RUMBLE!

The world rumbled on impact.

Starting from Damien’s hand position, an array of spikes shot into the earth and formed a line many hundreds of kilometers long.

The spikes stopped spreading soon enough, but they never stopped growing. They grew in length, their jagged edges tearing through the rock of Calypto’s surface and digging into its core.

‘Concentrate. Control. Execute.’

Damien controlled each spike with utmost precision. It was far harder than controlling any normal attack.

After all, these spikes were made of pure Void Mana.

The Void tore into Calypto and consumed it. The planet rumbled endlessly as its surface was continuously penetrated until finally…

BANG!

The first spike penetrated into the World Core Space.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The rest of the spikes made their way into the same cavern soon enough. The spikes suddenly lost shape at their tips, becoming like snakes that slithered through the cavern and surrounded the inky black World Core.

‘Devouring this much mana would be impossible, but converting it…’

Converting it was entirely possible, especially with the Void helping Damien manipulate reality at its base.

‘Deconstruct the mana, reorganize its structure, and purify it. Revert the World Core to its Origin…’

‘Reality Alteration: Purification.’

VOOOM!

The Void Mana snakes shot into the corrupted World Core and began their feast. Their appetites were insatiable, as no matter how much of the Corrupted World Core’s mana they devoured, they were always desperate for more.

An immense amount of mana flowed through the Void Mana and circulated in Damien’s system.

This was planned on his part.

After forming a closed circuit between himself and the World Core, fundamentally purifying its mana would be much easier.

Iridescent blue was a beautiful color, a color made even more beautiful when it appeared in specks amongst a sea of inky, corrupted black.

The appearance of this pure mana was incredibly slow, but it was a change nonetheless. And as the Void Mana snakes continued their devouring, the process only became faster.

Damien could feel it in his body, the presence of mana above anything he could personally wield.

This mana used him as a transfer point before returning to its rightful place, and as though the World itself was rewarding Damien, the mana left bits and pieces of comprehension in his head that he never would’ve expected beforehand.

His power as a Celestial was enhanced immensely, and at the same time, he was able to achieve the unimaginable.

‘If I can revert this World Core and bind it…’

This new method to strike blows against the Nox would become integral in his future endeavors.

‘I must focus and continue. I cannot move from this spot until the entire World Core is purified, otherwise, my efforts will go to waste.”

Damien was taking on an immense job, but he needed to complete it as fast as possible.

After all, despite the fact that the process only just started…

The Saint Emperor had likely already caught wind of what he was doing.

***

“Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Bellowing laughter boomed through the starship, contradicting the heavy atmosphere shared by its other residents.

The Saint Emperor sat on his seat at the helm of his starship and laughed uproariously.

He almost couldn’t believe it was true.

‘That kid is bold! To think he would directly attack me like this! Is he looking out for the troops who are forced to stand against me?’

The Saint Emperor found the whole situation just as comedic as it was serious.

Unlike what anyone would’ve expected, a young and growing genius was actually trying to interfere in a battle concerning a Demigod.

However, what that boy was actually doing was concerning, to say the least.

‘To purify my World Core…who gave you the audacity? Did you not learn last time?’

The Saint Emperor smiled lightly and closed his eyes, projecting his consciousness into the World Core.

He immediately felt the specks of purity corrupting his form, disgusting him.

“Boy, what made you decide to take my kindness for granted? If you keep acting like this, I’ll have to kill you.”

“And what makes you think I give a **?” Damien responded with a grin. “Kill me if you can, pussy.”

The Saint Emperor frowned. “Do not test my patience.”

A wave of terrifying fluctuations spread from the World Core.

But Damien wouldn’t allow a repeat of what happened last time.

He waved his arm on the surface, and the spikes under his control morphed into a sturdy defense that absorbed the impact of those shockwaves.

He didn’t even send an Avatar into the World Core Space this time, so the Saint Emperor wouldn’t be able to touch him at all.

“I came prepared this time, bitch.”

Damien dug his claws even deeper into the World Core. The small Void Mana snakes trembled and bloated, turning into dragons in an instant.

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

A cacophony of roars sounded as the dragons began devouring the World Core. The amount of iridescent blue within the corrupted World Core slowly began to increase.

The Saint Emperor frowned. ‘That was undoubtedly the Dark God’s mana…the World Core will not be able to emit enough power to shatter its veil.’

Damien’s mana contained the most powerful devouring force in the universe. Even against a concept like a World Core, the mana would hold its ground.

Only an immense difference in usable strength would be able to break through Damien’s mana.

‘I must go down myself.’

There were few things that matched the importance of a World Core in the eyes of the Nox.

Even if all of Throh’s forces were eliminated, as long as Calypto’s World Core could be saved, there wouldn’t be any repercussions to the Saint Emperor’s units for leaving their allies to die.

The Saint Emperor sighed, but it was a strangely happy sigh.

‘This is quite fun. The Human Race’s hero of this generation…will he grow into a worthy opponent?’

The Saint Emperor’s Avatar disappeared from the starship he occupied without a word.

He moved towards Calypto at untold speeds.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom

Only a single person on the battlefield witnessed his exit.

‘Something grand is about to happen.’

The Commander immediately connected the dots between the strange set of events he’d experienced. Without hesitation, he stepped down from his commanding position and established a new chain of command for the Allied forces so they could function properly without him.

After this was finished, he immediately left the starship in chase.

He needed to see what was going on.

And if someone or something on the surface was truly doing something that could even distract the Saint Emperor himself…

That person needed to be protected at all costs.

News of the Saint Emperor fleeing the battlefield spread amongst the allied forces like wildfire.

The battle situation changed immediately.

Without the threat of the Saint Emperor keeping them wary, what could the rest of these Nox do?

As long as the allied forces could match their power, nothing else would be a problem.

An all-out offensive began.

Without the Saint Emperor’s active instruction, the complexity of the Nox army’s strategies lessened considerably.

They weren’t moving like savages, but their movements were at least readable.

The two opposing forces were finally on the same playing field.

And the Allied forces had no plan to miss this opportunity.

All forces got into formation, from the smallest ground troops to the largest of the allied force’s starships.

And at that final moment…

All hell broke loose.