The air trembled between them.
Aiden cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as if he were getting ready for a casual spar instead of a battle that could reshape the war. Across from him, The Fallen stood motionless, eyes glowing with an eerie golden light. He didn't seem concerned. If anything, he looked… mildly entertained.
The guild masters had barely moved from their battered positions, still recovering from the overwhelming gravity magic. Makarov, despite his injuries, pushed himself to his feet. "Aiden… be careful. He's not like the others."
Aiden shot him a grin. "Relax, old man. I've fought guys who were a lot uglier than this." He spun Chastiefol in his hand, the floating spear humming with power. "Now, let's see if he can keep up."
The Fallen raised a hand.
The ground beneath Aiden collapsed.
Aiden exhaled sharply. "Not bad," he muttered. "Didn't think you had it in you." He rolled his wrist, and in a flash of golden light, Zangetsu materialized in his grasp. The massive blade rested on his shoulder as he smirked. "Alright, let's see if you can keep up."
The Fallen raised a hand.
The ground beneath Aiden collapsed.
An invisible force crushed down from above, shattering the earth into deep fissures. The same technique that had paralyzed the guild masters. But Aiden didn't flinch. He vanished.
A blur—faster than the eye could track.
One moment, Aiden was under The Fallen's spell, the next, he was high above, already swinging Zangetsu downward. The blade howled through the air, trailing a wave of condensed force that could split the land apart.
The Fallen exhaled.
A shockwave erupted from him, warping space itself and scattering the attack before it could reach him.
Makarov's eyes widened as he watched. "He's—He's countering Aiden's attacks effortlessly…!"
Bob wiped blood from his mouth, barely able to lift his head. "No… that's not it. Aiden's testing him."
Aiden landed smoothly, smirking. "Alright, you blocked that one. Let's try this."
He flicked his wrist.
A flash of light, and suddenly, Senbonzakura was in his grasp. The blade dissolved into a thousand tiny, shimmering petals, swirling around him like a deadly storm.
The Fallen's eyes flickered with interest. "A technique like this…"
Aiden grinned. "Let's see how well you handle it."
With a mere thought, the swarm of blades shot forward, a tidal wave of cutting force. Each petal was a blade, sharp enough to slice through steel, and they moved like a living entity, twisting and shifting, aiming at every possible angle.
The Fallen raised a hand.
The entire battlefield distorted.
The air itself became a crushing force, space twisting as the storm of petals was flung away in all directions.
Aiden whistled. "Not bad."
Then The Fallen moved.
Faster than sound.
Aiden barely had time to react before a blackened fist crashed into his gut.
The impact sent him rocketing across the battlefield, smashing through the remains of a stone temple, before slamming into the ground with enough force to carve a deep trench. Dust and debris shot into the air.
The guild masters gasped.
He… stayed down for more than a second.
A deep chuckle echoed from the rubble.
Aiden pushed himself up, rolling his shoulders. "Okay. That actually kinda hurt." He dusted himself off. "I was starting to think you were all talk, but I guess you do pack a punch."
The Fallen's golden eyes narrowed.
Aiden grinned. "Alright, my turn."
Before The Fallen could react, Aiden was already behind him.
Rebellion flashed into existence in his grip. A single downward slash—
A clash of power erupted.
The impact sent shockwaves tearing through the battlefield. The Fallen barely blocked in time, a gravitational barrier forming between them. Even so, cracks formed in the air—reality itself straining under the force.
Aiden pressed forward, his strength overwhelming even the barrier.
The Fallen narrowed his eyes. "Impossible."
"Oh, it's very possible." Aiden grinned, his strength increasing. The ground beneath them crumbled under the sheer pressure of their clash. "What's wrong? Feeling a little pressure?"
For the first time, The Fallen looked like he was struggling.
Aiden took full advantage.
He twisted, bringing Chastiefol up. The spear glowed golden, shifting into its first form—Spirit Spear: Chastiefol!
