Chapter 78: Triumph
The air screamed as the two energies clashed, the black tiger’s spiraling flame gnashing against Asriel’s violet inferno. For a heartbeat, it looked as though her blast would swallow his attack whole, its sheer size dwarfing the serpent’s coils. The violet blaze pushed harder, burning away the edges of the black flame, inch by inch, threatening to consume Stephan entirely.
His body shook, blood dripping freely from his nose and mouth. His arms trembled, his sword nearly ripped from his grip as the tidal wave of her power pressed him down. The weight was unbearable, the heat blistering his skin even through the armor of souls.
But then, deep within him the souls answered.
The twenty he had burned raged like a storm, fueling his veins with unnatural strength. Their voices screamed in unison, a haunting chorus that filled his mind with fury and focus. The tiger’s flames roared louder, expanding, its form sharpening, eyes glowing crimson as if the souls themselves had taken shape through him.
"Not... today... Asriel!" Stephan shouted, every syllable a battle cry.
He twisted his stance, driving his sword forward with both hands. The black tiger lunged, jaws wide, sinking its fangs into the heart of the violet inferno. For an instant, the two energies were locked in a dead grip, then Stephan pushed harder.
The tiger devoured the fire.
The violet blaze shrieked as if alive, torn apart and swallowed into the spiraling maw of the black serpent. Inch by inch, the tide turned. Asriel’s eyes widened in disbelief as she felt her own power being consumed.
"No! This is impossible!" she roared, forcing more of her essence into the blast, her dragon form trembling violently under the strain.
But it wasn’t enough.
With a final, ear-splitting roar, the black tiger ripped through her attack completely, tearing the inferno apart until nothing remained but shards of violet light. The serpent surged forward, unchained, and slammed into Asriel’s chest with devastating force.
The explosion was catastrophic.
A pillar of black and violet light erupted skyward, splitting the clouds apart. The shockwave blasted across the desolate landscape, flattening what remained of the ruins and carving deep scars into the earth. Chunks of stone and molten debris rained down for miles, the land itself trembling beneath the violence of their clash.
Asriel was hurled backward, her massive body slamming into the ground with the force of a falling mountain. Her scales cracked, one claw shattered, violet blood gushing from deep gashes across her form. Her remaining wing twitched, broken, unable to rise.
Stephan dropped to one knee, his chest heaving. Smoke rose from his body, his armor of souls flickering like a dying flame. His sword, still glowing faintly, trembled in his grip. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but his crimson eyes still burned with unyielding resolve.
He looked up, watching Asriel writhe in the crater she had carved with her own body. For the first time, the mighty dragon looked... vulnerable.
Stephan grinned, blood staining his teeth. "Looks like the bitch bleeds after all."
Asriel raised her head weakly, her voice a guttural growl, dripping with rage and disbelief. "You... human... you dare wound me...!"
Stephan forced himself to stand, sword pointed at her, his tiger aura flaring back to life despite his exhaustion. "And I’m not finished yet."
Stephan staggered forward, his boots cracking stone with every step. The tiger’s aura prowled around him, its spectral mane burning with raw black flame, eyes glowing like twin embers of wrath. His body screamed for rest, but he silenced it, feeding instead on the adrenaline pounding through his veins.
Asriel struggled to rise, her talons clawing furrows in the earth. Her chest heaved, violet blood pouring from her cracked scales. She raised her head, fangs bared, eyes burning with hatred, but there was fear there now too, flickering beneath her defiance.
"You... will never... defeat me," she rasped, voice rumbling like an earthquake.
Stephan tightened his grip on his sword. "Watch me."
With a roar that shook the desolate wasteland, he launched forward. His speed was inhuman, the ground exploding under his feet as the souls in his body surged into motion. The tiger roared with him, a massive echo that rattled the skies.
Asriel lashed out desperately, her claw sweeping in a final attempt to crush him. Stephan slid under it, sparks flying as his blade grazed the underside of her talon. He twisted, propelling himself upward, his sword trailing a comet of black flame.
The dragon opened her mouth wide, violet fire building in her throat. It was weaker than before, but still deadly.
Stephan didn’t falter.
"Whiplash.." he growled, burning five more souls into the blade. The tiger’s form coiled around it, tightening, focusing all its rage into one strike. "...Final Fang!"
The world seemed to slow as he leapt, his crimson eyes locked onto her exposed chest. His sword descended in a single, brutal arc, the tiger lunging with him, fangs wide.
Asriel’s fire erupted at the same instant.
The two powers clashed once more, but this time, there was no balance. The black tiger ripped straight through the blast, scattering violet fire like embers in a storm. The force behind Stephan’s swing was unstoppable, a tidal wave of fury and soul energy compressed into a single moment.
