Ace seemed to still be standing in exactly the same spot, but that was what made the sight of his fallen arm all the more shocking – they had been over a hundred meters apart, and since Ace didn't use a long-range technique to attack, the severing of his arm should've been impossible, and yet the fact remained that somehow, Ace's glaive had seemingly crossed Space whilst ignoring the Laws of Time to slice through his shoulder and sever his entire arm.
What made it even more horrifying was that, as Ace initially started making his move, he appeared to be moving incredibly slowly. It was at a speed that even a saint would be able to follow, and yet it was still able to catch him by surprise.
If not for his enhanced senses as an Overgod picking up on the very faint fluctuations in the atmosphere around him, it wouldn't have been just his arm that was severed but his entire body being cut in two.
The moment he sensed the natural laws descending around Ace as he received his third Heavenly Blessing, Phueus had naturally guessed that the Law Ace had founded and begun comprehending was that of Time – it was the only natural progression. Still, he had underestimated its power.
There was a reason that those of the divine ability of the Four Divine Beast Clan were so feared throughout the universe. Any ability that allowed one to affect the Laws of Space and Time was truly heaven-defying, and now, Ace, even without the help of a divine ability, was able to manipulate both almost freely.
Sensing the shock, confusion, and hints of fear spreading through Phueus' mind, Ace could guess what was going on in his mind, but he didn't care. As he thought about his wife, remembering that this was the man that put not only her but what was left of her entire family at risk, after destroying everyone else no less… his expression warped, turning from calm composure to frosty indifference.
He didn't say anything; he simply took a step in Phueus's direction. It was a very simple and ordinary-seeming step, and with the distance that Phueus had put between them with his last semi-successful dodge, it should've taken millions of steps like that to close the gap between them, but under Ace's control, Space began to warp under his feet, and by the time his foot reached its destination, Ace's body had cut the distance by half.
The fear Phueus was feeling only seemed to multiply. Luckily, he was strong enough to catch himself before he fell into a well of despair, but then, realising how shameful a display he was putting on, his fear warped into pure rage.
Ace had barely moved to take his second step when Phueus shot towards him, space bending and warping around him as he moved.
As previously mentioned, Phueus had long since comprehended nine darkness-based Concepts for his swordsmanship. In every sense of the word, his swordsmanship embodied the laws of darkness – swift, concealed, and deadly. It was both beautiful and terrifying, yet Ace dodged the incoming attack with a level of ease that could barely be put into words, casually sidestepping the blade, trying to cut off his head whilst moving into Phueus' blind spot, before returning the favour.
Once again, Ace's Glaive used the Rules of Space and Time to enhance his strike, but after learning his lesson from their first exchange, Phueus was better prepared and was able to block Ace's strike, albeit barely, but his eyes widened in horror as he found himself flying through space with his sword-wielding arm numb from the power of Ace's strike.
As he gradually came to a stop, Phueus looked back up at Ace only to see his now blackened body.
Until now, Phueus had forgotten that his divine ability wasn't the only impressive ability of the Gol Clan. Although not quite at the same level, [Armament Haki] allowed Gol Clan members to increase their physical ability several times over, and for Ace, who now, thanks to his Divine Ability, had physical ability no weaker than his before using [Armament Haki], after using it…
Purely in terms of physical ability, Ace had reached a level that Phueus could only dream about.
The moment their eyes met once again, Ace's body teleported, appearing directly in front of Phueus, once again taking the Overgod by surprise as he unleashed a barrage of attacks, which completely suppressed Phueus, threatening to overwhelm him.
Watching the fight unfold, everyone could only stare in silence. Even those who had faith in Ace may have expected Ace to win, but for him to completely dominate the battle from the very beginning... this was an outcome none of them had seen coming!
The shock was only increased for the Overgods of both groups, who could sense the difference in overall power between the two. As previously mentioned, after condensing his Overgod body, Ace should've needed 250 units of Willpower to truly close the gap.
