BOOOOM!!
Explosions thundered across the battlefield, shockwaves tearing through stone and sky as Abraham and Zibar clashed with brutal force.
The Rank Ten High Demon had pushed his ability to its absolute limit, summoning a staggering army of replicas .. all of them striking at Abraham Starlight with unrelenting ferocity.
But the Star of House Starlight was terrifying.
With unmatched speed and genius-level technique, he cut down replica after replica, all while dueling the true Zibar head-on.
Zibar fought desperately, pouring everything he had into the battle.
Deep down, he had no choice but to recognize the truth .. Abraham Starlight was a monster.
He cursed Frey, cursed fate, cursed the moment this battle began.
Because Zibar had walked into this fight already weakened.
The Nameless Judgement Frey unleashed earlier had shattered the Katarina Shield — his greatest defense — and drained a massive portion of his energy.
Abraham had been struck by the same attack, yet his condition was superior.
The Absolute Manipulator ability held his body and aura at their peak the entire time .. a privilege Zibar did not have.
Even so, once Zibar realized his life was on the line, he became vastly more dangerous.
His aura reserves were massive .. his vitality monstrous. Each time Abraham carved him open, Zibar healed back, refusing to fall.
In mere seconds, the two exchanged dozens upon dozens of blows .. streaks of white and shadow racing across the field like colliding comets.
Abraham’s eyes moved unnaturally fast, tracking every clone trying to tear him apart.
SLASH!!
His twin blades of starlight ripped through demonic flesh, erasing replicas in bursts of black blood.
But every few moments, one of them landed a hit of their own .. slight cuts reflected as bright aura fissures across Abraham’s body.
He crushed each replica that approached, yet the sheer number of enemies made domination impossible.
Abraham assessed the battlefield calmly, thoughts razor-sharp even under suffocating pressure.
"He’s transformed completely. Now that he’s tasted the threat of death, he’ll hold nothing back..."
BOOOOM!!
A wave of aura detonations swallowed Abraham’s last position as dozens of Zibar copies unleashed beams of death .. but he flickered away effortlessly.
"His aura reserves surpass mine... but my manipulation is far superior."
That was Abraham’s edge .. and he vowed to exploit it.
"He is tougher than me. Physically... he might be the hardest demon I’ve ever faced."
Ranked fourth in raw durability .. beneath only Agares , Crimson, and Marvas .. Zibar’s body was a fortress.
With Katarina Shield he was nearly unkillable.
But today, that shield was gone.
Abraham’s eyes swept the battlefield again, identifying every strength .. and every weakness.
He already had a plan.
Still slashing through replicas, he glanced down at his own glowing body.
"This power... is still new to me. I’m not yet accustomed to maintaining Ignition endlessly..."
And yet he fought like he had lived in this form for decades .. not minutes.
He adapted instantly, flawlessly, terrifyingly.
"That bastard must not remain free..."
Zibar roared, hurling himself forward with Katarina sword in hand.
"Either he returns to being our puppet .. or he dies!!"
His blade collided with Abraham’s starlight sword .. sparks of burning red and radiant white spraying through the air.
Abyssal eyes met luminous ones.
Both intent on only one outcome — kill.
"You will not win, human!"
Aura flared violently. Zibar pressed down, forcing Abraham back step by step, sparks shrieking between their weapons.
"I have lived for thousands of years .. my strength is forged through eternity.
And you? What could you possibly compare to that?"
At his signal, every clone charged.
Abraham was completely surrounded .. nowhere to turn.
And yet...
He remained calm.
"You will know the answer soon enough."
His body ignited .. blinding, escalating .. like a star breaking open.
The surge made Zibar recoil in instinctive fear.
Every clone drew near, closing the trap .. exactly as Abraham intended.
Zibar’s eyes widened.
He walked into this on purpose .. to pull every clone into his reach?
He realized too late.
"What I have..."
Abraham’s voice deepened — heavy ..
"...is thirty-five years spent fighting the current of fate .. the same fate that tried to crush me, my son, and my family."
His aura turned pure white ... then ruptured.
"You see my lifespan as trivial compared to yours.
But what I gained in those years .. is strength no demon like you could ever comprehend."
His body cracked apart .. light pouring from within.
A trait shared by father and son.
Frey made a nuclear attack .. the strongest concept he remembered.
Abraham thought of the same thing.
He detonated into a star.
A miniature supernova engulfed Zibar and every clone.
SSS-Rank Aura .. burning, purifying, annihilating.
Replicas evaporated instantly.
The true Zibar’s flesh peeled away in torrents of black flame.
He screamed, gathering every shred of power into his sword, clashing against the star-explosion head-on .. turning the field into a world-ending collision.
For minutes, the two forces warred .. light against abyss .. until everything vanished into silence, dust, heat, and ruin.
A large portion of the Empire lay scorched.
And within that devastation...
Abraham rematerialized .. body woven anew from pure, radiant aura.
Abraham remained standing in the same form with which he began the battle, yet at last .. even he felt the weight of exhaustion after such a relentless clash.
Drawing in a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, scanning the battlefield for his opponent.
All of Zibar’s clones had been completely erased .. reduced to nothing.
But unlike them, the original body still lived.
Abraham narrowed his eyes at Zibar, taken aback by the sheer vitality of a High-Rank Demon.
"It seems I’ll need more than that if I intend to kill him..."
A new blade of light formed within Abraham’s grasp .. ready for the next exchange.
Meanwhile, Zibar stood in a miserable state, drenched in his own dark blood—his body struggling to regenerate, yet refusing to yield.
He rose once more.
"I am one of the Ten High Seats...
A demon who has drowned this world in ruin for ages.
I will not die here .. not to a mere human."
Zibar growled, extending his hand.
Slowly, a new weapon materialized within it.
When Abraham focused his gaze, he recognized the shape ..
A spear.
A spiraled, jet-black spear that radiated ominous power.
"So he still has trump cards left..."
Abraham shifted into a battle stance.
Zibar raised the spear skyward ..
and the sky answered.
From the void, a colossal bolt of black lightning descended, flooding the spear with apocalyptic power.