Without warning ...
he unleashed the Light Soul, along with the blazing Pureflame.
Fusing the two together, Snow activated both abilities simultaneously.
A pure, radiant white armor enveloped his entire body.
Seeing this, Frey couldn’t help but admire Snow’s aura output.
"Incredible..."
"Even I can’t fuse my abilities like that."
Frey smiled faintly as he coated his sword and arm with an overwhelming black hole aura.
At the same time, his body ignited with immense Soul Fire.
But this was no ordinary flame.
It erupted with terrifying pressure.
Frey used only one soul ...
yet it granted him an effectively infinite reserve.
Because that soul belonged to an immortal being ...
Thanatos, who now suffered within him.
Snow was momentarily stunned by the sheer magnitude of that power.
But he did not hesitate.
He attacked immediately.
The fusion of Pureflame and Light Soul granted him immense offensive force.
Yet Frey blocked it effortlessly ...
and soon, the power of the black hole clashed with Snow’s radiant light.
Within mere seconds, the two exchanged an overwhelming number of blows.
And yet ...
they deliberately held back.
Neither of them unleashed their full power, wary of destroying the entire region.
Warriors of their level could sink an entire continent if they fought seriously—
and both of them knew it well.
Their clash resembled more of a refined sword duel than a battle between transcendent beings.
They exchanged strikes with precision, each attempting to outmaneuver the other.
Snow held the advantage in experience, thanks to his memories as a Pure Vessel—the First Lord of Light.
But despite that ...
he could not land a single hit on Frey.
Frey handled the duel with absolute calm.
His aura control was frighteningly perfect.
His eyes tracked everything—
every strike, every fluctuation of aura within Snow’s body.
He knew an attack was coming...
before Snow even thought of launching it.
To Frey ...
Snow was an open book.
And his reconstructed body, enhanced by the Absolute Manipulator, allowed him to keep up with his perception flawlessly ...
granting him a perfect, seamless response in every movement.
The output of the black hole aura had increased tremendously ...
while the Soul Fire granted him an even greater explosive force.
All of it... every single one of these abilities ... was fused together with absolute, flawless control.
And that... was thanks to the innate trait of the Krat race, which Frey had only recently attained.
The gift of Krat was not a combat technique.
Nor a devastating attack.
Nor even a defensive ability like the resilience of ghouls or the durability of the Pantheon.
What it granted Frey... was something far subtler.
A different mind.
Different senses.
It was as if his very way of thinking had changed.
Instead of thinking as Frey ..
he had begun to resemble Nameless.
Frey had always wondered:
Why was Nameless so much stronger than him?
Even though when Nameless took control of his body...
he did not use any external power.
He used Frey’s own power.
The same abilities.
The same skills.
Yet in Nameless’s hands... they were far stronger.
Now, after reaching the third stage of SSS rank—Origin Revelation,
Frey finally understood why.
The secret... was control.
The ability to draw out 100% of one’s potential.
Frey was still far from the perfection Nameless had achieved.
But after gaining the trait of the Krat race—
he had come closer than ever before.
Far beyond what he once was.
It was a subtle change.
But the result...
was an overwhelming increase in power in the eyes of his opponents.
The duel did not last long.
Only a few short minutes passed—
before Snow fell onto his back, shock written clearly across his face.
Frey’s sword was embedded in the ground beside his head.
And Frey stood over him, looking down.
A faint, tired smile crossed his lips as he withdrew his blade.
"I believe this concludes our dual."
He stepped back slowly, allowing Snow to rise.
The White Knight of Earth found himself at a loss for words.
What he had experienced had far exceeded his expectations.
Despite unleashing his fused world-breaking abilities ...
he had not managed to break through Frey’s defense even once.
But what unsettled him the most...
was what he had felt when their swords clashed.
He felt... nothing.
No emotions.
No intent.
No trace of anything from Frey.
From the very first clash to the last ...
Frey had been utterly unreadable.
As if he were deliberately hiding himself.
Snow suppressed his frustration and forced a faint smile.
"I thought I was improving quickly..."
"But after facing you... I’m starting to doubt that."
He exhaled softly, acknowledging his defeat.
It had been a short and simple duel ...
and both of them had intended to finish it quickly.
But it seemed the echoes of their clash had reached others.
Because Kalameet and Fulghor appeared out of nowhere the moment it ended.
And one of them looked eager to fight.
"How shameless of you, warriors of the Shadow Sect ...
enjoying your little duel all by yourselves."
Kalameet spoke, his eyes fixed solely on Frey.
"This wasn’t a display of strength," Frey replied calmly.
"Just a friendly match."
It wasn’t the first time they had spoken.
They had exchanged brief words before—
but never anything beyond that.
Kalameet smiled.
"Then you should have hidden this place behind a barrier."
"The echoes of your battle reached me—it was already too late."
He summoned his spear, pointing it toward Frey.
"I’ve heard you’re the strongest in the Shadow Sect right now."
"Allow me to verify that."
"Didn’t you already see the result of my battle against Thanatos?" Frey replied.
"That should be more than enough proof."
But Kalameet shook his head.
"I did not witness it with my own eyes."
"Your achievements mean nothing to me."
"I see..." Frey lifted his sword.
"Then come."
That was all Kalameet needed.
Their duel began.
Since it was only a sparring match, neither of them fought with the intent to kill.
And although that greatly reduced the danger of the battle ...
before the eyes of both Fulghor and Snow...
Frey defeated Kalameet as well.
The Dragon Emperor fell to the ground before him.
Though his silver armor had protected him from injury ...
he had still been completely overpowered.
I’m at the peak of the fifth stage of SSS...
And he’s only at the third...
Kalameet thought, stunned.
Yet he surpassed me entirely...
Even raw physical strength was useless against him...
It was a total defeat.
"I hope that satisfies you," Frey said calmly as he stepped back ..
only to find another figure standing before him.
The towering giant ...
Fulghor.
"Allow me to be your next opponent," the ancient war general of the Shadow Sect said in a deep voice.
Frey frowned slightly.
"You too..."
He sighed, raising his sword once more.
"Go easy on me, if you would."
"I doubt I can keep up with your overwhelming aura reserves."
Fulghor shook his head, forming a golden dual spear from his power.
"Not at all."
"Your strength far surpasses mine."
There was genuine respect in his voice.
Then—
he stepped forward.
Their clash was far more intense this time, due to Fulghor’s immense size and vast aura.
Yet the outcome did not change.
Even the giant was brought down in the end.
It was as if defeating Frey... had become impossible.
The four of them spent some time together afterward.
Exchanging blows.
Sharing experience.
They were, after all, the final battle squad of the Shadow Sect.
Later, Abraham joined them and sparred with several of them as well.
They talked.
And among them, Kalameet spoke the most .. bringing out his drink as he recounted tales of his past wars.
Fulghor, in turn, shared many stories of the ancient Nameless Sect, while each of them boasted of their own achievements and battles.
Frey, Snow... even Abraham ...
felt humble in the face of such overwhelming experience.
After all, they had lived only a fraction of the years compared to the others.
But that did not stop them from bonding.
It was a long night ...
one that came just before the beginning of the battle that would decide everything.