The weapon showdown had been raging for several minutes when Sephiran, awakened by the crashing of blades and shields, bolted toward the cave, sweat gleaming on his small body. Fear, worry, and anger all surged at once.
"M-Mother!"
He froze for a mont as he saw Maddy locked in battle with Arach—he didn’t yet know who this other figure was.
"I’ll save you, Mother!"
Clutching his War Bat like a knight with his trusty sword, he charged forward, voice trembling but fierce:
"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MOTHER, Y-YOU DEMON!!!"
Maddy’s eyes widened as she saw him rushing in. Her focus wavered, her parries faltering—but she acted instantly. Using Serpentine Locomotion, her feet slithered across the ground, evading Arach’s next strike in a blur.
"BACK AWAY, SWEETIE! This is your brother, Arach! We... we were just exercising! Stay back, okay? Just watch how we fight!"
Her words cut through the tension, grounding both the boy and the battle before it could spiral out of control.
Sephiran skidded to a halt, War Bat trembling in his hands, chest heaving. His wide eyes darted between Maddy and the towering, four-ard figure of Arach.
"B-Brother?! MY BROTHER! WOOAAHH... he... he looks so AMAZING!"
His grip on the War Bat loosened slightly, though his knuckles were still white. He shuffled a few steps back, eyes fixed on Arach, who had lowered his stance but remained alert.
"Y-Yeah... okay... I’ll... I’ll just... watch!"
Sephiran’s eyes sparkled, the tension easing as he realized this wasn’t a real fight—just practice. Even from far, he felt a thrill, imagining himself a knight protecting his mother.
"This... this is incredible! Look at how Mother fights with my brother Arach... I want to grow up and exercise with Mother too!"
Arach didn’t waste the opportunity. He readied all six arms for a ranged attack, opening his jaws wide. From his hands, he unleashed a rapid barrage of compressed mineral shards, each coated in highly acidic fluid. With his internal pressure sacs, every projectile shot forward at terrifying speed.
The scene was like a machine gun—shards raining down on Maddy in a blinding storm. Yet, instead of fear, she looked exhilarated.
"Wow! Look at him go! He’s stacking his traits! Those shards are Mineralized Projectiles, dipped in Corrosive Saliva, and accelerated by Pressure Spit... it’s a biological masterpiece! Absolutely EGGCELENT!"
Maddy extinguished her weapons in her hands and began drawing light into her palms, letting it gather and hum with energy.
"Bad luck for you. You’re not the only one who can shoot things! Absolute Light Manipulation: Radiant Rain!"
A torrent of glowing light darts erupted from her palms, each one seeking out a shard. The cavern filled with the sound of a thousand tiny explosions—bullets colliding mid-air. One by one, the mineral shards were vaporized into bursts of holy steam, leaving the air shimring with a golden, prismatic haze. Not a single drop of acid touched her skin.
Sephiran watched the prismatic haze, jaw dropped, eyes sparkling.
"Woah... it’s so beautiful..."
Just as the prismatic haze began to settle, Maddy felt it—a sense of sothing ominous, the sa feeling she’d sensed when using her Hellmouth, or when the demonic Ogre Chief enhanced his body with dark power.
"Do not tell ..."
Arach’s six eyes narrowed, the secondary pupils dilating as he processed the neutralization of his projectiles. He didn’t reset his stance; instead, he lowered his center of gravity, all six arms digging into the stone floor using Seismic Anchor.
"Your light is brilliant, Mother..."
Arach rumbled, his voice dropping into a demonic register.
"But even light cast a shadow."
He activated Demonic Blood Art. A sickening, dark crimson mist seeped from his pores, instantly coiling around his limbs. He then channeled his Lightning Elent, but the typical blue sparks were instantly corrupted. The electricity turned a jagged, abyssal blacl and red, crackling with a sound like tearing tal.
"DΣMӨПIᄃ BᄂӨӨD ΛЯƬ: Blood Bolt!"
Arach threw his unhinged jaw forward. A gargantuan beam of corrupted, tri color lightning shrieked across the cavern. This wasn’t just energy; because of the Blood Art, it carried True Damage, a strike designed to ignore every physical and magical law of protection.
Maddy’s instincts scread. She knew her natural resistance wouldn’t save her from a direct hit.
"He’s going all out... very good, my son. That bolt would have turned to ash if I couldn’t block it! Absolute Light Manipulation: Shiny Shield!"
She threw her hands up as hexagonal plates of condensed light materialized. The black lightning slamd into them.
CRACK!
The shield shattered instantly, leaving Maddy staggered in shock. Before the bolt hit her, she activated her skill again.
"Shiny Shield!"
Another condensed light barrier ford—but she could feel herself being pushed back. Cracks began spidering across the shield.
"Not enough... another one! No—six of them! Shiny Shield, Shiny Shield, Shiny Shield, Shiny Shield, Shiny Shield, Shiny Shield!"
The shields stacked, translucent like a honeycomb. They held—for now—but she needed more stability.
To brace herself, Maddy activated Rapid Burrowing and Earth Mobility. She didn’t retreat; she anchored her feet half-deep into the bedrock, fusing herself with the cave itself. As the first shield disintegrated, she began to push back.
"Now push! Argh!"
Slowly, she drove forward toward Arach.
"Is that all you’ve got, Arach?!"
The sixth front shield blazed a blinding, neon white as it absorbed the full kinetic force of the black lightning. Maddy’s body vibrated violently, her skin glowing so fiercely it looked as if her veins carried molten gold.
One by one, the other shields also flared, each radiating a sun-like brilliance fueled by Arach’s demonic power.
"I am... at my limit! But I won’t give up... argh! RAAAAH!"
Arach roared, muscles bulging as he poured every ounce of vitality into the beam.
"Now for the last light show... I’ll send your bolt back to you!"
Buried in the earth, Maddy lunged forward, driving the six overloaded Shiny Shields straight into the path of the attack.
"SIX FOLD FLASH BURST!"
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