In any normal circumstance, the Saint Emperor would've immediately moved out of range after sensing Park Jinho's accumulated power, but the life-or-death arena he'd set up limited him just as much as it did his opponent.
'But without this much, would there ever be a challenge?'
The Saint Emperor couldn't help but grin looking at the truly gargantuan amount of water that was being gathered.
The fact that it hadn't been mobilized yet but was still giving off such fluctuations…
'I could challenge him in close combat again, however, that is his specialty. Even if I wish to enjoy this battle, I still have a job to do.'
His eyes flicked over to the young genius kneeling on the floor behind Park Jinho.
'That boy…while I can't touch him quite yet, I at least have to leave an impression.'
He couldn't have Damien forgetting him when he met other Nox Emperors, could he?
It needed to be him.
'I want to be his nemesis.'
Because only then could he truly witness the rise of a monster, a true terror that far outstripped any mere Nox being.
'It seems I'm getting a bit overexcited.
The treasure in front of his eyes was too captivating, but also in front of his eyes was an array of water spears with both the hardness of metal and the flexibility of water.
'How troublesome.'
The Saint Emperor frowned and swiped his arm, letting loose a swarm of strange bugs. These bugs were wholly made of mana, and when they came in contact with the water spears…
Chomp!
They devoured the spears' mana with so much vigor that their each and every bite was audible.
'I suppose it wouldn't be bad to use a speck of power here.'
'Underworld River'
The Saint Emperor outstretched his hand with his palm facing the earth. A single drop of milky grey liquid dripped from his finger.
ROOOOAAAAAAR!
When it splashed against the ground, a river roared to life. Its deathly waters were filled with an aura of grudge and resentment. The river crashed through the open environment, filling the space between Park Jinho and the Saint Emperor in an instant.
'Wrath Index 4th Scripture: Tides of Moonlight'
The moon controlled the waves, but if one's power was enough, the waves could control the moon itself.
Its light would shine upon the world and become one with the sea, transforming the water into a miraculous substance that not only had supreme regenerative capabilities, but also immense density that water shouldn't possess, almost turning it into a non-Newtonian fluid.
BANG!
The two torrents of water crashed against each other instantly. The moonlight water intertwined with the underworld river and clashed fiercely. Despite both forces being heavily Yin in nature, the moon represented the gentle side while Death represented the cruelty.
The two forces were diametrically opposed from the beginning.
BOOOOOM!
The seething water crashed into the surroundings and melted the earth and surrounding pure water like acid. If it wasn't for the multi-layer barrier protecting Damien, even his body would've been incinerated.
'5 minutes…'
Park Jinho gritted his teeth.
So far, holding off the Saint Emperor was proving to be an easier task than it should've been, especially because the latter wasn't fighting back with his full strength.
However, Park Jinho didn't have infinite mana, and using attacks that could affect someone of the Saint Emperor's level required an immense amount of Law comprehension to fuel them. It was impossible for him to last a long period of time against such an opponent.
Nevertheless, he wasn't aware of Damien's progress yet, and until he got a signal from the young genius, Park Jinho could do nothing but fight.
'Almost there…' Damien thought solemnly as he felt yet another wave of terrifying fluctuations behind his back.
He felt like his skin was being seared just from being near those fluctuations, but because of the barrier protecting him, he understood that it was merely a placebo effect.
'But to make me feel a placebo only testifies to their power.'
Around 40% of the World Core had been converted by now, and the battle was getting easier with every passing second.
Damien was even able to split off a portion of his consciousness to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth present within the World Core.
And more than that…
'So this is the origin of Nox Mana. I haven't yet had the chance to observe pure Nox Mana carefully. Finally, I can uncover a bit about these assholes and form countermeasures against them.'
Just as Damien went to connect with the Nox Mana and observe it, a sudden change took place.
BANG!
The Nox side of the World Core suddenly lashed out furiously, starting an unexpected offensive against its counterpart.
"Keuk…!"
Damien swallowed down the blood crawling up his throat and focused on controlling the pure World Core's essence.
Using Void Mana as a medium, he was able to somewhat manipulate this untouchable mana and become one with it.
But a battle between energies like this was both more complex and far simpler than a battle between sentient beings.
There was no need for fancy techniques or scheming, every collision would be head-on and without planning.
However, each collision was a competition of laws. Whichever side came out on top would rule.
Damien was able to hold out because he had firm comprehension of four of the foundational elements of a world. Using these along with the World Core's own stray comprehension, he was able to last until only 5 minutes remained before he took main control over the World Core.
However…
"Did you think I would allow you to get away so easily, boy?"
A disconnected voice boomed through the cavern, its source being a large eye that opened on the Corrupted half of the World Core.
Damien frowned.
"This bastard…you really can't let me do anything in peace."
"Hahahaha! And why should I do that? Your expressions are far more amusing if I act this way."
"You sound like a creepy stalker."
"It's not right to denounce an Emperor, you know."
The Saint Emperor conversed with Damien like an uncle trying to gain his nephew's affection, but throughout their conversation, their clashes became fiercer and more deadly.
The Laws hidden within Nox Mana were especially clear at the moment.
Death, annihilation, extermination, a hint of the 5 elements, and even…
'It can't be.'
Damien shook off the absurd assumption forming in his head and counterattacked with his own laws.
Life, Death, Reincarnation, Space, Time, Fire, Lightning, and even a hint of Void merges into the pure World Core mana and shot forward.
These Laws clashed with their enemies.
It was a silent clash. There wasn't anything particularly entertaining about the scene.
But at the same time, it was mystical.
Two waves of different laws intertwined and mingled. While the laws clashed, they also followed their natural instinct to exist in harmony.
It was a strange dichotomy to witness, especially in such a vague form, but Damien could feel comprehension pouring into his mind.
The relationships between elements that he'd been trying to understand, wasn't this a glimpse of it?
Damien almost wanted to jump up and hug the Saint Emperor.
After all, for the last few minutes of their first interaction…
The Saint Emperor had given Damien a bigger gift than he'd ever expected to give.
