THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 832 The Shattering (2)

Black lightning roared.

The spear was hurled once more.

This time—

Frey imbued it with the oppressive black-hole aura and the searing soulfire.

Three devastating forces converged into a singular, cataclysmic strike.

The spear transformed, resembling a celestial body on the brink of detonation.

On the precipice of exploding at any moment.

Amon concentrated the entirety of his Transparent Domain into a single nexus—

And unleashed it, a focused torrent aimed at intercepting the formidable spear.

The spear impacted the very core of the domain…

Igniting a colossal eruption that convulsed the heavens and engulfed both combatants.

A violent tremor swept across the land, a testament to their cataclysmic clash.

The surrounding territories bore the brunt of the fierce aftermath.

Following an intense and brutal confrontation—

Amon succeeded in deflecting the spear's deadly trajectory.

Yet, this victory came at a profound cost.

The Transparent Domain… was utterly obliterated.

The wielder of the Nightmare could no longer assail from all conceivable directions.

On the other side of the battlefield…

Frey found himself temporarily unable to wield the spear, its power depleted for a short duration.

One potent weapon lost.

Another remained ready.

The very instant their opposing forces annihilated each other…

Frey had already materialized behind Amon.

He had foreseen this exact outcome.

"And just like that…"

"Your domain is no more."

SLAAASH!!!

Frey's blade carved a horrific gash across Amon's exposed back…

Inflicting a ghastly wound.

The demon managed to mitigate the damage and avert a fatal blow by channeling a colossal amount of aura to the precise point of impact.

Such control was truly remarkable.

Undeniable proof that Amon had anticipated the sneak attack to some extent.

He retaliated instantly—

Unleashing a haymaker with every ounce of his remaining strength.

Frey met the punch head-on, blocking it with his arm.

He neither dodged nor retreated from the onslaught.

At this critical juncture—

Even blows delivered with instantaneous speed could be physically intercepted.

This was achieved by concentrating an unbelievable quantity of black-hole aura and soulfire at the crucial point of contact.

Although the impact completely shattered his arm…

The damage was regenerated almost instantaneously, faster than the blink of an eye for either of them.

Meanwhile—

The Dark Sister had already found its way back inside Amon's form.

Frey had plunged the blade in at the precise moment Amon blocked the attack…

Rendering any attempt at evasion impossible.

With the formidable blade embedded deep within Amon's very being…

Frey unleashed his overwhelming signature attack once more.

"Nameless Judgement."

Dark, celestial flames erupted forth…

Enveloping Amon in their destructive embrace…

Erasing him from existence itself.

The beam of concentrated aura dissipated immediately upon fulfilling its purpose…

Fragmenting into countless particles that flowed back into Frey's body…

Replenishing the aura that had been expended.

"And now…"

"Only one remains standing."

Frey slowly turned his gaze towards the area where Amon's form was beginning to coalesce once more.

This time… the demon appeared weaker than ever before.

Palid.

Frail.

Yet—

His characteristic smile remained unfaded.

"Hah… this isn't quite fair."

"What isn't fair?" Frey inquired calmly, removing the Nameless Mask and fitting it over his own face.

"You."

Amon emitted a strained, rasping laugh.

"Beings like myself dedicate years… even decades… solely to achieve incremental improvements in strength."

"And you…"

"In merely one month… the disparity has grown so overwhelmingly vast."

"Then perhaps you should have lodged that complaint with your king."

"He is unequivocally the most unfair existence in this entire world."

Gradually—

Frey commenced gathering immense power around his sword.

A palpable sense of dread emanated from him; something truly terrifying was imminent.

Amon sensed it with stark clarity.

He mustered every shred of his remaining power in preparation to counter.

"Are you truly equating yourself to the King?"

"You?"

Amon guffawed.

"You are nowhere near his level."

"There is absolutely no comparison between the two of you."

"You are correct," Frey conceded.

"There is indeed no one else like me in this world."

The fabric of space itself began to distort.

Aura surged with violent intensity…

To such an extent that even the Dark Sister artifact started to bend under the pressure.

Amon's eyes widened in alarm.

For the first time since this brutal battle had commenced—

His confident smile vanished completely.

Frey gazed upon him through the narrow openings of his mask…

Then slowly, deliberately, raised his blade.

"Only me."

What transpired immediately after Frey uttered those words…

Was utterly horrifying.

Amon—who, despite his considerable age and participation in countless arduous battles—

Had never, not even once, encountered or experienced anything remotely similar.

'I have confronted thousands of adversaries… faced innumerable battles… but my mind struggles to comprehend this…'

Amon's eyes widened progressively—

As the entire surrounding world inexplicably turned monochrome, a dull gray.

'I have never faced an attack of this magnitude or nature before…'

The sheer power was overwhelming.

