The battlefield had grown strangely quiet.
Dust drifted through the air around the ruined clearing as Jess slowly rose from where she stood, her sword held firmly in her right hand. Across from her, Genesis watched with an expression that had lost some of its earlier confidence.
Genesis lowered her sword slightly and studied Jess. "It's really unfortunate that you're a part of this war. You have talent and skill, but you're outmatched."
She raised her blade toward Jess, the sunlight catching along its edge. "I will honor you by giving you a proper death."
Jess said nothing.
She simply raised her sword and brought her left hand toward the blade. Her index and middle fingers brushed slowly across its surface.
"Divine flames."
White flames immediately erupted along the length of the sword.
They weren't ordinary fire. They burned with a strange, sacred radiance, illuminating the battlefield without producing smoke. Jess spun the sword once in her hand before lowering her stance.
Then she moved, her body shot forward like a flash of white light.
Genesis's eyes narrowed as Jess appeared directly before her, already swinging downward. Genesis raised her own sword and caught the attack. The collision sent sparks across the clearing, but Genesis immediately shifted her grip and allowed Jess's blade to slide down hers.
Using the opening, Genesis rotated her body and swung toward Jess's neck.
Jess watched the blade approaching.
Then she calmly spoke.
"Luck manipulation."
Genesis's footing suddenly betrayed her.
Her balance shifted for no apparent reason, causing her sword to miss its intended target. Her eyes widened as she immediately jumped backward.
In her mind, the realization came instantly. That's the power of Nemesis. Genesis steadied herself.
Then she disappeared.
She crossed the distance faster than light, her sword descending vertically toward Jess. Jess raised her own blade to block. The impact nearly forced her to her knees.
Genesis's strength was overwhelming. She drove forward, forcing Jess backward until the younger warrior was launched through the air and crashed into the side of a mountain.
The stone around Jess fractured from the impact. Genesis didn't give her a moment to recover. She flew toward the mountain and raised her sword.
"Law of Time - Freeze."
The world stopped.
Dust froze in midair. Rocks suspended themselves around the battlefield. Even the movement of the wind disappeared. Only Genesis and Jess remained capable of movement.
Jess's eyes widened as Genesis approached her through the frozen world, her sword positioned to pierce straight toward her. Genesis was almost upon her.
Then a shield appeared between them. The sword struck the shield with tremendous force, but the barrier held and Time resumed.
The shockwave scattered the dust throughout the mountain. Jess immediately pushed herself free from the crater and landed on solid ground. The shield floated beside her before settling into her left hand.
She looked at it briefly.
"Thanks, Gaia."
Genesis's expression hardened.
"Tch. You're as resilient as a cockroach."
Her aura suddenly changed.
"Circuit Embodiment — Law."
The atmosphere itself seemed to bend.
Genesis's hair lengthened, flowing behind her as her eyes became brilliant with an almost absolute authority. There was no visible energy surrounding her, yet her presence alone seemed capable of commanding the world.
Genesis looked down at Jess.
An invisible pressure descended. The ground beneath Jess cracked. Her legs trembled beneath the force, but she refused to bend.
Not once did her knees touch the ground. Genesis smiled faintly then she vanished. She appeared beside Jess in an instant and swung vertically.
Jess raised Gaia. The shield caught the sword, but the force behind the attack lifted Jess completely from the ground. She was thrown into the air.
Jess tried to track Genesis's movement. She couldn't.
Genesis had already disappeared from her field of perception.
"Don't get distracted."
Jess looked upward. Genesis was already above her.
The sword descended. Jess twisted her body and raised Gaia just in time. The impact drove her straight into the earth. A massive crater erupted beneath her.
For several seconds, Jess remained motionless. Then she slowly stood. Her shield disappeared from her hand. She looked down at her palms and closed them several times.
An idea surfaced. Jess concentrated. The divine flames surrounding her sword spread across her body. The wounds she had suffered began to recover beneath the sacred flames.
Genesis watched in silence.
"Can't you stay down?"
Jess didn't answer. White flames ignited across her sword again. She dashed forward.
Genesis met her head-on. Their swords collided. The battle became a blur of steel and movement. Jess stepped forward and slashed horizontally.
Genesis leaned backward, allowing the blade to pass over her. Genesis retaliated with a downward strike. Jess rotated her wrist and caught it. Jess stepped inside Genesis's guard and attempted a thrust.
Genesis shifted her shoulder aside and answered with a slash. Jess barely avoided it. They moved across the clearing, their blades constantly meeting.
Jess's footwork became increasingly precise. She changed directions without warning, using short steps to control her balance before accelerating into another attack.
Genesis answered with overwhelming strength and superior speed. Steel struck steel again and again. Sparks scattered through the air.
Jess suffered several shallow cuts across her face, hands, and side, but she refused to retreat. Genesis finally raised her free hand.
"Law of Nullification."
The divine flames surrounding Jess's sword vanished instantly.
Jess's eyes narrowed. Genesis seized the opening.
Her strength overwhelmed Jess's defense, and one powerful strike sent Jess flying backward. She crashed through several trees before sliding into the clearing.
Jess landed on her back. She stared upward at the sky her sword remained firmly in her hand. Genesis approached and stopped beside her.
"Nemesis herself has to stand before me if you want to play."
Genesis turned her back and began walking away. For several seconds, Jess remained still. Then her fingers tightened around her sword.
Her eyes slowly opened.
"Circuit Embodiment — Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution, Cosmic Balance and Vengeance."
The heavens opened and a divine light descended upon Jess. The entire battlefield trembled. Jess rose from the ground. Her sword lifted from her hand and ascended toward the heavens.
Its hilt transformed, becoming gold, while the blade radiated brilliant white light.
Two enormous white wings unfolded from Jess's back. Her hair and eyes turned golden.
The sword descended before her, its tip touching the ground while its hilt pointed toward the sky. Jess reached out and grasped it with her right hand. Genesis stopped. She slowly turned around.
A smile appeared on her face.
"Law of Possibilities."
The space between them distorted. One Genesis became two, then ten, hundreds until thousands of identical Genesis figures appeared across the battlefield, stretching from Jess all the way to the horizon.
Jess stared at them.
She didn't hesitate she raised her sword then she swung. The movement was so fast that it appeared as though Jess had never moved at all.
A single white line appeared across every Genesis clone. For one silent moment, nothing happened.
Then came the sound….Swoooosh.
Thousands of clones were split apart simultaneously, their forms dissolving as the attack continued beyond them.
The slash tore through the battlefield and carved directly through a distant mountain range, splitting the mountains apart with a tremendous roar.
The original Genesis narrowly escaped the attack.
She landed several meters away, staring toward the destruction behind her.
Jess lowered her sword her golden eyes remained fixed on Genesis.
She began walking toward her. Genesis smiled. Jess stopped several steps away and raised her blade slightly.
"Challenge accepted."