Everyone saw it. No matter where they were in the secret realm, they all saw the great boundary steles blocking off the remaining 4/5ths of it crumble.
It was a grand scene, as if countless feats of humanity were being both destroyed and revealed at the same time.
To the Veritas Clan, who was currently regrouping, it didn't mean much. They had other work that took priority over exploration, and even if they didn't, they weren't about to enter uncharted territory when their younger generation was present.
The Vega Clan had similar thoughts. They stayed back to see how the others would react. As for the Kyushu Federation, they immediately sent word to their superiors and established a force exclusively with their older experts while leaving their young geniuses behind.
They could smell the money on the other side of that stele, and they couldn't let someone else reach it first.
Unfortunately, they failed to see the "reason" why the stele broke in the first place.
The Straea Clan was already ousted from the secret realm. All of their geniuses, forces, and protectors had been killed except for two Gods.
And those two Gods were chasing the very man who opened new horizons for the entire Eastern Region.
"Brat, you're dead!"
The man, Gerald Straea, shouted as he gathered his laws and mana. The woman he was with, Pria Straea, was quieter, but her emotions were just the same.
They both gathered their power as Gods, ignoring the falling boundary stele, and attacked Damien.
VOOOOOOOOOOM!
Two massive tsunamis of power were let loose into the world.
From the Heavens to the earth, the entire world changed color into a deep crimson red.
That oddly colored world devoured the true colorful world with every passing second as it approached Damien.
From his perspective, it was absolutely terrifying.
'That's all the power of Law.'
Their laws didn't just interfere with or affect the atmosphere, they completely swallowed it.
If Damien was struck by that, even he couldn't say he wouldn't be devoured.
'I have to run first. Now isn't the time to be arrogant.'
He knew it from the start, but seeing it directly made him feel it on a completely new level. Gods were called Gods for a reason.
He pushed his mana and teleported as fast as possible in the direction of the newly opened territory.
On the way, a red blur approached him and disappeared into his body.
Collecting Alexander was his only worry, and since it happened so quickly, he lost all need to slow his pace.
Flash!
His speed suddenly reached unprecedented levels. The stele that had once become a shadow in the distance was already directly in front of him, and he pushed towards it without any thoughts about the dangers that lay beyond.
But, Damien was a Demigod.
His teleportation had been restricted ever since he came to the Heavenly World.
And he was now seeing the true face of the Gods he challenged.
That crimson world followed him without any problems, keeping up with the speed of his teleportation.
As if to tell him it was useless to try running, Gerald and Pria put even more Divine Energy into their manifestation, increasing its speed beyond what Damien could outrun.
The crimson world swallowed him.
"KAHAK!"
Damien coughed up several mouthfuls of blood as his entire body was assaulted by their laws.
His own laws tried to fight back, but there was a huge difference between a general and a commander. No matter how close Damien was to his laws, he couldn't twist them with enough freedom to combat the opposition as fiercely as he needed to.
Still, he did his best to keep that energy out of his body, and, as he found through this attack, the Void Physique's integration had another useful effect.
Void Energy circulated through his body naturally. He no longer needed to wait for it to enter his body and suppress the invading forces.
From every direction, from every pore, vein, and nerve, Void Energy let loose its force and tamed the foreign energy.
It kept Damien from getting too injured, but the Authority of Immortality was having trouble keeping up, so he was still getting injured.
"FUCK!"
He roared, using his voice to project mana since his body was being inhibited.
His energy burst into the surroundings and repelled the incoming force.
With the single instant of freedom he bought, Damien mobilized all the force hidden within his body and pushed against the crimson world.
VOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The colliding laws painted a beautiful picture, but Damien didn't have the mind to pay attention to it.
He was spit out of the crimson world by the repulsion caused by the collision, and finding himself with the freedom of movement again, he teleported once more.
He made it past the border.
And, of course, his enemies chased him there as well.
Would these Straea Clan Gods give up on him so easily?
Truthfully, their rational minds told them to. Damien's life wasn't a reward great enough to offset the risks of this endeavor.
However, they still did it.
Perhaps if their pursuit had just started, they would've been able to drop it.
But now, it wasn't just their personal grievances on the line. It was pride, and it was the reputation of their Straea Clan.
If they were outsmarted and outplayed by a mere mercenary from the Veritas Clan, what would people say about them?
While it seemed strange, the Straea Clan was a place that relied on its reputation more than others.
The Northern Region they ruled over had a special categorization among the other cardinal regions.
It was called the "Lawless Zone."
If the Straea Clan lost the ability to strike absolute fear into the hearts of those living there, if they lost their indomitable reputation because of a stain like this one, their authority would be challenged over and over again until they had to face great losses to protect themselves.
Those were the nuances of governing the Northern Region, something the Straea Clan had to deal with since they ruled by fear not trust.
So even while knowing the risks they were subjecting themselves to, Gerald and Pria followed Damien into the new territory and continued their attack.
Damien kept them in mind, but he was more focused on the environment around him.
'I have to find a route to escape. Battle isn't an option right now.'
He couldn't even guarantee that he could approach the two Straea Gods now that they were healed. He couldn't risk a battle.
If fleeing was the only option, he had to do so properly so he didn't encounter something worse than them in this forbidden area.
'For now, I just have to–'
BANG!
"ARGH!"
A fist slammed straight into his side, blasting a hole in his body and throwing him several hundred kilometers to the west.
His eyes went on alert.
'If I was even an instant slower, I would've been bisected.'
He didn't notice Gerald until the last moment.
That man's speed was far greater than what Damien thought possible for him.
He spread his awareness in a contained area around his body and heightened his senses as much as possible.
Gerald was already coming in for a second punch.
'To the head this time.'
Damien slightly tilted his head to dodge it, and instantly, a rush of wind pelted his face.
WHOOOOOOOOOSH!
The fist was only a few centimeters from his cheek, but its force was enough to tear a chunk out of his shoulder despite the lack of connection.
There was already another fist flying.
Damien sensed it coming towards his stomach.
However…
"...!"
His eyes suddenly went wide.
Without a second thought or even a fraction of a spark of an instant's hesitation, he teleported six times in quick succession, allowing the force to rebound onto his body for the sake of escape.
It was an absolutely instinctive reaction that sacrificed his safety for survival.
It was an instinct that Gerald didn't have.
It was like time slowed down.
Damien reappeared in the real world after his consecutive teleportations.
His body was only half materialized when he saw it.
In the space where he and Gerald were, in the place where only Gerald stood now.
An open maw.
A mouth lined with hundreds of thousands of razor-sharp teeth.
The bottom jaw was out of sight, while the top of the jaw was standing tall like a million-kilometer skyscraper.
It was a maw that could devour worlds.
And in the same instant it appeared, it snapped shut.
Gerald's life aura disappeared instantly, as did "that thing."
Only Damien and Pria remained in the air.
And neither of them could move.
"That thing…"
They shared the same thought.
What the hell just happened?
