Bradly's smile widened into sothing cruel and coiled as he felt the satisfying crunch of bone beneath his fist. The Neo-Demon's chest caved slightly, and the sound of cracking ribs filled the air. Victory tasted near-until his expression froze.
Before Cain's body could be hurled away, his right hand shot upward, two fingers extended. They pressed lightly against the space between Bradly's brows.
A flash of golden light. A weightless touch.
And then terror flared in the Neo-Angel's eyes.
He knew that technique.
Inside his divine body, his life force and soul essence diverged from their natural paths - one flowing upward, the other downward. The two currents crossed violently, clashing with catastrophic force.
Cain was thrown backward, blood spilling from his mouth, but even through the pain, a grim smile tugged at his lips.
A heartbeat later, blood burst from every orifice in Bradly's face - nose, eyes, mouth as the Flow Point detonated. His consciousness flickered for a split second, and his massive body staggered, light dimming in his eyes.
Cain's ribs were shattered. His chest burned with agony. But he ignored it. Drawing on the immortal energy of his Depravita Aura, he forced his ruined body to twist midair, channeling every shred of strength left within him.
He landed, pivoted, and surged forward. "Apocalypse Blast!"
His roar echoed through the Fourth Ring.
A sphere of condensed Neo-Demon aura detonated point-blank
against Bradly's head. The explosion sent shockwaves screaming through the plains, and for a mont, it seed the Neo-Angel's skull might tear free from his neck.
But Bradly's eyes snapped open a heartbeat later, glowing once more. His consciousness surged back-and with it ca pure cold rage.
His counterattack ca instantly.
"BOOM!"
The Neo-Angel's fist slamd into Cain's face with earth-shattering power. Bones cracked audibly. Blood sprayed into the air.
Cain staggered back but smiled. The pain was imnse, but it wasn't lethal. Bradly had recovered his senses-but not his control. The damage to his brain and soul dinsion crippled his energy control, forcing him to rely on raw physical strength alone.
And that, Cain could endure.
He bit down, drove his feet into the ground, and lunged forward. His counterpunch landed squarely, smashing Bradly's face to the side.
The two locked eyes, both glowing with killing intent and unstoppable will.
Neither flinched. Neither backed down.
Bradly couldn't channel energy. Cain's shattered chest hindered his movents. What followed was not a battle of gods, but a brutal, primal exchange of will and endurance.
Bradly's fist crashed into Cain's ribs, pulverizing bone. Blood erupted from the Neo-Demon's mouth. Cain twisted, using the montum to drive his fist into Bradly's left shoulder-the sa one he had already ruined earlier.
Bradly's face contorted. The joint had long since turned to mangled flesh and splintered bone. Now it felt as if molten tal was being poured through it.
Snarling, he retaliated. His elbow lashed forward, splitting Cain's forehead open. Blood stread down the Neo-Demon's face as he struck back imdiately, his fist hamring the first Flow Point he had damaged in Bradly's chest.
Bradly gagged, coughing divine blood, feeling as if he were drowning in molten gold.
"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
"AAARRGGHHHH!"
Their roars collided like thunder.
The Neo-Angel and Neo-Demon tore into each other, ignoring pain, ignoring reason. Every punch was a declaration. I will not fall before
you.
Blood stained the obsidian ground. The sky above wept falling stars. Their bodies cracked and burned, but neither gave an inch.
Cain's vision blurred. He could feel bones breaking faster than they could heal. His chest was collapsing inward, his breath shallow and
ragged.
Bradly's body, in turn, was dissolving from within. The crimson flas of Cain's energy corroded him, burning away his life force little by
little.
The fight beca a storm of pain and pride.
Then, after one last uppercut that snapped Bradly's head back, the Neo-Angel's eyes blazed again. The turquoise glow deepened,
steadying into perfect focus.
His soul dinsion had stabilized.
Power surged through him like a tidal wave. Divine energy coursed
through every vein once more.
He didn't waste a second.
Bradly drew all that energy into his right arm. The turquoise light
around it expanded until it looked like a small sun. The air scread as he swung forward, a strike faster and stronger than any before. Cain could feel death rushing toward him. The blow carried enough power to erase his body and soul in one instant.
Bradly's grin returned, cruel and exultant. He could already see Cain's
skull shattering under his fist.
But then-
All the power in his strike vanished.
The Neo-Angel blinked in disbelief as his unstoppable fist ca to a sudden halt, t not by a weapon, but by two fingers.
A haunting sense of déjà vu pierced his mind.
He rembered ylin doing the sa. The sa gesture. The sa touch. The sa impossible redirection that turned his power against
him.
And Cain's domain was even greater.
The Neo-Demon's technique was faster, sharper, more ruthless. His left hand had taken the full force of the blow, absorbing the energy through his fingers and channeling it down his core. His stomach clenched as the energy condensed, purified, and waited. Lightning reflexes took over. Cain's right hand shot upward, aiming
for Bradly's head.
But the Neo-Angel blocked.
Despite the agony in his left arm-an arm that should no longer even move-Bradly forced it upward, intercepting Cain's strike. The motion shredded the last remnants of muscle and bone, but he didn't care.
He had stopped it.
The right hand could not aim at him, and if detonated away, but
Bradly didn't believe it would be enough to end him. He smirked,
blood dripping from his lips.
"I win," he said softly.
Cain t his gaze-calm, defiant.
Then he opened his mouth, but not to speak.
Bradly's smile faltered. Confusion flashed across his face-followed by
horror.
Because the energy never went into Cain's right hand. It was rising up through his throat.
A torrent of light burst from the Neo-Demon's mouth, pure
destructive energy screaming outward.
"Bastard-!"
That was the Neo-Angel's final word before the blast consud him.
The beam struck like the judgnt of a god. It wasn't fire. It wasn't light. It was annihilation given form - a pillar of Alpha-Oga raw energy that tore through the Fourth Ring, swallowing Bradly whole.
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