Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill

Chapter 402:Hope Over Her Shoulders

Amber did not reply.

She raised her sword again.

Her aura surged, clean and unwavering. The forest around her bent slightly, as if acknowledging her presence.

She moved.

This time, her sword did not shine brightly. Instead, it grew silent. The blade seemed to vanish at the edge, blending with the air itself.

“Silent Crown Severance,” she whispered.

Damor’s smile faded.

The attack arrived without warning.

A single invisible slash cut through the battlefield. The ground split open in a straight line that extended far beyond the forest and into the hills beyond.

Damor crossed his sword just in time.

The impact sent him skidding backward, his feet digging deep furrows into the earth. His coat was torn, and a thin line of blood appeared across his chest.

Ray’s breath caught.

He had never seen anyone push a demon back like that.

But Damor’s eyes only burned brighter.

“Good,” he said, wiping the blood with his thumb. “Now it is my turn.”

The heat surged.

The forest began to burn, not with flame but with pressure. Leaves curled and turned to ash mid air. The ground cracked, glowing faintly red beneath the surface.

Damor lifted his sword slowly.

“Crimson Tyrant Annihilation Form.”

He stepped forward once.

The world seemed to tilt.

Amber braced herself, planting her feet. Her sword trembled as she poured everything into defense.

Damor struck.

The blow did not explode. It was crushed.

Amber was driven into the ground, the force carving a massive depression around her. Shockwaves rippled outward in concentric rings, flattening what remained of the forest.

The two figures clashed again, and this time the impact did not scatter outward but folded inward, crushing everything caught between them.

The air screamed as Amber and Damor collided head on, their swords locked for a brief instant before an overwhelming force burst free. The ground beneath them collapsed further, layers of soil and stone grinding together as if the land itself was being kneaded by invisible hands. Shockwaves rolled across the battlefield in heavy pulses, not sharp but suffocating, and every remaining tree near the crater snapped at the roots and toppled into the abyss.

Ray’s eyes widened in shock as the two figures separated again.

For the first time, he could clearly see the difference.

Amber staggered as she landed. Her boots dug into the fractured earth, but they did not stop her immediately. She slid several meters before managing to steady herself, her sword tip scraping against stone to keep balance. Her armor was no longer just cracked but dented deeply, the metal warped inward at her ribs and shoulder. Blood soaked through the seams and dripped down her arm, falling onto the ground in slow, heavy drops. Her breathing was uneven, each inhale sharp and forced, as if her lungs were burning from the inside.

Damor, on the other hand, stood tall.

His posture remained relaxed, almost casual, as flames continued to coil lazily around his blade. His chest rose and fell steadily, and aside from a few torn edges on his coat and the thin bloodstain across his chest, he looked largely untouched. His eyes shone with interest rather than strain, and the aura rolling off him pressed down on the battlefield like a suffocating weight.

Ray clenched his fists.

The difference was obvious now.

Amber lifted her sword again, but this time her arm trembled slightly. She tightened her grip, forcing the shake to stop, and straightened her back despite the pain screaming through her body. Her eyes remained calm, but there was fatigue beneath that calm, the kind that came from pushing far past one’s limits.

Damor noticed.

He tilted his head slightly and smiled, not mockingly but with genuine curiosity.

“You are slowing down,” he said. “Your will is strong, but your body is reaching its edge.”

Amber did not answer immediately. She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and exhaled slowly, grounding herself. The aura around her flickered for a moment before stabilizing again, thinner than before but still sharp.

“I do not need to win,” she said at last. “I only need to hold you.”

Damor laughed softly, and the sound echoed unnaturally across the ruined land.

“That resolve is admirable,” he replied. “But resolve alone does not stop your extinction.”

He moved again.

Damor crossed the distance in an instant, his sword descending in a diagonal arc that carried overwhelming pressure. Amber reacted on instinct, raising her blade and channeling everything she had left into defense. Their swords met, and the collision sent a shock straight through Amber’s body. Her knees bent, cracks spreading beneath her feet as the ground collapsed further, and a low groan escaped her throat despite her effort to suppress it.

Amber was forced backward again, each step heavier than the last, and this time she could not fully stop herself. She fell to one knee, her sword planted into the ground to keep from collapsing entirely. Blood spilled freely now, staining the dirt beneath her.

Damor stepped back, allowing her space, and watched her closely.

“You are impressive,” Damor said. “Most would have broken already.”

He laughed and glanced briefly in the direction where Ray stood frozen earlier.”Didn’t I say I wouldn’t lose. Hahah.”

As he spoke, his aura surged wilder, the crimson flames around his body swelling and twisting like living beasts. The pressure thickened, and the air itself seemed to sink under his presence.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment and breathed in slowly, even though every breath burned her chest.

The demon was stronger than she had expected that much.

And not just stronger. He was an experienced old general.

His movements carried the weight of countless battles, and his aura was refined through ages of slaughter. This was not a reckless young demon. This was a veteran who had survived long enough to stand at the peak.

All of that made it hard to contend with him.

Amber opened her eyes and looked around.

The battlefield was ruined. The forest was gone, turned into scorched earth and broken stone. Smoke drifted lazily, and ash fell like gray snow. In the distance, soldiers and knights stood rooted to the ground, their faces pale and eyes wide. Some were wounded. Some were shaking. None could move.

They were watching her.