THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 746: The Saint Against the Joker

The instant Gehrman uttered those words ..

Amon's gaze widened just a touch, detecting the void's shudder .. a ripple that extended over a massive stretch.

"Gehrman’s Style .. Supreme Art: Blue World."

Gehrman activated a powerful move.

An immense surge of aura pressure burst forth over the entire zone ..

so intense that Abraham Starlight, who had chased after them, halted in terror before fleeing at top speed, pulling out of the assault's reach.

In under a second ..

Spanning a huge circle of dozens of miles ..

A blue-hued aura expanded outward, unleashing a horrifying blast of chill that iced over all it encountered.

The frost rushed everywhere, fully encasing Amon and locking him within a gigantic block of Gehrman’s icy force.

Abraham remained rooted, gazing in shocked amazement at the sight unfolding.

The icy formation now blanketed a vast territory.

"When did he even set up an attack like that?"

Deploying such a skill demanded a huge drain on aura and needed preparation time.

But Gehrman had pulled it off amid constant pursuit from Amon, all while dodging his strikes.

And as for Gehrman ..

He had already shown up in front of Abraham, striding beside the enormous ice mountain forged by his own strength.

The Engineer appeared unwell.

He rested against the frozen pillar while advancing, letting it prop him up.

"Hey... are you alright?" Abraham inquired, stepping nearer.

Gehrman lifted a hand, halting him.

"I’m fine... but we need to move away from here. This frost won’t hold him for long."

"Then what do we do?" Abraham questioned, spotting no way out.

Gehrman’s frost wasn’t regular ice .. it was tougher than steel and held a trait that destroyed all life it reached.

Abraham was sure that if a sliver of that ice had trapped him instead of Amon, instant death would follow.

Yet even a move this grand could only stall them briefly.

"He’s most likely at the peak of Stage Five of the SSS rank... maybe even beyond that. We can’t defeat him with what we have."

"Are you suggesting we run?" Abraham stated plainly.

"If that’s the plan, I don’t think it’ll work against an enemy like this. He’ll chase us to the end of the planet if he has to."

Gehrman offered no denial.

"I know. And we’re not running."

He drew in a deep breath, working to stabilize his weakened frame.

"All we need to do... is buy time."

At those words, Abraham grasped that Gehrman was indeed concealing a secret.

"So we just have to hold out, then..."

"Yes."

Gehrman replied shortly, as a soft, sky-blue glow started to envelop his form.

"Thanks to Fulghor, who gave me half of his aura... I won’t suffer spiritual exhaustion. But physical strain is another matter."

Gehrman himself was astonished he had lasted this far .. and Fulghor’s energy deserved the praise.

"Even though he only gave me half... that half alone surpasses my own aura stores at full strength. It seems he hasn’t lost his brilliance, even after all these years..."

Fulghor the Planet—his title held deep meaning.

It stemmed from the colossal, planet-like volume of aura he commanded.

In the Shadow Sect, Fulghor boasted the greatest aura holdings of anyone .. even topping Nameless.

"It seems the Shadow Sect is nothing but monsters," Abraham grumbled while he and Gehrman distanced themselves from the ice mass.

Then ..

Suddenly, with no prior sign ..

Both halted abruptly as a whisper echoed near their ears.

"Yes... I completely agree."

The voice arrived first.

Right after, the noise of breaking rang out.

Fractures raced over the whole ice structure .. before it burst apart with fury, rattling the entire landmass.

Right before them, shadowy aura billowed in every direction, swallowing the surroundings as Amon emerged once more.

"That was a fine technique. No one has ever managed to restrain me for that long," Amon remarked offhandedly, while Gehrman and Abraham braced for combat.

"That long?! It hasn’t even been five minutes!" Abraham swore, crafting a much stronger light blade in his grasp.

Simultaneously, Gehrman unleashed his strength again, steeling himself.

They had to buy time ..

But Amon wasn’t someone they could delay for much.

Still, Gehrman held his ground.

And that once more piqued Amon’s curiosity.

"What resolve... what loyalty," Amon declared, advancing a step as he extended both arms.

"The way you Shadow Sect warriors fight for your master is exactly like us demons, who fight for our king," he noted, gesturing toward Gehrman.

"Even though your master suffered a humiliating defeat against our father, the Demon King, thousands of years ago... you still cling to him. I wonder .. where does such loyalty come from?"

To that query ..

For the first time in the fight ..

Gehrman’s voice grew deeper, exposing a hint of his real emotions to Amon.

"You misunderstand something, vile demon," Gehrman stated, moving ahead too, his emitted force spiking abruptly.

"Do not lump us together with you. There is no resemblance between us."

"High-ranking demons follow Agaroth either out of fear, or because he simply granted them power. What loyalty are you talking about, when your king cares for nothing but satisfying his own desires?"

"Your king is a great warrior .. but a failed ruler. The fact that the Dukedoms of Hell refused to integrate into your so-called hierarchy is proof enough."

In Helmond, demons split into groups.

Agaroth, the Demon King, wielded command—but that failed to alter how the Dukedoms of Hell operated independently, rejecting submission .. with figures like Gael or Maskith as clear cases.

"We are different from you," Gehrman pressed on, his tone laden with firm belief and real fervor.

"We do not follow Nameless out of fear... nor out of love or admiration."

Saint Gehrman.

Fulghor the Planet.

They ranked as warriors mighty enough to found empires alone.

So why would such figures serve Nameless by choice .. when he never demanded it?

"Everyone Nameless revived... every warrior who joined the Shadow Sect... all of us have goals. Things we seek ..

things we couldn’t achieve on our own. Some of us died trying. Others simply failed."

In the Shadow Sect, each member harbored personal drives, hidden longings.

Some stayed straightforward.

Others turned intricate and burdensome.

But none managed to realize them.

"Until he appeared."

Nameless rose from obscurity—and cleared the road ahead for them.

"We follow him, and we revere him... because he is the one who can fulfill those lost wishes, those stolen desires.

All of us placed our hopes and dreams upon him. We placed everything on his shoulders .. creating a weight no one in this world could bear."

"But he can. He bears it without complaint, without condemning a single one of us. In his eyes, we were all equal.

He carried our burdens and fought for us in the Great War thousands of years ago. That is why we will continue to fight for him. Death is nothing more than a cheap price to pay."

Gehrman was fully ready to perish.

This held no falsehood, no empty vow.

Amon recognized that truth.

Yet the words grated on him.

"You truly dared to insult my father in front of me... yes, you did."

Gradually, the force Amon projected swelled to extreme levels.

Gehrman sensed it right away ..

Amon was now treating them as real threats. He prepared to unleash his maximum might.

"Nameless lost in the past. And even if he returned in the present—or the future—against the Demon King, his fate would be defeat every single time. No one in this world can defeat the demon king ."

"Nameless will die every time."

"Just as you will... now."

This time ..

All shifted dramatically.

The atmosphere thickened.

Gehrman’s and Abraham’s sight hazed for a split second.

Then, the very next instant ..

BOOOOM!!!

Abraham caught a deafening blast exploding nearby.

As he glanced over ..

His face turned grim entirely upon witnessing Gehrman’s form detonate right in front of him.

"Die ... Saint Gehrman."