Fwish! Slash!
Alex swung his [Scythe of Hatred] in a wide arc toward Nocteron.
The blade moved with such force that the air around it seed to tear apart, but Nocteron wasn't slow to respond.
His [Underworld Sword] t the strike in ti, the edge of his blackened weapon igniting with a green, ghostly fire as steel t steel.
Sparks flew.
The clash echoed through the battlefield, but Alex didn't falter.
He didn't pause, and the mont the strike was blocked, he spun the scythe again and launched another barrage of attacks, his arms a blur as he pressed forward.
Again and again, he swung, unrelenting and rciless.
No hesitation, no distraction, just pure focus, razor-sharp and locked entirely on the opponent before him.
He was going to win this.
Nocteron had to fall, that was all there was to it.
Each movent he made ca from instinct and fury, burned into him by everything he had suffered and everything he still stood for.
The scythe whistled through the air like a deadly wail, and the battlefield was consud in a frenzy of tal, aura, and pure will.
The exchange of strikes lasted a full twenty seconds, just seconds on the clock, yet a violent eternity in the realm of combat.
In that ti, hundreds of swings were exchanged, blades colliding with bursts of fla and crimson energy.
Each impact shook the nearby air, rippling the flas and distorting the heat rising from the ground.
"Fortunately for ," Nocteron chuckled darkly between strikes, "It seems that even though Lich is dead, my strength hasn't changed at all. My power... remains intact."
Alex's gaze didn't waver, nor did his attacks slow.
"That's the rule of this place," he murmured under his breath, "Determination is everything."
Indeed, they both knew the truth. Skills didn't matter here.
Power-ups, divine blessings, spells, none of that held weight in this place.
The only thing that mattered in the [Domain of Determination], was willpower. And their weapons.
No abilities, no shortcuts, just raw strength, speed, and an unbreakable resolve to outlast the other.
But then, boom.
From the sidelines, Hades finally made his move.
He had remained quiet for most of the clash, but now his crimson eyes narrowed as he stepped forward.
[This is for my arm,] he growled.
Raising all three of his remaining arms, he slamd them down at Alex, trying to crush him with brute force.
But Alex didn't even need to look up.
The [Wings of Hatred] on his back twisted downward, folding in around him like a shield as he crouched.
The sharp, cursed wings layered into armor, forming a do around him.
SMASH!
The force of Hades' blow slamd into the wings with earth-shattering impact, but they held.
Instead of damaging Alex, Hades' hands sliced into the razor-like edges of the wings, drawing blood from his own palms.
[Argh…] Hades flinched, stepping back as dark ichor dripped down his arms, [Oh well.]
But Alex didn't waste the opportunity.
With a sharp flick of his wings, he deflected Nocteron's next swing and pivoted, spinning on his heel.
The motion was fluid and precise.
The tips of his wings slashed outward in the rotation, catching Nocteron by surprise.
SLASH!
The strike landed.
Nocteron grunted, staggering back as Alex leapt away to create space.
Above Nocteron, the [Soul Projection], a black heart wreathed in green fla, flickered.
A visible crack ford across its surface.
A small one, but enough to show the damage was real.
"You little..." Nocteron clutched at his chest, his face twisting in pain.
The crack in his soul hadn't just injured him, it felt like it burned from the inside.
"...Fuck."
[One minute,] Hades declared, watching from the distance, [One minute left, and then it ends.]
That was how this place worked.
In exactly sixty seconds, one of their souls would shatter.
One of them would lose.
Their bodies might still stand, but if their determination failed, it was over.
"This is it, then," Nocteron muttered, stepping forward slowly.
The green flas surrounding him expanded, leaving scorched footprints in his path.
"The final exchange.
After this, one of us won't walk away."
Alex didn't answer.
He simply spun his scythe, adjusting his grip with a calm and steady movent. He was ready.
The flas around Nocteron intensified.
Alex's own aura, crimson and thick with malice, pulsed outward, forming a visible wave of pressure that distorted the space around him.
Their determination flared like wild storms, clashing long before their weapons even t.
And then they moved.
Fwish! Fwish!
They dashed.
