Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 61

Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“Like a proper fight?” Sift asked. He smiled and cracked his knuckles, before turning to Ruwen. “You aren’t ready for god-tier Sift. Prepare yourself for a beating. A beating worse than those chickens gave you.”

“Chickens?” Ash asked.

Ruwen waved Sift’s comment away as he answered Ash. “Ancient history that nobody cares about or remembers.”

“You should see their T-shirts,” Sift said to Ash.

“Chickens in T-shirts,” Ash replied obviously confused.

“No, they wear bowties. You buy the shirts in the restaurant gift shop.”

“I can never tell when you’re joking,” Echo said to Sift.

Sift gave Echo a serious look. “Those chickens almost killed Mr. Denial here, before becoming elite bodyguard’s for Blapy herself. They’re called the Savage Seven and they gained even more fame in the Shattered Sun as one of the most difficult boss levels to clear. Now they manage a successful restaurant chain and Ruwen’s on most of their merchandise. Usually laying on the ground or slumped over in exhaustion or death.”

“That’s not how it happened!” Ruwen said. He lowered his voice and calmed himself. “A complete distortion of events and likely criminal misrepresentation. I really hate those chickens.”

Echo stared at Ruwen. “Chickens?”

“I trained to be a Mage,” Ruwen responded defensively. “And when that didn’t work out, the guy teaching me how to fight was twelve jellybeans short of a dozen.”

Sift’s eyes widened at the word jellybean, and a bag appeared in his hand. He took a handful of candy and chewed it happily.

Ruwen shook his head and studied the crumbling structures surrounding them, ancient stone damaged by centuries of neglect. Collapsed archways and broken pillars created a maze of debris through what had once been a grand city.

“Is there anything valuable around here?” Ruwen asked Ash.

“Not that I’ve seen.”

Ruwen met Sift’s gaze and they both grinned.

Without a word, Ruwen and Sift summoned clothing from their dimensional storage. Their usual clothes vanished in swirls of displaced air, replaced by simple cotton gi pants that hung loose around their legs. They stood barefoot on the ancient stones, chests bare to the warm air.

Ruwen’s breath caught, and he strode over to Sift, studying the intricate tattoo now visible.

The Beastmaster Ink had grown dramatically, covering half of Sift's back, wrapping around his left side, and stretching across part of his chest. A magnificent eagle soared over his spine while a coiled viper tracked its flight. A massive bear stood guard near Sift's heart, and dozens of other creatures populated the intricate design. Wolves ran in packs, and sharks cut through waves of ink that seemed to flow like real water. Between his shoulder blades a white elder tortoise presided over them all.

"Your tattoo," Ruwen said, unable to hide his amazement. "It's incredible."

Sift glanced down at his chest, where the faint outlines of a hawk had appeared, just on the edge of visibility. "Thanks, I love it. It’s still maturing. I can feel them all, but Shelly's connection is strongest.”

“You can talk to animals?”

“Mostly just hear them right now. Those parrots around Grandpa P’s house swear a lot.”

Ruwen spent another ten seconds studying the tattoo’s beauty.

“Are you stalling?” Sift asked. He flexed his arms and back. “My sifty-sense detects fear.”

Ruwen stepped away and settled into the opening Viper stance.

Sift mirrored the position, his new Divine reflexes perfecting his movements into something impossibly fluid.

Ruwen wrapped Echo and Ash in a translucent force shield and placed them thirty feet away and fifty feet in the air.

Ruwen and Sift attacked at the same moment.

Sift’s Thunderous Crane met Ruwen’s Striking Viper in a collision that split the air with a crack of thunder. The pressure wave disintegrated the nearby stone, and weakened walls tumbled seventy feet away.

Ruwen flowed into Bamboo in the Storm, his body swaying as Sift's Cobra's Dance sent strike after strike whistling through empty air. Each missed attack continued, lethal arrows constructed of compressed air. When Sift's fist passed a fraction of an inch from Ruwen's cheek, the displaced air burned from friction.

Ruwen dropped below Sift's guard with Falling Leaves and swept at his ankles.

Sift responded with Viper's Ascent, using Ruwen's low position to launch into a spiraling kick aimed at Ruwen's temple.

