"When restraint is broken, power no longer answers to will... it answers only to truth."
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Revelation of Power
Location: Biringan – Central Front
Gregorio drove forward again, forcing his way through the remaining storm of blade fragments. Dahong Palay continued to scatter thin shards across the battlefield, cutting down Babaylan soldiers. Hermano stepped into position behind him and raised his hand, compressing the air into a reinforced field that slowed the incoming fragments just enough to create an opening.
"Now," Hermano said.
Gregorio shifted his stance.
"Kisap Mata."
His body surged forward, speed distorting his outline as afterimages trailed behind him. He closed the distance instantly and drove a punch straight into Datu Alon's guard.
"Godfist Strike."
The impact detonated point-blank.
This time, Datu Alon did not fully disperse the force.
The strike connected.
The shockwave pushed him back several meters, his feet carving through the ground before he stabilized.
Gregorio followed immediately, delivering another strike from a different angle. The second impact landed across Datu Alon's side, forcing his upper body to shift.
"He's getting hit," Gregorio growled.
Hermano moved in.
Chains of light surged forward.
"Chains of Heaven."
Multiple chains wrapped around Datu Alon's arms and torso. The moment they locked in place, the fragments surrounding Dahong Palay slowed and lost precision.
"He is losing control over the blades," Hermano confirmed.
Gregorio did not hesitate.
He moved again under Kisap Mata, striking from alternating angles. Each hit landed in rapid succession, driving Datu Alon backward step by step.
A third strike connected cleanly to his ribs.
A fourth drove into his midsection.
The ground behind Datu Alon fractured as he was forced to give ground under the combined assault.
Hermano tightened the chains further.
"Keep it up! I will hold him.", Hermano barked.
Gregorio raised his arm.
The Eye opened.
"Echo Pulse."
The vibration spread outward, revealing the flow of Dahong Palay and the weakened structure of its current output. Every movement of the blade became predictable within Gregorio's perception.
"I see the gaps."
He stepped in again.
Datu Alon attempted to intercept, but Gregorio adjusted mid-motion and drove a downward strike.
"Godfist Strike."
The projectile detonated at close range.
This time, the impact lifted Datu Alon slightly off the ground before he was forced back down.
Hermano followed through.
"Heaven's Authority."
The pressure blast struck directly.
Datu Alon guarded with his blade, but the force carried through, pushing him further back and carving a trench beneath his feet.
For the first time, his stance broke.
Gregorio extended a golden thread.
"Soul Thread."
The connection formed instantly.
Hermano's perception aligned with his.
Gregorio moved.
Hermano moved with him.
Two angles.
One timing.
Gregorio struck high.
Hermano struck low.
Both hits landed.
Datu Alon absorbed the first through his blade, but the second connected cleanly and forced him to pivot off balance.
Gregorio capitalized.
"Glyph Lock."
His strike landed directly on Dahong Palay.
The sigil embedded into the blade.
The weapon's energy flow stalled.
"It's sealed," Gregorio said. "Ten counts."
Hermano tightened the chains and prepared another blast.
Gregorio stepped in for the follow-up.
For a brief moment, Datu Alon was fully contained.
Then he exhaled.
The sigil cracked.
The chains trembled.
Dahong Palay pulsed once.
The Glyph Lock shattered.
The chains snapped apart in a burst of force.
Gregorio pulled back slightly. "He broke it already?"
Datu Alon stepped forward.
This time, he initiated.
He delivered a single upward cut.
Gregorio blocked, but the force lifted him off his feet and sent him sliding back across the battlefield.
Hermano fired another Heaven's Authority blast.
Datu Alon cut through it directly, splitting the attack before it reached him.
The fragments returned.
Faster than before.
Sharper.
More controlled.
Gregorio steadied himself and moved back beside Hermano.
"We were landing hits..." Gregorio said.
Hermano did not look away from Datu Alon. "And it still isn't enough."
Datu Alon raised Dahong Palay.
The fragments stopped.
All motion around the blade ceased as its energy drew inward.
"I am losing my patience," Datu Alon said with a deep voice.
He adjusted his grip.
"I thought no other warrior besides Joaquin can force me to remove my limiter."
The pressure around him began to rise.
"I will now show you how an Anino High Council really fight."
The blade pulsed.
The air around him tightened.
Gregorio felt it immediately.
Hermano braced.
Datu Alon lifted Dahong Palay.
"Now you will understand the difference."
The Baybayin Runes faded from the blade of the Dahong Palay. From a physical form, the blade transformed into an almost transparent spirit manifestation.
The limiter broke.
