Chapter 287 — Indestructible Matter

The first to arrive was the halberd.

Made of Nothingness, its sharp edge shone brilliantly as it smashed onto the Duke. It penetrated through his skull, leaving behind a giant open wound.

Wooden chips scattered everywhere as the Greater Devil was impacted by the remaining force and stumbled back.

He was about to retreat instinctively, unwilling to follow his opponent’s rhythm during the battle.

However, before the Duke could open any distance between them, the second blow of the Eclipse had landed.

Liora’s mind connected to the revolving sphere and launched it towards her opponent.

Compared to the previous strike, this ability was the one she relied upon most.

And the final result proved that Eclipse was worthy of her "trust".

The sphere landed at the same place where the halberd had previously struck.

Touching the already open wound, it spun around endlessly, devouring the matter around it like a black hole.

The wooden chips that had previously scattered did not have the time to fall to the ground.

They were affected and became nutrients for the sphere, making its power and devouring force even more potent.

The skull of the Duke was instantly crushed.

Despite his extraordinary defenses, the sphere continued to the center of his body and began devouring his flesh from within.

Bit by bit, it grew even stronger and, in mere moments, had completely devoured Duke Bloodflower.

In just two attacks, the Duke had disappeared. Both his body and soul seemed to have been wiped out.

Unfortunately, Liora was far from happy.

She had sensed no dying soul appearing, while the Evolution Points at the bottom of her System Panel had remained the same.

This meant that Duke Bloodflower had not died! He was still alive!

Indeed, a heartbeat later, Liora’s consciousness noticed a golden light flying out of the place where the Duke had just stood.

Its speed was astonishing, and in an instant, it had disappeared, reemerging far away.

Following a violent flicker, it grew bigger and took another form.

First, a pair of hands appeared, then a torso, then the rest of the body.

In the blink of an eye, a towering, ten-meter-tall figure had shown up, replacing the original flickering golden light.

Not surprisingly, this person was Duke Bloodflower.

However, somewhat shockingly, the Duke was now intact.

Liora found no trace of the previous injuries he had suffered on him, as if the earlier scene had been an illusion.

But Liora, being a True Devil, could confirm that it had truly happened.

Immediately, a term mentioned briefly in her bloodline memories resurfaced in her mind.

"Indestructible Matter...", she whispered this word, a name that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her.

Her voice was low, but the Duke was a Greater Devil after all.

Hearing her mumblings, he looked at her and chuckled:

"It seems that your bloodline is not ordinary at all..."

"Since you already know about Indestructible Matter, you should understand that it’s impossible for you to kill me."

"Yes. You might be able to destroy my body several times. But no matter how much you try, unless my Indestructible Matter is fully consumed, I will inevitably be reborn.", he stated calmly, a hint of pride flashing across his face.

He had a reason to be proud. Liora knew that his words were indeed true.

Although not much was mentioned regarding Indestructible Matter in her bloodline memories, and she only knew that it was something that made Greater Devils practically immortal, she could confirm that the Duke’s words were correct.

However, despite this, Liora did not despair.

She looked at the Duke, who seemed utterly calm, and showed the exact same attitude.

Her eyes briefly landed on the five True Devils in the distance and then on the rune flickering on her opponent’s forehead. She opened her mouth and spoke:

"There’s no reason to keep pretending. Since you are still speaking to me rather than attacking me, you have already displayed your secret weakness.", she chuckled.

"If I’m not wrong, you should be unable to exert your full strength. Even if you are a Greater Devil, you lack the confidence to kill me."

Liora’s words seemed like a guess of hers, but her tone was filled with absolute certainty. In fact, she was 99% certain of her guess.

If a True Devil offended a Greater Devil, the only natural result would be that they would be slapped to death. This held true for other stages too.

For example, if a Lesser Devil "robbed" something that Liora wished to obtain, she wouldn’t spend any effort communicating with them. Instead, she would simply slap them to death and take what she wanted.

If she didn’t, it meant that she lacked the confidence to kill them. Or at the very least, doing so would require her to pay a certain price.

Following up on her earlier words, Liora continued:

"As long as you turn around and leave, we can resolve our grievances."

"There’s no reason to fight a battle that will hurt both of us...", she said, her voice filled with the same confidence that Duke Bloodflower previously possessed.

As her words fell, the demi-plane was shrouded in utter silence. Neither of the two parties spoke, and the same was true for the five True Devils on the side.

However, just when it seemed that this would go on forever, the two Devils suddenly disappeared.

Their figures turned illusory and met in the sky in the middle, clashing against each other.

Liora did not change her method of attack. She continued manipulating the power of Nothingness while the familiar sphere formed in the space above her head.

Similarly, the Duke did not cast any other abilities. Holding onto the miniature city, he controlled the cannons on its walls to fire out several shots.

The thousands of cannonballs struck the sphere. Surprisingly, Eclipse, which had previously never failed, had now been rendered invalid.

The power of Nothingness seemed to fail to get an advantage in their confrontation.

After a violent tremble, the sphere was launched backwards, flying back before completely dissipating.

On the other hand, the cannonballs continued unabated, firing towards Liora.

Seeing these blows, each one enough to threaten a True Devil, Liora didn’t blink, much less show any fear.

With a thought, her mind connected to the Land of Nothingness.

As that faraway place’s power descended, her figure turned virtual. Though the shining blows passed right through her, they failed to hurt her in the slightest.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liora closed the distance between her and her enemy.

Then, deactivating Virtualization, she lowered the halberd onto her opponent’s head.

With a swoosh, its edge cut through the wooden surface. Unlike the earlier scene where the Nothingness had retreated, it now displayed its true power.

Coming into contact with Duke Bloodflower, it instantly drilled into his body, devouring him from within once again.

The Duke’s expression froze. Then, his body collapsed.

For the second time in a short period of time, he had died!

But the next second, the familiar golden light reappeared. It flashed into the distance and brought him back to life.

Yet, he didn’t have the time to breathe a sigh of relief. Liora’s figure had already arrived beside him and attacked once again.

Helpless, he could only control the miniature city to defend.