Barely (Citrinas POV)

As Verdi emerged from the Gates, he opened his right eye and looked at Citrinas and Fenri before clutching his mouth as if he was going to vomit. He’d personally suffered worse injuries than everyone combined and shrugged them off without even blinking. Yet, he was ready to cry when he had seen what happened to everyone. He clutched her tightly, the strange coat he was wearing felt familiar, the leather feeling near identical to his monster form’s tentacles. He went over her injuries as she wondered whether he had fashioned a new outfit from his own flesh.

She had lost a leg, a foot, an eye, and a finger. She was covered in scrapes and burns from her own spell and from tumbling across the ground. She felt cold despite the heat bearing down on her, her body bleeding out this very second. Fenri was no better, her spine snapped and skin scalded by the same steam Citrinas made. It was almost funny to see that Verdi was, for once, the one unharmed. As if to worsen the situation, a blur flew past them as they saw Varrick's torn up body fly out of the arena, his healing magic slowed to a crawl now that he had nobody watching him.

Eren sat up as he and Verdi turned to each other in silence. She looked up, the strange coat Verdi was wearing the only thing staring back at her, the black rose inscribed upon the back of it releasing an ominous aura. She saw Eren tense up as the two stared each other down, as though he were the one in danger. Citrinas felt chills run down her body, only to realize they were real as Verdi’s ice crawled across her body, freezing her wounds as the same was done to Fenri’s wounds. Though his ice was faster than ever, she could tell he was almost out of magic. He was barely able to muster enough to freeze her wounds. Giving him no time to recover, Eren leapt forward, his movements like a wild animal while Verdi took a single step forward, his movements familiar.

It was an attack that was incredibly simple, yet distinct in its own way. She’d seen it several times on this day alone, but everyone who used this attack looked almost awkward when they did it. Pelrin and Eren were taller than most men, yet they always initiated a fight with a right uppercut despite how awkward it was to uppercut someone significantly shorter than them. Verdi's movements were fluid and efficient, as though rehearsed. She watched as Verdi and Eren’s fists met, his right uppercut clashing with Eren’s downward fist.

As their fists made contact, she saw a crimson flame form in Verdi’s left hand, the flames running across his body in the blink of an eye. As soon as the flames reached his right arm, her ears started ringing as a blinding light engulfed the pair, blinding her. After a few seconds, her vision returned as she saw an impossible sight before her.

Verdi’s arm was gone up until the shoulder, a few stray strands of flesh and bone sticking out of his body. It was an expected outcome if someone clashed against Eren. What baffled her was the sight of Eren flying backwards, his left arm broken at the forearm in a 90 degree angle. His skin was torn, while she could see his forearm sticking out of his body, his bone somehow shinier and smoother than any bone. Electricity arced as she saw black ichor ooze from his body, a trail of black leading behind him as she focused, assuming that she was hallucinating from blood loss.

Eren was hurt.

Verdi squatted down, scooping up the residual biomass from Evangeline and stuffing it in his empty shoulder to begin healing. The strange gray uniform and leather coat he wore was stained red as his body leeched the nutrients, his limb regenerating instantly. Before Eren could land on the ground, Verdi charged forward, his actions not one of a mage who preferred to keep his enemies at a distance, but one of a berserker like Eren fixated on close combat. She watched as ice formed around Verdi’s arms, freezing his own sweat rather than freezing his blood. It was too slow to be instinctive magic, and he wasn’t even coating his entire body. He was using formulaic magic to protect only his arms. It took a full second before she realized how he was hurting Eren. As if to prove herself right, she reached into her coat, finding one of the pockets empty, Verdi stealing it earlier when he landed. She looked at his left hand, seeing a piece of metal clutched in his fist. Her lighter.

Verdi's body had a number of weaknesses. Divine magic burned him. Ice magic would freeze him instantly. And most importantly, he was flammable. So flammable that even a single spark could combust him. He burned hotter and faster than any oil. Yet, as she watched Eren frantically dodge Verdi’s punches while his left arm flopped lifelessly, she could not see a weakness. She could only see another weapon in his arsenal.

