"Impossible..."
Abraham staggered back a few steps, turning toward the spot where Gehrman had been standing only moments ago.
He didn’t know when it happened ..nor how .. but somehow, Amon had erased Gehrman with a single, invisible strike. Neither Abraham nor the blue-eyed engineer had been able to see it coming.
"He placed far too much faith in his speed," Amon’s voice came calmly from ahead as he walked forward, hands once again clasped behind his back. "And he never expected that I could surpass it. How unfortunate..."
Abraham turned sharply to face him, raising his blade of light.
"What the hell did you do?" he demanded—
Only to be cut off by a horrifying explosion at his side, followed instantly by searing pain.
"...Huh?"
Abraham turned his head.
The arm that had been holding his sword was gone .. completely erased, vaporized without leaving a trace.
There was no blood.
No aura.
Only emptiness. Nothingness.
"I believe that answers your question," Amon said mockingly. This time, his right hand was no longer behind his back—it was extended forward.
Gritting his teeth, Abraham focused his aura around the wound, sealing it entirely. Slowly, visibly, the surrounding aura condensed—shaping itself, forming structure—
And a new arm took form where the destroyed one had been.
"Oho?" Amon stepped closer, genuine interest flickering in his tone. "You possess quite an intriguing ability, human."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Now that I think about it... your body is composed entirely of aura. No blood. No internal organs. How did you accomplish such a thing?"
Rather than answering, Abraham completed the reconstruction of his arm and unleashed a raging surge of Stellar Aura.
The force was overwhelming .. so immense it surged upward toward the heavens.
Yet it was completely erased by a single, casual wave of Amon’s hand.
"Your power rivals the fourth stage of the SSS tier," Amon observed calmly. "If I’m not mistaken, that is the highest level any human has ever reached."
In an instant, Amon appeared before Abraham, unleashing dozens of punches toward his chest and abdomen at a terrifying speed.
Abraham couldn’t see them.
Couldn’t defend.
The difference in power was absolute.
He endured blow after blow .. yet no blood spilled, no weakness showed.
"You also possess an ability unlike anything I’ve seen before," Amon continued, unfazed. "Your body itself is extraordinary."
Abraham struggled to retreat.
"You talk too much," he snapped. "Shut up and fight."
Amon laughed.
"And where would the fun be in that?"
He reappeared before Abraham once more, his fist shrouded in dense, black aura.
"I don’t get the chance to fight powerful opponents every day. I intend to savor every moment .. this opportunity will not come again."
He paused briefly.
"Oh—and don’t worry. I won’t kill you. You’re far too interesting for that."
The two exchanged blows at blinding speed. Abraham summoned twin blades and struck with everything he had ..
Yet Amon blocked every attack with his bare hands.
"Your body, being entirely composed of aura..." Amon mused. "It bears some resemblance to my father’s—Agaroth, the Demon King. Though his body is not aura, but something else entirely."
Despite the fundamental difference, Abraham had achieved a state not unlike that of the Demon King himself—an anomaly that only deepened Amon’s fascination.
"I initially intended to retrieve Nameless’s vessel alone and kill everyone else," Amon said, the darkness behind his mask deepening. "But I’ve changed my mind."
His eyes dimmed.
"I’ll take you as well."
As his words fell, Amon’s fist ignited with an eerie black radiance.
At the same instant, Abraham’s eyes flared with light.
"Stardust .. Supreme Art: Dawn Barrier!"
BOOOM!!
In less than a fraction of a second ..
An invisible collision erupted, releasing colossal shockwaves of aura.
At first, nothing could be seen.
Then, reality caught up.
Abraham Starlight stood there, gasping for breath, while Amon’s fist hovered mere inches from his chest—halted by an immensely powerful barrier of radiant light.
It was Abraham Starlight’s ultimate defensive technique, the same one he had once used to block Wesker’s Domain.
"Haaah... just as I thought," Abraham said, a weary smile spreading across his face.
"...."
Amon fell silent for a moment, then calmly returned his hand behind his back.
"You possess remarkable instincts."
"It’s nothing more than intuition," Abraham replied with a strained laugh. "At my current level, it’s impossible for me to actually see that attack."
Amon’s voice followed, colder now.
"Then that only makes you more impressive. That attack cannot be blocked by intuition alone."
Hearing this, Abraham stepped back, blade raised, fully prepared.
"I was confused at first—about how you destroyed Gehrman despite being slower than him," Abraham continued. "To hit someone like that, you’d either need to ambush them... or be faster."
"At first, I thought it was some invisible technique or special ability. I didn’t perceive anything when my arm was destroyed."
His eyes narrowed as he pointed his sword at Amon.
"But the way you moved your arm from behind your back gave me the clue I needed."
Abraham took a breath.
"That attack of yours is nothing more than a punch. A single punch—yet so absurdly fast that it can neither be seen nor blocked."
"You’re not faster than Gehrman," he said firmly. "But your attack is. Isn’t that right?"
Amon burst into laughter.
Loud, unrestrained laughter ..
Before silencing it just as suddenly.
"You anticipated all of this," Amon said with clear amusement. "And prepared your defensive technique before I even attacked—making it possible for you to block my strike."
"...Remarkable."
Abraham had no means of seeing or reacting to Amon’s anomalous blow—it was far too fast.
But he had predicted it in advance.
And that single act of foresight was what made defense possible .. by invoking his strongest defensive skill.
"You deduced all of that in an incredibly short amount of time..."
Amon praised his opponent sincerely.
Yet inwardly, he was already reassessing Abraham from the ground up.
’This man... is dangerous. Not merely because of his power, but because of his sharp mind and rapid intuition. He can analyze opponents far beyond his own level in a very short time—and respond efficiently. He must not be allowed to grow stronger.’
Slowly, Amon brought both arms out from behind his back once more.
"Human warrior," he said calmly, "state your name."
"I have no name to give to a demon."
"I see," Amon replied. "Then I’ll make you tell it to me—after I subdue you."
Amon’s arms glowed once again, preparing to unleash that same terrifyingly fast attack.
In response, Abraham gathered every last ounce of his strength.
’ This is bad... Even now that I understand the nature of his attack, blocking it is still nearly impossible. I barely managed to stop a single strike using my strongest defensive technique.’
Thoughts raced through Abraham’s mind as he searched desperately for a countermeasure.
"There’s no need to think so hard," Amon declared coldly. "You’ll lose regardless."
He was stating a simple truth—Abraham had no real chance of victory. The masked demon wasn’t even fighting at full strength.
"I know," Abraham replied with a faint smile as his body ignited with intense light. "I’m not trying to win."
Indeed, he wasn’t trying to win.
He was merely buying time .. waiting for whatever it was that Gehrman had spoken of.
Even so, Abraham knew he couldn’t hold out much longer... and whatever Gehrman had prepared didn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.
Amon was just about to strike ..
When, at the very last moment, a wave of frost slammed into his side from nowhere, forcing him to momentarily ignore Abraham and block the attack.
At the sight of that frost, Amon’s eyes widened as he turned sharply in a certain direction.
"That’s impossible..."
At the same time, Abraham turned toward the same direction .. and what he saw shocked him as well.
Slowly... a pale hand emerged from nothingness.
Then, little by little, a familiar body formed before their eyes—until blue eyes opened once more, staring straight at them.