Chapter 297: A Battle With A Goddess
"It’s useless! Those marks are already carved into your soul, and I can easily control you! I’ll show you just how powerful a goddess really is!" she growled and continued.
"As your master, I command you to kneel." At the same time, her eyes began to glow, and the marks on Daniel’s soul started to shine.
However, to her surprise, nothing happened. He just stood there, staring at the self-proclaimed goddess with clear boredom.
"Done? Impressive display."
"This is impossible! Why isn’t it working? Why aren’t you obeying me?!" The Moon Goddess felt that something was wrong.
She looked into Daniel’s soul with her eyes — and what she saw left her stunned. His blood was burning away the marks.
But how was that even possible? In all these years, no one had ever noticed those marks, let alone been able to burn them away.
Those marks normally stayed hidden and could only be seen when she wanted others to notice them.
But this young man in front of her was burning them away with his blood.
How could mere blood do something like that?
"You’re not the Moon Goddess, are you?" Daniel said while glancing at his sword.
"What are you talking about? I’m obviously the Moon Goddess!"
"No, you’re not... You may have taken her face, but you’re clearly not her. You’re probably some kind of will or parasitic being, something along those lines."
"Human, you’re mistaken!" The deceitful goddess’s voice trembled as if Daniel’s words had shaken her.
"Then prove it. If you’re really the Moon Goddess, you should be able to crush me like an insect." Daniel shrugged, then lunged forward.
’Let’s see how it feels to attack the Moon Goddess with the Law of the Moon.’
The crystalline ground trembled, and the silver pillars radiated a mystical aura. Daniel began with [Silver Light], summoning a radiant glow around himself that lit up the area.
Using [Bloody Shadow Dance], he vanished into the shadows of the pillars and suddenly appeared behind the goddess, slashing with Heaven’s Honor infused with sword aura.
His blade shone like a white meteor, leaving a deep gash across her luminous arm.
"You lowly human, I’ll kill you with my own hands!" the goddess roared, retreating as she countered with [Crescent Night].
Waves shaped like crescents tore through the ground, surging toward Daniel.
He immediately defended with [Demonic Twilight Shield], a black-and-red shield surrounding him, deflecting the waves and absorbing their energy into his body.
Without hesitation, he struck back with [Strike of Destruction], his blade infused with death energy and sword aura, slamming into the goddess’s chest like a thunderclap.
The explosion shook one of the pillars, sending the goddess flying back.
"Enough playing! It’s time you experience the wrath of a god, mortal!" the goddess shouted, countering with [Dance of the Stars].
The space around them transformed into a star-filled sky, trapping Daniel in an illusion filled with his deepest fears.
He steadied his mind, creating an illusionary clone of himself to distract her, then unleashed [Eyes of Destruction], firing destructive beams that shattered the ground.
The goddess defended with [Full Moon Barrier], absorbing the beams as she said, "You’re just a mortal. This is your end."
She laughed and summoned [Silver Moon Armor], a living armor that wrapped around her like a second skin.
Daniel frowned as he watched — his strikes were already barely managing to hurt her.
The goddess followed up with [Cosmic Tide], a gravitational wave that flung Daniel into the air before slamming him into the ground.
Pain engulfed his body, fogging his mind, but he quickly healed himself with [Mana Healing].
’This is getting dangerous. Her power is at least on par with a Peak A-rank. I can’t win like this.’
The goddess attacked again, this time with [New Moon Storm].
A storm of darkness and light surged, threatening to swallow the world itself, engulfing Daniel.
Without hesitation, he unleashed [Death Roar] to counter, his roar shaking the goddess’s mind.
However, she resisted. If it came to mental combat, she was clearly a master. A miniature moon appeared within her mind, devouring and negating his attack.
Daniel used the opening to activate his Burning Mana Armor, the blazing armor forming around him instantly.
He attempted to manipulate the Law of the Moon to slow time for a brief moment, dodging the storm just in time.
But the storm, as sharp as blades, still cut through part of his chest.
He healed again with [Mana Healing].
"Mortal, it seems you’re stronger than I expected," the goddess hissed, unleashing [Crimson Moon Phantasm], trapping Daniel in a world of countless blood moons.
He shattered the illusion using the power of the Law, but his energy was nearly drained.
"It’s time I get serious too," Daniel growled, activating [Eternal Judgement].
The sky above them turned blood-red, and a massive blood-forged sword infused with death energy manifested, hurtling toward the goddess.
It struck her armor, leaving a visible crack.
"That’s it? Boring." The goddess used [Moon’s Echo Song], reflecting the sword’s power back at him.
Daniel barely defended with [Demonic Twilight Shield], but the impact still struck his shoulder hard. He used [Mana Healing] again, but this time it was less effective.
"Damn it," he cursed.
"It’s time to end this fight and take your body." The goddess summoned [Silver Meteor Barrage], unleashing a rain of silver meteors that shattered the land.
Daniel dodged with [Bloody Shadow Dance] and countered by firing black beams from [Eyes of Destruction], blasting apart the falling meteors.
But the goddess trapped him with [Eternal Moon Cycle], binding him in a loop of gravity and illusions.
Daniel struggled, but it was no use — cracks spread across his body.
The situation was completely against him. If he didn’t act now, death was certain.
’I’ll have to use the Fallen. Who cares about fairness in a fight like this?’ he thought, and suddenly, a sea of blood spread beneath his feet.
"Hm? what are these?" the Moon Goddess muttered.