Chapter 871
Episode 217: Why Ayula Manifested (3)
Jito blinked slowly, shifting his gaze between Ayula and the dimensional gate.
“Heh heh heh… hahahaha! What if you close that? You think I’d be so startled that I’d grovel? Ayula, you foolish friend. How could you fall for such a simple trick? So all this time, you’ve been weak because you were expending energy just to block that?”
From the start, Jito had been expecting this.
He was certain that Ayula had come prepared to sacrifice herself to annihilate him today.
“First, block the way back, then try to deal me a heavy blow, and finally, use the people trapped under this barrier to finish me off. If I hadn’t regained this much strength, that would’ve been a clever plan. But unfortunately… it’s not going to work.”
The moment the gate shut, Jito’s form began to shift. New spikes sprouted from his wings and body, and the wavering contours of his face sharpened.
“Once I kill you and reclaim my eye, these childish games will be meaningless. So let’s begin again, foolish peace.”
Each time Jito swung his twin spiked axes, the sky itself seemed to warp.
Ayula’s body bore the brunt as well—flesh, bone, and blood crushed under the blows, producing sounds more horrifying than screams.
The praying citizens wept, imagining the agony Ayula must be enduring, while Jin and Murakan furrowed their brows.
If the fight continued like this, the outcome was inevitable: Ayula’s defeat.
“Damn it, is Ayula really going to lose? Even if she can’t use her full power in the mortal realm, she’s getting overwhelmed. Is it because she’s spent too much energy maintaining the barrier?”
“…Yeah, Murakan. Ayula will lose today.”
Jin’s words widened Murakan’s eyes.
“What?”
“This fight was decided from the start. Ayula never said she intended to defeat Jito. She never said she wanted to annihilate him. She only said she’d inflict an irreparable wound.”
Ayula’s goal was never victory.
She knew better than anyone that it was impossible. As Murakan said, the mortal realm wasn’t a place where Ayula could unleash her full power.
“In my view, Jito has fallen into a trap. I don’t know Ayula’s exact plan, but surely, after the fight ends, the power Ayula applied to the dimensional gate will bind Jito’s feet.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
Jin wasn’t entirely without worry.
—Originally, I intended to inflict an irreparable wound on him, even if it meant losing some of my power. Because unless Jito fully regains his strength, he could become an even greater threat in the mortal realm.
Those were Ayula’s words from the gray zone moments ago.
Even if the battle went perfectly according to her plan, she would lose part of her power today.
‘This is probably the first and last time Ayula will intervene directly in the mortal realm and fight herself. We can only hope the fight ends as she wishes.’
If things went wrong, Ayula might be annihilated.
On the other hand, Jito’s destruction was impossible—Ayula herself had made that clear.
“I can vividly see your children crying beneath the barrier. My eyes must be desperate to see that sight. For so long, my gaze has been trapped, unable to witness anything beautiful.”
Thunk!
The spiked axe slammed down on Ayula’s head.
Unlike Jito, Ayula couldn’t recover quickly. Part of her head was torn open as she controlled the spears, and it was clear her vision was impaired.
Two more wings were shredded. While the spears piercing Jito’s body became fewer, the spiked axes ravaging Ayula increased.
This was no longer a battle between equals—it was turning into one-sided brutality.
Thud…!
Finally, Jito drove his spiked axe into Ayula’s chest, knocking her onto the barrier. The shockwave inside the barrier caused a brief tremor throughout the entire kingdom.
The tremors quickly intensified.
Jito was relentlessly pounding Ayula with the haft of his axe. The barrier formed from Ayula’s vital energy still held firm, but it felt like it could crack at any moment.
“Hahaha, I feel like a worthless beast! Starving, finally spotting my prey—the mother exhausted from protecting her eggs. The mother sacrifices herself to protect her brood, but she can’t this time. Because the beast is me, Jito!”
Jito’s voice rose in madness as he likened the cracks in the barrier to eggs.
“Ayula! Meeting you first in the mortal realm has been such a joy for me. I’ve long awaited this moment.”
“You talk too much. You seem to think you’ve won, but you’re still uneasy, aren’t you, Jito?”
