Ezequiel never wasted his time thinking about what could have happened if things had been different. If and buts did not matter in a battle to the death and much less in war.
The only thing that mattered to the Supreme Neo-Demon right now was to defeat the opponent in front of him, and he would give everything he had to achieve that goal. Even death wasn't a price too high to pay if he could take down Ares.
"Emptiness Barrage!" Ezequiel shouted as black-white lightning covered his arms, exponentially increasing his speed and destructive power.
"Primordial Destruction Shield!" Ares knew he could not dodge that attack, so he raised his shield and channeled all his destructive blue flames on it.
"¡BOOM!"
"¡BOOM!"
"¡BOOM!"
A blast echoed through the battlefield every time Ezequiel's fists clashed with the shield. Waves of blue fire and black-white lightning spread everywhere.
A thick bone armor covered Ezequiel's arms, and white scales that emerged from his fusion with Entropy spread over every inch of his skin. Despite that, he could still feel his flesh melting due to the immense heat of the shield's blue flames.
Ares clenched his teeth and stood firm, sending more flames into the shield as his feet buried into the ground. A massive crater formed around him in a second, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
'His aura puts his cultivation around Middle Rank 9, yet he can unleash so much power. Just how powerful his body can be!?' Ares could not hide the shock that Ezequiel's physical strength caused him.
His Primordial Destructive Shield could endure the blast of a Principal World's explosion, and the blue flames could melt Rank 9 Artifacts, yet Ezequiel's punches made it tremble.
"AHHHH!" Ares detonated the blue flames on his shield, pushing Ezequiel back before hacking with his massive sword.
Ezequiel's eyes narrowed as he saw the sword coming at him, just like it did with Hyperion. The nature of the black-white lightning surrounding his arms changed, growing resilient and perfect for defense.
Ares' massive sword clashed with Ezequiel's arms, but unlike in Hyperion's case, where it managed to cut through everything, it only cut the flesh and muscle before stopping at the bone.
The Empyrean Primordial was once again shocked by the Supreme Neo-Demon's endurance, but he did not have time for that since a kick covered in black-white lightning landed on his jaw, shaking his brain.
Ezequiel took full advantage of his enemy's temporary paralyze to push the sword away and unleash a new barrage of punches, connecting point blank in the armor.
Ares felt how those punches generated indentations on his armor while unleashing a force that traveled into his body and harmed his inner organs.
Those punches finally sent Ares flying away, but he knew things were far from over as the Supreme Neo-Demon chased after him immediately. He twisted his body at an impossible angle, dodging a leg strike aimed at his neck before waving his sword.
Ezequiel moved at the last second, saving his right arm but a cut still appeared on his chest.
Ares used the time to slam his shield on the ground, stopping his body, before immediately dashing back into the fray.
Ezequiel and Ares showed superb martial skill and unleashed waves of attacks full of killing intent, but even after weeks were both endured dozens of wounds, none came on top. Nevertheless, things finally changed once the Eighth Astral Black Hole stabilized and Ezequiel fully entered Middle Rank 9 in the True Doomsday Body Path of Power.
There were still severe limitations, but Ezequiel could now use the true power of Pan Gu's Body Core of Existence which he sealed in his right hand.
Ezequiel's aura exploded as he rose hundreds of meters and eight golden orbs shone inside his body. Pan Gu's phantom emerged behind him before he channeled it and put every ounce of strength and energy inside him into the right hand.
The Supreme Neo-Demon's tactic of channeling everything into a sole attack was not wise, especially in a war with many more enemies, but he had little choice. The sudden rise in cultivation generated a massive backlash that he had been suppressing all this time, but he won't be able to do it for much longer. If he did not neutralize Ares soon, he would be the one dying.
"Emptiness Fall!" Ezequiel dived down like a lightning meteorite capable of shattering a cosmos.
Ares' eyes widened as he saw the massive power in that attack. Without hesitation, he put his sword away before grabbing his shield with both hands and channeling all his strength into it.
"BOOOOOMMMMMM!"
A massive explosion echoed through the battlefield, unleashing giant waves of lightning and fire, lethal for all those beneath Extreme Rank 9.
The earth beneath Ares' feet blasted to pieces, but he managed to endure the first waves of that monstrous blow. He knew that Ezequiel's attack would lose momentum in just a few more seconds, allowing him to counterattack.
"CRACK!" Unfortunately for the Empyrean Primordial, while he endured, his shield did not and shattered to pieces.
Shock appeared in Ares' eyes as the fist flashed forward, landing on his face, fracturing his skull, and sending him flying away while puking blood.
Ezequiel smiled as he saw the attack's outcome and was relieved his bet had paid off. Ares would not be able to properly defend from his next blow, which should be enough to at least cripple this one. He was about to dash forward to give the coup de grace when it happened.
"BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
An explosion more than ten times mightier than the one his previous attack generated illuminated the sky.
Ezequiel looked up and saw how the Flame Imperator unleashed a massive blast of white flames that pushed Venganza and Lucifer away before flashing forward at a shocking speed.
"NOOOOO!" The Supreme Neo-Demon roared with all his strength, but there was nothing he could do to stop the Flame Imperator's arm from piercing Yami's heart.