Ruwen rolled forward, his movement transitioning seamlessly into Sleeping Mountain. His shoulder should have caught Sift in the ribs, but Sift's new Divine tier reflexes allowed him to twist away at the last instant. The near-miss sent both fighters tumbling in opposite directions.

They landed in perfect balance fifty feet apart—displaced dust and debris hung in the air like fog.

Both grinned.

"You finally match my speed," Ruwen stated.

"But?" Sift asked, recognizing Ruwen’s tone.

"Speed isn't everything."

They came together again, this time in a flurry of techniques too fast to track. Twisting Willow met Lightning Fang. Gentle Brook countered Thunder Serpent. Each exchange grew faster, more violent, more beautiful.

Sift pivoted on his left heel, his right foot sliding forward as his shoulder dipped low. The movement telegraphed a rising uppercut, but at the last instant he shifted his weight backward. Rotating his left foot fifteen degrees he redirected his momentum into a horizontal elbow strike aimed at Ruwen's floating ribs. The blow cut through the air with surgical precision, Sift's forearm aligned perfectly with his shoulder to deliver maximum force.

Ruwen saw the deception from the shift of Sift's hips, a subtle tell that revealed the true attack.

Ruwen dropped his right shoulder and twisted his torso clockwise, letting the elbow skim past his side. As Sift's arm extended beyond its target, Ruwen trapped the limb against his ribs with his left arm while his right hand snaked upward. His palm struck at Sift's exposed armpit—a nerve cluster that would numb the arm for a precious second.

But Sift's Divine reflexes allowed him to roll his shoulder forward, turning a fight-ending blow into a glancing touch. The contact would still send lightning down Sift's arm, and Ruwen moved to take advantage, but Sift used the momentum of Ruwen's strike to spin away.

Sift immediately attacked with Avalanche Strike.

Ruwen dodged, and the building behind him collapsed as the attack punched through its foundation.

Sift deflected Ruwen’s counterattack, but the force of the blow sent him flying into a row of shops, reducing them to rubble in seconds.

Out of the dust, Sift launched himself at Ruwen like a siege bolt.

Ruwen executed a perfect counter, his mastery of balance allowing him to flow between Bamboo and Viper techniques with seamless grace.

For a split second, Ruwen thought he saw the ghostly forms of animals overlaying Sift's movements—the power of a bear, the grace of a hawk, the speed of a viper all combined in a unity of purpose.

Their clash sent shockwaves through the ruins. Entire city blocks swayed and toppled from the forces unleashed. Ruwen didn’t suppress the unbridled joy that fighting all out brought him. His body Fortification advancements had pushed him far beyond the abilities of most fighters. After his grasp of balance during the seventh step of his Master’s Trial, no one remained that could match him.

Now though, Sift had a Divine body. Paired with the natural perfection of his techniques, it made them equals in a way they’d never had before. And they both radiated joy despite the lethal violence of their attacks.

As their sparring continued, Ruwen detected the subtle advantage his mastery of balance provided. Not in raw power or speed, where they now aligned, but in the flawless economy of motion.

One strike in a hundred landed for Ruwen as his tiny advantages built until Sift couldn’t counter. One dodge in a thousand left Sift minutely off-balance altering his equilibrium. The margin, imperceptible to observers, was the domain of Grandmasters.

Ruwen and Sift stood atop the rubble of a tower trading devastating techniques when Overlord materialized.

Overlord wore a red and black gi reminiscent of his Fallen Lord's armor. His clothes whipped and snapped from the whirlwind of blows near him. The coiled violence of a predator coupled with the grace of a Bamboo Viper Clan Grandmaster couldn’t be hidden.

"Room for one more?" Overlord asked.

Ruwen extended his mental Domain, spreading it as far as possible. It provided a safe environment for any of Ruwen’s mental inhabitants, allowing them to be outside his mind. If Overlord's Minion body was destroyed, he could safely retreat to Ruwen's mind or simply create another vessel to continue fighting.

Without a word, a three-way battle formed as Ruwen and Sift integrated Overlord into their fight.

