Struggling as a Villain

This was the first time for Richard to see Jasmine and Axon fight without holding back. And looking at the battle, he could tell that his Generals were far stronger than the apostles.

"Want to take a break, girly~" Jasmine teased as she levitated inches above the ground with her hands crossed on her bust and her stance completely nonchalant.

She has overwhelmed Ruby with her agility and flexibility by weaving through her attacks and launching a counter far worse than Ruby's defenses could handle.

On the other hand,

Theodore lunged forward, his fists crackling with raw ether as he swung at Axon's chest. But Axon barely moved—just a slight tilt of his head—before he delivered a brutal counterpunch to Theodore's ribs. A deep boom followed the impact sending a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath them.

Theodore gritted his teeth and retaliated with a spinning kick, but Axon caught his leg midair and slammed him into the dirt like a ragdoll. Dust erupted around them, but Theodore pushed off the ground and shot forward again. His punches came in a flurry—fast, precise—but Axon weaved through them effortlessly, stepping in and burying his knee into Theodore's gut.

A shockwave tore through the battlefield. Theodore coughed blood, yet he refused to fall. He roared, ether bursting from his limbs as he threw everything into one last strike.

Axon's expression didn't change. With one smooth motion, he dodged and delivered a devastating right hook to Theodore's face. The air cracked, and the apostle's body was sent flying, crashing through stone and rubble before skidding to a stop.

Axon exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "That's all?"

Theodore barely could get up, and Ruby knew that unless she didn't do something, she would get killed alongside him—the commander on their side wasn't benevolent enough to send backup.

Her eyes went toward Richard for a moment…and all she saw was pure indifference in his eyes.

'I can't hesitate here…' Taking the resolve, she began gathering ether around her--far greater than what Jasmine had been sensing from her until now.

'This looks bad,' The winged demoness launched toward her opponent, easily dodging the vortex of high gravitation field that Ruby launched in her way, and reaching the opponent in a blink.

"Agh!" Ruby groaned. Her neck was suddenly grabbed, and the girl was lifted off the surface.

"Enough playing around," Jasmine muttered as her grip around Ruby's neck began to turn firm.

However, suddenly, an ominous sensation assaulted Jasmine as she felt all the alarms in her head going off.

*GRAB*

Suddenly, Ruby grabbed her arm, her pained expression getting replaced by a smirk, as she muttered, "See..you in hell-"

Before her words could fall, the world around them turned abyssal.

An invisible force crushed the air itself. A deep, guttural groan echoed through the battlefield as the ground beneath them collapsed, shattering like fragile glass under an unbearable weight. Jagged fissures spread outward in all directions, swallowing everything in their path.

Jasmine's eyes widened. Her wings trembled, her body sinking under the unnatural force. It was as if the entire world had turned against her, pressing down with an unrelenting grip. Her bones creaked, her vision blurred—her lungs screamed for air, but the pressure crushed the very breath out of her chest.

Ruby gritted her teeth as she muttered under her breath, 'Tenfold!'

A horrifying screech tore through reality as the gravity increased tenfold. The battlefield collapsed, stone and dust imploding into a singularity of weight beyond mortal comprehension. The very air distorted, twisting into a monstrous abyss where light struggled to escape.

Jasmine's wings snapped under the force. Blood dripped from her nose, her ears, even her eyes, as she struggled to move, to even think. Her body bent inward, her ribs threatening to shatter.

She couldn't even use her magic to counter the gravity that was crushing her to death.

Her mind failed to focus as she gritted her teeth and extended her hand toward the damn bitch.

Eleanor smirked. Finally, Ruby was showing her usefulness.

The side of Light rejoiced at the sight of their General finally crushing the other side—giving them their confidence and boosting their strength.

However, just when they thought that Ruby would finally kill the damn demoness… suddenly,

*TING*

A faint, almost imperceptible chime rang through the battlefield. It was quiet, nearly swallowed by the abyssal howling of Ruby's gravity magic. Yet, in the very next instant—everything shattered.

The crushing weight, the spiraling vortex, the suffocating force pressing against Jasmine's bones—gone.

Like glass meeting a hammer, the abyss cracked apart, dissolving into nothingness. The battlefield stilled. The air lost its warping pressure, and the world snapped back to reality as if the spell had never existed in the first place.

Ruby's eyes widened in pure disbelief. Impossible. Her control had been absolute. She had Ruby right where she wanted—so what had just happened?

Jasmine gasped as her body was freed from the invisible chains of gravity. She dropped to one knee, panting, blood trickling down her chin. But then, her golden eyes flicked upward—toward Ruby's shoulder.

Richard heaved a sigh as he lowered his hand and decided to scold Jasmine for underestimating her opponent.

Ruby failed to understand how, even with the Scarlette clan's prized spell dismantling, Richard was able to dismantle such-

*SQUELCH*

"….huh…" Ruby's thought came to a pause as she felt something stabbing her stomach and penetrating her back.

Looking down, she found Jasmine close to her, her hand inside Ruby's stomach.

Her vision blurred, as Jasmine pulled her hand and allowed Ruby to fall back.

Eleanor clicked her tongue and told, "Just send someone and-huh?"

Her eyes slightly widened as Ruby's body didn't fall to the ground; rather, it began levitating before a certain pink head appeared on the battlefield.

Even Richard's expression shifted as he saw Rose suddenly appearing on the battlefield.

Her expression was not visible, however, the ether around her made it obvious what she was feeling at the moment.

Anger.

A deafening silence fell over the battlefield. The air thickened—no, it curdled, turning into something dense, something unnatural. A deep, pulsing dread seeped into the bones of everyone present, forcing them to acknowledge the monstrous presence that had arrived.

Rose didn't move, didn't speak. But the ether around her churned like a storm, twisting and writhing, spilling out in waves that made the very fabric of reality tremble. The ground cracked beneath her feet, not from force, but as if the earth itself recoiled in fear.

While Rose was healing Ruby, Richard called out, "Axon, take Jasmine away." He cannot allow them to fight the descendent of the Sorcerer Supreme.

However, before he could have stepped forward, a familiar redhead landed before him,

"Baby~isn't she the one who harmed you back in the Academy?" Bellarine asked with her back facing him.

Richard heaved a sigh with a smile, as he said, "Do whatever you want."

Bellarine's magical presence collided against Rose's—equally terrifying as the soldiers from both sides backed away.

The battle between two power houses was about to begin.

°°°°°°

A/N:- Damn, this is going to be intense.