Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)-Chapter 157: Deleting light

The giant Sentinel roars as it raises one of its radiant swords high, its blade blazing like a miniature sun. With a deafening crack, it swings downward.

A colossal arc of pure light howls toward us, tearing through the air with blinding force.

Alter does not flinch.

She steps forward into the storm, black wings unfurling wide like a demon unleashed, and swings Sheol.

Chaos Destruction: Rampage. First Swing.

The greatsword howls.

A black arc of darkness, thick as a canyon and faster than a thunderclap, rips from Sheol's edge and crashes headlong into the oncoming light.

The two forces meet in midair.

Light and darkness collide with a sound like a world shattering. Space bends under the clash, ripples of violent distortion exploding outward, flinging broken energy across the battlefield.

Both arcs consume each other, grinding into nothingness.

But the giant Sentinel does not stop.

With two more of its massive arms, it hurls twin sword slashes at us, fast enough to scream against the very fabric of space.

Alter answers immediately.

Second swing. Third swing.

Two more howls of darkness erupt from Sheol, slicing through the air like razors. They meet the oncoming light, exploding in violent collisions that crack the skies above.

Each clash tears holes in reality, thin fractures of purple-black lightning webbing across the space around us.

The Sentinel roars again, maddened now, enraged.

It charges forward, four arms moving as one, each blade slashing faster, harder.

Chiu! Chiu! Chiu! Chiu!

Blinding arcs of divine light spiral toward us, massive enough to cleave mountains in two.

Alter grins wildly, blood singing in her veins.

She spins, wings flashing, Sheol howling.

Fourth swing.

Fifth swing.

Sixth swing!

One after another, arcs of darkness slice through the torrents of light, crashing into them midair and reducing them to raw, crackling mist.

Above, space twists.

Below, the ground is long gone, replaced by a chaotic sea of lightstorms and rifts.

The entire dimension groans beneath the force of their clash, trembling, splitting, ringing with invisible bells of agony.

Still, Alter does not yield.

Her movements grow faster, more savage, each swing of Sheol heavier than the last, black mana boiling from her body.

Sword against sword, arc against arc, until—

"HAAAAA!!!"

Alter roars,

The 44th Slash.

The arc of darkness erupts from Sheol like a tidal wave, thicker, denser, like a raw wound in reality itself.

It meets the Sentinel's light once more—

But this time, it is not stopped.

The darkness devours the light, tears through it, unstoppable.

The black arc smashes into the giant's arm and—

SLASH!

The monstrous limb, sword and all, is sheared clean off in a burst of dissolving light.

The Sentinel shrieks, its voice a terrible, echoing screech that shakes the heavens, a sound strong enough to flatten mountains—

But our dulled senses, already numbed from soul sacrifice, barely register the pain.

Alter does not stop.

Before the creature can recover, she is already moving.

VZZZT! VZZZT! VZZZT!

Three more slashes cut through the air like living scythes.

The once-mighty Sentinel reels in the sky, crippled and broken. Its massive form shudders, wings flailing helplessly, entire limbs severed and trailing wisps of fading light.

It is vulnerable now.

One more push.

Just a few more slashes!

"Go, ALTER! GOOOO!!" I scream from deep within.

Alter roars in answer, her voice raw and electric.

Once again, she drives Sheol forward.

"HAAAAA!!!"

The Forty-Eighth Swing.

A black arc rips from Sheol, wide and furious, splitting the air apart.

Then the Forty-Ninth Swing follows immediately, crossing paths with the first, creating a massive, black X of death hurtling through the sky.

The crippled Sentinel raises its remaining wings in desperate defense, crossing them before its glowing chest like a barrier of burning light.

But it is too late.

The crossed arcs of pure darkness do not stop.

They slam into the Sentinel's wings with a brutal, grinding force, carving through the celestial feathers and divine armor like a blade through paper.

FWOOM!!

The wings are ripped apart, disintegrating into showers of fractured light. The arcs bite deeper still, gouging straight into the Sentinel's torso.

A colossal, gaping wound tears open across its body.

From within the sundered chest, a blazing core of mana is revealed — a swirling sphere of pure light, beating like a heart on the edge of collapse.

There it is.

The core. The true target.

This is it!

"LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!!!" I scream.

BOOM!

Alter answers with action, bursting forward in a sonic boom.

The air splits around us as we rocket straight toward the wounded giant. Black wings slice the turbulence behind us, and in a blink, we are there — standing face to face with the fading colossus, so close we can see the cracks running through its core.

