The sky was no longer calm.
The clouds had been torn apart, lines of fire and thunder still lingering in the air, and the ground beneath them had turned into ruins that were collapsing more with every passing second.
In the center of this hell, Daniel stood, facing Jason.
There was only a short distance between them, but the pressure flowing through that gap felt as heavy as an entire battlefield.
Jason’s gaze was still locked on Daniel, his eyes narrowed.
His mind... was processing.
"This is the same... the same Daniel..." Not even a full day had probably passed since he fought Daniel last time.
But this Daniel felt completely different from that one. Back then, he hadn’t felt any danger at all, but now something was wrong.
Something... was completely off. He felt like he was standing in front of a massive wall that was impossible to cross.
Had he been underestimating this kid’s power all this time?
Daniel took one step forward, and the sky trembled beneath his feet. His presence was so heavy that it seemed like the sky itself was struggling to hold him.
Jason’s smile faded and was replaced by pure focus. He raised his hand, and mana erupted around him.
[Inferno Dominion]
Flames surged toward Daniel from four directions, a wave of fire that could swallow an entire city. The heat was so intense that the air itself began to distort.
But Daniel moved. Just one step. At the same moment, his sword moved.
Slash.
The fire... was split apart. It didn’t explode or stop, it simply parted.
Jason’s eyes widened.
"What—?!"
Daniel was no longer in front of him. He was behind him. He raised his sword and struck. Jason barely managed to react.
[Stone Bastion]
The ground beneath him erupted, forming a massive stone wall in front of him, but the strike landed.
And the wall... shattered. It couldn’t even put up the slightest resistance and broke apart with a single blow.
Jason’s body was sent flying backward. He spun several times in the air before crashing hard onto the ground and skidding across it.
Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. For a moment... he couldn’t breathe.
"...Impossible." He couldn’t accept what was happening. It was simply beyond what he had expected.
The serum should still be in this bastard’s body, and the array that suppressed his physical power was no longer there.
Did that mean this bastard was this much of a monster with just his physical strength alone? Could his raw physical power actually overwhelm him? No... this wasn’t just defeating him. This was suppression.
A power like this was definitely at S-rank level.
This bastard was at S-rank level without his skills or Laws? He couldn’t believe it. His entire worldview could collapse from this.
He immediately got back on his feet and, without hesitation, thrust his hand forward.
[Tempest Collapse]
The wind compressed at a single point, then exploded outward in a massive burst. A wave of pressure that even bent space rushed straight at Daniel.
But Daniel stood right there. When the wave reached him, he moved and brought his sword down.
And the wave... was sliced cleanly in two. The ground behind him split open for kilometers, but the spot where he stood remained untouched.
Jason took one step back. For the first time, he felt fear.
"What... is this...?" But he immediately clenched his teeth.
"It doesn’t matter." He raised his hand.
[Lightning Cataclysm]
The sky split open. A massive thunderbolt, like a pillar of light, crashed down toward Daniel.
A thunderbolt that seemed to carry the power to completely destroy a city. Even mountains would crumble before it.
This time Daniel didn’t stand still. He leaped forward, leaving the lightning behind him, and in the blink of an eye appeared right in front of Jason.
Eye to eye. Jason didn’t even have time to think.
Strike.
Daniel’s sword slammed into his side. A loud cracking sound rang out. His body was launched into the air, spinning several times before smashing hard into the ground.
The earth caved in, forming a huge crater.
Jason rose from the dust, his body covered in wounds. The injuries were severe and his breathing had grown heavy.
His eyes... were no longer calm.
"...How?"
"Before... I won..." The memories of that fight flashed through his mind.
That battle. That victory.
So why now... why couldn’t he even touch him?
"Damn it..."
He raised his hand.
[Abyssal Quake]
The ground shook violently. Cracks spread across the entire battlefield. Stone pillars burst out from underground and rushed toward Daniel.
But with every step Daniel took, he cut through the attacks. Every slash he made opened a path.
And in just a few seconds, he was in front of Jason again. Jason’s breath caught.
"...No..."
The next strike came straight at him. Jason tried to defend, but it was too late.
The sword hit his shoulder. Blood sprayed. His body was thrown backward again, and this time... he couldn’t get up quickly.
He fell to the ground, his breathing ragged. His hand trembled. In front of him, Daniel was completely unharmed, and even his breathing hadn’t changed.
"You know, back then you were really lucky that array existed to weaken me. If it hadn’t been there, I would’ve killed you right on the spot," Daniel said in a cold voice that was dripping with contempt.
"Not being able to kill you back then was a real regret for me. But fortunately God gave me another chance, and trust me, this time I won’t waste it."
"It just looks fucking stupid that you actually thought you could stand against me. Even thinking about it is hilarious. An idiot like you? My opponent? Pfft, hahaha. Even back then you only won because of your cowardly little tricks."
"...Enough." His voice was low but filled with rage. He couldn’t endure this anymore. If things continued like this, he would definitely be killed.
He had realized that Daniel was just toying with him. In reality, he could have killed him with any of those strikes whenever he wanted.
He was humiliating him, and Jason could no longer tolerate it. If this went on, he would break mentally before his body gave out.
He placed his hand on the ground. Mana began to swirl around him.
"You thought this was all my power...?" A crazed smile spread across his lips.
At that moment, the ground beneath him lit up. An array.
Then another, and another. Several hidden arrays that had been dormant until now activated one after another.
Their light shot into the sky. Mana erupted and the pressure multiplied several times over.
Jason’s body rose from the ground. His wounds began to heal rapidly. His eyes glowed.
[Elemental Overdrive]
The four elements around him went into a frenzy.
Fire burned hotter, wind grew fiercer, lightning became heavier, and the earth came alive.
He floated calmly in the air and looked at Daniel. His smile returned.
"Now... let’s try again."
Daniel lifted his gaze. He frowned slightly because he too had noticed the change in the atmosphere of the fight. Fortunately, the arrays that activated weren’t suppressing him.
But they were lending this bastard a lot of power, and that could become troublesome.
"Killing you is like killing an annoying cockroach," he finally sighed and said.