Journey to Become the Zenith

Heaven-Splitting End

”Azriel, I admit that I have reached my limit in this battle. So I hope you can grant me a favor.” Anos spoke as his sword faded into nothingness. Azriel looked at him in interest, he could pretty much guess what Anos wanted from him.

The white world inside the soul realm had become filled with countless scars from their battle. Cracks stretched across the empty ground while traces of destroyed mana still floated in the air like fading mist. The pressure left behind from their clash lingered heavily across the surroundings.

Anos stood quietly in the middle of the battlefield.

His breathing had become rough.

Cuts covered his body, and dark blood slowly dripped from his fingertips onto the white ground beneath him. Yet despite his battered state, excitement still burned brightly inside his golden eyes.

He had lost completely.

There was no denying it.

Even after Azriel lowered his strength to match his level, the difference between them still felt overwhelming.

Every attack.

Every movement.

Every counter.

Perfect.

Anos had never fought someone like this before.

Not dragons.

Not heroes.

Not ancient beings.

None of them had ever made him feel such a terrifying difference in pure combat ability.

Yet strangely enough—

He enjoyed every second of it.

Azriel slowly rested Chaos over one shoulder while Serenity spun lightly in his other hand. His black hair swayed gently despite the stillness of the white world, while his crimson eyes stared directly at Anos with clear amusement.

”Hmm... Alright then what’s the favor.”

Anos slowly exhaled.

Then he lifted his head.

”Can you finish me off with all your power. I wish to witness the full extent of your might.”

For a brief moment—

Silence.

Then suddenly—

Azriel laughed loudly.

”Hahahahaha!”

The sound echoed across the empty soul realm.

His laughter carried pure excitement.

Pure madness.

Pure battle hunger.

He pointed one of his swords toward Anos while grinning viciously.

”You really are one of us.”

Anos snorted.

”Should I take that as praise or an insult?”

”Both.”

That answer made Anos laugh slightly despite his exhausted state.

Azriel slowly stopped laughing before his expression became sharper.

Dangerous.

Excited.

Like a predator finally being given permission to unleash itself completely.

He understood exactly why Anos requested this.

Anyone who walked the path of strength would eventually desire the same thing.

To witness the peak.

To see how far power could truly reach.

”Very well my junior, witness my might!” Azriel threw the two normal short swords and then materialized Chaos and Serenity. He then held his beloved swords in a reverse grip as he brought them up near his chest. Once he got into this stance Azriel released everything he had from his mana and his aura. He clad the jet black Chaos with all his mana, and the calming blue blade Serenity with all his mysterious energy.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The entire white world shook violently.

Anos’ eyes widened.

Pressure descended from every direction like the collapse of the heavens themselves.

The moment Azriel stopped suppressing himself, the atmosphere changed completely.

The surrounding space distorted endlessly around him.

The white world trembled as if it could no longer endure his existence.

The black sword Chaos radiated terrifying destruction. Dark mana wrapped around the blade like a living abyss that wanted to devour everything.

Meanwhile Serenity glowed with a beautiful blue radiance that felt calm yet incomparably dangerous.

The two opposing powers should have conflicted with each other.

Yet under Azriel’s control—

They existed in perfect harmony.

The moment he did this, Azriel’s very presence felt like it could crush everything in existence. It was a very beautiful sight to behold as the both the black and blue sword shined brightly with mana and aura.

Anos stared silently at the sight before him.

His heartbeat accelerated.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

Even after living countless battles as Demon Lord Anos, he had never witnessed mana reach such a terrifying level.

The black mana surrounding Chaos had become visible to the naked eye.

Not because of any special ability.

Not because of magic perception.

But because the density itself had surpassed normal understanding.

The mana twisted around the blade like physical darkness.

Anos who witnessed the sight couldn’t help but show a very excited smile, as his heart started beating faster. He saw the mana that formed on one of the swords could actually be discerned by the naked eye. Mana was usually invisible and someone could only see it, if that person uses a technique or if the person was born with the ability to see it. Others could only sense mana, but never see it. Yet here in front of him was a mana so strong that it gained physical shape and appeared before him.

Anos then shifted his gaze toward Serenity.

The blue energy surrounding it felt entirely different from mana.

It was calm.

Silent.

Yet somehow it made his instincts scream louder than the black mana itself.

Anos narrowed his eyes slightly.

”What exactly is that power?”

Replace that part with this version instead:

Azriel glanced toward Serenity for a brief moment after hearing Anos’ question.

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

But he said nothing.

The vampire emperor merely tightened his reverse grip on the glowing blue blade before shifting his stance slightly. His crimson eyes sharpened once more as overwhelming pressure rolled off his body like an endless tide.

It was clear he had no intention of answering.

Anos frowned slightly at the reaction, but he did not continue asking. Right now, his instincts were screaming at him to focus entirely on Azriel’s movements instead of meaningless curiosity.

Because right now—

None of that mattered.

Only the attack before him mattered.

Anos also noticed that the other sword was being enveloped by that unknown power, he saw Azriel use. It would seem that the unknown power was something as dangerous as mana.

Seeing the two different kinds of powers being used to their fullest made Anos really exhilarated as his adrenaline pumped. Still, even though he knew that he had no chance, Anos decided to use every bit of strength he has to defend against the incoming attack. He wasn’t going to win, but that doesn’t mean he should stop trying.

A grin slowly appeared on Anos’ face.

”Yes...”

Black mana exploded violently from his body.

”If I’m going down... then at least let me struggle properly.”

BOOOOM!!

Layer after layer of barriers appeared around him.

Massive black magic circles expanded one after another.

”Abyss Fortress.”

”Nether King’s Wall.”

”Dark Sovereign Domain.”

Thousands of layers formed instantly around his body. Each barrier contained enough defensive power to survive catastrophic magic attacks.

Anos then surrounded himself in a barrier with multiple layers. He then strengthened the barrier with everything he had.

Sweat rolled down his face.

His arms trembled slightly from mana exhaustion.

Yet his smile never disappeared.

Because deep inside—

He was excited.

Truly excited.

Azriel slowly spread both arms outward.

Chaos radiated endless destruction.

Serenity shone with calm blue brilliance.

Then—

Azriel smiled.

”Are you ready my junior! This is my strongest attack! HEAVENS DESTRUCTION!” Azriel stretched out both his arms to the side, and then slashed at Anos.

The attack looked deceptively simple.

No massive explosion.

No giant beam.

Just—

One slash.

A black-blue cross cut through space itself.

The moment the attack appeared—

The entire soul realm froze.

Silence swallowed everything.

Then—

Crack.

Space distorted violently.

Anos felt something impossible happening around him.

The attack was not traveling normally.

It felt as though distance itself no longer mattered.

The moment Azriel’s attack was about to reach, Anos felt a distortion of space was happening. He couldn’t confirm it but he somehow felt it.

His barriers did not explode.

They did not crack.

The slash simply ignored them entirely.

Azriel’s attack was actually able to bypass his barrier without a problem. Anos then felt that he had been sliced in half, after that he felt that his entire body was being disintegrated into nothing. Afterwards everything turned black.