Chapter 20 – Dance of Steel and Stars
The impact was immediate.
Valen, in a flash of white light, sliced through the air, his sword tracing a line of pure energy.
The ground shook from the strike — a shockwave swept across the field, scattering dust and debris.
The creature, however, did not move.
It had blocked the blow… with its bare hands.
Valen landed backward, surprised, then a carnivorous grin spread across his face.
> — "Impressive."
He spun with agile precision, feinted, then unleashed a lightning-fast kick.
The entity dodged without even moving — the space around it seemed to bend, protecting it.
> — "Oh? You dance well," Valen murmured, stepping back slightly, his sword vibrating between his fingers.
A heavy silence fell.
The creature slowly lifted its head.
Two crimson eyes opened, burning like stars of blood.
Its body reshaped itself, its contours sharpening: a humanoid silhouette — short black hair, two obsidian horns emerging from its skull.
Its aura twisted the light itself, as though reality refused to accept its existence.
Zarion, arms crossed in the back, let out a quiet sigh.
> — "He's already stopped holding back…"
Around them, the hunters held their breath. No one dared to move.
The being finally spoke, its voice echoing like something from beyond this world.
> — "Pathetic mortals… Behold this body, this power that surpasses you.
I am Nyzorath, born before your gods.
Today marks your extinction."
A mere gesture of its hand — and the world twisted.
A cataclysmic wave erupted, cracking the ground, warping matter itself.
Valen bent under the pressure, one knee sinking into the dirt, dust swirling around him.
Instead of breaking… he laughed.
> — "Oh yeah… I like this level."
He rose slowly, a blazing light flickering in his eyes.
His red irises formed a five-pointed star, pulsing with an eerie glow.
> — "You're no simple dungeon boss. You're special. You're abnormal.
And my job… is to hunt your kind."
Nyzorath let out a thunderous laugh.
> — "You've seen nothing yet, hunter."
Valen stepped forward, the air around him vibrating, and glanced toward Zarion.
> — "You sure you want to stay a spectator? I can't promise this battlefield will survive."
Zarion narrowed his eyes. Instinct screamed that this creature was not of this world.
But Valen was already consumed by the fire of combat.
> — "Go ahead," Zarion replied simply. "I'll handle things here."
> — "Tssk. Lazy bastard. Alright then—come on, pretty boy, let's continue."
Valen leapt, almost invisible to the naked eye.
The collision was titanic — their blades clashed, unleashing waves and flashes that cracked through the air.
Nyzorath parried a horizontal slash, pivoted, and swept the air with a blade of pure black energy.
Valen blocked, stepped back, then found an opening — a kick to the chest.
The demon was hurled backward, carving a trench in the earth before standing again, furious.
> — "Wretched… I'll annihilate you!"
Nyzorath's voice distorted; it teleported behind Valen, its sword crackling with dark energy, unleashing a storm of slashes — faster than sight, as if the blade came from every direction at once.
Valen's eyes blazed. Crimson chains surrounded by divine radiance appeared at his command.
> — "Divine Embrace!"
The chains coiled around Nyzorath, imprisoning it in a burning lattice of sacred energy.
The creature screamed; its brute strength made the air tremble, and with a colossal surge, the chains shattered, scattering into shards of light.
Zarion, watching every move, frowned.
Valen turned toward him, panting but smiling.
> — "Zarion…"
Zarion answered without taking his eyes off Nyzorath.
> — "I know. That thing… it recognizes you. It's feeding off your presence."
A shadow crossed Valen's gaze — a fleeting memory he should never have had.
The portal behind Nyzorath pulsed in sync with the battle.
> — "So that's it…" Zarion murmured.
"This isn't a simple invasion. It's a resonance."
Valen tightened his grip on his sword, his features hardening, determination burning in his eyes.
> — "Then I'll show it who I am."
Zarion nodded.
> — "Alright. I'll handle whatever comes through the portal."
The two hunters stood side by side, ready, as the darkness of the portal pulsed —
a prelude to a much greater storm.
---
Chapter 21 – The Awakening of Judgment
The clash of battle faded.
Only the wind remained — carrying sparks of suspended magic — and the portal, still open, spewing twisted monsters.
Zarion stepped forward.
His eyes glowed coldly.
A single glance froze the creatures — paralyzed by pure terror.
Then, with a precise movement of his hand, silver threads shot from his fingers, wrapping around their throats.
> — "Rest in the void."
A snap of his fingers — and the heads fell, soundlessly.
The blood evaporated before it could touch the ground, dissolved by Zarion's spiritual energy.
Without pause, he directed his threads toward the open portal.
They coiled around the vortex, tightening, compressing, then sealed it with a muffled crack of thunder.
Silence fell again.
Heavy. Almost sacred.
> — "How dare you kill my minions!?" Nyzorath roared, his voice tearing through the air.
Valen, still facing the entity, didn't answer immediately.
The mocking smile was gone.
