章 55: Last day III

Verlin hung motionless in space, his exposed right side catching the distant sunlight. The remnants of Radae's essence had streaked towards the sun, leaving behind only a fading trail of dispersing energy. He kept watch, looking for any signs of Radae's return or some hidden retaliation. The silence of space was deceptive, masking the tension and excitement that coiled around him.

His usually silent heart was pounding in his chest. Verlin scanned the void where Radae's essence had dispersed, his eyes pried in an attempt to find any sort of lingering energy that might hint at Radae's return. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, his tensed muscles started relaxing as his armor vibrated from Desna communicating with him, " Is it over?"

"I.....I don't know." Verlin's voice faltered, trailing off as his gaze remained fixed on the void. He wanted to believe it was over, but it felt too easy—too incomplete. Physics had taught him that energy couldn't simply vanish; it could disperse, yes, but given the unknown nature of Radae, it might have the potential to reassemble.

"The situation on Earth isn't getting any better," Desna's continued, "Volcanic activity is still escalating, and there's still tsunami rushing toards the coast of the other continents. Not to mention the earthquakes."

"Right." Verlin replied as he turned back towards the Earth, he continued, " How's the situation with the Enhanced humans. Have you secured them?"

"Verlin, that plan was made four seconds ago. The Verlin-bots haven't even left the mothership yet." Desna responded with a hint of dry amusement.

Verlin managed a faint smile. "Oh? Felt longer."

"Shall I continue with—" Desna's words cut off abruptly as Verlin's eyes caught movement in the distance.

Near Mercury's orbital path, scattered energy particles began to coalesce, converging toward the very spot where Verlin had launched Radae moments earlier.

Verlin's eyes narrowed, his facial expression morphing to a frown as he focused on the swirling energy near Mercury's orbit. The particles were no longer chaotic—they were organizing, growing in volume and becoming more cohesive with every passing second.

Wasting no time, Verlin hurriedly gave orders to Desna, " Continue with the plan, Radae's energy form is reassembling."

Without waiting for a reply, Verlin shot towards the reforming god. In what seemed like an instant, he had already surpassed light speed. As his mind raced as fast as his body, he couldn't help but question his own plan, ' Why did I order the evacuation of the enhanced humans?'

The question gnawed at him as he closed the gap between himself and the god. ' Was it just caution? or did deep down, did I think I was going to lose?'

Verlin shook his head, trying to dispel the creeping doubts. ' No. I can't afford such distractions. I'm the only thing in between Radae and the enhanced humans.'

As he drew closer, the Sun's rays bathed his body, flooding him with renewed energy. The surge of strength bolstering his confidence. His right fist clenched, arm cocked back, prepared to strike before the god could fully manifest. 'It doesn't matter how many times Radae reformed, as long as I scatter him enough he eventually won't be able to reassemble.' Verlin thought to himself.

As Verlin crossed hundreds of millions of kilometers in a few seconds, he could see what looked like a nascent face emerging from the swirling energies, and for a second the reassembling energies seemed to slow down. Not thinking much of it, Verlin's fist once again connected with Radae containing enough force to shatter continents, and shake planets.

Verlin expected the incomplete form of Radae to be flung toward the sun, but instead, an unsettling and all-too-familiar sensation erupted from the point of impact. Pain exploded through his fist as the bones in his knuckles cracked , and a tremendous force rippled through his entire body.

In the next instant, his vision blurred as he caught a fleeting glimpse of Radae's form shrinking into the distance. Before he could process what was happening, Verlin was violently hurled backward uncontrollably in the direction from which he had come from.

Fighting a losing battle to stay concious, Verlin could tell he was on a collision path with Earth. And with last flicker of conciousness he managed a subtle shift in his trajectory, before he completely passed out. Instead of plummeting straight towards Earth, his path arced outward past the planet , and farther out the solar system.

Back in Mercury's orbit, Radae's form fully re-materialized. "Primitive brute," he muttered, his voice laced with disdain. Fortunetly he had managed to reflect the force of Verlin's last attack. Although even if he had been sent into the star, he could have reformed—but it would have drained a significant amount of his divine energy due to the sun's harsh conditions.

