Purple energy crawled across the surface of the Godbuster Armor, spreading from Arthur's chest to his shoulders, arms, legs, and finally across the helmet in a circuit-like pattern. The energy did not simply coat the armor, it sank into it, reinforcing every joint, every internal structure until the entire suit seemed to vibrate with suppressed power.
Behind Arthur, space distorted, and a pair of enormous purple wings unfolded silently, each feather shaped from pure Aether and sharpened like blades. At the same time, golden-white radiance gathered in his right hand, condensing into a sword made entirely of Holy and Light elemental energy.
The blade did not look solid in the normal sense, but its presence was undeniable, burning with a purity that made the demonic energy released by Malphas recoil instinctively. What Arthur was doing was not the full manifestation of Behemoth like when he fought Typhon, but a compressed version of it forced into the Godbuster Armor itself.
The original Behemoth construct possessed dozens of times his peak physical strength, but compressing that vast power into a human-sized frame naturally caused loss and instability. The strain on Arthur's body was enormous, his bones and muscles screamed beneath the pressure, but that pain was suppressed by Pain Tolerance.
Due to Adaptive Evolution he was able to turn the strain on his body into fuel for his growth, forcing his body to adjust second by second. Right now, with this compressed form, he possessed enough raw strength to blow apart a moon and more, yet even that power still fell short before the blood-red monster floating ahead of him.
Chen Yuze's eyes widened despite himself when he saw the transformation. He had already guessed that Arthur was far from simple, but seeing him wield Light elemental power while wearing an armor artifact that radiated power unlike anything he had seen before still shook him.
The light element was not only rare, but also the purity of Arthur's light was different. It carried something almost sacred, something that instinctively opposed the creature before them almost like he was from the Celestial Sect.
Chen widened his eyes as he came to that conclusion but he suppressed his questions immediately because this was not the time to ask why an artifact refiner from a small shop could suddenly turn into a purple-winged war machine with a Light elemental sword in his hand.
A long spear appeared in Chen Yuze's hand, its shaft covered in intricate silver formation marks while the spearhead released waves of condensed immortal spiritual energy. His aura surged outward, reaching the level of a Great Eternity Immortal, and the surrounding space trembled under the pressure.
Across from them, Malphas slowly turned his head, his burning eyes moving from Chen Yuze to Arthur's sword. The savage smile on his face disappeared the moment he sensed the Holy and Light elements condensed within the blade. His expression twisted into rage. "Light," he snarled, his voice filled with hatred. "You carry the stench of those Celestial bastards."
Arthur tightened his grip on the sword and replied calmly, "Good to know it bothers you." Then he shot forward. Chen Yuze moved at the same time, and the two crossed the distance like twin meteors tearing through the sky of the secret realm.
Malphas roared and charged toward them instead of retreating, blood-red energy exploding from his body in waves. The first collision happened so fast that the crater below cracked even wider.
Boom!
Chen's spear struck Malphas's claw with a metallic boom that sent shockwaves rolling across the molten ground, while Arthur appeared from the opposite side and slashed toward Malphas's ribs.
The blood demon twisted unnaturally, his spine bending beyond humanoid limits as he avoided the Holy Light Sword by a hair's breadth. At the same moment, a tendril of blood erupted from his shoulder and lashed toward Arthur's helmet like a whip.
Arthur raised his left arm, letting the tendril strike the Godbuster Armor directly. The impact was immense, enough to flatten mountains, but the armor absorbed most of the kinetic force and devoured part of the energy within the attack. Arthur did not even move back, his purple wings flared with intense energy to blind Malphas, and he countered with a kick that slammed into Malphas's abdomen, folding the demon's body slightly and launching him backward.
Chen Yuze did not miss the opening. His spear multiplied into hundreds of afterimages, each one carrying real killing intent as they rained down toward Malphas. The blood demon crossed his arms, and a shield of condensed blood formed before him.
The spear shadows struck the shield repeatedly, each impact blasting apart chunks of crimson energy, but Malphas regenerated the barrier as quickly as it was damaged. Then his eyes flashed, and Chen suddenly felt his blood churn violently inside his veins.
