THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 759: Snow vs Nito (2)

"You damn fool... how in the world did you show up here?!" Nito shouted in fury while rushing ahead, smashing straight into Snow.

Facing off against Snow...

Nito found himself robbed of his most potent tool.

It felt like owning a devastating bomb... but having no way to detonate it at all.

Instead of draining or injuring Snow, the Light Soul Aura boosted him up.

"I figured the Shadow Sect was my sole foe..." Nito mocked with a grin.

"Never imagined a massive beast like you lurked disguised as one of those puny humans..."

Bursts of sparks flew wildly as Vermithor slammed against Slitherine.

Snow unleashed his total might in the fight now.

Even though Nito lost access to his top asset, Snow held no edge whatsoever.

His rival proved just... overwhelmingly mighty.

Under his helmet, Snow’s gaze shimmered as he plotted his following strategy.

"This guy’s way harder than I figured... judging him lightly was a stupid mistake."

While their swords smashed together, Snow’s thoughts dissected each element.

"Top-tier demons often depend too much on those reality-shattering powers gifted by Agaroth... since they’re ridiculously overpowered."

"Normally, they wrap up fights fast by deploying them..."

"Except this fellow stands apart."

BOOOOM!!!

Their energies burst outward, and Nito clearly started overpowering him.

"He spotted who I am right away... and ditched the Light Soul’s use against me entirely."

"Even without that... his pure might crushes everything."

Truly—Nito’s power was insanely vast.

Lacking the Light Soul, he outmatched Zibar, the previous Tenth high Seat.

"It was idiotic for you to assume I’m like the rest of those demons, New Lord of Light."

Nito hammered with savage intensity, shoving Snow backward repeatedly while his protective gear cracked more with each impact.

"Prior to joining the Ten High Demons..."

"I ruled as a Dragon Emperor... right below Midir, the Dragon God himself."

"To put it simply—"

BOOOOM!!!

In a flash of speed like lightning, Nito broke Snow’s guard, slashing a severe wound over his frame as crimson sprayed across the empty cosmos.

"Even absent the Light Soul... taking you down comes effortlessly."

Nito seized total control.

Snow pulled back.

He stayed silent...

pouring all his focus into mending the wounds as fast as he could.

Gradually, his energy swelled as he pulled in greater amounts of the Light Soul’s essence.

"His power hits like a mountain... and what makes him most dangerous is probably his unbreakable toughness."

Nito’s form came from the Pantheon...

the toughest entities that ever existed.

Meaning, outdoing or equaling them in brute force seemed almost out of reach.

Still...

Snow refused to flee.

"At my present strength... victory in this clash isn’t feasible..."

"The Light Soul stands as the sole power I have that exceeds his."

Snow mended his hurts... then dove back into the fray once again.

"Beyond the Light Soul... I command two more reality-shattering abilities," Snow pondered.

"However, they’re off-limits for now. One demands SSS-tier Aura... while the other stays with my counterpart... Orested."

Devoid of those powers, Snow spotted no route to triumph.

Nevertheless... he pressed on with the combat.

Each clash... each blow...

inflicted heavier tolls on his body... yet he held firm.

"What’s your real goal in this, Lord of Light?" Nito questioned in an icy tone.

"I can tell you’re no idiot."

BOOOOM!!

Nito blasted out yet another surge of azure fire, compelling Snow to fall back even more.

"You realize beating me is impossible. So why persist in this foolish manner?"

Nito whipped his blade at horrifying velocity, ramping up the assault without mercy.

"You’re aware that as a Pantheon member, I dominate up-close fights with my superior physical prowess—yet you charge in anyway."

BOOOOM!!

"I have no clue how you wield the Light Soul too... but it changes nothing against me."

"So explain it... how do you intend to last?"

Nito pressed once more.

Snow remained mute.

He just struck out—without a word escaping his lips.

Injuries piled up all over his form.

His armor splintered apart with every smash.

Witnessing this, Nito’s face grew even grimmer.

"...Understood. You won’t talk."

Abruptly... Nito’s blade disappeared.