He stared at Nyzorath, solemn — as if recognizing something disturbingly familiar in this abomination.
> — "You're worthy," he murmured.
"Worthy… for me to draw the Sword of Judgment."
Nyzorath laughed bitterly.
> — "Arrogant insect! Who do you think you are? I, the Lord of Destruction, lose to you!?"
But his voice died as the light changed.
A blinding radiance erupted around Valen.
The air vibrated, the ground trembled, and a divine wave swept the plain.
The wind twisted into a spiral of pure energy.
Valen slowly raised his hand, and a circle of golden and black energy opened behind him.
From it emerged a blade — long, silver and black, set with moving stars.
Each star seemed to breathe.
It was as if the universe itself had condensed into metal.
The Sword of Judgment.
The stars in Valen's eyes, until then still, began to spin — slowly at first, then faster and faster.
Filaments of white and black energy coiled around him, merging into an unstable, almost divine aura.
Zarion stepped back instinctively.
> — "Wait… that's not Valen anymore…"
No.
It wasn't Valen.
Something immense, ancient — something dormant within him — had awakened.
Valen, or whatever he had become, lifted his head.
His voice was calm… but each word struck like a divine decree.
> — "Shall I erase you from my sight…
or judge you by the sword?"
Nyzorath, once arrogant, froze.
Her crimson eyes flickered.
A primal terror crept into her expression.
> — "You are… Vael…" she whispered.
"Impossible… you can't be him…"
The sky darkened instantly.
The stars in Valen's eyes pulsed like twin suns.
Silent lightning tore through the clouds.
Then suddenly, Valen faltered.
He clutched his head; his breath hitched. The sword vibrated, uncertain.
> — "What… did I just say…?"
His hands shook.
The light around him flickered — unstable, uncontrollable.
Zarion leapt to his side, gripping his shoulder firmly.
> — "Focus.
You're not him.
Not yet."
Valen closed his eyes.
The energy slowly faded.
The stars in his pupils slowed, softening to a human glow.
> — "Damn it…
I felt… something.
Like I wasn't myself.
Like my body was obeying an ancient will."
Zarion said nothing.
He had seen it — that transformation — and he knew: this was only a fraction of Valen's true power.
> — "Remember that you're human, Valen.
That's why people respect you."
Valen sighed, half-smiling.
> — "Alright…
But admit it — the sword was awesome, right?"
Zarion raised an eyebrow.
> — "Awesome, yeah.
Terrifying, too."
Valen turned back toward Nyzorath.
The entity no longer moved.
Its aura had changed.
It was afraid.
Her crimson eyes trembled; her once-thundering voice came out as a whisper.
> — "Vael… the slayer of divinities… survived…?"
Valen didn't reply.
But in the reflection of his blade, a shadow flickered —
the silhouette of a being even the gods once feared.
---
Chapter 22 – The Sword Beyond Laws
The calm that followed was deceptive.
Everything seemed frozen since the Sword of Judgment appeared.
Even the wind refused to blow. Even light hesitated to exist.
Zarion watched the blade with a grave expression.
He wasn't easily impressed — but this was different.
He felt something alive in the air, vibrating beyond this world.
Valen, still catching his breath, stared at the weapon hovering above his hand.
A strange gleam flickered in his eyes.
> — "It answered me…
As if it recognized me," he murmured.
Silence fell — heavy as a chasm.
Then, a voice spoke.
Ancient. Incomprehensible.
It came from nowhere, and everywhere.
> — "Sword of Judgment… forged outside creation… acknowledged only by anti-creation."
The words resonated like a truth even gods had tried to forget.
Zarion stepped back, breath caught.
> — "That sword… I've heard of it," he whispered.
"It's one of the Lost Relics.
Even divinities speak of it in fear. It's—"
Valen cut him off calmly.
> — "—a weapon that obeys no law, no logic.
It grants its wielder any power they desire.
And if the wielder wills it… it can erase an entire world."
Zarion frowned, trying to meet his gaze — and saw, for a fleeting second, a shadow behind Valen.
A figure so vast that reality itself seemed to shudder.
Valen's fingers trembled slightly, as though brushing against a memory not his own.
> — "It's quiet now," he said softly.
"It's waiting for me.
Faithful. Absolute."
A faint smile crossed his lips.
> — "And it's not even the strongest of his weapons."
Zarion clenched his jaw.
> — "Wait. You mean… there's worse than that?"
Valen sighed, gaze distant.
> — "It's not me speaking…
It's like Vael's memories are overlapping mine.
A distant echo… a voice that never died."
Zarion stayed silent.
The name Vael still rang in his mind like an open wound.
> — "And the sword?" he asked finally.
Valen raised his hand.
The blade moved toward him gently, obeying without a word.
It rested in his palm with near-affectionate docility.
Runes glowed along its edge, breathing, shifting like living symbols.
> — "It can only be wielded by Vael… or his incarnations.
It's alive.
And it chose me."
A deep pulse rippled through the ground, as if the world itself agreed.
