"This makes no sense."
Thanatos could not understand what was happening.
And so he unleashed even more of his power, determined to crush Frey completely.
Until something happened that darkened his expression entirely.
From nowhere—
Frey’s body erupted with a blinding radiance.
A cocoon of shadows stretched outward, wrapping around him and enclosing him within.
The cocoon swelled larger and larger until it resembled a massive celestial body before Thanatos’ eyes.
Disbelief shook him.
His eyes trembled.
"That’s impossible..."
He spoke heavily, unable to accept what he was seeing.
"He... is breaking through?"
"In the middle of a battle—right in front of me?!"
Somehow ...
Frey had crossed the limits of the SSS Rank: Throne of Post-Existence, and dared to break through into the next stage—
Pulse of Chaos.
"Don’t mess with me!!!"
Thanatos roared.
Seven enormous skulls materialized instantly, surrounding the cocoon from all sides.
The skulls opened their jaws simultaneously ...
Detonating the cocoon within a dark blue volcanic inferno.
A deafening explosion shook the heavens.
But from within the blue flames—
Frey leapt upward.
His body blazed with a roaring dark aura, born from the Chaos Stage he had just entered.
"I no longer understand anything that’s happening here."
Thanatos shot toward Frey again, consumed by furious rage.
"How can he break through this quickly—in the middle of battle, no less?!"
Gripping his six scythes, Thanatos rushed forward, determined to destroy his opponent and uncover his secret.
But Frey unleashed a massive arc of darkness that swallowed him whole, forcing Thanatos to retreat.
Frey had shifted completely from defense to offense after gaining the surge of power that accompanied his sudden breakthrough.
His aura output had doubled.
His strikes had become vastly stronger—enough to fight Thanatos on equal footing.
The two exchanged blows at terrifying speeds.
Every clash of their weapons unleashed waves of destructive aftershock that shattered the ground, splitting it apart until the land itself fractured and drifted away.
Frey wielded the Shadowbolt Spear with greater mastery and force, drawing an endless supply of black lightning from the sky and striking Thanatos with it.
Thanatos resisted the attack and answered with storms of blue fire, hurling them forward to collide with the lightning.
The two forces smashed into each other repeatedly.
Both combatants hurled themselves across the battlefield like catastrophic meteors.
One was a meteor of black lightning and dark aura.
The other a meteor of lethal blue fire.
The very fabric of space twisted into a spider-web of fractures under the pressure of their auras.
The battle had begun to surpass what any land could possibly endure.
Amid all that chaos, Thanatos kept watching his opponent in disbelief.
Even after Frey’s breakthrough into the second stage, Thanatos still held the advantage.
But Frey’s power had not stopped growing.
It continued rising—as though chasing after Thanatos’ own strength, trying to catch it.
’Breaking through this quickly... under these conditions... in the middle of battle... this is impossible.’
While his body burned with roaring blue fire, Thanatos fought Frey with killing intent.
Then a sudden realization struck his mind.
"Impossible... unless..."
He muttered under his breath.
"...he can break the limits."
At that moment, Thanatos finally grasped a hint of what was happening.
Within Frey’s body, Nameless watched the battle unfold... analyzing every minute detail in case something unexpected occurred.
His perception was extraordinarily sharp—sharp enough that he had already deduced Thanatos’ line of thought.
"He’s beginning to understand what’s happening... a little earlier than I expected," Nameless said quietly, his gaze shifting toward Frey.
"But that’s fine. He’s endured far better than I hoped he would."
Nameless narrowed his eyes slightly before turning his head toward the sword embedded within the bloody void inside Frey.
Frey had endured everything Thanatos had thrown at him until now.
He had borne it all through sheer force of will.
Despite the unbearable pain, it was his resolve that allowed him to persist.
That was the strength of someone who had already chosen his path.
The strength that had made Nameless decide to help him.
Meanwhile, as Thanatos unleashed everything he had, he felt it.
The explosive power rising with every passing second.
Behind Frey, he saw a deep shadow stretching outward—taking a form he had never seen before.
Nameless had lived in an era long after Thanatos.
Because of that, Thanatos knew nothing about him.
He did not realize that the man before him was not some insignificant fool, as he had believed ...
But a monster carrying abilities that defied imagination itself.
How Frey’s power kept rising...
How he could break through so quickly before Thanatos’ very eyes...
The answer lay in the final inheritance Frey had received from Nameless.
"To activate this ability, the opponent must be far stronger... otherwise you won’t be able to benefit from its effect properly."
Nameless spoke as a strange dark radiance spread across Frey’s body.
"The final stage... the pinnacle of Shadow Adaptation."
"The Pursuer."
At that moment, the seventh stage was revealed—the true reason Frey had chosen Thanatos as his target.
"The Pursuer is the greatest world-breaking ability I ever possessed."
"It represents the very pinnacle of the Law of Chaos."
"This ability activates when the opponent is far stronger than its wielder."
"Its effect is simple."
Nameless’ eyes glowed with a cold, dark light.
"When the enemy is stronger, the Pursuer pushes its bearer toward higher stages of power in proportion to the opponent—adapting completely to them."
"It begins pursuing them the moment the battle starts... until the bearer eventually reaches the same level as the opponent."
This was the ultimate culmination of Nameless’ power ... the very ability that once allowed him to shake the world in his battle against Agaroth thousands of years ago.
When he fought the Demon King, their battle eventually transformed into an endless pursuit.
Agaroth had been stronger at the beginning.
But Nameless grew stronger during the fight, balancing the scales through the power of the Pursuer.
Yet Agaroth possessed an extraordinary ability of his own—one that allowed him to evolve continuously as his opponent grew stronger.
Their abilities collided in what seemed like an endless cycle.
Agaroth would grow stronger.
Nameless would pursue him—and surpass him.
Then the Demon King would evolve again and reclaim the advantage.
Their battle continued like that for a long time ...
Until Agaroth reached a terrifying level of power that even Nameless could no longer adapt to.
And that had been the end of their war.
"The Pursuer is the pinnacle of adaptation."
"And Thanatos has already reached the final stage of the SSS rank, making him the perfect target for this ability."
Fighting Thanatos would ensure that Frey’s power rose tremendously.
And defeating him would eliminate one of the greatest threats standing before them.
A monster like him should never remain free.
"The Pursuer will make you far stronger... as long as you endure and survive for as long as possible."
"So everything depends entirely on you now, Frey."
That was precisely why Nameless had told him to endure and defend as much as possible.
If the plan failed, Nameless had intended to intervene and save him.
But fortunately—
Frey had exceeded his expectations.
"He is no longer the kind of human who can be easily defeated and cast aside."
"He has become something far beyond that."
Nameless said, satisfied with what he was witnessing.
Frey’s power continued to grow.
At this rate...
He might even surpass the second stage as well.
"The Pursuer will not stop until you reach his level."
"So keep going—and do not fall."
Frey heard Nameless’ words clearly as he continued fighting.
A terrifying, bloodthirsty smile spread beneath his mask as he felt his power surge dramatically.
"This time... things will end differently."
He spoke in a heavy voice as he attacked with everything he had.
"They have to."
"There is no room for defeat anymore."
Either victory ..
Or nothing.
And the battle had finally begun to enter its final stage.