The first time Damien used Absolute Mastery, the feeling of being a swordmaster was beautiful. It felt like he had an ultimate truth resting in his body, a truth that he wanted to hold onto.
However, it was impossible to keep everything he gained from that state. At most, he could retain a few minor comprehensions.
Still, the feeling that state gave him was something he'd never forget.
And it wasn't something he could use often either.
In his current estimates, he could at most use Absolute Mastery once a month.
Regardless, it had been over a month since Damien and Su Ren fought, and Absolute Mastery activated perfectly.
A feeling of Godhood filled Damien's body again, extremely different from the last one.
This time, it felt far more personal, far more indicative of Damien's future.
But what did this feeling mean?
Damien flexed his fingers and felt the folds of space abiding by his actions.
It wasn't so simple though, as this feeling equated to absolute control over their activities.
Damien swung his arm out and space responded, swinging out as well.
The base structure of the spatial folds changed to fit his needs and a few layers even deleted themselves to accommodate his motions.
"Nice."
Damien grinned and clenched his fist powerfully.
BOOOM!
Space shattered entirely, banishing every bit of Bai Yumo's mana into the void.
In the next instant, it reformed itself more solid and with different laws than before, containing the Saint King and attacking him from all sides.
It was difficult for Bai Yumo to describe what he was experiencing.
He was dodging on instinct and crushing any sense of hostility he felt in the environment, but he couldn't get rid of the sensation of being squeezed to death at all.
Space was his enemy. His very existence in its folds was being disallowed.
Damien didn't have to move. He flicked his fingers like a pianist and moved his arms freely, conducting the movements of space with nothing more than his thoughts.
Gashes and ruptures filled the air, black holes and spatial collapses filled it too. Space stretched and shortened at the same time, making distance an irrelevant concept.
No matter how far Bai Yumo moved, he couldn't make any distance, and no matter how much distance he made, space was always around to destroy him!
'This cannot continue.'
Damien and he were both restricted from healing, so whoever held the momentum also held the key to victory.
With Damien's current state, Bai Yumo had no chance of winning.
Unless…
'I must unseal it. I never thought I would use this card against someone in my own generation…'
Bai Yumo took a second to mull it over and hesitated no longer. His body underwent a secondary transformation, becoming far more demonic than its previous state.
His hair was pure white and the armor that covered his body was reconstructed to look like the exoskeleton of a certain predator. His head was left uncovered, allowing others to witness the pristine handsomeness that it represented.
The current form of the Saint King didn't just share similarities with Damien's Demon Transformation, it looked like a perfectly complete version of it!
'Begone.'
Bai Yumo's thoughts were utterly cold, but his movements were brutal.
BANG!
He slammed his arm to the side, shattering space itself and opening a hole into the chaotic void.
He looked up at Damien with a grin and began to wildly attack the space around him. If it wasn't for the countless shattered spatial fragments falling to the ground and the revelation of the chaotic void, it would've looked like he'd gone mad.
Damien frowned and tried to contain Bai Yumo in his spatial constraints, but the latter's physical strength had grown too much.
Every time space existed around him, he destroyed its existence thoroughly.
'This won't work anymore.'
Damien stopped wasting his time immediately. He kicked off the air and shot forward, redirecting the energy of Absolute Mastery into his swordsmanship.
BOOM!
Mirage crashed against the Saint King's heavy armor, sending sparks of light flying through the air.
The duo began a fierce melee without a single care for their well-being. At this stage, whoever took the most damage would be the ultimate loser!
As long as one of them was using their energy without care, the other didn't have any choice but to follow.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The scene was reminiscent of the previous fight. Bai Yumo didn't bring out his fan but used his fists, and Damien only had a single sword, but their exchanges shared a frightening and almost intentional similarity to Su Ren's battle.
The fight had grown to such proportions and become a matter of life or death, but Damien never forgot his original purpose.
He was going to get revenge for his comrade and show the Nox that Grand Heavens Boundary couldn't be easily touched!
His sword was like a blur of light as he wielded it with absolute perfection, infusing Spacetime mana into its blade to heighten its effects.
Meanwhile, Bai Yumo used Abyss Energy to its fullest, creating disastrous microcosms that attacked Damien's body and tore into his flesh and bones.
Both men were taking extreme injuries. They were missing chunks of their bodies and their limbs were destroyed to the point where it was curious how they were still functioning.
Damien and Bai Yumo had the same thought at this moment, but Damien didn't plan to let his enemy entertain it.
VOOOOOM!
The Laws of Samsara in the atmosphere solidified further, and Damien used his new Law Controller trait to exponentially enhance its effects.
At the same time, he sent his senses into his body and rapidly dissected the nature of the dark material within him.
"Dammit! Just die!" Bai Yumo roared as he slammed his fist out.
"Keuk…! Why don't you go first?!" Damien responded, slashing Mirage into the Saint King's shoulder.
They stared into each other's eyes with fiery determination and fighting spirit. Their killing intent soared into the heavens as they ripped each other apart.
Damien sent Void Mana through his systems and encircled the dark material clogging his veins. He gathered the substance spread through his body into his heart, enduring extreme pain to the point where he almost lost his sanity.
But he didn't stop.
He put all his attention into this task, even ignoring the ongoing battle to a certain extent.
In the outside world, Bai Yumo took the lead. Damien's resistance lessened and he capitalized on the chance to let loose an all-out attack that utterly destroyed Damien's body.
His legs and arms were blown to shreds, and a massive hole populated his stomach, turning it into a window.
Damien and Bai Yumo were no more than a few hits away from death already, but now, it seemed like Damien would die without resistance!
Until…
"Found…it…"
The voice that came out was barely a mutter as Damien's vocal cords were incinerated, but the grin on his face spoke ten thousand words.
"Take…this…bitch…!"
Damien slammed his head forward into Bai Yumo's forehead, completely surprising the Nox genius, and—
"Keuk…!"
He coughed a mouthful of black blood onto his enemy's face.
Before Bai Yumo's face could reel in disgust, his eyes widened in absolute shock.
Because Damien…
"Haa…" a sigh left his mouth.
It really was good to be back.
In just a second, Damien's mutilated body returned to its peak state, fast to the point where it seemed like a miracle.
And without waiting a single instant, he slammed his fist out with every last bit of power remaining in his body, intent on destroying Bai Yumo's heart once and for all!
