Far across the battlefield, Asahel was still locked in combat with Gaia and Umgadi.
The two Archon goddesses pressed at him relentlessly, with their coordination flawless as they forced him to defend from multiple angles at once.
But the mont Lilith’s voice touched his mind, Asahel’s eyes widened slightly.
Then he stopped defending. His black wings spread wide, and in that instant, two more wings erupted from his back.
The sudden surge of power was imdiate and overwhelming, forcing both Gaia and Umgadi to stop mid-attack and float backward abruptly, putting distance between themselves and Asahel.
Their eyes widened in shock as they felt the sheer magnitude of energy radiating from him. Before this, each of them could have matched him individually if not for his Rebellion. But now? Now it felt like he had risen a step further in strength, reaching a level that put him beyond either of them.
Asahel then raised his right hand high above his head, and a massive white magic circle ford in the air above all of them, so large it seed to encompass the entire upper battlefield.
"Maximus Rebellion," Asahel said, in a calm voice that carried authority.
Then everything changed.
Maximus Rebellion was not like the standard Rebellion Asahel had been using throughout the battle.
This was the Grace’s true power. It didn’t target a single spell or ability, It targeted everyone.
Umgadi, Gaia, Adam... and even Lilith herself.
Maximus Rebellion granted consciousness to everything about the target; heir abilities, their thoughts, their bodily functions, their weapons, and even the divine energy flowing through them.
Umgadi gasped as her constellation patterns suddenly began moving erratically across her skin, no longer responding to her will. She gripped her staff tightly with both hands, struggling to maintain control as the weapon itself tried to pull away from her grasp.
Gaia fought to keep herself together—her mind, her weapon, her very form. Even the buttons holding their clothes in place had gained consciousness and were attempting to tear themselves free.
Behind Umgadi, the miniature planets orbiting her spun wildly out of control. So collided with each other violently as they acted on their newfound awareness, no longer bound to her command.
A series of explosions erupted from the collisions engulfing both goddesses in the blast.
——
Far across the battlefield in space, Adam who had the Holy Grail in his hand, and he had even begun speaking the words of his wish.
"I wish for—"
Imdiately felt everything within himself begin to spin out of control.
His thoughts fragnted, and each individual idea gained autonomy, refusing to align with the others. His mind splintered into competing impulses that pulled in different directions, making it impossible to form a coherent sentence.
And if words could not form to make a wish, then the Grail’s power would never activate.
Lilith herself was not spared from Maximus Rebellion’s effects. Her own thoughts scattered, her magic rebelled against her control.
But she had expected this so she didn’t bother trying to resist or regain composure.
She had chosen Asahel to execute this plan for precisely this reason. If she had acted herself, Adam would have anticipated it and would have prepared counterasures.
But Asahel? Adam hadn’t seen this coming from him. And right now, with his four wings unfurled and his Grace fully awakened, Asahel’s power as both half-angel and half-Archon had risen to a level comparable to both Lilith and Adam themselves.
As both struggled against the chaos consuming them, the blast radius from Umgadi’s exploding miniature planets expanded outward rapidly, crossing the distance between battlefields in seconds.
The cascading explosions reached and engulfed them both.
——
The smoke from the cascading explosions began to clear, revealing Asahel erging from the aftermath.
Burns marked his skin where the blast had caught him as he hadn’t escaped the radius himself, but his four wings still beat powerfully as he pushed through the haze.
His eyes locked onto Adam’s weakened form struggling in the distance.
Adam saw him coming. Through the chaos of his fragnting thoughts, so part of him recognized the danger.
He tried to react and envision a defense through his Law, but the words wouldn’t form. His thoughts still refused to align, with each one fighting against the others for dominance.
Asahel moved with blinding speed, propelling him forward in a direct path toward the All-Father.
Adam raised one hand instinctively in another attempt, but his divine energy surged erratically, refusing his commands.
Asahel’s hand shot forward and grabbed the Holy Grail.
Adam’s eyes widened in horror, but he couldn’t do anything except watch as Asahel turned imdiately and flew back toward Lilith.
The mont he reached her, Asahel took her hand gently and whispered, "Release."
The Rebellion affecting Lilith dissolved instantly. Her body stopped fighting against her.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself, then turned her gaze toward Asahel as he extended the Holy Grail toward her with both hands.
She took the chalice from him as a triumphant smile spread across her face.
"Well done, my son."
Then she turned her gaze toward Adam, still struggling against the effects of Maximus Rebellion. Though the ability’s hold on a being of his level was beginning to wear off, he remained disoriented and weakened.
Lilith raised the Holy Grail before her and spoke her first wish aloud.
"I wish for Adam to fall into eternal slumber."
The Grail glowed with brilliant golden light and its radiance washing over endless space.
Adam felt the effect take hold imdiately and tried to fight it. His divine will surged against the Grail’s power.
But the Holy Grail was absolute.
It was one of the Relics of the First Dawn, an artifact capable of standing against even the might of dragons. There was nothing the Eldest God could do against that.
Adam’s golden eyes dimd. His body went slack and his limbs fell limp. After a mont more, his eyes closed shut.
It wasn’t death. Gods of his level couldn’t be killed so easily, and a wish of such nature would only backfire, causing untold catastrophic effects.
Lilith knew this, and understood exactly how this item worked. It was, after all, a gift from their Creator.
So she had chosen a more comprehensible wish instead. A sleep from which Adam would never wake unless the Grail’s power was sohow undone
Lilith watched with satisfaction as the All-Father’s form hung motionless in space.
Asahel suddenly coughed, raising his hand to cover his mouth. When he pulled it away, blood splattered across his palm. His eyes widened in shock.
Lilith placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You affected multiple high-level beings at once," she said. "It was too much strain on your body. You can stop using that power now."
She paused, then added with a proud smile, "You’ve done more than enough."
Asahel nodded slowly, then released his hold on Maximus Rebellion. The massive white magic circle above them flickered first then dissolved into blobs of light .
The mont it faded, two figures shot toward them.Gaia and Umgadi, now free from the ability’s effects, were already closing the distance with fury blazing in their eyes.
Asahel moved instinctively to draw his sword, but Lilith raised her other hand calmly. "Don’t worry," she said.
"Let ."
She lifted her palm toward the approaching goddesses. The mont they entered range, Lilith clenched her hand into a fist.
Red aura erupted around both Gaia and Umgadi, seizing them mid-flight and locking them in place.
They struggled violently against the force of her magic, but it held them completely.
Lilith pulled her clenched fist backward in a smooth motion, and both goddesses were dragged toward her against their will.
When they were close enough, Lilith spoke in a cold voice.
"I should make you both share the sa fate as your father," she said. "But that consu much of this Grail’s power. So for now..."
She brought her clenched fist downward sharply.
Both Gaia and Umgadi plumted instantly, their bodies hurtling down through the sky like falling teorites. They crashed into Eden’s ground far below with devastating force.
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