"I was wondering when you would get here..." I said in a low tone.
"Oh? I was expected? How adorable..." Difar said.
"Lord Difar...devour...?" Valtheim said.
Her form flickered as she spoke. Her voice also sounded somewhat unclear as well..
"Not yet. Not until I give the signal, Valtheim."
She quietly nodded and fixed her gaze onto us. She wasn't wearing her mask, but I felt nothing other than annoyance.
"Mizik, should we declare a code black?" Isabella said.
"No...I'm done running. We might be able to take him here," I said.
"Really? You think you can take ME!? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!!! You barely managed to survive a beating from that monstrous Avatar woman as far as my Generals say! And-...wait...there's something different about you here..." Difar said.
"Quite a few things, actually. Are you ready to die, Difar?"
"My darling has ordered your death... Please die for me, monster..." Cassandra hissed.
"By the Abyss! He's actually going to fight me! That's hilarious! VALTHEIM!!! DEVOUR THEIR SHIP SO THEY CAN'T ESCAPE!!!" Difar roared.
Valtheim turned towards the Cursebreaker and I smiled.
I took the opportunity to lunge forward with Vengeance in the shape of a spear.
It slammed into Extinction as he manifested it just before impact.
"COCKY BASTARD!!! GENERALS, KILL HIM RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!" Difar screamed in rage.
"EVERYONE!!! KILL THE GENERALS AND TAKE THEIR SWORDS!!!" I shouted.
Isabella and Cassandra disappeared instantly.
I felt the flow of time magic shift as every General was gravely wounded.
Kelvastiol stepped forward and let loose a breath of purple flames to push me back.
Isabella and Cassandra reappeared beside me as the other Avatars prepared themselves.
Difar looked surprised as he gazed onward.
"What...? What in the Abyss is happening right now? Valtheim!?"
He looked around and stopped as he saw Valthiem's form disperse upon touching the Cursebreaker. Stella had projected a field of magic around it and now stood on top of the ship alongside Faith.
"Maaaasteeer! I protected the ship! Did I do good?" Stella called out as she waved cutely at me.
"Good work! I'm proud of you! Keep that monster at bay!" I shouted back.
"Well...that's nothing new... But what's wrong with your eyes!? Why isn't your chest glowing!? ANSWER ME!!!" Difar said.
"I think I'm done talking, Difar. STELLA!!! KEEP VALTHEIM BUSY!!!" I shouted.
"Yes! I will follow Master Mizik's orders!" Stella said with a cutesy wink.
Not the time, but oh well... I'm in a good mood. Even my head hurts!
I allowed the Eye of Destruction to flare outward and gave Difar a sinister smile. All while making sure not to use the Eye too much... I didn't want Eris to take over, after all.
"Fine then. GENERALS, KELVASTIOL!!! ATTACK!!!" Difar roared.
As he spoke, Corruption spread out from under his feet and engulfed part of the landscape in a contamination zone.
I could already see that this was no ordinary contamination zone. This one was powered by the Source of the Corruption.
The Generals had recovered enough to attack. They charged forward and unleashed their swords. Naomi went straight for Aldaril, Jack swung his sword at Sato, Valak changed his sword into a handgun and fired at me.
Isabella blocked the attack as Axiom charged at me as well.
Lastly, Kelvastiol flew into the air and rained purple flames upon us.
Unfortunately for them...save for Kelvastiol, they were all hilariously weak.
"Sorry, Michael...and Gavin. I don't have time for a goodbye. The least I can do is give you a proper sendoff. Be free. CASSANDRA!!! EXECUTE THEM WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE!!!"
"YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND, DARLING!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
I felt time stop for just a moment...
A split second.
And every General fell to the ground. Their bodies fell to pieces.
I looked to Isabella and she smiled as light engulfed their remains...freeing them from Difar and sending them away.
Cassandra reappeared and presented me with their swords. Damnation, Hatred, Greed, and Brutality. I took them and placed the swords in my inventory.
As I looked back at Difar, I could see that he was seething with fury.
"Well? I think you know by now that sending your lackeys to fight me is pointless," I said.
"I am just...SO FUCKING ANGRY RIGHT NOW!!! YOU BASTARD!!!! PIECE OF SHIT ORPHAN!!!!" Difar screamed.
I laughed as he stomped his foot in rage.