───────────────────────────
Verdant Cataclysm
Location: Biringan – Central Front
The moment the limiter broke, the battlefield changed.
Datu Alon vanished.
Gregorio's eyes widened. "Too fast..."
The strike came from his blind side.
A single slash tore across his guard and sent him flying across the field. His body crashed through a cluster of shattered stone pillars, the impact collapsing what remained of their structure.
Hermano reacted instantly.
"Heaven's Authority!"
The pressure blast fired toward Datu Alon's last position.
It missed.
Datu Alon reappeared above him.
He brought Dahong Palay down.
Hermano raised both arms and summoned a barrier, but the blade cut through the outer layer and slammed into him. The impact drove him straight into the ground, cracking the earth beneath him and forcing air out of his lungs.
Gregorio forced himself back to his feet, blood running down the side of his face. His vision shook, but he locked back onto the fight.
"He's faster… stronger…more dangerous."
Datu Alon did not pause.
He moved again.
This time toward Hermano.
Gregorio surged forward under Kisap Mata, intercepting just as Datu Alon's blade descended.
The clash exploded.
Gregorio blocked, but the force buckled his stance. The ground beneath him collapsed as he was pushed down to one knee.
Hermano rolled away, regaining distance.
"You cannot match me at this state," Datu Alon said.
He twisted his blade and released another strike.
Gregorio was forced back again, his arms straining as he deflected the blow. The impact still cut across his shoulder, drawing blood.
Hermano stepped back in.
"Chains of Heaven!"
The chains launched again, faster and more forceful.
They reached Datu Alon.
And shattered instantly.
Hermano's eyes narrowed. "His output… it's completely different now."
Datu Alon raised his hand.
The battlefield responded.
"Verdant Dominion!"
The Dahong Palay erupted into a storm of green light.
Millions of spectral rice leaves formed in an instant, filling the sky before crashing down like a tsunami.
"Defensive formation!" Hermano shouted.
He slammed both hands forward.
"Six Sacred Walls of Heaven!"
Six radiant barriers materialized in layered formation around them.
The Verdant Dominion collided.
The first wall shattered instantly.
The second followed in the same breath.
The third cracked, held for less than a second, then exploded outward.
Gregorio braced himself behind the barriers as the storm continued to press forward, each leaf cutting with the force of a blade.
"Hold it!" Gregorio shouted.
"I am trying!" Hermano responded, his voice strained.
The fourth wall broke.
The fifth wall followed, fragments of divine light scattering into the storm.
The final wall remained.
It trembled violently under the pressure.
Cracks spread across its surface.
Gregorio looked at Hermano.
His aura was flickering.
Energy reserves dropping fast.
"He's going to break through," Gregorio said.
The final wall shattered.
The storm came through.
Gregorio moved instantly.
"Soul Thread!"
The golden tether connected.
In that instant, Gregorio saw everything Hermano saw.
The angle.
The timing.
The fatal trajectory aimed directly at him.
Gregorio stepped in front of him.
He raised his arms and took the attack head-on.
The spectral leaves tore into him, cutting through his defenses and driving him backward. His body absorbed the force that would have ended Hermano.
"Gregorio!" Hermano shouted.
Gregorio held his ground.
His body shook under the pressure, but he did not move aside.
The storm began to thin.
When it cleared, Gregorio was still standing.
Wounded.
Breathing heavily.
But standing.
Hermano dropped to one knee behind him, his energy nearly depleted.
Gregorio stepped forward.
A violent violet aura ignited around his body.
It pulsed outward, pushing back the remaining fragments of Verdant Dominion.
Datu Alon watched him.
For the first time, his expression sharpened.
Gregorio did not speak immediately.
He took one step forward.
The ground beneath him cracked.
His aura intensified.
"I see it now," Gregorio said.
He raised his hand.
Energy gathered.
Not unstable.
Not uncontrolled.
Focused.
Refined.
"I see what you've been holding back."
The aura surged.
"Divinity Mode."
The battlefield fell silent for a single moment.
Then the energy erupted.
───────────────────────────
Divine Convergence
Location: Biringan – Central Front
The energy from Gregorio's Divinity Mode spread across the battlefield like a shockwave.
The ground beneath him fractured further, unable to withstand the pressure. Fragments of stone lifted into the air, suspended by the distortion radiating from his body.
Datu Alon moved first.
He vanished and reappeared directly in front of Gregorio, Dahong Palay already mid-swing.
Gregorio met it.
The clash detonated.
A circular shockwave blasted outward, flattening nearby structures and forcing Babaylan soldiers to brace against the wind pressure.
This time, Gregorio did not get pushed back.
He held the strike.