Verdi was freezing his blood and making it porous to expand the surface area to accelerate how quickly he burned. His frozen blood was so cold that oxygen condensed on his arm, accelerating his combustion further. At the same time, he was freezing all the moisture on his arm to make a tube and capping it off with his fist. Everytime he punched Eren, he’d light himself on fire with the lighter and blow his arm off. He wasn’t punching Eren, he was shooting him with a cannon made from his own body.

She watched Verdi take a blow to the face, the right side of his head destroyed as he froze his flesh before Eren could kill him. He grinned with what remained of his head as he punched Eren in the forearm. Another blast rang out as Citrinas covered her eyes, opening them to see Verdi wasn’t the only one missing an arm. There was a metallic thunk as Eren’s hand fell to the ground, the Glove of Purification he wore stained with black ooze as the limb writhed on the ground like a worm. She watched as Eren clutched his stump shoulder, the hero unaccustomed to dismemberment as black blood flowed out of him, his expression blank as he processed what just happened.

Verdi stared at him coldly, his arm already regenerated in the blink of an eye as Citrinas felt hope well up within her. He could win. He could actually beat Eren. Yet, she couldn’t push away the ominous feeling Eren was giving off. There was something up his sleeve. He looked up to the heavens, as if in prayer as he spoke in a loud, booming voice.

“If you don’t help me now, she will come for this world when he is defeated. And when she arrives, she’ll make sure you and all you love suffer worse than any other.” Eren said, his words interspersed with the plop of his black blood. Citrinas almost wanted to laugh. They’d all fought risking **** to save him. As terrifying as that woman in the Gates was, there was no way she’d sell him out now. Yet, Eren’s warning convinced someone as Citrinas and Fenri were shot backwards, the pair tumbling outside the arena as she coughed blood, her mind fuzzy as she lost more blood. .

What happened?

Was it Varrick?

Belsach?

Pelrin?

Tristiana?

Daria?

Who was it?

She looked up, her remaining eye wide in horror as she found out who had joined Eren’s side.

Divine light shined down from the heavens, holy magic coalescing above the city at a scale far beyond anything she knew of. Every monster in the city started to scream, holy magic raining down upon them as they ran for shelter. She could see Verdi’s skin start to sizzle and crackle, as though he were being cooked alive in oil. After some time, the divine light shining down upon them took on a form she knew quite well.

A set of scales.

They were massive, nearly 500 miles in length and spanning the entire city. They were simple, metallic scales that anyone would find in a market weighing out food. An audible click was heard, the scales tipping in one direction as Verdi coughed blood, the liquid bursting into white flames and disappearing into nothing as the same white flames cloaked his body. Citrinas used God’s Eye on him, watching Verdi’s stats decrease in line with the scales being pushed downwards. She knew what was happening logically, yet she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Eren wasn’t talking to them.

He was talking to the Goddess of Equality herself.

Citrinas shot a fireball at the arena, only for divine magic to deflect her spell, the goddess sealing the area off with a barrier. Nearby, she could see Fenri throwing knives while Varrick had gotten back to his feet and began bashing the barrier with his sword. Yet, for all their resistance, they couldn’t hope to surpass a god’s power as Verdi’s body burnt away, his regeneration only able to slow down the rate of destruction than overcome it. Suddenly, Fenri yelped in surprise as she flinched in shock.

“Hunt’s gone. She… She cut the Blessing.” She said in disbelief, the fragment of power a god bestowed upon her miniscule compared to the full **** of a god’s power. As if hearing that, Eren raised his right hand and spoke.

“Inventory!” He shouted, pulling the Apollyon Gate Key out of his inventory once more as Citrinas began panting. No, this wasn’t right. This wasn’t right! Gods did not interfere with mortal battles. Gods weren’t supposed to cheat like this! How was this equal treatment!?

A mage fighting a berserker was an impossible fight already. Now Eren had a goddess supporting him, and soon he’d have that Thing helping him. Verdi stood there, trying to breathe only to have the divine magic burn his lungs before he could speak. He trembled, his entire body shaking as he raised his fist, his skin burnt away and tendons exposed. No, this wasn’t trembling. This shaking was something he did on a regular basis. Whenever he had a great idea for business or a get rich scheme.

He was laughing.

He still had a plan to win.