"You know, I should thank you! Who knew that the Abyssal god of Corruption was such a nice guy!? And a moron, too! You gave me all this time to get stronger just so I could slit your throat!!! Dumbass!!! LOOKS LIKE PRIDE REALLY DOES GO BEFORE A FALL!!!"
"I DIDN'T THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE!!! I WANTED TO WATCH YOU STRUGGLE, AND LAUGH AS I STEPPED ON YOU!!! I WASN'T BEING NICE, I WANTED TO MAKE A STATEMENT TO MY PEOPLE AND YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!!" Difar screamed.
"Lord Difar? Please keep calm. Yelling at our food won't make them die," Kelvastiol said.
"SHUT UP AND KILL THEM!!! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU ALL SUFFER!!!!"
"Go ahead and try it, shithead. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY!!!" I roared.
Difar manifested seven dragon heads from his back and unleashed a wave of his power.
It was certainly a lot... I was sure that I would have to use the Eye of Destruction. But...
Difar was no longer beyond me.
"Release restriction level 6," I said.
I felt our powers surge. Thankfully, this function still worked since the heart stones had only fused to the Eyes.
Difar shot forward and brought his sword down on me. Isabella blocked the attack with her shield and disappeared.
Cassandra disappeared as well and the both of them nearly slashed him to pieces.
"SO DAMN ANNOYING!!! KELVASTIOL!? WHERE ARE YOU!?!?"
Sadly for him, my allies had taken the initiative. With Nirani attacking Kelvastiol, she had already resorted to destroying her own hearing.
Nirani, Aldaril, Nasuria, and Sato had begun attacking Kelvastiol.
"She can't hear you, dumbass! She has to fight without her ears to beat Nirani!" I said with a smile.
The pain in my head was unbearable...
But...
I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this happy.
"DAMN YOU TO HELL, CHOSEN FAILURE!!!" Difar screamed.
He let loose another burst of Corruption and his size began to increase. He now resembled the hulking variant I fought back in Lorelei and Delvandal so long ago.
"BOW TO YOUR NEW GOD!!!" Difar roared.
I teleported close to him and swung Vengeance in the form of an ax, at his neck.
A dragon head caught it in its teeth and Difar smiled. He raised Extinction, which had now grown to the size of a tree trunk and brought it down.
I let go of Vengeance and leaped backward.
Those dragon heads were a problem.
After had brought his sword down, I dodged to the left as a massive wave of Corruption surged across the landscape, barely missing my body.
As I moved, I felt time stop again. Cassandra pulled me further out of harms way and smiled.
You two are definitely getting rewarded. I don't know how yet, but I'll think of something.
"GRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!"
Difar roared as multiple pillars of Corruption shot out of the ground everywhere. They began to form false-sources like the one we fought on Delvandal.
Meanwhile, Valtheim had reformed and continued attacking the ship. Stella was managing to hold her off, but it was a losing battle...
If Stella ran out of strength, that would be it for us. The ship would be devoured, and we'd be trapped here forever.
The others were managing to hold Kelvastiol off, but just barely.
She still had so much power. It was truly terrifying...
"EVERYONE, UNLEASH YOUR DEUS ARMS!!!" I shouted.
"CLOAK OF THR MASTERMIND!"
"CROWN OF THE HERO!"
"FURY FORM!"
I saw Stella also use hers.
"LIGHT SPEAR!" She shouted.
Her gladius changed into a spear and so did Faith's sword. Faith became larger and sprouted a second set of arms. Multiple spears of light appeared in her other arms.
Valtheim continued her attacks as normal. She couldn't strategize, so all Stella had to do was hold out for as long as possible.
Meanwhile, I was covered in armor as my power surged. A cloak appeared over Cassandra and her eyes lit up with the mass of information pouring into her brain.
Isabella came to my defense and Cassandra disappeared.
And I heard her speak...
"Suffer. His Majesty has ordered your deaths..." She said. Her voice sounded like a whisper on the wind.
There was a massive explosion of orange flames that spread across the battlefield...as thousands of wires appeared and sliced the Corrupted sources to tiny bits.
Cassandra reappeared in front of Difar and dodged his initial strikes. The dragon heads on his back lunged and fired Corrupted energy blasts at her.
She bound him in wires and glanced back at us.
Isabella teleported to his front and brought her burning light sword down upon his head. He barely deflected it with Extinction and I moved towards his arm.
