After sealing Zagreus, Nameless Death turned his gaze toward Barbatos and Berserker.
The moment their eyes met, both of them tensed.
’Dangerous.’
Their senses were warning them against fighting Nameless Death.
Before either of them could act, a massive figure materialized above Nameless Death.
A colossal angel appeared in the sky.
It had two faces and seven radiant wings.
Its presence was oppressive.
The angel opened its mouth slowly, and a glowing orb began to form in front of its each face.
The energy radiating from the orb felt dreadful and unnatural even to beings like them.
The orb fired, transforming into a concentrated beam of white energy that surged toward them.
Without hesitation, Barbatos responded with the same technique he had used before to block Berserker’s attack.
His scythe was covered in a malevolent shadow and he slashed.
Berserker raised his palm, creating a shield forged from resonance-powered Chaos and Void.
His shield trembled when the Holy Beam struck it.
The sheer power behind the attack forced Barbatos and Berserker backward.
Gritting their teeth, they struggled to remain upright as the ground beneath them cracked.
Nameless Death raised his hand slightly.
The power of the angel’s beam surged again.
"Damn it, he’s not holding back," Berserker said, grinning.
The beam intensified, blasting both of them to the corner of the world.
Barbatos’s robe tore apart under the pressure, revealing white blood seeping from the endless shadow inside him.
The shadows that composed his core were screaming.
Berserker fared even worse.
Cracks formed across his body, glowing with white light.
Since his body was entirely made of Chaos-Void elementals, the Holy World was especially damaging to him.
Yet, somehow, he still grinned.
"I haven’t felt pain like this in ages," he said, letting out a breathless chuckle.
His legs wobbled slightly, but he stayed standing.
He rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles, and hopped once, as if shaking off the damage.
Barbatos remained still.
His eyes were fixed on the ground.
Then, slowly, he stood upright.
The aura around him had changed.
Without a word, he swung his scythe once and stored it into the shadows that clung to the inside of his robe.
From that same shadows, he pulled out a sword.
The sword was bizarre.
Its blade split into several branching tips like gnarled roots.
Waves of shadows pulsed from it with every movement.
Barbatos winced, visibly straining to hold the sword.
’That sword must be a reward from the Shadow Trial,’ Nameless Death thought.
He glanced at the three wings on Barbatos’s back.
’He’s cleared shadow trials three times.’
’The wings, the sword, and there’s still one more reward I haven’t seen.’
The tension rose.
The battlefield rumbled.
The countless hands that had caged Zagreus began to crack.
Then, they exploded outward.
The blast sent waves of pressure through the surroundings.
’He’s borrowing more power from the demon,’ Nameless Death thought, frowning.
He stood at the center, with Berserker, Barbatos, and Zagreus now surrounding him from three directions.
The air grew heavy.
None of them moved at first.
They watched each other, calculating who would be the first to act.
Then Berserker suddenly looked up, alarmed.
"Hey, you bitch! Don’t you dare interfer—"
"I don’t care what you want. Off you go," a voice said casually.
With a snap of fingers, a sphere of water formed around Berserker, trapping him instantly.
His body was frozen in place, unable to move.
Nameless Death frowned.
She seemed to enjoy his confusion.
"That reaction tells me you still don’t get what I’m doing. Come on. It’ll take a while to explain. Follow me."
Without waiting for a response, she stepped into his shadow like it was her own.
Nameless Death frowned, watching her disappear beneath him.
The fact that she could enter his shadow without permission bothered him.
Still, he followed.
They walked silently for a while, through a dense green forest.
Eventually, they reached his personal forge nestled.
Inside, it was quiet. The fire in the furnace still burned.
The two of them sat on opposite ends of a long table, the metal surface scratched and pitted from countless hours of work.
He folded his arms, watching her silently.
She leaned forward slightly and said, "Aren’t you going to offer me tea? Your mother-in-law is here, after all."
Nameless Death didn’t respond.
He simply stared at her with a serious expression.
The Supreme of Water let out a soft sigh. "I still can’t believe what Gluttony sees in someone as rude as you."
"Gluttony?" he repeated. "Is that.... a title of the Supreme of Darkness?"
He wasn’t sure about it.
But something about that name felt familiar, as if he was supposed to know it.
She chuckled. "You ignored me earlier. Why respond now?"
He clicked his tongue and leaned back slightly.
"Fine, forget about Gluttony. Tell me why you interfered in the battle."
"I already told you. It was to give you time. Even if you’d won today, it wouldn’t have made any difference. You still don’t know how to open your Cosmos."
"...Continue. I’m listening."
"You do what I tell you, and then I will tell you how to access your Path," she said, her tone growing more direct.
"Is this about my Path? I’ll give it to you if that’s what you want."
She laughed softly.
"Not so fast, Neo. Do you really think I don’t know that giving me your Path would give you access to my abilities? What I need is for you to pass a test. If you prove yourself, I’ll tell you how to open your Cosmos.
"You wanted me to help you, right? This is your chance."
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