Chapter 716: The Last Thousand Steps (1)

Three raging auras intertwined, each trying to annihilate the others.

Bursts of light shook the battlefield, and with every passing second the ground suffered under the weight of that colossal clash.

The fight moved at a speed beyond comprehension .. fast enough to tear the world apart, yet so chaotic that following its flow was nearly impossible.

Thanks to Frey Starlight’s ability to manipulate space, he kept switching his position with both Zibar and Abraham, and that alone was what allowed him to survive this long.

"How long do you plan to rely on these pathetic tricks of yours, Frey Starlight?"

SLAASH!!!

The crescent-shaped Katarina Blade was overwhelmingly powerful, and every now and then, Zibar managed to land a clean hit on Frey with it.

"You cannot win. There is no hope for you here..."

In perfect sync with Zibar’s words, Abraham’s blade of pure light struck Frey’s side, hurling him away.

"Whether it’s me or your father, we’re both stronger than you. You’re the same weak brat you’ve always been. This power of yours will accomplish nothing .. you can’t even injure me."

Zibar tapped the Katarina Armor that had blocked every one of Frey’s attacks.

The body of the Tenth-Rank Demon remained unharmed. Not a single strike from Frey had managed to pierce it.

The vitality of demons was absurdly high .. they could continue fighting even if their bodies were half-shredded. To defeat Zibar, Frey needed to inflict catastrophic damage... and he had failed to do that so far.

The same applied to Abraham, whose body was composed entirely of aura. He looked utterly invincible.

"I see you know the truth, Frey .. the truth that we don’t want to kill you."

Zibar smirked cunningly as he approached alongside Abraham.

"You are essential to our King. That’s why we avoided ending your life, even though we easily could have done so many times already. But this time... our goal is different."

Zibar extended his hand, clenching his fist tightly.

"We will crush you here... and take you back to Helmund. There, the King will handle you himself."

His tone sharpened, revealing his true intentions.

"Playtime is over. The farce called humanity is coming to an end .. and so is your role, Frey Starlight. Once you fall into the Demon King’s hands, you won’t be able to do anything. Not you, nor the Nameless inside you. That will be your end, and the gateway for the King to return and shake the world once more!"

Zibar screamed, spreading his arms wide like a deranged prophet.

Meanwhile, Frey rose to his feet again, adopting his fighting stance.

"You talk too much..."

BOOOOOOM!!

Frey shot forward like a dark astral missile fueled by the Black Hole Aura.

He collided with Zibar, driving him back with overwhelming force until both of them blasted through layers of debris.

Frey unleashed a terrifying storm of sword swings .. so many and so fast they blurred into streaks of darkness .. cornering Zibar.

But the Tenth-Rank Demon responded in equal measure, clashing with Frey blow for blow.

"So be it! Let’s finish our previous battle here and now!!"

Zibar shouted, grin widening.

"But don’t forget .. I’m not your only opponent this time."

Frey’s eyes snapped to the blade in front of his face .. Abraham’s sword.

But it never reached him.

Frey swapped places with Abraham at the last possible instant.

BOOOOM!!

The clash repeated .. Frey attacked, Abraham parried, and Zibar exploited every opening, slicing into Frey and leaving a deep gash across his body.

"It seems your little spatial trick won’t help you much anymore..."

And the demon was right.

In a battle of such speed, even if Frey avoided nine out of ten strikes, the tenth would still hit him.

His opponents weren’t amateurs .. tracking every single move they made was nearly impossible.

Frey retreated, but Abraham was already on him, with Zibar right behind.

Facing them both, Frey remained unnervingly calm behind the gaps of the Nameless mask.

"Zibar .. Tenth-Rank Upper Demon, peak of SSS Stage Three... and my father, somehow equal to him."

Frey didn’t know exactly how his father had reached such a level, but the answer pointed toward the Absolute Manipulator ability.

"They’re both stronger than me... both of them."

At one point, he wondered if bringing Snow might have let them fight evenly.

But even that wasn’t true.

Snow had already lost to Abraham .. effortlessly.

Snow had grown stronger after fighting Wesker, but not enough to defeat Abraham or Zibar.

And Frey wasn’t different... except for one thing:

He was now using Black Hole Aura at full capacity.

"But even with this power... I can’t hold out against both of them."

Frey knew this fact with complete certainty .. which led him to another realization:

"...They’re holding back."

Both Zibar and Abraham were restricting their true power.

In every sword clash, Frey could feel it.

"It’s as if the real fight they came for... hasn’t even begun."

Zibar wasn’t fighting with the same ferocity as the clone Frey had defeated.

And Abraham hadn’t unleashed any wide-range attacks.

They defended fiercely, pressured him steadily, and attempted to exhaust him completely.

BOOOOM!!

A massive explosion of aura erupted as the three continued clashing.

"Are they afraid of Nameless appearing again...?"

If Nameless took over Frey’s body again, everything would change instantly.

Even with only four stages of Shadow Adaptation, Nameless could fully utilize the mask’s knowledge .. unlike Frey.

And Nameless with four stages was more than enough to destroy Zibar.

Even with Abraham’s help, they wouldn’t survive.

"For them to have a chance... Wesker would need to intervene..."

But as Frey endured the overwhelming pressure, realization dawned on him:

"...Why hasn’t Wesker come himself?"

Instead of sending Zibar and his father... had he come as well, the entire process would have been accelerated.

Slash!!!

Abraham’s blade clashed against Frey’s own, carving fresh wounds across Frey’s body .. yet his gaze did not waver.

"Wesker isn’t an idiot. There is no way he failed to consider something I managed to notice..."

In other words ..

"That bastard is here... close by."

Frey scanned the surroundings... then shifted his gaze back toward his opponents.

The Fourth Rank Superior Demon was near, watching everything with a satisfied smile .. without a doubt.

"I wonder... are you enjoying the show, Aegon?"