CLASH!
Their weapons collided, releasing a shockwave that cracked the ground and shook the floating islands around them.
CLASH!
Another impact. Then another. The entire battlefield trembled beneath their fury.
CLASH! CLASH!
The pace increased.
Their bodies blurred as they pushed beyond normal limits, movents so fast they could no longer be followed by the naked eye.
Thousands of strikes, every slash, every parry, every deflection executed in fractions of a second.
But these weren't empty swings.
Ti and again, one of them broke through the other's defense, landing shallow cuts across the soul.
The cracks grew, visible lines of light leaking from deep fractures in their projections.
After fifty seconds of this relentless barrage, Alex glanced upward.
Nocteron's soul had beco a ss of glowing fissures.
Thin, web-like cracks spread across its surface, and from within those cracks, green light pulsed, chaotic and unstable.
But Alex wasn't much better.
His own soul projection, a floating crimson heart marked by two glowing white eyes, was cracked to the sa extent, lines of burning red light leaking from its damaged form.
Both of them were on the brink.
Their bodies barely kept up with the damage.
Their minds scread in protest, and their souls trembled under the weight of pressure.
[Ten seconds,] Hades spoke again.
His tone this ti was quieter, almost reverent.
He hadn't interfered since his injury from attacking Alex earlier, whether out of respect, fear, or curiosity, no one could say.
But he was watching now, completely focused on the end.
Alex and Nocteron backed away from each other, panting slightly, both preparing for the last assault.
"Hey," Nocteron spoke suddenly, voice low, "Was it all worth it?"
Alex looked up, eting his gaze.
And in that mont, he saw it, Nocteron's eyes were shaking.
Not just physically, but sothing deeper. Doubt.
His resolve was flickering. But Alex didn't waver.
He didn't smile, didn't mock him, didn't even sigh.
He simply took one last stance, his legs tensed, body angled forward.
"How would I know?" he answered, voice steady despite everything, "You're the ones who started this."
[Five seconds.]
Fwish!
There was a burst of energy as both warriors dashed toward each other, one final ti.
BOOM!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The strikes ca instantly, each one parried by the other.
It was as if ti had slowed down, but not from fear.
It was from focus. Clarity.
They had nothing left to hold back.
[Four seconds.]
Alex's body was moving on its own, locked in the rhythm of combat.
But his thoughts... drifted elsewhere.
[Three seconds.]
He thought of Alice. Of Astolf. Of Alphox and the others who had stood beside him.
The girls. The ones he'd protected. The ones who were counting on him.
Kaelios, the God of Destiny who stood by his side and gave his life.
[Two seconds.]
They were all watching.
Sohow, so way, they were here, present, witnessing this final mont.
Alex couldn't lose.
Not with all their hopes resting on him.
[One second.]
Hades smiled as the last second ticked down.
And then...
"DETERMINATION IS EVERYTHING!"
Alex roared, his voice echoing through the entire domain.
Every drop of hatred, every ounce of resolve, he poured it all into one final move.
One wing blocked Nocteron's desperate strike, sending sparks flying, while the other struck low and fast.
CRACK!
Nocteron's weapon was sent flying from his hands.
"Oh," he blinked, stunned, "I lost—?"
SWASH!
Alex didn't hesitate.
With one final swing, he cut down Hades, slicing him clean in half.
The god vanished in a burst of fla and shadow.
Then, without missing a beat, Alex turned and struck Nocteron down as well.
The [Soul Projection] above Nocteron trembled violently, then shattered.
Silence.
And then...
["Nocteron, God of Death" has died, and since his Chosen One has also fallen, it ans, the winner is Alex Rogue/FateBreaker!]
[The Destiny Pair has won, even without the God of Destiny!]
Alex had done it.
He looked up at the sky, at the shattered rings above, the flying texts of [Determination] spinning through the air like glowing fireflies.
"I... did it," he whispered, voice trembling.
Then, without warning, he dropped to his knees.
The crimson aura began to peel off him, fading into the wind as his real body erged once more, bruised, cut, exhausted.
But alive.
[The Chosen Gas are now OVER.]
And Alex... had won.
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