The darkness pressed down like a physical weight, making every movement feel sluggish.
Even Koji's flames flickered violently in his hands as if the very air were conspiring against him.
Itsuki tried desperately to stabilize his mana, but it was of no use.
Hinata raised Asterion, though even the divine sword's glow dimmed under the oppressive aura. Sweat now dripped down her brow as she glanced at her friends.
"We have to find a way to escape!" Itsuki gasped with a strained voice. "If the Funeral Domain keeps draining us, we'll..."
"We won't die yet!" Koji finished for him as his flames surged despite the suppression around his body. "We've made it this far. We can't back down now!"
Hinata clenched her fists around the Blade of Asterion.
"We will adapt! And if we can't overpower her directly, then we will-" Her words were cut off as the Keres raised her hand, and another wave of darkness surged outward.
This time, it formed a dozen shadowy spears, each one vibrating with deathly energy, aimed directly at them.
[[EPIC SKILL — TERMINAL SPEAR BARRAGE!]]
"Incoming!" Koji shouted as the barrage of spears homed in on its targets
Immediately, Koji lifted his blade, slashing forward to release a crescent of flames, cutting through most of the attacks.
Meanwhile, Hinata jumped into the sky, slicing through two of the spears with a single swing of Asterion. Each strike emitted a shockwave of light, but every time she did, the oppressive aura started draining her mana with every action she took.
"Ghhhhn! How troublesome... these spears weren't as powerful as before. She's now toying with us!"
Itsuki coughed as sweat and dirt streaked across his face. He extended his hand and muttered a hurried incantation, summoning a secondary barrier around Koji and Hinata, though it couldn't compare to the Sanctified Barrier.
"I-It won't last long, I-I don't have the mana to sustain it for more than a few seconds!"
The Keres tilted her head with a soundless laughter echoing through the domain.
"Struggling... struggling... exquisite!" Her multi-layered voice echoed. "I can feel your despair, yet you persist! Truly, you amuse me, little mortals."
Hinata gritted her teeth.
"We're not mortals to you, we're fighters! And we'll defeat you for the sake of Sparta!"
"You live in a world of delusion, child." Said the Keres as a shadowy claw shot out from its body, slamming into the barrier Itsuki had just formed.
"Shit!" All of a sudden, the barrier shattered like glass, sending Hinata sprawling backward.
Koji roared, flames erupting around him as he leapt forward to intercept.
"Stop touching my friends!" He shouted. "Face me instead!" Lifting his blade, he swung it forward as the Spirit of Death responded by conjuring a spear, clashing with him.
Fire collided with darkness as a violent explosion shook the ground and sent debris flying everywhere.
"Uwaaaah!" Itsuki covered his head, shielding himself from the debris.
Meanwhile, Hinata took the momentary distraction to rally herself.
She focused, drawing mana from the deepest recesses of her body, letting Asterion flare brighter than ever.
"I-I won't let you harm the people of this city! Sparta is under our protection!" She shouted after rising to her feet and charging toward the Keres.
The Spirit's eyes glowed deeper crimson as the air around her crackled with dark energy.
"Yes, yes! Fight until your last breath! Let me witness the hope in your eyes before I strip you of such delusion!" She lifted both hands, weaving intricate signs in the air, and the ground beneath Hinata cracked, erupting blackened spikes from below.
"Hnnngh?" Heroes were exceptionally skilled warriors with their title and keen intuition, allowing them to predict their enemies in battle and adapt throughout their fight. And so, Hinata's senses became sharper over the course of their bout, letting her do things she wouldn't normally be able to do a few minutes ago.
Thus, she jumped into the air to dodge the blackened spikes, twisting her body and rolling to the side—though a spike did graze her arm, slicing through the cloth and leaving a burning sting.
"Tch!"
She ignored it, landing on her feet and jumping forward, only to feel Koji beside her.
"Let us fight until the bitter end, Hinata!" He shouted as they dove headfirst toward the spirit, thrusting forward their weapons with all their strength in perfect synchrony.
"Pwa ha ha!" The spirit laughed as she lifted her terminal spear, and together, light and fire collided with shadow, causing a titanic clash to ripple the sky itself.
"We... won't... lose!!!" Koji, furrowing his brows, kept pushing forward with all his strength as he kept afloat via his flames.
"K-Koji?" Hinata started to fall, unable to fly without any flight skills before she landed on the ground.
"This... mortal?" The spirit was baffled by Koji's strength.
It seems the more determined he was to win, the stronger he became, but it just wasn't enough.