He flicked his arm out, blood writing in the air in the blink of an eye, the words forming faster than anyone could read. No, not anyone. Almost everyone. Citrinas could see him writing his letters faster than lightning, his actions mere incomprehensible nonsense to everyone else.

F-E-N-T-R-A-N-S-M. Fentransm? Fenri transm? Fenri, transmitter! Citrinas shook Fenri's shoulder, the hero busy throwing knives at the barrier in the vain hope one would breach it. Startled, she looked at Citrinas expectantly, knowing that she understood Verdi’s message.

“Inventory, transmitter!” Citrinas shouted, the hero staring at her blankly as though she was speaking nonsense. After a moment, her eyes went wide as she remembered. There wasn’t just one spark gap transmitter in the city. There were two other transmitters that were built in the city. They were handheld modular designs built by Verdi’s hand that were designed to test their receivers. In a fit of annoyance, Fenri had confiscated them when they had been playing around earlier.

They were still in her inventory!

“Inventory!” She shouted, pulling out a spark gap transmitter just as Eren pressed the button on his Gate Key. Two buttons were pressed at the same time, the crude toy Verdi built from scraps desperately fighting against the height of Ancient technology. The Gate formed, yet it flickered like a mirage as Verdi and the Thing stared each other down. He no longer had a face to express himself, yet Citrinas could see the absolute terror on the woman’s face. Despite the Thing returning, Citrinas felt no oppressive **** like earlier, the spark gap transmitter suppressing the portal from forming properly. That Thing couldn’t hurt them or drag Verdi away. Yet, as if to prove her theory wrong, she could see the woman within the Gates speak.

It was a word, yet, it was not speaking in the same way she would speak to another. Speaking used sound waves to transfer vibrations. Sound could only move so fast, and it could not travel in a vacuum. The woman in the gate seemed to speak directly into Citrinas’ very soul, her words resonating within her. Her lips mouthed something in a language forgotten by all but one person there. A tongue that she never knew of. As the woman spoke, Citrinas could comprehend this word in ways human tongues couldn’t articulate.

It was a spell from an older era. An era where magic could shift continents and tear reality itself asunder. Ancient magic. Unlike the modern magic that used math and physics to shift reality ever so slightly, this was a spell that broke reality itself. It was a single word. Not a number, not a formula. Just a word, yet Citrina somehow knew in her heart what that word meant, the power of it alone allowing her body to intuitively understand it.

“UPDATE.”

To bring something up to date.

To improve or modernize.

As the words escaped her lips, she could see Eren tense up. Power flowed into him as he evolved, his right hand now coated in metal while his blood began to hiss and sizzle, flowing upwards in a thick cloud. She could hear the grinding of steel as his blood rose upwards, the pitch black cloud growing exponentially. She looked down to see the residual biomass left on the arena scoured clean, the blood seemingly dissolving it. No, not dissolving. Devouring.

The black cloud, it was consuming all living matter and using it to expand! If it retained his time stop abilities, all it would take to kill Verdi was a single touch. At the same time, she could see Eren’s right hand slowly change color, the ivory skin turning into a metallic sheen. She watched the mutation slowly creep up his arm, reinforcing his body as what little humanity he had left disappeared. As Eren’s power grew, the Goddess of Equality’s scales continued to tilt downwards, Verdi’s strength diminishing as the flames coating him intensified. Either he’d burn from the Goddess of Equality, get devoured by Eren’s mutated blood, or get his skull caved in by his fists.

He quickly clad himself in a suit of blood, shielding himself against the black cloud while he dodged Eren’s attacks, his blows growing faster and faster with each passing second. She could see the metal armor on his arm continuing to creep up his shoulder, slowly making its way to his torso to leave him with a nigh unbreakable body. The control Verdi had over the fight disappeared as he was **** back, unable to fight back against 2 deities and a hero at the same time. Time was against him. The black cloud of blood devoured all the biomass in the arena and was chewing away at Verdi’s blood armor.The Goddess of Equality was burning his blood away, trying to crack his armor and let the cloud consume him. All the while, Eren was rushing him, his fists cleaving entire sections from Verdi's body with each blow. And they were helpless to stop the ****, the barrier around the arena nigh unbreakable despite Citrinas and Fenri’s best attempts to break it.