A golden arc of energy exploded from the weapon, cutting through The Fallen's defenses and forcing him back. Aiden didn't stop, sending the spear rocketing toward him, its speed blurring into golden light.
The Fallen barely dodged in time, flipping backward as the spear obliterated the space where he had stood.
But Aiden was already there.
He blurred into existence behind The Fallen, Senbonzakura reforming into a solid blade in his hands.
"Surprise."
A flash of pink light—
Blood splattered onto the ground.
The Fallen winced.
A thin cut ran across his cheek.
Silence.
The guild masters stared in shock. For all his power, The Fallen had never been touched. And now…
He slowly raised a hand to his face, staring at the crimson streak on his fingers.
Aiden smirked. "Guess you can bleed after all. Good to know."
The Fallen's golden eyes blazed.
The next second, the entire battlefield collapsed.
Gravity tripled in an instant, slamming down like an invisible hammer. Even the guild masters, who had been at a distance, fell to their knees.
Aiden felt it too—the unbearable force pressing against him, the ground beneath him shattering.
But he just… laughed.
"Now that's more like it!"
He straightened, ignoring the crushing pressure. His body healed instantly from every strain, wounds knitting themselves together before they could even fully form, making him stronger. No matter how much damage he took, it didn't matter. He was immortal, his regeneration unmatched, restoring him within seconds. Every blow he suffered only served to reinforce his endurance, making it clear, Aiden could not be worn down.
The Fallen's glare darkened. "You should not be able to move."
"Yeah, yeah," Aiden waved dismissively. "I should be a pancake right now, right? But see, there's a problem with your magic."
He grinned. "It doesn't work on me."
With a flick of his wrist, the petals of Senbonzakura swarmed again.
This time, The Fallen didn't have time to counter. The thousand blades descended on him, cutting through his gravitational field, slashing through his robes, slicing deep into his skin.
The Fallen growled, raising a hand to crush them with raw force—
But Chastiefol was already behind him.
A golden light speared forward.
Boom!
The Fallen crashed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
Aiden landed gracefully, resting Rebellion on his shoulder. "Damn. You actually took that one? Maybe you are a little tough."
The dust settled.
The Fallen slowly rose from the crater. His robes were torn, blood dripping from several cuts. His glowing eyes burned.
Aiden whistled. "Wow. Still standing? Gotta admit, I'm impressed."
The Fallen exhaled, and the very air rippled.
His aura surged.
The sky darkened. The battlefield twisted into something unnatural.
His voice echoed with raw power.
"This… is not over."
Aiden's grin widened. He spun his sword, settling into a stance.
"Good."
His eyes burned with excitement.
"I'd hate for the fun to end early."
—-
The battlefield was beyond ruins now. It had become an unrecognizable wasteland, the very air quaking under the sheer magnitude of the forces at play. The Fallen stood amidst the destruction, his golden eyes glowing like twin suns, his power warping reality itself. Aiden, in contrast, cracked his knuckles, rolling his neck as his body healed from every wound in mere seconds.
"You should not exist," The Fallen said, his voice an eerie mixture of fascination and disdain. "Even the gods should fall before me, yet you—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Aiden interrupted with a smirk. "Big scary villain, unbeatable power, yadda yadda. But here's the thing—" He took a step forward, and the ground beneath him cracked under his sheer presence. "I'd win."
A flick of Aiden's wrist, and Rebellion was in his hands. Before The Fallen could react, Aiden was already upon him. Their blades met in a thunderous clash that sent shockwaves outward, carving deep fissures into the battlefield. Sparks flew as they exchanged a flurry of strikes, each one powerful enough to level cities.
The Fallen countered with a devastating gravitational pulse, aiming to crush Aiden into oblivion. The force was enough to pulverize mountains, but Aiden merely grinned through it. His body compressed under the pressure for a split second before instantly rebounding, regenerating any damage before it could even register.
"That all you got?" Aiden taunted.
