With that in place, all Locke needed to do was slice open spatial fissures before himself to neutralize every one of Belloso's attacks.
In contrast, all of Locke's own strikes were perfectly restrained—every shred of power compressed inward, revealing nothing. Only upon contact with Belloso would their full might erupt.
As a result, Belloso, who now stood at the same Shura-level as Locke, was nearly killed in a single blow when he took that attack head-on.
But just as before, since Locke's strike failed to annihilate him instantly, the overwhelming regenerative power of the Sovereign's Might restored Belloso in the very next instant.
Locke had also attempted to use a soul attack to disrupt Belloso's spirit. Yet because Sovereign's Might continuously radiated outward from Belloso's body, Locke's Heavenly Dance—Treasure Wheel could deceive him for only a fleeting moment before the dispersed Sovereign's energy shattered the illusion.
On the viewing stands of the Duel Platform, the Highgods watching the battle were utterly stunned.
Spatial fissures tore across the arena in great swathes, as though they might swallow everything in sight.
Everyone believed that if not for the protection of the Duel Platform, they would have been dragged into the aftermath of the clash between Locke and the Blood River Prefect, dying without even understanding how.
"So, this… is a Shura…"
In the heavy silence of the stands, a Highgod suddenly sighed, voicing the thoughts of all present.
Yes. This was a Shura—the highest rank, the most powerful Highgod designated by the Fiend Castle.
Before such strength, numbers were meaningless.
And the one they spoke of was none other than Locke—who had risen from the legendary Seven-Star Fiend to the even more legendary Shura.
Watching Lord Locke fight was like witnessing an exquisite performance of art.
Even spatial cracks were toys in his hands.
At times he opened spatial voids to defend against attacks; at others, he tore vast rifts in space to swallow the Blood River Prefect's assaults whole.
Before Lord Locke, if one lacked the strength to pierce through spatial fissures themselves, they posed no threat at all.
And as for offense—just one look at the web of spatial fractures constantly splitting open behind the Blood River Prefect was enough to understand how terrifying Locke's attack power truly was.
If not for the astonishing restorative power of that black radiance enveloping Belloso, he would have been slain long ago.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it—damn it all!"
Blood River Prefect Vishto Belloso roared in fury. Yet in the face of absolute disparity in strength, even with Sovereign's Might fueling him, he was no match for Locke.
At last, Locke noticed that the black radiance surrounding Belloso was beginning to fade.
A sign.
The Sovereign's Might was nearly exhausted.
Therefore—
"Mist Art!"
In an instant, dense fog engulfed the entire Duel Platform. Apart from the Sovereigns whose divine senses could pierce through it, the god-level spectators outside could no longer see what was happening within.
Several Highgods extended their divine senses into the mist—only to find that even their senses lost direction and perception within it. All they could feel was endless darkness.
"Lord Locke is incredible. Even a supportive technique can nullify our divine sense."
They withdrew their senses, marveling once more.
What they didn't know was that Locke's true purpose in using the Mist Art was to create an environment saturated with Water elemental essence.
"Water Movement!"
With a single step, Locke vanished—and appeared directly behind Belloso.
He seized Belloso's right arm.
The fusion of four Profound Mysteries, combined with Locke's ninefold divine power, tore Belloso's arm clean off in one brutal motion.
"AAARGH!"
Belloso's scream echoed through the thick fog, igniting wild curiosity among the spectators as to what Locke had done.
The Mist Art, after all, was merely a technique derived from the Mysteries of Illusionary Fog. Its primary function for Locke was to gather Water element energy, enabling him to use Water Movement—granting him near-teleportation speed within a certain range.
The instant he ripped off Belloso's arm, Locke returned to his original position.
Belloso retaliated in fury, unleashing spatial fissures that devoured the mist—no longer sustained by Locke's divine power—and the scene upon the Duel Platform was revealed once more.
"Damn it!"
Belloso's right arm had already been regenerated by Sovereign's Might. But now, when he looked at Locke, his eyes were filled with fear—and despair.
