Reddish-black.
Just what was the significance of this color?
To this day, Damien was barely consciously aware of the reddish-black sparks that would occasionally populate his aura, but he knew that there was some sort of force in his body that he wasn't aware of.
Usually, when the reddish-black aura activated itself, Damien was sent into a state of frenzy, unable to properly comprehend his actions until he'd finished whatever task he was handling.
However, this time it was different.
Damien's cold and indifferent eyes shone like amethysts as he dragged Sebastian through the spatial layers. He flew through Calypto's atmosphere until he eventually left it completely.
"Get up and fight me."
Damien flung Sebastian's body into the starry sky and stood tall. His hand pressed down on the universe, beckoning its assistance.
'Celestial Authority'
'Starfall'
An iridescent blue mixed with the reddish-black sparks in Damien's aura. The starry sky rumbled as countless entities swam through it with untold speed.
Starfall was a skill that summoned celestial bodies for Damien to control. At its base, it was a skill that could be used for far more than just a few meteor showers.
However, it was never able to show its full power within a world's atmosphere. This wasn't just because a portal was necessary to allow those bodies to enter the world, but also because Damien himself didn't desire the destruction of the world.
In the starry sky, there were no limitations.
In fact, the range of Damien's abilities only increased.
VOOOOM!
Thousands of meteors appeared in the distance, concealed by the darkness of space. They blazed trails through the silence and arrived at Sebastian's position in an instant, exploding on impact!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The first to strike were the smallest pieces of space debris. These pieces flung Sebastian around, disallowing him from regaining his composure.
When this attack was nearing its end, a second, far larger force appeared behind the Nox butler.
BOOOOOOOM!
A planetary body the size of a moon eclipsed Sebastian's own body. He turned around coldly and faced it.
'Unveiling Darkness'
Sebastian flicked his finger into the planetary body and sent a concentrated strand of Nox Mana into its center.
Within an instant, cracks began to spread across the moon. Black splotches stained its surface until finally, it exploded into dust that floated away with the streams of Spatial Essence in the surroundings.
"Human, I commend your strength. However, do not mistake my kindness for weakness. You are not powerful enough to fight me as an equal yet."
Sebastian coldly spoke as he vanished from the air. He arrived behind Damien and spread his arms out, gathering a great amount of Nox Mana in his palms.
'Strength of the Abandoned Land'
Sebastian's eyes glowed with black light. The mana in his palms spread across his body like spiderwebs.
BOOM!
Sebastian's aura suddenly exploded, becoming exponentially stronger.
"I may have fought you, but you haven't drawn out even a portion of my skills yet. Lacking mana? If that was enough to make me fall, I would have died ages ago."
Sebastian took a stance for the first time in the battle. He lowered his body and pulled his fist back, concentrating his power within it.
His eyes shot open.
His fist shot out.
B-B-BOOOOOOOOM!
Space cracked and tore for countless tens of thousands of kilometers. Damien was immediately surrounded by chaotic spatial storms and terrifying fluctuations of mana that made him feel like his insides were burning.
However, Damien didn't react to the pain.
'Focus.'
He closed his eyes and moved as one with the spatial storms. The chaotic mana fluctuations couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.
Damien's focus was split in two. The first part was wholly dedicated to Sebastian. His every movement, his every expression, and even the movement of his mana was clearly reflected in Damien's eyes and internalized in his mind.
As for the second portion, even Damien couldn't quite pinpoint where his attention was being directed.
Rather than focusing, it was better to say he was earnestly feeling something within his body that he'd never noticed before.
'What is this empowering feeling…?'
Damien could feel those reddish-black sparks pulsating in his veins. With every pulse, he felt like a dam broke in his body, allowing him to contain and utilize more mana.
'It's not just that, the quality of my mana has increased.'
Damien's body became a blur. He teleported high above Sebastian and swept his arm through the air.
'Dimension Shift First Variation: Land of the Dead'
Damien's eyes blazed with purple light. The aura of Spacetime essence flowed through his body and altered the world.
The dimension split in two around Sebastian. His body was bisected into the top and bottom half of the split.
Yet, Sebastian remained unfazed. He formed a myriad of seals with his hands and pushed the formed runic symbols into the starry sky. Suddenly, the severed dimension began to heal.
Unfortunately for Sebastian, this attack wasn't the same Dimension Shift Damien used previously.
Crackle!
Reddish-black sparks appeared in the severed dimension. With their spread, the two halves that were almost connected once more split immediately, and continued to split into thousands of tiny pieces.
'Break.'
Damien clenched his fist.
The reddish-black sparks connected into a strange spherical pattern and lit up like fireworks.
The thousands of dimensional fragments collapsed at once. They became independent entities that repelled each other instead of healing back into a single piece.
The following explosion was silent. Space became nil, time became nil, and even the universal law lost a portion of its power.
Outside of Calytpo's atmosphere, a temporary Dead Zone had formed, trapping Sebastian within.
Damien's body passed through the Dead Zone's boundaries.
"Human, where did you learn this trick? It's quite interesting."
Sebastian grinned as if he knew Damien could hear him.
"Judging by the lack of law fluctuations in the surroundings, I can understand that you utilized this trick to suppress me. However, I'll have to disappoint you."
Sebastian's eyes glowed with such fervor that they lit up the Dead Zone.
"This atmosphere…feels just like home to me."
BANG!
An explosion of Nox Mana spread through the Dead Zone and latched onto its foundation.
'This is…!'
Damien barely had time to process his shock before he was forced to dodge.
'The Dead Zone itself became his weapon?!'
Whenever Sebastian made a movement, Damien could clearly feel the boundaries of the Dead Zone moving with him. It was something that felt impossible, yet Damien was seeing it happen right in front of him!
'Dammit! Just how do I kill this monster?!'
Damien felt frustration like nothing he'd ever felt in his life. Since when was there an enemy he couldn't defeat? Even if it seemed inevitable for him to lose, he always found a way to turn the situation around.
'I refuse…to let this bastard stain my record!'
With the heightening of his emotions, the reddish-black sparks in his aura became more and more powerful.
As Damien dodged and blocked Sebastian's attacks, he could feel the impact force becoming lighter with time.
He was still getting stronger.
'But…I don't have time to wait.'
Support would be arriving at any time on the planet's surface.
And the most dangerous Nox being remaining there was…
'Zara.'