Even with the effects of his Divine Ability doubling his Willpower to 220 units and his [Armament Haki] increasing his physical abilities by what was effectively the equivalent of another ten units, they estimated that Ace should still be around 20 units off.
Twenty units may not sound like a lot at their current level, but it was! Even if Phueus wasn't completely dominating, their gap in power should've been significant enough for Phueus to slowly suppress Ace.
Not only had everyone underestimated the power of the Rules of Space and Time, but they had sorely underestimated Ace's battle IQ. Though powerful, the Rules of Space and Time should only have enough power to make the two equal, but Ace relied on his superior skill and battle IQ to completely suppress and devastate Phueus.
No matter what Phueus tried, his attempts were completely snuffed out before they could even begin to come to fruition. It was as though Ace was hundreds of moves ahead, and the longer the battle continued, the larger the gap became.
By now, Phueus' entire body was littered with injuries, whilst Ace was completely fine.
Realising that he had lost, Phueus roared with an almost deranged laugh, having completely lost the will to fight before explaining that even if he could defeat him, killing him was impossible now that he had condensed his Overgod's body. There might not be anything he was capable of doing to Ace now that he had reached his current level of power, but unless he kept his friends and family restricted to the Yulan Plane and their respective pocket realms, there would come a day when he took pleasure in killing them all off one by one.
Theoretically, Phueus was right; now that his Overgod body had been condensed and his Overgod Spark had merged with the faith of the Laws of Darkness, even if his body was completely destroyed, he would just use the power of Faith to recover. It may take tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years, but he would eventually recover.
Still, even after hearing Phueus' words, Ace's face remained void of emotion.
Thinking that his words had gotten to Ace, a crazed smile appeared on Phueus' face as he opened his mouth as though he wanted to continue speaking, but before he could give voice to his thoughts, his eyes constricted into pinholes as an overwhelming feeling of fear threatened to consume every fibre of his being.
It wasn't just Phueus; each of his allies also stared at Ace in horror and disbelief as Ace spread his domain. The domain in and of itself wasn't the problem; it was the aura; it was that all too familiar aura it radiated.
Over the last few years, they had all searched tirelessly for the mystery powerhouse that radiated that pseudo-heavenly aura, desperately hoping and praying that it wasn't Ace.
Even though deep down they already knew the truth, that Ace was the only one capable of somehow achieving such an impossible feat, they still hoped and prayed that it wasn't the case, but now, seeing Ace basically going out of his way to confirm it for them, each of them felt their hearts drop, but none more so than Phueus.
Phueus' entire body began shuddering uncontrollably as he felt his connection to heaven being forcibly cut off and his mind being devoured by a pit of despair.
Unfortunately for him, Ace didn't care. Phueus, more than anyone else, had crossed his bottom line too many times. Never again… Never again would he get the opportunity to put the lives of anyone he cared about in danger.
Ace held nothing back as he attacked, and as his attack landed, Phueus found his life slipping away; what made it worse was that, without his connection to heaven, he wasn't able to use the faith of his element to slowly recover.
As he looked at Ace's cold, indifferent eyes for the last time, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret. Where before he wished he could go back and kill Ace the moment they met, he now wished he could go back and steer clear of Ace and his friends altogether!
As Phueus' body vanished for good, his allies were shocked to find that in his place was the obsidian Overgod Spark.
As they looked at Ace, the hints of fear they felt previously began to grow. Initially, they believed that even if the worst came to pass and each of them lost their battle with Ace, by relying on the fact that they were truly Overgods, they would be able to recover eventually by using their accumulated faith. In their eyes, the only one facing a true threat of death was Ace. Unfortunately, they were wrong.
Looking at Ace, they all hesitated. A small voice in the back of their heads was telling them to stop and back out before it was too late. Unfortunately, before they could open their mouths, Ace's eyes fell on the Overgods of Lightning and Earth and indifferently told them that they were next.
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