Solomon narrowed his eyes at the settling dust. A fragment of the ancient Paladin’s memories drifted to the surface of his mind.

Even during the apocalyptic war of the past, amidst oceans of blood and fallen deities, Uriel was the only entity who had stubbornly survived until the very end.

The angel was practically unkillable through standard attrition.

’The Eden Bloodline,’ Solomon realized, his silver eyes widening slightly. ’The gemstone granted me the Indefatigable ability. But Uriel is one of the actual originators of that bloodline. The power comes directly from his kind.’

The terrifying truth settled in his mind. Uriel possessed the exact same trait, but on a vastly superior, divine scale. As a mortal, Solomon’s physical vessel demanded a stamina tax to convert fatigue into strength. Uriel’s pristine body suffered no such earthly limits.

’No stamina tax. Infinite power. Infinite strength,’ Solomon gritted his teeth. ’He can spam his holy magic endlessly. Every time I break his bones or sever a limb, he just dips into that bottomless well of energy to heal himself. He literally cannot be killed by attrition.’

However, Solomon recalled how the paladin was able to injure Uriel in such a way that he wasn’t able to heal. And even after centuries, Uriel was missing his three wings, and he couldn’t heal the scar on his chest.

’Perhaps... there is a time limit for healing, and if he doesn’t heal within a specific time frame, he can’t fully heal?’

Solomon let out a long, exhausted sigh. He turned his gaze away from the rubble and looked at the royal prince. "I already hit him with my strongest sword forms. It injures him, but he just heals the damage instantly and comes right back to fight again."

Vlad let out a sudden, dry chuckle. He adjusted his grip on his spear and wiped a smear of dirt from his cheek. "An old battle maniac friend of mine once taught me a very valuable lesson. He told me that if violence isn’t actively solving your problem, then you simply aren’t using enough violence."

Solomon raised a single silver eyebrow at the royal. "That sounds exactly like something I should be the one saying here."

Vlad offered a brief smirk before his expression shifted back to a serious frown. He quickly inspected Solomon’s severed wrist and trembling legs. "Your mobility is completely compromised, and you are struggling to even stand straight. I will take the front line and face him directly."

Solomon did not argue the logic. He shifted his stance to favor his good side and flooded Eden’s Penance with a brilliant, blazing silver aura. Standing beside him, Vlad twirled his spear and ignited his entire body in a dense coat of golden light.

A deep rumble suddenly echoed from the collapsed palace walls. The heavy stone debris shifted and then blasted outward in a shower of dust. A blinding streak of light shot straight up into the dark sky.

Uriel hovered high above the courtyard, his halo burning brightly and his face twisted into an expression of pure rage.

Hundreds of blazing lances materialized in the empty air behind him, humming with condensed holy magic.

"You dare mock the heavens!" Uriel’s voice boomed, echoing like thunder across the courtyard. "I will drown you both in divine fire!"

The angel dropped his arms, and the sky fell.

Vlad dashed to the front line and placed himself directly in the path of the descending spears. He spun his spear in a rapid arc, weaving blue lightning and golden aura into a massive elemental net.

The holy lances slammed into the lightning barrier, creating explosions that rocked the courtyard, tearing up chunks of earth and turning the rocks into glass. Vlad ground his teeth, his boots sliding

"Don’t just stand there looking pretty!" Vlad shouted over his shoulder, blue static sparking from his eyelashes. "I cannot hold this umbrella forever!"

Uriel blurred into a streak of light and bypassed the lightning net entirely to materialize at Vlad’s flank. Uriel swung a blazing halberd downward to cleave Vlad in half.

Solomon stepped into the trajectory and raised Eden’s Penance with his left hand. The silver-coated greatsword crashed against the halberd, creating a shockwave that blew the surrounding dust away in a perfect ring.

Uriel glared through the locked weapons and locked eyes with Solomon. "Your bones are breaking just holding that blade, mortal!"

"Then I guess it is a good thing I do not need them to kill you," Solomon replied coldly.

Convergence pulsed deeply within Solomon’s core. Indefatigable greedily devoured his fatigue and converted the pain into a terrifying surge of physical strength.

He twisted his wrist, parrying the halberd aside with a sudden burst of overwhelming force that threw Uriel off balance. He stepped directly into Uriel’s guard.

Eden Imperial Sword Arts: Third Form.

Solomon condensed his silver aura tightly around the edge of the blade.

He swung the greatsword in a brutal diagonal arc. Uriel managed to conjure a layered shield of holy light, catching the edge of the blade. The condensed silver aura punched right through the magic. The broad steel sheared through Uriel’s breastplate and bit deeply across his chest.

Uriel gasped as golden blood spilled over the silver metal. A twisted smile quickly spread across Uriel’s face as brilliant holy light flared around the wound. The flesh and muscle began knitting back together instantly.

"I am immortal!" Uriel laughed, gripping the flat of the blade with bare hands. "My power is bottomless! Sooner or later you will run out of strength and I will burn you with my holy light!"

"Hey, bird," Vlad called out from the side.

Uriel snapped his head sideways to see Vlad vaulting off a shattered pillar. Vlad wreathed his entire body in roaring blue electricity and thrust his spear forward, driving the crackling tip directly into Uriel’s unprotected ribs.

"Discharge."

A point-blank explosion of lightning erupted through Uriel’s body. Uriel shrieked as the high-voltage magic paralyzed his muscles for a crucial fraction of a second.

That single second was all Solomon needed.

"If you heal instantly," Solomon muttered, ripping the greatsword out of the angel’s shoulder in a spray of golden ichor, "then I just have to cut you faster than your divinity can mend."