Void Evolution System

"Park Jinho, it has been a long time since we last met."

"Not long enough in my opinion. If I could go my entire life without seeing you once, I would be content."

"Don't be like that. Aren't we practically brothers after all the times we've fought until this point?"

"I would never form brotherhood with a demon like you."

While Damien was stuck in thought on the ground, the Saint Emperor and the Commander conversed.

In truth, neither of them wanted to have this conversation, but they were forced by the circumstance.

The first to move would be the one to lose.

But at the same time, the Saint Emperor couldn't afford to stay still.

'The situation is getting dangerous. There is no merit in staying past my welcome if that boy is able to complete his convoluted endeavor.'

Calypto's World Core needed to be saved, but his life was more important. At the end of the day, he was still an Emperor, and regardless of what happened, the repercussions he faced wouldn't be too harsh.

'Nevertheless, I must at least put in some effort. If I am able to reach the boy before he reaches the most critical landmark, the mission can still be said to be accomplished.'

While Park Jinho was stalling for time, the Saint Emperor was taking time to himself to think.

What was the most ideal path forward from this point?

Or rather…

'Which path will make this war more interesting…?'

The Saint Emperor already knew the answer.

"…this is why I've always hated you the most. That disgusting snake-like personality of yours is truly the worst."

The Saint Emperor returned his attention to Park Jinho who'd just finished speaking and sighed.

"I'm tired of this. I can't believe I stooped so low as to entertain the conversations of ants."

He didn't need more time to understand what he wanted.

The Saint Emperor placed his hand in the air and pushed forward.

'Execution Ring.'

The inky black mana emitted from his body was different from that of other Nox.

Unlike them, he truly explored its properties.

Corrosion? That wasn't a property of Nox Mana, but a side effect.

After all, Nox Mana was merely…

A pathway of black light formed between Park Jinho and the Saint Emperor. Once it enveloped them, it spread in all directions until multiple hundreds of kilometers were encased in a thick tinted glass-like dome.

"This is an entertaining ability that I rarely use. Until you die or I release the barrier, nobody can leave. Won't that make our match more amusing?"

"I can't expect anything more from scum like you."

Park Jinho's eyes were solemn. Not only were the two of them enveloped in the life-or-death arena, Damien was as well.

And with such limited space…

'Protecting him just became much harder.'

'Path Extinction.'

Park Jinho wasn't allowed to entertain his thoughts for very long. A beam of black light shot through the air and exterminated anything in its path as it rushed towards him.

It was in front of his eyes before he could even process it.

'Flex Shield: Maximum Capacity!'

A hastily constructed shield of water appeared before Park Jinho. The black light beam impacted it, and despite the water's seeming weakness, it held up perfectly against the assault.

"I see you have reached the stage of altering your element! Not bad!"

The Saint Emperor grinned as he flew through the air. His hands moved slowly, but every ounce of their movement seemed to contain endless profundities.

'Collapsing Darkness.'

It was a move that represented the relationship between light and darkness. Without the presence of light…

Darkness collapsed on itself and multiplied.

A wave of black energy appeared and charged forth like a tsunami. Its form was basic, but Park Jinho could clearly feel the energy of extermination within.

'His Laws are convoluted. He can mimic the properties of other Laws within his own, but the foundation will always be Death Laws.'

Death Laws were powerful, but extremely hard to develop. People with affinity towards them were disregarded in their growth stage, but if they managed to reach maturity…

'15 minutes will be difficult.'

Park Jinho gathered his mana and drew a pair of twin swords from his spatial ring.

'Separation of Heaven and Earth.'

Thick streams of strangely blue water swirled around the twin swords as Park Jinho dashed forward. His body twisted in a lithe manner that didn't match his figure at all, but somehow, he was able to cut through the air like an experienced dancer and weave through the Saint Emperor's deathly attack.

His swords slashed out with fury. The strange water coating the blades created arcs through the air that didn't disappear for many seconds, and even when they did, the water's aura remained.

Bang!

Park Jinho made first contact with the Saint Emperor. His blades slashed into the latter's skin, but were stopped before making too much progress.

"You think a weak attack like that will stop me?"

The Saint Emperor pulled his fist back and let off a punch like cannon fire. The atmosphere boomed from his speed, and roared even louder upon impact.

BANG!

Park Jinho was sent flying with an indent in his face, but his eyes never closed. Even though his assault failed, he was able to garner a good amount of information from the exchange.

'First off, close combat is his specialty.'

Park Jinho swerved his body and avoided the Saint Emperor's meteoric falling punch. He slashed his blades out to meet the man's fists, creating a sound like metal clashing against metal as they flew apart.

'Secondly, his Laws are geared towards extermination.'

If even a single strand of that mana was allowed to run free in his body, Park Jinho would be incinerated. He needed to exercise the utmost caution as he fought, making sure to expel any intruding mana in his body even as he focused on the battle.

Strange blue water collected in the air and manifested into multiple projectiles. They shot at the Saint Emperor like a swarm of locusts, restraining his nonevents severely.

Park Jinho's eyes sharpened. His body twirled through the barrage of water projectiles and hid between the lines, approaching the Saint Emperor stealthily.

He was able to reach the enemy's flank within an instant.

'And thirdly…'

His blades struck out, but they didn't aim for the Saint Emperor at all.

Streams of mana raced through the atmosphere, and halfway through their descent to the earth, they clashed with an invisible force.

'He was never aiming for me.'

The point of collision was only a few meters away from Damien's head.

If that invisible force was allowed free reign, the young genius would already be dead, or the planet Calypto would be collapsed.

"Tch. You were able to figure it out so quickly. I should expect it from someone of your caliber though, shouldn't I?"

The Saint Emperor smilingly apple as if the entire ongoing battle was a joke to him.

And it might as well have been.

The Saint Emperor was a Demigod using an Avatar. Any fight against a lower existence was merely entertainment for him.

But for Park Jinho and Damien, this was a fight for survival.

"You don't have the luxury to split your attention. Focus on me if you wish to keep your Avatar in one piece."

Park Jinho spoke coldly as he flashed his blades.

15 minutes…

15 minutes was starting to seem a lot longer than it usually was.

As for Damien…

He was really starting to hate countdowns.