As the colossal sword bore down, its titanic presence filling the air with impending doom, Ares's resolve remained unyielding. With a flicker of determination, he invoked his last resort, uttering, "Swap!"
In an instant, the very fabric of space contorted, swapping his position with Eris's, leaving her momentarily bewildered.
Swish—
!?
Eris, caught off guard by the sudden reversal, scrambled to conjure a shield, a desperate attempt to deflect the impending cataclysm.
Kaboom—
The colossal blade collided with her hastily erected shield, unleashing a deafening cacophony of force that reverberated through the air. The impact was so immense that it sent Ares hurtling backward, even from his distant vantage point. He crashed into the wall, engulfed in a maelstrom of debris and chaos, as the sheer force of the collision rattled the very foundations of the surroundings.
Thud—
"...Ha, so this was your trump card?" Eris's voice emerged from the billowing smoke, her once stoic demeanor now marked by bruises and signs of the impact. Though she had managed to thwart the initial strike, the rapid exchange had left her vulnerable, bearing the brunt of the assault.
"I concede that I was caught off guard, but it's disheartening that you still couldn't defeat me," she remarked, wiping blood from her mouth, her gaze piercing through the haze to meet Ares's battered form against the wall.
Yet, Ares's response was not one of words but of eerie silence, but his expression suddenly twisted into a haunting grin that sent shivers down Eris's spine.
!?
"You still believe everything is under your control, don't you? Offer a proper apology, and I may consider letting you escape, Argh—" Eris's words were abruptly halted by a sharp, searing pain ripping through her chest.
!!
As she glanced downward, a grim reality greeted her—a sword, which Ares was wielding before, pierced her heart.
"H-How?" She gasped, blood staining her lips, her disbelief evident as her gaze met Ares's.
A glimmer of blue arcane energy glowed across Ares's palm, as he used his telekinesis.
"Telekinesis...?" Eris whispered, her voice trembling with incredulity.
"You thought I had only one trick up my sleeve?" Ares's smirked.
Before using the location swap, he had strategically positioned his sword nearby, ensuring that even if Eris managed to block the initial attack, he could still deliver a fatal blow through his telekinetic abilities.
"...Our paths will cross again, my Ares," Eris whispered with a small smile before tumbling to the ground.
'Is he truly human?' Belphagor's thoughts raced, his form quivering with an unfamiliar dread—a sensation that even a demon lord, accustomed to facing formidable foes, found unnerving.
In that fleeting moment, as dread gripped him, Belphagor confronted the specter of mortality. The fear of death, once distant and abstract, now loomed ominously before him.
'Ah, is this the dread of impending death?' he pondered, his mind grappling with the harsh reality. Despite his reputation for cunning and intellect, he now faced the sobering truth: his schemes, once celebrated as masterful, crumbled in the face of Ares's unyielding power.
'Lord Lucifer! S-Save me!' Belphagor's desperate plea echoed silently within, hoping for a miracle to save him. But as he saw Ares with his sword, he knew his end was near.
The image of Ares holding his sword haunted Belphagor as a sign of his impending death.
Slash—
With a swift, decisive stroke, Ares cleaved through Belphagor's form, severing his head in a single, fatal blow.
As the lifeless husk crumpled to the ground, Belphagor's essence disintegrated into ashes, leaving behind only a diminutive, palm-sized core of pulsating purple energy.
As Ares retrieved the core, he found himself immidiately expelled from Belphagor's domain.
Swoosh—
***
Thudle— Thudle
Once again, Ares found himself standing amidst the bordering forest that separated the Elven Empire from the Vampire Continent.
The sky darkened, and ominous clouds gathered above, transforming the once-clear sky into a canvas of darkness. Tumultuous winds swept through the air, creating an otherworldly spectacle—a telltale sign of the aftermath following the death of the demon lord Belphagor.
Drip— Drip
The initial droplets of rain began to fall, their gentle rhythm punctuating the solemn silence enveloping the scene. Each drop seemed to echo the weight of Ares's burden, mingling with the blood that stained both his clothes and the ground beneath him.
Amidst nature's somber symphony, Ares stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the sky above. Lost in introspection, his sword remained tightly clutched in his hand.
"...Ares?"
Rose's voice pierced the somber symphony of raindrops, breaking the silence as she called out to him from behind.
!!
To be continued...