The moment the gate appeared, Asura felt his grasp on the situation collapse. However, he convinced Mu Xue and the others of his plan. Asura himself held no solid confidence when facing this gate.
His eyes narrowed, watching the cracked sky grow as the first devils began to appear from the hellish opening.
"For Lord Seere!" A demon with three arms and two heads bellowed, its aura stronger than a Stage Ten in that hellish world that Asura used to train.
'After all... this will be difficult.'
Suddenly, a silver light of pure divine energy started to form around the gate, causing the two demons who broke through to panic. Their distorted and gruff voices were like a beast's growl, turning to a voice of fear.
'This magic... I can feel that woman's aura... is she helping me?'
There was no time to lose once Asura sensed what that woman planned to do. He rushed towards the gate with his wings flapping, shooting forward with his black spear in hand. The feeling of dread from the gate caused his skin to tingle as if sharp needles pricked him.
"Who is that?!" A demon growled before pointing to Asura.
"Tsk, a bastard who sealed us in this small space. Let's kill the bastard!" The three armed demons rushed towards Asura, its mighty aura causing the sky to turn black from the corruptive Animus oozing from its body.
However, Asura had a calm expression on his face. His silver eyes watched as the demon approached without a hint of emotion on them.
His spear raised in defence before he slammed it against the charging devil. Currently, in his Asura form, the power of his body surpassed his usual self, the impact of the black spear tearing two of the devils in half before his flames devoured them.
'These are the weakest of the devils... I am at a disadvantage!'
The three-armed devil's figure vanished before appearing beside Asura's face and slashing down with its sharp talons, forcing the male to fly back while leaving behind a trail of blood from his chest.
This battle had just begun...
***
Asura knew how dangerous this fight was when the first cut landed across his chest, causing deep wounds. His mind never allowed him to panic—he moved according to the situation calmly. There was no doubt he had a slight advantage over the weakest devils breaking out, but that would not last forever.
"Haa....ha.....haa...." His breathing was heavy, the colour of his eyes fading as the black of his sclera faded like spilt ink, returning to his normal red eyes. Asura's body was covered in wounds from the battle; there were dozens of corpses, and the city below was decimated by the few demons who got attacked.
Yet that was not the issue... The issue was the thing now standing opposite Asura.
'They called him Seere...'
"Well, I might say that it impresses me that the lesser devil who should be protecting the 72nd abyss has fought quite valiantly under my watchful gaze. This is indeed a pleasant shock, though the pain of losing over a hundred of my little toys is rather... irritating, to say the least."
He was a beautiful male with blonde hair, riding a black steed with winds, the aura from his body so serene yet powerful it caused Asura's body to tremble from the immense pressure of his aura.
"Speak, state thy name."
Asura gritted his teeth before feeling his skin crawl. The eyes of the male were pitch black, despite his words seeming to have good intent behind them. This creature could not feel such emotions and thus was only toying with him.
"It's Asura..."
A wide grin appeared on that flawless face, causing even Asura to stare momentarily at the creature. Suddenly the corner of Seere's lips began to tear, forming a jagged slit that formed a huge, distorted mouth as he began to laugh with a voice that shook the atmosphere.
"Asuraaa... Assssuurrraaaa..." His voice became distorted, and a glint of frenzy shone in the corner of his eyes.
'I need more information!'
With that thought, he shot forward with his wings, pushing his body forward, covering himself in the black flames that ate away at the demons. However, despite rushing towards Seere, he noticed the change of emotion in that flawless face morph into an expression of pity before his vision went blank.
The next moment, Seere's right hand slashed down, creating a huge black line that cut through the air—when this blade reached Asura. It sliced through his arm while the beam continued and tore through the ground below with a giant beam of darkness.
"My my, I should commend you for such courage—however... You failed miserably."
Asura fell, his body spinning in the air before his wings expanded and flung against the wind, stopping him from crashing into the ground. Blood spilled from the right stump where his arm used to exist while he bite down to avoid his painful cry from slipping out.
'This crazy bastard...'
Black flames began to swell around Asura while the white flame started to regenerate his arm, but Seere's devils suddenly attacked from both sides—their bodies covered in black energy.
His spear lashed out to protect his vulnerable right side, cutting the closest devil in two, but then the second one struck out. Its claws extended and swiped across his body, able to tear a chunk from Asura's abdomen, almost perforating his organs.
His body felt weak, yet Asura couldn't fall. If he landed, then the entire Emerald Dream would be destroyed, including the women he loved.
'Damn it...'
"How weak..." Seere mumbled as the smile on his face twisted slightly when he sensed an influx of energy entering Asura's body.
'I need more... give me power! A weapon or whatever that can allow me to beat him!'
The monoliths inside his body began to vibrate and throb in sync with each other, a feeling of power flowing from his depths, but it was a second wind, something fleeting that would not last... Yet he needed to do this.
