1508 Words More Harmful Than Strikes.
The problem with the divine archon was its ability to cancel the activation of abilities in a large area around it and these two were stuck to Felix akin to glue, making it impossible for him to get away from said range.
'With such ferociousness, they must be pushing to end the fight even faster than me.' Felix noticed, 'Such powerful ability can't possibly operate on a low fuel.'
Felix wasn't fooled by Duke Humphrey and Commander Nottingham's assured front...He could see the tint of agitation in their eyes, making him understand that the archons were taking a massive toll on their beings.
'As long as they run of out divine energies to sustain the archons, it will be my time to strike.' Felix narrowed his eyes dangerously and continued staying on the defensive side, receiving blow after another while making sure to minimize the damage to his body.
He planned before on rushing things out, but he understood that was his enemies' plan all along, to bait him into panicking and charging a powerful attack with his celestial flames, which would end up bringing it into complete exhaustion.
Since they were baiting him to go for it, it implied that they were confident in their archons' strength to block it successfully!
'This prick isn't taking the bait!' Duke Humphrey cursed in his mind, not liking Felix's cool-headed look.
'Just keep pressing him, he is bound to crack and go all out.' Commander Nottingham said.
Duke Humphrey went the extra mile and started provoking Felix with each blow he landed on him.
"What a weakling...Your inability to protect your beloved wh*re is a testament to your feeble nature!"
Felix's expression turned icier and his murderous intent tripled at least the instant he heard his taunt.
When Duke Humphrey noticed the change in his expression, he smiled coldly and continued, "You must be having retarded thoughts of rescuing her from her imprisonment. How can you even have the nerve to think like this when you can't even defeat us?"
The moment he finished, Commander Nottingham took advantage of an opening and thrust his lance into Felix's waist!
BOOOOOOM!!
The lance made contact and Felix got hurled far away against his will with blood dripping down his mouth, receiving a decent amount of damage!
In an effort to save up his celestial flames, he concentrated them into his arms and left the rest of his body with a weak version.
Now, he paid the price the instant he allowed Duke Humphrey's venomous words to touch his being.
Usually, this kind of provocation fell on deaf ears when it came to Felix, but, the whole capturing situation happened just a few minutes ago and the wound was still a wide hole.
Felix was barely coping with accepting that it even happened, and if it wasn't for his rage and hatred, he would have already let the negative thoughts consume him.
Whoosh!
Duke Humphrey appeared next to Felix yet again and showed him a venomous grin before uttering word by word, "Why are you even trying? Why are you even existing? Haven't you already died and if it wasn't for that b*tch's grace, you wouldn't even be in the heavenly realm...You are a nobody! You always were and will always be!"
BOOOOOM!!!
Duke Humphrey's sword struck Felix's arms and this time, the result was far more promising as Felix's body got thrown away yet again, losing the confrontation.
It was clear, that his mind was out of the game as with each sentence, Felix felt like a dagger stabbed into his soul, more painful and agonizing than those strikes...
"Just give up...Just give up and embrace the peacefulness of the ether. You won't disappoint anyone anymore and your beloved won't be in constant worry about your safety...Just give up and free yourself and everyone from the trouble of associating with a failure like you."
Duke Humphrey's words were targeted at Felix's self-
hatred like a poisonous arrow...Felix already was struggling to accept his failures to protect the ones he loved and barely had his head above the water.
Duke Humphrey was now drowning him and telling him to stop struggling and let himself drown, which was the answer to all of his current negative thoughts and problems.
While doing this, he wasn't forgetting to put him in physical pain as his sword and commander's lance kept finding more and more holes in Felix's defense, giving him a beatdown even those far away were about to see it.
"Master!!"
Karra yelled with tears dripping down her cheeks as she watched the two golden dots smacking the small white dot around like it was a ping-pong ball.
Miss Sanae covered Karra's eyes and murmured, "He will be fine, let's get away from this place first."
"No! I am not leaving without him!" Karra refused to budge from her place...As for Sekiro? He was still passed out on the ground next to them, having no idea what was going on.
Miss Sanae could only sigh and remain in her place, not wanting to drag Karra against her will or ditch them behind.
As a rational person, she could see that Felix's situation wasn't going to get better anytime soon and instead of betting on some miracle, it was better to put as much distance as possible from the capital.
Alas, Karra wasn't of the rational type and she could only stay with them at her own risk.
BOOOM!! BOOM!! BOOOM!!...
Meanwhile, the celestial battle was shaping up in favor of the invaders as Felix kept being thrown back and forth between the commander and the Duke like a dirty rug.
Duke Humphrey didn't even need to continue his provocation as his widened pleased smile showed his confidence in winning the battle at last.
'His body is all shattered and his celestial flames are giving in, it's time to finish him off once and for all with a combined powerful strike.' Commander Nottingham said.
'Agreed, we barely have less than ten minutes before the deadline, we can't drag this for another second.' Duke Humphrey nodded.
Felix's celestial flames were indeed beginning to dim, signaling a moment of vulnerability.n./o-(V(-e)-l-)B(-1(.n
Unwilling to drag this any longer, Duke Humphrey and Commander Nottingham channeled their divine powers, gathering an immense amount of celestial energy into their respective weapons—the golden divine lance and the radiant sword!
Their celestial authority surged, and the heavens themselves seemed to tremble in anticipation after pointing their weapons in Felix's direction.
Felix seemed like a floating ruined corpse, barely able to stand up straight no matter how much he struggled.
"I can't believe I will be wasting all my divinity on a vermin."
Duke Humphrey spat in disgust one last time before he ironed his will and unleashed their combined attack, a blinding, awe-inspiring beacon of divine energy erupted from the tip of their weapons!
The heavens were set ablaze with their divine beams, a force of pure destruction aimed at erasing Felix from existence!
"MAAAAAASTER!!"
"Don't look!"
Karra, Miss Sanae, Elder Kraken, and all watching spirits seemed to have been frozen in despair at the sight of the divine beams rushing at Felix.
However, just as the combined divine beams neared their target, something unexpected occurred.
Felix, who had appeared vulnerable moments before, opened his eyes with a cold, sinister smile spreading across his face.
It was a smile that held the promise of retribution.
'Release!'
In that critical moment, Felix summoned the last reserves of his celestial flames, erupting them in facade of him like an impervious shield!
The celestial flames blazed with newfound intensity, forming an invincible barrier of radiant energy that stood firm against the onslaught of the combined divine beams!!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The clash of celestial forces created a stunning spectacle, with blinding light and cosmic energy colliding in a cataclysmic explosion!!
"This..."
"Huh?"
Duke Humphrey and Commander Nottingham were left with widened eyes at this marvelous scene, not bothering to appreciate its beauty.
How could they appreciate it when their most powerful attack faded away into the sky without burning a single strand of Felix's hair?
When the light fully disappeared and exposed the battlefield again, there were no more three bright dots...Only three humanoid figures in their flesh and blood.
No more divine archons, no more celestial flames...Just unblessed mortals facing each other.
"You sure spew plenty of crap in my ears earlier."
With a bone-chilling smile, Felix cracked his neck as he covered himself in healing water, recovering all of his wounds almost instantly.
Then, he uttered, "I sincerely hope you can back them up."