“Of course I’m uneasy! I’m scared and anxious. That’s why I’m talking like this. Like beasts howling at every little thing.”
“You’re an immortal, yet your instincts are sharp. Fine, I’ll give you a gift. I’ll show you the true source of your unknown fear.”
Suddenly, Ayula spread her wings wide. Until now, she had been using them as a shield against Jito’s axe strikes.
With barely ten wings left, she embraced Jito.
Jito tried to tear the wings away, but the wings that had been so easily torn before now held firm.
The spikes piercing the wings kept them locked together. The two immortals looked like a massive cocoon bound as one.
For the first time, Ayula smiled.
“You said it’s been a long time since your eye saw anything beautiful…”
“What are you trying to do?”
“From what I see, your remaining eye is the same. How can a world filled with pain be beautiful? So I’ll show you. What true beauty really is.”
Flash!
A brighter golden light spread from within the blood-soaked wings.
Jito felt Ayula’s energy invading his mind, forcibly projecting images and sounds.
Of course, the content was filled with the things Jito hated most.
“Let’s live together, in a peaceful and beautiful world…”
The first thing echoing in Jito’s mind was a hymn praising Ayula.
Along with it came the image of millions of worshippers singing in unison, all wearing bright smiles.
“Damn it, argh!”
Jito shuddered violently, showing pain for the first time.
Though he was an immortal who reveled in self-inflicted torment, he had little tolerance for this kind of “uncomfortable pain.”
“This isn’t good. This is a pain I haven’t conquered yet.”
Just witnessing this was a huge mental shock for Jito.
Since it was an illusion within his mind, he couldn’t kill or torture the singing worshippers, nor could he easily break free from Ayula’s grasp.
“This is chilling!”
“There’s more. Next, you’ll see those weary of life being saved by someone’s help. And in the end, they live happily…”
“How can you call yourself a god of peace after doing such horrible things, you devil…! You’ll burn in hell!”
The praying people were too focused to hear their exchange, but Jin and Murakan were momentarily speechless.
“…Is this what I think it is? Can they really torment that Jito like this?”
“It’s shocking in many ways, even for me.”
The overwhelming figure of Jito that had dominated Ayula was gone. All that remained was a pitiful demon who despised light and healing.
“Stop it, sto—ah!”
But invading Jito’s mind required tremendous resolve from Ayula as well.
Just as Ayula was corrupting Jito’s inner world, Jito was also invading Ayula’s.
Ayula faced vivid illusions of this world burning and suffering before her eyes. Though she knew they were mere illusions, even divine insight couldn’t deny them. Just as Jito’s mind struggled against Ayula’s intrusion.
Whose inner world would collapse first?
That was the true endgame of their battle. That was why Ayula was certain of her defeat.
In moments like this, the side with more to love, more to protect, inevitably loses.
Ayula’s eyes rolled back as she coughed up blood, but Jito’s agonized cries gradually faded.
Finally, Ayula’s wings broke. All the wings pinned by spikes shattered, revealing her wounded, emaciated body.
She looked like someone on the brink of death.
As soon as the wings holding him vanished, Jito pulled away, gasping for breath.
“Hah, hah… I almost developed a strange new taste. Though this is just another kind of pain I must conquer. I’ve learned a lot, Ayula.”
Ayula couldn’t respond, only catching her breath.
If it were now, Zito could definitely finish Ayula off. Ayula wouldn’t be able to fight back anymore.
But Zito had to make a choice.
Should he expend the last of his strength to end Ayula once and for all, or use that power to tear through the barrier Ayula had set up around the dimensional gate and escape? Ayula was on the brink of death, but the barrier around the gate remained intact.
Zito chose the latter.
If he used all his strength to destroy Ayula now, he wouldn’t have any left to deal with the humans trapped beneath the barrier.
“Heh heh… Yeah, I lost today. You got me. So this was why you were so obsessed with the barrier. But you know, I don’t hate this feeling of defeat. It’s sticky and thrilling in a way I can’t even describe. I’ll be back. Next time we meet, you’ll be weaker, Ayula. Then I’ll make full use of you—and enjoy it.”
With that, Zito tore apart the power Ayula had infused into the dimensional gate.
As soon as Zito vanished, Ayula plummeted beneath the barrier.