After the brief storm of wind passed, winter snow began falling quietly once more across the deserted mountains.
Snowflakes drifted through the air, covering the ruined land with a layer of silver, yet they could not hide the killing intent filling the atmosphere.
The two stood far apart facing each other. After a long while, Ash gave a helpless smile, "So in the end, what exactly are you?"
"Your god. Stop playing those petty tricks and surrender obediently."
Though the girl holding the Holy Sword looked and sounded like a young girl, her tone and gaze resembled that of an elder who knew everything. There was unquestionable authority in her eyes.
"Or do you intend to defy your creator?"
The girl's words were like cold arrows, trying to overwhelm him through sheer presence.
"Stop talking nonsense. How could you possibly be the creator of the demon race?"
Ash, who had never cared for the myth that the goddess created the world, curled his lips slightly. After letting out a mocking laugh, he exposed the truth mercilessly, "In fact, not just the demon race. The birth of humanity, this planet, and probably the whole world have nothing to do with you. Though religions do like spreading stories like that. But then again, do you really think I'd be one of your fanatical believers?"
"I was only saying it casually. At most, it'll take a little extra effort to remove an unnecessary piece like you from the board."
The girl had never expected success in the first place. She was not surprised by his rejection.
Even though his eyes were full of contempt for such false claims, and every word challenged the divine authority she represented, the girl paid no attention to the mockery. Her voice remained calm, as though she were stating something insignificant.
"You who violated taboos and slaughtered countless living beings, are you prepared to accept judgment? As a god, I can still grant you a small amount of mercy."
"You can keep that mercy. I won't deny the title you're giving me. If you're asking whether my actions are good or evil, taking lives is naturally evil. But if peace is built through death, what's wrong with that?"
"I understand. As expected, you're not someone who can be reasoned with."
The girl shook her head lightly, disappointment in her voice.
"Likewise," Ash replied calmly.
"Now then, I grant you... death."
Before her words had fully fallen, the girl vanished from the ruins of the broken wooden house.
In an instant, only the sound of air being torn apart remained.
The shrill noise was like space itself crying out in pain.
Then came a burst of light, as though the sun had exploded right before his eyes. The place where Ash had been standing erupted violently.
A tremendous shockwave spread in every direction. The ground exploded into a massive crater as dirt and shattered stone shot into the sky.
That terrifying slash, carrying golden light, resembled a destructive rainbow that cut straight through the mountain range behind him.
The mountains were sliced apart as easily as tofu. The severed halves collapsed to either side under the immense force, producing deafening roars.
The golden light continued onward, splitting the clouds covering the sky in two, like a blade cutting through a black curtain. The clouds churned and rolled as though trembling before this power.
However, Ash had already flown into the air.
Standing amid the wind and snow, he revealed his original form. The surroundings became filled with something that dyed the world black, something beyond what could be described as lightning, displaying a terror far beyond the realm of humanity.
Before such overwhelming power, all life would lose hope. Instinct alone would make them tremble and pray not to be noticed or caught in it.
The world itself seemed about to become a demonic realm filled with despair.
Yet where the girl stood was a completely different scene.
Around the girl holding the Holy Sword overflowed powerful divine might.
Everything in heaven and earth seemed to submit to her in silence. Even the dark clouds naturally parted, allowing golden sunlight to fall upon her as though she were the savior of all things.
"O' Demon King who seeks to save the world without realizing you are bringing even greater disaster upon it, today I shall make you fall here!"
The girl's voice echoed across heaven and earth like a great bell.
She swung the Holy Sword and shot into the sky, charging toward Ash.
The Holy Sword shone with sacred brilliance beneath the sunlight. Every swing left behind arcs of golden light that tore through the air.
Those chaotic rays instantly spread across the entire sky, weaving a dense net of death.
But the "Demon King" Ash, suspended in midair, neither dodged nor retreated.
He directly drew the long sword he had turned into gold through the magic that transformed all things into gold.
His entire body descended like a meteor. Black energy surrounded him, making his flight path resemble a roaring black dragon.
Accompanied by a thunderous boom, a powerful dome-shaped shockwave erupted from the point where the two collided.
The shockwave was like a doomsday tsunami, sweeping outward with overwhelming force.
The explosive storm, large enough to engulf an entire city, crashed through everything around it like a furious beast.
Trees snapped apart like fragile matchsticks. Mountain peaks were torn away under the force. Massive boulders were blasted into the air, leaving once-majestic mountains riddled with damage.
During the first full-force clash, the goddess was unexpectedly driven back to the earth by Ash.
She was slammed underground.
Ash even forced her beneath him, with only the Holy Sword preventing his blade from reaching her.
