Unlike Asher, Krampus did not escape the clash unscathed.
The demon's right arm, though not fatally wounded, bore unmistakable injuries that could not be avoided.
Asher merely stared at him in silence, then increased his power further, ready for the next clash.
This time, it was Krampus's turn to act.
The battle-hungry demon shot toward Asher like a rocket. Pink flames, hotter than even lava, enveloped his body and seemed to propel his charge, enhancing his explosive force.
In mere seconds, Krampus reached his target and swung his claw, surrounded once more by pink flames.
As soon as he reached Asher and launched his attack, the pink flames erupted from his body like never before, as if he himself were a volcano. Behind him, they merged into the image of a gigantic devil whose claws followed Krampus and struck at his enemy as well.
Execution of Devil's Flames!
Asher remained perfectly calm and met the attack without moving an inch or even flinching.
The halberd floating beside him, however, began to move—as if it had a will of its own and was a living being.
In a flash, the halberd swung horizontally on its own and collided with Krampus.
Divinity burst forth from the blade, illuminating the sky with golden, gleaming light.
Heaven's Enlightenment!
The clash between the flaming claw and the halberd once again produced a massive explosion of energy—pink and golden—splitting the sky and sending shockwaves in all directions of the world.
But unlike the previous exchange, this clash did not end after a single blow.
Between the two combatants—the fiery demon Krampus, engulfed in pink flames, and the halberd brimming with divinity—a fierce exchange of blows began.
The halberd moved on its own, parrying every strike from the demon and even counterattacking as he tried to break through and strike Asher.
But he simply couldn't get past the halberd, which seemed to protect its master by itself.
It appeared to be a one-sided spectacle, with the demon at a disadvantage.
But then, Krampus suddenly increased his speed. His attacks became not only faster but also stronger.
Though each of his blows was still parried by the halberd, it was clearly under pressure and being forced back.
After suppressing its counterattacks and pushing it back, he even began targeting the halberd directly with individual strikes, disrupting its rhythm—which he succeeded in doing.
"Hahaha! That's it!" Krampus laughed in delight, experiencing the best time of his life. "Looks like I'd better give it my all, or I'll be struck down by accident!"
Suddenly, his energy erupted as never before, reaching its absolute limit.
Krampus's entire body ignited in pink flames. His size began to grow until he towered over twenty meters high, clearly dwarfing Asher like a mountain before an elephant.
Next, the image of the devil formed from pink flames behind him began to merge with him, bringing his power to its peak.
True Demon of Hell!
The now enormous fire demon swung his flaming claws at Asher once again, instantly breaking through the halberd's defense.
Krampus wasted no time exploiting the moment of "vulnerability" and immediately launched his next attack on Asher.
He raised his hand and unleashed massive torrents of pink flames, which continued to rise as he hurled them directly at Asher.
Cruel Hellfire!
Asher's eyebrows twitched slightly. He immediately recognized the severity of the next attack and shifted from his relaxed posture.
While silently gazing at the approaching torrent of gathered pink flames, he reached for the sword at his waist and slowly drew it.
With every centimeter the blade left its scabbard, an increasingly overwhelming and terrifying aura of void and doom burst forth, plunging the world into absolute silence—as if every living being forgot to breathe for a moment and watched the acts of the Creator God in awe.
The Creator's movement seemed unfathomably slow, and yet Krampus—along with the mass of flames—did not move a single inch as Asher drew his sword, as if time itself had frozen.
Finally, the blade left the scabbard entirely and was casually swung from bottom to top toward the flames and Krampus.
Void Slash!
The slash, imbued with the Law of the Void, effortlessly cut through the pink mass of fire and even the atmosphere itself, allowing it to pass by Asher without burning a single hair on his body.
Krampus was astonished as he saw the massive flames he had conjured so easily cleaved apart and vanish—without even touching his foe.
"Very well. You forced me to draw my sword. I couldn't have expected more… Well, had you failed to provoke me even a little, I would have erased your existence anyway," Asher said almost playfully.
While speaking calmly, Asher sheathed his sword again and assumed a relaxed posture in midair. Then he stretched out his hand and grasped the halberd that hovered beside him.
"Now it's my turn. I shall show you my true power, as you wished. If you survive it, I will allow you to live."
Asher spoke with a tyrannical tone, as if he stood above all life.
At the same time, massive amounts of divine power erupted from within him and began to rise endlessly, illuminating the surroundings like a second sun.
Suddenly, an unexpected ecstatic grin spread across his face, overwhelmed by emotions of excitement as he finally let his power run free.
At the sight of that terrifying, aroused grin and the unrestrained bloodlust—which could very well darken the heavens—Krampus felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had become the prey of a predator.
He instinctively took a step back, momentarily speechless and utterly overwhelmed by the murderous aura and immense energy radiating from Asher.
But in the next moment, pink flames erupted once again.
As if reacting to his shaken state of mind, the pink flames ignited on Krampus's body and snapped him out of his daze.
"Damn it, what is this?! I'm actually feeling fear... How long has it been since that happened…?"
Krampus was now more astonished than afraid, feeling a fear he hadn't experienced in a very long time.
