Clyde sensed the danger almost instantly, and that was what ultimately saved his life.
He never expected that, despite her predicant, Archangel Uriel would still take the ti to confront him here.
"Who are you?!" Uriel shouted in fury. Her entire body was engulfed in divine flas of gold and crimson, radiating an overwhelming heat.
Clyde and Asqa had to shield their eyes with their hands to avoid being burned by the intense flas at such close range.
Asqa imdiately jumped away from her. Uriel had already tried to cut her down once before, and now, seeing her standing with a stranger in this place wouldn’t look good for her. There was no doubt—Uriel would attack her again.
"I asked you, who are you?! Why are you here right now? Are you... Are you the one who caused all this?!"
Uriel fired off questions in rapid succession, her eyes wide and blazing red with fury, sorrow, and fla.
"I’m not the one who did this to your own followers," Clyde replied calmly. "You are."
Uriel’s grip on her flaming sword trembled.
"W-What?" she stamred. "How do you know that? Who are you, really?"
Clyde gave her a faint smirk.
"Who I am doesn’t matter. It’s already too late to change anything. So? How does it feel to watch your people turn into monsters before your eyes, knowing you have to kill them yourself?"
Uriel clenched her jaw. "You cursed creature—"
Clyde continued. "What you’re feeling right now is the sa suffering those you called ’lower beings’ felt when you started the Selection Stage."
Uriel’s trembling grew more intense. Even her eyes and lips were shaking now.
Was this person a lower being who had once undergone the Selection Stage? But then, why could she feel a powerful energy emanating from him—one that made him equal to, or perhaps even stronger than, a higher being?
"I’ll tell you one thing," Clyde said. "The real god will appear and end your reign. All of you will perish."
"But before that happens, you will experience the sa pain we once did."
Turning to Asqa, Clyde said, "Let’s go. We need to get out of here."
Asqa nodded. Even though she was still confused about Clyde’s true power and what had happened in the ti they were apart, she followed him—trusting that staying with Clyde was better than staying here.
Clyde held his amulet and channeled his magic power into it.
But, of course, the furious Archangel wouldn’t allow it.
"You’re not going anywhere!"
Uriel swung her flaming sword, unleashing a massive crescent-shaped fire slash, at least ten ters long, in re seconds.
Clyde reacted imdiately. Asqa wouldn’t be able to dodge it.
He lunged forward, raising his Elderglass Sword, channeling his [Tidebreaker] skill along with Angelic power to block the attack.
"Urghh..."
Even with Angelic power, the force of Uriel’s attack was imnse, and the heat burned through him.
Her fla power bahkan bisa nembus Angelic power. As expected of Uriel.
Clyde gritted his teeth and pushed the blazing crescent slash upward, forcing the flas to disperse into the air.
But before he could catch his breath, Uriel was already upon him, her flaming sword descending in a deadly arc.
He t her strike with his Elderglass Sword that now pulsing with Demon power and swirling water.
Sparks and steam erupted as their weapons clashed, the sheer force shaking the ground beneath them.
Uriel’s eyes widened in shock. Demon power? From him?
For a brief mont, hesitation flickered across her face. Was he a Demon? Had she misjudged him? Are the Demon King behind this?
Clyde didn’t waste that mont. He pressed forward, his attacks growing faster, sharper, relentless.
He needed to overwhelm her and force her back then open a portal before she could recover.
He couldn’t afford to take risks when his opponent was an Archangel.
Uriel’s hesitation cost her dearly. In the span of re seconds, Clyde landed several more strikes, his Elderglass Sword carving into her divine flesh.
The wounds weren’t deep but the Demon power infused in his blade made them burn far worse than ordinary cuts.
Gritting his teeth, Clyde raised his hand, activating [Burning Hand].
A torrent of fire erupted from his palm, crackling with Demon energy as it surged toward Uriel.
The Archangel don’t have ti to react, the flas engulfed her face.
"AAARRGHHH!!!"
She let out a piercing scream, staggering backward as the Demonic fire seared her skin.
Clyde wasted no ti. He disengaged, grabbing Asqa by the waist before launching into the air.
Without looking back, he shot forward at full speed, knowing he had only monts before Uriel recovered and he had no intention of sticking around to find out what would happen when she did. She must be very angry.