Radae acknowledged to himself that he had underestimated the Kryptonian. The attack that had obliterated his physical form had been so swift that he hadn't even perceived it until it was too late. For an instant, he thought of descend upon Earth and claiming the divine shards, as with the kryptonian temporarily incapacitated there would be nothing stopping him from getting what he wanted. Unfortunely, the pact with the Coratian was to acquire the kryptonian's blood before collecting his reward.

He could sense the Kryptonian still being flung farther out of the solar system. With a divine decree, Radae reinforced the barrier surrounding him. This enhanced shield consumed significantly more divine energy than a standard one, and he knew it wouldn't withstand the full force of another strike from Verlin. However, he was confident that Verlin wouldn't be quick to unleash another attack of that magnitude after the devastating backlash it had caused.

With a slight smirk Radae dissapeared from Mercury's orbit as he chased after the Kryptonian.

Verlin's conciousness flickered like a light slowly coming back on. As he regained a semblance of awareness, his eyes blinked open to the sight of the asteroid belt whisking past him.

The brief moment of clarity was enough for Verlin to realize he was moving at an incredible speed. But his body was not ready to cooperate; his vision blurred once again, and darkness threatened to reclaim him. When he next opened his eyes, a massive gas giant with elaborate rings loomed just a few million kilometers away from him.

Seeing how far out he had flown, Verlin gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay awake as he willed his momentum to slow down. Every muscle ached, his body a map of pain, but nothing compared to the searing throb in his right hand—the hand that had delivered the blow to Radae.

Glancing down, Verlin activated his X-ray vision, scanning the damage. His crystalline-like bones, fractured from the impact, were already knitting themselves back together. He really needed to start avoiding that redirecting technique Radae had been using. Maybe he didn't need to strike at full power each time; Radae's barrier likely didn't require that level of force to break. Still, he couldn't deny the satisfaction of an unrestrained punch.

As he shifted his focus, Verlin felt a damp sensation on his nose. Raising his hand, he wiped it and noticed a faint streak of blood. His mind immediately went to Radae's strange request for his blood, for reasons yet unknown, but Verlin had a good suspicion who/what it was about. Bringing his hand to his mouth, Verlin swallowed the blood. No matter what, he wouldn't allow Radae to get his blood so easily.

And speaking of the god, Verlin's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of Radae rapidly closing the distance, teleporting at a pace that outmatched light speed. Verlin didn't rush to confront Radae as he still needed a few more seconds to fully recover, which wasn't a lot of time, given that Radae had just arrived a few hundred kilometers in front of him.

"I hope you enjoyed your little excursion mortal, you traveled quite the distance." Radae transmitted to Verlin in a calm yet mocking tone.

"'Enjoyed' isn't the word I'd use," Verlin replied. "But I am curious—how did you manage to survive after I destroyed your body?"

" I told you before, I am a Radae. You're only delaying the inevitable. So, save us both some energy and bleed." Radae said as he started closing the distance between them.

A flicker of irritation crossed Verlin's face. 'That doesn't even answer the question,'he thought internally. But he didn't waste time debating further. Without hesitation, Verlin propelled himself toward Radae, accelerating past light speed in the blink of an eye. In a less than a millisecond, he appeared beside the god and delivered a powerful kick aimed squarely at Radae's head. The power behind the kick was powerful but measured in case of it being redirected.

The instant Verlin's kick collided with Radae's barrier, the impact unleashed a blinding flash of light. Yet, the barrier absorbed the blow entirely. Not even a fraction of Verlin's power made it through. Radae stood unmoved, his smirk widening as he began to chant in his strange, resonant tongue. "Ra Chronath Vel Tenuros Dae."

Verlin's instincts kicked in. Before Radae could finish speaking, Verlin had already retreated several thousand kilometers, his sharp gaze fixed on the god. His fractured bones were fully healed, but his mind raced. He saw no immediate effects from Radae's words, and a troubling thought crossed his mind,' Was that just a distraction?'

