Zhang Yong's gaze slowly turned toward Arthur, who stood pale-faced, his green eyes reflecting pure astonishment and terror.
He charged toward Arthur, his speed making him difficult to see. But before he could reach him, Arthur screamed at the top of his lungs, "Beatrice!"
An explosion of black smoke surrounded the area, isolating Arthur from the rest of the world. Zhang Yong entered the smoke at the same moment Arthur exited from the other side, with Beatrice clinging to him, lifting him high into the sky and away.
"Use Ul Shamak!" Arthur commanded quickly before Zhang Yong could begin his pursuit.
Beatrice raised her small hands between them. A point of absolute darkness began to form, small at first, then expanding with terrifying speed into a massive black hole that sucked everything around it.
Mine, still on the ground, felt her body being pulled toward the black hole. "Unbelievable!" she screamed, trying to cling to anything.
But Zhang Yong, who had emerged from the cloud of black smoke, flew high, yet the gravitational pull of the black hole was dragging him.
He turned his gaze and saw that Mine was about to be pulled toward it.
He wanted to use Earth Fold to get her out of there, but the immense gravitational force of the black hole distorted the space around him, making spatial penetration nearly impossible. Instead of risking it, he dove like lightning toward her.
Zhang Yong grabbed Mine's arm firmly and felt the black hole's pull grow stronger, tearing the ground from beneath their feet and relentlessly dragging them toward the absolute darkness.
Zhang Yong flew higher, but with the powerful pull, it seemed as if he wasn't moving from his spot.
He raised his hand, and Death Qi appeared in it. Suddenly, he began to compress it. It released dark sparks, quickly forming into a five-pointed star shape, and the points began releasing sparks uncontrollably.
Zhang Yong made the star larger and larger before hurling it into the center of the black hole.
'According to my theory, the mana used in the atmosphere is the same as Life Qi. Death Qi dissipates it, and according to the Casimir effect, it should work!' Zhang Yong thought as his fighting spirit rose.
He threw the dark star into the center of the black hole, and it exploded in its midst.
According to the Casimir effect, the black hole expanded by absorbing things, increasing its mass. His theory arose that as long as that mass was discharged by adding negative mass, it could reverse the process.
The only problem was that within this world, negative mass was fundamentally impossible. However, that was in a normal world.
Here, this black hole was composed of "mana," an energy similar to spiritual energy. The important thing was that they were close to each other.
And what was the natural enemy of spiritual energy? That was Death Qi.
Death Qi could act as negative energy, which would cause the black hole to lose its mass.
A muffled scream came from Beatrice, who was controlling the black hole. "Impossible! It's removing the mana!" Black blood flowed from her nose and mouth as she lost control of the spell.
The black hole began to vibrate violently, then collapsed in on itself rapidly, like a balloon being emptied of air, before disappearing entirely in a flash of white light.
At that moment, Zhang Yong seized the opportunity. He disappeared from his spot and appeared before Arthur and Beatrice, who were still in a state of shock.
"Game over," Zhang Yong whispered, his blue eyes reflecting no mercy.
He raised his hand, and Death Qi gathered around it, forming a long black blade of pure energy.
"No!" Arthur screamed, pushing Beatrice in front of him as a human shield.
But Zhang Yong did not hesitate.
The black blade pierced Beatrice's small body easily, tearing it into dissipating energy particles before continuing its path toward Arthur's heart.
Thwack!
The blade pierced Arthur's chest and emerged from the other side. Zhang Yong stood, expecting anything from him, but he was calm.
He approached him and pulled out the crystal connected to Beatrice, smiling. "I'll take this."
Silence fell over the place. Only Zhang Yong and Mine remained, along with the ruins of the palace surrounding them.
Zhang Yong descended to the ground, the butterfly wings behind him slowly disappearing. He walked toward Mine, who was still trembling from the shock.
"It's over," he said in a calm voice, completely different from the beast he had been moments ago.
