The world around John erupted into a scene of pure, apocalyptic chaos and destruction. Lightning exploded in all directions, surging into the sky, tearing space itself, and slamming into the ground below, shattering and breaking it completely.
However, this was only the residual portion of the Thunder Tyrants attack, while the majority of his power was directed directly towards the Asura, whose palm had slammed towards the man. It was as if a celestial object was surging forward, its weight incomprehensible, its might irresistible. It was as if nothing under the heavens could stop that Asura attack.
And yet.
Boom!
The Asura's hand came to a halt, while the Thunder Tyrant flew backwards through the sky, his body and movements still under his control. Despite the Asura's overwhelming physical power, power that could shatter continents with ease, the Thunder Tyrant had remained in control of himself, uninjured by that exchange.
He stopped his backwards momentum and floated in the sky, eyes glued to the distant Asura. John couldn't see the man's eyes beneath his suit of lightning armor, but just from the Thunder Tyrant's stable aura, he could tell he was calm and collected, fighting spirit completely ignited.
The storm around the Thunder Tyrant continued to churn and intensify, as if the heavens itself had decided to join the battle. Ruinous lightning broke from the clouds, slamming onto the Asura's body, bathing him in a sea of lightning.
A primal roar boomed from within the sea of lightning, the power of the roar blasting away the lightning and even parting some of the thunderstorm around it, revealing the smiling Asura. Its blood red eyes were wide with bloodlust and desire.
"Good!" it roared, its massive maw widening, revealing large, razor-sharp bloodstained teeth. "I heard this world had a strong defender, who has slaughtered every demon horde thrown his way. It seems that was the truth."
The Thunder Tyrant remained silent, his lightning clad figure brimming with a defiant, heroic aura. It was as if his posture alone was saying, 'no matter what comes, I will face it head on.' John couldn't help but feel awe for the Thunder Tyrant, as this level of defiant composure was something not even he could claim to reach yet.
"Countless of your worlds have been stripped bare and destroyed under my might thus far, none of them giving me any sort of pleasurable battle," the Asura continued, its voice demonically deep, like the rumblings of a hellish volcano given voice. Its aura suddenly exploded, bathing the world in an even stronger malevolence, like the pits of hell had just opened up and swallowed the world.
Despite not being affected by the aura at all, John couldn't help but feel his instincts flare with warning, as if the most terrifying creature in existence had appeared.
"Come!" the Asura roared, four large double-sided battle axes appearing in each of its hands, each axe as large as the Thunder Tyrant himself. "Show me what you humans are capable of! Give me a glorious battle! Fight to your last breath! I can tell you are a true warrior, so you must know that only in battle can one truly feel alive! So, struggle and resist for as long as you can, so that I may drown myself in the ecstasy of a true battle to your death!"
Boom!
Space shattered, forming web-like cracks for miles in all directions around the Asura as it moved, unable to withstand the power of its simplest movements. The Asura, now stronger than before, appeared before the Thunder Tyrant like a ghost, its physical movements so fast that it was almost impossible for John to see it move at all.
John knew this scene was slowed down for him, otherwise he was sure he would not be able to see either of the fighters move at all. And yet, it was still like a blur, almost incomprehensible.
The Thunder Tyrant's body ignited with an even stronger lightning aura as he clearly pushed his power to the limit. His body seemed to become the very incarnation of lightning, while his large halberd spun in his hands, the blade slamming towards the Asura's axes. At the same time, hundreds of lightning halberds formed in the sky around the Thunder Tyrant, each brimming with an incomprehensible might.
The halberds slashed out towards the Asura as the Thunder Tyrant did with his own halberd, meeting the Asura head on once more.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
John watched with complete awe as the battle between an Asura and an Astral King unfolded before him. The two fought at incomprehensible levels of speed and power, destroying everything in their path. The earth broke, space shattered, and the very world seemed to near its limits as the two fought to the death.
The battle seemed to last for both a lifetime and an instant to John. While it felt like this, the battle had most definitely taken more than several days, perhaps as long as week with neither side faltering or seeming to run out of energy.
The Thunder Tyrant was the incarnation of lightning, fast, powerful, unpredictable. Each and every attack of his was something beyond John's level of comprehension in both profundity and power, something that he had never even come close to seeing before. And most amazingly of all, the Thunder Tyrant seemed to draw power from the thunderstorms surrounding him, as if the heaven's were aiding him in battle.
As for the Asura, as expected, it was the incarnation of a true battle god. It used no battle arts. No movement arts. No tricks. Its physical strength was its battle art. Its natural speed was its movement art. Its body was its shield. It was the truest form of power John had ever seen, something that he could only look up to with awe, and also horror. It was something that should not exist. It was something that was too strong, too impossible to fight.
As the battle continued, the awe-inspiring Thunder Tyrant slowly but surely started to lose. Wounds were starting to add up on the Astral King's body, while the Asura was still relatively unscathed. In a battle of attrition, the Asura was king.
