After activating Retrospection, Mann slammed headfirst into the trap A Ke Lei En had set.
A massive spatial distortion mercilessly tore at his body. Soon his left arm was shredded, blood splattering everywhere.
“Hahaha! No matter how bizarre you become, you’re still a human!”
A Ke Lei En stood up, his wounds healing at a visible rate.
“The wounds you inflicted, I can erase with a single thought. This is the gap between a god and a human!”
“And you are nothing more than a stepping stone for me to become a god!”
“Are… you done?”
Mann’s gaze was as if he were looking at a pile of trash. Without even glancing at his wound, he casually swung the White Fang, shattering the distorted space.
The next moment, the bone in his left arm wound began to proliferate rapidly. Strange flesh covered it, looking extremely grotesque.
Seeing this, A Ke Lei En’s eyes finally turned serious. He could clearly sense Mann’s aura slowly changing, making him increasingly terrified. But he soon realized something was wrong.
‘Am I scared?’
‘I’m actually scared?’
‘Of a mere mortal?’
“What a joke!”
A Ke Lei En roared, the surrounding space beginning to destabilize.
“How dare you make me uneasy! You… Mann Matthews! I must kill you first!”
But before he could finish, he felt his head fall off.
“Huh?”
Mann had already appeared in front of him, staring coldly, the dagger’s color turning crimson.
“You damn bastard!”
His figure vanished instantly, and the surrounding space twisted again, but this time, Mann didn’t act as he predicted.
“Jump.”
With just a single indifferent word, Mann closed the distance again.
The crimson dagger’s attacks were merciless and dense; in just a blink, A Ke Lei En’s body was sliced into several pieces.
“Didn’t I tell you… that this is useless?”
Mann tried to press the attack, but suddenly felt himself pushed back by something invisible. Looking at his enemy again, his body had already regenerated completely.
At the same time, a piercing pain came from his masked face. He reached out to touch the border and discovered that the mask and his skin were beginning to fuse.
Mann didn’t know what would happen if he continued maintaining this form, but recalling the battle in the Matthews Territory, he didn’t dare gamble. He was afraid of being completely replaced, afraid of becoming that head monster.
‘Can’t let that thing come out again…’
So he had to finish this quickly. He couldn’t drag it out any longer.
‘I don’t have much time left…’
Mann thought to himself, staring at A Ke Lei En, and once again assumed that familiar stance. This one strike would decide victory or defeat!
As ominous mana circulated through his body, faint dark purple lightning appeared on his skin.
Such an obvious intention was naturally noticed by A Ke Lei En.
“Oh? Trying to decide it in one blow? Suits me fine!”
In his view, the opponent’s attacks were ineffective against him, so he didn’t need to defend. But his attacks were effective against the opponent. So the one at a disadvantage could only be Mann.
Thinking this, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up.
“Very well, then I’ll send you on your way!”
The space around him flowed like magma, then suddenly exploded, revealing the dark void beyond space. Dark aura surged out, flowing with the space, slowly disintegrating the surrounding matter—extremely eerie.
“Space Miracle: Void Punishment!”
As his words fell, a thunderclap resounded from Mann’s side as he rushed forward like a black lightning bolt. He collided head-on with the eerie dark energy and was immediately devoured.
“Idiot! You walked right into the trap! Stay in the void and suffer eternal torment! Hahaha!”
The eerie energy slowly dissipated, leaving nothing behind.
“Now time to resume the interrupted mission.”
But as soon as he took a step, a premonition of doom filled his mind. The space behind him suddenly became extremely unstable.
“Wha…what? How is this possible!”
As A Ke Lei En turned around, a dark crimson dagger pierced through his skull.
A loud crack rang out; he felt his body hit by a tremendous force, completely unable to move. Holding the dagger, Mann pressed him forward and crashed straight into a distant mountain.
After a thunderous roar, a great mountain was collapsed. Yet even so, Mann did not stop.
“You monster!”
A Ke Lei En roared, using all his strength to activate his ability on Mann’s mask. But the spatial distortion simply dissipated upon touching the mask.
“How is this possible!…”
“Puh!”
His abdomen was viciously struck; he spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body uncontrollably slamming into the ground. Only a loud thud was heard as the ground for several kilometers around collapsed and cracked.
“Don’t underestimate me! You brat!”
A Ke Lei En roared, and suddenly two large hands formed of space gripped Mann tightly.
“Finally… got you!”
A Ke Lei En slowly stood up, extending his hands as if gripping something, continuously exerting force and bending. Immediately, the sound of bones breaking accompanied by spurting blood.
Ordinary spatial distortions could be shattered or dodged by Mann, but this time was different; he was completely sealed by space, his proud ability useless.
“I never thought I’d be forced to use this move… your death is worth it!”
A Ke Lei En panted heavily; it seemed this move was also a great burden on him. But it had indeed achieved results.
But before he could celebrate for long, he found that he couldn’t squeeze any further. Just as he tried to apply more force, a sharp pain shot through his hands, which had become a bloody mess.
A Ke Lei En knelt weakly, looking up at Mann who had broken free, as if gazing at a god. The next moment, Mann’s dagger pierced through his chest.
“What… in the world… are you…”
Mann didn’t answer. He reached his hand into the opponent’s chest and tightly gripped the glowing core.
“Regression!”
The power of space immediately began to drain wildly. Feeling this, A Ke Lei En instantly panicked.
“You bastard! What did you do!”
Soon, a humanoid creature composed of cubes slowly separated from his body. It nodded to Mann, then dispersed into particles of light, disappearing without a trace.
Having lost his divine power, A Ke Lei En lay on the ground, his gaze vacant, like a pile of helpless mud. Mann wasn’t in much better shape either.
Due to the regression, the mask’s power was completely drained, and it cracked in two, falling to the ground. He no longer had the strength to stand; pale-faced, he knelt on one knee, panting heavily.
Realizing his opponent was still alive, he forced himself to stand despite the pain all over, and came to A Ke Lei En’s side.
“Where… is the Armor of Time?”
“…”
“You weren’t born a Divine Emissary, were you…”
“…”
“Forget it. I didn’t expect you to reveal anything anyway.”
Mann raised his dagger to finish A Ke Lei En, but he let out a strange laugh.
“Heh… hehehe…”
“What are you laughing at?”
“Did you really… win?”
“What do you mean?”
“Evil God… long live…!”
After saying that, he closed his eyes. The stagnant mana in his chest began to grow more violent. Seeing the danger, Mann immediately used the Earth Shrink Technique. After a mana explosion, A Ke Lei En was left without a trace.
“Madman… still trying to take me with him in death…”
Mann could no longer stand. He crawled with difficulty to a large tree and sat up painfully.
“Strange… why do I feel like I can’t remember a lot of things…”
“And that guy’s words… what did they mean…”
Eyelids so heavy… so tired…
His consciousness could no longer hold on, and with that, his head tilted to the side as he fell into complete unconsciousness.