Davi's broken arm trembled under the crushing weight of the axe, blood dripping down his shoulder as steel bit into flesh.

However, his grin was defiant, even through the agony. And with the little energy he had left, Davi held his father in place by holding his weapon.

Then, with a roar, he drove his foot into Norman's chest, and the world exploded in light.

A torrent of plasma surged outward, a blazing column that swallowed the battlefield whole. The air howled, the earth cracked, and the blast seared sky and stone alike.

But Norman… smiled.

He had been waiting for this. He wasn't sure how, but he knew his son would have something hidden up his sleeve, one last desperate attack.

But once Davi committed to the strike, slipping away with teleportation was no longer an option. Not only were his mana reserves depleted, but attempting to cast two abilities at once was nearly impossible.

So when Norman saw his son's foot drive toward his chest, he unleashed the final attack he had left.

His aura erupted in divine radiance, golden arcs ripping through the air as the burning edge of <Supernova> began to sear his flesh.

With a roar, he raised his hand to the heavens.

Feeling the pain of being burned alive, he unleashed, <God's Last Ray>.

The skies tore apart. A colossal bolt of lightning, thick as a fortress tower, screamed down from above. Its brilliance dwarfed the plasma storm Davi had unleashed, its wrath making the ground quake as though the end of the world had arrived.

Amelia's breath caught in her throat. She had never seen this power, had never even known Norman possessed it. Her hands shook, her legs tensed to move, but there was nothing she could do in that instant.

And so, as the monstrous thunderstrike crashed into Davi, Norman himself was hurled backward, his defenses shredded, his body engulfed by the searing fury of the <Supernova>.

The pain of the burns spread through Norman's entire body, and for an instant, he believed he would faint.

When the storm finally ceased, his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. His mind was clouded, his vision blurred, and every muscle felt on the verge of tearing apart under its own weight.

Even so, a wide smile spread across his face. In the end, he had survived, and no matter how shredded he was, he was certain he had won that fight.

The true problem with the ability <God's Last Ray> was the merciless price for the one who used it: the random and permanent loss of one of their abilities.

On top of that, it was not a fast strike. Norman knew he could never waste it on a false move. But once the attack struck its target, there was no way the opponent could leave alive.

That was why, when the smoke curtain began to dissipate, he smiled upon seeing the kneeling silhouette among the ruins.

Davi was unrecognizable.

His arm had completely vanished, reduced to charred stump. Half of his face was nothing but searing raw flesh, while the other half was little more than an exposed skull, the teeth gleaming beneath the scorched remains of flesh.

His torso was in tatters: sternum torn open, blood sprayed in every direction, ribs exposed and broken.

And at the center was the still heart, silent testimony that life had abandoned that body.

Without a shadow of doubt, he was dead.

And, indeed, the attack had been enough to kill him. But, just as it had happened in the battle against Vesta, the boy's soul refused to give up until the very last second.

At the brink of his existence, he activated <Revival> , his final gambit.

Norman's gaze widened, unable to believe the absurdity before him. Davi's charred flesh began to slowly mend, as if invisible threads stitched each wound together.

The blood that stained the ground flowed back into his body, snaking like reverse rivers. Broken bones aligned, muscles reformed, the skin closed, and even the shadow of his shattered heart pulsed again within his chest.

Little by little, Davi recovered before Norman's eyes, but he lacked the energy to attack him back.

"Damn it…" he muttered in fury, seeing that his son still had one last trick to cling to life.

But Norman would not allow himself to lose this fight. He would not accept death without making one final attempt to stand. His transformation still had a few seconds left, and there was still enough energy for him to recover.

He forced his focus inward, channeling his energy. Wounds began to close as he struggled to rise.

Every movement sent waves of agony through his ruined muscles, the toll of their brutal battle weighing heavily on his body.

Yet, step by step, dragging himself forward, he advanced toward his son. His eyes burned with murderous intent.

The massive battle-axe he once wielded had been shattered in the final clash. Even if it hadn't, Norman knew he no longer had the strength to lift such a weapon.

Still, sparks of electricity began to gather at the tips of his fingers, more than enough to finish the job.

Then he hesitated for a second as the pain got the better of him, he was not used to being so injured afterall. And the pain made him lose precious seconds.

Amelia clenched her fists, and…

Davi opened his eyes. His right arm was still regenerating, much of his body left raw and torn. Even so, the signs were clear, his healing was reaching its very limit.

The ability had dragged him back from death, but even that power was not infinite.

He had given absolutely everything, and yet, he still hadn't won. His body refused to move, every muscle paralyzed with exhaustion, while his father remained on his feet, staggering toward him with relentless determination.

But if giving everything wasn't enough… then he would have to give even more.

He clenched his teeth and growled through the pain he activated <Lest Stand>. Or rather, his body instinctively awakened the ability, surprising even him

Davi shouldn't have been able to call upon Vesta's or Haru's powers, they were still locked away within the seal. And he was far away from them.

Maybe it was because the seal had weakened. Maybe Inanna herself had intervened to help him. Whatever the reason, that power flowed through his veins one final time.

In an instant, Davi rose to his feet. A blade, forged from Silvia's ability, formed in his hand, and before he could even think, his body moved on its own.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Norman's sight.

Slash!

A line of blood opened across Norman's chest.

Slash!

Another strike tore through his side, sparks of electricity scattering into the air.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

A storm of blades fell upon him, each cut precise, merciless, faster than the eye could follow. Flesh was carved, bones split, muscles shredded, Norman's body was being undone piece by piece, consumed by the storm of vengeance that was his son.

Norman roared in defiance, trying to raise his hand, electricity crackling desperately at his fingertips. But before he could release it, the final blow came.

Davi's blade drove straight through his chest, impaling his heart. The surge of light swallowed the sparks in Norman's hand, silencing his power in an instant.

Their eyes met, father and son, for a single, fleeting second.

Then Davi twisted the blade, destroying the man's heart, and with a violent kick, he sent Norman's body flying backward.

Then all the power left Davi's body, the <Lest Stand> was just for a lest attack, but that was enough.

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