Radae extended both arms outward, summoning a cluster of orbs around him. Unlike the radiant white orbs Verlin had seen before, these ones were small and emitted a deep, dark red glow. In what felt like an instant—even by Verlin's standards—one of the orbs came hurtling toward him. He barely had time to raise his arms to block the attack.

The impact was overwhelming, forcing a wince from Verlin as the sheer weight behind the orb sent him reeling backward. 'How is that possible? How could the speed of the orbs change so dramatically?'

Instead of resisting, Verlin allowed the momentum to carry him away, giving himself a moment to recover. Glancing down, he noticed his arm—the one that had taken the brunt of the attack—was actually bruised.

Focusing his sharp eyes back on Radae, Verlin saw the god approaching at a blistering speed. Then the realization struck him. 'No... the orbs didn't get faster. I got slower.'

Radae sent more orbs hurtling toward Verlin. Thankfully, the increased distance between them gave Verlin enough time to react. His eyes flared with intense light as a burst of fiery orange heat vision shot out, aiming directly at the approaching orbs.

To his surprise, the orbs resisted the attack, continuing to close the distance undeterred. Frustration flickered across Verlin's face as he let out a low grunt. Focusing harder, he increased the intensity of his heat vision. The vibrant orange glow in his eyes deepened, shifting into a dark yellow as the beams burned hotter and more powerful.

The effect was immediate. One by one, the orbs began to destabilize, their dark red glow flickering before they exploded in bursts of energy. Each explosion radiating enough electromagnetic energy to burn through the ozone layer of a planet like earth.

Verlin maintained the intensity of his heat vision as he turned his focus back to Radae. The moment the beams struck Radae's barrier, Verlin sensed it beginning to weaken and crack. But just as he was about to break through completely, Radae moved out of the line of fire with a speed so fast that even Verlin struggled to track it.

Frustration boiled within Verlin as he struggled to track Radae's movements. The god's sheer speed seemed to outmatch his perception, making it nearly impossible to keep a direct lock with his heat vision. He clenched his fists, his blazing eyes darting to anticipate Radae's trajectory, but the god weaved through the void with unnerving precision.

Verlin pushed himself harder, unleashing another wave of heat vision. This time, he widened the beams to an immense scope—large enough to engulf the entire mothership. The beams fully encased Radae, trapping the god within the blinding wave of energy. The barrier around him flickered violently, the cracks spreading across its surface like molten veins. Then, with a deafening, silent implosion, the barrier finally gave way, shattering into a burst of divine energy that scattered into space.

The explosion's force obliterated Radae's form, scattering his essence into a storm of glowing particles. Verlin ceased his heat vision, his body trembling from the effort. Though he didn't need oxygen, he felt the weight of exhaustion—his chest rising and falling heavily. The space around his eyes twisted from the overwhelming intensity of the heat he had unleashed.

But even through the fading light, Verlin's sharp vision caught sight of the energy particles beginning to coalesce again. He was beginnng to think Radae truly couldn't be killed. That last attack had unleashed enough energy to drill straight through an entire planet and still have power left over. Yet all the same, the god kept coming back.

Verlin's eyes flicked to the Sun, its golden rays replenishing his strength—but not nearly enough to sustain a battle of this magnitude from this distance. His gaze shifted to Mars' orbit, a location close enough to draw the Sun's energy while keeping Earth out of harm's way. With a new plan forming, Verlin's eyes locked onto the incomplete form of Radae with unwavering determination.

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Back on Earth, hundreds of Verlin-bots plummeted through the atmosphere, heading directly toward the Hidden Society. As easily as they flew through the air, they broke through the surface of the ocean to the enhanced humans headquarters.

Before they reached the base, the defense system of the Hidden society activated. It seemed the previous Coratian invasion had kept them on their toes, but it mattered little. The Verlin-bots weren't like the Xyloring combatants. All the attacks were either dodged or ignored, and like a plague of locusts they swarmed into the base.

