The sky turned white—then black.
After that, a breathtaking blue hue flooded the heavens.
Thunder and lightning erupted from every direction—but this was not natural thunder.
It was the physical manifestation of violent auras colliding with one another.
Gehrman versus Wesker.
The Engineer was different this time.
Although his broken vessel remained the same, the power he was unleashing was no joke .. not in the slightest.
Opposite him, Wesker flew on massive black wings, every movement generating devastating windstorms.
Wesker’s King’s Eye blazed intensely.
At the same time ..
Four blue rings appeared, resembling ancient Roman clocks, rotating around Gehrman’s right arm.
"The Hand of the Sovereign."
Gehrman murmured softly, activating a mysterious ability .. while Wesker immediately tried to peer through it.
"So this is what you’ve been planning all along, huh?"
As they exchanged words, the battle between Zibar and Abraham was still raging elsewhere.
"You turned Abraham Starlight into your trump card and waited for the perfect moment to use him against me,"
Wesker continued calmly.
"And now you’ve balanced the scales by reviving the ancient human heroes—just as you planned hundreds of years ago."
Wesker raised a hand to his face, fully aware that the blue-eyed man had truly outplayed him this time.
Slowly, the corners of his mouth stretched into what looked like a smile.
He extended both hands.. and began to clap.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
His applause grew so intense that waves of aura burst forth from the sheer force behind it.
"Magnificent... truly magnificent," Wesker said.
"This is exactly what I’d expect from Nameless’s right hand, isn’t it? Impressive."
Despite his vile tone, his admiration was genuine.
Very few could manipulate Wesker—even with his King’s Eye, which could see fate itself.
"So what now?" Wesker chuckled softly as an immense amount of dark aura surged from his body.
"I assume killing me is your next step, right?"
"You do realize I’m merely a threshold, don’t you?"
"I’m only the Fourth."
Wesker extended his hand toward Gehrman, laughing.
"I’m genuinely curious, Engineer.
People like us never act without plans—nothing we do is random."
"You must have considered what comes after me, haven’t you?"
"How will you deal with the others once you defeat me here?"
"How will you face those who stand above me?"
"And what about the Dukes of Hell, who haven’t even moved yet?"
"Of course .. this is assuming you actually defeat me today."
Despite the situation, Wesker remained calm and composed.
On the other hand ..
Gehrman’s body slowly rose into the air, still radiating overwhelming power.
"No plans. No tricks this time."
He assumed a combat stance, the corners of his mouth lifting with quiet confidence.
"All I want now... is to give this body a worthy battle .. like in the old days."
Gehrman chose direct confrontation.
And those words carried immense weight—because he had not always been this way.
Time had cast its shadow over him.
He had lost much because of it.
He was no longer the man whose name once shook the entire world.
For thousands of years, Gehrman had suppressed his desires to carry out a plan that spanned eras.
But today—for the first time—
He allowed those buried desires to surface.
Today, he was not Nameless’s Engineer.
Today, he was the Saint .. Gehrman.
His blue eyes ignited.
In an instant, aura erupted around his left fist.
A blazing blue flame roared to life—its embers scattering in every direction.
"No... that’s not fire," Wesker said, realizing the truth.
"...That’s freezing cold frost."
"Correct," Gehrman replied.
He punched the void toward Wesker ..
And a massive wave of that "flame" erupted through the sky, swallowing Wesker at terrifying speed.
That blue fire was ice so cold it looked like fire.
The wave of frost consumed both the sky and Wesker himself.
A few seconds later, Wesker barely escaped the attack’s range .. but those brief moments were enough.
Half his body froze solid, the extreme cold annihilating his cells.
"This frost..." Wesker muttered.
"Isn’t this the signature weapon of the Aetherial Fire Beings?"
"Correct again," Gehrman confirmed.
The Engineer originally belonged to one of the Great Races, descendants of one of the Seven Supreme Powers ..
The Fire Beings, also known as the Children of Irithyll.
Their ice resembled fire .. burning and freezing at the same time.
But what Gehrman unleashed now was on an entirely different level.
"It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it rivals Vordit himself."
Even though Gehrman was not at full power, Wesker compared him to the Sixth of the Seven Supreme Powers.
This was a reminder of who Gehrman truly was.
Without hesitation, Wesker unleashed his full power .. no longer daring to underestimate his opponent.
"Let’s see what you’ve got."
The Fourth-Rank Demon extended his hand.
Darkness gathered before him, forming a black star.
With a violent motion, Wesker detonated it into a roaring beam of dark aura that swallowed a vast portion of the sky.
The attack carried his full power—he intended to give the Engineer no room to breathe.
But it struck nothing but empty space.
Gehrman had already vanished.
The King’s Eye flared ..
And Wesker instantly spun around, throwing a punch ..
Only for his fist to collide directly with Gehrman’s.
The clash was violent.
The blazing frost aura collided with darkness in a terrifying battle of attrition.
But only a few seconds passed before the two of them retreated.
Wesker immediately pulled back, a deep frown forming on his face.
"His speed is terrifying... Without the King’s Eye, I wouldn’t have even perceived him. And then there’s this damn frost..."
Wesker raised the arm that had collided with Gehrman’s fist, only to find it partially frozen, black blood crystallized along it.
"This will be difficult..."
"I see you still have time to think."
Wesker’s eyes widened as the Engineer’s voice echoed beside his right ear.
The Rank Four Demon instantly attacked to his right .. only to hit nothing. Gehrman was already on his left.
BOOOOM!!!
A lightning-fast punch landed squarely on Wesker’s face.
He was sent flying, blood pouring violently from his face, unable to react in time to the sudden strike.
Wesker barely managed to regain control, spreading his wings .. only to find Gehrman standing directly in front of him, so close their bodies almost collided.
"You’re far too slow, Rank Four Demon."
"...Huh?"
A groan escaped Wesker’s mouth as his King’s Eye perceived something utterly abnormal.
Fists.
Countless fists.
Thousands of them.
All striking his body at the same instant, battering him like a storm.
Gehrman was moving at an absurd speed—so fast that he could unleash blows at this inconceivable rate.
His movements weren’t instantaneous teleportation like Frey’s, but pure, overwhelming speed that made it look like teleportation.
To Wesker’s eyes, Gehrman now possessed thousands of arms.
The Rank Four Demon collapsed under the barrage, utterly incapable of keeping up with that speed.
And after only a few seconds of that frenzied onslaught, Wesker’s body was left in a miserable state .. blood flowing at times, frozen solid at others.