Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2012: End [Bonus]

[Bonus thanks to Chronotitan <3]

The skies practically exploded. The ground below would have followed suit if not for a pulse that came from the formation of flowing rivers that covered the planet. It seemed that it could do much more than just protect from invaders coming from the outside. But that hardly mattered now, not when the equivalent of two monsters were clashing in the clouds.

The frail white mist separated, a duo of beauties clashing with weapons in hand in its midst.

Nosphaleen's trident carried the weight of a world. It almost looked like an invisible curtain of space was trailing after it, reality distorting behind it, reforming and reshaping every time Cassarae's blade cut right through it.

Sparks flew and it looked almost as though they had met in a complete, perfect match.

But then Cassarae's sword cut through.

Trident met sword and Nosphaleen felt an overwhelming power press down on her from above. The webbing in her fingers split and a wrathful fury oppressed her very Will itself.

BANG.

She was sent flying, her body cutting across the air so quickly that flames sparked in her wake.

Wings suddenly unfurled from her back, their bones snapping beneath the pressure of trying to stop her momentum.

She didn't know how, but it felt like Cassarae's body was like a rolling furnace. A strength that shouldn't have been possible to be contained within her body was boiling in her very blood itself.

This wasn't an opponent that she could meet head on in this way.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Space broke apart as though curtains slowing Nosphaleen's descent. She swung her trident instinctively, meeting the downward stroke of Cassarae's blade just in time.

Cassarae's radiant blue eyes had turned a violent violet. As though infused by an injection of blood, veins pulsed across their whites and out of the corners of her eyes. Her hair danced in the wind like a black river, streaking lights falling into their depths never to be seen again.

Nosphaleen's feet crashed into the earth, her knees bending beneath the impact. Crossing her polearm across her body, she stood as tall as she could, meeting the fury in Cassarae's eyes with a stoic chill of her own.

"Aren't you going to stop that?" Yamero asked Sylas from above. "They really look like they're going to kill each other."

Sylas didn't reply, his expression unreadable.

"Well, one of them is going to kill the other. It looks like your first wife is a real firecracker. I don't know how a Level O has that much strength rolling through her veins. You must treat her pretty well."

"Somewhat." Sylas responded non-committally.

So much of Cassarae's improvement happened while he wasn't around at all. The most important things he had done for her were threefold.

First was returning her necklace to her. The second was the Dino-inspired Armor. And the last was, of course, the Royal Hero Line she gained in return for being his wife.

The last was definitely a gift of the system. Logically, Cassarae wasn't related to him, so she shouldn't have benefited.

But the system treated it as though it was alimony. He married Cassarae before his bloodline improved so much, so this was backpay for her belief in him before he was anything much.

Granted... Cassarae marrying him wasn't exactly her choice.

Right now, she didn't look any bit the part of a Grimblade either. What she had done was take advantage of her new foundation as a member of an A-Grade Race to rapidly improve in the aspects she was strong in.

The result was a rampaging demoness with the strength to match her temper.

And right about now, Nosphaleen wasn't using much of what he had given her at all. Half of that was because she felt it would be disrespectful to him, and the other half was because she was trying to lower her abilities so that it was fair. She was well aware that she had 100 Levels on Cassarae.

The trouble was that from what Sylas could see, even if Nosphaleen did use her full slate of abilities, she would die to Cassarae. That wasn't just because Cassarae was truly strong, it wasn't just because of her Sword Will, and she wasn't using the Legendary Set Sylas had given her either.

No, the real reason was because Nosphaleen was currently in Castle Main territory. And while Cassarae felt it would be too beneath her to use the Legendary Set, the city was something she had bled for from the very start.

She wasn't using it right now because she simply didn't have to. But if she started using her bonuses as a City Lord, well... This battle would only end one way.

Sylas could see that very clearly, and Cassarae also wouldn't hesitate to kill Nosphaleen. By the same token, it seemed like Nosphaleen was trying to meet her there, but as far as Sylas could tell, Nosphaleen wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill Cassarae in the end.

He could practically predict the entire scope of the battle from start to finish. Nothing was out of his purview.

And that had actually made it even more complicated as to how exactly he should intervene.

Cassarae wasn't a fool. She knew him better than he often knew himself, and she had an even better feel for the current battle than he did.

That meant that if he stopped it, she would take it as him stepping in to save Nosphaleen's life.

While she had been livid with him many times before, Sylas knew Cassarae very well too. Well enough to know that if he did such a thing, there was no coming back from it. She would rather kill herself than exchange a single word more with him.

But if Sylas didn't intervene, then, once again, the result was already set in stone.

Nosphaleen would die, and he would lose not only a valuable Contract he had invested quite a bit into, but also someone he had grown to care for.

So what was he meant to do, exactly?