The Fallen's expression darkened. He clenched his fist, and suddenly, the entire battlefield tilted. Gravity itself betrayed reality, shifting in impossible directions, pulling the very fabric of space into a spiraling vortex.
Aiden's feet left the ground, yanked toward the singularity forming above. He didn't panic. Instead, he twisted midair, snapping his fingers. In an instant, his form shimmered out of existence, reappearing directly behind The Fallen.
"Boo."
Rebellion descended in a silver arc, aimed directly at The Fallen's head. But The Fallen reacted with inhuman precision, his palm rising to intercept the blade. The moment metal met skin, the space around his hand compressed into an unbreakable shield. The sheer force sent shockwaves that disintegrated anything within a hundred feet, yet Aiden pressed forward.
"Impressive," The Fallen admitted. "But insufficient."
Without warning, The Fallen's golden aura expanded outward, consuming the space around them in a maelstrom of raw destruction. The force was cataclysmic—enough to erase anything caught within it from existence.
But Aiden stood unscathed.
The Fallen's eyes narrowed. "Impossible."
Aiden flexed his fingers, feeling the residual energy ripple across his skin. "Told you," he said. "That stuff doesn't work on me."
With a sharp movement, Aiden summoned Chastiefol. The Spirit Spear materialized in a golden flash, shifting seamlessly into its First Form. A single motion, and a beam of raw energy erupted from its tip, slicing through the storm of destruction as if it were nothing.
The Fallen barely evaded, teleporting in an instant. He appeared above Aiden, his palm outstretched, a sphere of condensed gravity forming in his grasp.
"Die."
The sphere collapsed upon itself, forming an event horizon, an inescapable death trap designed to erase anything it consumed.
Aiden grinned.
"Neat trick. Let's see if it works on me."
The sphere slammed into him, engulfing his entire form in an imploding vortex of nothingness. For a moment, silence reigned. The guild masters, still watching from a distance, held their breath.
Then, a voice cut through the destruction.
"Yeah, nah."
The black hole exploded outward, and Aiden stepped forward, completely unharmed, shaking dust from his coat.
"Your magic's neat and all, but here's the thing—I don't stay dead." He cracked his neck, then smirked. "And I think it's time I stop playing around."
Aiden raised a hand, and the sky split open.
A thousand blades formed above him, each shimmering with ethereal light. Senbonzakura in its true form. The petals swirled into a storm, coalescing into a relentless tide of death aimed directly at The Fallen.
The Fallen reacted instantly, his gravitational field warping to deflect the incoming assault. But Aiden had already moved. He was beside him in an instant, Rebellion slashing forward.
The Fallen barely blocked in time, but Aiden didn't stop. A crushing knee to the gut sent The Fallen skidding backward. A flick of Aiden's wrist, and Chastiefol shot forward, slamming into The Fallen with enough force to send him hurtling into the mountains beyond.
Aiden exhaled, dusting himself off. "Okay, that was fun."
The ground trembled.
From the rubble, The Fallen emerged, blood streaking his face, his golden eyes burning with fury. His power surged, the sky darkening as his aura reached an unfathomable peak.
Aiden grinned. "Round two?"
The air exploded as they clashed once more.
The battlefield remained in ruins, a testament to the sheer force of their battle. The Fallen stood tall, golden blood trickling down his cheek. His robes were tattered, his golden eyes glowing with an intensity that made the very air tremble. Aiden, on the other hand, remained unscathed. Wounds that should have been fatal had already healed, his body knitting itself back together in seconds. His grin never wavered, the sheer thrill of the battle igniting a fire within him.
"You look pissed," Aiden taunted, twirling Rebellion in his hand before casually tossing it back into his inventory. "Don't tell me you're getting tired already."
The Fallen didn't respond with words. Instead, he lifted his hand, and gravity itself condensed into a single, devastating point. The air distorted, the very fabric of reality warping around the core of pure destruction. It was a force that could crush mountains, obliterate islands, and tear through the sky itself.
Aiden simply rolled his shoulders. "Oh, this ought to be fun."
