Pitch-black flames leapt upon the pure white armor.
Rather than feeling out of place, the stark contrast between the black and white created a clear division, an oddly beautiful harmony.
"So this is the Flame of Destruction from House Asmodeus... But it seems it can't burn through the White Dragon Emperor's armor."
Watching from afar, Vitan narrowed his eyes as Vali raised his arms, clenching his fists slightly.
Though the flames clung to him like maggots on bone, as long as he wore the White Dragon Emperor's armor, the black fire could not harm him.
This was expected. As mentioned before, while the Flame of Destruction had terrifying burning properties, it couldn't affect anything stronger than its wielder.
Otherwise, its effectiveness would be very limited.
After all, the White Dragon Emperor in life was a Heavenly Dragon—an entity of truly transcendent power.
"Of course it can't burn through your armor. But that wasn't my goal."
In the next moment, Vitan disregarded the dozens of meters separating them. Wrapped in arcane spellchains, he suddenly appeared right in front of Vali, slamming his palm hard into Vali's chest.
BOOM—!
Caught completely off guard, Vali was sent flying by the sheer brute force of the blow, crashing through several ancient trees that would take two people to wrap their arms around, before finally embedding himself into the crack of a massive boulder.
Although such an attack was certainly powerful, expecting it to seriously injure Vali or render him immobile in a single blow was nothing short of wishful thinking.
"You've actually regained about half of your previous strength—what's going on?"
Clenching his fists, he struck heavily against the massive boulder behind him. The stone, roughly five meters tall, instantly shattered into countless fragments that scattered in all directions.
Casually brushing off the dust clinging to his armor, Vali asked Vitan with a puzzled expression.
During their earlier clash, Vali had already reduced the strength and magic power within Vitan's body multiple times.
The only reason Vali had let down his guard was because he believed that Vitan's attacks no longer posed any threat.
That was how Vitan had managed to land a hit just now.
Feeling the magic power returning to his body, Vitan unhesitatingly infused it into his True Words.
Boom!
From the sea of fire, a pillar of flame suddenly erupted, surging high into the sky.
Boom!
Boom!
The next moment, one after another, spots in the fiery sea exploded, raising majestic columns of fire that surged into the sky.
Buzz—!
Eight pitch-black flame pillars transformed into wild stallions, sweeping toward Vali in a towering blaze.
The fire surged from all directions, completely sealing off any avenue of retreat for Vali.
"Though I hate to repeat myself, did you forget? Your flames are useless against me."
Just like before, Vali didn't even attempt to dodge.
For someone clad in the White Dragon Emperor's armor, this kind of attack was, if anything, his favorite.
However!
This time, Vali had begun paying attention to the spatial fluctuations around him. If Vitan tried using the same trick again, he was confident he could detect it and evade the attack in time.
The cerulean wings continued to emit soft blue glowing particles—excess power that Vali had absorbed but couldn't store within himself.
Those particles, upon touching the ground, were instantly devoured by the pitch-black flames.
"So that's the reason my power has been gradually recovering..."
He didn't speak this thought aloud. If Vali figured out this little trick, he would quickly find a way to counter it.
What Vitan needed to do now was to expand this brief window of advantage.
His entire body continuously released terrifying magic power, injecting it all into the flames.
The intensity of the flames kept rising, eventually engulfing the entire space, blocking the view of any onlookers.
"If only I had already mastered the Book of the Mirrored Lands, I wouldn't be in such trouble now..."
With a faint sigh, Vitan also stepped into the blazing sea of fire.
The pitch-black walls of flame parted of their own accord as Vitan walked, leaving just enough space for one person to pass.
"—Divide!"
"—Divide, Divide, Divideeeee."
Voices like this rang out one after another, and Vali's brows furrowed.
"Strange, I've used the halving ability several times now. Although the flames have weakened somewhat, it's not by much. And he hasn't used that earlier trick again either..."
Holding out his hand to shield himself from the flames, Vali couldn't help but let his mind wander.
After all, he knew Vitan wasn't the type to waste effort. If he was doing this, it had to have a purpose.
"So then, from where will the real attack come?"
"Above?"
"Below?"
"Left?"
"Right?"
"—Behind!"
Vali's pupils suddenly contracted. A detail he had previously overlooked finally came into view.
The glowing particles, continually burned by the black flames—Asmodeus' legendary Flame of Devouring.
Vali had finally realized the reason Vitan's power had been gradually recovering.
And at that very moment—
A silver-white blade pierced through the wall of flames, its blade wrapped in azure light, slicing through space, breaking the sound barrier, and cleaving through the wall of fire—
Heading straight for the back of Vali's neck.
"I knew you'd notice this under these conditions... but I also knew that at this exact moment, you'd be distracted for just a split second."
With an unstoppable, razor-sharp momentum, the silver-white blade tip struck the helmet on Vali's head—
Clang—!
This was the first time today, after the battle with Vali, that Vitan had broken through the White Dragon Emperor's armor.
Vali's helmet shattered instantly, breaking into pieces of silver-white fragments, which then dissolved into their most basic magical elements.
However, Vitan had no interest in such trivial matters.
With both hands gripping the blade, he continued to slash forward, a familiar sensation coming from the blade.
A crimson line of blood appeared clearly on Vali's neck.
"Impressive!"