Chapter 153 – Twilight

“Hello there.”

Hermilla’s casual greeting made a man turn his head.

“My… You haven’t changed a bit.”

Hermilla feigned surprise, widening her eyes as she casually shoved her fingers into the skull of a charging experiment, twisting with a soft chuckle.

“Been taking care of yourself? You look exactly the same. Younger, even.”

She ripped the experiment’s head off with a sickening crack and flicked the blood from her hand.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

Hermilla’s necklace shimmered.

Simultaneously, the man’s necklace glowed.

Hermilla smirked bitterly.

“What should I call you?”

This man, who once stood at humanity’s peak, eradicating evil with his fists.

“Martial Saint?”

The mortal who became a legend, daring to invoke the names of gods.

“Martial God? Or perhaps…”

The one who’d taken her in, raised her, taught her to fight.

“Master?”

The man, meeting Hermilla’s cold gaze, shook his head.

“Master Aaron. That is my name.”

Hermilla sighed.

“Such a waste of a title.”

“It was arrogance.”

Aaron’s voice was firm.

“Not at all. You deserved that title.”

“Hermilla. You felt it too. The gods we hunted are beyond mortal reach.”

“I did. Deeply. No matter how many futures I saw, how much life force I burned, I knew we could never win. But…”

Her gaze drifted towards the Temple of Memories. She thought of the girl inside, the one absent from prophecies and foresight. The girl of the Apocalypse.

Clueless about the world, yet an expert on monster materials. Hopeless with people, yet a master against beasts. Blind, yet seeing more than anyone with her intuition. Compulsively helping others mid-mission.

And then, achieving the impossible for those she loved, laughing it off as if it were nothing.

Noah.

“I was wrong. We were weak. Both of us.”

“You think that demon can succeed where we failed?”

Crack! Aaron’s fist obliterated the experiments charging Hermilla. He’d reached them first, despite her proximity. Hermilla chuckled.

“Demon? Hmm… I suppose some might see her that way. I think she’s adorable.”

“It’s not too late. Join me. I’ll guarantee your safety.”

Hermilla tightened the bandages around her hands, looking across the battlefield.

“Can’t do that. Too many follow me. Too many have died. They’d haunt me. Can you exorcise ghosts, Master?”

Aaron frowned, staring at her.

“Still can’t take a joke. No wonder you’re single. But… I’m touched you still care. Some things never change.”

Hermilla assumed a fighting stance.

Aaron mirrored her.

Same stance. Same breath. Same energy.

“I’ll drag you back by force.”

“Then I’ll kill myself.”

And with that—

—the world exploded.

Their fists collided.

***

A heavy stomp. Thousands of spikes erupted, twisting and distorting. Heinzel sliced through the surging shadowy tendrils with his halberd, amplifying the force with gravity.

Crunch! The earth shattered beneath the impact, splattered with blood.

Unfazed, Heinzel propelled himself forward with gravity, hurtling towards Kalt.

“Hah! Stop being a coward and fight me!”

His halberd, heavy with gravity, swung down towards Kalt’s head.

But—

—it passed right through.

The halberd struck the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. Hundreds of tendrils and spikes surged through the haze.

Heinzel reacted instantly, creating a shield of gravity around himself. The dust settled. The tendrils and spikes twisted and fell harmlessly.

Kalt pressed his attack, drawing a black sword and slicing through Heinzel’s gravity shield.

Shadowy tendrils lashed out, the sword a blur of motion, too fast to see, too unpredictable to block.

Heinzel, relying on instinct, made a split-second decision. Better an arm than my head. He raised his bare hand.

Clang!

The sword stopped.

Shock flickered across Kalt’s usually emotionless face. The shadow-forged blade, which should have passed through anything, was halted by the prosthetic arm.

Heinzel seized the opening.

“Haaaah!”

His right fist, propelled by gravity, slammed into Kalt’s abdomen with incredible speed.

Boom! Kalt’s shadowy form rippled. Heinzel grabbed the black sword, still touching his hand, and slammed it into the ground, then swung again.

Crash!

A massive crater formed as Kalt slammed into the earth.

Heinzel roared with laughter, raising his fist again—then abruptly dodged, a chill running down his spine. Shadows surged across the battlefield, converging on Kalt.

“Oh…”

Heinzel rubbed his neck, his eyes narrowing. The shadows originated from the fallen experiments.

“Hmm…”

He downed an elixir, remembering Hermilla’s words. The experiments were infused with divine power. So were the Masters. And Mistilteinn, his prosthetic arms, could shatter that power.

“So, he didn’t dodge… it just didn’t work.”

He realized—only his bare hands were effective. He discarded his halberd.

“So, my fist was what hurt you, eh? Some ‘Master’ you are! Hahahaha!”

His wounds healed instantly. He cracked his knuckles, advancing on Kalt.

Kalt, absorbing the shadows, would be stronger. But it didn’t matter. Heinzel could still hit him.

He clenched his fists, focusing. Think like Hermilla. He’d been on the receiving end of her attacks enough times… it should be easy…

Easy…

“Nah, can’t remember.”

As always, Heinzel abandoned complex thought, rubbing his bald head and stepping forward.

Kalt’s form, now a swirling mass of shadows, rose.

Crushing killing intent. Overwhelming magic. The vast difference in power pressed down on Heinzel. He couldn’t reach him.

The blade of death loomed, the chilling premonition clinging to his neck.

The spirits’ light dimmed. The sky, once cloaked in Karma’s power, revealed its true form: twilight.

And beneath it, a black sun.

Darkness fell upon the blood-soaked earth.

Kalt’s power surged, impossibly high.

A stray shadow grazed Heinzel.

He swatted it away.

It dispersed.

It still connects. If I can touch it, I can hit it. If I can hit it, I can kill it.

If I can kill it—

—I win.

A simple equation. A brute’s logic. But it was everything Heinzel lived by.

Crack. His fists clenched.

Clatter. Mistilteinn, twisted to its limit, responded to his will.

Kalt, a vortex of shadows, rose and lunged. A calamity wrought by something inhuman.

Before this overwhelming force, a mere mortal stood defiant. Unbowed. Smiling.

Smiling, he walked forward.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

His laughter drowned out the carnage. His sweat masked the stench of blood.

Heinzel pressed on.