Chapter 94 - Weak

Chapter 94: Chapter 94 - Weak

On the shore of the beach, the air grew heavy and cold as the monumental pillar of celestial power pierced through the clouds.

Natasha and Deina both sprang to their feet and ran up to the water’s edge. They shielded their eyes against the blinding glare as the sudden atmospheric displacement whipped their hair around their faces.

"Are you serious?! Celestial Form?!" Natasha screamed in frustration. "I didn’t expect that brat to have unlocked that already... Bron, you’ve been holding out on us!"

Deina squinted her eyes through the light and noticed something.

"Wait, Nat... look closely. He doesn’t have the characteristic celestial halo floating above his head. His transformation is incomplete."

"Really?! Hold on, let me see... wait you’re right!"

"Yes, looks like he is still new to this. Because he didn’t complete the transformation, maintaining that form will drain his divine power and stamina at an exponentially dangerous rate. If he doesn’t end this quickly, he’ll burn himself out."

Bron marched over to them with a smug spreading across his scarred face.

"Gahaha! I was waiting for him to pull that out! You’ve got a keen eye on you, Deina. It might be incomplete... but an incomplete Celestial Form still provides more than enough raw power and speed to finish off a demigod before the stamina drain even becomes an issue! Watch the gap widen!"

Out over the ocean, the seas have calmed down. As Vincent panted lightly, he noticed his breath was visible in the chilled air.

He wiped a smear of blood and sweat from his chin with the back of his hand and looked up at the transformed young man. His own divine blue aura flickered like a candle in the wind, fighting against the crushing pressure of the recruit’s icy-blue presence.

"Hahaha... Well, damn... I’ve got to admit, that’s one hell of a transformation sequence. I’m getting chills. I didn’t know divine beings could turn themselves into glow-sticks."

The recruit hovered three feet above the surface stilled, glass-like patch of water directly beneath him.

His long, flowing mane of icy-blue hair drifted weightlessly around his shoulders, and his pale eyes burned with a cool, detached superiority, looking down at Vincent as if he were an insect.

When he finally spoke, his voice was fundamentally altered – no longer arrogant or annoyed, but carrying a resonant, double-toned echo that vibrated the air.

"The gap between a true divine being and a demigod isn’t just a matter of training. It is legacy. It is the raw blood of the Supreme Goddess Herself flowing through our veins. You cannot bridge that heritage with mere mortal struggle. Yield, and spare yourself further humiliation."

"Heh! Legacy is just another word for ’excuse’!" Vincent roared back as blue and golden aura glowed around his fists with fresh volatility.

"Is that so? Then allow me to correct your delusion."

Vincent kicked off the sea floor and surged forward like a missile, closing the gap between them in single moment.

He opened with a blindingly fast close-quarters combination, infusing his physical strength with divine power. He launched a snap-jab aimed at the recruit’s jaw, missed, then instantly transitioned into a spinning upward kick aimed at the temple, which was dodged, and finally finished with a downward chop aimed to cleave the recruit in half.

However, his opponent didn’t even raise his rapier to block.

He simply glided through the air with microscopic movements of his body, letting the chop just miss him.

Each time, Vincent’s standard-issue heavy punches and supersonic kicks passed within millimeters of his skin, striking nothing but empty air and residual afterimages. With a delicate tap of his rapier’s pommel against Vincent’s forearm, the recruit redirected Vincent’s raw power blast strike into the sky, where it detonated harmlessly in a flash of light.

It was useless. No matter what he did – brute force, speed, elemental attacks, or divine power – it was effortlessly swept aside. It was as if he was treating Vincent like an unruly child.

"Is that the extent of your struggle? So much for ’legacy is an excuse’." the recruit asked softly as he swiftly maneuvered into Vincent’s blind spot without him even realising it.

"NOT BY A LONG SHOT!" Vincent spun around and exploded with power. The recruit quickly jumped out of the way to avoid being hit by the shock.

BOOOOOOM!!!!!

A seismic burst of blue and golden electric divine energy erupted from Vincent’s core with a terrifying force. The sheer amount of pressure shook the ocean so violently that the displacement parted the sea, exposing the sandy seabed hundreds of feet beneath where Vincent powered up.

Giant waterfalls of displaced ocean water shot into the sky like pillars surrounding Vincent’s exploding aura.

Yet... a tiny patch of water remained eerily at the recruits feet. It was impossibly calm and tranquil – a perfect mirror amidst the surrounding tempest.

On the beach, Bron’s eyes widened in sarcastic surprise. "Ho? The demigod still has that much in the tank? He’s a stubborn one, I’ll give him that. Even if he’s just feeding the newbie’s ego at this point, heh."

rumble—CRASH!!!!

"LET’S SEE DODGE THIS!"

Raising his hands in the air, Vincent created six massive circles of divine power that merged and fused with a thunderstorm he conjured in the atmosphere.

rumble—CRASH!!!!

He swept his hands forward, sending a roaring dragon made of golden lightning crashing straight toward the recruit with enough force to vaporize a fortress.

The ocean turned into a fiery inferno of steam and arcing electricity. The visual scale of the conflict pushed the entire coastline to its absolute limit, blinding everyone on the beach with the flash.

Vincent followed the massive attack up, diving through the steam cloud, ready to deliver a finishing blow.

That’s when he saw it. Despite unleashing a spectacle of devastating scale, his opponent remained unscathed.

"Weak."

"Kh–! You cocky bitch! Get over here!"

None of Vincent’s blows connected cleanly – each move was parried with a soft flick of his rapier, redirected into the ocean to create massive explosions, or simply brushed aside by his four wings without leaving a single scratch on his form.

