The endless thunder continued roaring throughout the battlefield.
Although the clash between the two Domains had already ended, neither of them withdrew their gaze from the other for even a single moment.
Without uttering another word, Gareth slowly raised the massive greatsword resting within his hand before countless bolts of lightning suddenly converged toward him from every direction.
The raging Lightning Sovereign Domain suddenly began shrinking.
The endless sea of lightning rapidly contracted as countless bolts of lightning returned toward Gareth’s body from every direction, the storm clouds above collapsing into streams of dazzling blue light before pouring into him one after another, causing the terrifying aura surrounding him to rise at an astonishing rate.
Within only a few breaths...
The enormous Domain had completely disappeared.
Intricate azure runic patterns gradually spread across Gareth’s body, naturally emerging beneath his skin before extending across his arms, neck, chest, and face, every rune shining with a restrained yet terrifying brilliance as an overwhelming aura quietly filled the surroundings.
There was no violent eruption of Mana, nor any overflowing Lightning Energy, yet the sheer pressure radiating from Gareth had become incomparably greater than before, as though unimaginable power had been perfectly contained within his body.
Ash observed the entire process with intense focus.
Domain Integration.
Unlike him, Gareth had already reached the stage where his Domain could return to his body, allowing the authority of the Domain to become one with himself rather than remaining separated from him.
Although the suppression of the Cradle of Endless Worlds still remained, Gareth’s aura became noticeably sharper than before, almost completely compensating for the decrease in his stats.
In other words, Gareth was in his strongest state, with no debuffs limiting him.
Before Ash could continue his thoughts—
BOOOOOOM!!
The place where Gareth had been standing exploded apart.
Lightning tore across the battlefield like countless dragons as Gareth’s figure disappeared so completely that not even an afterimage remained behind, leaving only a deafening thunderclap echoing throughout the Domain.
Ash’s pupils contracted.
His eyes failed to follow.
His senses failed to lock onto Gareth’s position.
Only at the very last possible moment did [World Awareness] scream through his mind, instinctively informing him of an approaching threat from his right.
Without even thinking, Ash’s body moved.
His spine suddenly bent into an impossible angle as his upper body twisted far beyond what any ordinary skeleton could endure, causing the massive greatsword to narrowly brush past his chest before continuing into the distance.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The pressure released from the swing alone fractured the very fabric of the Domain, leaving behind a massive scar that stretched for dozens of kilometers, only for the Domain to heal itself in the very next instant.
Ash hadn’t even finished twisting his body when [World Awareness] warned him again.
Left.
His body instinctively shifted just as Gareth’s fist hurtled toward his head, only for Gareth to abruptly change its trajectory at the last moment, sending it crashing into Ash’s shoulder instead.
BANG!
The terrifying impact sent Ash hurtling across the Domain like a meteor, his body skipping uncontrollably through the void before he finally stabilized himself with a single hand.
Before he could even recover, [World Awareness] screamed once more.
Dodge.
Ash instantly kicked off the empty air of the Domain, barely moving several meters away as Gareth’s massive sword descended upon the spot where he had been only an instant earlier.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The Domain trembled violently as a massive scar split across its very fabric, only for it to heal completely in the very next instant.
Only then did the dull pain erupt throughout Ash’s shoulder.
He silently glanced downward.
The sleeve covering his shoulder had completely vanished, revealing deep crimson bruises spreading beneath his violet-black skin.
That previous attack alone shattered every bone in my shoulder.....his power has gained a boost after fusing with his Domain, tsk...if not for my domain still being active, he would be 15% more powerful.....
The space where Ash had been standing barely a heartbeat earlier exploded apart as Gareth’s sword descended, the very fabric of the Domain splitting open into a colossal scar before seamlessly healing in the next instant, while the lightning surrounding him continued to rage without losing even the slightest momentum.
There wasn’t even enough time for the scar to fully disappear before Gareth’s next attack was already upon him.
Every attack seamlessly flowed into the next as though Gareth had already calculated every possible movement Ash could make before he even made it.
Ash’s expression gradually became solemn.
There wasn’t a single unnecessary movement he could exploit.
Every swing, every step, every attack forced Ash toward the exact position Gareth wanted him to occupy.
It felt less like fighting a person...
And more like being dragged into an overwhelming current that continuously pushed him further toward defeat.
BANG!
Another slash arrived.
Ash barely leaned backward.
The sword missed his throat by less than an inch before Gareth immediately rotated his wrist, transforming the missed slash into a sweeping horizontal strike aimed directly at Ash’s waist.
There wasn’t even the slightest pause between the two attacks.
Ash’s eyes narrowed.
His body suddenly folded almost completely in half as [Eternal Skeleton] displayed its terrifying flexibility, allowing the blade to pass mere centimeters above his abdomen before his right foot immediately kicked toward Gareth’s ribs.