Simultaneously, the Aura swirling around him shifted utterly.

The instant Snow detected it, his face paled.

A torrent of Aura exploded from Nito’s core.

Then—in a mere instant—

Nito’s shape started to grow... and grow... morphing into a nightmarish sight that made Snow instinctively pull away.

But the chance had slipped by.

Nito had shifted into his beastly state.

A gigantic dragon unfurled its wings broadly—

eclipsing stars and worlds entirely.

Nito’s physique was one-of-a-kind:

scales of deep sky-blue, studded with bizarre crystal structures across his enormous build.

Snow lacked the moment to study it closely.

Right as Nito finished changing, his strength skyrocketed disastrously...

—and without delay—

He parted his massive jaws aiming at Snow.

A devastating rush of azure blaze poured out, shaping a thundering ray that engulfed Snow whole.

Snow failed to hold against it.

The immense force of the blaze smashed him, flinging him down at breakneck pace... right toward Earth.

No matter his struggle, he couldn’t take it.

He ripped through the air layers at wild speeds, his frame ablaze in azure and crimson fires, tumbling wildly until hitting a spot on the world.

His drop showed no sign of easing.

And then...

Collision.

A devastating crash that rattled a whole landmass, like a star had plummeted.

Snow landed deep in the Southern Nightmare Continent... a zone of endless horrors.

The outcome was obvious.

He’d been beaten in the fight without question.

Nito lingered in the void, his vast wings outstretched as he gazed at Snow’s crash point.

From the wreckage, Nito figured his foe teetered on the edge of oblivion.

To make sure...

He gaped his maw once more, gathering a huge orb of azure blaze, then fired it as a ray that consumed all ahead... crashing into the strike zone and exploding with ruthless might.

Such a terrifying show of ruin... the fury of a Ninth high demon.

When it ended, Nito bellowed in triumph, doubting if this was truly the First Lord of Light from the tales.

Snow had appeared far too feeble.

But as that idea lingered...

Nito’s eyes bulged wide.

His focus jerked to the skirmish where Amon, Gehrman, and Frey battled.

"What’s this eerie sensation?!"

Despite his beastly shape, Nito felt an odd vibe.

Something terrible.

Something deeply foreboding.

He flapped his huge wings without delay and sped to aid Amon... as the void quieted again.

The last arena was fated to return to where it all started.

And Nito claimed his position there.

At the same time...

In the Southern Nightmare Continent—Snow’s landing spot—

A massive depression now marred the terrain.

The hollow brimmed with azure molten rock, spawned by Nito’s inferno.

In the midst of the chaos and wreckage...

Snow rested there.

His condition looked like little but a twisted heap of gore-soaked meat.

Far from the shining fighter he’d been.

Exactly as Nito predicted...

Snow hovered perilously near demise.

Yet...

Snow chuckled.

He chuckled with strain, crimson leaking from his lips on each gasp.

His Lost War Form offered no rescue.

His golden plating hadn’t lasted.

But even so... he chuckled hard.

Straining mightily, he lifted his drenched-in-blood arm skyward... showing an object clutched in his grip.

An orb.

An orb of untainted glow.

"Hehehe... you might be sharp, Ninth high Seat... huff... huff... but you missed the bigger scheme during our duel."

Snow seized the orb of glow and shoved it to his torso.

A dazzling shine wrapped around him, restoring his form bit by bit... fusing with him at breakneck pace and bestowing vast strength.

"I needed to battle you in your face..."

"...since that alone let me snatch this from you... all undetected."

Snow grinned through the blood... then shut his eyes, at last unwinding.

The orb of glow vanished into his depths.

The Light Soul stood fully formed at last.

The whole skirmish had served as mere theater...

a precisely staged ploy that Snow acted out to the finish, bearing all the pain while quietly drawing the Light Soul from Nito.

The Light Soul pulled toward him by nature... simplifying the theft.

Snow pulled it off so flawlessly that even yet...

Nito hadn’t caught on to its absence.

Snow dropped the fight.

Yet he claimed a prize of far greater worth.

Shutting his eyes, he allowed his awareness to fade... into the shadows.