Pherdanta was none the wiser.
The depth of her desire to rend was so absolute that she saw nothing else.
…But then, she suddenly felt her stifled intentions and burning resolve touch upon… great freedom.
Right then, she was no longer just an ant trying to do the impossible. Her resolve expanded, her bloodlust engorged, and most of all, her slashes deepened and multiplied.
And indeed, it only took a small breadth of time for Boron to feel the haft of his halberd in his hand, but he did not expect the cataclysm that preceded that event.
KATAKATAKATAKATAKATAKARAKATAKATAKATAKARAKA!
Within the sky domain, Suzamete pre-emptively cursed.
…
Slashes as long as Aigas was tall, as thin as strands of hair, and as dark as voids rained on the halberd near simultaneously.
…But they also befell a great chunk of Aigas, the depth of their power too much for the foundation of the world, not to mention Suzamete.
The skies were ripped like cloth, the waters within range of the halberd were cut up to the molecule and beyond, the air was erased, space was diminished, as were the Rules beneath, the Stagnant Space, and the cords of energy supplying Aigas with additional reinforcement.
The blaring noise that followed was fatal.
Pherdanta's Territory, tied to her resolve just as much as her slashes, lurched to drown her allies in its graceful bounds.
But even then, Kintar, the Stark Troops and everyone who had already been in Cogent Stark Order had their eardrums blown and their brains stunned.
Even Boron had to squint his eyes – a gesture that denoted his irritation.
But most of his displeasure was focused on the near billion slashes that ravaged everything in order to take a shot at his weapon before he could hold it.
It was a spectacle, but ultimately, it did not nothing to destroy his Treasure. After the attack died down – almost as quickly as it had come – the halberd was left starkly aglow. A baleful heat limned its shape, bending what remained of space around Boron.
The Deity held it in his grasp at last, enduring its heat, and looked at it closely.
His brows knitted together.
Four thin cracks lined his halberd, the longest of which was the length of half his finger.
What he thought of this would go unknown. Instead, the Deity turned to the creature who had caused the damage and said to his Generals:
<Get rid of that thing.>
At once, the six Generals rushed to do as he bid.
Boron scoffed, turned and charged towards the barrier splitting Aigas in two. As he neared, he saw a breach open up on it from which two individuals rushed forth, both cloaked in darkness.
Boron immediately recognised one of them. She was the one who had cut him up, forcing him to leave his first vessel. But right now, he didn't care for her. She didn't care enough to shirk away from his presence either. She had a goal, just like him.
<So many critters to squash. I'll begin with the main course.> Boron thought.
With one swing of his superheated halberd, he broke through the barrier at the Central Boundary and rushed to meet his enemies.
***
Everyone was massaging their ears with gritted teeth.
The majority of them couldn't have recounted what had just happened to cause their disorientation and pain, but the fact remained that it was there.
Thankfully, Cogent Stark Order was a Territory that defended anyone who had found themselves within it – as long as they weren't an enemy. Those recently swallowed up the Territory got their names branded onto the houses featured deep into the Territory behind Pherdanta.
Indeed, the whole force Pherdanta had descended to the Under with, was alive.
But be that as it may, the Commander of the Stark Troops was far from happy.
Her eyes coldly gazed upon the shrinking figure of Boron, and Ashema joining the other six Generals in the skies.
'A spectacular failure,' she thought, and her eyes turned lethal. She clutched the hilt to her sword, meaning to cut down all the Heralds down in one fell swoop, but her very soul protested. It throbbed, and a pulse of damage cascaded down her bones, flesh and blood vessels. 'Damn it.'
But Pherdanta didn't buckle. You would have known she was in so much pain… if it wasn't for the blood dripping from her nose.
'My body is falling apart. I'll probably die if I use an attack of that scale again.'
Wiping her nose, she took a breath to calm herself and lowered her gaze.
There was a new opponent, a man outside her Territory standing beneath a large Undeath minion with a formidable presence. Some woman was by his side, writhing in pain.
Pherdanta's eye twitched.
