“Everyone, brace yourselves!” Titania shouted as she poured her power into the vines she had used to create layers of protection for their army. 

A few seconds later, the entire land shook as an earth-shaking explosion rocked the entire Forbidden Ground where the Palace of Light was located.

Everyone within a two-mile long radius of the explosion was either blown away, or obliterated by the explosion that resulted in the deaths of countless lives. 

The barrier protecting the Palace was completely shattered, killing the defenders who stood on the front lines. 

The once shining beacon of the Holy Order of Light lost its luster, and had dimmed considerably after the barrier was destroyed.

The Altar of Life where the Pope was located, including the magical circles where the Heavenly Virtues were, had a separate barrier, so they were left unharmed by the explosion.

Titania’s protective barriers were all destroyed, except for the last one, which held firm due to the combined efforts of the other Pseudo-Gods in William’s faction. 

While everyone was reeling from the aftermath of the explosion, two figures had continued to cross blades with each other, as they zigzagged around the battlefield.

Belle had already stopped using the ability to travel at the speed of light because this move put a heavy toll on her body. 

William exchanged blows with the black-haired beauty without care for the destruction that both of them caused.

If earlier, Belle was able to push him back with every strike, now it was different. He had finally embraced the Power of Darkness, leaving only a quarter of his soul untainted within the Bell of Anthanasia, which belonged to Ella. 

If one were to pay close attention to the exchange between the two fighters, one would easily notice that the one who now had the upper hand was William.

It was not because he was stronger than Belle. On the contrary, Belle was still a little bit stronger than him. However, his experience in fighting against strong opponents, in his lifetimes, was showing that he was more battle-hardened than his opponent.

Belle had felt this too, so she was feeling a little pressured by William’s uncanny attack patterns that were always aiming for her vital spots. 

One can even say that the Half-Elf’s every attack was a killing blow, making it difficult for Belle to shrug it off completely.

Countless strands of black mist that looked like tentacles, sprouted from William’s body and attacked the black-haired beauty from all sides.

Belle didn’t back away as her body shone brightly, dispersing the black mists before they touched her body.

The two exchanged several more blows before Belle backed away. In truth, she was finding it very hard to land a blow against William, while worrying about the weapon in the Half-Elf’s hand.

Dainsleif was truly a very dangerous sword because even a small wound given by it would never heal, proving to be fatal. 

Although there might be ways to cure the wounds inflicted by it, Belle had no intention of being a guinea pig in finding its cure.

“You have forgotten about me,” Belle said. “Do you really not remember?”

William sneered as he once again brandished his sword, wrapping it in flames of darkness. Although he could read Belle’s lips, and understand what she was saying, none of that mattered to him.

In truth, it was not Belle’s words that worried the Primordial Goddess.

It was her voice.

Although all of his memories about her had been erased completely, and stored within Princess Aila, by using her power. The Primordial Goddess didn’t want to take any chances.

In truth, she had also wanted to dispose of the Angelic Princess just to be on the safe side, but something was telling her that if she did that, she would lose William completely. Because of this, she just settled on preventing the Half-Elf from hearing the black-haired beauty’s voice, in order to keep any mishaps from happening.

Belle groaned as she was blown away by William’s powerful blow, giving the Half-Elf an opportunity to land a clean hit on her body.

“Die!” William shouted as he thrust his sword towards Belle’s chest to pierce through her heart. 

Belle was unable to dodge on time and braced herself for the deadly strike that may end her life. However, the strike didn’t come.

The tip of Dainsleaf stopped an inch away from the young lady’s chest, preventing William from landing a killing blow.

When Belle’s gaze landed on the Half-Elf’s face, she saw only confusion plastered on his handsome face.

However, before the young lady could even react to what was happening, the black-haired teenager delivered a kick to her stomach that sent the Champion of Light crashing towards the ground, creating a small crater.

“Just what in the world happened?” William muttered as he gazed at his right hand that was holding the devilish sword, and pondered why his body refused to move when he was about to land a killing blow on his opponent.

The Half-Elf clicked his tongue as he stared at the black-haired lady who had fully recovered from William’s blow.

“Just what tricks are you playing here, witch?” William asked. “Don’t think that your petty tricks will save you from me.”

Belle didn’t know how to reply to William’s words because even she thought that she would die because of her husband’s killing strike. 

Only the Pope, who was watching the battle from afar, sighed in relief because her champion didn’t die. 

As long as Belle was alive, she could still reverse the situation. But, she too didn’t understand why William’s attack didn’t land.

‘It doesn’t matter, all I need is one opportunity to turn this situation around,’ the Pope thought as the scepter in his hand gathered the magical energy from the Altar of life. ‘All I need is one chance.’

With an angry roar, William once again attacked his adversary, carrying an explosive might that crushed the ground under Belle’s feet. 

With each strike, Belle could feel the Half-Elf’s strength growing with each second that passed.

Then it happened, William was able to trick Belle with a feint and delivered a slash that was aimed to cut off her head. However, the same thing happened.

The black-haired teenager’s body stiffened, and the blade stopped inches away from the delicate neck he wanted to cut so badly.

Out of frustration the Half-Elf threw his sword away and simply punched Belle’s face, which the latter blocked with her left hand.

The sound of bones breaking was heard as the black-haired beauty winced in pain because William didn’t hold back in his attack.

Using the power of the Monk Class, William unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks that sent Belle skidding on the ground, but due to the power of the Holy Sword in her hand, the injuries she received healed at a rapid pace, making the Half-Elf’s attacks completely useless. 

——-

Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods…

The Primordial Goddess pounded the armrest of her Obsidian Throne because of frustration. 

She clearly felt William’s desire to kill Belle, but his body would stiffen each time he was about to land a killing blow, which allowed the black-haired lady to keep living.

The Primordial Goddess forcefully tore her gaze from the battlefield and shifted her attention to one of the palaces located in the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.

There, a beautiful goddess with long blonde hair, and blue eyes watched the battle, while laying on top of a giant cat.

Sensing that someone was looking at her, the blonde-goddess glanced in the direction of the Primordial Goddess and held her gaze. 

Neither of them spoke, and simply held each other’s gaze for half a minute before shifting their attention back to the battlefield.

The Beautiful Blonde Goddess’ lips rose slightly on the side that was hidden from anyone’s gaze. Just like the Primordial Goddess, she didn’t expect that William would fail to deliver the killing blow to end the life of one of the women he held very dear in his life.

“The mind forgets, but the heart will always remember,” Freya said softly. “And what is the heart’s memory but love itself?”

She had chosen Belle to not only become the Champion of Light, but also the Champion of Love. 

Even when there was only darkness in the beginning of creation, Love itself was born from that Darkness. 

So, no matter how dark the night, love would find its way to the place it recognized as its home. 

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