Yet instead of being overwhelmed by it, the demon revealed an equally ecstatic grin, full of excitement and anticipation for another exhilarating confrontation.
While he controlled the pink flames around him and condensed them into a kind of armor, Asher made his move.
The Creator God channeled his divinity, gathering it entirely into the tip of his halberd, and slowly swung it. This time, the aura it emitted took on a deep, dark hue, radiating a sense of death.
It was as though all life was being led to the gates of the afterlife, and the breath of death tickled their necks.
Finally, he unleashed an unparalleled strike in Krampus's direction, and the sky darkened—for a millisecond, the entire world fell into shadow.
Inescapable Death!
A strike imbued with the Law of Death struck Krampus.
The blow was executed so quickly that he wouldn't have noticed it at all if he hadn't known it was coming and prepared for it.
Fortunately, Krampus had expected that this attack would be overwhelming and had used every last bit of his strength to defend himself.
Krampus, surrounded by layers of pink flames that could normally withstand the destructive power of multiple atomic bombs, was plunged into deep darkness.
It was as if a black brushstroke had swept across a white canvas.
This darkness lingered for a short time before it finally faded, revealing Krampus and the horizon behind him.
Krampus still hovered in the air, but he was unrecognizable. The pink flames that had enveloped him were extinguished, his body had shrunk back to its former size of over three meters, and he was utterly battered.
He was now nothing more than a tattered lump of flesh floating in the air. From his left shoulder to his right leg, he was missing entire limbs, and blood flowed continuously downward.
It was a miracle he was still alive.
Even though he was now in such a state, Krampus was anything but weak. He stood on the mystical rank of the universal ranking, only one tier below Asher, who resided on the planetary rank in terms of power.
He also comprehended a Law of Reality that granted him strength.
But the difference between a god who not only comprehended multiple Laws of Reality but had even mastered one and made it his core—and a mortal who had ascended to the mystical rank on his own—was simply too vast. It was not something Krampus could overcome.
Cough! Cough! Krampus spat blood and seemed to struggle to assess his condition, dazed.
Cough~ I-I'm still alive…?! He was so disoriented and his brain so fried that he could barely comprehend his own situation. Though his thoughts were spinning and he stood there absent-mindedly, he realized he had somehow survived.
"Yes, it is impressive. Even though I hardly held back, you managed to survive," Asher praised him coldly. He crossed his arms and continued, "Very well then. Since I've won, tell me at last about this place you call the Abyss."
…
Krampus nodded in agreement without saying a word.
After some time, Krampus's wounds had mostly healed—at least on the surface. Although his two-meter-tall body appeared recovered, he lacked all strength and could barely communicate or move properly.
In his current state, it was impossible to predict when he would be able to fight again—let alone fully restore his energy.
Once he had recovered somewhat from his injuries, the two landed in a remote valley, as the area they had previously battled in was utterly destroyed and ravaged.
After the two—Creator God and Demon of the Abyss—had landed in a valley untouched by their battle and Krampus had somewhat healed, he began, as agreed, to tell Asher about the Abyss.
Asher listened silently to what Krampus had to say and processed every piece of information he received in seconds, like a supercomputer.
However, he quickly realized that with each new piece of information, he was increasingly surprised and astonished—and had not expected how deeply the Abyss was connected to Earth.
The Abyss. It was a seemingly endless world composed of multiple layers. These layers were vast—larger than many planets. Each layer had its own ecosystem and various races and creatures that inhabited it.
The layer on which Asher and Krampus currently stood seemed to be home to the demons of the Abyss, who, incidentally, did not differ much from the demons of Hell—except that, like all Abyssal creatures, they used natural energies similar to mana, instead of demonic power.
What he also learned about the demons was that this layer of the Abyss, where they lived, was apparently ruled by one of the most powerful beings in the Abyss.
The Demon God.
According to Krampus, he was a being who existed on the stellar rank, a tier above Asher's in the universal ranking.
This so-called Demon God, however, was said to be only one of three great rulers of the Abyss.
Not only was there one such being in the Abyss that surpassed Asher—there were supposedly three, each possessing immense power.
But the origin of the Abyss was even more surprising.
From what Asher gathered from Krampus, the Abyss was said to be an autonomous world that had existed in a deserted galaxy, without any life or creator—and could survive without any external support, such as a sun.
The Abyss seems like an independent space…
Asher noticed this, but he also knew well that no independent space could exist without the creator who formed it—and so, that option was ruled out.
The exact origin of the Abyss remained a mystery—and not something he could uncover from a conversation with this battle-hungry demon.
But what mattered most was this: the Abyss was No Man's Land. It was ruled by its inhabitants and untouched by any Creator God. On top of that, it was a highly advanced world filled with powerful beings that any god would desire to subjugate.
Thus, a desire for this unknown place—akin to a hidden treasure trove—awakened within him.
I'm still too weak to desire this place. Only once I ascend further will I begin to unravel its secrets…
Asher knew he still lacked many things to even begin planning the conquest of the Abyss.
For now, it was important to clarify the things already at hand.
Because the final, and for Asher most important detail he learned was this: The Portals. For unknown reasons, wormholes would occasionally appear in this No Man's Land—the Abyss—and connect it to worlds from other galaxies.
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