"BOOOOOOO000000000000000000000MMMMMMMMM
MM!"
A massive purple blast engulfed Cain's figure-and did not stop there. The explosion spread outward in a devastating wave, consuming dozens of buildings as it surged through the dark city, setting entire districts ablaze. Towers collapsed, streets shattered, and the night itself seed to ignite beneath the sheer imnsity of the attack.
It was an assault powerful enough to incinerate a normal Late Alpha-Oga Overgod into ashes.
That was why the Curse Eaters froze in shock.
From within the inferno, the Scarlet King rose.
The left side of Cain's body had been completely consud. Flesh and muscle were gone, leaving bone exposed-yet even that bone remained unbroken, gleaming faintly amid the flas. Purple fire surged over his fra as the power of the Samsara Rebirth Set activated, reconstructing what had been lost. Organs reford. Muscle regenerated. Skin followed soon after.
Sozing frowned deeply as he watched.
"He was supposed to be durable," he muttered, disbelief heavy in his voice. "But this... this is madness. It would have been easier to level an entire Empyrean World than to shatter a body like that."
Still, the attack had not been futile.
Sharp light appeared in the eyes of both Sozing and Bako as they noticed sothing crucial-the purple flas were struggling. The regeneration of Cain's extremities slowed, the reconstruction of his fingers visibly lagging. For the first ti, the Scarlet King's overwhelming regenerative ability showed signs of strain.
Cain glanced down at his arm, watching as the final fingers took
longer to reform. A solemn light flickered in his eyes.
The battlefield froze for a mont.
Cain lifted his gaze from the Curse Eaters and looked toward the sky. Above the shattered city, thunder continued to rage beyond the do, violent and unrelenting.
"I must say," Cain spoke calmly, his voice carrying through the devastation, "I comnd your bravery. Marching here just to kill - knowing full well that you will die as well."
Sozing's eyes widened slightly.
Before he could deny it, Cain continued.
"The thunder beyond the do-that is the Will of the Universe. It is raging. You and your kind are considered blood enemies, your essence embedded into the very matrix of this universe. That allows it to use all of its power to destroy you."
A small smile appeared on Cain's face as realization settled fully in his mind.
"That is why you rarely appear in your true forms," he continued. "And even when you do, you rely on disguises or vessels that limit your power. The mont you set foot in the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe, the universe itself triggers endless tribulations to erase you."
Sozing clenched his fists with all his strength.
A creeping sense of terror crawled into his heart. The longer he faced Cain, the more he realized just how monstrous the Scarlet King truly was-and how great a threat he posed to the Curse Eaters as a whole.
Still, Sozing did not lose his composure.
Instead, he smiled.
"I'm glad it was who ca," he said quietly. "The others might not have been strong enough-but I will succeed."
Cain t his gaze and nodded.
"You are admirable," he replied. "I will make sure to destroy your consciousness the mont it enters my throne, so you won't have to suffer unnecessarily."
The auras of the Scarlet King and the Curse Eaters of the Tenth Empyrean World surged violently, climbing higher and higher as they prepared to enter the next phase of their battle-one that promised to be brief, yet unimaginably explosive.
"BOOOOOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOM!"
Explosion after explosion echoed through the dark city. Buildings more durable than normal Alpha-Oga Overgods treasures shattered into fragnts as three flashes streaked across the battlefield.
Cain twisted his back at an impossible angle, narrowly dodging the blade ford from Bako's arm. He countered imdiately, slashing with his open left hand and releasing an ocean of invisible cuts infused with Zero-State Force.
Those slashes could sever nearly anything in the universe.
Yet Bako endured.
None of the attacks reached his internal organs. His body shifted, adapted once more, neutralizing the damage before it could beco
fatal.
Cain's eyes narrowed, but his focus did not waver.
At the last possible instant, he twisted again, gripping Sozing's wrist
and forcing the human Curse Eater's hand upward just as a wave of repulsive force detonated. At the sa heartbeat, Cain drove a brutal kick into Sozing's stomach, blasting him into the distance.
For a single mont, Cain and Bako stood alone.
They clashed imdiately.
The Scarlet King and the towering Curse Eater exchanged blows at
terrifying speed, their arms blurring as countless shockwaves erupted around them. The battlefield cracked and warped beneath the force
of their collision.
Then Cain's eyes ignited.
Golden light flared, matching the scarlet glow of the Power of Chaos.
The index and middle fingers of both his hands flashed forward with blinding speed, striking twenty-three precise points across Bako's
body.
Bako froze.
A heartbeat later, all twenty-three points detonated simultaneously.
The Flow Art surged through Bako's interior, blasting through his insides as twenty-three of his Thirty-Three Stars exploded in unison. His massive form trembled violently, hovering on the brink of collapse.
Cain did not hesitate.
But just as he moved to deliver the finishing blow, an attractive force seized his body, slamming him into the ground.
Cain clenched his teeth as he turned his head.
Sozing stood in the distance, blood streaming from his eyes, both
hands extended and trembling as he restrained Cain with sheer force. At the sa ti, Bako roared, channeling all the damage he had suffered into his arm cannon once more.
The faces in the arm glowed brilliantly.
It locked onto Cain.
And fired.
Cain's eyes widened as he realized he could not move.
"I won't be able to regenerate from another attack at this level."
The looming threat of death forced Cain's power to surge beyond its
limits. The golden glow of the Flow burned brighter than the scarlet
light of Chaos itself-if only for a mont. Then, just as the cannon was about to strike-
A vortex manifested inside Cain's left eye.
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