Suddenly, a fireball blasted the barrier, the divine energy dissipating the impact with ease as Citrina glanced over, seeing Sarah, Bey, and Eris running towards the arena. As soon as they saw Eren and Verdi in the arena with the Gate open, they froze up as if they could recognize her as the holy flame burned Sarah and Eris like acid. Despite burning alive, Eris seemed reassured as she saw Verdi. She ran to Citrinas and raised a half burnt paw, pointing at the shimmering Gate in a panic.

“Help person! Metal woman evil! Close door now!” She screeched, baffled why they were just staring at Verdi fight as Citrinas blinked. Eris knew this thing? Metal… Woman? She looked at the woman within the Gates, then to Eren. She saw his stump arm, the metal within it sending out faint sparks of electricity as the metal armor creeped up to his head, his body now completely armored. Eren was made of metal. He was made of metal! That was it! She grabbed Eris’ leg to get her attention, then pointed to the destroyed spark gap transmitter.

“Throw here!” She commanded as the hellhound stared at the transmitter, her pitch black face going pale white as she saw the destroyed transmitter, seemingly knowing what it was suppressing. Were they working with her sister the entire time? No, she didn't have time to mull over this.

“Do it or he dies!” Citrinas threatened as Eris got on all fours and ran into the crowd, leaping from seat to seat as she reached the destroyed transmitter in the blink of an eye. Reaching forward, she grabbed it, her arms tensing up as she groaned, the transmitter weighing no less than a ton. She growled and snarled, the moan of steel filling the air as she raised it over her head.

“GRAAAAAGH!” She roared, throwing the transmitter at the arena with all her strength, the massive projectile bouncing off the barrier and exploding in a heap of scrap. The perfect position. Hearing the blast, Verdi ran to the broken transmitter as Eren followed, ignorant of what they were planning. Citrinas could tell Verdi was smiling even underneath the flames and blood, her own face twisting into a smile as she understood his chipperness in combat. They could beat Eren.

Eren was made of metal. He was a machine no different from their transmitter. His skin, his bones, and his muscles were made of metal. Even his blood was likely a machine, albeit a group of tiny machines mere nanometers in length. He was tougher than any human and could react faster too. But, there was one flaw with him, something Citrinas could exploit with the barrier up. She began chanting a spell, pouring in all the magic she had to give Verdi one final opening, exploiting Eren’s major weakness.

He was magnetic.

Electricity poured into the broken spark gap transmitter’s components, her spell empowering a magnet within the massive contraption just as Eren threw a punch. She grinned as his fist missed Verdi’s head, slamming into the barrier as the blood cloud thinned, the black cloud attracted to the magnet like a moth to the flame. The barrier blocked off attacks, but it didn’t block off electromagnetic waves. Yet, he continued to move, Eren’s strength leagues beyond Citrinas’ magic. He was still too powerful, and she could see Verdi diving backwards and falling to the ground, unwilling to attack the hero and risk a counterattack.

“Don't move!”

“Hold him!”

Sarah and Bey shouted in sync. Instantly, Citrinas felt a surge of power in her as Eren groaned, his strength diminishing in the same breath. A Commander class could empower someone if they obeyed a command, while someone with the patronage of the Goddess of Obedience could weaken someone that disobeyed their words. She knew that was the truth, yet, she also knew Sarah was a hellhound. How could she have a human class ability? Was she another hybrid? Were they being spied on this entire time?

She pushed the questions out of her mind. She had to focus. Even with their aid, it wasn’t enough. He was too powerful. She could feel him inching forward. A new surge of power hit the transmitter as Eren slammed backwards. Citrinas looked over to see her sister casting an electricity spell, her skin covered in blisters from the holy magic despite hiding in the arena’s entrance.

Citranas watched Eren struggle and grit his teeth, his metallic form’s enhanced power just barely restrained as Sarah cheered Citrinas on while Bey commanded Eren to stop moving. It was at that moment Verdi struck, the alchemist finally taking the opportunity to finish Eren. All his skin was gone. His tendons were gone. He was moving through magic alone. His clothes hung loosely from his body, his strange outfit and coat remaining intact despite the divine magic bearing down on him. He raised his left hand, his body movements awkward and jerky. She could see he was out of blood. He couldn't punch Eren anymore.