Vincent surfaced up from the steam cloud, his chest heaving, and his aura flickering. He stared down at the unbothered recruit with irritation and exhaustion. "Why... won’t... you... GET HIT?!"

"I told you already... Hmm?" He looked down at his hands and sensed the celestial power beginning to sputter and flicker at the edges. He was reaching his limit.

"It seems my time in this form is running out. That’s enough games with you. I shall bring this match to a swift end. Your struggle is recognised, but ultimately, meaningless."

blitz—

"Crap–!"

Once again, he vanished with a terrifying speed that Vincent’s senses couldn’t even register.

Before Vincent could ready up to defend himself, a sudden force exploded against his jaw, snapping his head back with a sickening crack, causing blood to spray from his mouth.

The counterattack began. It was a brutal, one-sided beatdown.

Since he was moving too fast to see, Vincent desperately tried to raise a barrier, to block and launch a counterattack of his own – but his defenses were broken instantaneously by precision strikes that broke through his barrier and targeted his vitals.

The recruit then landed a crushing knee to Vincent’s ribs, followed by a spin-kick that sent him hurtling across the open seabed.

He blitzed after his falling body and quickly caught up to him.

He grabbed Vincent by the leg, flew down and threw him deep into the dark ocean depths.

SPLASH!!!

He then proceeded to plunge into the water after him, delivering a three-hit barrage that shattered Vincent’s remaining defenses before grabbing him by the hair and dragging him violently back out into the open air.

"Hmph. Look at you now. Got nothing left to say, demigod?"

"... * Huff* Ngh– *Huff**Puff*....."

"Thought so."

High above the clouds, the recruit let go of Vincent’s limp body, raised his rapier, and brought it down with a heavy impact straight into Vincent’s chest – a blow that broke his breastbone with a sickening crack.

"NGAH—!!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

Vincent was launched downward like a falling meteor. He crashed violently into the sand near the water’s edge, creating a massive, cratering explosion that sent a plume of sand billowing a hundred feet into the air.

The overwhelming force of downward strike forcibly knocked him out of his divine state.

His aura snuffed out like a blown candle. The golden lightning wings – and the wings themselves – dissolved into thin air. His hair shifted back to its natural brown, and his eyes reverted to green. He was defeated.

Silence fell over the beach as the dust slowly settled around the crater.

The recruit landed gracefully on one foot beside the crater, his Celestial Form fading as his icy-blue hair returned to dark blue.

Inside the crater, Vincent coughed violently, spitting sand and seawater from his mouth. His body was a wreck. He gritted his teeth, digging his fingers into the grain as he tried to push himself back up onto his knees...

"Hmm? You’re not knocked out?"

But he couldn’t.

"Ugh... n-not... yet... Argh–!" His body betrayed him.

His arms buckled under the weight of his own fatigue and injuries, and he collapsed back face-first into the sand.

He had lost.

"Hmph. Hehe." The recruit sheathed his rapier with a crisp metallic click. A smug, victorious smirk returned to his lips as he looked down at the defeated demigod with cold superiority.

"A valiant effort, demigod. You fought well... ish for a hybrid. But a loss is a loss. Pack your things and leave Commander–"

THWACK!!!

Natasha appeared out of nowhere and landed a ferocious, rage-filled right hook squarely in the young man’s face, sending him splashing across fifty yards of shallow water like a skipping stone before he crashed into the waves.

"GAHHH! *Cough!* *Cough!* What–!?" He flew into the air while holding his rapidly swelling jaw in speechless shock.

"C-Commander Natasha?! Why did you–"

SWISH!

Natasha surged forward through the water, generating a massive wake. She grabbed him violently by his collar and brought him nose-to-nose with her. Her crimson eyes were blazing with pure hatred as she practically looked into his soul.

"I told you earlier, you bitch-made little shit! My life, my heart, and my relationship are NOT prizes in your stupid little games! I choose who I stay with, and I am NOT going anywhere! Do you understand me?!"

"I–I–!"

"I SAID DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND ME?! HAH?!"

"I... I *sob* understand, Commander!"

Meanwhile, back on the shore, Deina rushed over to the crater and knelt gently in the sand beside Vincent.

Tears of painful empathy brimmed in her golden eyes as she carefully lifted Vincent’s upper body, resting his battered head onto her soft lap. She placed her hands over his shattered chest, channeling a soothing stream of healing into him to mend his broken bones, close his wounds, and alleviate the pain.

She whispered tenderly for him to rest as she stroked his brown hair.

Bron flew beside his dazed recruit who was now standing at the shore with an angry Natasha, clutching his jaw and looking utterly cowed.

Seeing the signature fury in Natasha’s eyes that he and all have come to know, he offered a quiet, slightly awkward bow of apology, recognising he had let the duel go too far. Not saying anything unnecessary, he grabbed his teary new recruit by the shoulder and began walking away down the coastline.

The beach fell quiet once more, save for the gentle lapping of the ocean waves.

Natasha hurried to Vincent, her expression changing from fury to somber concern. She dropped down to her knees beside the two and took Vincent’s trembling hand into hers, squeezing it tightly as her crimson eyes filled with unwavering devotion.

"Don’t you ever listen to that shit, V," she murmured softly with affection and commitment. "You’re my partner. Always. No matter what, ok?"

He heard her words, he felt her warm grip on his hand, and he felt Deina’s tender touch in his hair...

But inside, his chest ached with a burning frustration that no healing magic could touch.

With his pride torn and overwhelmed by the bitter, helplessness, he stared blankly up at the clear blue sky. He slowly covered his face in shame with his free hand and clicked his tongue.

It hit him once again. He had lost.