Leora vs Dukbium.

The space bent around Leora and Razim, porting the two gods and the armies they commanded at the edge of Dukbium’s domain.

Dukbium’s domain comprised a series of planets gathered around six massive stars. Even from the edge of that galaxy, the abundance of fire energy could be felt by the ascended that had joined the assault.

“Cultivating here would have allowed me to reach the ninth shell twice as fast,” commented Thorb, his eyes closed as he seemed to be basking in the energy in the surroundings.

Razim frowned and said, “I would have never gotten my divinity if born here. There’s barely any water energy at all...”

“Should we attack head-on? It doesn’t seem that Dukbium is ready for us,” said Thorb after some time passed and neither of the two goddesses gave any order.

“They know we’re here. They are just waiting for us to enter before showing up,” replied Leora, her eyes shining bright as she scanned Dukbium’s domain.

Thorb looked at each planet before them but couldn’t see or feel any of the enemy ascended or even their god.

“I can’t see them… where are they?”

It wasn’t Leora who answered him, but Razim did as the corner of her lips rose into a smile, “They are hiding in the place with the most fire energy to cover their presence. The stars.”

Throb’s eyes widened and moved to scan the six stars, but he couldn’t spot any trace of them again.

“Don’t bother looking for them. They are moving the natural fire energy of the stars to create a barrier above the outer layer to cover themselves. It’s a trap for sure,” said Razim. “Dukbium has used this tactic before, and even if the enemy knew they were walking into a trap, it still gave him a great advantage in each fight.”

“I wonder how they knew we were coming….” muttered Leora with a frown.

Razim’s smile faded, and she nodded, “That is concerning indeed. To gather all demigods and have them hide in the stars of the system on such short notice… there are not many beings capable of doing that. Should we warn Seth?”

Leora shook her head, “I think it’s pointless. He must have already reached Gaia’s world and knows about it by now. We should focus on finishing this before going to reinforce him.”

Despite Leora’s words, neither she nor Razim gave any order to engage, even as the ascended behind were starting to grow noisy.

Thorb, who was in charge of the army, looked at the backs of the two gods and asked, “Should I give the order to attack?”

“If we attack now, we’ll lose over half of our troops and be engaged in a miserable fight,” said Leora with a sigh, turning toward Razim. “Will you do it, or should I?”

Razim remained silent momentarily before lifting her right hand and saying, “Thorb, Blue, tell the armies to step back.”

Thorb and Blue, sitting right behind Leora and Razim, immediately turned around and went to convey Razim’s orders.

Razim also turned to look at Leora, “You should do it. Your attacks are better suited to fight in this hot environment and faster. Dukbium might be able to fend me off without showing up, but against you, he has no chance but to take a stand.”

Leora nodded thoughtfully and took a step forward, “Alright. Step back.”

After Razim drifted back to give Leora some space, reaching close to their confused armies, Leora spread her arms wide.

“Light, let’s give that bastard a nice lesson for all those years chasing after me,” whispered Leora, her eyes glowing white as light radiated from every pore of her body.

“Yes, mistress.”

The supple silhouette of a well-endowed woman appeared behind Leora. Her arms spread like Leora’s, and even brighter energy spread from her ghostly visage, causing all the ascended in the back to avoid their eyes.

The only ones besides Razim still capable of seeing what was happening were the light ascended of Asteria, and they were in complete awe at the pressure and power they could feel assaulting their sources. They could feel the energy inside their soul struggling to escape and join the light focusing on Leora.

After three clear shattering sounds came from up ahead, even Razim’s expression grew serious, and she lifted her hand, creating an enormous water barrier to protect the ascended behind her.

“What is this lassie doing? She wants to end the war by herself?” muttered Razim, lifting two more barriers for good measure.

Razim was not the only god reacting to the three distinct shattering noises with such an exaggerated reaction. A pair of similar shattering sounds came from Dukbium’s domain, the fire covering the six stars moving away from them, forming a giant barrier right before the edge of the domain.

“Haha, brother. How long I’ve waited to do this,” a loud voice filled with joy resounded in the ears of all the beings gathered in the galaxy, the light silhouette behind Leora bringing her hands back together, a small star slowly forming in between her palms.

As more and more energy was fed into the small, hand-sized orb forming in Leora’s hands, the silhouette started fading from the feet up until she disappeared completely.

With two more shattering sounds, Leora moved her hands forward. The star shot from between her palms, heading straight for the massive barrier Dukbium has erected, forming a white line of broken space connecting it and Leora.

Before Leora’s attack, the barrier and the space around it shattered like glass.

At the same time, the brightness of the small orb continued forward unimpeded until two more shattering noises came from the direction of Dukbium’s domain.

