Cursed Queen: Battle Against Gods

Sealing Chaos

"What..." Hildus muttered when he saw me.

We were just a meter away from each other, so he stepped back a few times. I chuckled and took my katanas out. Hildus tried to flee, but the barrier was too strong. It seems like Alwina took a lot of time to build this, so it's a given that no one can get past it no matter how hard we try. I'm glad that she's with us. We would have been in deep trouble without her and Aiyana.

"Ha! It seems like we would inevitably have to meet this way," Hildus said when he figured out that only one of us would be able to leave here alive. "Tsk. Useless oracle."

I chuckled. "What? You can't avoid this, Hildus. You think an oracle can help you seal me when I have the Goddess of Time on my side?"

He gasped, finally able to understand why our side had an advantage. Well, it's not like we could have changed the outcome even if we have Aiyana with us. But we were able to turn things around once again to make our side victorious.

Anyway, Bythos told me to not rest assured. I mean, I did not, but why would he tell me that? Hildus must have something up his sleeve, so I have to make sure that I'll be able to take him out. Even if he cheated to win against Bythos, that doesn't change the fact that he's a god. There must be something he has in store to take me down.

Fuck, I don't know what his fighting style is...

"No one is taking the throne from me," he said while smirking at me.

"We'll see about that," I replied.

"Taiyō no ken, heed my call..." I summoned my katanas to bring their full power out. It has been two weeks since the last time I brought these out, but I somehow feel like I'm brimming with power right now.

"Ha! If you think you'll be able to surpass Bythos, think again!"

"Oh? So, you've acknowledged him as the most powerful god to ever live. It's good to know that you know your place," I dissed him.

I could see his veins popping from here, enraged by what I said. That hit home, I guess. He was obviously trying to provoke me earlier, but I didn't take the bait. I know what to do not when faced with opponents who tend to play dirty, especially when they're willing to put their dignity at stake just to win. I see, Hildus is that type of person.

"You are in no way superior to me!" he shouted as summoned his sword out. It was too big, probably thrice the size of mine.

"I never said that I am, though."

"Speed up..."

In terms of speed, no one can surpass me. Not even Karis. Perhaps they can defend against me, but they wouldn't be able to keep up. Well, it's not like I can keep this up as well.

He knelt on one knee and closed his eyes, creating tremors on the ground while holding the sword up to defend in case I try to launch an attack while he's like that. I summoned my wings once again to avoid anything that will suddenly pop out from the ground.

For now, I have to observe him to find a weak spot or something. Right now, I would rather secure a win than be on offense just to lose. Since I don't know what his fighting style is, I chose to play safe before going for the kill. That's the best way to win this battle.

Hmm, maybe I should use telepathy. That way, I'll be able to figure him out. Oh, f**k. His mind is blocked! As expected from a god. This is why I knew that this is not going to be easy.

Right. He's the god of all lands. Of course, he's able to use anything that's on the ground to his advantage! Well, it's not like I'm weak without a foothold. I can fly, after all.

"Oh, fiery beast of thy holy land, heed my call..." he murmured.

A magic circle appeared on the ground and I could feel a powerful presence coming from it. Oh, f**k. What? Am I going to have to fight both of them or will Hildus be controlling the beast manually? I have to figure something out before I run out of mana.

A huge beast appeared from it. It looked like a dragon, but not quite. Its body was made up of rocks with horns that are probably enough to snap my body in two. I saw Hildus step back, probably to avoid getting hit by any attacks that might come from the beast that he summoned.

Shit, the forest is near! I have to make sure that it doesn't direct its attacks towards it while watching out for Hildus. It seems like he's trying to halt my movements while controlling the beast. He will likely run out of mana if he keeps this up!

Tsk. I kept defending and avoiding the rock beast's attacks because they're really a pain in the ass! My senses seem to be at their best possible state, so I wasn't pushed back at all. I was even able to shoot light bullets at Hildus using my pinky finger.

