The Damned Demon

Chapter 728  Doomed By Light

Anna was upon him in an instant.

Arthur's body reacted instinctively, his staff raised to shield himself, but even as he moved, Anna's speed outpaced him.

She was already there, her hand aimed directly at his stomach, crackling with dark yellow lightning. The air around them seemed to tremble with the tension of the clash that was about to unfold.

But as Anna's fist neared, Arthur's staff shone with a brilliant pulse of radiant white light that instantaneously shot toward her.

Anna, barely managing to twist her body due to her severe injuries from the previous battle, felt the pulse of light graze her side, sending a surge of scorching heat and cold through her body.

The frost fire burned her skin through the suit, forcing her to come to a standstill to suppress the pain, and she looked at him.

Arthur stood tall, his elegant white staff gripped tightly in his hand, the radiant crystal pulsing with the bright light of the sun. His light-infused powers were at their peak, his body humming with radiant energy. She knew Arthur had tremendous raw power—-his light magic was blinding, and his regeneration seemed to defy reason. He just seemed to get better and better compared to how he was just a few months ago.

But she knew she couldn't afford to waste time. She had to escape. She had to incapacitate him.

No matter how better he was compared to before, she was confident of defeating him despite being injured due to the large gap in combat experience between them.

Arthur could see that the Thundering Reaper was injured, tired from her earlier battle with Hellbringer and his cult.

She wasn't at full strength, yet she was still a powerful foe. He couldn't afford to underestimate her.

Without warning, she blurred forward, moving faster than Arthur could react.

A streak of lightning flashed as she aimed to strike him across the chest with a punch that crackled with raw dark yellow energy.

Arthur's instincts kicked in. He raised his staff, summoning the Lightbringer's Ascension to increase his speed.

His body shimmered with pure light, and in a fluid motion, he sidestepped her attack, his white staff glowing with a brilliant burst of energy.

He swung it down towards her, channeling the light into a shockwave of radiant energy that would have sent her flying back.

Anna twisted out of the way at the last second, narrowly avoiding the blast of light, but she could feel the heat of it against her skin, burning the air in its wake. She was fast—too fast for Arthur's power to keep up—but she was injured, and that was enough for him to exploit.

Arthur's eyes locked onto her, sensing her vulnerability. With a swift motion, he thrust his staff forward, calling on his frost-fire powers.

A cone of frosty white flames erupted from the crystal at the top of his staff, a violent mixture of ice and fire that would freeze her in place while searing her with cold flames.

Anna darted to the side, the blast catching only the edges of her suit, scorching it up in a burst of flames and frost.

She gritted her teeth, the pain from her earlier injuries flaring up, but she didn't slow down. If she gave him any ground, it would be over.

She blurred again, closing the distance between them, but this time Arthur was ready.

He held his staff firmly, and with a deep breath, activated Lightbringer's Grace—his regeneration and light attacks boosted as the sun's rays blazed overhead. His next strike came in a flash, his staff sweeping in a wide arc as beams of radiant light shot from its tip, each beam aimed to disorient the Thundering Reaper and prevent her from getting too close.

Anna's body pulsed with dark yellow energy as she dodged, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the beams entirely. One struck her shoulder, sending a shock of searing light through her body, making her stumble for a split second. The pain caused a sharp breath to escape her, but she quickly recovered, her movements more fluid than before.

No. I can't let him do this. I have to move faster. Her thoughts raced as she launched herself at him once again, her hands crackling with dark lightning.

But Arthur wasn't done yet. With a sudden movement, he slammed his staff into the ground, summoning a burst of pure light.

The desert sands around them erupted in a blinding flash as the ground beneath Anna's feet hardened, locking her in place with a ring of crystallized sand. The light from his staff burned brightly, blinding her momentarily as he prepared his next strike.

She gritted her teeth, pushing against the magical restraint with all her strength. I can't let this stop me.

Her mind sharpened as she focused on the faint crack in the light barrier surrounding her, her mental powers flaring. She could see the openings in his magic—the faint traces of vulnerability that Arthur's concentration couldn't fully maintain. His power was overwhelming, but it wasn't infallible.

Anna gathered all her strength, her body burning from the strain of the battle, and in a single, explosive motion, she shattered the light barrier. She was free.

Arthur had anticipated this move, his staff glowing as he prepared to meet her attack, but Anna was already upon him. She closed the gap with a speed that was almost impossible to follow. Her fist crackled with dark lightning as she aimed to strike him down, but Arthur raised his staff to block, the radiant white crystal shimmering as he summoned a protective shield of light to absorb the blow.

The impact was immense. Anna's punch hit the barrier, the shockwaves of energy rippling outward, but the light shield held firm. Arthur's eyes widened as he realized the depth of her power. Her combat prowess was more than he had anticipated.

