The Manifestation of Law, an avatar that totally encompassed Damien as an individual and used his Divinity and Legend as a basis to manifest in the real plane.
It was an ability that should've been far beyond his caliber, something True Gods were able to create through their main laws, however, he managed to circumvent most of the troubles through the Saint Emperor's pressure and his use of Creation.
When that entity appeared in the world, it shattered the atmosphere with its presence. The Ancient Battlefield was thrown into disarray, and the shoddy avatar the Saint Emperor summoned, an imitation of the real thing, was dispersed by the weight of its existence.
Damien opened his eyes and gazed at it in wonder before turning back to the Saint Emperor.
"Shall we move on?" The Saint Emperor asked.
"..."
Damien thought about it for a second before nodding.
"Very well, however, don't think you'll be able to continue sitting on that throne. Destruction happens to be my specialty."
"Oh? I hope you can back those words with your actions."
"I hope you can too."
Damien dispersed the Manifestation of Law. It was a useful ability that could overpower most opponents, but the Saint Emperor wasn't one of them.
It was better to accept this piece of tutelage and continue their battle, so the eventual end would come sooner.
As the pure manifestation disappeared, Damien's body was wrapped in reddish-black energy.
The last clash was one of Creation. It didn't have much impact or extremity, since Creation was never a law like that.
It was calm, therefore, the clash between its forces, no matter how destructive they might have been, was equally calm.
However, Destruction was the complete opposite.
BANG!
Damien shot forward like a bolt of lightning and appeared before the Saint Emperor.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
He let loose a flurry of punches before the man could react before stepping back and flicking his wrist.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Pure destruction filled the air. It was a mixture of several destructive laws that couldn't be described any other way.
The actual processes were drowned in chaos, and as long as the intent to destroy was present, anything was possible.
That was the nature of destruction.
A reddish-black cloud of energy rose through the atmosphere and enveloped the Saint Emperor, however, he was more than prepared.
BOOM!
His body mirrored Damien's, turning into a reddish-black flash as he escaped the cloud.
He moved his arm in a diagonal motion, and before Damien could react, space itself was cut in half.
The vacuum formed by the gash attempted to draw him in.
At first, he tried to resist the normal way, but that was impossible. This was the Ancient Battlefield. Just as space was far stronger here, the chaotic void existing beyond it was far more deadly.
'Destruction…'
That was the answer.
To sever concepts, to use Destruction to its full potential.
Damien mimicked the Saint Emperor's motions and cut diagonally through the air.
He didn't sever space, nor did he sever energy.
He severed the vacuum itself, destroying the "concept" that supported its existence.
"Hahaha, you are indeed skilled!"
The Saint Emperor applauded him as he approached.
He initiated a bout of close-range battle, showing expert skill in hand-to-hand combat.
His fists were blurry because of speed. He struck left and sent an uppercut, forcing Damien to dodge before revealing it was a feint to hide the true attack coming from below.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Damien's body was assaulted with blunt impacts.
Each one had the power to puncture planets, and when they made contact, arcs of Destruction Law were passed through his body, running up his systems and attempting to cease their function.
Damien grinned.
'This kind of strategy won't work on me anymore.'
That was the benefit of the Void Physique superimposing on his physical body. All of his extraordinary systems, such as the Ananta Matrix and Mana Heart, were ingrained into his vessel. Their physical forms disappeared, but their effects remained.
The most the Saint Emperor could destroy was his physical system, his organs and other fleshy parts.
However, to even do that, he had to break through the subspaces that protected those organs first!
He'd done it once before. When he attacked Damien in the lower universe, he was able to directly punch through those defenses as if they didn't exist.
But they were on the same level now.
And Damien learned a lot from that experience.
His current internal defenses couldn't be broken so easily.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
There was no way for the Saint Emperor to know all of this. He continued to assail Damien with punches and kicks, filling his body with foreign Destruction Mana.
And that was an opportunity for Damien.
There was no need to think about how to use Destruction, that much was true.
However, Damien did put some time into it.
Because to use it to its fullest potential, one needed to throw away what they knew about reality.
Destruction was a law birthed along with creation. If one excluded Existence and Nonexistence, which were only laws by technicality and stood as concepts above the concept of law, Destruction was half of the first law to ever exist.
It had the potential to alter reality with its power.
To use it purely in its most basic form, wasn't it a shame?
The question Damien asked himself was simple.
What did he want to destroy?
The answer was just as simple.
"Everything" that stood in his path.
Right now, that was the Saint Emperor.
And to destroy the Saint Emperor, he first had to destroy himself.
Reddish-black energy filled the air as the two of them clashed.
The plane could not hold their presence anymore. That was why they originally came to this place that shouldn't have existed, but even this place couldn't hold them.
Tears formed in space and time, in reality, and the chaotic void began to bare its fangs.
Damien let loose his energy to counterattack.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive gash formed in the space between him and the Saint Emperor and quickly spread for millions of miles in every direction.
The two of them retreated to get away from it before acting in tandem, using Destruction to eradicate the negative effects of that gash and charge at each other.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Their laws collided.
Damien aimed for the very core of the Saint Emperor's identity, the image of himself within the man.
However, what did the Saint Emperor aim for?
What did he want to destroy?
The answer…
"...is fate."
The Saint Emperor said it directly instead of making Damien ponder it.
"I want to destroy this twisted fate that made me who I am, the twisted fate that forced reality onto me and disallowed me from experiencing the story I created. I want to absolutely destroy anything and everything, but at the same time…"
"...what I want to destroy is completely different, something I am unable to explain in words."
BOOM!
His Destruction Law spread, and Damien experienced it.
Whatever it was that he wanted to destroy, his desire to do so was so extreme that it influenced Damien, who was actively suppressing his emotions.
"I don't know what that thing is, but…"
Damien put forth his own determination.
This clash would decide it.
Which of them was worthy of destroying the object of their desire, this clash would determine it.
And the other…
It didn't need to be said.
Damien concentrated his energy. Since the Saint Emperor was showing him something "real," something from the very core of his being, something nobody had ever had the opportunity to see before, he decided to do the same.
Everything Damien used to run from, everything deeply embedded in his psyche that changed him into a different person, everything negative that he rejected so he could become Absolute, Damien put those feelings, and the will to destroy them, into his attacks.
A battle where they bore their true selves to each other, where they could completely let loose the things they hid from others, that was what this battle had become.
And still, despite the passing of years and the end approaching soon, in their hearts, this battle had only just begun.
