Second World

Chapter 1967: Chapter 1967. Mana Awakening Vs Final Form

Satan was about to deliver a killing strike to slay Penny. His flaming axe, coated with soul and chaos energies, was on its way to Penny's neck. However, before the axe connected with its target, a beam shooting at a blinding speed struck the axe.

Satan failed to detect the beam not only because it was too fast, but also because he sensed no mana from that beam. However, the most surprising thing was the force from the beam caused him to take a step back. His attempt to slay the lava dragonet was foiled.

A shadow zoomed past Penny. The fire rings that bind her body burst apart. Penny was free. However, she couldn't move away because she had lost her hind legs. She was whimpering in pain on the ground. An invisible force lifted her body and sent her away.

"You...?!" Satan was surprised by the perpetrator who foiled his killing attempt.

That person was Jack, but Jack was unlike the outworlder he fought before. Jack was different. Jack was covered in a multicolor aura. He also couldn't sense Jack. While he knew Jack had mana concealment, it was slightly different this time. It was as if Jack's entire presence was concealed.

Yet, Jack was clearly in front of him.

"What happens to you?" Satan asked.

"I've been granted the power to defeat you," Jack replied.

"Heh, cute," Satan chuckled. He turned to where Dajja was. The last time he saw Dajja, the demon was fighting Jack.

Jack could guess what Satan was thinking. "No need to look. That eyeball demon is no more. I've slain him."

Satan frowned. Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at such a statement. However, he had been sending telepathic messages to Dajja but failed to get a telepathic connection. Furthermore, there was something about Jack that made him feel wary.

"A*shole. Do you know how difficult it is to find a competent assistant?" Satan cursed.

"I do," Jack replied. He then disappeared.

He reappeared next to Satan's face and performed Flame Strike. The flame that burned following his swing was like a blazing inferno. It was incomparable to normal Flame Strike. When his flaming claw connected with Satan's face, the result was a fiery explosion the size of a city block.

The shockwave from the explosion threw Jeanny and the others away. Everyone was having trouble believing what Jack used just now was a basic skill.

Satan reeled from the strike. This was like the repeat of Jack's first strike when Jack proposed the duel. Same as then, he had been caught unaware by Jack's speed. His perception when he was in final form was superb. He could see Jack's movements. He was just unprepared for it.

He gritted his teeth. That first time, it was amusing to find an opponent who could give him such a surprise. This time, he no longer felt amused.

"Motherf*cking outworlder! Dieee...!!!" Raging flames burst from his body. His flaming fist shot at a blinding speed at Jack.

Jack didn't dodge the threatening-looking fist. He also punched. The two fists, one gigantic and the other one tiny, collided. Logic dictated that the tiny fist should be obliterated from the collision. Yet, the two fists seemed equal in strength. The shockwave from the impact caused the ground beneath them to crack and collapse.

A huge flaming hand appeared behind Jack. It attempted to grab Jack. But before it did, multiple black lights flashed out of thin air and sliced the flaming hand to pieces.

These black lights were Nine Yin Phantom Swords. Jack's current level of mana awakening allowed him to draw enough mana to form multiple phantom swords simultaneously. These black lights didn't stop after cutting the flaming hand. More flashed out and formed a net that trapped Satan. In addition, Jack's two claws moved at blinding speed, performing the final phase of Formless Flowing Sword Style. Black lights and sword lights swarmed Satan. This assault was impossible to dodge. Every square inch of Satan's body had either the black lights or the sword lights hitting it.

After getting into his final form, Satan's defense reached a new height. Even when an opponent successfully landed a strike, he didn't receive much damage. The current attack was different, though. The black lights had great piercing abilities. As for the sword lights, the combos multiplied the damage with time.

Before he suffered too much damage, Satan conjured the Soul and Chaos Rings of Defense on his two hands. These two rings spun and formed a sphere protecting his body, repelling the black lights and sword lights.

The soul and chaos sphere might have protected Satan from the assault, but that didn't mean he was safe. Jack used War God's Stride. He shifted past the protective sphere and came right before Satan. Before the devil could react, he used Devouring Cross. The attack damaged Satan and healed the HP he lost when fighting Dajja earlier.

Satan reeled back from the strike. A clear X-mark was seen on his chest where the Devouring Cross had landed.

"You, insufferable punk! I will end you!!" The flaming aureole behind Satan spun rapidly. It then discharged a massive flame pillar.

Jack used War God's Shield. His mana awakening let him repair the shield so he could use it earlier than he should. The golden shield was larger and thicker than normal. Its golden brilliance was so dense the shield was as if solid gold. The flame pillar was unable to burn through the shield.

The aureole behind Satan kept turning, but it wasn't for an offensive purpose. The aureole helped Satan manipulate another of his skills to shorten its cooldown. Before long, the flames on Satan's body changed color. Half was silver and the other half became dark purple. It was the Soul and Chaos Peak Flames. Together with his Final Form, just his aura alone could suffocate those in his vicinity. The air around him combusted, and the ground underneath him cracked even when he was not applying pressure.

Jack was unaffected, but he didn't underestimate his opponent. He activated Devilize.

After their transformations, the two vanished at almost the same time.

*BOOM!*BOOM!*BOOM!*

Multiple booming sounds were heard. Shockwaves of explosions occurred all around the place. These shockwaves reverberated far and wide. Their power was felt even from far away. The ground cracked and shattered from the force. As for those nearby who watched, they had to move away again and again every time the shockwaves hit them.

They couldn't see the battle. Both Jack and Satan were moving at a speed that was impossible to perceive. Even Grace, with her incredible eyesight, couldn't see the two.

John told Tip to pull back Gumeru, Czar, and Lodahn. The current battle was not one these guild guardians could help with. As for Penny, Grace came over and used her healing spells to bring Penny's HP up. But like Eoranth, Penny couldn't fight anymore. They had to wait until Tip unsummoned the guild army before she could be treated in the guild headquarters. John, Jeanny, Grace, and Paytowin continued watching from a distance. They remained on standby even when they couldn't lend a hand. But rather than watching, it was more correct to say they were listening to the battle. The only indication that a battle was taking place was the booming sounds that kept on echoing. It was also from these sounds that they knew the battle was picking up in altitude. Jack and Satan were getting higher into the sky as their battle

proceeded.

Another huge shockwave happened high in the sky. This shockwave blew away all the clouds, clearing up the sky. This last shockwave was followed by silence afterward. Jack and Satan were still as they watched one another.

"Im... Impossible... How can an outworlder like you be this strong?" Satan asked. "Not to mention, you are not this strong earlier. Where did you get this kind of power?"

Jack grinned. "Don't you want to know?"

Satan's face turned into an ugly scowl. "Don't think you have a chance, Storm Wind! No matter how hard you try, a single outworlder will never defeat a devil! Much less a devil like

me!!"

Satan might be saying that, but he knew the most after the exchange just now. Jack had the advantage. Despite their lightning-speed bouts, Jack's actions remained precise. This was thanks to the peak state of his Sword's Heart. Satan was the one who kept losing HP, while Jack didn't receive any damage. His HP, which had healed to almost fifty percent before he and Jack went back to dueling, had now fallen back to thirty percent again. This was even after he activated the Soul and Chaos Peak Flames.

The flaming aureole behind Satan continued to spin. It was stretching the duration of the Soul and Chaos Peak Flames, making it last longer than its natural duration. Though Jack had the advantage, he wasn't without worry. He knew his mana awakening wasn't indefinite. If he maintained it more than his body could handle, he would go into a blackout. If that happened, he would be finished. He had to defeat Satan before that!