THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 758: Snow vs Nito (1)

Amid the vast blackness of the universe, Earth gleamed with its captivating blue hue, a stunning beacon in the void.

Suspended beyond the planet's atmosphere—not too near and not too distant—the Ninth High Seat known as Nito unleashed devastating strikes toward the surface, aimed straight at Gehrman and his companions.

Yet Snow Lionheart's abrupt appearance compelled him to pause, abandoning Amon to battle solo.

"There's something of mine down there," Snow stated in an icy tone.

"Pantheon traitor."

Enveloped in his dazzling light aura, Snow ascended until he matched Nito's height. Nito pivoted to face him.

"And who exactly are you?"

Nito failed to identify his foe whatsoever. Snow's long-forgotten war form was entirely alien to him.

A warrior in gleaming golden armor—

pure light aura emanating from his frame.

"You look like one of the Lightbearers... but you're not the same," Nito grumbled, scrutinizing him through his wild green gaze.

Meanwhile, Snow clutched Vermithor firmly, bracing for combat.

"You don't have to know my identity," Snow answered steadily.

"Just understand that I'm your foe."

"Fine then... Excellent."

Nito's ferocious smile stretched broader as his sky-blue locks whipped wildly in his wake.

His build was immense... towering beyond two meters, bulging with superhuman muscles beyond any mortal's reach.

Nito lifted his Slitherine Sword skyward, letting the Aura of the Light Soul envelop him entirely... the reality-shattering might bestowed by Agaroth, the Demon King.

"The greater the gap between me and my adversary, the mightier my blade's blows grow," Nito proclaimed.

"But you're no threat that demands keeping my distance."

His eyes blazed as he swung down, unleashing a massive surge of Light Aura straight at Snow.

"Because... you're way too feeble."

Nito brimmed with assurance. His rival's sheer strength paled obviously against his own.

Through the slim visor of his golden helm, Snow spotted the incoming assault—

but oddly, he offered no resistance.

He didn't even lift his shield.

He just remained in place... observing as the strike swallowed him whole, bursting into a dazzling blast that lit up the cosmic shadows.

Nito's brow furrowed.

"Did he really journey here only to perish?" the Ninth Ascendant whispered—

—and then he got his reply.

A reply that widened his eyes and creased his forehead as an utterly unforeseen event unfolded.

As the dominant Light Aura faded away...

Snow remained standing... untouched.

Not even a mark.

Indeed, his armor now radiated with even greater splendor.

Under his helm, Snow smirked.

"Exactly as I thought..."

Upon hearing that, Nito pointed his sword at Snow.

"What occurred just now?" he pressed.

"Why are you completely intact?"

Yet no response followed.

Snow disappeared.

In under a second, he bridged the gap and lashed out.

Vermithor met Slitherine in a fierce clash, sparking a turbulent fusion of auras.

And still... the real astonishment...

Snow matched Nito blow for blow without yielding.

"This can't be..." Nito growled.

"He's much inferior to me... how can he hold his own?"

With a heavy scowl, Nito unleashed a surge of his Light Soul Aura.

This force was utterly dominant—the boon earned from the Demon King for turning against his kin and delivering them to the demons.

Through the Light Soul's binding during his long entrapment in Midir's shadow, Nito's strength had soared tremendously.

Up to this day, this dimension-rending capability had always crushed... or at minimum scarred... his opponents.

But on this day... everything shifted.

No matter the intensity he poured into it, the Light Soul Aura couldn't inflict the tiniest injury on Snow.

Nito found himself utterly disoriented.

Snow capitalized on that instant, intensifying the assault with perfect precision.

"Having trouble?" Snow mocked serenely while striking once more.

"Is that the extent of your ability?"

Nito struck back with amplified might.

Their blades met in blistering rapidity, trapping them in a savage, lightning-fast swordfight that highlighted their skills.

Snow excelled as the finer swordsman... accurate, polished, and streamlined.

Nito depended on sheer devastation and ferocity.

For an instant, they seemed perfectly balanced.

But that balance was deceptive.

Nito's early frown eased into steady poise.

Noticing this, Snow's eyes sharpened—acknowledging his rival's cunning.

Unlike the hot-headed Vayne, Nito was a seasoned fighter. He was piecing it together.

The Ninth Ascendant poured out more Light Soul Aura, bathing huge swaths of space in glow.

Even with the immense ruinous force, Snow stood unhurt again—and retaliated without delay.

However, this time Nito parried the strike with ease.

Snow's blow lacked potency.

And mere seconds later—

Nito's grin resurfaced.

"I understand now..."

Rather than slashing, Nito thrust his hand out at Snow.

A tremendous blaze of fire aura gathered in his grasp.

The inferno burned sky-blue.

The Ninth Ascendant compressed a staggering volume of that aura... and exploded it right in Snow's face.

For the first time in their clash, Snow hoisted his shield, falling back as he warded off the onslaught.

Nito ranked as a Fourth-Stage SSS-rank warrior.

Unsurprisingly, his aura projection vastly outstripped Snow's.

Though Snow repelled the strike, the blaze clearly singed his shield, wearing away part of it.

Witnessing that...

Nito erupted in manic guffaws.

"Ahahahaha!!! What a revelation!"

Nito bellowed, barely containing his mirth.

"You! ... You're the Pure Vessel, right?!"

At that declaration, Snow stayed silent...

but his displeasure was evident at his secret being exposed.

"That quiet, and your choice not to refute it, confirms I'm correct... damn, what absurdity is this..."

"As unbelievable as it seems... it's the sole rational cause for these events."

"You're much weaker than I am—you haven't hit SSS rank—yet you shrug off the Light Soul with zero harm."

"Only one scenario allows that..."

Nito's face grew grave as his laughter ceased.

"Namely, if you're the true originator of that force."

The Six Fundamental Soul Bearers stand apart from every other power:

Light Soul.

Death.

Darkness.

Blood.

Reincarnation.

And the Demonic Soul.

These forces prove deadly... harboring apocalyptic ruin and methods that surpass the boundaries of existence.

Yet—curiously—

They hold no sway over their initial wielders.

In essence, regardless of the Light Soul's dominance...

it fails against its primal holder.

That insight struck Nito.

"Even if it's the only sensible conclusion... I struggle to accept it," Nito went on somberly.

"Are you really the Pure Vessel... or just his duplicate? The First Lord of Light was never this feeble."

The First Lord of Light had been a peerless powerhouse—

one who scaled the heights of SSS rank and commanded various reality-shattering powers.

Snow, though, didn't radiate the lethal intensity to fit that legacy.

Grasping that his adversary was no pushover, Snow dropped all caution immediately.

"Now that you've pieced it together... no reason to conceal it anymore."

Snow thrust his sword forward...and summoned the Light Soul's might for himself.

Nito's eyes bulged in disbelief.

"What the fuck"

The Ninth Ascendant's scowl deepened.

He had evidently never realized his Light Soul was merely a fragment of the full original.

The remaining portion... resided with Snow.

"You're correct, Ninth Ascendant," Snow Lionheart declared evenly as he settled into his fighting pose.

"The Light Soul has no effect on me... for I am its rightful source."

"But for you..."

Snow's stare intensified.

"You're still susceptible to it, aren't you?"

As soon as he spoke, Snow unleashed the complete potency of his Light Soul, hurling a ferocious torrent of brilliance at Nito.

Nito met the assault with one of his own...

this time drawing on his brute strength alone, forsaking the Light Soul.