1042 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

**Chapter 1042: The Childhood Friend of the Strongest in the World** BOOM!!! Blue flames erupting all around, sweeping through the buildings. The intense firepower, fused with the wind pressure, not only burns but melts the structures. Thud-! As the debris falls, he clenches his fists, keeping his eyes rolling. He couldn't kill it. Perhaps because he narrowed the range and focused the firepower, there was no feeling. He searched for the presence. Just one. 'Too many.' The excessive presence around made it challenging to grasp subtly. Because of this, it took time. It was but a fleeting moment, yet it was enough for a gap to form. Whoosh-! Something pierced through the flames. He twisted his body to avoid it. He intended to burn it, but upon gauging the force, it wasn't strong enough to incinerate. It meant he couldn't catch it. Instantly, he channeled energy into his hand, causing flames to rise and change form. Airy Spear—a spear glowing with a blue brilliance. He hurled it towards the direction the attack came from, bursting the flame at the end. CRAAAAASH--!! With a deafening roar, a flash cuts through. BOOM---!!! Beyond the flames, the sound of an explosion echoed. It was the Airy Spear exploding. It didn't hit again. 'What...?' He squinted, feeling puzzled, as the scattered flames were retrieved. Whirr--!!! The flames swirling all around were sucked back into his hand, clearing his vision. It was a mess. Nearly all the nearby buildings had vanished, leaving a ravaged ground and charred remnants behind. But above that chaotic landscape, something remained. '...That's it.' Upon confirmation, his face twisted. It was the thing he had checked upon entering the building. A dried-up human encased in crystal. It was shaped like a human figure contained within the crystal, and all the presences he felt seemed to originate from there. Confirming this, he reached out with his left hand. Whoooosh---!!!! Flames burst as they pushed back the building to the right. In an instant, one side crumbled, revealing the crystals he was staring at. Even the blue flames couldn't melt them. It was powerful enough to dismantle a building, yet those crystals didn't have a scratch. 'There aren't just a couple of them.' The revealed crystals weren't few. Each building contained anywhere from a few to several of them. 'I feel the presence coming from there.' The otherworldly presences felt throughout this space. All of those were emanating from those crystals. Why were presences coming from those crystals? And not just any kind of presence. 'This is vitality.' Amethyst-like vitality was emanating, indicating life. Thump-! Thump-! He listened intently, hearing the sound of heartbeats. This meant... 'They are alive.' All those entities were alive. "Hmm." After verifying this, he glanced upward. In the sky above, something was hovering far off. A dusty area in the ash-gray sky, more disordered due to the swirling particles. At the center stood a man with black wings, staring down at him. Cloaked in flowing ash-gray hair and a black attire. A man with an expressionless face and skin so pale, it was almost devoid of any color. As they locked eyes, the man opened his mouth. "In a hurry, aren't you? We haven't even exchanged greetings yet." "......" "I thought we might have a slow conversation. It seems you aren't interested." At those words, instead of responding, he swung his hand. The ring of flame transformed like a whip and lashed out. Whoosh-!! Bang-! The man also moved his hand against the oncoming assault. As soon as he moved, a spear appeared, deflecting the whip. The flames burst. During that brief gap, he examined the spear the man held. 'A trident?' A black trident. Judging by its wavering form, was it made of energy? As he squinted to analyze, the man threw the spear at him. He dodged narrowly. As it hit the ground, it exploded. Black energy erupted erratically before soaring into the air. Leaving the simmering ground behind, he glared at the man. "May I ask just one thing?" "Hmm?" The man tilted his head at the question. "What is it?" "That thing. Did you do it?" At his gesture, the man looked down at the ground full of crystals. "Ah, that thing." The man smiled at his question. "Isn't it beautiful?" "What?" "An immortal beauty that shall never break." "......" Hearing this, he gathered his senses. Presences and vitality flooded from all directions. Feeling them prick his skin, he steadied his breath. "Why?" "Do I need to explain? We're not in that kind of relationship, are we? Besides, if we're talking about questions..." Whooom. A spear grew at the man's fingertips. "Isn't it more appropriate for me to ask you instead?" "That's fair." Whirrl. As he spoke, he tensed. "But it seems neither of us will answer." Flames flared, covering his body. Blue flames enveloped him for a moment, then turned into dark energy. "So, we must force each other to answer. I like that." He enveloped himself in energy, creating a ring behind his back, spinning it wildly. The demonic energy ring oscillated intensely. Whirr-!! By increasing the speed to the extreme, friction was created. Energy seeped into his hands. The void rippled as if tearing apart. Heavenly Demon Divine Art unleashed itself. Creak-!! Crack. His entire skeletal structure vibrated. The pain was incomparable to the Heaven Shattering Art. Heaven Shattering Art was highly stimulating to the blood pathways; the pain originated from the energy itself with minimal physical strain. 