Alter lifts Sheol high overhead.

The blade is monstrous now, quivering with built-up power, its fourth eye blazing wide open.

The energy gathered from the forty-nine swings howls in the sword's bones, a black storm ready to be unleashed.

This blow would end it all.

Our victory is just one strike away.

But then—

"Felicia, my time is up," Alter says quietly, her voice a whisper inside me.

My heart stutters.

"What?! WAIT!!!"

But it's too late.

Her presence slips away, and with that, the control of the body falls to me.

I stumble forward, Sheol still raised above my head, now feeling heavier than the entire sky, as if I am trying to lift a mountain with broken arms.

FUCK!!

"ALTER!!!" I cry out, desperately. "ALTER!!! DON'T LEAVE ME NOW!!!"

But from within the fading echoes of our soul-space, I hear her again. Her voice is soft and steady.

"Hey… don't worry," Alter says gently. "You can do it. I believe in you."

I freeze.

What?

Me…?

Can I really…? ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"Yes," she whispers. "Now swing down. Let the momentum carry you. Trust yourself."

I gulp.

Everything is shaking — my hands, my knees, my soul.

Fear gnaws at me.

But Alter's words just now plus her faith in me, anchors everything.

I grit my teeth.

I breathe.

And I let go.

I stop trying to force it.

Instead, I trust the momentum.

Sheol swings down, the blade falls heavy, unstoppable, guided by the storm of energy Alter left behind.

Now.

I remember what she taught me.

Gather all the demonic energy.

Focus it.

Channel it.

Control it.

At the last second, I shove every last drop of demonic mana into my arm, letting it fuse with the descending strike.

And then—

'whenever you strike, explode all the demonic mana out of that strike…'

That's what she told me.

And so I unleash it, while screaming at the top and bottom of my soul

"ANNNIHILATION!!"

VZZZZZZZT!!

A giant arc of darkness erupts from Sheol, roaring outward like a tidal wave of the abyss itself.

It crashes into the Sentinel, consuming it completely.

———————-

There is not even a speck of light left from that monstrous thing.

Not a flicker.

Not a particle.

Only silence remains.

"…Haha," I laugh weakly, my arms trembling from the exertion. "I did it… I DID IT!"

I throw my arms up in celebration, even though my body feels like it could fall apart at any moment.

The divine darkness sword, Sheol, slowly fades away.

Meanwhile, Azazel's Guard retracts its form as well, shrinking down into a simple ring on my finger.

"Hehe, good job," Alter says softly, her voice faint but proud inside my mind.

With this, it is done.

The Sentinels are all gone. There will be no more threats clawing toward Morvena, no more desperate hands reaching for the sealing swords and pulling them out.

Peace… at least for now.

Very good…

I take a look back.

There is Morvena, sleeping soundly now, still chained and sealed, but her face is serene, wearing a gentle smile that soothes my heart.

"Now…" Alter murmurs, her voice growing slower, heavier, "…I have to sleep."

A pause.

"Can you… get back by yourself?"

As she says that, a jolt of realization hits me.

Right…

RIGHT!

The way back! OH SHIT!

I lift my gaze.

Ahead of me, a stretch of thick, dark mist rolls endlessly across the barren ground. It looks almost like a river of black slime, slick and sticky, threading its way back toward the exit.

That is the path home.

That is the way back to Eris.

And yet, the mist stirs faint memories, memories of when this place nearly broke me, memories of the countless illusions, of the nightmares that clawed into my mind and dragged me down, over and over, trying to drown me in despair.

Before, every step through that darkness had been agony.

Before, it was Alter's hand that pulled me back every time I started to sink.

Without her pulling me back now… I wonder… would I make it?

Could I?

For a heartbeat, doubt gnaws at my chest.

But then, another feeling rises, warmer, steadier.

After everything we endured.

After all the battles fought.

After everything Alter taught me…

Somehow, it no longer feels so frightening.

"Nn," I nod, firm and sure. "Leave it to me. And have a good rest, Alter."

There is a soft hum of happiness from inside.

"Thank you… Felicia," she whispers.

And then—

Silence.

Alter's presence fades into the background, falling into deep slumber.

My inner world stills, quiet and empty without her vibrant spark.

Then, I take my first step forward.

Into the mist.

Into the cold, sticky, suffocating dark.

Each step I take squelches into the slime-slick ground, the stench of decay thick in the air.

But I do not falter.

Not anymore…

After this…

I'm not the weak Felicia anymore.