Inside the base, many enhanced humans resisted, but few succeeded in holding their ground. Others demanded answers, questioning the Verlin-bots' purpose and intentions. But there was no time to explain. Maintaining contact with Verlin while he was in motion was nearly impossible, but his final orders had been clear: secure the enhanced humans and evacuate the planet.

Without any dialogue with the enhanced humans, the Verlin-bots activated their advanced nanotechnology. Their bodies disassembled into swarms of nanites that seamlessly enveloped their targets. With precision and efficiency, they extracted the enhanced humans from the underwater base and transported them to the bisected mothership.

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In Jupiter's orbit, thousands of flashes of light burst across space every second. Occasionally, one of Jupiter's moons was destroyed, shattered into fragments that spiraled toward the gas giant, leaving trails of debris behind.

Radae's essence reformed once again, his body solidifying within moments. His glowing barrier flared to life, a shield pulsing with divine energy. However, his expression was replaced by a scowl of anger. That was the seventh time his body had been obliterated, and the effort was beginning to show.

Each second of the fight was consuming centuries worth of divine energy, and to make matters even worse, the kryptonian has yet to draw blood. Although his attacks were bruising Verlin, it was becoming obvious that blunt force wasn't going to get the job done, he needed something sharp enough to get past that thick hide.

Formulating a plan, Radae transmitted his voice to Verlin, "I'm surprised by your resilience, Verlin. You've forced me to bring out weapons reserved for the true Radae."

Verlin could only watch as Radae's form reassembled once again. He had been trying to maneuver the god closer to Mars, but Radae had resisted every attempt to push the battle in that direction. Still, the solar radiation at this range was sufficient to sustain Verlin's strength. What puzzled him, though, was Radae's cryptic statement.

"What do you mean by 'the true Radae?'" Verlin asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

Radae's scowl softened into a mask of eerie calm. His reply carried an unsettling finality. "That isn't for you to know."

Before Verlin could respond, the space beside Radae rippled unnaturally. From the distortion emerged a black sphere, utterly devoid of light or color. Instantly, Verlin's eyes erupted with heat as he attempted to interfere with whatever Radae was doing. Twin beams of concentrated heat shot from Verlin's eyes, slamming into the black sphere with precision. Yet, to his disbelief, the sphere amerely rippling faintly as though it had been nothing more than a light breeze.

Verlin ceased his heat vision, as his gaze narrowed. Radae expression didnt change like he had expected that reaction from Verlin. Radae extended his hand toward the sphere, the void seemed to respond to his presence, rippling once more as his hand sank into its depths.

When Radae withdrew his hand, he held in his hand what looked like a dagger. And like it never existed, the black sphere disappeared.

Verlin's eyes fixed on the weapon—a dark purple dagger roughly twenty-five inches long. What intrigued him most were the runes etched across its surface. They resembled the runes on the large crystal he had discovered aboard the Coratian mothership. However, these were far more intricate, and like the crystal, the runes seemed to shift and change form when observed.

Radae lifted the dagger with deliberate grace, allowing its dark purple blade to catch the faint light reflecting off the distant gas giant. " I hope you appreciate my effort, Kryptonian," Radae said, his tone calm. "I've noticed that you draw your strength from the sun. This weapon was forged from the tooth of a four-horned Rune dragon—a creature known to devour stars. You like?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Verlin's face. He had never heard of a Rune Dragon before, and the notion of a being capable of consuming entire stars sounded utterly ridiculous. "That's impossible," Verlin scoffed.

Radae's smile widened as he rushed forward, closing the distance between them. "Is it?"

Verlin immediately began to pull back, maintaining some distance. He didn't fully believe Radae's claims, but he could sense the god's confidence in the weapon. Throughout their battle, Radae had avoided direct physical confrontation, the complete 180 was impossible to ignore.

"You can move faster than light," Radae chided, suddenly appearing beside Verlin, "you're battling a god, yet the idea of a star-eating beast is where you draw the line?" Radae said as he struck down at Verlin with the weapon.

