Chapter 80 80~ The Fallen Villain

Wail remembered his battle against Aetherion...

Back then, Aetherion had told him:

"It seems the sealing process failed... The Spirit of Perception has completely merged with your consciousness."

Wail thought to himself:

That spirit Aetherion implanted in my left eye... I thought the process had simply failed, but it seems the exact opposite happened...

He then recalled what Bahaa had told him during their fight:

"Spirits are connected to the emotions of their vessels. Perhaps because your emotions have changed, the spirit hasn't been able to adapt to them yet."

Wail returned to his thoughts.

When I felt that excitement during my fight against Aetherion, I sensed the Spirit of Perception's energy becoming unstable. But it returned to normal as soon as I regained my composure... It seems the Spirit of Perception is connected to emotions of absolute calmness and composure...

---

In the present...

After the enormous white explosion, the smoke gradually cleared, revealing Vale standing completely unharmed.

But this time, there was no smile on his face.

As the smoke continued to dissipate, a white energy shaped like an X appeared behind it, rippling through the air.

Wail continued his thoughts:

Ever since I felt that enjoyment, I've completely lost the ability to use the Spirit of Perception's energy... But that can only mean one thing...

Wail emerged from the smoke, wearing a faint, confident smile.

His hair gradually turned white, rising as his white aura grew stronger. The white X in his left eye began radiating an intense glow.

He finally continued his thought:

"That excitement... that joy of battle... They're the emotions of the second spirit Aetherion implanted within me."

Vale looked at his brother in astonishment.

"I knew he had two spirits inside him. I intended to teach him how to use them after bringing him over to my side, but it seems he's already managed to use one of them."

He then smiled and added,

"This spirit couldn't take control of his consciousness because he carries the Spirit of Perception within him... He may not be able to use its power, but it grants him complete control over himself."

On the other side, Amin asked Bahaa,

"Bahaa... Why has Wail's energy disappeared?"

Bahaa replied,

"It hasn't disappeared... He's using the energy of the spirit inside him. At this level, we're too weak compared to it to sense its presence."

"Do you mean the Spirit of Perception?"

Bahaa smiled.

"I don't think so..."

Wail slowly raised his hand and spoke to Vale.

"You may notice that I'll enjoy this fight... but I won't hesitate for a second to kill you."

Vale laughed excitedly.

"Haha! Come at me!"

In the next instant, Wail waved his hand.

Three sudden slashes appeared across Vale's body, and a look of astonishment spread across his face.

Before he could even process what had happened, Wail appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye and delivered a powerful punch directly into the center of those wounds.

Vale was sent flying backward, leaving droplets of blood in his wake.

Wail remained where he was, staring at his opponent , surprised by the sheer power and energy he had gained. He couldn't understand how those wounds had appeared on Vale's body, or how he had managed to inflict them with nothing more than a movement of his hand.

But that didn't stop him from smiling.

He then flew toward his opponent once more.

Vale's dark aura erupted, and the two charged toward each other.

Vale met Wail's attack with a dense void barrier, but the latter didn't stop. He unleashed a rapid series of punches, relying on his immense physical strength.

Vale retreated with each blow, trying to keep Wail's fists away from his body. He eventually extended his arm, unleashing a long blade of void energy that swept through the space between them.

Wail tilted his body to evade the blade, then charged toward Vale again.

But this time, Vale was ready.

No mystery here: the copy was taken from where the author publishes the story without permission; reading that chapter supports them.

Several void blades appeared around him, shooting from different directions and surrounding Wail from the front and both sides.

Wail was forced to change his trajectory rapidly. He dodged most of them, but one left a deep gash across his shoulder.

Vale seized the opportunity and extended his hand toward him, firing a void projectile from his palm.

Wail leaped upward, but Vale changed the projectile's direction mid-flight, making it pursue him through the air.

Wail flew away from it, but Vale caught up with him and threw a punch covered in void energy toward his chest.

Wail blocked it with his forearm, concentrating energy around it. The force of the collision sent him flying backward.

The two exchanged glances for a moment before charging at each other again.

Vale began using his void in increasingly varied ways. He created small barriers to block Wail's attacks, then suddenly transformed them into offensive blades. He also fired successive projectiles from different angles, forcing Wail to constantly change direction.

Wail, meanwhile, relied on his speed and physical strength, using lightning to enhance his movements and striking Vale whenever an opening appeared.

During their exchange of blows, new cracks appeared across Vale's arm, followed by another wound along his side, despite Wail never directly touching him.