Their weapons and fists collided again, faster than before.
Gregorio shifted his stance.
"Kisap Mata."
His movements sharpened.
Afterimages layered over each other as he stepped inside Datu Alon's range and drove a punch toward his chest.
"Godfist Strike."
Datu Alon twisted his body and deflected the blow with the flat of Dahong Palay. The redirected impact tore through the battlefield behind him, carving a deep trench across the ground.
He countered immediately.
A horizontal slash aimed at Gregorio's neck.
Gregorio ducked under it and drove an elbow into Datu Alon's side.
The hit connected.
Datu Alon slid back several meters before regaining footing.
Hermano's eyes widened from behind them.
"He's… matching him?"
Gregorio did not stop.
He advanced again, each step cracking the ground beneath him.
Datu Alon responded in equal measure.
They disappeared from sight.
Only the impact points remained visible.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield as their clashes tore through the environment. Ruined structures collapsed further with every exchange. The air itself distorted with each collision.
Gregorio reappeared above.
He raised his arm.
"Echo Pulse."
The vibration spread instantly.
Datu Alon's position revealed.
His follow-up attack mapped.
Gregorio descended.
Datu Alon looked up and met him mid-air.
Their collision split the sky pressure above them, dispersing the lingering Verdant energy.
They landed simultaneously.
Gregorio pivoted and launched a rapid series of strikes, each one enhanced by Divinity Mode.
Datu Alon blocked, redirected, and countered with equal precision.
A strike slipped through Gregorio's guard and cut across his ribs.
Gregorio responded with a backfist that clipped Datu Alon across the jaw.
Both attacks landed.
Both fighters adjusted.
Neither slowed.
Hermano watched, breathing heavily as he tried to stabilize himself.
"This is… beyond Sandata output…"
He clenched his fist.
"The Kamay ni Bathala… this is its true combat state…"
Gregorio extended his hand again.
"Soul Thread."
The connection reformed.
Gregorio borrowed his vision like a surveillance camera to identify blindspots within Datu Alon's defense.
For a brief moment, Hermano saw it.
Every movement.
Every opening.
Every possible outcome branching in real time.
He staggered slightly.
"I can't… fully process it…"
Gregorio surged forward again.
Datu Alon met him head-on.
Blade and fist collided.
The resulting shockwave shattered what remained of a nearby structure, sending debris outward in all directions.
Datu Alon's expression sharpened.
"You have stepped into a higher threshold," he said.
Gregorio answered with another strike.
"And I'm not done."
They clashed again.
Faster.
Sharper.
More precise.
But the difference began to show.
Datu Alon adjusted first.
He began reading Gregorio's rhythm.
His counters became tighter.
More efficient.
A strike slipped past Gregorio's defense and drove into his shoulder.
Another followed, forcing Gregorio to slide back across the ground.
Gregorio steadied himself.
Datu Alon did not pursue immediately.
Instead, he stepped back.
The battlefield quieted.
Even the remaining fragments of Verdant Dominion stilled.
Hermano felt it instantly.
"This pressure…"
Datu Alon raised Dahong Palay.
The ground beneath him began to glow.
A massive glyph formed.
A Rice Leaf pattern expanded outward, its lines embedding themselves deep into the battlefield.
"Gregorio…" Hermano said under his breath.
The sky above Biringan darkened.
Then it turned.
Emerald.
Datu Alon spoke.
"Punishment of the Gods…"
The glyph beneath him pulsed.
The sky filled.
Countless emerald rice leaves manifested overhead, covering the entire battlefield like a suspended ocean.
Babaylan soldiers froze.
None moved.
None spoke.
They understood.
Judgment was about to fall.
Datu Alon lifted his blade.
"Emerald Judgment."
The sky trembled.
───────────────────────────
Judgment Falls
Location: Biringan – Central Front
Datu Alon brought Dahong Palay down.
The sky collapsed.
Millions of emerald rice leaves descended at once.
Not in waves.
Not in volleys.
A continuous, overwhelming rain of blades.
They struck everything.
The first impact erased entire sections of the battlefield.
Stone structures shattered instantly, reduced to fragments as the leaves pierced through walls, towers, and foundations without resistance. Defensive formations collapsed under the density of the assault.
Babaylan soldiers raised barriers.
They were cut apart.
Anino warriors attempted to evade.
They were overtaken.
The emerald rain did not distinguish.
It did not hesitate.
It consumed.
Screams filled the battlefield.
Then they were drowned out.
Gregorio moved.
He appeared in front of Hermano just as the first wave reached them.
"Stay behind me."
He raised his arm.