A blinding light engulfed the whole space, making even Razim avert her eyes and feed more energy into the barrier behind her.

The ascended inside the barrier had long turned their backs to the explosion, unable to use their eyes and having to rely on their energy to monitor what was happening.

When the explosion finally subsided, all the light previously created by the six stars inside Dukbium’s domain was gone. The stars that were just moments before vibrant and alive now looked like black chunks of massive rocks floating through space.

The demigods previously hiding inside those stars were also clearly revealed, with Dukbium hovering at the center of his domain, his hands grasping onto a small orb whose light was already dwindling.

The demigods on Endora’s side, who had finally turned to watch the aftermath of the attack, were left in awe at both the power of the attack and the seeming ease with which Dukbium had blocked it.

Still, to Razim’s eyes, the situation was completely different. She knew Leora had used five of her divine crown’s spikes while Dukbium had used four, and they were undoubtedly both injured, despite their relatively normal appearance. She could even see small flames leaving Dukbium’s source, a clear sign that even his source and probably his soul had sustained damage.

Removing the barrier she created before the demigods behind her, Razim shouted toward Blue and Thorb, “Attack! Focus on the demigods and ignore Dukbium.” and dashed forward to where Leora was.

The two captains snapped back from their awe and relayed the order to their troops. In moments the demigods of Endora and the ones brought by Razim all charged toward the demigods of Dukbium.

Amidst the energies surging all around, Razim supported Leora and asked with a worried, “How are you feeling?”

Leora turned her head toward Razim, her face forcing a pained smile as she said, “I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are. What was in your mind to breaking almost half your divinity? A normal attack was enough,” asked Razim in an irritated tone.

Leora shook her head, keeping the same pained smile, “If Dukbium was waiting for us, Gaia and Yggdrasil must be waiting for Seth as well. We can’t afford to play around here. I’m worried about him…”

Razim wanted to say more, but as she looked into Leora’s clear and firm eyes, she understood her words wouldn’t affect her at all. With a sigh, Razim nodded and said, “Stand back and stabilize your divinity. I’ll finish things off with Dukbium.”

Leora nodded as her energy body dissipated to reveal a source surrounded by a crown with only about half its spikes. Razim formed a small barrier around the source before fixing her eyes on Dukbium, who had already started throwing attacks toward Endora’s troops.

Despite considering Leora’s decision stupid, Razim had to admit that fighting Dukbium in that state was quite exciting. Remembering all the times Dukbium has created trouble in her domain, Razim’s energy flared, and she drifted into a mass of water energy, flying straight at him.

Dukbium, barely holding his source under control while sending attacks to repel the incoming attacks, noticed the mass of water energy heading his way and drifted back, separating from the rest of the war.

Despite his attempt to run away, Leora’s attack left him too injured to get far, and Razim eventually caught up to him.

A mass of water energy formed around him, forcing Dukbium to stop his retreat. As he reformed his body and turned back, he was met with the cold eyes of Razim, staring straight at him.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this, you old bastard.” Razim lost all semblance of a god, her body turning into her actual petite appearance.

“Razim, have you gone mad? Are you not going to leave me a way out?” asked Dukbium, his eyes containing nothing but rage.

“Way out? I’ve wanted to do this for so long, but you always bug me before running away like a coward. Still, I’ll give you a chance since I’m a merciful goddess. Your death is still coming, but I’ll make this quick if you tell me who tipped you off that we’re coming.”

Dukbium’s face kept changing color as he watched Razim’s cold eyes show no hesitation in gathering her energy. He knew she was ready to strike him down once and for all. In his condition, he also had no way of fighting back.

In the end, knowing that fighting her would only lead to his demise, Dukbium sighed and slowly looked upwards.

“Did you think I’ll allow you to have your way with me so easily…?”

As Razim frowned and was about to attack before he could try anything else, Dukbium said, “I answer the Tower’s calling and agree to take its trial.”

Under Razim’s dark countenance, a massive Tower appeared behind Dukbium, parting its doors and sucking him inside before disappearing completely.

Clenching her fists, Razim looked where Dukbium had disappeared before turning her eyes to the war behind her. After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, “Water, remain here and tell Leora to hurry and win this war.”

“Are you sure, mistress?” asked Water in a worried tone.

“I am,” replied Razim as a divine blue crown separated from her source, slowly floating before her body. “You know what to do.”

Water manifested her body before Razim and lowered her head, “Good luck, mistress.”

Razim nodded and turned her eyes back to the spot Dukbium had disappeared from as a large smile appeared on her lips.

“Did you think I really won’t follow you?... I answer the Tower’s calling and agree to take its trial.”

Before Water’s uneasy eyes, the Tower manifested itself and dragged Razim inside.