(Planet Juxta, The Sky Above, Raymond's POV)
Raymond observed the battle between Seraphine, Raghun, and Charles unfold with genuine confusion in his eyes, for he had not expected it to end the way it did.
The powerful Monarch duo had not even lasted a full minute against Charles, and the sight left him questioning what the true strength of this Cult man really was.
"Is Charles also a Demi-God in hiding? Is that why Soron has not come out to fight? Because he believes Charles alone is enough to handle me?"
Raymond wondered, as anger began to burn through his veins. He had already accepted death by Soron's hands today, yet what he could not accept was the thought of dying to Charles, for such an end was simply unworthy of the life he had lived.
And so, when he saw Charles blocking his ship with such defiance, his temper finally snapped.
"How dare that inferior blood block my ship? And kill my underlings with such blatant impudence?
I may die by Soron's hands today, but I'll make sure that I drag you to hell with me at the least!" Raymond snapped, as he stood up from his resting chair, and gestured for his men to open the ship's hull.
---
Charles felt Raymond's presence bearing down against his skin, even before he saw the Demi-God face to face, for Raymond's killing intent itself was so thick that it made it difficult for him to breathe normally.
Unlike the killing intent of Monarch's, or most normal warriors in the universe, Raymond's intent did not materialize as threads of crimson, or just a small pool of aura color sticking to his body.
Instead, his killing intent expanded in a wide expanse all around him, covering an entire region like a domain, within which, he controlled every aspect of a fight.
'So he's walking the Emperor's path just like Soron and Kaelith.
Damn, this fight just got significantly harder for me to crack—'
Charles thought, as he saw Raymond finally enter his line of sight.
The son of the Eternal Sovereign cut a striking figure even amidst the smoke and ruin of the Juxta skies.
His hair was jet black, slicked by the wind yet refusing to lose its shape, while his eyes were darker still, looking like two pits of abyssal black that mirrored no reflection and no light, only a depth that seemed bottomless.
He looked every inch like his father, the Eternal Sovereign, only younger, sharper at the edges, a blade that had yet to be dulled by the weight of centuries.
And around him, the killing intent that Charles felt so vividly earlier took visible shape, not as a haze or a flicker, but as a suffocating dome of red, pulsing like the heart of a living beast.
The aura stretched outward in a sphere that warped the very space it covered, turning the air heavy and the light distorted, as if the heavens themselves recoiled from his presence.
And within that domain, crimson currents licked against his skin like flames, coiling around his limbs, wrapping his shoulders and arms until it seemed less like aura and more like armor forged from blood and will.
Every motion he made tugged at the domain, bending it in harmony with his intent— a flex of fingers, and the crimson tide swelled; a tilt of his head, and the pressure shifted like a mountain turning its weight.
To stand against him was to stand in a world he owned completely, where even the wind and light answered only to his will and his will alone.
It reminded Charles of his duels with Soron in years past, when he too had felt the crushing mantle of an Emperor's aura, the kind that did not simply threaten but ruled.
And it was precisely because of those spars that Charles understood that within this blood-colored circle, Raymond was not merely a warrior, but rather the whole law.
"The Cult's Vice Sect Master..." Raymond's voice broke through the silence, low and cutting, each word laced with venom. "You're a pest we have wanted to kill for a long time now."
Raymond spat, as Charles gritted his teeth, sweat beading along his brow as he felt a compulsive pressure to kneel even though he did not want to.
'He has a strong will.... He has the Timeless Assassin's blood running through his veins for sure.'
Charles realized, as deep in his heart, he had expected no less— the son of the Eternal Sovereign was not a man who fought within the boundaries of reason.
He was the inheritor of this universe's strongest bloodline, and it showed in how strongly aura manifested around his body.
"Son of the universe's biggest backstabber. Raymond," Charles replied, his tone sharp though his voice wavered under the strain. "We have wanted to eliminate you for a long time as well—"
The words carried no bluster, no bravado, only the grim edge of honesty, yet even speaking them forced Charles's lungs to burn as though the domain itself sought to silence him.
Beads of sweat rolled freely now, sliding down his temples as he tightened the grip on his sword even more.
The pressure of facing a Demi-God was unlike any battlefield weight he had ever borne.
It was not merely power, but the promise of obliteration, the same suffocating certainty he used to taste often when sparring with Soron— only this time there was no spar, no hand held back.
This was life and death, a duel where the odds of him surviving were less than 2%.
"I'm curious, have you managed to break through into the Demi-God realm?
Because if not, it's extremely impressive for you to be standing upright before me.
Usually, Monarch's crumble under my aura, yet you look oddly fine...." Raymond questioned, his tone laced with genuine curiosity, as he tried to probe Charles's true strength, however, Charles merely chuckled at the stupid question.
"Do you really expect to give away my biggest secret just because you asked?
Son, you're dumber than I thought—
You want to know what my true realm is?
Why don't you come at me and find out!"
Charles replied, as he assumed his battle stance.
(More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)