The kick connected.
Or rather...
It should have.
Before Ash’s attack could land, Gareth calmly shifted his body by only half a step, causing the kick to harmlessly brush against his armor while the pommel of the greatsword immediately smashed into Ash’s chest.
BANG!
Ash was blasted backward once more, his body hurtling through the empty Domain before he forcefully stabilized himself in midair.
A faint trace of blood escaped the corner of his lips.
He predicted my counterattack...
Ash didn’t have time to dwell on the realization.
Lightning exploded around Gareth once more.
His figure vanished.
Again.
The battlefield erupted into countless thunderous explosions as Ash continuously retreated through the empty Domain, his body twisting into impossible angles one moment before flipping through the air the next, barely avoiding one devastating attack after another with the assistance of [World Awareness] .
Yet despite successfully dodging every fatal strike, Gareth’s relentless assault never once slowed, forcing Ash into an increasingly passive position where every successful dodge merely delayed the next attack by another fraction of a second.
He’s unbelievably fast.
Ash silently raised his right hand as golden light quietly gathered before rapidly condensing into the long black sword.
Eclipse.
The weapon had only just fully materialized when Gareth’s greatsword was already descending upon him.
BAAAAANG!!!
The collision echoed throughout the Domain as an overwhelming force surged through Eclipse and directly into both of Ash’s arms, violently shaking every muscle before blasting his entire body backward despite successfully blocking the attack.
He hadn’t even recovered from the impact before Gareth appeared once again, another slash immediately followed by another collision and another explosion as the Domain continuously trembled beneath the exchange of countless strikes, forcing Ash into a purely defensive battle where every block pushed him farther through the endless void.
For the first time in a very long while, Ash couldn’t find a single opportunity to retaliate because every opening vanished before he could exploit it, every counterattack was interrupted before it even began, and every movement he made seemed to have already been anticipated several steps in advance.
The gap between them wasn’t one of strength alone.
It was experience.
An experience forged across six centuries of uninterrupted warfare, and at this very moment, Ash was experiencing it firsthand.
Good... this is exactly what I wanted.
Ash’s heart gradually began beating faster with excitement, though it was only the heart of his clone.
After all, this wasn’t even his real body.
This clone possessed only 75% of his original strength, meaning even the Domain was operating at only 75% of its full power.
As for the scars continuously appearing across the Domain, they were only possible because Gareth had fused with his own Domain, granting him the ability to directly damage the Domains of others.
Ash couldn’t stop the damage itself, but with his nearly limitless energy recovery, the Domain recovered in the very next instant.
More importantly...
Ash still hadn’t shown his hand.
Right now, he was simply learning from the being standing before him.
With every exchange, [Apex Learner] quietly displayed its terrifying capability as every movement Gareth made was engraved into Ash’s mind with astonishing clarity, allowing him to understand not only how Gareth moved, but also why he chose each movement at that exact moment.
This wasn’t the first time [Apex Learner] had activated to such an extent.
During his battle against the Vampire Celestial in the Endless Ocean, Ash had also learned countless things, but the Celestial had been suppressing the overwhelming majority of his strength from beginning to end, leaving Ash with only fragments to observe and learn.
Gareth was different.
He wasn’t holding back.
Every slash, every step, every shift in momentum, and every transition between attacks was displayed before Ash in its complete form, becoming invaluable experience that [Apex Learner] continuously absorbed and refined.
As the battle continued, Ash’s own movements quietly began to change in mid air.
Every unnecessary motion gradually disappeared, every dodge became cleaner than the last, and every attack grew sharper as his body instinctively discarded imperfections while retaining only what was truly necessary.
The changes were subtle enough to escape notice.
Yet with every passing exchange, Ash was steadily becoming a better fighter, making up for his lack of experience in the only way he knew.
Time continued to pass as Ash absorbed everything he could from the being standing before him, every clash becoming another lesson, every exchange another piece of experience engraved into his instincts through [Apex Learner] .
After a while, even Gareth began noticing the subtle changes.
His expression gradually darkened.
In his eyes, Ash’s steadily improving defense could only mean one thing.
Ash had been holding back.
The possibility that someone was learning from him in real time never even crossed his mind.
BAAAAANG!!!
Another collision echoed throughout the Domain.
This time, Ash wasn’t blasted backward.
Instead, his body moved together with the incoming force, planting his feet firmly against the empty air to disperse the impact through a slight shift of his stance and a subtle adjustment of his sword, allowing him to remain exactly where he was.
Then came another slash.
And another.
Every strike was met with increasingly precise movements as Ash’s sword appeared exactly where it needed to be, deflecting Gareth’s attacks with the minimum amount of strength necessary while wasting almost no movement at all.
His defense was becoming flawless.
The longer the battle continued...
The harder it became to push him back.
****