THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 716: The Last Thousand Steps (1)

A trio of violent auras merged and clashed, each seeking to obliterate the others in a display of pure destruction.

Explosions of light rattled the battlefield, the earth groaning under the immense pressure of that titanic confrontation with every passing second.

The combat unfolded at a velocity that defied human perception—fast enough to shred the fabric of reality, yet so erratic that tracking its progression was nearly impossible.

Frey Starlight managed to endure only by utilizing his spatial manipulation abilities, constantly swapping his coordinates with Zibar and Abraham to evade lethal strikes.

"How long do you plan to rely on these pathetic tricks of yours, Frey Starlight?"

SLAASH!!!

The crescent-shaped Katarina Blade possessed overwhelming might; occasionally, Zibar succeeded in bypasssing Frey’s guard and landing a direct blow.

"You cannot win. There is no hope for you here..."

Moving in flawless coordination with Zibar’s taunt, Abraham’s sword of concentrated light bit into Frey’s flank, sending him tumbling backward.

"Whether it’s me or your father, we’re both stronger than you. You’re the same weak brat you’ve always been. This power of yours will accomplish nothing .. you can’t even injure me."

Zibar gestured toward the Katarina Armor, which had effortlessly repelled every one of Frey’s counterattacks.

The physical form of the Tenth-Rank Demon remained completely unscathed. Not a single one of Frey's techniques had succeeded in breaching his defenses.

The resilience of demons was legendary; they could persist in battle even with half their bodies torn asunder. To bring Zibar down, Frey required a blow of catastrophic proportions... a feat he had yet to achieve.

The situation was no different with Abraham, whose form was composed entirely of pure aura, making him appear virtually invincible.

"I see you know the truth, Frey .. the truth that we don’t want to kill you."

With a devious smirk, Zibar advanced alongside Abraham.

"You are essential to our King. That’s why we avoided ending your life, even though we easily could have done so many times already. But this time... our goal is different."

Zibar reached out, his fingers curling into a tight, menacing fist.

"We will crush you here... and take you back to Helmund. There, the King will handle you himself."

His voice grew sharp, stripping away any pretense to reveal his cold intent.

"Playtime is over. The farce called humanity is coming to an end .. and so is your role, Frey Starlight. Once you fall into the Demon King’s hands, you won’t be able to do anything. Not you, nor the Nameless inside you. That will be your end, and the gateway for the King to return and shake the world once more!"

Zibar shrieked his proclamation, arms thrown wide like a fanatic delivering a prophecy.

In response, Frey pushed himself back up, settling once more into a combat stance.

"You talk too much..."

BOOOOOOM!!

Propelled by the Black Hole Aura, Frey launched himself forward like a dark, celestial projectile.

He slammed into Zibar, the force of the impact driving the demon back through several layers of shattered ruins.

Frey unleashed a devastating tempest of sword strikes—the blades moving so rapidly they became mere streaks of shadow—effectively cornering the demon.

However, the Tenth-Rank Demon met the assault head-on, matching Frey’s rhythm blow for blow.

"So be it! Let’s finish our previous battle here and now!!"

Zibar bellowed, his grin stretching wider across his face.

"But don’t forget .. I’m not your only opponent this time."

Frey’s gaze shifted instantly to the edge of a blade hovering inches from his face—Abraham’s sword.

Yet, the strike failed to connect.

At the final millisecond, Frey traded positions with Abraham.

BOOOOM!!

The cycle of violence resumed: Frey struck, Abraham intercepted, and Zibar seized every minor lapse in defense to carve a deep wound into Frey’s flesh.

"It seems your little spatial trick won’t help you much anymore..."

The demon’s assessment was accurate.

In a high-speed engagement of this caliber, even if Frey dodged nine out of ten attacks, the tenth would eventually find its mark.

His adversaries were no novices; tracking every movement of two such entities was an impossible task.

Frey attempted to create distance, but Abraham pursued him relentlessly, with Zibar following close behind.

Despite the dire situation, Frey maintained an eerie composure behind the slits of the Nameless mask.

"Zibar .. Tenth-Rank Upper Demon, peak of SSS Stage Three... and my father, who is somehow his equal."

While the exact method of his father’s ascension remained a mystery, Frey suspected the Absolute Manipulator ability was the key.

"They’re both stronger than me... both of them."

He briefly considered if bringing Snow would have balanced the scales.

But he discarded the thought; it wasn't true.

Snow had already been defeated by Abraham with humiliating ease.

Though Snow had grown stronger following the duel with Wesker, she still lacked the power to overcome Abraham or Zibar.

Frey was in the same position... with one solitary exception:

He was currently utilizing the Black Hole Aura at its absolute limit.

"But even with this power... I can’t hold out against both of them."

This was a fact Frey accepted with cold certainty, which brought him to a secondary realization:

"...They’re holding back."

Both Zibar and Abraham were deliberately suppressing their maximum potential.

He could sense it during every exchange of blades.

"It’s as if the real fight they came for... hasn’t even begun."

Zibar lacked the raw ferocity displayed by the clone Frey had previously destroyed.

Similarly, Abraham had refrained from deploying any large-scale area-of-effect techniques.

They focused on fierce defense and steady pressure, clearly aiming to drain his stamina entirely.

BOOOOM!!

A massive eruption of aura signaled another collision between the three combatants.

"Are they afraid of Nameless appearing again...?"

If Nameless seized control of Frey’s vessel once more, the tide of battle would turn in an instant.

Even with only four stages of Shadow Adaptation, Nameless possessed the ability to fully harness the mask’s legacy—a feat Frey could not yet replicate.

A four-stage Nameless was more than capable of annihilating Zibar.

Even with Abraham’s assistance, their survival would be unlikely.

"For them to have a chance... Wesker would need to intervene..."

As he weathered the crushing weight of their assault, a new thought struck him:

"...Why hasn’t Wesker come himself?"

Had Wesker joined the fray instead of sending subordinates, the battle would have concluded long ago.

Slash!!!

Abraham’s sword ground against Frey’s, leaving new gashes across his skin, but Frey’s focus remained unshakable.

"Wesker isn’t an idiot. There is no way he failed to consider something I managed to notice..."

Which meant...

"That bastard is here... close by."

Frey scanned the periphery of the warzone before returning his attention to the enemies in front of him.

The Fourth Rank Superior Demon was surely nearby, observing the spectacle with a grin of satisfaction.

"I wonder... are you enjoying the show, Aegon?"