The Duel Ignites
The Overlord towered above the battlefield, its serpentine body blotting out the moon. Its voice thundered:
"You are a wound upon eternity. I shall cauterize you."
Vanessa hovered in midair, her aura rippling crimson, her breath ragged but unyielding.
"You've taken enough. Tonight, you fall."
The two forces collided. The Overlord's claw came down like a collapsing mountain, but Vanessa met it with her hand, redirecting the shattering force back into its arm. Bones cracked like stone pillars snapping, black ichor spraying across the skies.
The Overlord shrieked, but it countered by summoning serpents of living shadow, thousands of them writhing to consume her. Vanessa spread her arms, crimson light exploding outward, burning the creatures to ash.
But each pulse left her weaker, the glow around her flickering like a dying star.
---
On the Ground
Below, the heroes held the fortress gates against the endless tide of serpent spawn. The battlefield quaked with every clash above, but their eyes kept darting skyward.
Silvanna clenched her fists, blood rippling around her like whips. "She can't hold that alone forever. If she falls—"
Captain America cut her off, voice hard. "Then we keep fighting. No matter what. That's the deal."
Greta stepped forward, her staff glowing faintly. "No. If she fails… there won't be a fight left. We'll be swallowed whole."
Professor X's voice reached them telepathically: "She is the key. But prepare yourselves. If Vanessa burns out, all of you must be ready to strike as one."
Juggernaut growled low in his chest, every muscle tensed like a storm. His helmeted face turned toward the sky, voice raw. "Vanessa… don't you dare quit on me."
---
The Strain
Above, Vanessa reeled from a direct strike. The Overlord's tail whipped through the air, shattering the clouds and sending her plummeting toward the battlefield. She caught herself just before impact, skidding across a ruined spire, blood streaming down her arms.
Her power flared—then faltered.
The Overlord loomed closer, laughing.
"Your gift betrays you. The body has limits. The soul has limits. I… do not."
Vanessa coughed, her crimson flames reigniting, fiercer than before. "Then let's test that."
She thrust her hand forward, transferring every ounce of pain she'd sustained back into the Overlord. Its body writhed violently, scales rupturing, flesh unraveling into rivers of shadow. For the first time, the Serpent God screamed—not in rage, but in pain.
---
The Preparation Below
The heroes seized the moment.
Reed Richards barked orders. "Strike teams Beta and Gamma—be ready to flank if she drives it lower. Avengers, form fallback lines. Silvanna, you're with Stark on containment. X-Men, with me!"
The Fantastic Four's flame lit the skies. The Thunderbolts steadied themselves, exchanging grim nods with Helena's Sisters. Even SHIELD agents reloaded with shaking hands.
They all knew it: if Vanessa fell, they would have only seconds to throw everything they had left.
And maybe not even that.
---
Closing Beat
Above, Vanessa rose again, her body blazing like molten iron. She whispered under her breath—not for the Overlord, not for the others, but for herself:
"For the child who waited for her mother. For the girl left behind. For the woman who won't be broken."
Then she charged.
The Overlord roared, the world shuddered, and the battlefield watched in awe and terror as a single mortal defied a god.
The chapter ends with the collision—red light versus abyssal dark—shaking the fortress to its foundations, leaving everyone below bracing for either salvation… or the end.