THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 806 Where Empires Turn to Ash (1)

—Before the Battle—

Under the glow of the moonlight that night, Frey Starlight departed from the Shadow Sect, teleporting instantly to the outskirts of the devastated capital—Belgrade.

Step by step, he pressed onward, silently scanning the wreckage of the city.

The capital he once recognized was gone.

Even the slave who had passed countless years inside these very walls… had vanished.

Gradually, Frey directed his eyes to the spot Thanatos had seized as his headquarters.

Finding it proved simple.

Activity buzzed solely in that region... ever since Thanatos revived thousands to assemble a fresh army.

“I see he hasn’t wasted any time… he’s already started reconstructing his troops.”

Frey murmured coolly, as his shadow elongated over the terrain, transforming into a new shape.

The shape of Nameless.

“Thanatos earns the title Death,” Nameless declared from within the shadow, “because he refuses to die and defies all attempts to slay him. Moreover, he revives the deceased, converting them into loyal minions.”

“Yet his revival merely mends the flesh—not the spirit.”

“Thus, it remains a flawed ability.”

Frey gave a subtle nod.

“You mentioned he attained the seventh stage of SSS rank, right?”

Nameless nodded softly back.

“Correct. That beast occupies the absolute summit.”

At those words, Frey issued a hollow chuckle.

“So this won’t be straightforward… Maybe I’ll truly join the ranks of his undead horde post-battle.”

Sarcasm dripped evidently from his tone.

From the shadows, Nameless observed him wordlessly for an instant before responding.

“That won’t occur. Should you fall… I’ll step in and conclude it personally.”

“How kind of you,” Frey answered casually. “You’ve aided me considerably as of late. What sparked this shift?”

Nameless shook his head deliberately.

“Even if I desired to explain, it’s impossible. I’m just a shard of my actual being.”

“Once I fully reunite… once true Nameless reemerges someday—”

“Pose that query to me then.”

A subtle grin surfaced on Frey’s lips upon hearing it.

“We must endure until that moment arrives.”

“Naturally, we shall.”

Inhaling deeply, Frey advanced.

His movement wasn’t ordinary walking.

Rather, his silhouette blinked out... materializing afar with every stride.

“Hear me well,” Nameless whispered near his ear.

“The clash ahead holds utmost significance. Indeed, I’ll act if disaster looms… yet prevent that at all costs.”

“Hold firm.”

“Deploy all your might and battle like it’s your final stand.”

Nameless’s counsel resounded next to Frey’s ear.

Frey replied with a firm nod, face utterly grave.

“Now that you grasp your duty… just one step remains.”

“Charge.”

“And ignite this fight.”

“Let’s wrap it up.” Frey declared with an icy grin... then surged ahead, breaching the stronghold Thanatos erected.

Their encounter happened swiftly.

The fight erupted immediately.

Frey released the Power of Souls, paired with the Black Hole Aura that swallowed his form entirely via the Absolute Manipulator’s gift.

His power exploded upward.

It climbed to staggering heights.

Still, a critical flaw burdened him—

He lingered at SSS rank’s initial stage.

A full six stages beneath his foe.

Amid their ferocious strikes, Thanatos’s superiority shone evident.

He assaulted without mercy or respite.

Frey got pinned defending... powerless to reverse the flow.

“I simply can’t comprehend,” Thanatos bellowed furiously while closing in on Frey, indigo flames raging over his frame.

“What gave you the nerve to face me?”

“Did you assume lacking the Death Soul stops me from crushing you?”

“Don’t amuse me!”

Thanatos stomped the earth, cracking it wide as a colossal aura burst forth.

“To defy me, fetch at least a First Rank High Demon!”

Thanatos’s roar boomed across the field.

Beneath the Nameless Mask, Frey’s eyes sharpened.

“A First Rank High Demon… akin to Crimson?”

“You’re inflating your worth.”

“Without your legions, you’re worthless.”

Frey stated icily, maxing out the Power of Souls... to offset their vast aura disparity.

“In your wretched condition… bereft of armies and the Death Soul…”

"You're nothing more than a fraud that anyone could defeat."

Frey aimed to taunt his foe.

Yet Thanatos merely unleashed a chilling laugh.

"You're right."

"I do need to rebuild my army."

Adopting a battle-ready pose—

Resembling a rocket primed to fire and devastate its mark—

Thanatos bellowed.

"And you will be the first general of that new army!"

Thanatos surged ahead like a thundering azure ray.

Frey mirrored the action ... enveloping himself in the full force of the Black Hole Aura and the Power of Souls.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A ferocious clash erupted between them.

Their auras collided in a booming clash that rattled the whole battlefield.

Thanatos struck with aura-enhanced fists ... savage, ferocious, and utterly savage.

Frey parried using his blade—Dark Sister—blocking each assault from his rival.

The Eyes of the Void exposed every path of Thanatos' strikes.

Thanks to this, he could defend against them ... regardless of their velocity.

Occasionally, Frey struck back, succeeding in wounding his adversary.

However, no matter the damage he caused…

Thanatos refused to slacken.

On the contrary—

His velocity accelerated at an alarming pace.

"You do not understand!"

Through a abrupt, bursting fist, Thanatos hurled Frey through the air ... despite Frey's sword block.

The power of that hit proved utterly overpowering.

Thanatos bounded right after, chasing like a frenzied predator.

"There's no point in wounding me—or attacking me at all!" he roared.

"My body will not die, and it will never tire! It will only grow stronger every time you strike it!"

BOOOOOOM!!

Thanatos' fist hammered the spot where Frey once stood, exploding the soil and spewing a massive burst of indigo-blue inferno.

Frey dodged via teleport, disappearing from the explosion ...

Yet Thanatos pinpointed him right away.

"You've already thrown yourself into your own destruction."

"There is no escape."

A ghastly smile spread over Thanatos' features, ear to ear.

Next, with a mere gesture from his hand, he channeled a massive flood of aura into the terrain.

In that instant—

Disaster struck.

Frey's eyes bulged at the sight.

Thanatos' aura pulsed under Belgrade's soil.

No ...

Far wider than Belgrade.

Then, under his order, azure fires burst upward.

The whole area got obliterated.

Frey appeared merely as a minuscule dot—

A tiny dark smudge amid an infinite blaze sea.

Fires soared fiercely, poised to rend the skies.

"Let me see how you escape now!!!"

Thanatos' dreadful bellow resounded over the field.

Frey adjusted his footing while airborne.

Surrounded by blaze and ruin ...

He released a ruinous slash that bathed everything in profound purple aura.

"Frey Starlight Style: Nameless Judgement!!"

SLASH!!

Gathering the Power of Souls and his utmost power in a gigantic downward cleave, Frey cleaved the vast blue inferno apart.

The strike slammed into Thanatos.

Thanatos raised his arms to guard—

Yet the impact's might shattered both fists entirely.

He restored them in a flash.

Then he squinted at Frey.