'This really hurts.' But the Heavenly Demon Divine Art directly affected his physical body. The friction was so intense it made his entire skeleton vibrate, coupled with the sharp pain of skin tearing. 'It's not easy.' Maintaining it was incredibly difficult; even if maintained, the pain was relentlessly intense. He created it, but it was indeed an insane act. 'If not for the body of a dragon, it would've been unbearable.' Even having reached transcendence, this was the extent. Although he wondered how this could be used, 'What else is there to do?' He must endure. As always. Boom-!!! A vibration surged as energy formed in his hand. He enveloped his fist with it completely and increased his speed. Whoosh-!! With a burst of flame from his back, his body shot forward. He charged at the opponent. The man swung a trident and flapped his wings, rushing at him fiercely. Swoosh-! The spear moved, leaving a trail of black energy. When the spear sliced through the air, the black energy followed, and its magnitude was significant. The energy was also strong. Watching it, he slightly shifted his stance. Whooosh--!!! The energy passed by his side. BOOOOM---!!!! Behind him, an explosion and a rumble erupted. He didn't need to look back; just sensing the vibration and amount of energy was enough to gauge its power. It was good he didn't block it. It's not that he couldn't have stopped it, but— 'It would have been a hassle to break through.' Unless he let it hit him, his speed would decrease. His speed dropped, and so did the power, but he still succeeded in approaching. That's enough. 'Heavenly Demon Divine Art.' He lunged forward, getting right in front of the opponent. 'Heavenly Demon Fist.' Chaos exploded from his fist. Kiaaaaa----!!!! The scream of energy engulfed his opponent. It swept through the air and detonated. The form of the energy was like a manifestation of a scream. It seemed to convey the feeling of the energy shivering with pain. Even by his own assessment, the power was truly impressive. ‘Damn it.’ Even this time, the reaction was the same as before. 'It didn't hit.' There was no sensation in his hand. Whoosh-! He ducked his head. Swish-! The spear narrowly passed over his head. He immediately poured power into the ring. Thud-! With a burst of flames, he fell downwards. He landed on the ground. Crash-! Debris scattered. He had no time for something like breakfall. He condensed flames in his hand. Chaos covered it. Heavenly Demon Chaos Jade. And then— BOOM-!!! He carefully lifted his foot before stomping it down. Pressure cascaded from above. Heavenly Demon’s Sovereignty Step. He mixed aggression and Heavenly Demon Divine Art into his leg movement. He borrowed techniques from the Sword Emperor form. Since it involved intertwining aggression and sword energy to seal movement, he must have imbued his intent in a similar manner. As he expelled energy and looked up, he noticed— The man was looking down at him with an unscathed body. His face was hidden behind the dark clothing, but— He could tell the man was smiling. 'What is this?' Why won't it hit? Why didn’t it connect when he struck from point-blank range? He narrowed his eyes. ‘Is it some kind of power?’ It was strange. He clearly attacked from close up and landed the hit, yet it didn’t connect. Something felt off. And he was smiling? ‘This guy?’ Is he mocking him? Thinking up to this point, he erased the energy he had been gathering. If it wouldn’t work, then shooting out more was pointless. ‘It doesn’t seem like a power.’ If it was a power, he would have known. He would've reacted first. Yet, he remained still. ‘Hmm.’ What should he do? In that brief moment of contemplation— "Hmm." His eyes gleamed slightly. If it's neither a power nor something recognizable— Then. 'There's only one thing left.' With this thought, he focused his eyes. Activated his Insight. He gathered energy to the brink, pushing it into his eyes until it hurt, causing the scenery to shift. Considering that the surroundings themselves were constructed by some sort of spell, it was naturally otherworldly. 'I see it.' Around the man, something was there. ‘That's it.’ It was a spell. Although he didn’t know what kind— But. 'If it's a spell.' That changes things. He smiled slightly, moving his hand. His hand extended into the void, and the man's expression changed slightly at the sight. At that moment— Crunch--!! He caught something amidst the peculiar shapes he could see. And at that instant— Thud-!! “……!?” The man’s body shuddered violently. Seeing this, it confirmed his suspicions. This just might be— ‘This bastard.’ He might be able to catch him.