The Divinity Mode aura surged outward, forming a violet barrier around them.
The emerald leaves struck.
The barrier held.
Barely.
Each impact detonated on contact, forcing Gregorio's feet deeper into the ground as the pressure stacked without pause.
Hermano dropped to one knee behind him, his breathing unstable.
"I can't… raise another wall…"
Gregorio did not respond.
His focus broke.
Not from the attack.
From what he saw beyond it.
Through the gaps between impacts—
Bodies.
Babaylan.
Anino.
Civilians caught in the collapse of structures.
Some running.
Some already still.
Entire sections of Biringan were gone.
Reduced to debris under the unrelenting descent.
Gregorio's jaw tightened.
"Enough! I said enough!"
Another wave struck.
Stronger.
His barrier flickered.
Hermano coughed behind him, struggling to stay conscious.
Gregorio glanced back briefly.
Then forward again.
His voice dropped.
"My team…"
The pressure intensified.
The emerald rain thickened further, compressing into a denser kill zone.
Gregorio planted his foot.
The ground cracked outward.
His aura surged—
Then shifted.
The violent violet aura deepened.
Darkened.
Expanded.
The air around him distorted violently as a second layer of energy erupted from within.
Hermano's eyes widened despite his exhaustion.
"Gregorio… what are you—"
The energy spiked.
Everything paused for a fraction of a second.
Then—
It broke.
───────────────────────────
Divinity Unbound
───────────────────────────
The pressure vanished.
Not because the attack stopped.
Because it no longer reached him.
The emerald leaves halted mid-descent around Gregorio, suspended in place as if time itself had been seized.
The battlefield fell into unnatural silence.
Gregorio stood upright.
The aura around him had changed.
His eyes glowed with violet energy.
No longer violent.
No longer unstable.
It was absolute.
He raised his hand slowly toward the sky.
Datu Alon's eyes narrowed for the first time.
"What… is this…"
Gregorio spoke.
Calm.
Final.
"Punishment of the Gods…"
His palm faced the heavens.
"Ender of Worlds."
He clenched his fist.
The sky shattered.
The entire mass of emerald rice leaves fractured instantly, breaking apart into countless particles of light. The structure of the attack collapsed at once, disintegrating into fine emerald dust that scattered and vanished into the air.
No explosion.
No resistance.
Erased.
Silence returned.
Datu Alon did not move.
For the first time...
He was stunned.
Gregorio stepped forward.
Each step carried no visible force.
Yet the ground gave way beneath him.
Datu Alon reacted.
He raised Dahong Palay and unleashed everything.
"Verdant Dominion!"
The storm returned—
"Rice Leaf Hurricane!"
A concentrated vortex of blades surged forward, compressing the remaining energy of his technique into a single overwhelming attack.
Gregorio did not stop.
He raised his hand.
He waved once.
The storm split.
The vortex collapsed.
Every leaf lost structure and dissolved before reaching him.
Datu Alon's expression hardened.
Gregorio closed the distance.
Instantly.
He reached forward—
And caught Dahong Palay mid-swing.
The blade stopped.
Completely.
Datu Alon pushed.
Nothing moved.
Gregorio pulled the weapon slightly downward, opening Datu Alon's guard.
Then—
He stepped in.
He aimed his hand on Datu Alon's chest like a stabbing knife and then...
A single, direct strike.
His fist drove into Datu Alon's chest.
The impact detonated.
Datu Alon was launched.
He tore through the battlefield, smashing through pillars, collapsing towers, and breaking through the outer wall of Biringan in a single continuous trajectory.
He did not stop.
His body carved through the cliffside beyond the city, embedding deep into solid rock before the force finally dissipated.
Dust and debris collapsed around him.
Silence followed.
Datu Alon coughed.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he forced himself to move.
His body trembled.
He tried to stand.
Failed.
"…impossible…"
His hand shook as he formed a sigil.
"Escape… Glyph…"
The symbol activated.
His body dissolved into light.
Gone.
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Back at the Central front, Gregorio stood still.
The Divinity Unbound aura faded first.
Then Divinity Mode followed.
The pressure lifted.
The battlefield returned.
Broken.
Silent.
Heavy.
Gregorio turned.
He moved back to Hermano and knelt beside him, lifting him carefully to a seated position.
Hermano barely remained conscious.
"…you… ended it…"
Gregorio did not answer.
He looked out across Biringan.
Ruined structures.
Fallen bodies.
Smoke rising from what remained.
His gaze lingered on the horizon.
"My team…"
No confirmation.
No movement.
Just distance.
The wind carried ash across the battlefield.
Gregorio remained there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hoping.