Grand Duke Maveth never once approached the action.
He was the first to sense Damien, as he was the current strongest Noble. However, even then, he remained hidden behind countless walls as if he was the weakest.
Why?
Was it because his mind was better than his strength?
No.
Maveth did have a great mind. He was able to create technological systems like the drones that blanketed the world in search for Damien after glimpsing similar technology in the True Void Universe.
The Sacred Abyss Universe didn't have anything of the sort as precedent, so Maveth could only be considered a genius.
Still, his strength was his best asset. Maveth trained from his youth as a warrior, not an intellectual. His mind was just an added plus, a talent he could use to further boost his true power.
But that left the question unanswered.
Why did Grand Duke Maveth seem to fear direct combat in this instance?
The truth was, he didn't.
Maveth was just like his peers. He had absolute confidence that he could defeat Damien if they fought in single combat.
He'd done it before, hadn't he?
Damien underestimated his pain amplification power, but that was because he didn't realize how fast things could get bad.
Maveth squared the pain. He didn't just double it. If he had hit Damien with even one more attack, perhaps he wouldn't have been able to find a way to escape.
His reason for staying back was different.
This wasn't battle. This wasn't a personal grudge. This wasn't something that required respect or emotion in any form.
This was a hunt for prey. It was the elimination of an anomaly, a process that was highly streamlined.
Damien had shown them too many mysteries. He was dangerous and cunning. If they didn't properly understand him before attacking, they would lose.
This had been proven over and over again.
First, he escaped them in the Heavenly World. Then, when he came to the Sacred Abyss, he humiliated them endlessly.
The Barons, Viscounts, Counts, and even Dukes were inconsequential.
However…
'...I am the last remaining Grand Duke.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Grand Duke Lance's life signature had already vanished, while the chaotic explosion still continued to rage.
As for Klaus…
Huge beams of orange chaotic energy splashed out of geysers that formed on the dark beast's shell.
At the same time, an ear-shattering bang rang out. Klaus managed to pierce the turtle's shell, creating a path to its fleshy inner body.
Unfortunately, his timing was off.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Those waves of chaos crashed down on his barrier like a tsunami. Instead of pursuing the opening he'd made, Klaus was forced to block with all of his power.
BOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!
Chaos was a terrifying force. It had no meaning, no rhyme or reason behind its actions. Chaos would do as it pleased, and everything else was forced to cope.
The force of that bizarre independence was hard to hold, especially when using another force close to chaos.
Malakh was a darker energy in its essence, so it naturally felt subordination to the dark beast's energy.
Mana, on the other hand, was a more orderly power. It would've had a far better chance in the current situation.
But Grand Duke Klaus could not use the energy of the True Void Universe, and that was only one of many reasons that led to his eventual defeat.
The dark beast's use of true chaos was the turning point. From the moment Damien saw it happen, he knew the battle was over.
Maveth was the same.
He was the last Grand Duke from that moment. Because only a minute later, Klaus broke under the weight of the dark beast's onslaught.
As his body fell through the air, limp and lifeless, another shadow appeared.
Maveth stood up, his eyes trained on the projection of those events that he was watching as they happened.
Damien grabbed the dying body of that man.
'He isn't dead yet. His soul is still alive.'
His body was finished, but he was trying to escape in his ethereal form so he could live again.
"Unfortunately, that's not happening."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Pitch-black energy surrounded Damien's body and enveloped the body of his enemy. It ate, crunching the Grand Duke into a wave of essence and existence that showered its owner.
Damien glanced down at the dark beast below.
Its eyes were also trained on him.
He used his energy, and it instantly snapped out of its frenzy.
That energy…
'That is the energy…!'
This was the true culprit behind its kidnapping.
"I'm sure you've realized it by the look in your eyes. I'll say the same thing to you. Unfortunately, it's not happening."
The dark beast's eyes were filled with malice and vengeance, however, Klaus had served his purpose.
He created the opening that Damien needed.
And when the dark beast's defenses were gone, when Damien could see its weaknesses with his naked eyes…
'Die.'
…it was done.
Existence rallied at his call and shot into the hole in the dark beast's shell.
It struck the fleshy body beneath and infected it, eating away at the great being. Existence was a very useful power, because Damien could do anything he wanted.
Since he wanted that beast to die, his power found a way to kill it.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
It appeared out of nowhere.
From the top and the bottom of the dark beast's body, a beam of pure white energy burst forth, slamming into the ground below and the sky above.
The dark beast was pierced by a Godly force. Its shell exploded along with its insides, leaving a gaping hole in its body that was big enough to house a nation.
'It's like an Achilles heel.'
Because every other part of its body had been fortified to the point where even Klaus could barely damage it, the body the beast hid inside of its shell was incredibly fragile.
The dark beast died, its body crashing to the ground and deepening the chasm it created by another margin.
Damien watched it from the sky, and…
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Kahak!"
He coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"Hak!"
Another.
"Hak!"
Another.
"Hak!"
At this point, he was practically vomiting organs.
His face turned pale and his body wobbled in the sky. Soon enough, it looked like he couldn't take it anymore.
Damien started to fall, desperately reaching out.
BOOM!
His body crashed into the ground, but…
As it turned out, he'd managed to recall the corpse of the dark beast into his storage.
'But even with that, he is severely injured.'
It was too much for him to mess with Klaus' soul and then try to kill the dark beast. Even if he had incredible power, it was too much for him to think he was a real God.
'Ever since he got here…'
He'd been using trick after trick, evading everything even when he could've easily fought.
'He is not a coward.'
But he was aware of his limits.
That was Maveth's final assessment of Damien Void.
'He'll be going into hiding again now.'
Until he recuperated, Damien wouldn't show his face, and as had been proven over the past year, they wouldn't be able to find him.
Which meant…
'...we have to act now.'
No, there was no longer a "we."
Maveth had to end this himself and eliminate the anomaly while he had the chance.
He had to join the battle.