Despite that, he reached forward with his left hand as Citrinas saw it wasn’t burning, a strange leather glove protecting him from the Goddess’ spell. The Glove of Purification from Eren’s severed arm. He didn’t fall earlier, he dove to grab it earlier! He was close to ****, but he could hold out for a minute. He was strong. He could take Eren down once and for all. Just when he was ready to touch Eren, his hand mere inches away from the hero’s heart, Citrina remembered a lesson Verdi taught her about magnets and electricity. A lesson that would soon be written in blood.

Whenever you pumped electricity into anything, you generated heat based on the material’s resistance. The more electricity you pumped in, the more heat you generated. At the same time, if you heated a magnet too much, you weaken the magnetic field. And as of this moment, the magnet had two high ranking mages powering it.

Eren’s arm shot upwards, overpowering the weakening magnet as he grabbed Verdi’s head, his Glove of Purification clenched tightly around his face as the alchemist grabbed his arm in the same breath. Eren opened his mouth, his jaws movements slowed by the magnet while Verdi tried to speak, the holy flames burning his lungs and vocal cords. The two of them cried out three words, both their bodies breaking down as they spoke.

“Purify, m-m-m-monster core!”

Who said it first? Who was the first one to say it? Nobody could tell as the gloves activated, draining the monster cores straight from each other’s bodies. She could see Verdi shaking and twitching, making strange noises from his mouth as though he were seizing up. It looked like he was cold despite burning alive. Then she heard a blood curdling scream as he clenched his hand tighter on Eren’s arm, the sensation of having his monster core forcibly ripped out exceeding even his pain tolerance. While Verdi screamed and howled like a man possessed, Eren remained dead silent, as though he couldn’t even feel the pain.

30 seconds.

CRACK

She heard Verdi’s skull crack as Eren squeezed, the magnet weakening with every passing second they kept it charged. Behind them, she could see the woman in the Gates staring deeply at the pair, waiting for one to fall. Verdi’s screaming seemed to cause her to flinch, as though he were screaming in rage rather than in pain.

55 seconds.

CRACK

She could see his brain dribble down his nose in thick chunks as the magnet weakened further, Verdi’s skull cracking again. She could see green orbs the size of walnuts crystallize in Eren’s fingers, Verdi’s monster cores like emeralds in his grasp. 1… 2… 6… 10… 20… How many monster cores did he have? Did he grow more while he was stuck in the Gates?

56 seconds.

CRACK

She could see a dull gray core begin to form in Verdi’s glove.

60 seconds.

CRUNCH

Eren was faster.

She watched as he crushed Verdi’s skull and the cores in one move, his fingers like a vice as his skull was destroyed. She saw his brain and skull mix with the crushed monster cores before bursting into holy flames, disappearing without a trace as the rest of his body burned away. Without his regeneration to slow her down, his body disappeared in the blink of an eye, the full power of a Goddess smiting him from existence. The only thing left were his clothes, the black rose on his leather coat facing the Goddess of Equality’s scales. His clothes fell to the ground as the last of his flesh burnt away.

60.5 seconds.

As his outfit’s sleeve fell away to the ground, Citrinas could see a glowing gem and flesh hidden within the glove only to burst into flames in the next moment. Rather than disappear in the blink of an eye like the rest of his body, the flames were kept at bay, his regeneration still active. Her eyes went wide as she realized he had duped them all. He crystallized his monster core in his hand and cut it off before Eren used the Glove of Purification on him. He still had a monster core left!

He was still alive!

Realizing the deception, Eren shouted and reached to the glove **** to rip it away, but it was too late. As he touched the glove, Eren’s eyes went dull as his mind was pulled from its body, the monster core forcibly ripped out of him. Verdi’s hand released Eren’s arm, the monster core landing on top of it as Eren’s body fell to the ground staring blankly upwards. It was unlikely he was conscious considering he always blacked out when his monster cores were destroyed, but that didn’t matter.

Eren was finally down. As if to prove his victory, the shimmering Gate faded away like a mirage locking the Thing in the Gates away once more. He’d won. He had overcome the odds and defeated the strongest hero.

And it didn’t matter a single bit to the Goddess of Equality as she continued to burn what remained of him.