The two slashes met—

And detonated.

BOOOOOOM!

The collision exploded into a violent shockwave, shredding the street beneath them and sending molten fragments of stone spiraling outward. The Domain absorbed most of the impact, but even then, the ground cracked like glass.

Mike slid back several meters, boots carving trenches into the stone.

The masked figure staggered.

Inside the Domain of the Monarch, his movements were slower—heavier.

"Tch… damn suppression," he spat.

Mike didn't give him time to recover.

Dimensional Step.

He vanished.

The masked figure's instincts screamed.

He twisted—

Too late.

CLANG!

Mike's sword crashed down from above, forcing the masked man to his knees as Etherfang's pressure crushed him further.

At the same time—

Emperor moved.

The Wolf Emperor blurred forward, his massive body defying logic. One claw descended like a falling mountain, space screaming as it tore open.

The Doppelgänger barely raised its copied sword—

CRACK!

The impact shattered the weapon and sent the Doppelgänger flying, its body skidding across the ground like a broken doll.

"Kekekeke!" Jace's laughter echoed as necrotic chains burst from the earth, binding his weakened copy. "Even imitation rots under true authority!"

Inferna's flames surged violently, overwhelming her mirror image as imperial pressure disrupted the copied infernal core.

Back with Mike—

The masked figure roared, madness bleeding through his voice.

"Madness God—grant me more!"

His aura twisted violently, veins bulging as black-red corruption spread across his armor.

Mike looked at him and understood how he was gaining strength.

"So that's it," Mike said coldly. "You burn your lifeforce for borrowed power."

He raised his sword, Etherfang's domain reinforcing every movement.

"I'll see if you can mock me when I piss on your grave!" the masked man roared as he charged at Mike.

Mike swung his sword once.

"Transcend Cut."

The masked figure rushing toward him was split cleanly in two. His body separated—yet moments later, black mist surged and the two halves reconnected, fusing back together.

"Hahahaha! You thought killing me like that would work?" he mocked.

"My class—Blood Moon Swordsman—grants me regeneration," he said, laughing as he stared at Mike.

"If you had such a powerful class," Mike asked calmly, "why did you end up joining the Dark Gods?"

"What do you know?" the man sneered. "I was nothing but a swordsman—barely a D-rank. Only after joining the Mad God did I obtain the Blood Moon and awaken this power!"

Mike remained silent for a moment, then spoke evenly.

"So that's it. You chose the easy path."

"Shut up!" the masked man screamed. "You don't know anything!"

"What do you know about me?!" he roared in rage.

"I may not know you," Mike replied coldly, "but that doesn't give you the right to kill everyone here."

"Kill?" the man laughed madly. " These weaklings exist only to be trampled by the powerful above them—that's their fate!"

The masked man lunged again, Blood Moon energy screaming as it tore through the air.

Mike didn't retreat.

Black flames ignited along his blade—silent, dense, devouring light itself.

"Black Flame Sword Art," Mike said calmly.

First Form — Horizon Slash

Mike swung once.

A flat, crescent-shaped wave of black fire ripped across the battlefield, cutting the ground cleanly in half as it advanced. The masked man crossed his blade and slid back, boots carving sparks as the flame wave detonated behind him.

"Hah—still too slow!" the man snarled, blood-red aura surging as torn flesh knitted itself back together.

Mike's eyes didn't waver.

Second Form — Transcend Cut

The world fractured.

Space itself folded as Mike stepped through it—not forward, not sideways, but through.

The slash appeared inside the masked man's guard.

His chest split diagonally, black flames eating into bone and soul alike.

The man screamed as his regeneration stalled for half a second—just enough for panic to surface.

"As I thought your regenration is not unlimited" Mike smiled as the masked man said " I will kill you before that" He sneered as he healed back and rushed at him again.

Mike raised his sword once more.

The black flames changed.

They became heavier.

Deeper.

Third Form — Void Brand

Mike stabbed forward.

The blade didn't pierce flesh.

It marked.

A pitch-black sigil burned itself into the masked man's core, sinking beneath armor, bone, and blood.

The man froze.

"W-What did you do?!"

"Your regeneration now costs more," Mike said coldly. "Every time you heal—your soul pays the price."

It was the effect of Void Brand.

Void Brand planted a seed of Black Flame inside the target's body. The stronger the target's healing and regeneration, the faster the seed bloomed—spreading through flesh, mana, and soul alike until it consumed everything from the inside out.

The Black Flame Sword Art had been created by a swordsman who lost his family to vampires. It was a sword art designed for one purpose alone—to counter monsters blessed with monstrous regeneration.

The masked man screamed as his body regenerated once more.

This time, the price was immediate.

Black veins burst across his skin like cracks in obsidian. His aura wavered violently, blood-red light flickering as if suffocating.

Still, madness forced him forward.

"I DON'T CARE!" he roared, charging again. "POWER IS EVERYTHING!"

Mike didn't retreat.

He stepped in.

And began to hack him down.

Slash.

The man's arm flew off—regeneration activated—

The Black Flame surged.

His shoulder ignited from within, flesh turning to ash before it could reform.

Slash.

His leg was severed. Blood Moon power surged desperately—

The Black Flame bloomed faster, devouring muscle, bone, and mana.

Slash.

His torso split open.

This time, regeneration barely responded.

The masked man collapsed to one knee, screaming as black fire poured out of his mouth and eyes.

"No—STOP—!" he howled. "MADNESS GOD—SAVE ME!"

Mike's expression didn't change.

"You were warned," he said quietly.

The man tried to stand.

His body refused.

The Black Flame seed had fully bloomed.

From the inside out, his organs turned to cinders. His Blood Moon aura shattered, ripped apart by the very regeneration it relied on.

He clawed at his own chest, screaming as his body hollowed.

"I—WAS—CHOSEN—!"

Boooom!

Before he could finish he exploded like a bomb.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.