"No matter how much you try to copy me," Frey said,
"even if you use my same powers... you’ll never defeat me.
Because there are things you simply cannot copy."
V’s ability was formidable, but not without limits.
Its greatest flaw was that it couldn’t replicate world-breaking powers ..
especially the Shadow Adaptation, one of the three greatest boundary-shattering abilities in existence.
That single skill was a fusion of seven world-breaking abilities ..
the same seven collected by Nameless throughout his legendary journey.
Frey currently possessed only four of them,
but even that was enough to push his strength far beyond anything human.
V knew this better than anyone.
He had copied Frey, seen through his eyes,
and for a brief moment, understood his emotions and his perception of the world.
He knew he couldn’t win.
He knew he stood before a monster.
But still—he couldn’t stop.
Too much was at stake.
As their swords clashed again and again,
V’s mind raced desperately,
searching for a way to turn the tide.
The form of Frey Starlight would only last a few more minutes.
If he didn’t act now, he’d lose everything.
BOOOOM!
A burst of black fire erupted ..
but Frey instantly repelled it.
He swung the Dark Sister at a speed far beyond human comprehension,
unleashing a storm of violet slashes that rained down upon V from every direction.
Frey pressed forward with brutal precision,
and in V’s eyes, the scene before him was pure horror.
"He can regenerate from every kind of damage... instantly,"
V muttered, deflecting blow after blow.
Bit by bit, the darkness surrounding him was being crushed.
"He can adapt to his opponent’s style mid-battle...
making a duel against him utterly hopeless."
Frey’s swordsmanship was absolute ..
he was a true master of the blade,
beyond anyone V had ever seen in his life.
BOOOM!
With another fierce strike, Frey sent him flying.
"He has complete control over his Aura,"
V whispered, trembling.
"He can use every drop of it with perfect precision..."
Despair crept into his eyes.
"How... how can I possibly defeat him?"
The hero of the Ultras asked himself ..
but no answer came.
So he did the only thing left to do ..
he roared, his voice filled with fury,
and charged at Frey once more.
But Frey parried him again, effortlessly,
unmoved by V’s frantic rage.
He was calm ..
in absolute control of the battle.
"V... you possess a remarkable gift," Frey said quietly.
"A power that could have placed you on the same level as me and Snow—
if only you’d learned to master it fully.
But you’ve chosen to wield it for the wrong side."
He wasn’t fighting seriously anymore.
He was holding back.
If Frey truly wanted to, the battle would’ve ended long ago.
But he hesitated ..
because deep down, he didn’t want to kill V.
Unlike Frey, the superhuman whose body had transcended mortality,
or Snow, the wielder of light ..
V was still human.
Yes, his blood carried traces of demonic energy,
but at his core, he was still one of them.
And his talent ..his potential was extraordinary.
"The reason you fight so fiercely..." Frey said softly,
"it isn’t out of love for the Ultras,
nor for the land you were born in.
It’s because you’re being forced to, isn’t it?"
V let out a wild, beastly scream in response.
BOOOOM!
Their swords collided again in a violent explosion.
"Is it your family? Your friends?
What does Gavid Lindman hold over you
that makes you fight for him like this?"
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"
V bellowed, his dark flames raging higher.
"What the hell do you know about me?
About my master?!"
"You—who were born on the other side of the world!"
BOOOOM!
The explosions kept coming,
and the duel reached its breaking point—
V giving everything he had,
and Frey still refusing to deliver the final blow.
Each had their own reason to fight ..
and in a way, V’s reason wasn’t so different from Frey’s.
The so-called hero of the Ultras had once been an orphan ..
just like Snow Lionheart.
He never knew his parents,
nor his origins.
The first thing he remembered
was waking up inside an orphanage.
That orphanage belonged to Lord Gavid Lindman,
who raised children from birth
to forge them into weapons of war for the Ultras.
And among all those children,
V had been the most gifted.
He was a prodigy ..
his talent outshined all others.
But his flaw...
was the absence of will.
V never loved battle.
He never wanted war, blood, or pain.
All he ever wanted
was a quiet, peaceful life ..
far from the chaos.
But that was something Gavid Lindman could never allow.
And so, the man created a reason for him to fight ..
a reason born of cruelty.
He used the other orphans ..
the children V had grown up with,
his only family ..
as tools...
as leverage.
While Frey and V clashed in the heart of the battlefield, Gavid Lindman was there too.
Even now, he still held the souls of the people V cared for most ..
those who had been bound to him since childhood.
V had never been given a choice but to fight.
"How pitiful..." Frey muttered, increasing the flow of aura through his body.
"To be honest, I have no interest in saving the lives of the Ultras.
I wouldn’t hesitate for even a second to kill anyone who stands in my way.
But still... it’s a waste.
A talent like yours shouldn’t have been thrown away like this."
A chilling smile spread across Frey’s face.
"Before I finish you... let me test the limits of your imitation."
As his words fell, an unfamiliar dark aura began swirling around the Dark Sister ..
an aura unlike Frey’s usual violet radiance.
It was heavier, colder, and infinitely more oppressive.
V shuddered the moment he felt its gravity.
"This... is the Black Hole Aura," Frey said softly.
"An aura unlike anything else in this world."
The Black Hole Aura was Frey’s most devastating weapon ..
a cataclysmic force that could erase everything in its path.
But it came with a severe drawback:
its consumption rate was monstrous,
draining Frey’s energy far faster than his normal aura.
Even so, he chose to reveal it before V.
The moment he did, a jet-black slash tore through the air,
ripping apart the very fabric of space.
The strike was colossal.
V barely had time to raise both swords to block,
but the Black Hole Aura consumed everything ..
and a deep, horrific gash carved itself across his chest.
Barely standing, V staggered back, gasping.
"That was just a glimpse of it," Frey said, approaching slowly.
"Had I unleashed it fully,
you wouldn’t even be standing right now."
His tone was calm, almost casual ...
as if this weren’t a battle to the death at all.
Meanwhile, V was on his knees, coughing blood,
his breath ragged and broken.
He could no longer hear Frey’s words ..
only the deafening roar of war around them
and the shrill ringing that filled his ears.