Verlin raised his forearm to block the blade, expecting to stop it as he normally would. But this time, he felt the dagger slice through his bioelectric aura, then through his skin and muscle, all the way down to the bone. The armor around his body not even registering as resistance for the blade.

Gritting his teeth, Verlin reached out with his free hand and grabbed Radae's wrist. Even though it was hard to get a firm grip, he squeezed with all his strength, causing Radae's barrier to crack under the pressure. Verlin lashed out with a powerful kick to Radae's torso, sending the god hurtling toward the nearby gas giant. The force tore Radae's right hand away from his arm, leaving the god to vanish into the swirling clouds of the planet, still grinning despite the loss of his hand.

With Radae out of sight, Verlin gripped the dagger lodged in his arm. The instant he tried to pull it free, searing pain shot through every nerve. He clenched his jaw to keep from crying out.

Inch by inch, he eased the blade back, warm blood beading into droplets in the vacuum of space. . After what felt like an eternity, the dagger finally slipped free, and Verlin's arm began to knit itself back together.

From just holding on to the dagger, Verlin could feel it draining energy from him. Without hesitation, he hurled it with all his strength, sending it out into the further reaches of the solar system. Watching it vanish into the void, relief washing over him.

A faint trail of blood floated around him, shimmering in the vacuum and without wasting a second, he once again swallowed the blood. As the pain eased, Radae exited the planet with his hand completely regenerated and holding in his hand what looked like a replica of the same dagger Verlin had just thrown to kingdom come.

But it wasn't a replica, Verlin could tell cause his blood still littered on the edges of the dagger. This time, Verlin didn't wait for Radae to make the first move as he sent a wave of heat vision that sent the god back into Jupiter.

Closing the gap between them in an instant, Verlin delivered a defeaning punch to Radae's barrier. The force of Verlin's punch reverberated through Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, igniting a massive fireball over a thousand kilometers in radius. Punch after punch hammered into Radae's barrier, each strike creating another fiery eruption.

But Radae wasn't idle either. With every punch Verlin landed, Radae retaliated with the dagger. The blade sliced through Verlin's defenses, cutting through skin seemlessly. Verlin tried melting it with an intense blast of heat vision, pouring all his strength into the attack. The blade absorbed the energy entirely, its runes glowing brighter in response.

Desperate, Verlin tried phasing his body to avoid Radae's strikes. But even in his intangible state, the dagger found him, slicing through as if the laws of physics didn't apply. Everytime he disarmed the god, the dagger would appear back in his hand the next instant.

Summoning every ounce of his strength, Verlin delivered a uppercut, shattering Radae and his barrier once more. The impact of the punch sent the god's essence and the cursed dagger hurtling out of the planet. Taking the little time he had to rest, he remained completely stationary in an attempt to reserve as much energy as possible, the blade not only damaged him, it also seemed to drain his energy, with every cut slowing down his regeneration. At the moment there must have been hundreds of cut wounds all over his body.

For a moment, he thought of running, and ending this up hill battle. But now that Radae had his blood, all he needed were the enhanced humans, which incuded Chloe. If he left now, Chloe was as good as dead. Verlin looked up past the ionized atmosphere of his surroundings and just like clockwork he could see Radae's energy form reassembling.

Exhaling deeply, Verlin flew up past the planet to meet Radae once more. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, it felt like they've been fighting for days but he knew better, at this speeds they were moving at, even with his perception dramatically slowed, he doubts more than a few minutes had gone by in real time. Now he could only hope Desna was able to get the enhanced humans and evacuate the planet like he had asked.

"Ah, If it isn't my favourite kryptonian. What's the matter Verlin? You seem exhausted." Radae taunted as he finished reassembling.

Ignoring the provocation, Verlin unleashed a blast of heat vision. But instead of its usual blazing yellow intensity, the beams were now a dim fiery orange, one that couldn't even get passed the shield surrounding Radae.

Dissatisfied with Verlins response, Radae raising the dagger as he channeling an immense surge of divine energy into it, "Allow me to send you off."

Even in his exhausted state, Verlin could feel the ungodly amount of energy being pumped into the weapon. Immediately retreating back into Jupiter, Verlin could hear Radae in his head, " Don't bother hiding, Verlin. You can't escape this attack. Neither can you dodge it."

