But the silence only lasted a split second.

Abyssal energy erupted violently as the Abyssal Mistress forced herself upright. Pain twisted her expression, her aura surging erratically as the ground beneath her feet cracked and sank.

Dark grey blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto the shattered earth. She glared at Grey, hatred burning so fiercely it distorted the mist around her.

"You will pay for this!" she screamed. "You little bastard!"

He had ruined her face.

What was once flawless was now torn apart, swelling and fractured, every injury a stain on her pride.

How could she ever forgive him?

The worst part came when she tried to heal.

The instant abyssal regeneration surged toward her wounds, pale tribulation flames ignited along her flesh. They burned without heat, forcibly suppressing the healing process and locking the damage in place.

The heavens were interfering.

Heavenly tribulation energy was blocking her recovery.

She knew the consequence all too well. The longer an injury remained untreated, the harder it became to restore it to its original state.

If enough time passed, the damage would become permanent.

"You bastard!" she roared.

Her hands twisted into claws as she crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat. A sonic boom detonated behind her as compressed abyssal energy propelled her forward, her fist already tearing through the air.

Grey smiled.

To him, her punch moved sluggishly, every motion clearly traced by his accelerated perception. Just as he prepared to step aside, abyssal energy suddenly exploded outward.

"Myriad Abyssal Fist!"

The single strike fragmented mid-motion, splitting into hundreds of thousands of overlapping fist projections. Each carried compressed abyssal energy, sheer mass and momentum stacking as they flooded toward Grey.

The ground shattered beneath the barrage.

"It's useless," Grey said calmly.

His hands came together.

"Great Heavenly Fire Release."

The seal completed.

For a brief moment, the world trembled as multicolored flames erupted from his body. The fire surged forward in massive streams, condensing into towering flame constructs that charged straight into the incoming fists.

Boom!

The collision tore the battlefield apart.

Abyssal fists were incinerated layer by layer, explosions chaining together as fire and darkness devoured each other. Shockwaves flattened everything within range, leaving only scorched, broken ground behind.

Before the smoke could disperse, Grey vanished.

His figure flickered as Nexus energy detonated beneath his feet, pushing his body beyond conventional movement. His hair whipped backward, sound failing to keep up with his speed.

The next instant, he was already beside her.

His voice glitched as he spoke, the sound fracturing as Nexus energy surged through his throat.

"Earth Anchoring Collapse."

The land below responded instantly.

A deep, thunderous tremor rolled across the battlefield as the ground groaned under immense pressure. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, widening violently as entire slabs of earth tore free from their foundations.

Massive chunks of rock and compressed soil ripped themselves from the ground, ripped upward by an invisible force. They screamed through the air, rotating and accelerating as they shot straight toward the Abyssal Mistress from all directions.

"Not good."

Her eyes widened as she twisted her body, abyssal energy flaring as she tried to evade. But the debris moved unnaturally fast, pulled by overlapping gravitational anchors that locked onto her position.

The first fragment slammed into her side and latched on.

Before she could tear it away, a second chunk collided, then a third, each impact forcing her body higher into the air. The debris wrapped around her relentlessly, stacking layer upon layer, compressing inward as if the planet itself was trying to reclaim her.

Boom!

The world flashed white.

For a brief moment, gravity itself seemed to break.

The surrounding air collapsed inward as all the debris fused together midair, compacting under crushing pressure. In the next instant, a massive spherical mass had formed above the battlefield, hovering unnaturally.

A moon.

Not a natural one, but a violently compressed mass of earth and stone, rotating slowly as dust and fragments orbited around it. The sheer weight of it distorted the air below, pressing down like an unseen ocean.

Grey stepped forward.

He placed his foot onto empty air as if it were solid ground, Nexus energy stabilizing his footing. At the same time, a sword flashed into existence in his hand, its blade humming as circuitry lit up along its length.

"Ten Thousand Cuts."

His voice was soft.

Yet the moment the words left his mouth, sword energy surged violently from his body. The air around him vibrated as countless cutting trajectories unfolded simultaneously, invisible lines of destruction overlapping in dense layers.

His clothes fluttered violently as he moved.

He did not swing once.

He swung ten thousand times.

In a single second!

The sword blurred, striking faster than perception could follow. Each slash was perfectly controlled, every cut placed with surgical precision as compressed arcs of sword energy shredded the air.

The moon shuddered.

Then it was sliced apart.

The massive sphere was reduced instantly, segmented into thousands upon thousands of clean, rectangular fragments. Every piece was identical in size, edges razor sharp, drifting silently for a brief moment before gravity reclaimed them.

The battlefield rained destruction.

Stone screamed as it fell.

Along with it, the tattered Abyssal Mistress crashed into the ground.

At the center of it all, Grey stood calmly in midair. His sword was lowered, circuits still glowing faintly across his body as if nothing extraordinary had just occurred.

Ten Thousand Cuts was not a technique he learned.

It was something he could always do.

As a swordsman who had comprehended sword intent, the concept of limiting himself to fixed forms did not exist. In terms of pure sword skill, no one could match him.

Far below, the Abyssal Mistress lay embedded in the shattered earth. Her body was completely ruined, flesh torn apart, bones fractured, abyssal mist leaking uncontrollably from countless wounds.

Every time entropy flames surged to repair her injuries, heavenly tribulation descended immediately. Pale tribulation fire lashed her body, forcefully suppressing the regeneration and sealing the damage in place.

"How did this happen...?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Only now did she fully understand what had gone wrong.

The moment the earth debris latched onto her, an overwhelming sense of suppression crushed down upon her body. Once she was fully encased, she had lost all freedom of movement, unable to defend herself or even struggle properly.

And then came the sword.

Now, she was here.

"No!" Fury erupted from her chest.

She could not die here.

One thing was painfully clear. She could no longer win against him.

They were no longer on the same level.

He was a being she had never encountered before, something twisted, something utterly abnormal.

She could not defeat a calamity like this.

If she stayed, she would die.

She had to escape.

No matter the cost.

She had to use that.

Light flared from her spatial ring.

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