Freed of gravity, air resistance, and space itself, Allan was faster by several magnitudes. Though, in reality, escaping the grasp of space wasn't that simple. Within the contiguous notion of space-time; the former part was harder to understand than you would expect.
What did it mean to remove 'spatial matter'? Wouldn't that just create a void or an abyss? Two things that Allan could already wield.
In a sense, it's not a bad way to put it. However, for a void to subsist, a core was required; and for an abyss to exist, there needed to be nothing in the first place.
Removing a section of space, in other words, was like digging a hole into the ocean with a shovel of all things; it is implicit that it would fill up. Would that create a vacuum? No. One could even say that air would avoid it; it is somewhere that cannot be traveled to.
So, what happens when a moving object passively eats the spatial fabric outside of itself?
Rakna had called it the ultimate slipstream. When repairing itself, space was only as fast as light; the force that expanded it was not the same as the one that held it together.
Therefore, the object would create a reverse slipstream that propelled it forward. And the closer that object was to the speed of light, the stronger the boost would be.
Frankly, the explanation had flown over Allan's head. He just nodded and agreed.
All he knew was simple; eating space made him massively faster. It also increased his defenses and unfortunately put too much toll on his Ki reserves. Gravity was similarly a glutton for Ki, but since it overlapped, it didn't critically worsen the consumption.
He had only used this state two times before. Both were during a Trial. And both times, he killed his target before they could even react. He knew just how fast this made him.
Yet, Agrias, who hadn't displayed speed anywhere near this level, somehow was able to keep up and seize the upper hand.
From the moment he called upon that spear, no matter how much Allan sped up, or how strong he punched, the Téras survived and counter-attacked. Without even looking at where his attacks came from, Agrias was able to dodge them.
A flash of crimson and black clashed in the air every split second, sending out crushing waves of power filled with elements of gravity, space, and void.
"[Royal Diamond,]" Allan intoned as he expelled what he was absorbing in real-time. This fist of him formed a golden emblem in the sky bearing bat wings. As if looking down on the world and punishing it, the force first pulled it up and then crushed it down.
Agrias was briefly caught in it until he summoned a bronze sword above his head. "[Take Their Head, Damocles.]" Without letting go of GáeBulg, he kicked it toward the golden emblem that immediately shattered on contact.
Then, he sprinted toward the Ichubyr with the aura of his spear covering him. Barbs and thorns made of bloodlust coiled around him like a shell.
"[SpiritualArmament,]" Allan muttered and his Intent solidified into armor. His gauntleted fist collided with the Hound of Ulster's spear and their impetus was mutually canceled.
The Ichubyr grunted and swung his leg instead. Without missing a beat, Agrias conjured a cross shield, for what felt like the umpteenth time, and blocked it. Immediately after, they both fizzled out of view, repeating their encounter somewhere else.
Any injury that Allan suffered was forced open by crimson barbs and had to be clogged with void energy and Spiritual Intent. Agrias, on the other hand, had the barbs acting like stitches for every single one of his wounds; allowing him to heal faster.
'Fuck…' Allan cursed in his mind as he narrowly dodged a thrust that shot out a burst of red aura bigger than a mountain. His vision distorted briefly and before he could react, one more of those attacks was right in front of his face.
"[Void Frontier!]" He released his Unity Skill again, swiping his palm instead of a fist. He infused it with both the energies of space and gravity. A wall of void rose from deep underground, as if the flames of hell, and stopped the advance of Gáe Bulg.
A second later, Allan felt his Void Ki go out of control in his leg. 'Again…!' He grumbled internally and forcefully increased the output to get it back under control.
This wasn't the first time it had happened; far from it. The more they fought, the more he could feel things slipping out of his perception or control. At times, his mana, Ki, or Intent would rattle slightly, messing up his techniques.
His perception of time was being messed with. When he thought he had time to dodge one attack or another, he would realize he had been off by several seconds. Sometimes, his muscles would stiffen without apparent reason; his sight became fragmented; his skills or traits failed to trigger and when he looked at his status, some lines would be briefly grayed out.
Allan could only assume 'Interference' was Agrias' magic affinity. He understood that well. But it also had a very unsettling ascending trend. At this rate, none of these interferences were going to stop. Worse; they might become omnipresent.
While his sense of smell and his Void Ki seemed to be the hardest for Agrias to interfere with, the former could be fooled simply by interfering with the scent itself rather than his nose. The latter could not be forced to be deactivated, but the Téras only needed it to nudge it enough so that the Hollow Vajra could not fully protect him.
To make things worse, Gáe Bulg showed its worth as a legendary hero's weapon. It was imbued with madness that prevented its wielder from relenting and granted them beastly instincts and the vigor to fight, heedless of injuries or stamina.
'I will lose,' Allan concluded as he missed Agrias by a hair's breadth again. His extended arm was promptly sliced by the crimson spear, melting through his Spiritual Armor. When he tried to heal it, the regeneration was stopped by lingering thorns.
The Ichubyr silently recreated an arm with his Intent and began to focus on defense. He had run out of options; even if he did manage to get an edge over Agrias, the bastard would only summon a weapon, a person, or a spell capable of disengaging that immediate threat.