Even though the spirit staggered backward, it also parried Koji away, knocking him back.
"Guwaaah!"
"Impressive." She admitted. "But do you think two can overpower the inevitable?"
Koji crashed right into the ground, coughing up blood as his body was pushed to the limits.
"Oh no... Koji!" Itsuki tried to crawl over to his friend, but the spirit lifted their hand once more.
"Funeral Domain: Stage two!"
"W-What?"
With a dark magic circle manifesting before the spirit, another layer of darkness engulfed their surroundings, slowly sapping away their stamina.
"Nghh!" Itsuki collapsed face-first, drained of his mana as his stamina now started to deplete as well. "It's epic skill... has multiple stages! We're done for..."
"Koji, Itsuki, get up!" Hinata was the only one standing, glancing at Koji who was buried in the ground, and Itsuki who face planted.
"I'm all out of juice..." Said the fiery hero, glancing at Hinata. "Inferno Emberheart burns through my stamina points like crazy... I can't move a muscle."
"D-Damn it!" Said Itsuki, barely able to lift his head. "Hinata, run while you can! You're the only one who can move!"
"...I will not leave you both!" Hinata muttered through gritted teeth, tightening her grip on Asterion.
The divine blade's glow was faint in the Funeral Domain, but it was enough. Enough to keep hope alive and burning, just like Koji's flames.
The Keres' crimson eyes glanced at her before the hero felt the oppressive aura intensify, pressing down on her body.
"You... still stand?"
Said the spirit as its voice was layered with echoes of countless screams; the Otherworlders it consumed in the past.
"So stubborn... so pitiful! Do you not understand? Resistance is meaningless. Every strike you take... every ounce of strength you expend... feeds the despair I will plant in your heart! I am inevitable. So beg for your life. Let me see the fear in your eyes! Let me enjoy your suffering, and submit to me."
Hinata swallowed hard as her vision started to blur, but she forced herself to step forward.
"I won't run! I've done everything that I can to redeem myself! To become a better person! You don't understand what I'm fighting for, or why I won't quit! Even in the face of despair!"
She raised Asterion high above her head, pouring every last bit of mana she could muster into it.
The sword flared brighter than ever before, carving a pillar of light into the darkness around them.
"I WILL USE EVERY OUNCE OF MY STRENGTH TO DEFEAT YOU!" She shouted as a sudden surge of holy energy caught the Keres off guard.
Hinata didn't waste the moment before lunging forward, letting the sword slash diagonally; sending a wave of light toward the spirit.
The Keres backed away, grunting as the holy energy grazed her arm, forming a massive gash across its shadowy figure.
"Argh!" The spirit screamed as its dark aura flared violently.
The light even forced her back, shaking her body. Hinata now landed on the ground with her knees buckling under exhaustion.
She gasped, trying to catch her breath in the domain that sapped away both her mana and stamina.
Her arms were now trembling but she forced herself to look at her friends. Itsuki seemed the most surprised by her actions, but then he remembered what her blade, Asterion, was capable of.
"The Holy Blade, Asterion. A Divine weapon that carves a path through the darkness..." He struggled to speak until a smile spread across his face. "O-Of course! That's it! Asterion was made for this! Hinata has finally started to awaken its true potential!"
Hinata's eyes burned with determination as she steadied her trembling arms with deep breaths.
Every movement cost her many stamina points, but the surge of hope she felt from her friends' faith and from the power of Asterion gave her just enough strength to stand.
The Keres was angered, evidently so.
"One blade will not save you from inevitability!" She raised her hands, summoning blackened chains of shadow that shot forward, aiming to bind Hinata in place.
"It won't work!" Hinata shouted as she slammed the blade of Asterion onto the ground, releasing a shockwave of light that shattered the chains before they could reach her.
The energy radiated outward, forcing the darkness around her to slowly unfold.
Koji groaned, slowly pushing himself upright.
"H-Hinata... your sword... It's cutting through her power!"
"I-I can't believe it..." Itsuki whispered, holding himself up on one arm with wide exhausted eyes. "She's actually breaking the Funeral Domain!"
Hinata took a step forward furrowing her brows.
"I fight because I must! That is the only way to return home, and reunite with those I love! I will stay alive, so I can apologize to those that I've wronged, and those that I bullied! I can't die now. Not until they hear my confession!" She shouted as her voice echoed across the Funeral Domain. "That is why I will protect my friends... Sparta... and everyone who depends on us! So we can slay Malgrith, and put an end to this pointless war! You're nothing more than another obstacle we must overcome!"