THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 808 The Pursuer (1)

The clash was approaching a pivotal moment.

Blue flames surged in fierce waves onto the terrain where Frey battled Thanatos, but the immense pressure from their colliding auras shoved the blazing inferno away with ease.

Overhead, endless black lightning thundered across the heavens, as the whole continent shook beneath the immense force of their colossal showdown.

Most shocking of all, though, this fierce battle raged completely hidden from every living being on Earth.

Because of the barriers Frey had set up earlier around the battlefield—with Nameless's guidance—no creature could detect the chaos unfolding within.

They might as well have been dueling at the world's edge, with only each other left in existence.

Thanatos swung the Reaper's Scythe without pity.

Frey confronted it directly with Dark Sister and the Shadowbolt Spear.

Still, anyone possessing even a shred of smarts would instantly see...

Frey held a dire disadvantage.

His boosted physique shone remarkably due to the Absolute Manipulator's power. It allowed him to keep pace with Thanatos in raw strength, even across their horrifying six-rank gap.

Thanatos's aura surged far more potently, however.

His strikes packed much deadlier power than Frey's.

A deafening crack resounded over the battlefield as Thanatos shoved Frey back—

The pair smashing right through the blue flame ocean.

While Frey fought to parry Thanatos's spear, the blaze consumed his flesh relentlessly.

His back turned fully scorched.

Quickly, the flames ravaged the rest of him too.

His hair incinerated completely.

His flesh turned pitch black.

No part of him escaped the burn—

Save his face, guarded by the Nameless Mask, and his left hand, protected by Balerion.

Frey burned alive...

Yet he pressed on against Thanatos.

His incredible regeneration tried to mend the wounds, yet Frey stayed mired in the fiery depths, held fast by Thanatos who offered no opening for retreat.

To put it simply—

His body's destruction outpaced its healing rate.

Each time recovery kicked in...

The fire engulfed him anew.

Such torment surpassed any torment a rational mind could bear.

Nevertheless—

Thanatos felt shock as his shadowy gaze locked with Frey's.

Through the mask's slim slits, keen and steady eyes glared back—completely resolute.

As if the suffering was merely a fleeting dream.

'Strange…

He's engulfed in flames right now… and my spear keeps ripping him apart.'

'How does he stay so composed?'

Thanatos marveled, stunned by his foe's ironclad mindset.

That astonishment faded swiftly, though.

Frey struck back abruptly with a rapid assault, sending forth a barrage of dark lightning laced with immense Black Hole Aura.

Thanatos pulled back at once, his form gashed deeply in multiple spots.

That withdrawal handed Frey his chance.

He exploded out of the flame sea and healed sufficient injuries to restore his body to pristine condition from its ashen wreckage.

In the meantime, Thanatos inspected his cuts, feeling the Black Hole Aura's ruinous essence.

'His aura defies everything I've encountered.'

Thanatos clenched the scythe harder and rushed at Frey once again.

'Without my undying body… this vile aura would have wrecked me badly.'

Aware of the threat from his rival, Thanatos now favored wrapping up the fight fast.

He collided with Frey anew.

Every weapon clash sprayed dark fiery sparks.

"Sorry," Thanatos uttered, his smirk broadening.

"But I can't afford to squander more time on you."

Right then...

A chilling foreboding hit Frey.

Thanatos's aura started condensing at his rear.

As Frey glanced over—

He went rigid.

A colossal skull materialized from thin air behind him.

Its fiery eyes glared down fiercely.

The skull loomed so vast it eclipsed the entire sky.

Thanatos sealed off Frey's front path instantly, blocking any flight.

Simultaneously—

The skull parted its enormous maw gradually.

Inside, deadly blue flames amassed into a catastrophic stream targeting Frey and Thanatos both.

Thanatos grinned menacingly at Frey.

"Your abilities prove quite pesky," he stated coolly.

"Thus, I'll endure this strike alongside you… ensuring no getaway."

His grin warped even more.

"Ultimately, though, this stems from my own power."

"My body remains immortal."

"Whatever harm it inflicts on me… pales against what you'll endure!"

Those words marked the last seconds ticking down.

The skull fired its assault.

A thunderous pillar of scorching aura burst outward, engulfing the heavens and earth alike.

A blazing inferno exploded right behind Frey—

Flipping him straight into nothingness.

The blast fused with Thanatos' terrifying cackle.

For long minutes, the skull kept unleashing flames across the battlefield.

Finally, its jaws clamped shut slowly.

And it slowly dissolved—

Having wiped out an area as vast as a whole country.

Hovering high above, Thanatos stood firm even with his body blackened and charred.

His foe, though, seemed utterly obliterated...

Or that's what he thought.

Thanatos' eyes widened gradually as he spotted Frey Starlight plummeting from the heavens—still whole.

Much of his form lay in ruins.

Yet his crucial organs stayed unharmed.

And regeneration had already kicked in.

"How?!" Thanatos roared.

That's when he noticed it.

A cracked dark shield enveloping Frey.

"Abraham Starlight Style: Dawn Barrier."

Frey murmured faintly, struggling just to stay upright after deploying the defensive art he'd tried mimicking from his father.

"He wrapped himself in a barrier of pure aura to dodge fatal wounds…" Thanatos muttered, his face growing grim.

His aura exploded wildly.

His form started transforming.

Out of thin air...

Four extra limbs erupted from his torso.

Now six arms protruded from his frame.

Every one gripped a lengthy scythe, its edge wreathed in howling azure flames.

"Let's see how much more you can take!"

Thanatos blurred through the air in a streak of blue, rushing at Frey.

Frey countered swiftly.

His blade flared with Black Hole Aura and Flames of Souls as he charged to clash directly.

Yet the fight turned into pure hell for Frey.

His flesh suffered brutal hits as Thanatos assaulted with six weapons simultaneously.

And it didn't stop there.

Blue flames surged like a sea once more, encircling them fully... while enormous bony limbs rose from the blaze, each clutching massive blades aflame with hellish fire.

All those weapons slammed down at Frey's skull, aiming to smash him flat.

Thanatos poured out endless aura in mad amounts, crushing Frey with overwhelming might—strong enough to shatter the whole continent.

Blood gushed without end.

Frey's arms and legs got shredded over and over.

Not even his peak power let him hold out much beyond a bit longer.

And after what seemed endless combat...

After trading endless strikes...

For the first time, Thanatos sensed a faint tingling numbness creeping into his limbs and frame.

A sharp insight hit him.

'This feels off… My blows weren't weak at all. I dealt him massive harm… but he's still on his feet after all that?'

Right then, Thanatos caught a detail he'd overlooked amid the frenzy.

"His aura… it's getting stronger?"

The change was faint.

A minor boost.

But it built up with each clash.

BOOOOOOM!!

Thanatos hurled Frey back once more, ramping up the squeeze.

Frey fired back with waves of Nameless Judgement in a row, yet huge skeletal barriers called up by Thanatos blocked them cold.

Thanatos kept pushing with all his might, dominating utterly.

And still—

A dark premonition started gnawing at his thoughts.

For despite the wounds…

Despite it all…

Frey's strength kept rising rather than fading.