His expression changed slightly as Malphas's Blood Manipulation tried to seize control of his blood circulation, forcing his heart to stutter for half a beat. That tiny disruption was enough for Malphas to break through the spear storm and swing one claw toward Chen's chest.
Arthur appeared between them instantly, and blocked the claw with his forearm. The strike produced a deafening clang, but the Godbuster Armor remained spotless. Arthur was slammed back for tens of kilometers, but he teleported back to the fight and his eyes narrowed beneath the helmet as he felt Malphas was trying to affect his blood flow.
His blood pressure spiked, and his veins tightened as if invisible hands were squeezing his circulatory system. For a moment, his movements slowed, but Adaptive Evolution activated almost immediately, analyzing the foreign influence and adjusting his body's internal control. His cells, vessels, and energy pathways hardened against external manipulation, and within seconds the effect weakened drastically.
"He can manipulate blood flow," Arthur warned telepathically, his voice entering Chen Yuze's mind cleanly despite the chaos. "Don't let him maintain focus during the battle for too long."
Chen Yuze's reply came just as quickly, calm but tense. "I noticed, his raw power is slightly above mine, but his regeneration is absurd. I can injure him, but he heals before the damage could give me a window to attack further."
Arthur's gaze remained locked on Malphas as the demon tore free from their pressure and spread both arms. Blood erupted from the wounds Chen had inflicted, but instead of falling, it transformed into hundreds of crimson needles suspended in the air.
"Then I'll be the damage dealer," Arthur replied. "My sword can hurt him in a way his regeneration fails. You suppress his movement and I'll take him down piece by piece."
Chen Yuze glanced at the Holy Light Sword in Arthur's hand and understood instantly. "It's risky but doable."
Arthur's purple wings flexed as he warped back to dodge the blood needles. "Yeah, but that is the only choice we've got until reinforcements arrive."
Malphas screamed, and all the remaining blood needles shot toward them from every direction. Chen Yuze spun his spear, creating a rotating barrier of immortal spiritual energy that shattered thousands of needles into red mist.
Arthur flew straight through the rest while continuously teleporting. But it was impossible to avoid all of them without leaving the battlefield as Malphas was at the centre of the storm. So some of the needles exploded against him like bullets, but not a single one pierced through.
The Godbuster Armor absorbed most of the impact and energy, converting part of it into energy for him to use while he accelerated towards Malphas. Still the needles were interfering with his flight path as they packed quite heavy punches.
He finally appeared above Malphas and brought the Holy Light Sword down in a vertical slash while forcing through the blood needles trying to push him back. Malphas raised his arm to block, clearly expecting his blood armor to resist like before, but the golden-white blade cut through the crimson defense as if it were paper.
The sword bit into Malphas's forearm and carved a deep wound across his flesh. The blood demon's eyes widened. For the first time since the fight began, genuine pain crossed his face. White light clung to the injury, burning the surrounding blood and preventing it from closing properly.
Malphas recoiled with a furious roar. "Impossible! How can a lower creature like you hurt me?!"
Arthur did not answer but he had added spatial attributes to the sword at the last second to take Malphas by surprise. He pressed forward immediately, slashing again toward Malphas's neck. The demon barely leaned back in time, but Chen Yuze appeared behind him like a phantom and thrust his spear into Malphas's back.
The first strike broke through the blood armor and the second strike pierced his flesh, forcing Malphas forward directly into Arthur's range. Arthur twisted his body and cut across Malphas's chest, leaving a burning line that refused to regenerate.
Malphas howled, his rage shaking the crater. Blood exploded outward from his body in a violent sphere, forcing Chen Yuze back several hundred meters and pushing Arthur away despite the armor absorbing most of the impact.
The demon clutched his chest, watching in disbelief as the wound continued burning with a blue gold flame. His blood surged around it, trying to repair the damage, but every attempt was purified and destroyed by the lingering holy energy and Origin flame added to the strike.
"You…" Malphas's voice dropped into something colder and more murderous. "You are the one who took my Immortal flame!"
To that Arthur remained silent as his hold over his Light sword wreathed in bluish golden flame tightened.
***
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