The blade connected.
Steel met scale with a thunderclap. For a second, there was resistance, then the sword carved through her chest, splitting flesh and bone alike. A deafening roar of agony tore from Asriel’s throat as the black flame surged into the wound, consuming her from within.
Her massive form convulsed, violet light spilling out of every crack in her body. The remaining wing shattered, her claws slammed into the ground, and the land shook beneath her collapse.
Stephan landed hard, his knees buckling, his body trembling with exhaustion. He planted the sword into the ground to keep from falling. Behind him, the dragon’s body writhed, glowing fissures racing across her scales as the black tiger’s flame devoured her essence.
Asriel’s roar turned into a scream.
The colossal body toppled, slamming into the earth with a ground-shaking finality. Dust and ash billowed skyward, the sound echoing for miles.
Stephan stood there, chest heaving, blood dripping from his lips, staring at the fallen titan. His blade flickered weakly, the last embers of the tiger’s flame curling away into the air.
It was done.
He had cut down the dragon. The dragon’s roar dwindled into a hollow rasp as its massive body quivered one last time. Cracks of violet light spiderwebbed across its scales, spilling brilliance into the smoky air like molten rivers. Stephan’s sword hung heavy in his hands, his chest rising and falling in ragged bursts. The tiger’s aura flickered around him, its once-proud form dimming but not yet gone.
The ground trembled beneath Asriel’s failing body. Her claws scraped furrows in the dirt, desperate, unwilling to accept defeat. Then her colossal head lifted one final time, those violet eyes locking onto Stephan. For a heartbeat, there was still defiance there, then the light inside them flickered. Snuffed out.
A thunderous crack split the air.
The dragon’s body began collapsing inward, its form shedding fragments of violet fire that rained down like dying stars. The scales crumbled to ash, peeling away in waves. The massive wings shriveled, disintegrating into streams of glowing dust. Her long neck folded in on itself, and with each passing second, the beast diminished, shrinking, unraveling, condensing.
Stephan stepped back, shielding his eyes from the searing light. The ground quaked as the last of the dragon’s body gave way, collapsing into a vortex of violet soul energy that spiraled upward like a storm. He could feel its heat, hear its violent hum rattling his bones.
Then, in the heart of the collapsing form, something took shape.
The light dimmed. The storm calmed. And where the dragon once stood, a woman knelt on the cracked earth.
Asriel.
Her skin was pale now, almost translucent, the earlier glow gone from her veins. Her white hair tumbled around her face in disarray. Her once-mighty eyes, those piercing, defiant eyes, were wide open, but hollow, lifeless. They stared into nothing, reflecting no light, no fury, no cunning. Just emptiness.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Stephan’s sword wavered in his hand. His breath hitched. For the first time since the battle began, there was no pressure, no suffocating aura of violet power. Just stillness.
The tiger’s spectral form padded beside him, its outline fading, but its eyes sharp. It stared at Asriel’s body with the same hunger Stephan felt building inside him. The hunger to finish this. To claim what was now his by right.
Stephan approached slowly, his boots crunching against stone and ash. His muscles screamed with every step, his body teetering on collapse, but his will dragged him forward. He stopped just a few feet from her body, staring down at the woman who had nearly ended him.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to speak, but no sound came. A ghost of a smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, then faded.
And then it happened.
From her chest, faint at first, a glow began to form. Violet and silver, swirling together, rising like smoke. It gathered above her body, spinning faster, condensing into a radiant sphere of pure soul energy.
Stephan’s eyes widened. His grip on the sword tightened until his knuckles went white.
[System Notification: Unique Soul Detected]
[Name: Asriel – The Witch of Violet Flame]
[Status: Claimable]
[Estimated Power Yield: Overwhelming]
The sphere pulsed, sending ripples of violet light across the ruined battlefield. Its presence was intoxicating, heavy, and absolute.
Stephan exhaled, the breath shaking, almost a laugh. He could feel it calling to him, whispering promises of strength, of dominion. His body ached, his soul reserves were nearly spent, but just standing in front of this energy made him feel alive again.
He raised his sword, the blade humming as black flames licked up its edge. The tiger’s roar echoed faintly in the background, a soundless reminder of what this victory meant.
This was no longer about survival. It was about ascension.
Stephan locked his crimson eyes on the hovering sphere, his lips curling into a grin.
"It’s over, Asriel," he whispered. "Your soul is mine."
He lifted the sword overhead, the blade aligning with the glowing sphere, ready to strike and claim the greatest prize he had ever faced.
The air tightened. The battlefield held its breath. The moment hung, suspended between triumph and destiny, before the blade fell. It was time to collect.