There wouldn't be many direct witnesses of the coming battle. In order to allow Damien and Bai Yumo to use their full strength without restraints, The space of the Divine Realm would be clear until a victor was determined.
And in the same vein, there weren't many rules. As long as the fighters didn't damage any inhabited planets, they could do anything they wished.
In preparation for this battle, the Angels of the Heavenly Clan spent the past three days securing the location so nothing could affect this important event.
Damien arrived first. With him were Tian Yang, Alucard, Commander Huo, and Iris, the Demigods who'd come to support him.
They were certain there would only be one Divinity on the other side, but that didn't make their presence less necessary.
In fact, that was the very reason all four of them came!
Hidden between the folds of reality, away from the perception of anyone currently in attendance or attending soon, two beings watched Damien with interest.
"Did I not tell you? The Young Lord cannot be an average person," one of them said, looking at his companion.
"Hmph. Whether or not he can be recognized as the Young Lord is still to be seen. If he can't even win this battle, he has no right to take the throne." she replied with a snort.
"Really? Is that true? However, his strength has almost reached yours."
"In over a decade? Can this speed be commended?"
"Could you do it in this shattered universe?"
"..."
The girl looked away with a frown, unable to say she could.
This particularly strange duo was not strangers to Damien's movements. They didn't follow him at all times, but for the most part, they had witnessed his ascent.
They were the duo of old man and little girl that was first seen in Niflheim, a pair connected to Void Palace, and because it was their Young Lord at the center of current events, their presence here was natural.
"That man will be disadvantaged this time. The time he had to grow was much shorter than his opponent, and he had no proper teacher," the girl said negatively.
However, the old man's outlook was far more positive.
"The so-called Abyss does have many advantages, but the negative impacts of such an environment are just as prominent. We have not seen it personally, no? It is useless to make guesses this early."
"Gramps, can you see through him?" the girl suddenly asked.
"The Young Lord?" he returned in slight surprise.
The little girl nodded, and the old man's smile widened.
"Instead of being able to read him, I am even further from his truth. His growth is astounding in ways you have yet to understand."
"Hmm…"
The little girl's frown deepened.
This was the Lord's progeny. He was a man who would inevitably reach great heights due to ancestry alone.
This was partially the reason she despised him. With such ancestry, why was he still wasting his talents on useless things? Why was his strength still so low?
Despite her appearance, which was only around 11 years old, she had reached her 30th birthday not too long ago. Her appearance was a consequence of a method she was practicing, and would only return to normal when she reached Divinity.
In those 30 years, She only used 18 to become a Supreme.
Most of the rest of her life was spent here, observing Damien and exploring the fates of this lesser plane.
If she stayed in the Heavenly World, she would have absolutely reached Divinity by 25. She was certain of this.
Because she was a peak talent even in that world.
She couldn't accept it.
She couldn't accept that someone more talented than her was growing at such a disappointing pace!
Yet, at the same time, she couldn't deny how restrictive this universe was. It was already not even a tenth of its original size, and the nature of its existence made it far harder to become strong.
If it was her…
"Haa…"
She let out a sigh and turned her attention back to the Real Plane.
In the distance, two figures could be seen approaching.
While she remained stuck in complicated thought, the old man looked over her warmly before focusing on the main scene.
'Yiren views the Lord as her father and is viewed by others as his most cherished daughter despite her lack of blood relation. Rather than the Young Lord's power, what bothers her is the envy of his position as a biological descendant. If the Young Lord can gain her approval…it is not wrong to say he will gain the approval of most of the palace.'
His eyes sparkled with a light of expectation.
'Do not disappoint us, Young Lord.'
Not just the two of them, but the entirety of Void Palace.
Because…
…Void Palace truly needed his presence.
***
As expected, only the Saint Emperor and Bai Yumo appeared at the site of the battle.
The Emperor stood back and allowed his son to go forth by himself, meeting Damien in the middle.
All Demigods present merged into the folds of reality and made themselves untouchable by the battle, while many flashes filled the starry sky.
In the sky of every world in Grand Heavens Boundary, from the smallest worlds like Earth to the fields of Eien, countless massive projections appeared, each showing the same scene.
The scene of two men facing off in the starry sky.
Damien looked at the Saint King, Bai Yumo.
He hadn't changed much since their last encounter physically, but the light in his eyes had gone through an intense transformation.
His past arrogance was gone.
That slight glimmer of unknown emotion holding him back was gone.
Damien didn't know what Bai Yumo went through in the past 2 years, but it must've been grueling.
2 years.
It meant something different to both men.
Damien had one month of training and another 5 years of collecting worlds. He didn't actually take two years to train.
Meanwhile, Bai Yumo resided in the Abyss. 2 years in the Abyss had the ability to be 2 seconds or 200 years as it pleased.
Neither of them spoke.
There was no need for words between them.
They weren't fighting for personal reasons, they were fighting as representatives of their people.
Flash!
With a flash of brightness, Luciel appeared between the duo.
"If any innocent third party is harmed by your collision, I will immediately step in and declare the offender's disqualification. There are no time limits or distance limits for this battle, and there will be no interference from outside forces. This is a fight for life and death."
Luciel gave a small spiel to make sure both of them, mainly Damien, understood the severity of this situation.
"Once I depart, the battle will start. May the best man win."
He looked at Bai Yumo, who nodded without taking his eyes off Damien, and Damien, who did the same.
Under the watch of several quintillion beings in the universe and another uncountable number of existences beyond the boundary, a flash of light burst through the starry sky.
Luciel vanished as fast as he appeared.
With that, the battle officially began!