Anna pressed harder, pushing against his shield, her breath heavy from the battle. I can't keep this up. She knew she was running out of time—Arthur's raw power was immense, and if she didn't end this soon, she would be overwhelmed, especially since she wasn't fighting to kill him.

With a desperate, final surge of speed, Anna twisted her body and aimed a sweeping kick toward Arthur's midsection. The blow caught him off guard, shattering his shield and sending him stumbling backward. As he struggled to regain his balance, Anna moved in, her eyes narrowing with focus.

With a swift, calculated move, she struck him again—this time directly to the chest, sending him to the sand with a powerful impact. *CRSHK!*

Arthur's body slammed into the desert floor, his staff falling from his hand as his powers flickered, momentarily drained by the clash.

Anna stood over him, her body trembling with exhaustion, but her face was set with cold determination. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice heavy with regret, before turning around to leave.

Arthur lay on the ground, his chest heaving, eyes closed, as if the weight of her blow had truly crippled him. But with her soft apology cutting through the air like a knife, something inside him snapped.

He clenched his fists, his body burning with a fresh surge of energy, a fierce determination rising up like a tidal wave. No. I can't let this happen. Not like this.

His heart thudded in his chest as he pushed himself up, his body surrounded by an aura of radiant light that flared brighter than the sun itself. The air crackled with power, the sands beneath him shifting violently as he drew on everything Ash had taught him.

He could feel the flow of his energy—his light magic, his frost-fire, all of it—combining into a single, unstoppable force.

"You…" he said, his voice no longer soft but filled with unrelenting conviction, "You don't get to apologize after everything you have done."

Anna's head snapped towards him, her eyes wide, barely able to keep up with the sudden shift in the air. The overwhelming power radiating from Arthur felt like a tidal wave crashing down on her. For a split second, fear flickered in her eyes.

Arthur raised his staff high into the air, and as he did, the desert itself seemed to respond. The sand beneath their feet trembled, the heat intensifying.

The white crystal atop his staff pulsed with blinding light as he unleashed the power he had recently learned and ingrained into him by Ash—Doomed By Light.

The power surged through him, his movements becoming a blur as he unleashed a flood of light, so bright and fast that it seemed to stretch reality itself.

Anna tried to move, tried to dodge, but Arthur was everywhere at once. The beams of light hit the ground like shards of the sun, cutting through the air with razor precision, each blast disorienting her, slowing her down. She was fast—faster than almost everything—but this power was on a different scale. Her limbs burned with the force of each light-based attack, her body struggling to keep up with the overwhelming onslaught. This was not something she could have ever predicted.

'Is this it?' Anna thought, her breath coming in short gasps. She barely had time to react as Arthur closed the distance between them. The ground beneath her feet froze in an instant, a chill that made her heart pound in her chest as frost spread like wildfire, encasing her ankles in ice.

Arthur didn't let up. His staff glowed even brighter as he sent a torrent of frost-fire towards her, the dual elements colliding in a furious explosion that sent a shockwave of heat and cold spiraling outward. "Argh!" Anna screamed in pain as the attack hit, her body wracked with the brutal combination of frost burn and fire.

She staggered backward, struggling to regain her footing, but Arthur was already upon her, his speed and power now too much to overcome.

With a final surge of his energy, Arthur summoned Lightbringer's Grace, his restorative powers already healing himself to his peak condition.

His staff moved like lightning, unleashing a devastating beam of pure light, a force that slammed into Anna's chest, throwing her off her feet. She was sent flying, her body crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

Anna lay there, her body burned and battered, her suit broken and singed, her breath shallow, exposing parts of her limbs. Her mind raced, her vision blurry. No... not like this... She could feel her energy waning, her body too damaged to fight back. She struggled to move, but her limbs felt like lead.

She can't let him see like this…She couldn't believe it…One of her worst nightmares was actually coming true.

Arthur stepped forward, his staff still glowing with a faint light, the power slowly subsiding as he knelt beside her. His chest rose and fell with exertion, but his eyes burned with determination. He wasn't finished yet.

Anna's eyes flickered open as she lay helpless, staring up at him, "Don't…" she whispered, her voice raspy. "Please..." She wanted to beg him not to get any closer, but she couldn't find her voice properly.

Arthur didn't answer her words, his gaze fixed firmly on her mask as he kneeled down beside her.

His hand moved towards her face, his fingers trembling slightly with the weight of what he had done. He had fought for justice. He had fought for the greater good. And now, as he reached for her mask, he wondered what face this evil had.

With a sudden motion, he tore the mask away, his heart pounding as the face beneath was revealed.

His breath caught in his throat....his surroundings fading away as if all his senses were forced to focus on what was before him.

It couldn't be.

Staring back at him, her eyes wide and filled with something he couldn't quite place, was a face he recognized. A face that always echoed in his heart and soul.

It was Anna.