"Ha....Haa.... so what... if I am weak..." Asura's voice was hoarse, the agony of his missing arm and the wound on his abdomen bubbling with fresh blood hindering him from keeping his calm.
He knew if he did what he planned, then he might suffer, but he needed to survive!
—Liberacíon Devouring Monarch!
With the monoliths starting to crack within his body, their power flowed out endlessly, be it at the cost of their current growth. A feeling of pure life filled Asura's body as his arm and body healed in an instant. His eyes turned black once again with one silver and one red iris. He gazed at Seere with a blank face.
Unlike his Manifestation alone, now two horns grew from his forehead, a demonic and devilish aura fused with the power of an Asura. His arms became elongated and covered with a black exoskeleton made from two layers, the first a demon's tough hide, then a solid layer with a black sheen.
In addition, a thin layer of scales also covered his chest, allowing the scaly plates to shield him from the claws of those weaker devils.
"Now..."
Asura flew forward with his spear changed to the black sword his father gifted him. The very space around him burned and disintegrated under the intense pressure of his new abilities, but he, too, was being crushed under that pressure as his blade sliced through the sky, beheading a dozen demons with a single stroke.
*Crack*
A crack appeared on Asura's arm.
"You seem to have changed greatly! This Prince finds you quite amusing!" Seere grinned wildly, shooting forward with the black steed.
Asura did not show any fear. However, deep down, he was terrified. No matter the techniques he tried, this 'Prince' would always see through them with little effort. The difference in their powers made him feel like fighting a mountain as an ant.
Although the difference wasn't that large in reality, the jump from Stage Ten to reaching the level above was a qualitative change in both body and magic. Asura had the body but not the magic and energy to support it. At best, he could fight on par with his opponent, but only for a short time.
'Even if I cannot kill him, I can stop those devils who will rip apart this world...'
As he dodged an attack from Seere, the sky distorted and destroyed a mountain in the distance. Asura used his attack to kill more of the lower devils who seemed to hesitate even to interfere.
Their blades clashed dozens of times, the flash of black and silver constantly illuminating the sky. Each strike was deadly and had the intent of killing in mind, unlike the duels Asura fought in the past.
He could still feel no vision of victory, despite his black flames devouring the energy source of Seere with each collision.
However, after clashing over five thousand times with blades, the outcome became obvious.
"Haa....Ugh...Hrk...."
Blood leaked from his lips. His body was breaking apart as more and more of his abilities became unusable. His broken and burnt limbs tormented him as the last monolith cracked open, releasing its energy into his body. Now, only the world tree remained, supplying his entire body with the bountiful energy of life.
"You fought well, though you failed to inflict a wound. I can give my word as the Abyssal Monarch of the 65th Realm, as a mere dog from this pathetic world. Asura, I am offering you a place beside me."
Seere's face returned to normal, his handsome face with a faint smile, while extending his left hand, a sign of trust and friendship.
'Fuck... I can't feel my legs, nor my left arm.... and my right eye cannot see anything....'
"I refuse."
Seere's mouth formed into a thin line. Suddenly, a sword made entirely from crimson blood erupted from his palm—a sinister weapon whose tip pressed against Asura's throat, drawing a bead of blood.
"DO THINK LONGER!"
However, Asura's dull red eyes gazed at the monster he fought, teaching him the heights above him as if the world or gods wanted to rub it in his face for becoming complacent and arrogant.
'I won't let you escape... or hurt them.'
He noticed the divine energy surging and somehow felt that this was the moment.
'Xavida, lend me your strength!'
"Respond, or I will cut off your head and destroy this world!"
Asura's eyes narrowed, his pupils constricting into slits as he collected the pure energy of the world tree in his throat, the black and white flames of the phoenix being collected, gathered while masked by the world tree's life energy.
"You will die today. You should just forget about this place."
Seere's brow creased. However, before he could attack, Asura's mouth opened and from his mouth came a combination of dragon and phoenix fire covered with the pure Animus of the World Tree, but there was something different this time.
Inside the stream of deadly energy were dozens of black feathers, falling like drops of rain, landing upon the demons below. The breath of flame forced Seere back several steps to avoid the corrupting fire. But the cracks in Asura's body began to grow, causing him to endure agonising pain.
'Well... this might be the end for me... I don't have enough Animus or strength to continue here, plus I feel my internal organs rupturing...'
Asura's eyes turned grey before he fell towards the ground, plummeting down to the earth with his feathers rapidly falling from his wings, while Seere showed a twisted smile.
"You fool, I warned you-- WHAT?!" At that moment, the divine cage snapped shut, wrapped around the entire gate and remaining demons, the light incinerating them.
"You bastard... when?! Why couldn't I sense this... I won't forgive you, I will find you again... you will NOT escape Asura!"
The devil roared as his body began to disappear from existence itself, along with his horse. "This world will burn..."
His words trailed off as the cage shut, locking away all the demons and causing the clouds above to fade along with the sense of impending doom that once lay there.