'What a ridiculous Nirvana Skill…!' He gritted his teeth, flapping his wings to retreat. Each of their movements caused sonic booms, rending this arena of theirs even further. 'And this is supposed to be him weakened by Typhon's curse?'
As a Host who hadn't reached level 500 yet, Allan wasn't that surprised to be losing. Yet, he was not happy with it. If it had been Rakna in his place, he wouldn't have been overwhelmed.
"Damn it…" He mumbled under his breath and his berserker marks smoldered. He deflected GáeBulg with the back of his hand one last time before landing heavily on the ground. A similar aura to his Bane of Mortality pooled at his feet, yet different. "[Road of Futility.]"
A linear path made of void energy extended from his feet and in the blink of an eye, he sank in it and vanished from where he stood.
Agrias landed after him, eyes wide. "Did he…?" He looked around him carefully.
"[You're not the only one who can hide himself,]" Allan's voice echoed from all directions.
"Haha," the Téras chuckled as he stood upright, stretching his grip on his spear. "Are you running away now, brethren?"
"[Shut up,]" he scoffed. "[I know you already have a way to find me.]"
"Ah, was I caught?" Agrias smirked teasingly. "Indeed, a few trinkets could help--"
"[34 minutes.]"
The Abyss Ruler closed his mouth when he was interrupted by an unexpected statement.
"[That's how long we've been fighting. Knowing Nyx and Flavia, they should have noticed how you jammed our comms. Especially if you can even interfere with the System messages. Marie even went out earlier. Yet, there's still no sign of someone coming,]" Allan spoke slowly.
Agrias smiled. "Maybe my magic is just that good and they can't find this place?"
"[Yeah, don't kid yourself. Rak would have seen it. In fact, the girls would have alerted him first. At worst, he would have taken half a minute to teleport to the 250th. And another thirty seconds to find us.]"
"Hm… I suppose our dear cousin could do that," the Téras shrugged, glancing sideways, trying to see if he could find his opponent with just his senses.
"[Don't waste your time. Unless you bring another toy, you won't see through Road of Futility.]"
"How confident," Agrias huffed. "So? What's the point of this little chat? Are you buying time?"
"[…]"
"You are correct in your assumptions. Time is flowing differently in this place," he admitted. "But sadly, for me, my Interference Magic is not powerful enough to do something like that. It's in the name, isn't it? I can never control or alter something; just mess with it a little. The best I can do is thoroughly isolate an area, like right now, by staking the rest of my magic's potency as cost."
From beyond the void, Allan widened his eyes in realization.
"Yes, I'm sure you've noticed. My magic is slowly getting stronger because my Domain Spell is on its way to collapsing. You are wrong in thinking that no one has come for you yet; they have. And as we speak, they have been intruding for about… 1.2 seconds," Agrias chuckled. "And I'm sorry to tell you that the closer they get, the slower it will be until they breach it entirely."
"[…]"
"This time flow is due to a Gold Item graciously given to me by our General. It complemented my spell so well that I didn't even need to ask for it."
"[Your General?]"
"Oops," Agrias closed one eye. "Hah, I spoke too much. Let's not dawdle anymore. I say… we have about 3 'small seconds' before our favorite Beast Emperor barges in," he joked and summoned a necklace around his neck, promptly enchanting his insectoid eyes with green light.
"Ah…" The Téras exclaimed as he focused on one spot. "There you are."
Amidst an intricate web of void energy hidden beyond matter, traces led to a certain silhouette that he could finally 'interfere' with, now that he had a proper awareness of it. Gáe Bulg's aura revved back to its peak as soon as he did.
Agrias kicked the ground, applying his magic onto himself to make him hard to track, messing with every single visual cue. The tip of his spear glinted as it approached the Ichubyr's heart.
"[Omen of Fell Gods.]"
But before he could try and pierce through it, suffocating divinity descended out of nowhere and made him lurch. Amount-wise, it barely qualified as a low-class god, but the quality... was akin to those with the most illustrious of Authorities.
Agrias' eyes trembled as he watched a dominating figure appear behind Allan. A shapely woman with ten arms and blue skin, holding human skulls as if they were a witch's crystal ball. With her torso bare, she twirled in the air like a seductress, her smile relaxed yet menacing.
"[Kali.]"
Immediately, Agrias' head was filled with new ways… to survive. He realized that counterattacks to this had already become impossible due to his enfeebled and tired state.
He had belatedly overlooked one of the most legendary traits of an Ichubyr Vapiria. The System had never hosted someone capable of actualizing it before now; the ability to steal the authority of the divinity they consume.
Based on the power released by this invocation of Kali, it was incomplete. But it was just enough to call upon some of her Domains. Notably; Time.
"[Bane of Mortality,]" Allan gritted out as every ounce of energy he was accumulating through his Internal Art was fed into both his arms.
Agrias' eyes widened in shock. 'But at his level, he shouldn't be able to handle that--!?'
