The battle had begun to reach a critical turning point.
Waves of blue flames crashed violently against the land where Frey and Thanatos fought, yet the pressure of the auras emanating from their clash easily forced the inferno back.
Above them, the sky roared with unending black lightning, while the entire continent began to tremble under the weight of their titanic confrontation.
What was most astonishing, however, was that this battle unfolded far from the eyes of every creature on Earth.
Thanks to the barriers Frey had erected beforehand around the battlefield—guided by Nameless—not a single being could sense what was happening there.
It was as if they were fighting at the end of the world, where nothing remained but the two of them.
The Reaper’s Scythe wielded by Thanatos was merciless.
Frey met it head-on using both Dark Sister and the Shadowbolt Spear.
Yet anyone with even the slightest measure of intelligence would immediately realize ...
Frey was not in a good position.
His enhanced body performed astonishingly well thanks to the ability of the Absolute Manipulator. Through it, he managed to match Thanatos physically despite the terrifying six-stage difference in rank between them.
But Thanatos’ aura output was vastly superior.
And his blows carried far greater force than Frey’s.
A thunderous cracking sound echoed across the battlefield when Thanatos drove Frey backward—
Both of them crashing through the ocean of blue flames.
As Frey struggled to deflect Thanatos’ spear, he felt the inferno devouring his body.
His back was completely charred.
Soon, the rest of his body suffered the same fate.
His hair burned away.
His skin blackened.
Not a single part of him remained untouched—
Except for his face, protected by the Nameless Mask, and his left hand, shielded by Balerion.
Frey was burning alive ...
And yet he continued fighting Thanatos.
His extraordinary regeneration attempted to heal him, but Frey was still trapped within the sea of fire, pinned down by Thanatos who gave him no chance to escape.
In other words—
The speed at which his body burned exceeded the speed at which it could regenerate.
Every time his body healed ...
The flames devoured it again.
The pain was beyond what any sane mind could endure.
Yet even so—
Thanatos was surprised when his dark eyes met Frey’s.
From the narrow gaps of the mask, a pair of sharp, calm eyes stared back—utterly unwavering.
As though the agony he suffered were nothing more than an illusion.
’ Strange...
He’s burning alive right now... and my spear is still tearing through his body.’
’How can he remain so calm?’
Thanatos wondered, astonished by his opponent’s mental composure.
But his surprise did not last long.
Frey suddenly launched a swift counterattack, unleashing a storm of black arcs imbued with an overwhelming amount of Black Hole Aura.
Thanatos retreated immediately as his body was sliced open in several places.
That retreat gave Frey the opportunity he needed.
He burst free from the sea of flames and regenerated enough damage for his body to return to its normal state instead of the charred ruin it had become.
Meanwhile, Thanatos examined his own wounds, sensing the destructive nature of the Black Hole Aura.
’He possesses an aura unlike anything I have ever seen before.’
Thanatos tightened his grip on the scythe and charged toward Frey again.
’If I did not possess an immortal body... I would have suffered greatly against this cursed aura.’
Recognizing the danger his opponent posed, Thanatos began leaning toward ending the battle quickly.
He clashed with Frey once more.
Dark sparks of flame burst forth every time their weapons collided.
"Sorry," Thanatos said, his grin widening.
"But I do not have any more time to waste with you."
At that moment ...
A dreadful premonition struck Frey.
Thanatos’ aura began gathering behind his back.
When Frey turned his head—
He froze.
A gigantic skull had appeared out of nowhere behind him.
Its blazing eyes stared down at him.
The skull was so enormous that it blotted out the sky itself.
Thanatos immediately blocked Frey from the front, preventing him from escaping.
At the same time—
The skull slowly opened its massive jaws.
Within them, lethal blue flames gathered, forming a devastating torrent aimed at both Frey and Thanatos alike.
Thanatos smiled terrifyingly at Frey.
"You have some rather troublesome abilities," he said calmly.
"So I am forced to receive this attack together with you... to make sure you cannot escape."
His smile twisted further.
"But in the end, this is my power."
"And my body is immortal."
"No matter how much damage I suffer from it... it will never compare to the damage you will take!."
Those words became the final countdown.
The skull unleashed its attack.
A roaring beam of blazing aura erupted forth, swallowing both sky and earth in its wake.
A fiery cataclysm detonated behind Frey—
Hurling him into oblivion.
The explosion merged with the horrifying laughter of Thanatos.
For several minutes, the skull continued pouring fire upon the battlefield.
Then its jaws slowly closed.
And it gradually faded away—
After erasing a region the size of an entire nation.
Floating in the sky, Thanatos remained standing despite his charred body.
His opponent, however, had been completely erased ...
Or so he believed.
Thanatos’ eyes slowly widened when he saw Frey Starlight falling from the sky—still in one piece.
A large portion of his body had been destroyed.
But most of his vital parts remained intact.
And they had already begun regenerating.
"How?!" Thanatos demanded.
Then he saw it.
A partially shattered dark dome surrounding Frey.
"Abraham Starlight Style: Dawn Barrier."
Frey whispered weakly, barely able to stand after protecting himself with a technique he had attempted to replicate from his father.
"He surrounded himself with a shield of concentrated aura to avoid lethal damage..." Thanatos murmured, his expression darkening.
His aura surged violently.
And his body began to change.
From nowhere ...
Four additional arms burst from his body.
Six arms in total now extended from him.
Each of those arms now held a long scythe, its blade blazing with roaring blue fire.
"Let me see how long you can keep enduring!"
Thanatos streaked across the sky in a blur of blue, charging toward Frey.
Frey responded in kind.
His sword ignited with Black Hole Aura and the Flames of Souls, and he lunged forward to meet him head-on.
But the battle had now turned into a nightmare for Frey.
His body was struck by devastating damage as Thanatos attacked with six different weapons at once.
And that was not all.
The ocean of blue fire surged back again, surrounding them completely ... while gigantic skeletal arms formed from the flames themselves, each wielding colossal swords burning with the same infernal blaze.
All of those swords came crashing down toward Frey’s head, intent on crushing him outright.
Thanatos unleashed more and more aura in insane quantities, pressing down on Frey with terrifying force—enough to threaten the destruction of the entire continent.
Blood spilled endlessly.
Frey’s limbs were destroyed again and again.
Even his full strength bought him nothing more than the ability to last a little longer.
And after fighting for what felt like an eternity ...
After exchanging countless blows ...
For the first time, Thanatos began to feel a faint numbness spreading through his arms and body.
A sudden realization struck him.
’This is strange... the attacks I’ve struck him with were not insignificant. I inflicted tremendous damage on him... yet he’s still standing after everything he’s endured?’
At that moment, Thanatos noticed something peculiar he had failed to observe earlier in the heat of battle.
"His aura... it’s becoming stronger?"
It was subtle.
A slight increase.
But it grew with every exchange.
BOOOOOOM!!
Thanatos blasted Frey away again, tightening the pressure on him.
Frey retaliated by unleashing successive waves of Nameless Judgement, but massive skeletal shields summoned by Thanatos intercepted the attack.
Thanatos continued pressing forward with everything he had, holding the complete advantage.
And yet—
An ominous feeling began to creep into his mind.
Because despite the damage...
Despite everything...
Frey’s power was growing instead of diminishing.