Zarion's skin prickled; the air grew heavy, saturated with an unfathomable power.
> — "It has no fixed form," Valen continued.
"It adapts to my will.
It's the reflection of my desire —
a weapon of nothingness, shaped by thought alone."
Zarion shook his head, both awed and unsettled.
> — "Okay…
Remind me never to piss you off."
Valen glanced at him sideways, smirking.
> — "Too late."
A surge of energy coursed through the blade, splitting the air.
A thin tear formed in the sky — and vanished just as quickly.
The air vibrated once more… then fell silent.
Zarion frowned.
> — "Did you just… break the fabric of reality?
Just by breathing with it?"
Valen sheathed the weapon slowly, not answering.
His eyes dimmed, a divine shiver coursing through his being.
> — "No…
It's breathing through me."
---
Chapter 23 – The Forbidden Name
The wind had died.
Nothing moved. Even light seemed to hold its breath.
Nyzorath still hadn't moved.
His body trembled slightly.
Instinct screamed for him to flee — but a deeper, older force rooted him in place.
Fear.
Not the fear born of danger…
But the kind engraved into the bones of gods.
Valen calmly reached behind his back.
The Sword of Judgment slid free, releasing a sound so pure it made the air vibrate.
Sparks of energy danced across its edge, like fragments of burning stars.
His eyes had changed — two galaxies rotating violently, distorting the light within their orbit.
Then, he spoke a word.
An ancient word.
A forgotten word.
A word even the gods had erased from their scriptures, afraid it might one day echo again.
> — "N'Aezrah'Vael."
It wasn't a name.
It was an invocation.
A primordial vibration that reality itself tried to flee from.
At that instant, Nyzorath turned and ran.
He tore himself from the ground, black torn wings unfurling, slicing through the air in blind panic.
But fear consumed him from within. His mind fractured.
> — "Vael…! Impossible… he was erased…!"
His once-thundering voice became a whisper in eternity —
a cry even the stars refused to hear.
The world around them collapsed into unreal silence.
Zarion's heartbeat slowed.
The sky darkened into endless black.
Clocks stopped.
Even shadows seemed to recoil, erased by a presence too vast to comprehend.
Valen slowly lowered his arm.
The sword vibrated — not in anger, but in joy.
It finally recognized its true name.
> — "I condemn you…"
— "…to drown in the despair of Time."
A silent wave swept through the air — unseen, yet absolute.
Reality cracked like glass.
Nyzorath screamed.
Her body was swallowed by a vortex of moments belonging to no timeline.
She relived her birth, her glory, her fall, her fear, her solitude…
Again.
And again.
Endlessly.
> — "It's… unfair…" she whispered, before her voice vanished beyond time.
Valen lowered his gaze, his eyes human once more.
> — "It's not unfair," he said coldly.
— "It's Judgment."
A long silence followed.
The winds returned, softly restoring a fragile normalcy.
Zarion, still frozen, exhaled slowly.
> — "Dude… that was completely overkill."
Valen sheathed the blade, looking tired but satisfied.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
> — "Told you I had it under control."
Zarion raised an eyebrow, smirking.
> — "Yeah, sure — you just erased someone from history.
That's not 'control,' that's divine Vael mode."
Valen shrugged.
> — "Hey… shouldn't have pissed me off."
The Sword vibrated once, like a beast purring after a hunt.
Its light faded, and its divine aura vanished — leaving behind nothing but cold steel.
Valen reached out, storing it within his dimensional space.
> — "We'll talk later," he murmured to the blade.
The weapon pulsed faintly, like a distant heartbeat.
And in the calm sky above, one lone star shone brighter than the rest —
the one that still bore, silently, the name N'Aezrah'Vael.
---
Chapter 24 – The Weight of Judgment
After the portal closed, silence ruled.
A heavy silence.
Not of relief…
But of disbelief.
The hunters stared at Valen, speechless.
Some were on their knees; others stared at the sky, as if it might offer an answer.
Even the members of the High Council, usually so quick to judge, stood frozen — crushed by the weight of what they'd just witnessed.
Zarion approached, hands in his pockets, his tone halfway between serious and amused.
> — "You know… there's a difference between handling things and traumatizing half the planet."
Valen shrugged, smirking.
> — "Had to make a statement. That wasn't an S-rank portal — it was a provocation."
— "That entity knew my name."
Zarion raised an eyebrow.
> — "Yeah, and you responded with the cosmic equivalent of a nuke."
Valen chuckled.
> — "I call that being clear."
A pause stretched between them, broken only by the wind sweeping over the battlefield.
Zarion sighed — human again, for a moment.
But in Valen's smile lingered something unsettling — a glint from elsewhere.
Suddenly, a High Council member stepped forward, red robe trembling, voice wavering.
> — "Hunter Valen… you invoked a forbidden weapon.
The Sword of Judgment is listed under the Banishment Edicts.
No living being—"
Valen turned slightly, his gaze freezing the man in place.