The air between them collapsed first.
Not from impact—
From pressure.
Sebastian and Miasma moved at the same time.
Their fists met mid-air.
The shockwave detonated outward like a contained bomb finally set free.
Windows across the ruined district shattered.
The ground beneath them split in jagged fractures.
Neither stepped back.
Miasma's eyes glowed with ancient calm.
"You carry my blood," he said softly.
Sebastian twisted his arm, redirecting the force and countering with a knee strike aimed at Miasma's ribs.
"I carry my own will."
The strike connected.
But instead of bone—
Poison.
Miasma's body dissolved into vapor for a split second.
Sebastian's attack passed through.
The mist reformed behind him instantly.
A blade of condensed toxin formed in Miasma's hand and slashed downward.
Sebastian spun—
Too late.
The blade carved across his shoulder.
Poison exploded into his bloodstream.
For one heartbeat—
Silence.
Then Sebastian's veins flared bright beneath his skin.
The toxin burned away like it had struck living fire.
Miasma's expression shifted slightly.
"Interesting."
Sebastian lunged forward again, faster now.
This time he didn't strike at the body.
He struck the space around it.
His palm slammed into the air beside Miasma—
And the atmosphere imploded.
Compression.
The poison around them condensed violently, crushed inward by invisible force.
Miasma was forced back several meters as the mist shattered apart.
From WHU headquarters, the heroes watched in stunned silence.
"He's compressing the field itself…"
Asher stared without blinking.
Miasma raised both hands slowly.
The poison on the battlefield responded like an ocean pulled by gravity.
It rose into the sky.
A dark spiral forming overhead.
"You rely on force," Miasma said calmly.
"I am the origin."
The spiral crashed down like a collapsing storm.
Sebastian crossed his arms.
Impact.
The earth caved beneath him.
A crater formed instantly.
For several seconds, nothing was visible but churning black toxin.
Inside the crater—
Sebastian knelt on one knee.
His breathing heavy.
The poison was thicker here.
Denser.
It tried to invade from every direction.
He clenched his fist.
The air around him compressed again.
Boom.
The entire crater detonated outward.
Sebastian launched upward through the collapsing poison cloud and appeared directly above Miasma.
This time—
He didn't hesitate.
His fist drove down with enough force to bend gravity itself.
Miasma raised an arm to block.
The collision sent a shockwave across the skyline.
Buildings already damaged finally collapsed.
Both were thrown backward.
They landed simultaneously.
Neither smiling now.
Miasma's body began to change.
The mist no longer floated gently around him.
It fused.
His skin darkened slightly, veins glowing with concentrated toxin.
"Very well," he said quietly.
"If you wish to face me as I was one hundred years ago…"
The ground beneath his feet liquefied into black fluid.
"…then I will stop restraining myself."
In a blink—
He was in front of Sebastian.
Faster than before.
A punch drove into Sebastian's abdomen.
The impact cracked the air.
Sebastian coughed blood—
The first visible damage.
WHU fell silent.
Asher's hands clenched the console.
Miasma followed with a second strike.
Sebastian blocked—
But slid backward across broken asphalt.
Poison wrapped around his leg mid-movement and detonated.
He was thrown through a half-collapsed building.
Concrete rained down.
Dust filled the air.
For a moment—
Stillness.
Then the debris shifted.
Sebastian stepped out slowly.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
But his eyes—
Were calm.
"You're stronger than before," Miasma observed.
"And you're slower than you think," Sebastian replied.
He vanished again—
But this time the air screamed.
The compression field intensified beyond previous levels.
Everything within twenty meters bent inward.
The pressure forced even Miasma's poison to collapse under its own density.
Sebastian appeared directly in front of him.
Their foreheads nearly touching.
"This ends now."
He drove both palms forward.
A point-blank compression blast detonated.
For the first time—
Miasma was launched violently backward.
His body tore through three buildings before stopping.
The spiral of poison overhead destabilized.
Inside WHU—
Cheers almost erupted—
Until the mist began gathering again.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Miasma rose from the rubble.
A crack ran across his cheek.
Black liquid seeped from it.
He touched it.
Looked at it.
Then laughed quietly.
"Magnificent."
The crack healed instantly.
"You truly are my descendant."
Sebastian wiped blood from his mouth.
"I am not your continuation."
The sky darkened unnaturally.
Far above—
A presence stirred.
Not intervening.
Watching.
Sebastian felt it.
Lord.
Miasma felt it too.
But neither looked away.
The ground beneath them disintegrated again.
They launched at each other—
Fist meeting toxin blade—
Compression colliding with corruption—
Shockwaves stacking on shockwaves—
The battlefield dissolving around them.
This was no longer a fight for territory.
It was a fight for dominance of the future.
And neither intended to fall.