The void was no longer calm.
The place where no Law was fully defined was now breaking under the pressure of two presences. There was no sound, no clear light... but every wave of mana released from the clashes was enough on its own to destroy an entire country.
Daniel stood in the middle of this empty space.
His body looked calm, but inside... every particle of his energy was circulating and coordinating.
Lightning flowed through his veins, the energy of death coiled around him like dark mist, and an invisible layer of eternity power kept everything in balance.
In front of him stood Valkraz.
But he no longer looked like he did a few moments ago.
His breathing had grown heavy. Deeper lines of darkness ran across his body, and his aura... no longer just felt heavy, it looked "wounded."
His gaze was locked on Daniel. He had started to doubt that this kidâs power came from just an item. This power was so pure and real that it even seemed stronger than his own as a true Heavenly King.
A few seconds ago, he still thought this was just an unnatural jump. An anomaly. But now he was seeing it.
Daniel wasnât just strong, the structure of his power was unparalleled.
Several Laws were flowing inside him. Death, lightning, something similar to eternity... and yet, they didnât contradict each other at all. Instead, they seemed to have merged into one single flow.
Valkrazâs eyes narrowed. He was genuinely jealous of such a genius.
He himself had once been a genius, a genius who dominated an entire generation and managed to become a Heavenly King.
But he knew that the young man in front of him was far beyond his level or any other genius. He was in a completely different league, and Valkraz had no doubt that if this kid survived, he could become a Demi God.
"You... should not exist." And he could not allow such a thing to happen.
Daniel didnât reply. He simply took one step forward, and that single step bent space.
In the next moment, the sword The Heavenâs Honor moved smoothly and sent a horizontal slash toward Valkraz. Black lightning coiled around the blade, and the energy of death clung to it like a living shadow.
But before the strike could reach him, the space in front of Valkraz "sank."
[Void: Absolute Consumption]
A layer of void, like a liquid but endless surface, formed in front of the slash. Danielâs blade didnât collide with it... it sank into it.
The lightning energy went out, the death energy... was swallowed, and then nothing.
"Today, no matter what, I will kill you."
Behind him, a black core took shape. Not a physical object, but a "center."
[Void: Black Dominion Core]
The core began to spin. And with every rotation, mana was pulled from the surroundings. Not just energy, but even the scattered remnants of Laws in the void.
The space around them became lighter because everything... was being drawn toward him.
In the next moment, massive hands of darkness formed.
[Void: Devourerâs Grasp]
These were not just attacks. Every hand that came toward Daniel locked the path of space. Movement became difficult. Even [Bloody Shadow Dance] couldnât move freely.
Daniel dodged, but one of the hands touched his wrist, and with that short contact, part of his hand disappeared.
There was no injury or bleeding, it was simply "erased." As if that part of his body had never existed.
"Combination of the Law of Devouring and the Law of Void..." Danielâs eyes sharpened for a moment.
Until now he had been doubting what Valkrazâs Law was, but now he was finally sure. This man didnât cultivate just one Law, he cultivated two.
The Law of Devouring and the Law of Void. This could be considered amazing.
"However, in front of me itâs nothing," he smirked and used the Law of Eternity to negate the erasure on his hand.
It didnât even take a second for his hand to return. This time he layered eternity over his entire body to make sure Valkrazâs skill couldnât erase any part of him again.
Valkraz said nothing. He simply opened his hand and the space in front of Daniel split open, but not like a normal cut, like a mouth opening.
[Void: Endless Maw]
Inside it, there was nothing. No darkness, no light... only absolute absence.
Daniel felt that if he entered it, there would be no return.
He jumped backward, but at the same time the space around him began to collapse.
[Void: Collapse Authority]
An entire area of reality... became unstable. The Laws inside it fell into chaos. Even the lightning Daniel had gathered in his hand lost its path for a moment.
At that moment Valkraz laughed. His body started to crack, darkness leaked out from the fissures, and then a crown of void formed on his head.
"I can use new tricks too."
[Crown of the Devouring Abyss]
His aura exploded and its pressure multiplied several times.
"Look... this is the real level."
In the next moment, Daniel could no longer advance easily. Every strike he made was swallowed, and every movement he made was answered with the collapse of space.
He activated Eternal Deny, and for a moment the attacks lost their meaning.
But the pressure of the void was so great that even that concept started to crack. A direct strike hit his shoulder and part of his body disappeared.
The eternity layer he had created for protection vanished, and Daniel immediately activated Mana Healing. The tissues regenerated... but before they could fully recover, the next strike came.
For the first time since the transformation, since using [Transcendent Self], he felt real pressure.
This bastard had used a skill that increased his power, and it wasnât clear where this power boost had come from.
But then his eyes calmed down. He understood. This power... wasnât stable. His gaze fell on the cracks in Valkrazâs body, on the crown that was eating itself.
"...Youâre killing yourself." The price of this skill was self-destruction.
If he just dodged the attacks and defended, Valkraz would eventually be destroyed by his own skill.
But there was one problem: he didnât know how long it would take, and he didnât have infinite time. On the contrary, time was not on his side at all.
A lot of time still remained on [Transcendent Self], but it could end at any moment. After that, he would be in a very bad weakened state. He had to end this battle as soon as possible.
His body dissolved into shadows.
[Bloody Shadow Dance]
His movements became unpredictable. He appeared from an angle where even the void reacted too late.
At the same time, he released a wave of death energy.
[Death Roar]
Space trembled, and for a fraction of a second, Valkrazâs focus broke, and that was enough.
Daniel appeared, raised his sword, black lightning coiled around the blade, and death energy ran across it like living veins.
If one Law wasnât enough, he would use two. And if that still wasnât enough, he would use everything he had to deliver a devastating strike.
[Eternal Death Verdict]
In that moment, time slowed down. Daniel struck, but not at the body or the defense, at the "root," at the place where he could cause damage greater than a few surface scratches.
The blade didnât pass through the void, it ignored it and struck directly at the source of Valkrazâs Law. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a crack.
There was no sound, but Valkrazâs existence trembled. The core behind him became unstable, the crown on his head broke, and his connection with the void... was cut.
His eyes widened and his body collapsed onto the ground. His face became furious for a moment but... then he started laughing.
"You really exceeded my expectations. You really are a monster. Even the crown wasnât enough."
"But this is not good. Not for anyone. Because now we have no choice but to use [that]."
Daniel said nothing and just looked at him. For a moment, a bad premonition appeared in his heart.
In the distance, Morkan stood. His gaze changed for the first time. His eyes stayed fixed on the kneeling Valkraz. He had received the signal.
Did he really want to use that thing? But that could even harm them as well?
But since his brother had given the order, there was no choice.
It had to be done!
"...Itâs time."
At that moment the entire battlefield trembled. Daniel paused and Schneitz frowned.
And the sky across the whole country began to change.
And everywhere turned red!