So immensely overwhelming…

That he found himself utterly incapable of action.

He didn't even attempt to mount a defense.

He simply… stood there and watched the inevitable unfold.

Meanwhile—

Frey himself had undergone a transformation.

In a peculiar and unsettling manner.

'This is my inaugural attempt at executing this technique… I can barely manage to properly wield it even with the mask concealing my identity.'

A completely novel attack technique.

One he had never employed before in combat.

Within the entire Shadow Sect, there existed no opponent remotely capable of surviving its execution.

Any individual unfortunate enough to face it—

Was guaranteed instant annihilation.

Furthermore, he could not risk testing it in an open, unpopulated area either…

Because it was a strike designed to obliterate absolutely everything living within a vast, expansive radius.

It commenced by…

Pushing the very essence of soulfire to its absolute, unyielding limit.

Manifesting flames that possessed the inherent property of never fading.

Absolutely never being extinguished.

Then—

He unleashed the full might of his black-hole aura, consuming his SSS-class aura reserves entirely.

To control both simultaneously was a feat normally beyond comprehension.

However, due to the unique traits of the Krat race—

coupled with the power granted by the Absolute Manipulator ability...

It had become achievable.

With masterful precision—

Frey successfully merged the two formidable forces.

A complete and utter amalgamation.

Two of the universe's most destructive energies...

intertwined at their absolute peak.

The outcome...

was the genesis of something entirely novel.

A peculiar, luminous gray energy emerged.

Utterly alien and unfathomable.

Its power could not be quantified.

Frey channeled this new energy through the Dark Sister...

a weapon fashioned from an indomitable black metal.

Yet, to Frey's astonishment...

the sword began to bend and warp.

It contorted under the immense pressure of the released power.

The Dark Sister seemed to cry out...

pleading for him to cease.

Nevertheless—

Frey unleashed the devastating blow regardless.

Directing its detonation straight at Amon's visage.

The ominous gray energy engulfed all in its path.

Silently consuming existence.

Amon simply ceased to be—

as if his entire history had been voided.

Everything to his sides...

everything behind him...

simply gone.

Every single thing—

effectively erased.

And the gray energy's destructive march continued unabated.

It relentlessly devoured more and more... extending across a vast expanse of space.

"Just as I anticipated..."

"Absolute mastery over this nascent power remains a formidable challenge..."

Frey lifted his blade—

or what sadly remained of it.

The Dark Sister had been reduced to mere fragments.

Only a broken shard persisted.

"...My apologies."

"My companion, I fear I pushed you past your very endurance."

Frey slowly shut his eyes.

The formidable Balerion gauntlet on his arm began to tremble—

then liquefied into a dark substance that flowed up his limb...

integrating with the shattered remnants of the blade...

effectively reconstructing the Dark Sister.

Frey's eyes snapped open... fixated on the emptiness ahead.

There was nothing left.

No sea.

No ocean.

Not even the ground beneath.

Only an infinite, desolate void.

The gray energy eventually subsided.

Its rampant expansion curbed by Frey's subjugation.

And though its existence had spanned mere moments—

every living entity within range had been rendered immobile during that time.

The conflict had momentarily ceased.

An absolute silence descended.

As if sound itself had been completely nullified.

High above... Maskith and Snow had also frozen in place.

Even the ancient elder among them gazed downward, his expression one of profound awe.

Then, a smile touched his lips.

He was the first to shatter the unnatural quiet.

"Had that onslaught struck me..."

"It would have presented a most vexing predicament."

Returning his attention to Frey—

he vanished in an instant—

reappearing elsewhere.

Positioned at the very terminus of the destruction's path.

Ironically... he was now exceptionally close to the ongoing battle.

This was because his cataclysmic attack had carved a path across the entirety of the Demonic Sea—

reaching the distant continent inhabited by the Ultras.

From his vantage point... he observed the war, which had reignited following those brief seconds of unnatural silence.

Frey lowered his gaze.

Directing it towards Amon, who had undergone his final regeneration.

But this time... the demon was irrevocably changed.

Even Frey expressed surprise.

Amon lay prone on the ground... utterly incapable of rising.

His skin was gaunt and shriveled, stretched tight over his skeletal frame.

His entire body had been sapped of its vitality.

His once-black hair had turned a stark white...

as if he had experienced countless years of aging in a single instant.

He appeared ancient.

Infirm.

Like a completely different being altogether.

His weakened form trembled uncontrollably.

His breaths were... shallow.

Unsteady.

Frey regarded him intently... his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Why?"

"Why did you refrain from utilizing it?"

Raising the reforged Dark Sister, now intrinsically linked with Balerion's power.

Frey prepared to deliver the final blow that would end Amon's existence.

This was a peculiar demon.

Rumored to possess an ability that could unravel worlds, far beyond mortal understanding.