At that exact moment, a beam of pure black energy, darker than darkness itself, shot forth.
Upon seeing it, Zhang Yong grabbed Mine and flew high.
In the distance, Arthur stood... the one Zhang Yong thought he had just killed, resurrected.
Arthur stood and cracked his neck. "Ah, truly, this demonic energy is useful in such situations."
His now-deformed hand, marked with twisted black sigils, rose, and dark demonic energy gathered at his fingertips. "Forcing me to use this is an honor for you."
The beam of pure black energy, darker than darkness and colder than the void between stars, shot toward Zhang Yong and Mine at unbelievable speed.
Zhang Yong quickly raised his hand, and a golden aura surrounded him.
Light Path – Sacred Bow
Bow Path – Multicolored Bow Intent
A bow of light appeared in Zhang Yong's hand, made of pure light.
He drew the bowstring, and an arrow composed of the Light Element gathered upon it. He released it directly toward the beam.
The luminous arrow collided with the black beam in mid-air, and they soon exploded together.
Zhang Yong shot forward, carrying Mine in his arms, moving away from the explosion's center. The winds from the energy collapse were enough to tear skin and bone.
"Are you alright?" Zhang Yong asked, his voice strangely calm amidst the chaos.
Mine, still in shock, nodded quickly.
'The atmosphere of this battle is far beyond her ability to endure. I will have to place her away from the danger zone, but I doubt Arthur will leave her out of this.' Zhang Yong thought, his eyes fixed on Arthur, who began to move again.
Arthur's body was now surrounded by a dense demonic aura. The black marks on his arm spread like the roots of a poisoned tree across his face and neck. His green eyes had now turned yellowish, glowing with a strange, evil power.
"Finally... I can feel this power," Arthur said in a hoarse voice, as if something else was speaking through him. "My weak human body... was restraining me all this time."
'This is my final card. Resurrection after death has become unstable and only brings me back a few seconds. I had no choice. No wonder Meliodas is powerful, with abilities like these...' Arthur smiled as he thought.
He clenched his hand, and dark demonic energy gathered again, but this time denser and darker around his body. "Now, let's see who survives."
Arthur charged toward them with tremendous speed, leaving a trail of dark energy behind him.
Zhang Yong gently placed Mine on the ground. "Stay back," he said calmly, but his voice carried a final tone.
Mine moved back as Zhang Yong turned to face Arthur.
The two met in mid-air. Zhang Yong's bone sword deflected Arthur's dark energy claws. The resulting impact created a shockwave that pushed Mine back several meters.
Mine recoiled backward, clinging to the debris of a pillar to maintain her balance. Her pink eyes widened as she watched the battle, which surpassed everything she could have imagined.
In an instant, the two disappeared from her sight.
In the air, Zhang Yong and Arthur clashed at speeds beyond human perception.
Each collision between the bone sword and the dark claws released blinding flashes and vibrations in the air, to the point that the sky seemed as if it would split. The battle was no longer just a fight between two humans.
"You've completely changed, Arthur!" Zhang Yong shouted as his sword parried and attacked simultaneously.
"I have you to thank for the help you provided," Arthur replied in a dual voice, as if two beings were speaking together. "It's time to get serious!"
Zhang Yong retreated slightly, his blue eyes assessing the situation. He noticed that the black marks on Arthur's body continued to spread, as if consuming his human body gradually.
"Dark Seal!" Arthur shouted, clapping his palms together.
A complex black seal exploded beneath Zhang Yong's feet, releasing chains of darkness that tried to bind him.
Memory of Eternal Ice – Seventh Layer: Void Freezing
The black seal froze beneath his feet, then shattered into small pieces.
"Impressive!" Arthur laughed. "But I have more!"
Arthur raised his hands toward the sky, and black clouds began to gather above him. From within the clouds, rain of demonic energy began to fall, each drop capable of piercing any defense.