Above her, Ash continuously pressed his weapon down. Sparks burst violently wherever the two blades met.
Determination showed in the eyes of the girl possessed by the goddess. Her brows were furrowed.
The next moment, a beam of light so dense it seemed solid descended from the sky, forcing Ash to leap back instantly.
The attack truly moved as though at the speed of light. Even after he predicted and dodged it beforehand, it still nearly grazed the skin of his arm. Carrying a spray of blood, it pierced through the earth and created a bottomless trench.
The girl rose gracefully.
The Holy Sword in her hand shone with sacred golden light, like the embodiment of justice itself.
Without giving Ash time to steady himself, she swung the sword straight at him.
Ash showed no fear and raised his golden blade to meet it head-on.
The two swords collided.
A dazzling shower of sparks burst forth.
Ash's surging magic power clashed with divine authority, causing black and gold light to intertwine continuously between them. Even the surrounding space cracked apart.
Sweat slid down Ash's forehead, only to disappear instantly under the influence of distorted gravity.
The girl's expression was solemn. Her eyes remained fixed on Ash. The resolve within them did not waver in the slightest, though her cheeks had become slightly red from exertion.
The next moment, their energies exploded outward.
A powerful shockwave spread from the two of them.
Like a raging ocean wave, it swept away everything in its path.
The surrounding air compressed violently, forming visible ripples that spread in every direction. Even the snow accumulated in distant valleys was lifted by the force and surged outward like giant white waves.
Everywhere it passed, trees were uprooted and rocks shattered.
Everything within several kilometers trembled and broke beneath the impact, as though the world itself had been shaken.
Yet at the very instant the shockwave erupted, neither of them remained where they had been.
Neither stopped because of the collision.
The next moment, they crashed together again.
Both exerted force simultaneously. Their blades ground against each other, producing a harsh metallic roar. More sparks exploded between them like a terrifying firestorm.
Their powers struggled against one another in a deadlock.
Ash clenched his teeth. Veins bulged across his forehead as he increased the strength in his arms, trying to break through the goddess's defense.
Black energy poured endlessly from his body like a fierce beast of darkness lunging toward the goddess.
The goddess refused to yield. Gripping the Holy Sword tightly, she made the divine authority surrounding her even stronger.
Golden light radiated from her body and sword like a blazing sun, opposing Ash's darkness.
After only a brief stalemate, they returned once again to exchanging sword strikes and magical bombardments.
After this first round of testing, Ash had roughly determined that her control over divine power, which should also count as a form of magic power, was far more refined than that of anyone he currently knew.
Fortunately, he had arrived at the right time.
So when it came to quantity, she had less than he did.
"In that case... I'll win through volume."
After the brief exchange, Ash's fighting style became even more aggressive.
His attacks were broad and forceful. Every move was filled with strength.
He raised his blade. The tip traced a perfect arc through the air before slashing toward the girl's vital point like lightning.
At the same time, the twisted singularity in his other hand, like a miniature black hole, smashed toward the girl as she instinctively moved to block.
Within that region where both light and sound were swallowed, the goddess moved lightly to the side, narrowly avoiding Ash's fatal strike.
She even resisted the pull of the gravity and raised the Holy Sword, blocking the black hole's erosion.
The miniature black hole struck the Holy Sword, causing constant tiny vibrations.
Although the sound was completely absorbed and could not be heard, and even the light was swallowed so that most of the sword could no longer be seen, invisible impacts continued ravaging the surroundings.
The goddess's eyes narrowed slightly.
The next moment, the black hole shattered.
Golden light consumed it.
Even the broken space around them instantly returned to normal.
Even the magic power he used to distort space was suppressed.
For a moment, Ash could not tell what she was trying to do.
But he felt nothing at all.
The goddess who had been clearly visible suddenly disappeared.
There were no fluctuations of magic power and no signs of spatial movement.
Yet his instincts sent a warning he could not describe.
The sense of danger wrapped around every nerve in his body, causing him to move before conscious thought caught up.
He instantly twisted aside.
But he still failed to avoid the fatal attack.
A sharp pain suddenly erupted in his chest without warning, as though a burning flame had ignited inside it and was consuming his life force.
He instantly flashed over a hundred meters away and instinctively covered his chest.
Warm blood poured out like a broken dam, staining his hand red in moments.
"What a pity. I was only a little away from cutting open your heart... If you hadn't dodged, your death would have been easier."
The goddess possessing the girl's body stood where he had previously been and looked at him coldly.
There was a detached indifference in her eyes, as though a god high above were looking down upon an insect.
Ash endured the intense pain and swallowed the blood rising into his mouth.
The taste of blood still spread across his tongue.
Meanwhile, his mind raced.
He already had a rough conclusion regarding the sudden attack.