Vale retreated slightly and looked at his body, then at Wail.

He hadn't managed to determine exactly when those injuries appeared, but one thing had become clear: whenever Wail attacked, new wounds appeared that his aura couldn't prevent.

Wail continued his assault. Vale tried to keep his fists away using void barriers, but Wail exploited an opening in one of them and lunged straight toward his face.

Vale took the punch, but used their close proximity to strike Wail as well.

The two were sent flying in opposite directions.

Vale regained his balance first, then launched a void projectile at tremendous speed toward Wail.

Wail couldn't evade it completely. He tilted his body slightly, but the projectile struck his right arm and tore it apart.

Wail's eyes widened for a moment.

At the same time, Vale appeared on his right side, where Wail's arm had been torn away, and threw a punch covered in void energy toward his face.

But a faint smile appeared on Wail's face.

He extended his mangled arm toward Vale and said,

"You're underestimating the power of spirits, Vale!"

In an instant, his arm regenerated completely.

Wail grabbed Vale's face and drove him toward the ground with tremendous force.

Vale coughed up blood upon impact, but Wail gave him no chance to get back up. He unleashed a relentless barrage of punches.

Vale tried to protect his head with his void aura, but the force of the blows drove him deeper into the ground. Some of Wail's punches were covered in energy, while others were completely bare, making it impossible for Vale to defend against all of them.

Suddenly, Vale unleashed a vast field of void energy around his body, destroying everything nearby and leaving behind an enormous crater.

Wail had already retreated before the field spread. He remained hovering in the distance, watching his opponent with a smile.

In the next instant, cracks began appearing across Vale's body, one after another.

He tried to condense his aura to protect himself, but it did nothing to stop them.

Vale noticed that Wail was extending his hand toward him. Every time Wail moved one of his fingers, another crack appeared across his body.

His eyes widened slightly.

He's not firing blades or anything like that... My ability is completely useless against him! He's manipulating space itself...

On the other side, Wail was thinking as well.

I don't understand exactly what's happening... But whenever I concentrate my energy on Vale, new wounds appear on his body.

He then smiled excitedly.

"This is incredible... I can't wait to discover what else I can do!"

Wail charged again, this time with electricity surrounding his body.

Vale met him with several small projectiles that appeared in front of him and exploded along Wail's path, forcing him backward.

Wail didn't stop. He surged forward through the lightning, bypassing the attacks before appearing in front of Vale and delivering a powerful punch.

Vale raised his arm to block it, then retreated, gritting his teeth.

A moment later, he teleported and reappeared in front of Wail, unleashing a rapid series of successive void attacks. Lightning automatically appeared in front of Wail, destroying the void before it could reach him.

At the right moment, Wail lunged forward and threw a punch toward Vale's face.

But Vale tilted his head, evading the blow, then countered with a punch to Wail's stomach.

Wail took the hit and retreated several meters. But before he could move any farther, new cracks appeared across Vale's chest.

Vale stopped for a moment, staring at the injuries that had appeared on his body.

I've grown accustomed to the timing of Wail's attacks, but avoiding them is still impossible.

Wail landed on the ground with a smile, ready to attack again.

But something stopped him.

His smile gradually faded. The energy radiating from his left eye weakened, while his white hair slowly returned to its original color.

Vale stood on the other side, his body covered in wounds and blood.

He looked at Wail and said,

"You've reached your limit... You can't use the spirit's energy any longer, brother. And that's why I'll end this now."

He smiled and began gathering an enormous amount of void energy in his hand.

But his smile suddenly vanished.

Wail began laughing quietly. His laughter gradually grew louder and continued without stopping.

Vale looked at him in confusion.

"Strange... It's weird to see you laughing this way. What's so funny?"

Wail stopped laughing for a moment, but his smile remained.

"Oh... Nothing. Nothing at all ! I'm just surprised you still see me as Wail."

"What?!"

In the blink of an eye, Bahaa was standing where Wail had been.

Vale's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. He looked directly into Bahaa's eyes as they began glowing once more.

"Wait... Could it be that, back then..."

Vale recalled the moment he had tried to kill Bahaa, only to find his arm severed by Wail's spirit energy. He had been caught off guard and looked directly into Bahaa's eyes, which had glowed at that very moment...

"Damn it! I've figured out what your ability does!"

But before he could finish speaking, a brilliant white light appeared behind him.

He turned quickly and saw Wail standing there.

