Shock and horror appeared on the face of everybody in the coliseum as they saw space and time begin to collapse on themselves around Athea's avatar, shattering this one and erasing her from existence.
Those feelings were especially powerful in the geniuses watching the battle. Aion was already powerful enough with his divine reflexes, ability to communicate with the world, and devastating counterattacks, but now he could instantly kill someone with a single touch.
Even if Athea's avatar had only one-third of the original full power and was weakened by cutting her connection with the world, killing her with a simple touch was a power that defied logic.
How could any one of them face a monster like that!?
That ability was so incredible that it shocked even the mightiest life forms of the Daybreak Universe, the Sacred Kings. Each of them saw how space-time carried out the deadly strike, but there was confusion in their eyes as they failed to understand how Aion forced those universal forces to act according to his wishes.
Ultimately, the Nine Sacred Kings turned toward the only ones that stood above all universal forces and could see things from a higher stage, the two Fourth Realm Life Forms of the Daybreak Universe.
The eyes of Revenge Thearch and Emptiness Thearch glowed as they pushed their consciousness to the limit so they could decipher the key behind that power. Their souls were so powerful that they could see every corner of the Daybreak Universe at once, so despite the ethereal nature of Aion's skills, they were able to find hints.
Venganza and Ezequiel looked at each other as they came to a conclusion, but they did not say a word since the fight was still going on.
Aion's eyes only grew colder after erasing that avatar, and he then turned to another and flashed forward.
Athea's avatar attempted to pull back, but Aion was too fast and grabbed her head. However, Aion was not able to instantly destroy her like the previous one.
A flash of relief appeared in Athea's soul as she saw that, along with enlightenment as she understood the key behind that devastating attack.
She did not understand the power Aion used to erase her avatar instantly, but it seemed that it required first cutting the target's connection with the world.
However, not everything was good news for the young Neo-Demon since the power in Aion's palm paralyzed the avatar.
Right now, Athea felt how Aion's palm severed the connection of the avatar with the world, but it was not so fast that she could not react.
The last avatar attacked Aion, forcing the young man to break contact, but he had moved away less than a nanosecond before flashing back and restarting the connection.
'Since when is he so fast!?'
Athea's eyes widened as he saw the speed of Aion and how the connection of the avatar with the world kept growing weaker. If it reached zero, she had no doubt Aion would be able to erase the avatar just like he did before.
Each of these avatars represented a third of her soul force, vitality, and energy. Losing one already significantly drained her, and losing two would leave her so weak that she could not unleash any skill powerful enough to defeat the monster in front of her.
The free avatar flashed back into the fray but did not target Aion this time. Both avatars made contact, fusing and allowing Athea to express her full power.
Aion's eyes narrowed as the raging forces inside the young woman were able to break the paralyzing power of his hand, forcing him to move away in order to avoid the ferocious punch loaded with black-white lightning aiming at his face.
Athea's breathing was rough as she stared at Aion. She found the key behind the young man's supernatural perception, but hiding from it meant this one only needed a touch to erase her.
Aion did not attack Athea and simply stared at her. His heart was calm since there was nothing the young woman could do to stop him from achieving victory.
Silence reigned as none dared to make a sound. They were all waiting to see if Athea could find a way out of her predicament or if she would only become another stepping stone in the epic legend of the greatest dark horse in the entire Daybreak Universe.
Athea felt the pressure of the universe on her shoulder, but instead of crushing her, it only made her willpower burst with even greater power!
The young Neo-Demon raised her right arm, channeling all the force of her Suns of Origin along with every ounce of energy inside her body. She was ready to unleash the near-suicidal attack that defeated Abadon.
This attack was the only card the young Neo-Demon had left. It carried the essence of her Fourth Realm Bloodline, and she refused to believe Aion could simply avoid it.
Aion's eyes widened as he felt space around him solidifying, closing any path away from Athea's attack. Instead of forcing his way out, the young man took a deep breath, slightly bent his knees, and adopted a martial stance.
Athea did not care about Aion's strategy since she trusted that her greatest attack would be able to break any trick and grant her victory.
Once the light of her Suns of Origin was gone and no energy was left in her body, Athea waved her hand down, unleashing a strike that carried the essence of a Universe Creator.
At that exact moment, Aion flashed toward the young woman, and before her arm could finish its arc, he touched it with the index and middle fingers of his left hand!
Disbelief appeared in the heart of Athea and all those seeing it since that was the first movement of Aion's Redirection Skill. Everybody believed it was an ability that could only work on long-range spells, but as the energy of Athea's arm began to fade, they understood their mistake.
"BOOOOOMMMMM!"
However, just as Athea's hope was about to shatter, Aion's left arm exploded!