Cassandra bound his sword arm with many wires and held it down for me. I skewered it onto the ground with several javelins I conjured using Intelligence and sliced his arm off with guillotine from Justice.
Finally...I touched Extinction. It reverted back to its smaller state and I transferred it to my inventory.
"NOOOOOO!!! YOU BASTARD!!!! GIVE ME BACK MY SWORD!!!!!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP AND DIE FOR ME!!!!" I roared.
I changed Vengeance into a pair of scimitars.
Difar's power exploded outward and he increased in size again...forming a massive Corrupted dragon.
"THAT'S IT!!! TAKE IT ALL!!! EVERYTHING I HAVE!!!! I'LL ANNIHILATE YOU WITH EVERY LAST OUNCE OF POWER AT MY DISPOSAL!!!"
The very air itself became heavy as reality warped around his body.
Kelvastiol assumed her true form as well while Sato slammed his sword into her.
"Mizik!!!" Isabella shouted.
I nodded.
"Release restriction...level 10!" I said.
Our powers surged even higher as I began summoning thousands of weapons to strike Difar down.
"VALTHEIM!!! CONNECT US TO THE ABYSS!!! FUNNEL MY POWER UP INTO MY BODY!!! USE YOUR VOID FORM!!!"
"I...OBEY..."
Valtheim appeared in front of Difar and the entire region was cloaked in Void eyes.
Suddenly, I could see visions of the Abyss inside them.
She pulled the Abyss up and was funneling power into Difar.
His power grew even higher.
"STELLA!!! GET OVER HERE!!!" I screamed.
She came to my side and I pulled out the Eye of Creation.
"THERE'S NO TIME!!! JUST TAKE IT!!!"
I slammed it into her right eye socket and grabbed her heart device. I ripped it out of her side and she screamed in agony.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"STELLA!!!" Isabella shouted.
She funneled her healing magic into Stella's body.
Meanwhile, several Void Eyes appeared around the ship.
Faith continued to fight them off...but now, there were multiple Valtheims surrounding it.
I looked at the Valtheim standing in front of Difar and her form seemed to shimmer...as if it almost solidified.
Several lines appeared all over her body as her robe disappeared. Her skin was barren and formless. It only resembled the shape of a female body with nothing on it.
It was the color of black with a hint of dark green.
And a massive eye opened sideways in the center of her chest.
Valtheim...smiled...
I felt the air around us begin to grow thin. The monoliths spotting the region slowly dissolved into nothingness as Valtheim funneled the Void and the Abyss into the Central realm.
Finally, Stella stopped screaming and aimed her hand at Valtheim.
All of the energy dispersing from her body was directed at Valtheim in an instant.
Valtheim, in her true form, was impacted directly with it.
And then...
"Uuu...AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! IT BURNS!!!! OH BY THE VOID!!! AHHHHHH!!!! MY BODY IS MELTING!!!!!" Valtheim screamed.
A crack appeared on the eye in the center of her chest.
All of our eyes went wide as she dropped down and continued screaming.
Finally...she disappeared.
The remote form reappeared in her place and seemed to glitch, somehow...much more heavily than the slight flicker from before.
The Void eyes connecting the Abyss to the Central realm dispersed.
"M-mas...l-lord...LOrD DiFaR... K...K-kIlL...kILL the...INTRRLOPERS...KILL DIFAR'S...E...ENEMIES... ElImInAtE...DeVoUr...DEVOUR... DESTROY... CONSUME!!!! I WILL OBEY!!! I WILL CONSUME!!! I W-W-WILL DEVOUR LORD D-D-DIFAR'S E-E-E-ENEMIES!!!!" Valtheim screamed.
"WHAT!?!? NOOOO!!! WHAT HAVE YOU BASTARDS DONE!?!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SWEET VALSIEL!?!? I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!! I'LL FUCKING END YOU!!!!" Difar roared.
He sunk his talons into the ground and sprouted wings on his back. He launched himself at us, but Isabella and I blocked his advance with our shields.
"KEEP HIM BUSY FOR A MOMENT!!!" I screamed.
Stella finally got to her feet and looked at me.
"Sorry about that! Get to the ship!!! We'll talk later!!!" I said.
She nodded and sprouted the six seraph wings using her Ultra Aspect. She flew back to the ship and joined Faith in protecting the ship.
Meanwhile, Difar tried over and over to get past our shields.
And as I looked on at our enemy...I felt ready to end this.