Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 179 - Solar Prominence

This was the sole reason they had chosen to meet in the middle of a desolate wasteland.

Perhaps Soleil had already expected this outcome despite the brimming hope in her eyes when she'd first arrived, but Morgana already knew their discussion would devolve into nothing more than senseless violence. A duel where witch hunter and Paladin exerted their full power against each other in the hopes of realizing their respective wish.

Soleil's light-laden blade clashed against the steel of Morgana's sword once more, producing a harmonic ringing not unlike struck glass. An enormous explosion of wind and pressure tore apart their surroundings, reducing the smaller rocks that lined the ground into nothing more than gray dust. The hill Morgana had been standing upon mere minutes ago had disappeared completely, blown away and pulverized by the residual force of her violent exchanges with Soleil.

"Just what do you hope to achieve, Soleil?" Morgana asked, her breath even and measured despite the ferocity of their fight.

In stark contrast, Soleil's breathing came heavy and ragged. It had taken everything she had to stymie the relentless tide of attacks that Morgana unleashed, each of her blows striking with the force of an avalanche.

With Morgana holding her sword in a relaxed grip and an air of supreme nonchalance, it almost seemed as though Soleil was nothing more than an infant flailing around with a weapon she barely understood. Soleil was outmatched and she knew it, yet she refused to surrender.

"I will rid these lands of her tyranny, Morgana!" Soleil boldly declared, pointing her sword at Morgana. Seeing as her opponent had no intention to advance, Soleil held her position as well, recovering her stamina as best she could.

"Will you now?" Morgana scoffed, shaking her head. "You are not even a match for me. What makes you think you stand a chance against the Witch Queen?"

Soleil grinned. "Because I'll have you by my side."

At that, Morgana couldn't help but laugh. Soleil's statement hadn't been inherently humorous, nor had it been intended as a joke, but the blonde witch hunter's current state was so pathetic that Morgana simply couldn't take her seriously. After all, the only way she would ever follow Soleil into battle was if she somehow managed to lose this duel.

As it stood, Soleil was simply one well-placed strike away from biting the dust. The witch hunter was bleeding from several wounds on her body. None were fatal, but all of them served to inconvenience her severely. As a technical fighter, Morgana's greatest strength was the ability to create opportunities and advantages for herself, deliberately inflicting wounds on Soleil that would give her a permanent edge throughout the fight.

A shallow cut marked her brow, robbing her of vision in one eye. Another gash had been opened in her right leg, deep enough to cause pain every time she moved, but not enough to cause any serious damage. The worst part was the blood that pooled around her feet every time she moved. Though she had shown up dressed in full plate armor, it did little to protect her from Morgana's vorpal blade.

Logically speaking, there simply wasn't a way Soleil could win. But Soleil didn't operate on logic.

With the odds stacked against her but her energy recuperated, she advanced toward Morgana, sword at the ready. A golden light enveloped the entirety of her body as she called upon the power of her Sigil, Cross Radiance.

A Sigil capable of replicating the searing heat and light of the sun itself, Soleil's Cross Radiance caused the air around her to distort as golden flames wreathed around her body, snaking up her wounded limbs and toward her sword. There they stayed, enveloping her already glowing blade with fierce flames that licked across the length of the weapon.