As Verlin dove deeper into Jupiter, he noticed the lingering ionized zones left from their earlier battle. His sharp vision zoomed in on the chaotic atmosphere, tracing hydrogen atoms colliding and fusing into heavier elements. Then, an idea struck him.

Verlin dove deeper into dark depths Jupiter's atmosphere, his sharp vision scanning the swirling chaos for dense pockets of hydrogen. Locking onto a concentrated cluster, he began flying in rapid circles around the target area. The sheer speed of his motion generated a massive cyclone, compressing the hydrogen at its center. As the pressure and temperature soared, the core became dense and superheated.

Hovering above the compressed hydrogen, Verlin focused every ounce of his energy into a precise blast of heat vision. The intense heat ignited a fusion reaction, smashing hydrogen nuclei together to create helium. A brilliant flash illuminated the swirling clouds, marking the birth of a miniature star.

Wasting no time, Verlin expanded his bioelectric aura around the volatile reaction, stabilizing the newborn star. The cyclone continued to funnel more hydrogen into the glowing core, fueling its growth. Verlin felt the star's radiation wash over him, rapidly healing his wounds and restoring his strength.

The nascent star in his hand continued to grow in size, but with his bioelectric aura, he kept compressing it, making it denser and denser. Eventually, so much hydrogen atoms have been forced into it, making it so dense he could actually feel the weight of it.

Feeling fully restored, Verlin carried the miniature star upward, out of Jupiter's crushing atmosphere. As he exited the planet, he could see Radae in the distance still holding up the dagger.

"You keep surprising me kryptonian, but I assure you. This next attack will be the last." Radae spoke confidently.

"Bold words for someone who keeps needing a do-over," Verlin replied

With a snarl, Radae hurled the dagger towards Verlin, its runes pulsating with divine energy. In the same instant, Verlin launched the compressed star at Radae.

The two projectiles collided in a cataclysmic explosion. A blinding flash erupted, forcing even Verlin to avert his gaze. Heat and light engulfed him, the energy washing over his body in waves. For a moment, he thought he had succeeded.

Suddenly a sharp, searing pain tore through his chest. The dagger, having pierced through the explosion, embedded itself deep into Verlin's torso. The force sent him hurtling backwards at incredible speed. His body crashed into one of Jupiter's moons, skidding and carving a massive trench across its surface.

Stunned and gasping, Verlin tried to rise, but his legs buckled beneath him, sending him back to his knees. He felt something rising in his throat, and when he exhaled, a large spray of blood erupted from his mouth, splattering across the moon's cracked surface.

As his vision blurred, Verlin forced himself to look down. The sight of the dagger still lodged to the hilt in his chest brought the pain roaring to life.

Verlin's fingers trembled as he reached for the dagger embedded in his chest. Each breath sent a jolt of agony coursing through his body, he had to remove it quickly, not only was it draining energy from his body, it had also penetrated directly through his heart

Verlin grasped the hilt, but the moment he attempted to pull out the blade, a pain unlike anything he had ever felt erupted through his entire being. It wasn't just his chest; it felt as though every nerve, every cell in his body was screaming at him all at once. His fingers instinctively let go of the hilt as his knees gave way, digging into the moon's surface. Cracks spiderwebbed outward beneath him, threatening to split the moon in two under the sheer weight of his anguish.

Desperate to offset the unbearable torment, Verlin slammed his forehead into the ground with thunderous force, sending tremors through the moon. The craters around him expanded as fissures snaked across the lunar surface. Still, the pain refused to relent.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Verlin let out a scream so primal, so loud, it reverberated across the moon's barren landscape. The soundwaves ionized the thin atmosphere, creating a blinding flash of light around him. The force of his scream unleashed a blastwave that traveled outward in a circular shockwave, flattening everything in its path and sending debris spiraling into space.

The outburst didn't last long as Verlin's eyes rolled back, as he passed out.

P.S (This update was late cause I had exams)