Freya used hero-talk no jutsu against Tanael.
Perhaps she thought she could defeat Tanael using dialogue, or make him realize he was wrong from the very core of his being if she talked far and long enough.
He countered with a philosophical question. This question he learned from Confucius, a wise sage. At least, a character that was based on him, but it was good enough for Tanael.
It was Freya herself that said she fought for the world. Tanael gave her a conundrum as grand as which she claid. It wasn't his fault.
Her expression of inner struggle was almost delightful to look at. Even though Tanael knew this was not a victory of any sort, it was still pleasing.
Then Freya seed startled.
“Ah, finally you realized. How’s the taste of my Domain’s special effect? Good, yes? Now, where were we?”
Freya was poised to attack, but Tanael stopped her.
“Whoa, whoa, you’re attacking? No no no, that won't do. You’re the one who claims you have the moral high ground. If you’re a villain like , then yes, you don't have to justify anything and fight away. However, you are on the side of righteousness. You are right and I am wrong. If your belief is indeed true, then defend your path against my inquiry!”
Freya twitched and ultimately refrained from attacking. Tanael manipulated her sense of righteousness against her. However, she used so kind of magic item to protect herself from the Domain’s special effect. Tanael would call it cheating if he was a petty person.
“That’s cheating!” Tanael scoffed. “But fine, I’ll allow it. Well? Have you got an answer, or do I have to ask you again?”
“I can see your ploy, Tanael,” Freya said after regaining her calm. “You’re trying to shake my belief. What are you going to say next? That I’m a dreaming girl that refuses to see reality? Wrong again, as your ilk before you.”
“I still don't hear an answer,” Tanael raised his chin.
“Order,” Freya answered. “That is what the world needs.”
Tanael’s sigh was instantaneous. There were only so many nice words that Freya could use. Order sounded good and all, but it was... unpalatable.
“For the world to know peace, order is necessary. Rules, compromise, restraint... In ti, people will understand one another. They’ll know that they don't need to kill their fellow man. It is never-”
Tanael stuck the mirror-like water floor with the staff of fire once again.
“Order will lead to peace... You are correct, in a way. For I ca from a world like that. With order, wars begin to diminish. In my ti, it was said to be the most prosperous era that humanity enjoys.”
Freya didn't show it but she felt validated and her chest grew warm in satisfaction. It wasn't easy coming up with that answer.
“But there are still wars in my world. That era of peace I said earlier? It only ca after the most devastating war in the entire history. Despite advances in technology and the collective wisdom as a species, humanity’s nature is too selfish. Each of their self-interest matters more than other’s.”
“I know it won't be easy to achieve and even harder to maintain peace. However, as long as there are people who think and strive for the good of the many-”
“Will you tighten your hold over them then? Make more rules, create more laws to curb their worst impulses? I know the end of that path: Dystopia... Tyranny. Even if you succeed, the increase in lawbreakers and corrupt individuals is inevitable. I have seen it. The more you restrict people, the more they try to break free.”
“They won't-” Freya suddenly gasped. “Ah, so that’s how it is. Tanael, you think people are bad at their core. That is why you don't believe in them.”
Tanael had to hand it to Freya. She was really quick in the uptake.
“And you believe the opposite. That they are good. Which is why we won't be able to see eye to eye,” Tanael smiled.
“Coward. Believing in other people scares you that much?” Freya said with disdain.
“Why should I believe in others when I believe in myself? There’s another thing we won't agree on. Order, at its core, is restriction. Laws and rules that say I can't do this and that. NO! I want freedom! I want to do what I want to do. That is the feeling that wells up from the depths of my soul!”
“It will lead to chaos!”
“Exactly! Freedom is chaos! The very opposite of order. That is why we fight! Know that there are people like who won't stomach your world of order. It tastes like shit in the mouth!”
“What utter childish and selfishness! There are indeed otherworlders like you, who think this world is a playground for you to do as you please, just because you receive a second life here. You should be grateful for your stroke of imaginable luck and reciprocate it to the world instead of abusing it! I will not have it! I reject anything and everything you are!” Freya said with her emotions laid bare.
“Too right!” Tanael replied proudly. “Nothing is true, everything is permitted! So what will you do about it, Templar?”
“Capture and imprisonnt, so that you can be judged and pay for all the cris you have caused... But your death will do too,” Freya said chillingly. Her eyes showed she was deathly serious.
“I expected more from you, hero. You disappoint ,” Tanael scoffed. “Well, not really. I know your asure pretty much from the start. Whatever the case, big words alone won't defeat .”
“Since you seem to only recognize the language of violence, I’ll oblige.”
“WRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”
Tanael’s battle cry and weird pose were incomprehensible to Freya and she discarded both from her mind.
Freya’s silver aura peaked and exploded. She brought all the power and stamina she had left to settle this distasteful fight.
With the Sky Crossing Light Arte, she appeared behind Tanael and struck. Tanael’s soul sense was the only reason he was able to block her silver sword with the staff of fire.
She’s really fast, Tanael grunted and he saw Freya’s countenance from a close distance.