He lifted a hand, and in a flash of silver, Hyōrinmaru materialized in his grip. The blade radiated an icy aura, frost creeping across the shattered ground beneath him. He pointed it at The Fallen, his grin widening.
"Bankai. Daiguren Hyōrinmaru."
Ice exploded outward, massive crystalline wings forming behind Aiden as his entire body was encased in an intricate armor of ice. A frozen dragon's tail extended behind him, and the air itself dropped to sub-zero temperatures. The very moisture in the air crystallized, snowflakes drifting lazily around them.
The Fallen wasted no time. The condensed gravity exploded toward Aiden in an unstoppable wave. But Aiden merely lifted his blade.
"Sennen Hyōrō."
Massive ice pillars erupted from the ground, forming an impenetrable barrier of absolute cold. The moment the gravitational force collided with the ice, it was instantly frozen solid. The Fallen's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist, attempting to crush the ice with sheer force, but Aiden was already moving.
With a flap of his wings, he shot forward, appearing directly above The Fallen. His blade swung downward, a blizzard of ice following in its wake. The Fallen barely dodged, shifting space itself to avoid the attack. But Aiden was relentless.
"Ryūsenka!"
A sudden thrust of his blade sent a concentrated spear of ice directly at The Fallen's chest. It struck true, freezing a portion of his robe and skin. The Fallen grunted, shattering the ice with a pulse of energy, but Aiden was already switching tactics.
Hyōrinmaru vanished, and in its place, a new blade appeared.
"Zanka no Tachi."
The temperature swung violently in the opposite direction. The ice melted instantly, steam rising from the ground as an unbearable heat filled the air. Aiden's sword burned with an all-consuming fire, its flames so intense they reduced everything to nothingness.
The Fallen took a step back. Even with his immense power, the sheer heat radiating from the blade was suffocating.
Aiden smirked. "Don't blink."
With a single step, he vanished, reappearing behind The Fallen with his sword already mid-swing. The blade ignited the very air, cutting through space itself as it bore down on his opponent.
The Fallen reacted instantly, generating a gravitational barrier around himself, but the moment the blade touched it—
The barrier evaporated.
A line of fire cut through The Fallen's robes, searing his skin. He hissed in pain, blood dripping onto the scorched earth. His expression darkened.
Aiden's grin widened. "Oh, I felt that one."
The Fallen finally retaliated. With a flick of his wrist, the battlefield shifted. The ground collapsed, reality itself bending under the sheer force of his gravitational magic. Black holes formed in the air, their pull inescapable.
Aiden merely laughed. "Alright, let's really turn it up."
Zanka no Tachi vanished, and in its place, another blade formed.
"Tensa Zangetsu."
A burst of energy erupted from Aiden as his form shifted. His coat turned black, the blade in his hand thinning into a sleek, jet-black katana. A torrent of raw speed and power surged through him. The very air crackled around him.
In an instant, Aiden moved.
He became a blur, faster than light, faster than thought. One moment he was in front of The Fallen—the next, he was behind him, his blade dripping with blood.
The Fallen staggered, a deep gash running along his side. He barely had time to react before Aiden struck again, each attack faster than the last, his blade a black streak of death. The battlefield crumbled under the sheer speed of his movements, shockwaves ripping through the land with every step.
The Fallen roared, unleashing a pulse of raw power. Gravity multiplied a thousandfold, the weight of the world collapsing down upon Aiden. The guild masters watching from the distance cried out as they were slammed into the ground, barely able to breathe.
But Aiden?
He just laughed.
His body adjusted instantly, regenerating from every strain, ignoring the weight pressing down on him. He straightened, his movements unfazed.
The Fallen's eyes widened slightly. "Impossible."
Aiden smirked. "That's what everyone says."
Then he vanished again.
A blur of movement, a shockwave of destruction.
A single slash—
And The Fallen was sent crashing into the ruins, debris exploding outward.