"Get struck..."

Spears started raining from the sky and I could finally see cracks on the rock beast's body. They were small, but I know that I can use those to destroy the beast. I still continued to shoot Hildus while he's jumping all over the place to avoid it. I was worried that my mana would run out quickly, so I reduced the power of the light bullets. Hildus suddenly reflected it using his sword, so I was surprised.

Oh, s**t. It came out twice as powerful as I originally intended it to be when he returned it to me. So, he can use full counter. My, that's quite scary. Perhaps the reason why he didn't do it earlier is because it could have contributed to the damage that I did to the rock beast.

He seems to be keeping quite a huge distance from me and the beast. Maybe I should fight him directly while keeping the beast busy with spears and arrows. Oh, wait! I see...

"Blinding light..."

I made it quite powerful to reach Hildus. When he closed his eyes, I used my full speed to strike him, but he quickly defended using his sword. He looks like he was annoyed by what I did, so I smirked. But it didn't last because the rock beast started to approach us with its horns ready to snap the two of us into two.

"Are you insane?!"

"Yes, I am," I answered.

We quickly dodged. I understand now. The rock beast only has one goal in mind, which is to kill me. Unless it carries its mission out, it wouldn't stop at anything. Man, it didn't even hesitate to take Hildus down with me. That's why he was keeping his distance!

Tsk. I hate distractions when I'm fighting someone, but I don't have a choice. Sly god. I see what Hildus is doing now! He's pretending to control the beast to make me think that he will lose mana because of it. The truth is, he just made a contract with the beast to take me out in exchange for something. The one who will lose mana before anyone else is me!

Oh, wait! The rock around its body is probably just armor. Maybe I should try summoning lightning once it's covered with water. It's worth trying, though. If I'm right, I would be able to deal some damage to its real body.

I created a magic circle above it while it's shooting rocks at me. A rain cloud appeared on top of it, making it wet. There were spaces in between the rocks, so I'm sure that some water trickled down on its main body.

"Lightning..."

I bit my lip when Hildus struggled because of what I did, too. The beast started to jump all over the place, creating tremors. Hildus had to fly as well since he would have been stomped to death if he didn't.

"You're digging your own grave," I told him as I prepared to summon a gigantic spear.

I don't think those small spears were dealing enough damage. The gigantic spear was packed with as much power as all those spears combined, focused to destroy the beast's armor only.

"Get struck..."

The beast growled in pain when the spear struck it down. Its rock armor slowly broke, revealing the beast's original body. What the f**k? It seems like its body is actually a lot tougher than I imagined. The spear exploded after breaking the rock armor, but the beast still stood firmly. Well, did not expect it to go down easily anyway.

Ah, f**k! This is taking a toll on my patience. I looked back at Hildus who seems to be trying to find a way out of the barrier inconspicuously. Ah, this jerk! Was that the real reason as to why he was stalling me with this creature?! It enraged me because he avoided directly clashing with me just to escape.

I'll end this quickly and make sure that he's going down. This asshole did not wear the crown on purpose! I took a deep breath and felt the mana that was overflowing within me. I might have to use the technique that I learned from Aiyana to restore my mana.

"Sword of thy creator, I summon thee..."

The sword descended from the sky, which surprised Hildus. I bet he's happy, thinking I would lose because of what I just did. Aiyana is just in the forest, I'm sure that she'll restore my mana if needed be. But after using this against Karis a few times, I've gotten used to it. I also learned how fully control its power, so I won't have to spend too much mana.

One strike is all it would take to bring the rock beast down. Hildus took a few steps back when my hand caught the sword. I closed my eyes and raised my hands to gather as much power as I can. I figured out that as long as there is light, I won't have to use my mana to use this sword.

"Please lend me your power..."

With the speed of light, I charged towards the beast who was actually doing the same thing as I am. My agility allowed me to get past the attacks and the swinging of its horns while I targeted his head.