When Freya was fighting seriously, her expression was not that of anger. It was blank, full of focus, seemingly looking at insignificant trash. It was the sa all those years ago when she defeated him. Tanael hated it but he couldn't help to feel it was familiar sohow.
He finally made the connection.
That’s Sasuke’s expression. More accurately, Sasuke after the ti skip, after he went to Orochimaru. The ti when he was being the edgiest, brother-obsessed, side-switching, hate-consud brat! Freya’s expression reminds of him!
Finding similarity between Freya and Sasuke, Tanael felt it was like a bad joke.
He’d make sure he and Freya won't end up having a Naruto-Sasuke relationship!
The staff of fire, Faiya, changed shape into a winged moth.
“This is the E.G.O of my soul! It rejects your world of order!”
Tanael grabbed Freya so she couldn't run away even if Faiya hit him as well. Empowered by Tanael’s soul and Domain, the Ardor Heat Moth consud Freya in a fiery brilliance!
But Tanael wasn't hurt in the slightest. The fire elental could choose which one he wanted to scorch with his flas.
To his surprise, Freya wasn't hurt too!
“I won't lose... Not to a degenerate like you! Arte - Rainbow Empyrean!”
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Felling sothing dangerous, Tanael backed away.
As the flas receded, it was then he realized Freya’s silver aura was no longer silver but red. The flas obfuscated it.
Red aura?
Freya extended her palm and it shot fiery javelin at Tanael. He evaded but Freya got to his back again with another Sky Crossing Light Arte.
Her aura was now green and a blast of raging whirlwind swallowed Tanael.
What?
Tanael was confused. He thought Freya’s fire was the result of her elental change from light. An Ixi Arte. Light and fire were distantly related, but wind? Sothing else was in play.
Tanael’s soul barrier was holding, until Freya, in an orange aura, struck it with her fist.
Such brute strength! She wasn't this strong before. Now she has earth elent characteristics and physical reinforcent. Don't tell ?
The montum brought Tanael to the ground but the ground was his Domain. He didn't crash on the floor but sunk towards the water with minimal damage.
Underwater, he saw Freya charging a yellow lightning bolt that she rcilessly threw at him. Tanael dived as deep as he could.
The charge transford Tanael’s Domain into a sea of furious lightning.
As deep as he was, Tanael was affected. The damage wasn't too bad, but more than he liked.
Rainbow Empyrean, she said. So she transford her light into seven colors of rainbow and each gives different elental affinities. Red is fire, orange earth, yellow lightning, green wind-
The blue aura Freya split the seas like Noah. Opening a straight path to Tanael.
Blue is water. The five basic elents is easy to guess but what about indigo and violet?
“Indigo is mind, violet is ti.”
In one blink, a flash of violet and Freya was right in front of him. This was more than speed, because Tanael didn't realize when Freya planted her sword in his stomach.
“Mind... and ti...” Tanael said with bloody mouth.
If that is true, seven elental affinities, can be used to counter any opponent. Including her original light and holy... She wields nine affinities!?
Tanael only had two, water and soul. Faiya and Futon gave him access to several more but it was always theirs. Tanael only borrowed, even though they gave it willingly.
“Your fire elental protected you. Else, your heart would be pierced through now.”
With the edge of his eye, he saw Faiya was split into five pieces. His heart was gripped with horror. Must have happened when the ti was manipulated.
“So you do care about sothing,” Freya whispered, the warmth of her breath reached his skin. “You-”
Tanael bit her.
“Kyaaaah!?”
A mouthful chunk of flesh was taken from Freya’s neck. The shock made Freya dropped the empty Aurora Scroll that she’d taken from Tanael.
Tanael used Soul Repel to pushed her away and went towards Faiya.
Freya swiftly recovered her bearings and went towards the Aurora Scroll. She expected to fight and race Tanael to it but to her surprise, he didn't
She winched from pain, both from her bitten neck and from her entire being. The Rainbow Empyrean Arte was not without cost. Nevertheless, all of those were trivial and she persists.
She almost missed a thin thread about to pierce the back of her head.
Freya evaded in ti, but the white thread shot towards the Aurora Scroll and bound it.
On the other end of the thread, was Tanael, who already recovered Faiya into his soul space. He pulled his prize.
Freya tried to cut the white, soul thread but she was unable to.
“No!”
Freya fashioned a thread of light of her own and bound the Aurora Scroll.
Between the two tout threads, the Aurora Scroll was caught in a tug of war.
Freya looked at Tanael. His chin dripping with red blood, and he swallowed sothing. She knew full well what he swallowed, even though she didn't want to think about it.
She felt Tanael’s anger and his killing intent, but Freya was undaunted. How many had Tanael killed? How many the sa pain he inflicted towards others?
On his left hand, Tanael maintained the Silksong Arte. With his other hand, he raised it to the sky.
Power from the entire Domain converged above his palm.
Freya knew the end was nigh. Even though she was far above her limits, she wouldn't back down. Her silver aura flared up once again.
Tense monts passed as the two were gathering power. Their eyes never left each other. No words were exchanged. The two wordlessly agree to release their hold on Aurora Scroll so it wouldn't be caught between the two Artes. The artifact fell for a little bit until it floated on its own, not falling deep into the waters of Tanael’s Domain.
