Moments Earlier

Serah watched in silence as the blackened form of Gerard stood right in front of her.

The once-proud Beast King had now been reduced to nothing more than a mindless marionette who served only to eliminate Legris’ enemies.

Her crimson eyes took in his pathetic form—his pale body, the darkness that danced around his body, and the lifeless eyes that glared at her.

She knew by instinct that any move she made would be followed by instant retaliation, so she took her time to observe him.

‘The rest have departed with their opponents, and even I had to lead him away from the cocoon.’

At this point, Serah knew the best thing to do was fight Gerard and rush to destroy Legris’ cocoon, so she decided to pull herself from the remnant sentiments that plagued her.

“You’re no longer Gerard, so I don’t know why I feel this way. This immense guilt in my heart… I can’t properly convey it to him.” She murmured.

Even though it was pointless, Serah still felt the need to pour out her heart.

“I don’t know if you’re there or not. You’re probably not, but…” A small smile formed on her face.

“Thank you for everything, Gerard. For protecting me. For loving me. For sacrificing yourself for me. For us.”

Her eyes were glowing now, and the Aether within her was rising.

“I don’t care what anyone else says or thinks of you.”

Gerard grunted slightly, most likely due to sensing the dangerous amount of power Serah was building up.

“You’re a decent guy. You were able to stick to your ideals to the end and protect what you cared about. That’s neat as hell.”

Serah sniffed a little as she concluded her last words.

And what was his response?

~VWUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!~

Gerard’s body instantly morphed into his Ultimate Transformation: Grand Final Phase.

Unlike in the past, however, the inverse energy that now shrouded him encircled his body like torrents of power.

He was completely bathed in that power, serving as both a defensive barrier, and also an offensive tool.

No one could even get close to him, else they would be consumed into nothingness.

“Grrrrrr…” His grotesque form leaked out deep growls of malice as he glared at Serah.

His intentions were clear—destroy her at all costs.

In response to this transformation, and the feral state that Gerard was currently in, Serah calmly let go of her smile.

She sighed silently, preparing herself for what was to come.

“Grand Fusion: Dual Constellation Regalia”

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~

An overwhelming surge of power radiated from Serah, painting the world around her in both black and red power.

Her body was now shrouded in a black armor, lined with crimson power that seemed like it would explode at any given moment.

Like a combination of black magma and lava, her body was decorated in a seemingly unbreakable armor and shimmering red energy.

The whites of her eyes were now black, while her risks were red.

Her arms and legs wore blackness like gloves, while her shoulder, breasts, and certain other regions had similar armor plates.

The rest were simply pure energy.

Her long hair shone crimson, and she had two large black horns protrude from her forehead.

Wing the wings of a demon, and the tail of a devil, she magnificently stared at her target.

“The power of Destruction and Corruption…” Serah murmured as she stared at her clenched fist.

Her power of Destruction came from Taurus, while the Representation of Corruption belonged to Scorpio.

With both of them as her backers, the power that swirled within and without her defied imagination.

“Shall we begin?” She whispered, watching as Gerard took his pose, preparing to charge.

A sad gaze traveled from her to the primal creature—almost as if she did not see him as an adversary, but a pitiful dog needed to be put out of its misery.

~WHOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHH!!!~

Space shattered as Gerard launched himself towards Serah, his darkness consuming everything in his path.

With a roar of rage, and power that defied imagination, he charged at the motionless Serah.

And then—

~WHUUUUUUUUMMMM!!!~

He suddenly stopped, unable to take another step forward.

Why?!

“You poor thing.”

Serah’s hand was firmly on his throat, and all the accumulated dark energy that had run rabid on his body were banished.

… Almost like a flame being put out by a rush of wind.

“G-gurgh! Rughh!!!” Gerard struggled to set himself free, tightly gripping Serah’s firm fingers as he desperately attempted to pull them away from their lock.

Unfortunately for him, it was impossible.

“R-ROOOOAAARRRGGGHH!!!”

Gerard roared. He screamed desperately, banging his massive arms all over Serah, but none of his limbs even reached her.

Not without being completely eviscerated by an invisible force.

“Destruction. Corruption.” Serah whispered as she looked at Gerard’s beastly state.

“I could say it’s the same as your inverse energy.”

Nothing Gerard did was working. He simply kept squirming helplessly in the presence of Serah’s overwhelming power.

His body was already being covered in blackness—one that was different from what he had before.

This wasn’t inverse energy; It was an overflow of Serah’s energy in the form of Corruption.

Against this, not even Gerard could resist.

“We would simply cancel each other out. Except for one variable…” Serah tightened her grip on Gerard’s neck, instantly crushing everything there.

It caused the deceased Beast King to vomit blood, but Serah cared for none of that.

Her unoccupied fist was already preparing her final strike.

“I’m just stronger.”

~WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!~

The strike defied space itself, destroying and corrupting all that it met until it reached Gerard itself.

That was the finishing blow.

The only one that mattered.

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!~

At that moment, Gerard turned into dust, and even his dust became utterly eviscerated as a result of Serah’s Destruction.

Nothing was left of Gerard—nothing but the fond memory she had left of him.

‘Wherever you are now…’ Serah turned to the cocoon, only smiling faintly as she floated towards it.

“Stand proud, Gerard. You were strong.”

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