Void Evolution System

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Damien teleported to avoid the attacks.

He arrived at the side of the barrier, but Duke Horacio was already following him.

With his control over the surrounding snow and ice, he had an absolute awareness of his surroundings. Even the slightest of spatial fluctuations could be sensed by him.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Damien put up several lens-shaped barriers. Infused with the power of Vector Control, they bounced back the debris that was hurling towards Damien at untold speeds.

BOOOOOOOM!

Taking the opportunity while he was busy blocking the Duke's attacks, the four Counts sped into range and attacked as well.

Damien gritted his teeth, his eyes flickering between them.

Count Verex's memories were helpful, but only to an extent. When it came to Dukes like Horacio, Verex knew as much as Damien did. The Dukes weren't people Counts could casually interact with.

It was different for other Counts. They were his direct competition, so Verex knew more about them than even they knew about themselves.

'Count Telebris, Count Zeas, Count Yuta, and Count Vettel.'

They weren't the best of the Counts, but they were all much stronger than Verex.

Their unique specialities all worked together, as they all had wind-related powers. That was why they could all attack and make it seem like the same attack was being thrown from all sides.

That was a misunderstanding. Their attacks may have looked the same, but each one had a different aim. If one was careless and assumed they were all the same, one would be severely injured without the ability to resist.

Well, that was the case for others.

Damien had no fear of the Counts. Not just because they were weaker than him, but also because they weren't his goal from the start.

He bent his knees and shot into the air.

The four Counts chased him, while Duke Horacio continued to impede him using the environment.

Damien's eyes were sharp.

Flying through the air was impossible right now. If he tried, he'd be torn to shreds by everything in the air trying to destroy him.

Damien was able to move because he could teleport.

No, rather, he was able to survive because of his connection to the spatial layers.

If he hadn't been able to turn his body ethereal, it would've been impossible to survive a telekinetic whose level was this high.

This was a moment where precise calculation was more important than feeling.

Damien had to teleport in short distances so he could throw off his pursuers, but he couldn't be out of the spatial layers for too long either.

Every time he entered a spatial corridor, he was already calculating how far he'd go with the next one and which direction he'd move in.

Damien led his enemies on a wild goose chase within the contained area they'd created.

Up and down, side to side, randomly changing even the orientation of his body, Damien did every possible thing he could to confuse them.

And it was working.

The Counts weren't as invulnerable as he was. Duke Horacio had great control, but he couldn't help it if the Counts ran into his attacks because they were chasing Damien.

Count Telebris was the most wounded. He was the fastest, and no matter how Damien moved, he was always on his tail.

However, that meant when Damien teleported, he took the brunt of the impact that was avoided by his target.

Damien took note of the man.

'He's easy to kill.'

That would come in handy later, but for now…

'I've pretty much understood how the barrier works.'

Damien was certain he could destroy it.

That was the only reason he'd been wasting so much time. He had to find the correct way to destroy the barrier in the least amount of time possible.

That solution was now found.

Damien teleported high into the sky, finding the apex of the barrier.

He brought his hands together, concentrating mana between them.

Time slowed down again.

A force stronger than ten thousand nuclear bombs appeared in that tiny area, and as Damien pushed his hands forward…

It touched the barrier and lost its balance.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The impact reverberated off the barrier and spread between the 10 Demigods holding it up.

They shared the damage with their bodies, which allowed the barrier to keep functioning, however, after a blast like that…

Five of them directly coughed up blood, while the other five wavered, struggling not to kneel.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Damien let off another blast. He gritted his teeth as Duke Horacio's projectiles cut through his skin and bones.

His body was ragged, but it wasn't enough to break him.

The five Demigods who managed to avoid injury last time also coughed up blood. As for the five that were already injured, they were immediately incapacitated.

The barrier fluctuated wildly as its form lost stabilization. The five remaining Demigods did their best to share the burden between them and keep it up, but that would only work if Damien decided to give up on them.

Duke Horacio was approaching him from below. The four Counts had attacked from the sides to make sure Damien couldn't dodge.

It was either he broke the barrier now, or he got hit with that attack.

Between those two choices…

The one he picked was obvious, right?

Damien's body was illuminated by a huge outpouring of mana. Space and Time warped, Life and Death froze, and Destruction pushed into the fluctuating barrier, transferring all of Damien's possible force into it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion sounded the same, but it was completely different.

This time, the Demigods didn't stand a single chance.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

One by one, the Demigods exploded into clouds of blood mist.

The barrier went down almost instantly, giving Damien free reign over his position.

He glanced around him.

Four Counts and a Duke…

They were fast, but not faster than him.

And now that he had freedom…

'Let's do it.'

Damien teleported.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

All the attacks aimed at him struck each other as he vacated his position. They exploded, creating a pressure wave that pushed even Duke Horacio back.

This was the perfect opportunity for Damien.

He appeared out of thin air behind Count Telebris and grabbed the man's neck.

The only reason he was strong was because he was in a group.

Isolated like this…

He was nothing more than prey.

BANG!

Damien squeezed his neck, instantly crushing it into bits.

A chaotic rampage of mana shot through Count Telebris' systems, breaking them down one by one.

And right before he died, he saw an unknown blackness covering his body and soul, dragging him into a dark abyss.

Duke Horacio, Count Zeas, Count Yuta, and Count Vettel all saw it happen, but they didn't have time to react.

Because by the time Count Telebris died…

Damien was already looking at Duke Horacio.

No, rather, did he just…wink?

Whatever the case, that was the last they saw of him.

He disappeared again as if he'd teleported, but no matter how many seconds passed, he didn't reappear.

Duke Horacio gritted his teeth, pulling out the signal locator that had zeroed in on Damien.

It only helped him confirm the conclusion he'd already made.

"He's gone."

Damien had escaped.

"DAMMIT!"

Duke Horacio roared in anger. It wasn't that they'd underestimated the opponent's strength. Instead, the problem was that they underestimated his durability.

Now that he was gone…

"Return to the hidden base expeditiously. We must report this to the Grand Duke."

Duke Horacio didn't wallow in defeat for too long. He internalized this moment, so that it would never be repeated in the future.

All they could do now was move forward with their plans.

After all, they'd confirmed it.

Damien was the anomaly.

Which meant that the moment Duke Horacio made it back to Straea…

All possible resources would be mobilized to eliminate him.