The white X in his left eye had grown larger, rippling and glowing intensely, while a white blade had formed along his arm.

Vale condensed the void around his body, forming multiple overlapping layers of defensive aura to withstand the incoming blade.

But his face suddenly began twisting, and the void surrounding him became distorted.

Wail was staring directly at his face, activating his Bloody Eye and bypassing Vale's defenses.

In the next instant, the white blade sliced Vale's face in half.

A tremendous shockwave erupted behind the blade, carving a deep gash that stretched across the ground.

But it wasn't over yet.

At the last moment, Vale managed to use his eye ability and choose another future in which he survived the attack.

He lunged toward Wail with his void-covered fist, only to be shocked when he realized his arm was gone.

Damn it! I didn't have enough time to choose a future in which I escaped without being injured!

Wail gave him no chance to process what had happened and attacked again.

Vale used his other arm to strike at him, but flames suddenly erupted around it.

"Some pathetic flames won't stop..."

His eyes widened.

He tried to release void energy to extinguish the flames, but they wouldn't disappear.

When he looked toward their source, he saw Amin standing at a distance, his outstretched hand glowing with a dark crimson aura. A strange smile rested on his face.

Vale sensed the presence of the spirit within Amin.

Then he turned his gaze forward again.

Wail had already reached him, throwing a punch directly toward his face, a broad smile on his own.

For a moment, Vale thought to himself:

Impossible... I can't lose to a bunch of youngsters! This is impossible!

But then he suddenly realized something.

Youngsters? No...

All three of them were smiling in the same way, as though they were enjoying the fight.

And in that final moment, Vale no longer saw them in their familiar forms. Instead, he saw three entities representing the spirits within them.

Vale laughed.

"Haha... So I've actually been fighting three spirits as equals this entire time..."

Then he was struck by Wail's devastating punch, which sent him flying toward the frozen river.

Wail landed on the ground, his energy completely depleted. He closed his left eye, his smile vanished, and his usual cold expression returned.

He then began walking slowly toward Vale.

Vale emerged from the river, gasping for breath. His Elemental Transformation had faded.

He shouted furiously,

"Why won't you understand, Wail?! I don't intend to hurt you! I only want to free you all from suffering!"

Wail didn't answer. He continued walking toward him.

Vale kept shouting,

"You understand nothing! None of you understand anything! You think possessing this power will allow you to protect yourselves and those around you, but you're wrong, you fools! You have no idea how powerful the beings living in this vast universe truly are!"

He pointed toward Wail.

"You think this power helped you defeat me, but you're wrong, Wail... This power will only bring you more suffering! As long as you carry it, danger will never end, and more of your friends will die!"

Wail stopped.

His eyes widened slightly, as though Vale's words had struck a sensitive nerve.

But Bahaa's voice brought him back to reality.

"Wail!"

Wail turned toward him, looking at him in surprise.

Bahaa's Bloody Eyes glowed at that moment as he told him,

"Don't listen to him... Do it."

Wail clenched his fists, then turned his gaze back toward Vale.

"I needed this power... to protect everyone from you and those like you. And now... I'll end this."

Vale laughed mockingly.

"Your energy is gone! Do you really think you can..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Wail appeared in front of him, already in his red power form.

The veins in his fist bulged, steam rising from it as red and black energy began surrounding his body.

Wail delivered a direct punch to Vale's face.

The blow shattered his skull, followed by a surge of black lightning that swept across the area.

But Vale's eyes glowed at the last moment, allowing him to activate his ability and replace himself with another version who hadn't been injured.

He reappeared far from Wail, then leaped away toward the sky.

Wail wanted to chase him, but he didn't pursue.

Instead, he raised both hands toward the sky, and red lightning began forming across the horizon.

His scream rose...

He screamed with all his heart, a cry filled with the pain and despair he had endured throughout all this time. In his mind, bloody arms appeared, reaching out from everyone he had killed, as though they were grabbing him and trying to hold him back.

But he didn't stop.

His scream grew louder and louder.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Then, suddenly, he fell silent.

His eyes widened as Vale and everything else around him disappeared from view.

All he could see was sunlight breaking through the clouds, illuminating his face.

At that same moment, his energy vanished completely, as though his body had been drained of every last drop.

He slowly looked down.

There, he saw Vale lying on the ground, gripping Wail's foot.

His face was completely crushed, and blood streamed from his eyes.

Wail couldn't understand what had happened.

Neither could Vale himself...