A flash of black light!
The instant Russell's blade struck the ground, a crescent-shaped sword aura slashed out, cleaving the mountain where Helios stood straight down the middle.
The sword's cry came a beat late. A vertical line appeared across the earth, and the mountain slowly collapsed.
Then came a thunderous explosion. Rocks filled the sky, while a figure wreathed in golden light stood at the foot of the mountain.
Helios held a shield in one hand and drew a Golden Greatsword from the void with the other. Golden light burst from his eyes, and an incomparably dense golden-red aura enveloped his entire body.
Vast divine might surged into the heavens like a rising sun, shattering the surrounding mountains and hurling countless boulders into the sky.
The power within him was also rapidly awakening, rising and rising as though it had no upper limit.
"Tch, it's just special effects. Who can't do that?"
Russell's eyes turned black. He stepped forward as black mist coiled around him. Light warped, swallowed by the darkness with no way to escape.
The image distorted until only a vaguely humanoid shadow remained. Its eyes glowed crimson, while a silent, wildly grinning mouth split open beneath them.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The two vanished from where they stood at the same time. In the next second, their golden and black greatswords collided. Light and darkness, heat and cold crushed against each other, while their high-speed movements stretched their figures into curtains of light.
The left side blazed with boundless radiance, while the right was dark and deathly still. Divided by the two longswords, heaven and earth were painted gold and black, the colors clearly separated.
The air buzzed with piercing explosions. Two utterly opposing energies erupted, churning up an energy hurricane that blasted outward in all directions