DEATH LORD

Leonel looked forward without a word. Death Counter... sounded interesting. It reminded him a lot of his own Dream Counter. But the difference was that Dream Counter only activated when he was about to die and his real body wouldn't react in time. As such, it triggered a reflexive response. But this Death Counter... well, for all intents and purposes, Shan'Rae was dead. And then she reversed it.

These were two wholly different things. And Leonel also couldn't be bothered to remember the last time he had to use Dream Counter in the first place because... it had been too long since he needed to rely on such a thing.

Still, that didn't stop him from admitting that this method was far more profound. One delayed or stopped death, and the other completely reversed it. They were on two completely different levels, but that much should have been obvious by the fact Shan'Rae's Ability Index couldn't be stopped by his world.

'So that's what it is, huh?'

Leonel used the Life Tablet to take a look and he saw what Shan'Rae's Ability Index was in an instant.

It was an Ability that gave her Death Force affinity, one known as Death Lord. It quite literally allowed her to lord over death. But what was odd about this ability was that one had to become intimately familiar with death first.

Meaning... Leonel seemed to have helped Shan'Rae out. If he hadn't been in such a foul mood these past recent days, he certainly would have laughed. It was too amusing.

Shan'Rae had probably never truly faced death in her life. So as a result, she was only capable of superficially using Death Force. In the end, she mostly ignored her Ability Index and relied on her Lineage Factor and her Blackhole Force.

This was a smart choice. Death Force was in a weird category of its own, much like Life Force, and it was difficult to use without a medium. As such, Death Force affinity alone was difficult to use. Unless it was something like Vital Star Force, which combined Star Force and Life Force, or Blood Force, which allowed one to use Life Force freely while having Blood as a medium, it was too hard.

Shan'Rae's choice, for all intents and purposes, was actually quite intelligent and it made sense.

However, all Leonel could see was a coward.

There was no way that the Void Race didn't know how to activate the full scope of her Ability Index. The fact that she hadn't meant that she was too scared to, even though she was aware that it would be a huge power boost for her.

To be born into the world, to have everything at your fingertips, and to still be unwilling to maximize those opportunities...

Leonel couldn't do much else other than look down on her.

"Pathetic."

It was just a single word, yet it seemed to blast through all of Shan'Rae's momentum. She had just been about to reach her peak, and yet when Leonel said this and looked her right in the eyes, despite not explaining anything, it felt like she had seen his own meaning from his face alone.

Her eyes turned a furious shade of red, turning from orbs of white to orbs of crimson. The black fog that formed her hair gained tendrils of red as well, and one after another, planets imploded and stars blasted apart across her body.

Every time this happened, her power skyrocketed to another measure, and Leonel knew without even having to think much that this was a similar ability to his Star Fusion and his Divine Armor. It felt more profound, though... a common theme in this situation, it seemed.

At that moment, Shan'Rae's Death Force and Blackhole Force layered atop of one another. Death began to listen to her not much unlike space in the region. She didn't even need to think; it just moved to her will.

Just like that, her strength reached another level entirely.

Leonel looked forward, took a breath, and exhaled a single line.

"[Star Fusion]... [King's Might]."

BANG!

He moved, and his spear erupted with him. The Mage Core Tree fluttering beautifully in the reflective mirror of his halo shuddered, and Force Arts began to appear one after another in the way of his spear.

His blade pierced right through them and met Shan'Rae's scythe.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The two vanished and erupted with a great amount of power. Their skills weren't visible to the naked eye, their bodies akin to wisps of wind in a violent hurricane.

The only proof that they were still continuing to fight at all were the resonating clashes that boomed across the air. Ironically, if not for the golden key that Leonel had laid, this Demi-God World would have already begun to fall apart at its seams, the strength far too menacing and overpowering for it to be withstood.

At that moment, Leonel's Earth Force moved and the crimson soil that was beneath their feet shifted as well.

With a thought, mountain ranges and valleys began to appear one after another. And as they did so, the strength that Leonel was capable of displaying was increasing with every passing second.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Shan'Rae's expression sharpened. She realized at that moment that Leonel's understanding of formations and Force Arts was more profound than anyone she had ever faced in the younger generation. He was actually changing the landscape around them to help Force flood more smoothly to his spear and restricting her at the same time. She could even feel that while her control over Death Force was increasing by leaps and bounds with every second, Leonel was weakening it by the same measure.

In just a few minutes, she had already gone from the Unfurled State to the Higher Impetus State... Peak Impetus State... owns all content.

And yet, it felt like she was still wielding the very same power.

The Force within her thrummed, and stars shone in her eyes.