Asqa’s eyes widened as she suddenly found herself soaring through the air. Instinctively, she glanced back, her breath hitching at the sight of Uriel’s face still engulfed in Clyde’s flas.
Everything had happened so fast that her mind struggled to keep up. The battle, the fire, Uriel’s screams—it was all a blur.
"What just happened? How did you burn Archangel Uriel—she’s the Archangel of Fire!" Asqa asked, her voice laced with panic.
"It’s Demonic fire," Clyde replied curtly. "Long story. Don’t think about it now—just hold on tight."
Asqa swallowed her questions and nodded. He was right. There was no ti to ask.
She clung to Clyde with all her strength, gripping his body as though her life depended on it—which, at this mont, it did.
A furious scream echoed behind them, shaking the air itself.
"GYAAAAHHH!!!"
Uriel’s voice carried pure rage, pain, and sorrow.
Neither Clyde nor Asqa looked back. They kept soaring higher, putting as much distance between themselves and the vengeful Archangel as possible.
Right now, Uriel had no soldiers left to command. She was too busy slaughtering them herself. That ant no one would be chasing them, even though they were still deep within her domain.
Only when Clyde felt they were far enough did he glance behind them. The lingering heat of Uriel’s power still prickled against his skin, but she was no longer in sight.
He descended swiftly, landing on solid ground.
"Keep watch. I’m opening a portal," Clyde said, gripping his amulet and channeling his magic into it.
Asqa gave a firm nod, her gaze scanning the surroundings. She could only hope Uriel wouldn’t co after them again.
Clyde stood still, his focus entirely on the amulet in his hands.
Magic surged through it, pulsing in response to his power. The air around him shimred faintly, a sign that the portal was beginning to form.
Asqa, standing guard, kept her eyes on their surroundings.
She can hear the distant crackling of flas. Then, from the horizon, she saw it — a figure engulfed in golden fire.
Her heart sank.
A mont later, a streak of burning light shot toward them, closing the distance at terrifying speed.
Asqa’s breath caught. "Damn it..." she muttered, gripping her green dagger tightly.
It was Uriel. She was already gaining on them.
Glancing at Clyde, she saw his eyes were now shut, his entire body radiating with concentration.
She knew better than to disturb him—the slightest interruption could delay the portal, and they couldn’t afford that.
Asqa’s grip on her dagger tightened. Her hands trembled, but she forced herself to steady them.
She had to stall Uriel, no matter what.
The fireball streaked toward them like a teor. She barely had ti to react.
Gritting her teeth, she raised her dagger, its green light clashing against the oncoming blaze.
The mont they collided, an explosion of heat engulfed her.
Pain flared across her arms as the force of the impact sent her stumbling back.
But she remained standing.
She exhaled sharply, eyes fixed on the approaching Archangel.
Uriel flying at them with high speed, her eyes burning with unrestrained fury. Her entire body was wreathed in golden flas, flickering wildly with her rage.
She raised her hand, and another barrage of fireballs erupted toward them.
Asqa braced herself. She slashed with her dagger, deflecting so of the blazing projectiles but each impact seared her skin.
Pain shot through her arm, but she gritted her teeth and endured it.
So fireballs, however, flew past her entirely, crashing into the ground far away in erratic arcs. It was as if Uriel’s control was slipping.
Uriel surged forward at an impossible speed, the air itself igniting behind her.
Asqa barely had ti to react before the Archangel was upon them.
It was only then that she saw the full extent of the damage Clyde’s flas had inflicted.
Uriel’s face was now a grotesque ruin. Burned flesh peeled away in jagged layers, exposing charred muscle and bone beneath. Her once-divine visage was now a twisted mask of rage and suffering.
Asqa’s breath caught in her throat.
Then, behind her, a crackling sound filled the air.
The portal had opened.
Clyde didn’t waste a second. He grabbed Asqa’s wrist and pulled her toward the glowing rift.
Uriel let out a furious scream, her flas erupting in a violent explosion as she reached out for them.
But it was too late.
Clyde and Asqa leaped into the portal just as Uriel descended.
BOOM!
Fire engulfed the space where they had stood, scorching the ground in a violent eruption.
But when the flas cleared, they were gone.
Uriel hovered in place, her burned face contorted in fury. Her prey had escaped.
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