Stark didn't waste a second.
He was beyond angry, but that anger had already come and gone, leaving him feeling nothing but focused.
In the ruined remains of the temple, he glanced around, assessing the damage.
Sora lay crumpled nearby, still breathing, though she was unconscious.
Stark exhaled in relief. At least she'd made it.
A few feet away, Lilith's body was sprawled on the ground, her energy completely drained.
Stark barely knew her, but she'd helped him fight, and that was enough for him.
For a 3v1 battle, Father Hugo had completely wiped them out.
The fact that Hugo had managed this said everything about his power.
Maybe Hugo was as strong as the moon trio themselves?
No, Stark shook his head. No way.
"Child, let us continue," Hugo's voice echoed, cold and mocking.
He lifted his arm, summoning a spear glowing with raw, ominous energy.
It was [Spear of Judgment], a move Stark owned.
Hugo's laugh boomed as he raised it. "Or do you no longer have the strength?"
"Not going to fly anymore?" Stark asked, deadpan.
"I can't," Hugo shrugged, unbothered.
Stark quickly pieced it together: Hugo could only use stolen abilities if the original user was actively using them.
That was why Hugo had only been able to take his [Crimson Spears] and [Double Assault] earlier.
An unconscious person meant he couldn't do it anymore.
Stark needed to be careful of what he used.
Or at least, that is what the him 5 minutes ago would say.
But now? He didn't care if Hugo took his abilities.
"You want my powers?" Stark lifted his hand, summoning his own [Spear of Judgment], "Fine. Let's fight."
Fwish! Fwish!
The two massive, crimson spears hurtled through the air, colliding with an explosive shockwave before shooting upward.
"What the?" Stark was confused, was that a normal reaction.
Or maybe the fact the spears followed one another resulted in a constant loop of going up.
BOOM!
The impact shattered what remained of the temple ceiling, revealing the sky above.
Stark saw the two colossal crimson moons, each with a singular eye, glaring down at him.
But as soon as his gaze met theirs, they fled, vanishing into the night.
"Cowards," Stark muttered, his focus returning to Hugo.
"Alright, Hugo," he said. "Copy this."
Stark drew his energy from deep within, channeling every bit of his aura into a single, destructive move.
He knew what he was about to attempt was reckless, but he was far past the point of caring.
"Heaven's Spear!"
A dark rift tore open in the sky, spilling forth a radiant, towering angelic figure nearly fifty kilometers high.
The being hovered, massive and imposing, its white, ethereal wings stretching across the horizon.
And just as predicted, Hugo planned to copy it and mimick Stark's actions.
Whether he survived or not, in the end, he would be there to end the humans.
Hugo smirked, immediately calling forth another shockwave of dark energy from [Aura Supression] in an attempt to absorb Stark's skill.
If he could pull Stark's [Dodge Control] from him and copy it, he would be safe.
But this time, it wouldn't work.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're an idiot?" Stark stood in place as the shockwave was approaching him, his expression so malicious that it became even scarier than Father Hugo's.
"What the hell are you talking about, child-" it didn't take Hugo long to realize just how fucked he was.
[Dodge Control] didn't just evade attacks.
It made Stark's body teleport around anything that could hit him—even if that "attack" was an unavoidable shockwave.
Without it, Hugo couldn't use [Return to Sender].
The shockwave passed through empty air as Stark's body blinked between locations faster than Hugo could register, teleporting around the assault until he was beside Hugo, gripping his shoulder with a vice-like hold.
[Your shockwave didn't hit anything.]
"You're fucked, and you know it," Stark muttered, still smiling.
He raised his other hand, pointing toward the sky, where the colossal spear Hugo himself sent was only meters away from impact.
Time slowed down, their gazes fixed on the destructive force about to consume them.
Hugo looked up, eyes wide, a final trace of fear flickering in his gaze.
"...Child of demons," he murmured to Stark, "You win."
And then, the spear hit the ground.
The world detonated in a blinding explosion of crimson and shadow as the spear impacted the ground, tearing the temple and everything around it into shreds.
The impact was felt far beyond the immediate area, a shockwave of light and sound ripping through the landscape.
Every participant, monster, and even the moon apostles themselves were stunned, momentarily frozen in awe and horror.
When the dust settled, Stark was gone from the point of impact, [Dodge Control] allowing him to escape the explosion's reach.
With Lilith and Sora in his asura arms, he leapt and dashed over debris, using his agility to scale the remnants of the temple.
He reached the edge of the crater, glancing back at the devastation.
A massive hole marked the area where the temple had once stood, stretching out like a scar across the landscape.
Stark exhaled, satisfaction coursing through him.
"And to think," he muttered, "that was just a pale imitation." If Hugo's [Heaven's Spear] had been that strong, his own must be even stronger.
He hadn't even used it!
That stupid Father Hugo quite literally killed himself using the skill he thought would end them all!
Ding!
A notification flashed in his vision.
[You have slain "Father Hugo, Moonscorch Commander," +50,000,000 Experience Points!]
[Task 13: Defeat Father Hugo in the Orphanage - Completed]
[Gained two rewards: Priest's Cross (???) and Moonscorch Cure (Use to completely heal moonscorch).]
A smirk tugged at Stark's lips.
"Looks like the priest is going to hell."
Stark didn't waste a single second though, dashing forward as he needed to find a safe zone.
[Sora: 98% Moonscorched]
[Lilith: 13% Moonscorched]
The latter had been hit several times, so no wonder it was going up this fast.
It should stabilize later, but until then he simply decided to not try his luck and so to use the newly acquired [Moonscorch Cure] on Sora.