His thoughts were dashed when a black crystal flashed into existence behind Allan. It broke into pieces and formed a half-circle with its pieces. A cascade of purple light forced the divinity under control as if the latter owed reverence.
As the source hovered around Allan's head, it both looked like a halo and a crown. At first sight, one could tell that it was incomplete. Yet, its Glory nonetheless tamed the God's Authority.
The Ichubyr forced his body to move with the power of the berserker mark and positioned his body as required, progressively dominating Kali's divinity, whose apparition laughed mutely.
Impulsively, Agrias knew who that 'Glory' was from. His Nirvana Skill overclocked his mind with incomprehensible results and then eventually failed to come up with a proper counter.
At the same time, as Allan overcame the strain, more blood oozed from his gaping wounds and a new illusion transformed the World.
Question; what is humanity's greatest bane?
The metal rusted and dispersed, the plants invaded, the trees grew, the fauna ran by, and the sun shone brightly.
Time was cruel, but nothing more than a cause regardless.
The plants wilted, the trees collapsed, the fauna died, and the sun blinked. The world went up in flames and what was left… was nothing more than sinister peace.
"[Age.]"
In that split second, Agrias felt himself become old. Not just a trick or a feeling. His soul and mind were projected into time immemorial and became one with the dust.
It lasted less than could be counted and he found himself back in his real body. The spear he had been raising was snapped in half. No, it'd be more accurate to say it split itself; the middle part of the shaft trickling like sand.
"What… just…" The Téras vomited orange blood, dropping to his knees. He looked down and saw a hole punched into his shell, showing disgustingly deformed scar tissue that seemed older than even himself.
Agrias looked up silently just in time to see Allan collapsing, narrowly missing him and dropping to the ground next to him. The projection of Kali who was still there winked before fading away.
"…"
With his opponent unconscious, the Abyss Ruler didn't know what to think or say.
"…this…" He breathed roughly. "…is quite… the--! Urgh!" He stopped himself, covering his mouth with his hand to stop more blood from coming out. "This is… ridiculous…! My organs are… are all deficient… scarred… and old…"
It was at times like these, even a monster was akin to a human; a body that required its parts to function together to sustain life. From what Agrias could tell, several arteries were grafted onto some of his organs by scar tissue. The air sacs that should act as his lungs had been made half-healthy, half-mutilated like two drastically opposite clothes sewn together.
Allan had simultaneously punched a hole through his body and then forced it to heal normally in the span of a nanosecond. And this healing time was… thousands of years, packed into one single moment.
"Can… my Abyss Skin even fix this…?" Agrias groaned as he tried to push himself up. He used the broken part of Gáe Bulg to support himself and coughed blood a few more times.
Then, a sudden flash of light made him swing his head.
Allan's body regressed to his human appearance, and a white bat reformed itself on his back; its crimson eyes fiercely staring at the Téras.
"You did a number on us… haven't you, interloper?" Akronis glared tiredly.
Agrias looked at the Soul Beast. He tossed the remains of the barbed spear away and for the final time, called a new Spear of Hallowed Wood. "Be proud… you two pushed someone like me to this state… as pathetic as I may be."
"Keep that repulsive humility to yourself, brat," the white bat sneered.
"…being called a brat by a Soul Beast not even a year old," the Téras snorted and raised the spear to finish his incapacitated opponent. However, when he swung down, a multitude of loud noises resounded, sounding like an organized cacophony of heavy machinery.
For a brief instant, the 'surroundings' glitched and shattered. An eruption of steam and embers burst in and Agrias was responsive enough to preserve his hand by stepping back. His spear was gone mid-swing and before he knew it, he was flanked by two people.
"…this is not my day," the Téras grumbled to himself.
Two daunting figures he could absolutely not fight right now. One was the werewolf who needed no introduction nowadays, standing protectively in front of his downed friend. The other was a statuesque body of metal with a molten core wrapped in haze.
This automaton was at least four meters tall, hefting a greatsword with hundreds of moving cogs on both its sides. Its wielder was equally mechanical and seemingly a cut above the Locals of this Plateau. The energy core inside of its chest was so hot it glowed through the plated layers.
The robot also had exhaust and cooling vents located beneath where a human's shoulder blades should be, as well as his calves, forearm, and waist. They were releasing a constant flow of steam and smoke.
Finally, its eyes were composed of so many miniature mechanical layers that they drew a perfect shape from a distance. From their center, the core's glow mimicked a pupil and pulsed quietly.
"So, it's you…" The automaton spoke with a rough, metallic voice, pointing his weapon at Agrias with one hand clenching the handle. Just by standing there, at rest, you could hear the millions of intricate movements of his internal structure. "The onemessing with my city."
Agrias clicked his tongue. "Rapture…" He uttered the name of the machine in front of him.
The oldest Local, known to have been here since day one of the System; officially Mayor of Akhet and de-facto owner of the entire Clockwork Plateau; Xeirs Rapture, The Eternal Golem.
A burst of steam shot out from the automaton, the heat of it alone capable of melting the skin off someone's face. Rapture glared at the Téras and demanded but one thing,
"Cough up the repair fees, lowlife."
An exemplary mayor, he was.