Gehrman’s departure at the precise moment Wesker appeared ..
The timing was far too perfect. Too precise. Far too deliberate to be mere chance.
More importantly .. why had the Engineer left in the first place?
What urgent matter could have pulled him away from Frey, whom he had been obsessively protecting all along?
Abraham’s mind began to weave the threads together.
And the truth became clear .. so clear that it sent a chill through him, deepening the mystery of the man standing beside him.
Wesker’s attack...
Abraham’s death in that manner.
Everything that followed afterward ..
"It was planned..."
Abraham whispered in shock.
He tried to deny it. He truly did.
But his instincts—his gut—told him this was the truth, and nothing else.
At times like this, Abraham cursed his own intelligence ... his sharp perception .. because it was now distracting him from the brutal battle he was about to fight against Wesker.
Naturally, Gehrman noticed everything.
His voice came quickly—cold and sharp—like an alarm snapping Abraham out of his thoughts.
"Do not dwell on unnecessary matters in the midst of battle, Abraham. The enemy stands before you."
Hearing that, Abraham exhaled and ran a hand back through his hair.
"The enemy?"
He let out a dry chuckle.
"I wonder who the enemy truly is anymore. I find myself... confused."
He intensified the flow of light and stellar aura, shaping a sword far denser and more powerful than before—preparing himself for combat.
"There is much I would like to discuss," Abraham said calmly,
"but first—let us end this battle once and for all. The time for resolution has long passed."
"That, I agree with."
Gehrman stepped forward, taking the initiative. He still relied solely on his left hand—continuing to refuse the use of his right arm, the one encircled by the rings of time and clock hands.
"I will take the lead. Support me from behind."
Gehrman surged forward ... and Abraham followed immediately.
"There’s no need to state the obvious," Abraham replied grimly.
"I hate to admit it, but that cursed demon is still stronger than me—by a margin—despite all the power I now wield."
Abraham understood his position. He knew the vast gap between himself and his opponent.
He did not rush recklessly. Instead, he chose to follow Gehrman’s lead .. the more experienced of the two.
Meanwhile, Wesker had finished his own preparations.
"This struggle of yours is meaningless," Wesker said coldly.
"By the end of today, I will not die—and you will not win."
He spread both arms.
The space around him shattered, as though the world itself had fallen completely under his dominion.
At that instant, countless dark projectiles erupted from every direction .. thanks to Wesker’s supreme manipulation of waves.
Gehrman evaded most of them, blocking the rest.
Abraham carved his way forward through sheer force, cutting down everything in his path.
In the blink of an eye, both of them closed in on Wesker .. but the moment they crossed a certain threshold, their bodies were torn apart by an unseen force.
Gehrman reacted instantly, minimizing the damage.
Abraham did not.
Dozens of horrifying gashes tore across his body .. wounds from which aura leaked instead of blood.
"That bastard..." Abraham growled as he retreated.
"He planted hundreds of invisible traps around himself... Is this wave manipulation? It feels closer to sorcery."
"You are mistaken," Gehrman replied coldly.
"These are not pre-set traps. This is a byproduct of his advanced control over his power."
Wesker’s manipulation of waves had reached such a level that it bordered on magic itself.
The attacks that struck Gehrman and Abraham had formed in the very instant they lunged at him .. so precise, so refined, that they were effectively invisible.
"He can likely embed his power freely within a certain radius around his body," Gehrman analyzed.
"Perhaps ten meters? No... more than that."
Wesker sighed, a hint of his familiar smile returning.
"Correct. As expected of the Engineer."
He paused briefly, his aura expanding even further.
"This is the pinnacle of wave manipulation.
Within this range, I can control the reality around me and shape it as I please—though it is limited to a certain distance from my body."
As one of the greatest wave manipulators in existence, Wesker could freely dominate the world around him within several meters.
And within those few meters ..
Wesker was absolute.
This was the true peak of his power .. the strength he had never revealed to Snow or Frey in the past.
The very power with which he ultimately defeated Adir.
"What will you do now, Gehrman?" Wesker asked calmly.
"To defeat me, you must close the distance and land a decisive blow. But in your current state, your body cannot endure my domain. And the human beside you is not strong enough to kill me."
He extended his hand once more.
"I told you already...
You will not win today."
From his palm, Wesker unleashed a roaring beam of dark aura, forcing his opponents to evade.
They immediately resumed their assault, showing no regard for Wesker’s perfect domain.
"Keep the pressure on him and endure his attacks as much as you can!" Gehrman shouted to Abraham as the two pushed forward.
They were incredibly fast, and within moments, they re-entered the perfect domain.
Once again, the unseen attacks struck.
This time, Gehrman managed to neutralize the damage at the very last instant ..
while Abraham was forced to endure the hit once more, his body suffering severe damage.
"Oh? Your reactions are far from ordinary, servant of Nameless..." Wesker muttered.
"You evade the attack the moment it makes contact with your body, don’t you?
That’s a dangerous gamble you’re taking."
A single hit would be enough to end Gehrman.
Even so, he continued to risk entering Wesker’s domain, relying purely on instinct and his monstrous speed to evade the attacks by a hair’s breadth.
The situation continued like this for a while.
The two attempted again and again to break through the domain and strike Wesker down ..
yet each time, the invisible force repelled them.
The battle descended into utter chaos.
From afar, it was impossible to discern what was happening, as the combatants moved at inhuman speeds, colliding and separating in the blink of an eye.
Normally ..
if Gehrman’s vessel had been perfect, or if he possessed his true body ..
he would have been confident in breaking through Wesker’s perfect domain and landing a fatal blow.
But his weakness had always been the same:
his deteriorated body, in the absence of the one being capable of restoring him to what he once was.
Now, he had no choice but to rely on speed...
and gamble everything until the very end.
On the other hand, Abraham Starlight was not as fast as the Engineer, nor did he possess those insane reflexes.
There was no escaping the damage.
Yet Abraham endured everything and continued pressing forward.
His strikes were overwhelmingly powerful, each swing sending out arcs of cleaving light.
His blade did reach Wesker more than once .. but the damage was not enough to kill a fourth-rank demon.
It could be said that Abraham was in a disadvantageous position.
He was taking several times the damage he was dealing to Wesker.
"Don’t be reckless! He’s not a weak opponent .. he can end you the moment you let your guard down!"
Gehrman shouted, seeing the extent of Abraham’s injuries.
Abraham’s body was wounded all over—
one strike had even carved a deep gash across his chest.
Yet in response, Abraham merely smiled faintly and kept attacking.