The clash between Varvatos and Guy Crimson was cataclysmic. The dimensional space trembled under the sheer might of two ancient beings unleashing their full power. Magic collided with swordsmanship, raw force with refined technique—each move echoing like a god's decree.
Guy, grinning with a manic glint in his crimson eyes, hurled himself forward once more, blade enveloped in black and red flames, conjuring his Napalm Burst mid-swing to detonate with each slash. The air bent with the heat, and even the dimension groaned as if it couldn't contain their wrath.
Varvatos didn't flinch. He held his hand out and muttered a spell in a language long forgotten.
"Chrono Nullification: Absolute Silence."
Time around him slowed, not stopped, but warped in a stuttered crawl. With precise elegance, he sidestepped Guy's slash, letting the detonation of the Napalm Burst scatter harmlessly into a barrier behind him.
Suddenly, Varvatos vanished.
Boom!
He reappeared behind Guy, not using teleportation, but speed so intense it left afterimages with distorted magical frequency. His blade was out now, humming with a haunting aura, made from his old world's Transcendent Essence Magic—a type of power so arcane the Voice of the World had yet to categorize it.
He whispered:
"Ashen Starfall Blade: Descent."
From the skies within the barrier-dimension, dozens of star-like blades formed and began raining down with planetary-impact force. Guy clicked his tongue, crossed his arms, and activated a triple Multilayer Barrier while twisting his sword in a circular slash to tear through the first wave.
"Not bad!" Guy barked, breathing hard now, his sword melting from the friction of the incoming pressure. "You're faster than anyone I've fought—besides him."
That comment earned a slight smirk from Varvatos.
Rain, watching intently, her arms crossed, spoke with a whisper. "This... This is different. Master's never been pushed like this—not even by Velzard."
Misery, her usually solemn face cracked into a rare frown. "That man… he fights like a god who grew bored and decided to dance with mortals."
Velzard, arms folded elegantly, narrowed her ice-blue eyes. "That magic Varvatos uses… I can't analyze it. It's not from this world. He's not just powerful—he's unknowable."
Suddenly, Varvatos leapt back, hovering mid-air with runes spiraling around him like galaxies in orbit. He lowered his blade and looked straight at Guy with a piercing, yet composed gaze.
"I've seen enough." His voice echoed like it bypassed physical ears and resonated in their very souls. "Your powers—Lucifer, your sword mastery, your regeneration, your time stop... impressive."
Guy clenched his jaw.
"But now that I've observed you, I understand you. Your strength is incredible, Guy Crimson. You're one of the three strongest Demon Lords in this world. But..."
He pointed his blade at Guy, and the runes suddenly pulsed with overwhelming intensity.
"It's time to end this. I won't kill you—but I will destroy you."
The dimension itself cracked again. A new aura engulfed Varvatos—an amalgamation of his old-world transcendent magic and the newly evolved laws of this world. His eyes glowed with a burning silver, and for the first time, Guy took a full step back.
Velzard's expression tightened.
"He's serious... that wasn't even his full power before?"
Rain's usual calm broke.
"Master—!"
Misery gripped her staff tighter.
"What is that form...? It's—no... it's beyond Ultimate Skills..."
Guy, sensing the pressure, chuckled—but this time, it was half-grim.
"Heh. Well damn. Guess I really pissed off a monster from another world."
He cracked his neck and grinned.
"Alright then, Varvatos. Show me what a being like you can really do!"
As the radiant aura surrounding Varvatos swelled, the entire dimension quaked. The very laws of nature inside the barrier trembled as if struggling to comprehend the presence of something so absolute.
Guy gritted his teeth, his grin now fading into cautious focus. He had faced many enemies in his endless existence—but never had someone made him feel as if he were the one being measured.
Varvatos raised a single finger.
"Dominion Field: Crown of Supremacy."
A massive magic circle—infinitely complex—unfurled beneath them like a cosmic sigil. The sky above the dimension turned deep gold, and chains of light and shadow erupted from it, surrounding Guy in a perfect prism of power.
Guy blinked. Time... had stopped.
Not by his own hand.
No—it was a higher law overriding his own Lucifer: Lord of Pride.
"Impossible," he muttered, his time-stop frozen mid-activation.
"Your skill is impressive," Varvatos said gently, as if he were correcting a student, "but you rely too heavily on it. It is still bound to the voice of this world. I am not."
He waved his hand. Guy's time resume clicked, but he realized he was still frozen in place. The dimensional lock—Varvatos' spell—had hijacked all foundational permissions within the barrier.
"Your swordplay is masterful," Varvatos continued, slowly approaching, "but it is defined by conflict. Mine is defined by resolution."
He appeared in front of Guy in the blink of an eye, and tapped Guy's chest with the flat of his blade.
Boom.
A devastating blast of anti-matter energy erupted inside Guy's body—not enough to kill, but more than enough to shatter his regeneration momentarily.
Guy flew back, coughing, crashing into one of the floating platforms within the barrier. It disintegrated into stardust as he slammed through it.
Velzard's mouth opened slightly in disbelief.
"He pierced Guy's regeneration? Without killing intent?"
Rain took a step forward, voice tight.
"I can't... see any openings. Master's being completely outmaneuvered."
Misery remained silent, but even she clenched her fists.
Guy staggered to his feet, eyes narrowed, crimson aura flaring like a wildfire.
"You're fast. Too fast. Even faster than when you started."
Varvatos finally drew his blade fully. Its edge shimmered between dimensions—neither wholly present nor absent.
"That's because I've finished analyzing you," he said calmly.
"I don't need to adapt anymore. Now, I simply erase."
With a flick of his wrist:
"Abyssal Resonance: Null Spiral."
A massive whirlpool of energy—void, silence, and infinite mass compressed into one—emerged and shot toward Guy. Even Lucifer couldn't dispel it. Guy raised nine layers of barriers, cast nuclear magic, dark fire, and time acceleration—
And still, it consumed everything.
Boom.
The explosion didn't feel like an explosion. It was a collapse—as if reality had sighed and blinked out for a moment.
Guy was slammed into the ground, breathing heavily. Blood trickled down his cheek. His clothes were torn, pride bruised.
Varvatos now stood above him, blade resting gently on his shoulder.
"I told you," he whispered, voice low but heavy with certainty,
"I won't kill you. But from this day forth, know this—"
He leaned closer.
"You may be a Demon Lord. You may be the strongest in this world... but I am the sovereign of many."
"Remember my name—Varvatos, the Emperor Beyond Realms."
Guy stared up at him, grinning despite the defeat.
"Heh... Fine. You win this one. But I'll remember this. I'll train. I'll evolve. And next time..."
He coughed.
"Next time, I won't hold back either."
Varvatos smiled gently and stepped back. The barrier cracked and dissolved, returning them all to the Ice Continent's castle as if nothing had happened.
Velzard stood up and walked over to Guy, placing a hand on his shoulder with a rare expression of concern.
Rain and Misery immediately knelt in front of Varvatos.
"That power," Rain whispered, "was that the Authority of Dominion?"
Varvatos simply chuckled and turned to leave.
"That was a glimpse. There's much more this world has yet to see."
He vanished in a spiral of star-light, leaving behind silence, awe—and a tremor that would echo across the world's power balance forever.