"Time magic?"
"..."
The goddess offered no answer.
She silently flashed forward once more and swung the Holy Sword.
But Ash still had no intention of retreating.
He charged forward while continuing to think.
Blood continued to leave his body.
At the same time, more heated blood rushed toward his brain, causing intense ringing in his ears.
Yet he forcibly suppressed the discomfort and pain, focusing all of his attention on the enemy before him, their weapons collided yet again.
The moment they struck, both exerted force simultaneously.
Their blades scraped together with a harsh metallic roar.
Then they separated once more.
Crack! Clang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of sword and blade colliding intertwined into a symphony of death.
Sparks erupted like raging lightning as the repeated clashes released blinding light.
The shockwaves produced by those impacts resembled endless tsunamis, continuously spreading outward without pause.
Everything they touched was mercilessly ravaged.
At first glance, it seemed the two were simply engaged in a close-range sword fight.
In reality, the danger and complexity far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.
Using unbelievable strength and speed, they continued exchanging magical attacks during collisions that surpassed the speed of sound.
Every clash of their weapons was accompanied by the intertwining and opposition of magical power.
Brilliant magical light flashed between the blades like deadly meteors crossing the night sky.
And so the two continued repeating this war of attrition across the battlefield that had already been reduced to ruins.
Every exchange destroyed the seemingly endless primeval forest.
As their power shifted, the shockwaves grew even stronger and spread even farther.
Even mountains and forests shook violently beneath this force.
From time to time, entire regions collapsed into ruins under the endless impacts.
Some mountains were even transformed directly into basins.
Mountains and rivers had their original forms altered with ease.
The two truly deserved to be called moving natural disasters.
'If the goddess has time magic, why did she not use it from the beginning?'
'Why not simply stop time immediately?'
'Why suppress the magic power around me first?'
There was only one explanation.
She was reducing his magic power's resistance to time.
Through repeated testing, Ash reached this conclusion.
Though it sounded unbelievable, the magic power of this world was exactly that unbelievable.
It was even more special and versatile than the magic of other worlds.
At least, that was how the goddess understood it.
Take Ash's gravity magic as an example.
Why not directly apply it to another person's body or internal organs?
Because every mage's body and surroundings were protected by their own magic power.
Even a mage who controlled water could not directly manipulate the water inside another mage's body unless the difference in strength between them was enormous.
Making rainwater gather inside someone's nostrils and then enter the brain to destroy it was not impossible.
But a mage's magic power interfered with the magic power of others.
Therefore, directly affecting another person was far more difficult and required much more effort than simply throwing a huge amount of water at them.
That was why Ash preferred smashing people with meteors or attacking through repulsion.
It was simple, direct, and efficient.
Among the demon race were spatial mages who could teleport themselves and objects.
Some could even instantly move a mountain the size of a city into the sky.
Yet even they were merely elite demons and not at the level of a Great Demon.
That also prevented them from directly throwing spatial fragments into another person's head.
The reason remained the same.
The magic power surrounding a mage could resist interference and resist the magic of others.
As for the degree of resistance, that depended on the mage's own abilities.
For a mage of Ash's level, the magic power around him was strong enough to interfere with the normal operation of time and space magic nearby.
Otherwise, she would have simply used spatial movement or freely manipulated time to attack him.
Forcing his magic power into a constrained state was no easy task even for the goddess, limited by this body.
At this moment, although Ash had already suffered severe injuries, his expression became fierce, like a wounded beast growing more violent.
His breathing was rapid and heavy.
Each breath was like a war drum, gathering strength for the next attack.
The blood continuously spilled from him and the sound of his breathing stood out clearly across the battlefield filled with smoke, like a countdown to death.
A trace of pain also flashed across the goddess's once untouchable and sacred face.
The skin between her thumb and index finger had split under the tremendous impact and was stained with blood.
Bright red drops slid down the sword hilt.
As they moved and clashed across yet another battlefield, those drops splashed onto the white snow below, creating red blossoms.
Though she had not suffered any actual external wounds, blood also seeped from the corner of her mouth.
It was a warning that her body had reached its limit.
This fierce battle had already gone far beyond what this incomplete body could endure.
If she continued fighting so recklessly, this fragile body would only die faster.
The battle had to end quickly.
If it dragged on any longer, defeat would be inevitable.
The goddess's gaze sharpened.
She completely released her divine authority.
Golden light poured down from the sky like a brilliant river of stars, as though divine judgment itself had descended.
The light precisely locked onto Ash's surroundings like an airtight golden net, attempting to disperse his vast abyss-like magic power.
And that was not all the light could do.
It was also like an invisible prison, trying to compress Ash's magic power back into his body and cut off his interference with space and time.