Chapter 944: Frey vs Clea

—Frey Starlight’s POV—

I knew I couldn’t defeat her.

My mother was far stronger than me, and I had accepted that truth a long time ago.

But I wanted to try, at least.

And after Father joined me, I genuinely thought we might have a chance, however small it was.

A chance to win.

But never had I imagined...

That the gulf between us and that woman was this vast.

"Can a living being... really possess this much power? Is something like this even allowed?"

My grip around my sword loosened as I found myself staring at the colossal Aether stars descending upon us from the heavens.

Rumors had always circulated about the power of the First Writer, Clea.

Some claimed that she possessed an infinite reserve of Aether, just as Audrey possessed an infinite supply of Aura.

Others said those strange eyes of hers, those eyes resembling entire universes, actually contained enough Aether to fill whole universes within them.

They had always been nothing more than rumors to me.

Rumors I had never believed.

But today...

I was beginning to believe every word.

Mother’s Aether was unique.

Its nature changed according to her emotions and state of mind.

Normally, it was unbearably cold, utterly devoid of any trace of life.

But when she grew angry...

It became a raging inferno.

Either way, it was overwhelming.

Standing before her, I found myself experiencing something no opponent had ever made me feel before.

Despair.

Deep, suffocating despair.

Even my imagination failed to conceive of a way to defeat her.

And all of this...

Without her even using the Tool of Creation.

"Frey..."

Someone called my name, pulling me from my daze.

It was Father.

He stood before me, placing himself between Mother and me.

Unlike mine, his eyes remained calm despite the catastrophe descending toward our heads.

He turned to face me.

A strained smile crossed his face.

"Take Agaroth and run. Get out of here... and find a way."

He was telling me to flee.

To leave with Agaroth.

I didn’t answer immediately.

I simply remained silent.

Even if I ran...

Where could I possibly go?

And could I even escape in the first place?

Escape from her?

No.

She would find me regardless of which corner of the Land of Survival I tried to hide in.

"I’ll deal with her next attack, but this is the most I can give you."

Father chuckled softly, without the slightest trace of hesitation.

"So use my sacrifice wisely."

It was true that he wouldn’t truly die even if his body was destroyed here in the Land of Survival.

But the sensation of death would remain the same.

Whether it happened in the outside world...

Or here.

"Father... why are you helping me?"

Of all the things I could have said at that moment, that was the question that left my mouth.

"Why are you willing to go this far for me?"

I hadn’t told him why Agaroth was important.

I hadn’t told him about the visions I received from the Oracle either.

I had revealed nothing to him.

Absolutely nothing.

So why had he chosen my side?

Any rational person would have sided with Mother.

Even I would have.

"Because I believe in you, son."

He answered with his eyes gently closed, his expression calm and dignified.

He had remained composed from beginning to end.

And even now...

His only reason for helping me was that he believed in me.

It was ridiculous.

A reason built entirely upon emotion, with no proven facts or reliable information to support it.

He had chosen to fight his own wife, the First Writer, for something so absurd.

"Father... I..."

Yet despite how ridiculous that reason was...

I found myself unable to form even a single proper sentence in response.

Something swelled within my chest.

He believed in me?

When was the last time...

I had heard someone say those words?

Mother hurled the burning Aether stars toward us.

Father began gathering every last trace of power he possessed, preparing to unleash some kind of final attack.

One powerful enough to stop that catastrophe of Aether.

His white hair shone brilliantly.

Waves of Aura and Aether erupted from his body in terrifying quantities.

He truly intended to burn through every last fragment of his strength...

Just to give me a chance.

"That isn’t fair... Father."

I called to him from behind.

A smile formed across my face.

I didn’t know what I looked like at that moment.

But I was certain of one thing.

It wasn’t one of those artificial smiles I usually wore.

This one reflected what I truly felt.

"Frey... what are you doing?!"

For the first time, genuine alarm appeared across Father’s face when he realized what I was about to do.

I raised my Sword of Erasure high above my head and allowed my power to flow without restraint.

Then I smiled at him.

"How do you expect me to run after saying something like that?"

"No... I’m not running."

"I’ll never run away and leave you behind."

My decision was made.

I raised my head toward Mother, the smile disappearing from my face and giving way to an absolute frown.

If I wanted to withstand her overwhelming attack...

Then I had to draw out every ounce of power I could possibly muster and combine it with my Rune.

I already had an idea of what I wanted to do.

But I had never attempted it before.

An attack powerful enough to contend with my mother.

She had told me that I possessed the talent to reach her level.

That I was the only one capable of standing upon the same stage as her.

"Then I’ll bet everything on your own words...

First Writer!!!!"

I gathered every fragment of strength within me.

Aether and Aura answered in equal measure.

I applied the same principle I had used to create my Sword of Erasure.

A weapon that fused both powers into one.

Then I took inspiration from Father’s previous technique, the attack he had used to cut apart that enormous Aether star.

The Aether control Mother had taught me.

Father’s swordsmanship.

And my own power.

Everything I had learned throughout my entire life...

I brought it all together.

All for the sake of creating a new technique capable of answering my mother’s overwhelming might.

My chest felt as though it were burning from within.

My head threatened to burst beneath the pressure I was forcing upon myself.

But I was determined to complete it.

Whatever the cost.

Because this time...

I wouldn’t merely create a sword.

I would create something far greater.

At first, Mother showed no concern whatsoever for what I was trying to do.

She was certain those Aether stars would bury me beneath them.

But everything changed in a single instant when she finally sensed the power created by fusing Aether and Aura together.

Her dark eyes slowly widened as she looked at what I had created.

Around me, five phantoms appeared.

They looked like copies of me, gray specters wrapped in black Auras.

Each one carried a sword identical to mine, their eyes glowing with brilliant white light as they waited for my signal to unleash the explosive power contained within them.

I lowered myself into a fighting stance I had assumed millions of times throughout my life.

The five phantoms mirrored me perfectly.

"Phantom Blade: Infinite Execution."