"Why does this never end..." Kid muttered, exasperated. It was Luciela—what was she doing here too? Looks like the battle between the North and South Abyssal Ones was inevitable.
The already ruined city was once again bathed in devastation. The massive centaur form of Isley launched a volley of arrows that smashed into rooftops, making the hearts of the Holy City's residents ache.
"Who's that?" Some people didn't recognize the former South Abyssal One.
Kid said casually, "That's Luciela, the original South Abyssal One."
The moment the crowd heard it, they collectively gasped. But after witnessing the legendary showdown between Teresa and Priscilla, this current fight already seemed a bit... second-rate.
"But why isn't the South Abyssal One Awakening? Why fight with a claymore—did she get influenced by Teresa or something?"
Kid muttered in his head, 'That's not it at all.' The truth was, the South Abyssal One had already become fully human. Just like the battle before, it was one claymore versus one Abyssal. But in terms of scale and thrill, this "North vs. South" was more like dessert after a feast.
"How does Luciela have such power?" The claymores were stunned. There wasn't even a trace of yoki, but the strength Luciela displayed caught everyone off guard.
Isley noticed too. "Luciela, your body…?"
"Surprised? Even without turning into a monster, I still have power equal to yours. What you're facing now... is my full strength." Her longsword surged like rain, like lightning, like storm winds and floods.
Isley's massive centaur body was actually pushed back by her claymore strike. That kind of power—unbelievable.
"I see now!" As a swordsman, Isley's fighting spirit had been lit by the earlier battles. His warrior soul had fully awakened. He shifted his twin bows and finally transformed his right arm into a massive blade. "Come on then, Luciela, South Abyssal One—don't disappoint me!"
Sword against sword.
Abyssal-level against Abyssal-level.
"I'm guessing this'll take a while," Kid remarked. And he was right. Luciela and Isley fought nonstop until the sky turned dark.
While the two titans clashed, Rafaela took the opportunity to apologize to Kid on behalf of her sister and explained everything Luciela had done.
When Kid heard Luciela had actually tried to set him up, he couldn't help sighing. 'Humans really are complicated,' he thought. The South Abyssal One tried to use him for personal gain. On the upside, at least Luciela had regained enough humanity to think in terms of negotiating benefits. But still, Kid couldn't help feeling he'd saved an ungrateful wolf.
Even so, since he had saved Luciela, he wouldn't go back on it. Still, it wouldn't do to let her keep scheming unchecked. He'd have to figure out a way to keep her in line.
"Kid, my sister didn't mean to... she just lost her head for a moment," Rafaela said nervously, trying to defend her sister.
Kid waved her off. "I'm not that petty. It's not a bad thing for your sister to find something to do. Better than wallowing in her past. Her methods might need work, but hey, how could I blame her for that?" Though inside, Kid was already thinking about how to make sure Luciela learned her lesson.
"I'm sorry," Rafaela said sincerely.
"I said it's fine."
BOOM—
A deafening impact echoed from the battlefield. The outcome was finally clear. Isley's massive centaur body crashed down onto his front knees, shaking the earth.
Not far away stood Luciela, hair disheveled, face pale and bloodless. The intense battle had drained her completely.
Pff!
Suddenly, a violent spurt of blood burst from Luciela's chest. She had lost. In that final strike, Isley's greatsword had cut through her chest, leaving a fatal wound. She had no strength left. Her hands loosened their grip on her sword, and her body pitched forward, collapsing straight into a pool of blood.
"Big sis?!" Rafaela didn't expect her sister to lose.
Of course, Isley wasn't doing much better. He was covered in cuts of all sizes—at least 100 wounds—all from Luciela. He panted heavily, struggling to get up, only to find that one of his legs was completely broken from a deep gash. He had to balance his massive body on just three legs.
It was brutal. Compared to Teresa's clean victory, this battle was savage. Both were badly injured. That gave Kid an idea. Since Luciela had tried to sell him out, and he couldn't exactly imprison her, why not send her to Earth to recover? He was a genius—this kind of injury would take at least half a year to heal. Perfect.
"Rafaela, don't panic. Your sister's not gonna die. I'm taking her to get healed now." Kid used the Force to lift up Rafaela and flew toward space. He needed to contact Batman to prep a hospital. He planned to teleport Luciela straight to Gotham City and let her sleep there peacefully—better than letting her stir up more trouble here.
Batman sounded confused. "Don't you have that fancy Ripple energy? Isn't there any wound you can't heal?"
"I can heal her, sure. But Luciela is way too annoying. She keeps trying to sell my info to every evil group she meets. I can't beat her up, can't lock her up either. So, sending her to Earth for recovery gives me some peace."
"Women," Batman said flatly. Only a woman could give Kid this much of a headache.
"Don't insult my loyalty to my wife. She's a woman, yeah—but not just any woman. She's dangerously ambitious," Kid explained. "Anyway, just get me a hospital. I'll teleport her over."
"No problem. I'll get Bruce Enterprises' hospital ready now." Rich people—no questions asked.
In less than a few minutes, Batman had everything arranged. Kid teleported Luciela to Earth and finally had some peace to keep exploring. He wasn't afraid of being betrayed, but he was only one guy. He also had to be responsible for the Earth expedition team stuck inside the Core Fruit. This was the best solution.
Rafaela didn't say much once she learned her sister was being treated on Earth. She trusted Kid wouldn't lie to her.
Meanwhile, the claymores had surrounded the Abyssal One. They'd heard that Kid could heal Awakened Beings, so they hadn't attacked. They wanted to see if he'd actually save Isley. Although they still had doubts about Kid's supposed ability.
Isley was drenched in blood, but still carried the pride of the Northern Abyss. Even standing on just three legs, he didn't fall—pure iron-willed man. Kid stood before the massive centaur and called out, "Isley, you're seriously injured."
"..." Yeah, he knew. If these claymores swarmed him now, he'd die for sure. But he didn't regret anything. He'd long been prepared for death.
"Mr. Kid, can you save him too?" It was Raki—still that naive kid, still willing to believe in the Northern Abyssal One. In Isley, he saw a brother figure. His real brother had become a monster and was killed by Clare.
'What a kind kid,' thought the Northern Abyss, as if seeing his old self.
"If I could make it so you no longer crave internal organs, would you let me heal you?" Kid asked.
"..." The Northern Abyssal One went quiet for a while. He thought of Luciela. "Turn out like Luciela?"
Smart guy. Kid nodded.
Raki looked at Isley, hopeful that he'd agree. The other claymores were also curious about what this "healing" would look like. Clare had seen Kid resurrect people before, but never witnessed him heal a living person.
"Alright!" Isley was rational. He agreed.
Just like that, the Northern Abyss was no more.