"A spear that commands lightning..."
Abraham muttered under his breath.
But Zibar gave him no time to analyze.
With a violent motion .. he hurled the spear.
It shredded the distance between them in a blink, crackling with destructive Shadow-Lightning.
Abraham narrowly dodged, reflexes saving his life by the slimmest margin.
He moved to advance ..
but froze when a sinister surge flared behind him.
The spear struck the ground instead.
What followed was cataclysm.
Lightning exploded outward in a storm of black destruction, vaporizing everything within its reach.
Abraham escaped the core of the blast, yet even that was not enough.
Lightning clung to his skin .. crawling like serpents of shadow, burning deep and fierce.
With a grim expression, he clenched his fist .. Aura of the Star flaring outward, shattering the lightning off his body.
Across the battlefield, Zibar raised his hand again .. the spear returning to him in an instant.
Another bolt descended, infusing it with power once more.
"If possible...
I never wished to use this spear."
Zibar declared as he hurled it again.
"Using it carries a price I must eventually pay. But you left me no other choice."
The Shadowbolt Spear split the air again.
Abraham evaded, closing the distance with blinding speed ..
but Zibar did not retreat.
He charged as well, wielding Katarina in one hand.
Both forces clashed ..
A star of light colliding with a storm of darkness.
"I knew you would rush me .. and now I’ll show you how wrong that decision was."
Zibar snarled, forming the spear again in his free hand.
This time he fired it point-blank.
There was no room to dodge.
The spear erupted in Abraham’s face ..
and the sky itself fell.
A colossal strike of lightning roared down from the heavens, annihilating everything in its radius.
Even Zibar staggered back, scorched by his own power ..
but Abraham was at ground zero.
Lightning raged for a long, merciless moment ..
and only then did it fade.
Zibar sensed movement .. and turned.
Abraham stood far away, heavily wounded, skin charred where lightning had eaten into him.
Still alive.
Still standing.
He raised his gaze to the spear.
"That is no ordinary weapon."
"Correct."
Zibar replied, preparing to throw it again.
"The Shadowbolt Spear... cursed as its wielder."
His voice darkened.
"This spear once belonged to Nameless himself."
One of the forbidden weapons claimed by Agaroth after defeating Nameless long ago .. now resting in Zibar’s hand.
"I can barely fire it a handful of times at my strength .. and each use permanently scars my existence.
I sometimes wonder how that monster could wield it endlessly with no consequence..."
Unlike Nameless, Zibar struggled to survive its power.
Six... seven throws would cripple him for life.
"The last time I used it, my arm was useless for centuries. My aura decayed for ages. Yet here I stand .. forced to use it again. Because that is the price of survival."
With a wide, manic grin ..
he threw it once more.
The spear tore reality itself, and Abraham knew:
If this continues, even he won’t endure.
"Either I exhaust him...
or kill him before he throws again."
Those were his only paths.
In an instant .. he shaped his own weapon.
A spear of pure light, condensed through the Absolute Manipulator.
He hurled it ..
Light Spear vs Shadowbolt Spear.
Their collision birthed a deafening explosion across the land.
Zibar’s spear was stronger ..
but Abraham’s was enough to weaken it.
Enough for him to evade unscathed.
He rushed forward again.
Zibar summoned the spear back instantly .. Katarina in one hand, Shadowbolt-Spear in the other.
Both warriors charged.
Neither willing to step back.
The next clash would decide everything.
The two were about to collide with everything they had ..
each relying fully on killing the other.
Zibar thrust his spear forward, while Abraham braced himself to take the strike head-on and counter with his strongest attack.
Abraham was certain he could kill Zibar and end this battle ..
but he also understood clearly that being struck by that spear would inflict devastating damage upon him.
Even if he won, there would be a price.
A price he was fully prepared to pay if it meant erasing one of the strongest demons in existence.
In the final seconds before impact, endless thoughts filled both their minds ..
time itself felt as if it slowed to a crawl.
"I know exactly what’s going through your head, Abraham Starlight...
but you won’t be able to block the Shadowbolt Spear this time."
The demon’s eyes glowed ..
and the Shadowbolt Spear radiated with terrifying power.
This was Zibar’s final wager ..
unlike his previous attacks, this strike held far greater force.
"The Shadowbolt Spear draws aura without restriction.
Its strength can be amplified endlessly by consuming aura at maximum output.
I deliberately held back its full power until this moment alone..."
At this distance, Abraham had no room to evade.
The spear’s power now was at least four times stronger ..
Zibar had poured everything he had into this throw.
Even Abraham, at full strength ..
a direct hit like this would be fatal.
"This is the end!! Abraham Starlight!!!"
Zibar roared, thrusting the spear with absolute force.
Abraham, on the other hand, prepared to meet the strike head-on.
The stance he took ..
the way he circulated his aura ..
proved that he was fully aware of Zibar’s plan.
His senses and intuition were on a level far beyond ordinary.
"Be certain—I will block it,
and that will be your end!"
Until the final heartbeat ..
each fought to outdo the other.
And it seemed...
Abraham held the upper hand.
But in an instant .. everything flipped.
Both pairs of eyes widened when a strange flash appeared in the space between them.
Someone teleported directly into the path—
placing himself between them.
It was ..
"Frey!"
Both recognized him instantly ..
it was none other than Frey Starlight.
Slaaash!!!
With a single swift strike carrying the full force of Black-Hole Aura ..
Frey’s blade severed Zibar’s arm, cutting through it cleanly in one blow.
The sheer power Frey released stunned them both for a moment.
Even though they had faced him earlier,
his strength had noticeably increased.