Overlord’s Empty Cup met Ruwen's Bent Grass which crashed into Sift's Flickering Flame. The collision produced rolling thunder that leveled everything withing a hundred feet.

They separated, everyone grinning, and circled each other for three seconds before attacking again. Overlord attacked with altered techniques that disrupted the familiar rhythms Ruwen and Sift produced.

Ruwen recognized the source of Overlord’s modifications. They originated from the sword techniques Ruwen had learned in the Destruction Realm.

“You’re incorporating the katas,” Ruwen yelled over the sound of crashing stone.

“Trying to unify everything,” Overlord replied.

Their battle continued. Overlord’s Minion body had a huge durability disadvantage that required him to summon a new Minion multiple times every minute. Ruwen suggested a weapon to create distance, and Overlord happily agreed, instantly summoning swords and almost severing Sift’s head from his body.

The joyous destruction continued through the ruined city for another five minutes when the air itself began to sing. All of the stopped fighting. They stood in an ancient square surrounded by half fallen temples.

Twenty-nine points of light descended from the sky like golden snowflakes. When they reached the ground they morphed, expanding into magnificent, winged figures—golden angels.

Purgatory’s guardians had joined them.

Motes of golden light appeared, drifting on invisible currents across Ruwen’s Mental Domain. The angels spread their six wings, faces serene and beautiful, each holding a weapon forged from pure light. Their clothes were no longer simple robes but had incorporated elements of a traditional gi.

Sift whistled in appreciation.

Prythus sheathed his glowing two-handed sword in an invisible sheath across his back, placed an open palm over a clenched fist, and bowed formally to Ruwen, Sift, and Overlord, and the other guardians mirrored him.

 Ruwen returned the bow, whispering the twenty-nine names like a prayer. He heard Echo gasp as she recognized the figures, and he hoped it didn’t disrupt the delicate balance she’d found.

"My brothers and sisters," Ruwen said, emotion thick in his voice. "You honor us with your presence."

Prythus smiled, the expression transforming his angelic features into something warmly human. "The grove has awakened, Ruwen. Where you fight, we fight."

Then, without another word, thirty-two beings of immense power attacked each other.

The combat transcended anything Ruwen had experienced and the ancient city didn't just crumble, it disintegrated.

Ruwen found himself pressed harder than ever before. The guardians each possessed a fraction of his Harmony knowledge, which aided their understanding of balance enough that it made them incredibly dangerous.

Fighting Sift required perfection in both physical form and technique. Overlord lacked the speed and reflexes to match Ruwen and Sift because of the Minion’s limitations, and the same held true of the guardians. Ruwen was thankful for that because Overlord and the Guardians, with their understanding of balance, grasp of Harmony, and weapons of light proved almost too much to handle. If they ever attained real bodies, he doubted he could win against a group of them.

Techniques layered upon techniques until the very concepts they represented blurred.

Ruwen fought Prythus while engaging six other Guardians. The seven-way kata, performed with weapons of light, painted geometric patterns in the air. Their movements left trails of light that formed complex arrays, geometric shapes that focused and amplified their power while suppressing his.

This advance thrilled Ruwen but he set it aside to discuss later. Now, he wanted to do his best against this new form of battle magic.

Sift battled five others, his tattoo now manifesting spectral animals that fought alongside him. The great bear grappled with golden warriors while eagles dove at their eyes and serpents sought gaps in their defenses. They weren’t very solid yet and their damage was nonexistent, but they provided superb distractions. If Sift could ever manifest them fully, they would be a huge help.

Overlord held his own against three Guardians displaying his Grandmaster level Step skills.

Two of the Guardians had headed for Echo and Ash and he lowered them to the ground so they could have some fun as well.

The remaining twelve fought each other in a glorious free for all.

The ground turned to glass from the heat of their combat and sonic booms overlapped into a continuous thunder that rattled the bones.

Ruwen felt a deep satisfaction. The Bamboo Viper Steps represented more than combat, it guided one to the pursuit of perfection through eternal struggle.

And in that struggle, surrounded by dear friends both living and transcended, Ruwen understood that discovering some truths required more than raw power.

Balance, once truly achieved, became more than a technique or a philosophy—it revealed itself as the fundamental law of existence.