Yet, he had never employed it.

Not until this very precipice of annihilation.

And now—

he stood on the threshold of death.

Frey found himself unable to comprehend Amon's actions.

Amon slowly parted his eyes.

Then his lips... struggling with immense effort.

"You imbecile..."

"You comprehend nothing..."

At that precise moment—

an utterly unexpected event transpired.

Frey observed a substance dripping from the corners of Amon's eyes.

It was something intrinsically different from blood.

Tears.

With a voice raspy and strained, Amon uttered his parting words.

"This..."

"was never... my power..."

"This... isn't a world-shattering ability..."

"It never has been..."

"And it never shall be..."

His voice underwent a distinct alteration.

And something momentous was imminent.

Frey sensed it.

He understood the gravity of the situation better than anyone present.

This was precisely why...

he struck without a moment's hesitation.

However, his blade never made contact with Amon.

Something intervened.

Something profoundly... wrong.

"Impossible..." a faint voice whispered.

It was not Frey's voice.

Nor was it Amon's.

It belonged to Nameless—

the sole individual who grasped the terrifying implication of what was transpiring before anyone else.

The tears began to fall with greater intensity.

Amon's physical form decayed at an accelerated rate.

His voice...

dissolved into utter silence.

"It's not... a power..."

"It's... a curse."

The demon's body convulsed violently.

Then... his very essence shifted.

The surrounding atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive.

The fabric of reality itself seemed to twist and distort.

The sky instantly plunged into darkness.

The light inexplicably drained from Amon's eyes—

as he whispered his final, chilling pronouncement.

"A curse... originating from me..."

"A curse… upon every living being on this earth."

Silence.

Amon uttered no further words.

And once again—

The war ceased.

All became utterly still.

The subsequent voice... Did not originate from this battlefield.

"Pitiful creature…"

"You were subjugated by that overwhelming power… burdened by it…"

"And thus, you resolved to curse all of existence."

The voice echoed downwards... Causing the very world to tremble.

And for the first time in ages—

Frey experienced it.

Fear.

From within Amon's maw...

A hand emerged.

Pale.

Dark.

Sinister.

It stretched outwards.

His mouth widened.. Ripping open.

Transforming into a portal.

And from it—

Something else commenced its passage.

A colossal entity.

Its mere presence warped the fundamental laws of the entire planet.

"So this is the curse you have chosen…"

"…very well."

"I embrace it."

The remainder of its form followed.

It stood towering… So immense that Frey needed to crane his neck upwards just to behold it.

A shroud of darkness enveloped its figure…

Much like a sentient void threatening to engulf all things.

Shadows seeped into the surrounding world.

Its long, black hair billowed erratically—

Scattering like fragments of the deepest night.

Frey retreated a step.

Once.

Twice.

Then—

He halted.

An immense pressure descended upon him.

Unnatural.

Absolute.

His heart pounded erratically.

Again.

And again.

And again.

As if it would shatter his very chest.

He found himself unable to speak.

Incapable of movement.

All he could manage... Was to gaze.

Transfixed and overcome with terror.

In those fleeting moments of sheer dread...

Every soul on Earth quaked.

Some began to hemorrhage profusely.

Others instantly succumbed, falling unconscious.

And those who remained standing—

All their gazes turned.

Towards a single focal point.

Toward that imposing presence.

That… harbinger of doom.

"…So he employed it."

Maskith murmured softly, his eyes closing.

Before him...

Snow stood frozen, equally affected by the spectacle he had witnessed from afar.

"The forbidden technique…"

"The Balance."

"When it is activated…"

"He can manifest through Amon."

"Upon a single stipulation."

"That he fulfills Amon's desire…"

"And bestows a curse upon those Amon has designated."

"By doing so…"

"He circumvents causality."

"He evades restrictions."

"He defies destiny."

"And for a fleeting instant…"

"He exists beyond all conceivable boundaries."

Maskith slowly reopened his eyes.

"And that signifies…"

"This conflict…"

"…has reached its conclusion."

There was nothing further to articulate.

Nothing more left to impart.

Because...

He was present.

Standing before Frey—

He unfurled his crimson irises.

And offered a smile.

"A tad premature…"

"But shall we commence?"

"The ultimate confrontation."

He let out a laugh.

And with that sound...

A terrifying pressure erupted, overwhelming everything.

The final adversary.

The ultimate opponent.

Had arrived ahead of schedule.

This marked their inaugural true encounter.

The first occasion... He had appeared in person.

To confront him.

The mightiest.

The undefeated.

The entity feared by all sentient life.

The King of Demons...

Agaroth.

"You…"

"And every living soul within this world…"

"Today…"

"You shall comprehend."

"What true fear entails."

The world commenced its disintegration.

And concurrent with this...

The shattering finally initiated, heralding the end's imminent arrival.