'The masked man…'
At that moment, she sensed someone flying towards her. It was Kintar, her body flaring with Genuine Divine energy. Her face looked particularly unfriendly. It was no mystery why to Pherdanta.
"Impeccable timing," said Kintar unhappily.
"You think so?" Even as she said it, Pherdanta was appraising everyone else who had been in Kintar's party – Sila, Uyuniya, and the Stark Troops.
She frowned after doing a headcount.
"There's three missing," she said to Kintar.
"What?"
"Three of the Stark Troops assigned to you are missing. Where are they?"
Kintar scoffed, scowling. "They're dead. Couldn't keep up with fossil wenches regurgitated from the past. All for the good, I say."
When Pherdanta's expression relaxed, Kintar reeled. She sensed her presence turn sharper, colder.
"Oh. I get it. That's your metric to judge my worth, isn't it, dear Commander? Well piss off. I'm not the one who just botched a pretty important assignment, am I? How's that for judgment?"
Pherdanta turned to stare into Kintar's taunting eyes.
Tensions flared like pennons between them, but in the end, Pherdanta chose to respond not to Kintar's words, but the source of her vitriol.
"Get over yourself. You're not the only one who loved Allora."
Kintar's pupils constricted right then and her hand twitched.
Something bad might have happened… but Gerriey rushed between the two women immediately.
"In case you two haven't noticed, we still have a really big threat in front of us," she said, panting. "The barrier keeping that masked man and Fulgardt apart is gone now. Master said to keep them apart at all costs and right now, you two combined have the best chance of doing that… and more. Can we get to that?"
Kintar's bloodlust lessened by a peg, but she didn't stop glaring at Pherdanta.
"That's right, ladies." Vali, or rather, a few Valis, came in from behind the three women, along with Maxim. The one who had spoken looked beyond the boundary of Cogent Stark Order. "I don't know about you two, but I have a score to settle with that kid, and whoever is possessing him."
"A huge score," emphasised Maxim, pushing out her ample chest while feigning to stretch her arms.
Shura, Agnees, Rudus, Braxten, Illyinni, Guissepo, Ferex, the Stark Troops, Sila and Uyuniya gathered around Kintar and Pherdanta as well.
"Well. The tomato flinger would probably be pleased if we got rid of this bastard once and for all. Isn't that enough motivation?" Sila said, and Null EXP bounded through his body again, changing his shape, or rather, his race.
Uyuniya swung her greatsword once to support the sentiment while studying the Death Knight warily.
Kintar scoffed and finally looked away from Pherdanta.
"You better not hold me back," she said.
"Right back at ya," said Pherdanta and she sighed.
"AIMON."
The masked man's loud voice tore through the triumphant atmosphere.
Battered as he was, he was yet to see defeat.
He raised his hand into the air just as his giant, twisted deer head lowered itself from the sky and spat something into his hand.
…!!!
Everyone tensed.
What might have been a sword, except with a blade that looked much like a hollow steel cylinder fell into the masked man's grip. It was wroth with greenish-black flames that masked the colours of its odd blade and hilt.
Rias studied it with his gold and blue eyes.
"I admit. Both parts of me merely fused together don't stand a chance against what that man has managed to build. I suppose, this me really did lose just now. You all wield mortal powers, Divine powers, Null powers, and Void powers… each with its own capacity to take away my life. The ultimate victory against me," he said and noted the arrival of others on the battlefield. "I'm inspired. I didn't think spite alone could be so potent. Or maybe I did. I'm only here because I… or rather, some part of me traversed the great void to find my mother. Ha. But she chose life above me. I suppose I should pursue something else above even that. I'll do it in kind."
The words of the masked man might have been meaningless alone, but paired with his actions, they were clearer than crystal.
In one swift motion, he jammed the sword he'd just received into the ground.
…!!!
What followed was no mere trick.
It was a checkpoint.
Now, the gathered squadron would face off not against a Divine necromancer, but a Divine bearer of Undeath… while Aigas struggled to survive.
---
[Author's Note]
And now we're switching back perspectives.
What did you think of the conflict on this end of Aigas? Do share your thoughts!