The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2044: Final exchange

The melee between the Scarlet King and the True Depravita of Sloth grew ever more ferocious, until the thousandth strike had already been exchanged. Everything happened in less than a second—blow for blow, fist against fist, body against body. Their forms were bloodied, bones cracked, skin torn, yet the fire in their eyes never dimmed. Determination burned like twin suns, each elevating the fight to the next, more apocalyptic level.

Their energy climbed higher and higher, a storm so intense that the fabric of space itself began to groan. Tremors rippled across the void; massive fractures opened, chunks of reality splintering away as their fists sought each other again.

Their battlefield reached such an immense level that anything below the ArchDeity Rank that got near them would be pulverized into nothingness, and things only grew wilder as their eyes glowed and pushed things to the next level.

Cain’s strike landed first, slamming into Azazel’s solar plexus. The impact made the True Depravita’s chest cave for an instant, agony exploding through his ribs. But Azazel’s counter came just as fast. His punch cracked into Cain’s face, snapping his jaw sideways.

And in that instant, Cain’s entire body froze. His skin lost color, shifting into a cold gray, his flesh rigid as stone. Even the molecular vibration of Tenth Gear was halted.

Only his eyes still glowed, defiant sparks locked on Azazel, but the Scarlet King’s body, his energy, even his blood flow—all of it was sealed.

Azazel’s lips twisted into a fierce smile, blood dripping between his teeth. The strike to his chest had been excruciating, but his Innate Ability—the power to lock existence in a single moment of time—had succeeded. Cain was paralyzed, a king bound in chains. Azazel’s aura flared, ready to detonate the Scarlet King where he stood.

But before he could seize the victory, Cain’s last blow bore fruit.

From the spot where Cain’s fist had struck, a scarlet explosion ignited—compressed energy from the Imperial Apex Smash detonating in Azazel’s chest.

Azazel’s body rocked violently, flesh splitting as runes carved into his chest by the Scarlet King’s fist flared and burst. He clenched his teeth, struggling to contain the raging force, but the blast kept pushing him backward, farther and farther from Cain.

Cain’s body trembled. His gray prison cracked. His glowing eyes blazed brighter until, with a shattering sound, the petrified shell broke apart. Breath rushed back into his lungs as the Scarlet King was freed.

Azazel’s aura condensed, sealing the exploding rune in his chest at last, but he was far from safe. Cain was already upon him, his right hand raised in a blade stance, reality itself trembling at its edge.

"Sundering Sovereign Slash!"

The invisible blade howled forward, its edge sharp enough to cut the cosmos itself. A thin line of blood traced from Azazel’s forehead to his waist. For an instant, it seemed his body would split apart—

Then he vanished.

Cain’s eyes narrowed, scanning the void. There had been no teleportation, no substitution. Azazel’s form had simply retreated—as if his body itself had stepped backward through time.

"Another Innate Ability of his Resurrección..." Cain realized, expression sharpening.

Azazel reappeared behind, eyes burning with malice as he rose. Cain dove downward, meeting him halfway. Their fists collided once more, and again the same deadly cycle unfolded. Cain’s blow carried an embedded explosive rune, detonating on contact, mangling Azazel’s arm and burning his flesh to ash. At the same instant, Azazel’s gray aura surged, freezing Cain mid-motion once again.

The True Depravita roared, his body torn and battered, his left hand mangled beyond recognition. Yet with grim resolve, he brought his ruined fingers together, carving into his own flesh to sever the lingering rune. The agony was indescribable, but his fist could still close, and that was all that mattered. He lunged forward, fist raised, ready to strike with all he had before Cain could break free.

His body did not move, but Cain’s eyes lit brighter than ever.

Though his body was frozen, his energy broke free sooner. A mantle of scarlet force burst around him, generating a sundering mantle, shredding anything that neared into ribbons of meat and sparks of reality.

Azazel’s eyes burned with defiance and killing intent as his strikes crashed into the mantle regardless.

"ARRRRGHHHHH!"

Flesh and muscle tore with each blow, but he didn’t care. His fists and legs pounded forward with increasing fury, shattering bones and collapsing organs. Cain’s body groaned under the assault, his ribs fracturing, blood bursting from his wounds.

Finally, Cain’s mantle shattered, the gray aura crumbling away. His body moved freely once more, right as Azazel’s fist shot toward his throat.

In the last instant, Cain slipped aside, rage exploding in his soul. He stepped in close, elbow rising with all the power of sundering force.𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"ZNNNN!"

The strike slashed across Azazel’s face, carving a wound from cheek to temple. Blood geysered into the void. Cain did not relent. His knees and elbows became scythes of slaughter, each strike laced with sundering might. Cuts and gashes bloomed across Azazel’s body—deep, brutal, relentless.

Azazel was bleeding from every corner of his body, and just as Cain’s elbow was about to rip off his jaw, he moved back through time again, reappearing behind Cain, back to back.

Twisting with monstrous strength, Azazel’s leg snapped up in a savage kick.

The heel smashed into Cain’s skull, launching the Scarlet King tumbling through the void. His vision spun, stars smearing into streaks of light.

Both warriors hovered in silence, chests heaving, bodies trembling. Their internal organs were shredded, their flesh mutilated, their energies destabilizing to the point of collapse. And yet neither cared. Their hearts still beat—and so they would fight.

"RUMBLE!"

Reality itself began to tremble as the eyes of both men glowed with absolute, unbreakable determination.

Cain extended his right hand, middle and index fingers outstretched. Scarlet energy condensed along them, every iota of his power funneled into a single strike sharp enough to sever existence.

Azazel clenched his right fist. Stasis energy surged into it, stronger than ever—power that could halt body, soul, and mind alike.

The void darkened around them. Energy flooded to its peak, both combatants reaching their absolute limit.

Then, without hesitation, they lunged.

The Scarlet King and the True Depravita of Sloth hurtled toward one another, ready to end everything in the next exchange.