I finally realized that this beast is from Wrecce because of the miasma that came from it. The stink is even worse than the soul eater from the dungeon, so it could only be a creature from Wrecce. It seems to be Hyrax since it looked like the beast that was drawn on a book that Alwina had.

"Go back to where you came from, Hyrax..."

It groaned in pain when the sword struck its head, breaking it in two. I made the sword disappear when Hyrax started disintegrating. I gave Hildus a quick glance when I noticed that he started charging towards me with the sword in his hand. I quickly took my katanas out and defended against him.

"Done trying to find a way to escape?" I teased.

His face remained grim, refusing to answer me. It seems like his mana is still high while mine has been reduced to less than three-fourth of what it originally is. Well, I can restore it whenever I want.

"If you have time to tease me, why don't you train first?" he retorted back.

His muscles started getting big, ripping the elegant clothes that he wore. Ah, f**k. He might be just as strong as Karis. That would prove to be quite troublesome for me. Karis is stronger than me when it comes to raw strength.

Ah, I suddenly miss him...

"Oh-ho? You think this is enough to kill me?"

The only way I can overpower him is with my magic. I slowly started building power within the swords, which he didn't notice. I took the chance while he's still trying to pin me down on the ground, where death awaits me. He created spikes there, so anyone who falls would be barbeque. Tsk!

"Explode..."

He was pushed back because of what I did, so I used it as an opportunity. I placed the hilt of my swords together to turn it into a double-bladed sword. This way, I'll be able to fight at a longer range, something I'm best at. Hildus quickly caught on, but I was able to dodge his heavy attacks gracefully. I can only fight in a graceful way when I'm using this kind of weapon.

"Speed up..."

Hildus's attacks are really heavy, so it's best to dodge them. So far, we've only been inflicting minimum damage on each other. I've only had a few scratches on my body and the same goes for him. I have to do something to go a notch higher.

"Lightning..."

He stepped back a few times because he couldn't defend against me while dodging my lightning that literally came out of nowhere. When it finished, he created a small space on the ground while only he could fit. I tried shooting arrows and bullets at him, but he put a barrier up to defend himself from them.

"What now, Hildus?" I asked while trying to find a way to reach him.

The spikes that he made on the ground started flying in my direction, so I had to speed up once more to dodge all of them. I whimpered when some of them grazed me, but I'm perfectly fine.

"Absorb..."

My light started to swallow all of the spikes that were headed towards me. It was a little blinding, so Hildus got distracted. What? Has he always been this weak? Or is he starting to feel the consequences of sharing his life force with Sophia?

"Explode..."

I took the chance and launched balls that would explode once they've reached a certain point in his direction. He was a second late to strengthen his barrier, so he took a lot of damage.

He finally came out of that space to face me. I took my stance once again when magic circles appeared behind him. Oh? I put a barrier up while trying to prepare to defend myself. Maybe he's finally pulling some sort of strong attack. All this time, he's only been using strong physical attacks, but there's no doubt that he can do better than that.

"Stupid brat..." he mumbled. "I shall finish you!"

What did he just call me? Stupid brat? I raised a brow as I made the double-bladed sword spin to deflect his attacks. He may be able to use full counter, but as long as I utilize my sword to the fullest, I can do whatever I want.

"What the f**k?"

All sorts of things started to appear from the magic circles. How the f**k was he able to do that? There were swords, rocks, daggers, and more! I don't know how he summoned them, but I just focused on deflecting them with a barrier around me. They were nothing more than that, but the force was annoyingly strong.

I gritted my teeth when I was suddenly pushed back because I was having a hard time defending against the attacks. After all, they were way too strong. Some were able to get past my swords, so I had to strengthen my barrier. Since I wasn't getting hit anymore, I took the chance to summon spears and arrows.

"Get struck..."