Because his original severed arm was still in Locke's hand.
Divine power surged from Locke's palm, annihilating the limb. Four spatial rings floated into the air, immediately seized by Locke.
Locke did not know how much Sovereign's Might the Sovereign backing Belloso had granted him.
But once the spatial rings were taken, no matter how much Sovereign's Might Belloso possessed, he could not retrieve it.
Without access to it, it was as good as nonexistent.
At that moment, those watching also noticed the black radiance around Belloso was dimming rapidly.
In perhaps a dozen breaths, the enhancement granted by that black droplet would completely vanish.
When that happened, Belloso would have no ability whatsoever to resist Lord Locke.
The crowd's gazes toward Belloso were mixed—some pitying, some mocking.
Pity—because had Belloso faced anyone other than Locke, the strength he displayed might well have earned him recognition as a Shura.
He might even have been regarded as a supreme powerhouse surpassing Locke.
But his misfortune lay in the fact that Locke had achieved yet another breakthrough in the past thousand years—ascending beyond Seven-Star Fiend to the true Shura level.
Under such circumstances, even the black droplet's augmentation could not alter the final outcome.
And everyone could tell—such a treasure was extraordinarily rare. How many could Belloso possibly have?
"Lord Locke… I concede."
"Could you return my spatial rings?"
Belloso's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally lowered his head.
His spatial rings were gone.
The Sovereign's Might within him was nearly depleted.
Without it, he stood no chance against Locke.
He needed those rings.
Inside them remained two more drops of Sovereign's Might.
With those, he would still stand as the strongest beneath Locke.
After this battle, if he merely revealed that he still possessed Sovereign's Might, his position as Blood River Prefect would remain unshakable.
"Oh?"
Locke raised a brow in mild surprise.
"Prefect Belloso… do you truly believe you'll survive this?"
Belloso's face changed.
"Lord Locke… are you truly planning to kill me?"
He steadied himself and continued, "You still have one hundred and six prefectures to challenge. If you kill me here, the remaining prefects may refuse your challenges—or delay them to the maximum limit."
"That would hardly be beneficial to you, would it?"
Locke's eyes flickered.
He hadn't expected Vishto Belloso to see through the matter he was most concerned about.
Prefects were not always present in their own cities. According to the rules of Prefect challenges, once notified, a Prefect could postpone the battle for up to ten thousand years, allowing time to return from other Divine Planes or Supreme Planes.
Ten thousand years was more than enough.
If the Prefect still failed to appear after that period, they would forfeit by default.
Locke's expansion of the Fiend Castle depended on acting before Hell's powerhouses fully matured.
If the secrets of Profound Mystery fusion spread widely and more experts rose, some would inevitably grow wary—or covetous—of the Fiend Castle's influence and move to obstruct its expansion.
Time was his enemy.
"Indeed," Locke admitted calmly. "If the other Prefects delay their battles, it would be troublesome."
"But that's not what I meant."
He lifted the spatial rings slightly.
"Belloso. You received a reward from that Sovereign—but failed to complete the task assigned to you."
"Do you truly believe that Sovereign would allow you to live?"
Belloso's heart skipped violently.
"What are you talking about? What task? What Sovereign?"
"Don't play dumb," Locke said mildly. "If that Sovereign wished to deal with me, they could have crushed me with a single slap. Why borrow your hand?"
"Why…?"
Belloso already sensed the answer rising within him—but he clung desperately to hope.
"Because behind me," Locke said softly, "stands a Sovereign of equal standing."
Boom.
The words shattered Belloso's last shred of illusion.
Yes.
From Locke's displayed strength and knowledge—far beyond ordinary gods—many had long suspected that a mighty Sovereign stood behind him.
But to hear it confirmed—
Belloso's heart sank into an abyss.
Regret flooded him.
For a moment of greed, he had stepped into the game of beings far above him.
And in that game—
He was nothing more than a discarded piece.
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