Aiden landed gracefully, spinning his blade before resting it on his shoulder. "Come on, get up. We're just getting started."
The dust settled. The Fallen rose slowly, his expression unreadable. The golden glow in his eyes flared, his power surging to even greater heights.
"Enough."
The sky cracked. The ground shattered.
Gravity ceased to exist entirely for a brief moment—then reversed.
Everything was torn from the ground, massive chunks of the battlefield floating into the sky as the world itself bent to The Fallen's will. The very concept of weight, of direction, had been rewritten.
Aiden, however, remained exactly where he stood, unfazed. He cracked his neck, tilting his head with an amused grin.
The Fallen's expression darkened further. Then realization struck him like a hammer.
"You're not even trying... are you?"
Aiden chuckled, his grip on his sword relaxed. "Oh? Took you this long to figure that out? Guess I expected more from you."
The Fallen clenched his fists. His power surged once more, but for the first time, there was something else in his golden eyes—
Doubt. Fear
Aiden was toying with him.
Despite everything, despite the gravity magic that could crush mountains, despite the absolute singularity he had summoned, Aiden stood before him unscathed.
Not tired. Not desperate. Not even taking this seriously.
The realization struck The Fallen like a hammer.
He's not even using his full strength.
Aiden rolled his shoulders, stretching as if he had just finished a light workout. He spun Rebellion in his grip before lazily resting it on his shoulder. "You done? 'Cause if that was your trump card, I gotta say, I'm kinda disappointed."
The Fallen gritted his teeth. "You—"
Aiden raised a hand. "Wait, wait—lemme guess." He put on a mocking, dramatic tone. "Impossible!This can't be happening!I am the strongest!" He waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before."
The Fallen's magic flared wildly, space distorting as his gravity magic pushed past its limits.
Aiden clicked his tongue. "Oh? One last trick? Alright. I'll humor you."
The Fallen raised his hand, and the world trembled.
A singularity formed in the air above him—a swirling mass of absolute destruction, darker than the void itself. The gravitational pull was so immense that even the dust and debris around them were consumed, vanishing into nothingness. The very concept of existence warped around it, threatening to erase everything.
The guild masters watching from a distance tensed, feeling the sheer finality of the spell.
Makarov's eyes widened. "That magic…!"
Bob clutched his chest. "We have to move—"
Aiden?
He just sighed.
"Okay, that's kinda cool," he admitted. "But you're forgetting one thing."
He lifted his right hand.
A sword of pure golden light materialized.
The air around them shook.
The guild masters went silent. The Fallen's glowing eyes narrowed.
Aiden grinned. "My turn."
He pointed the glowing blade at The Fallen. The energy around it was overwhelming, pulsing with divine radiance, as if the very concept of victory had been forged into a weapon.
Excalibur.
The Fallen instinctively took a step back.
Aiden laughed. "Oh, no, no, no—you don't get to back away now. You wanted to see real power, right? Here it is."
The golden sword flared, its brilliance eclipsing everything else.
Then Aiden swung.
"EX—"
A blinding arc of pure energy erupted from the blade.
The world split apart.
The singularity, the space-warping magic, the battlefield itself—it was all consumed. The Fallen's eyes widened in disbelief as the radiant light engulfed him.
"—CALIBUR!"
A shockwave of unimaginable force tore through the landscape, carving a massive trench through the ruins, obliterating everything in its path. The dark sky shattered, the clouds dispersing as golden light swallowed the darkness whole.
The explosion of power lasted only seconds—
But when the light faded, only silence remained.
The Fallen was gone.
Nothing remained of him. No body, no ashes—just a deep, burning scar across the battlefield where he once stood.
Aiden exhaled, resting Excalibur on his shoulder. "Huh. Thought he'd last longer."
The guild masters just… stared.
Makarov's mouth was slightly open. Bob had frozen mid-motion. Even the strongest mages in the alliance were left in stunned silence, processing what they had just witnessed.
Aiden turned toward them with a smirk. "So… who's hungry?"
-----
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