The first to complete his preparation was Tanael.
Arte - Master Spark!
A massive beam of destructive light was shot towards Freya. The signature move of a certain blonde witch. Despite what it looked, the Arte was pure soul Arte.
Arte - Light From Eons Past!
Freya responded with a similar kind of attack. Brilliant and dazzling, two finishing moves clashed for supremacy.
Tanael’s Arte was pushing towards Freya. Her activation was incomplete in lieu to her subpar condition. Tanael also drew a lot of power from his Domain into his Arte, so his was was superior.
Freya rescinded her Arte.
As the light of destruction closed in, she invoked a different technique.
Arte - Mirror Force!
Tanael flipped his reverse card: Remove Trap!
It was known to him that Ciel Valentine, a mber of the Silver Legion like Freya, who also possessed light affinity, possessed the reflecting technique. He thought Freya possessed such a card in her arsenal. He didn't know from which otherworlder they got it, or if it was wholly a coincidence but he didn't care.
Tanael simply went prepared.
There wasn't anything fancy about it, just a light Arte disruption item. But it canceled Freya’s Mirror Force.
Without it, Tanael’s Master Spark engulfed Freya’s whole.
Not gloating in his victory or watching the aftermath, Tanael imdiately move towards the Aurora Scroll down below.
Just when he almost got it, Freya struck from the side, moving like a yellow flash despite in her heavily wounded state. It startled Tanael that she was able to withstand his Master Spark and pushed through. Freya was like an avenging angel and in her hand there was a regal sword that was different from before.
Tanael brandished his Beam Saber in response.
He missed, and Freya’s sword struck true.
“Arte... Sword of Regret,” said Freya with difficulty. “I hope, in the end, you regret your actions.”
With a deep gash across his torso, Tanael faced her.
“I will regret... Not living my life for a second ti,” he weakly said, like a dying man. The Domain reflected his state and crumbling.
For a second, Tanael looked like he would fall.
Then his power jumped through the roof.
“Boo! You think you got !? NAIVE!!!”
Freya couldn't hide her surprise. She wouldn't be able to evade or defend in ti. The worst ca as a flash in her mind.
Tanael’s wounds were real. But how could he still move? The answer to that was because he used an Arte prior to the wound.
Arte - Yield My Flesh to Claim Their Bones.
It was a counter-type Arte. First, he suffer a wound. The greater the damage, the better. Second, he would attack in an empowered state, with the earlier damage acting as so sort of multiplier. To facilitate the second stage, during the first Tanael couldn't be killed.
Or so he would like the Arte to be. He couldn't achieve invincibility, only a sharp increase of endurance using soul power the closer he got to 0 HP. For now, it would do.
Still, it was a close, close thing. Tanael almost died then and there.
And now, Tanael’s revenge stroke was about to land on Freya and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
Freya felt the hand of death reaching out from the back of her neck.
She tried to think, sothing, anything to overco this predicant. But she ca out empty.
Am I... going to lose? To a heartless villain like him? Who will continue to create untold suffering on others?
Unconcerned of Freya’s inner plight, Tanael’s killer instinct that had been honed hundreds and thousands of tis while delivering death, it told him this was the right mont to end the life of the righteous hero!
Die! MC Freya!
He wasted no ti for villain gloat to prevent heroic reversal.
While so close to death and her first defeat, Freya’s resolve was tested.
And it shone more brilliantly and dazzling than any gem.
NO! I’ll not give up! I’ll win! I’ll defeat him!
Scenes from the past of the journey and hardship she went through. The faces of her friends and comrades urged her on. Not only them, there were even the faces of her past enemies.
Their will gave her strength!
Freya’s felt her arm heating up, the arm with the incomprehensible writings of the Aurora Scroll.
While Tanael felt sothing like a heartbeat from the now-empty scroll.
They are resonating! Tanael was convinced.
Utterly brimming with power, the red Beam Saber descended.
On the Aurora Scroll.
Freya’s eyes widened with shock. She heard a sound, as if a pane of glass as vast as the sky, splendidly breaking down.
A great explosion struck them both, however, it was only Tanael who was thrown far away.
“So that’s that... You won this battle,” Tanael said, with as much dignity he could muster. “But you won't get .”
“Wait-”
His injuries didn't allow him to continue. He must not fall here, not with the loot. He had to give all the harvest and gains, including his experiences, to Viers’ real body.
Tanael disappeared, as if Vanish in Abyss, like a villain customarily did after they were defeated by the hero but didn't have the grace to accept it. But he left so parting words, for politeness’s sake.
“When all is said and done, look at the state of the world. Then you’ll know whether your answer is correct or not. As for ... Team Rocket blasting off again!”
The Aurora Scroll he left behind. A red gnash was on the scroll, which rapidly dissipated. The scroll itself didn't show any damage.
Freya fell to the ground, finally hitting the limit of what she could endure. Her hand reaching for the scroll as she fell.
The dinsion realm crumbled.
The victor and the defeated had been decided.
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