mid-air.

Anathemas Fire surged, exploding on contact releasing a ring shaped purple explosion.

-BOOOOOM!!

The creature disintegrated instantly, its whole body burning into red vapor that rose like smoke from hell.

The second puppet rushed at me, swinging both arms like scythes.

I created a mirror beside me—a sharp, transparent rectangle tinged with purple light. The puppet’s arm swung—straight into the mirror.

The surface rippled like water.

Then its arm shot out of a second mirror behind it.

Right through its own chest.

The puppet froze, twitching, before collapsing in a burst of red. I didn’t let it reform itself destroying the mirror burning it down.

Two left.

Kendel’s vines shot out like angry vipers, wrapping one puppet’s legs, arms, and throat. The puppet struggled—but the vines constricted. I heard the disgusting crunch of bone-like structure snapping.

The last puppet charged me with insane speed.

A vertical mirror appeared in front of me. The puppet lunged—and I stepped backward into the mirror as its claws passed through me harmlessly.

I emerged behind it, blade already coated in purple fire.

My sword tore through its spine. Purple flames exploded outward, turning the puppet into a cloud of red cinders.

Cyril clapped slowly.

"You have impressive tricks."

He blurred.

One heartbeat he was ten meters away.

The next, he was right in front of me.

His blade crashed into Trinity Nihil.

The shockwave was deafening.

The earth beneath us cratered. A funnel of dust spiraled upward. My teeth clenched as I pushed back, feet digging trenches into the ground.

He smiled. "Faster."

We clashed again and again—and again.

-BOOOOM!!

The world turned into flashes of red and purple.

Our swords collided with such force that shockwaves blasted outward, shredding the soil, uprooting grass, and cracking stone. Each strike sent vibrations through my bones.

Cyril pushed harder, laughing.

"You’re too emotional, Amael," he taunted.

"Shut up."

I pressed in, swinging Trinity Nihil faster, hotter, harder. Purple fire crackled around my arms, swirling up the blade in an inferno. Sparks flew with each impact.

Cyril parried it once again easily, though his smile widened. "With such strength, you wanted to claim Celeste?"

I snapped.

Wrath ignited.

The purple particles poured from my skin like a storm of tiny stars—violent, chaotic, burning with destructive intent.

Cyril’s expression finally shifted.

I moved quickly.

Faster than before, faster than he expected.

Cyril lifted his sword—but Trinity Nihil, coated in Wrath and Anathemass Fire, met him with a blow that sent him sliding back.

Kendel seized the opening.

"Bloom!"

A massive thorned vine erupted from the ground, thicker than a tree trunk, spiraling around Cyril like a constricting serpent. Thorns dug into his flesh, drawing dark blood.

Cyril grimaced. "Annoying."

"Now!" Kendel shouted.

While Cyril was restrained—even momentarily—I summoned six mirrors around him in a circular pattern. They floated mid-air.

Cyril looked around. "What is this?"

"A cage," I answered.

White Sand surged around the mirrors, forming a swirling dome, sealing him in completely.

Then I thrust out my hand.

"Sin of Wrath: Convergence."

All the purple particles around me surged toward the dome.

The ground cracked under the pressure. Kendel shielded his face as wind roared around us, leaves and debris flying.

Inside the dome, Cyril’s expression shifted for the first time into something resembling worry.

"Blood Art—"

I didn’t let him finish.

"Collapse."

The mirrors shone. The white sand tightened. The dome shrank rapidly, compressing Cyril inside.

The entire thing exploded.

-BOOOOOOM!!!

Purple light swallowed the battlefield.