His attacks halted when I did that, so I was finally able to find an opening. I sped up, but he was quick to evade. How is he even able to pick the pace up? He looked like he was having a hard time, so I tried to get more speed. But no matter how hard I try to read his attacks, I couldn't! This is getting annoying.

He smirked when he realized that I started to struggle. "I wasn't called the second strongest god for nothing, Flare," he mocked me.

"Oh? I bet Bythos is still superior to you," I replied just to annoy him.

This guy is so short-tempered. I only provoked him a little, now he's mad. Men and their stupid ego. Because he's busy trying to get me to kneel on the ground, I used the chance to create lightning once again.

"Lightning..."

I was finally able to break free from his grasp. He focused on enhancing his physical attributes while I focused on my mana. Since I can't enhance mine while doing the same for my magic, I had to choose one. I don't want this to be a battle of brawns, so I chose the latter. But I didn't train with Karis this whole time to lose to Hildus.

"And you're below the both of us," he said as we crossed blades once again.

I smirked. "Uh-huh? Who do you think is inferior now?"

He was surprised when I was finally able to push him back. After carefully observing what he did to get stronger physically, I realized that he was using mana to do it. So, I did the same. But it seems like I can do it better because I have too much mana on my pedestal.

"Explode..."

The explosion was stronger than how its normal intensity. Hildus wasn't able to put his defense up on time, so he took the blow. He fell on the ground because of what I did, and I prepared to cut him down while he's still struggling to stand up.

"I will take the throne now..." I mumbled.

I charged towards him, but I saw his smirk. However, it was too late. When I was close to him, my whole body was suddenly paralyzed. Or is it more appropriate to say that I've been immobilized?

"Victory will be mine," he said as he snapped his fingers.

Magic circles appeared around me and I was slowly lifted up. My whole body felt hot, similar to what I felt when the symbol of chaos manifested in my body. Hildus was also lifted up, and I realized what was happening.

Fuck, no!

Hildus knows about the curse and is trying to take it from me along with the light magic that was passed onto me, knowing that I will disintegrate if he does that. I screamed when I felt excruciating pain all over my body. This can only be a forbidden spell because the curse cannot be passed if it was some ordinary spell. But that doesn't matter now. If I don't do something, this whole world would be destroyed!

"Karis..." I called as tears started streaming down my face.

Perhaps this is what Bythos warned me about. I kept my guard up, and I never underestimated him. Why is this suddenly happening?! But I can't give up! I tried to reach out to Chaos's soul inside my mind, but all I heard was laughing.

"Who am I to refuse such a genuine offer? Once I take over him, I can destroy this whole world."

Please, anyone...help me!

No matter how much I resisted, it didn't stop. The pain was making me want to pass out, but I tried my best to remain conscious. I felt familiar presences coming from a certain direction.

Karis...

I know that it's him, but I doubt they can do anything at this point. Even I can't stop it, so there's no point in trying. I just want Bythos to appear and save all of us...

"Bythos, help me..."

"Flare! Hang on, we'll save you!" Karis shouted.

Hildus suddenly started to disintegrate, which surprised all of us. When he faded, I fell on the ground and the spell was halted. I thought it was finally over, but the excruciating pain didn't disappear. Instead, it was heightened!

"Help...me..." I managed to say as I looked at them.

I was getting dizzy until I saw the strands of my hair, now pure white. f**k, what now? I tried to keep it in control, but something within me broke free from the chains that were binding it inside of me.

"Give up, Flare. I will take over your body and kill the people you love now..."

"Please stop..."

I screamed in pain as I tried to reach out to the people who were approaching me, hoping to be saved. Just as I thought my life was over, someone appeared in front of me and created a magic circle on where I'm standing.

"No!"

"Bythos..."

"Everything is fine now, my child..."

I was dizzy, but I saw what was happening around me. Oh, they're sealing me...

"This is not enough to tie me down, dimwitted Supreme King!"