The combined assault of Greed and Lust struck Ryan like a divine punishment. The golden blades and hellish fire entwined into a single, obliterating column of energy that swallowed him whole. The chamber shook with the force of the impact.
From within the maelstrom, a cry of agony echoed. "Aaaah! Greed, what is this? I think he has already lost!" Lust's monstrous voice roared in triumph.
A deeper, more measured voice, resonating from the very walls, answered. "Who are you? The sound is very bad. I liked the voice you had before."
Before Greed could finish his critique, a sharp, cutting light erupted from within the inferno.
"Soul Counter."
Crimson blades of pure, focused energy slashed outwards in a perfect sphere, shearing through the molten gold and dispersing the magical flames. Ryan stood revealed within a pulsing shell of red aura, his clothes smoldering but his eyes blazing with an unbroken will.
"Greed," Ryan panted, smoke curling from his lips. "You should say this: you are very good at controlling your powers. Our combined attack didn't kill you. You should be proud of yourself."
"Lust," Greed commanded, ignoring Ryan. "Start the fire."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Greed snarled, his pride stung. He flexed his will, and the scattered gold in the room liquefied once more. With a flick of his fingers, a dozen new golden swords materialized and shot toward Ryan in a deadly, humming volley.
Ryan's red blades became a whirling shield. The clash of metal against soul-forged energy filled the room with a sound like shattering bells.
"Fire!"
Seizing the moment of distraction, Lust's lion-mouth opened wide. A torrent of fire, more concentrated and furious than before, blasted forth like the breath of an ancient dragon. Ryan was forced to abandon his defense, using a burst of red energy to launch himself sideways, the fire scorching the floor where he had just stood.
They are a perfect, terrible team, Ryan realized, rolling to his feet. One wants to possess me, the other just wants me dead. I can't fight them both at once. I have to break one.
"So now," he whispered to himself, "let me show them my power."
"Soul Speed."
Wind and crimson light wrapped around his legs. He became a blur, not charging at the slow-moving mass of Greed's gold, but straight at the chimera of Lust.
Lust reacted instantly, spewing another jet of flame. But this time, Ryan was ready.
"Wind Soul. Full Power."
He didn't dodge. He summoned the tranquil, forceful power of Sloth. A gale erupted from his hands, not to deflect, but to reverse the flame. The firestorm was pushed back, funneled violently into Lust's own open maw.
The monster choked and recoiled, its attack turned against itself. In that moment of stunned pain, Ryan was upon it.
"Red Blades. Soul Counter."
He leaped, his claws extending into greatswords of solidified wrath. With a downward slash that carried all his fury, he cleaved a deep, burning gash across the lion's snarling face.
"AAAAAAH!" Lust's scream was a mixture of physical pain and shattered pride. "How dare you attack me? How dare you not fear me? I am your fear! I am the one who is supposed to take your body!"
Ryan landed, spinning to face her. "You guys don't have any other dialogue? 'I want your soul, I want your soul!' Shut up!" he roared back, his own voice raw. "Do you really think this can scare me now? I have seen my family dead! My friends slaughtered! My home burned to ash! They tortured me for fun! Do you really think you can scare me now?"
Dark, ichorous blood dripped from the wound on Lust's face, sizzling on the golden floor.
"So be it!" Ryan declared, his resolve hardening into something absolute. "I will give my all to free you from this pain!"
Lust's entire monstrous body began to tremble, then glow from within. The wounds seemed to fuel her. "Look at me, Ryan!" she bellowed, her form swelling with incandescent heat. "This is what I really am! Lust is the wildfire of your heart! It consumes everything to get what it wants! You always bound me, hid me, locked me away in the dark of your soul! You were ashamed of me! Now, I will take my revenge!"
She transformed. The fire wasn't just in her mouth; it was her. The chimera became a living, walking conflagration—a serpent of flame with claws of molten stone. She lunged, not with strategy, but with pure, consuming hunger.
Her massive, burning maw snapped shut around Ryan. He caught it with his bare hands, his soul-enhanced strength the only thing holding the crushing crocodile jaws at bay. The heat was unbearable, searing his skin, filling his lungs with smoke. He strained, muscles screaming, but Lust coiled her serpentine body around him, squeezing.
"Now burn!" she shrieked.
The fire that was her body intensified. Ryan's world dissolved into white-hot agony. His skin blistered. His strength began to waver. The monstrous teeth inched closer. For the first time in this battle, true weakness began to seep into his bones Ryan was caught in the lion's crushing jaws, using every ounce of strength to hold them apart. "Wind Soul: Shield!" A swirling barrier of air materialized between the teeth, giving him a single, desperate moment. He wrenched himself free, stumbling back onto the golden floor, his breath ragged and his body screaming from the burns.
The wind shield shattered. Lust's lion head surged forward, unleashing another torrent of fire. Ryan crossed his arms, summoning a dome of Red Soul energy, the flames washing over it in a blistering wave.
"Lust!" Ryan shouted through the inferno. "Do you know the real reason I never showed you? It wasn't because I hated you!"
The fire attack stopped. The monstrous chimera paused, its burning eyes fixed on him.
"The reason was... I was afraid. Afraid of falling for the girl I loved. I never told her because I was terrified she would reject me. You were never the reason for the bad things in my life. You were just a feeling I was too scared to face." His voice cracked, not with weakness, but with a raw, painful honesty. "I am sorry... for never giving you the time you deserved."
The fire around Lust's body flickered, the rage momentarily replaced by confusion. "Do you think... this really can help you now?"
Ryan's expression hardened into a sad, final smile. "No. Now, I will free you. Let's finish this."
"Soul Energy: Wrath. Gluttony. Sloth. FULL POWER!"
A vortex of power erupted around Ryan. The red energy of Wrath mixed with the hungry yellow of Gluttony, while the calm, controlled wind of Sloth whipped it into a frenzy. The energy coalesced, taking the form of a gigantic, snarling Red Wolf of pure soul energy.
Lust roared in response, her entire monstrous form igniting into a towering Fire Monster.
The two colossal beings charged.
The Red Wolf and the Fire Lion collided in the center of the chamber. Wind howled, fire exploded, and the very air crackled with disintegrating power. Ryan's will, focused and absolute, pushed against Lust's untamed, consuming hunger.
With a final, deafening blast, the Red Wolf tore through the heart of the fire. The flames died. Lust's chimera form dissipated, revealing the wounded, fading core of the Sin, now looking like a burned and bleeding young woman with pink hair.
She fell to her knees.
Ryan, his own body smoking and scarred, walked toward her. Lust looked up with weak, dying eyes. "Ryan... you won. I think... you should have my power."
Ryan knelt before her, his earlier smile gone, replaced by a look of profound sorrow. "I don't know what I should tell you now," he whispered. "But I can tell you this: I will carry you with me. Always."
He reached out a hand.
Lust, a flicker of her old longing in her eyes, reached for it.
SHINK!
A blade of solid gold shot across the room and severed Lust's outstretched hand at the wrist.
"NO!" Ryan roared, surging forward.
But a wall of molten gold erupted from the floor, sealing him off. He slashed at it frantically with his red blades.
From his throne of treasure, Greed's voice echoed, rich with smug satisfaction. "So, you also give up on your revenge? How pathetic. Very well. If you won't take her power... I will."
The gold in the room surged over Lust's fallen form, enveloping her completely. It hardened, compressed, and reshaped itself. In moments, where Lust had been, stood a beautiful, lifeless, solid gold statue—a tomb and a trophy.