Chapter 388: Struggle [8]

Before Hun Fang could even completely recover from the beam of volatile energy that bore a hole through his stomach, he found another problem arising.

Terrifying black lightning burst apart the room they were in. He felt that if he was struck by that lightning, the damage he'd take was far more severe than a mere hole that he could heal within a minute.

He gritted his teeth in frustration. 'It isn't supposed to be like this. It can't be like this. I can't allow this fight to continue for much longer.'

There were things he needed to do. Things that had to be done as soon as possible. The longer this fight drew out, the more disadvantageous it was for him.

'Dammit! Since the beginning, I was never a frontal combatant. Why should an assassin engage in head-on combat?'

He truly wanted to do things the way that was most comfortable for him, but it was impossible. His opponent was a spatial cultivator, and not only that, a spatial cultivator with eyes that were far greater than his own.

He already had some information about Damien. It was the reason he was able to counter Damien's teleportation and other moves so efficiently.

But in the same way he could efficiently counter Damien, Damien could do the same to him. That is, if he used his original combat style.

'Forcing him into long-range combat bought me some leeway. Velzegard also gave me the physical resistance I need to stand against his frightening bodily strength, but I don't have any proper offensive counters.'

His affinity was special. It was probably one of the most special affinities out there.

An affinity for souls and spirits.

This kind of affinity gave him an unprecedented amount of auxiliary skills that could save his life, but it also meant that he didn't have a great deal of individual combat power.

The reason was simple. The soul wasn't something a mortal could touch.

For his affinity to truly bloom, he needed to at least be a half step into Godhood. It was a troubling burden that he had carried ever since he started his path to power.

And so, his main fighting style naturally became stealth-based. A single sure-fire attack that'd kill without making a sound, that was what he was known for.

Of course, he had other means as well.

'But my summons won't be able to hold up to that man at all. He is a beast on a completely different level.'

Summoning spirits and beasts from a different Plane to fight for him, or to merge with him and lend him their strength. This was his main combat style when he had to fight directly.

The problem was, he had to merge with Velzegard to acquire the defense he needed. And with those terrifying lightning bolts littering the area, he didn't have the option to switch summons.

Before he could finish up his thoughts, he suddenly felt a wild aura engulf him from behind.

Bang!

He quickly turned around and raised his arms to block. But the force of impact was far greater than he expected.

Crack!

The bones in his arms broke in two. 'Even with Velzegard's reinforcement...!'

He hurriedly backed away, but the beast was relentless in its chase. Wild black lightning crackled through the air and caused miniature explosions with its every movement. That lightning wrapped around a shockingly fast fist that was currently flying towards his chest.

Boom!

Hun Fang grabbed his staff and poured his mana into it. An array of souls flew out and coated the shaft in the second before it was hit by that fist.

OOOOOOH!

Harrowing shrieks rang out. The lighting dashed through the souls that coated the staff and burned them into oblivion. With every move the lightning made, Hun Fang could feel the soul collection he spent so much time building lose its force.

"Dammit!" Hun Fang gritted his teeth. A trail of blood leaked from his lip.

But even as he did so, the beast in front of him twisted his body at an unnatural angle and let out a kick that whipped through the air.

Hun Fang rapidly evaded the kick, turning into a trail of smoke that escaped to the other side of the room.

'He's using too much force. At this rate, Velzegard won't be enough. I should be able to counter him but...my body won't hold up.'

He made a split-second decision. Multiple thoughts flashed through his head, leading his decision to be obvious.

"Heed my call. Come forth, Behemoth."

The Minotaur phantom disappeared from his back. Hun Fang felt a sudden emptiness as he lost the strength of his summon, but that emptiness was soon filled.

No, it was more than filled.

Crack!

His bone structure was altered as his body became far larger than it ever was before. The aura of power emanating from him caused space to quake.

But at the same time, cracks formed on his skin. He wouldn't be able to hold this form for long.

'I have 10 minutes at most before my body fails me. I must end it within that time.'

Damien appeared before Hun Fang like a shadow while he was in the middle of transforming, but Hun Fang didn't panic like he did last time.

He calmly held out his hand, grabbing Damien's leg. And then, he clutched his fist.

CRACK!

The bones in Damien's leg shattered into paste. The leg itself became flimsy without support.

Hun Fang's fist shot forward at the same time. It was slow and steady, but the power behind it was no joke.

Damien's eyes widened. This power was far greater than what was shown before. His gaze hardened as Mirage appeared in his hand once more.

The blade sliced downward with all of Damien's strength behind it. At the same time, vector control increased gravity around the sword, as well as the sword's velocity and momentum.

Spatial mana raged, creating multiple tiny space cracks that created a minor suction force. These space cracks collided with each other and formed a massive gash in space within an instant.

But that was only a side effect of what Damien was doing. He poured heaping amounts of mana into the blade. It was to the point where he almost exhausted his entire mana reserve.

But it was necessary. Hun Fang's fist was simply that powerful.

'Void Sword Art Fourth Form: Spatial Collapse'

The sword and the fist finally met. And as a result...

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion far greater than any other.

The massive black hole formed through spatial collapse met a pure physical force great enough to shatter space like glass. The suction of the black hole couldn't cope with the sheer amount of energy contained in that punch, but Hun Fang's fist also couldn't get past the swirling black hole.

The energy waves of the collision ripped apart the room that the two were fighting in. Shrapnel from the Primordial Undying Tree's branches rained down on the rest of the realm around them.

The Void Flame immediately stopped devouring the souls Hun Fang had sent out at the beginning of the battle. They shot towards Damien and wrapped around his body, solidifying into a black-gold flame armor that protected him from the blast.

The two geniuses were thrown backwards by the force of the explosion, readjusting their balance in the air.

It was only because they were within the Primordial Undying Tree, this extremely powerful tree, that their collision didn't cause more damage.

In reality, that force would've been enough to decimate every other genius in the secret realm with them with ease.

But it didn't.

Now, the two were standing in the sky opposite from each other, sparks flying in the air between them.

This was the second time they had ended in a stalemate, and neither of them was going to allow a third.