Zhang Yong waved his hand, and waves of ice surged from mid-air, quickly intercepting the rain.
Zhang Yong seized this moment to attack.
Spear Path – Dragon Slaying Spear Intent!
Zhang Yong summoned a dark spear, and his intent launched like an enraged dragon.
The air split before him, leaving behind a temporary void that swallowed even light itself.
But Arthur did not retreat. Instead, he laughed that terrifying dual laugh and extended his hands forward, forming a wall of dark energy that seemed woven from the purest forms of darkness.
Zhang Yong's spear dragon collided with the wall and dissipated, turning into flying shards of energy.
Zhang Yong was breathing slightly faster. Using the seventh-level Spear Intent with such force was taxing even for him now.
"Hahaha, come on, you still have a lot left, Zhang Yong," Arthur said, pointing his finger at Zhang Yong, beckoning him to come.
Zhang Yong did not reply with words. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were radiating a deep purple light, darker than ever before.
Purple Demon Eye
Arthur suddenly screamed, clutching his head. What Zhang Yong had just unleashed was a mental attack that lasted for seconds, and he would not waste any of them.
Zhang Yong raised his hand, and the massive Sword of Self rose above his head, descending with force toward Arthur.
But Arthur, still suffering from the mental attack, responded by pure instinct. He raised his arm, deformed with the black marks, releasing a wave of dense demonic energy that collided with the Sword of Self in mid-air.
CRASH!
The collision was deafening, leaving behind a vortex of mixed energy in all directions.
At the center of the explosion, Zhang Yong and Arthur stood face to face, unaffected by the blast.
"You... are still... resisting?!" Arthur exclaimed in a broken voice, black blood flowing from the corners of his mouth.
The black marks on his body were spreading faster now, as if consuming what remained of his humanity.
"And I won't stop. It's either me or you. Only one shall remain," Zhang Yong said as he raised his bone sword toward Arthur.
Arthur laughed coldly. "Hahaha, you really love playing the hero. For what? To feel good about yourself?"
"For what? You say..." Zhang Yong paused for a moment, his purple eyes flickering with complexity. "There's no need for you to know, since you're going to die!"
At that moment, Zhang Yong charged forward. His bone sword gleamed with a mysterious purple light, mixed with Death Qi and Light.
Karma Path – Sever Causality!
Arthur, surrounded by demonic energy, tried to defend, but the power was overwhelming.
Shing!
The sword pierced Arthur's defenses, splitting into thousands of lines of shadow and light that cut his body into pieces.
Arthur suddenly looked at the panel that had been severed before him, and was shocked.
"You... you severed the resurrection ability?!" Arthur screamed, his glowing eyes reflecting astonishment and terror for the first time since the battle began. His shattered body no longer reassembled as before; instead, it began to dissipate like dark dust under the effect of Causality Severance.
"In truth, you are still capable of doing this," another voice emerged from within Arthur's body.
A deep, terrifying voice, completely different from Arthur's usual one, seeming capable of shattering window glass.
But Zhang Yong recognized the voice immediately. His eyes widened sharply. "Belial!"
In an instant, a black horn grew on the right side of Arthur's face. The pupil of his right eye turned red, and the skin on the right side of his face sloughed off, starkly revealing hard, red skin beneath.
"Finally..." the deep voice whispered from Arthur's distorted mouth, which now seemed to belong to two different people. "Hahaha, this boy is not as good a vessel as yours. No matter. Once I get rid of you, I'll take your body afterward."
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and its blue color was swallowed by grey clouds. The sound of roaring thunder rose.
Human skin sloughed away and was replaced by red skin. Arthur's body bent unnaturally, and sounds of bones breaking filled the air behind him. Massive leathery wings burst forth, tearing his clothes. A long, spiked tail emerged from his spine, striking the air with a whistling sound like a whip.
"Now..." Belial said in his voice that shook the very depths, now in complete control of the distorted body. "...let's play for real."