When the explosion caused by the three Lawless Tomes ended, Arima's group emerged again from the gate and looked around. They quickly spotted the four Guardians that stood out sorely after the scenery had been turned into a massive hemispherical crater.

 

Some of the crosses Arima had summoned before had been dug out. They were not damaged but some of them had fallen to the ground. In the middle of this, the place where Ambrogio was standing didn't take any damage from the terrifying outburst of energy. The three other Guardians were also unharmed behind him.

 

Arima scowled at them. The reason he was forced to flee with the Second White Art was that the explosion caused by the Lawless Tomes' instability couldn't be controlled, and even for him, it was absolutely impossible to get out of there unscathed.

 

"You used a Law?" He asked and Ambrogio's expression darkened. He didn't answer and in the next instant, his entire arm was suddenly, and gruesomely, ripped away from his shoulder. He groaned in pain and his face paled. His arm then turned to ashes before disappearing.

 

Arima's eyes twitched. He extended his senses and managed to hear the sound of bones being minced. Layla gaped in shock and Malum snorted in amusement.

 

"So, you can't use Laws without a price after all," he uttered and Ambrogio clicked his tongue. He then waved his other hand in front of his shoulder and cauterized his injury immediately.

 

"Indeed…" Arima muttered and smirked. "So, that's what the Original God gave you, huh? When you use a Law, the price you give is a lot cheaper. I also sense that your arm is already growing back. You used the Law of Materiality. If I was in your place and had used my arm as a sacrifice, I would have lost it forever like with my eyes," he chuckled. "Very interesting."

 

"As I thought… you lost your eyesight for using the Laws," Ambrogio whispered and straightened his back. "Let's continue. That last move was incredibly threatening. But it was something out of your control, right? Can you use it again?"

 

"Indeed, as you already deduced, I can't use that strategy again," Arima shrugged. It was true, the Lawless Tome could not be summoned again for at least a few hours. And even then, it would be in a weakened state. "But it is far from being my deadliest magic," he added and released his aura once again.

 

Ambrogio, Victor, Shiva, and Shakti all shivered. "How does he have that much stamina left? It's the same for the other two…" Shiva spoke through his teeth and Malum laughed.

 

"Are you stupid?" He mocked them. "Look at that," he pointed at one of the Kind Demon's Crosses lying on the ground. "That thing ain’t for show, you know? Arima is getting his endurance from every inhabitant of this planet. Even his mana. It will never get dry, especially with that guy's irrational mana pool. The moment he chose to use the First Black Art when he arrived, you had lost."

 

Ambrogio's eyes narrowed and glared at Arima. Layla's eyes glowed at the same time. "Time to switch," she said and the two others nodded.

 

Arima deployed his four wings then flapped them. "[Accelerando]," his figure faded away and the Guardians heightened their senses to the maximum. But they didn't see or feel anything.

 

When they had just barely registered Arima's disappearance, they heard a powerful noise and the earth being torn apart as Shiva and Shakti went missing.

 

Ambrogio's eyes narrowed and immediately looked behind. Arima had actually been fast enough to grab both Shiva and Shakti and crush them together against the ground without them reacting.

 

‘That was too fast… No, not fast… he went into another dimension and slowed time before coming out behind me,’ Ambrogio immediately understood and made sure to take measures against it.

 

Layla smiled wryly. "That wasn't necessary," she sighed. "[Resurrection, Maiden Ostara]," she chanted and Malum grinned. His bones cracked and were put under a maximum strain. He used his pure speed to charge at Ambrogio.

 

He created a great sword with his scales and swung it at the vampire.

 

"Howdy, little bat? Your new opponent is me!" He shouted and his sword struck Ambrogio's mirror which he had summoned as a defense. The clash transformed the atmosphere into a void for a second and Victor was blown off.

 

The Assassin jumped in midair and made a flip before realizing that everything around him had turned white. From Layla’s perspective, his presence and figure had simply vanished.

 

She smiled innocently. "Sorry but only one person can enter my realm at a time. You'll be the one getting off this battle first," she muttered and flew toward Ambrogio, not even caring about how much Victor was going wild inside her 'canvas'. She knew for a fact that Victor would be out of the game after this. After all, there was no darkness that he could use in the world of her Soul Manifestation.

 

She focused on helping Malum instead. The reason Arima and Malum had switched opponents was that Layla had predicted Ambrogio's next move.

 

"[Blood Hunt]," Ambrogio intoned loudly and the azure flames in the sky turned crimson before being forcefully extinguished. What lied behind was a night sky decorated with red stars and a large vermilion moon.

 

This move that Layla had predicted was a technique Arima would never be able to endure unless he was allowed to destroy Melumnia or use a Prohibited Art. There was also the possibility to escape, but at a price and risk that they didn't want to confront.

 

"[Myriads Labyrinth, Path of Wonders]," the vampire chanted and countless small sized mirrors materialized. He pointed at the sky with his hand and waved it down. The red stars shined and an infinite number of rays of light fell like a deluge.

 

On some occasions, those rays would touch the ground and explode but most of the time, they were reflected by the mirrors and redirected toward Malum and Layla.

 

"{Do it!}" She signaled as her mind became fully connected to Malum.

 

He sneered and his body moved in a surreal way. He swiftly grabbed one of the blood rays before destroying it. He then continued to do that as if he knew where they were coming from whilst protecting Layla at the same time.

 

"…Shit!" Ambrogio cursed for the first time in a thousand years.

 

‘Is this why they swapped?’ He assumed. ‘My magic can easily be countered by someone without blood and life energy,’ he thought. ‘But what about him? Even if he's strong, he should not be able to win against Shiva and Shakti at the same time.’

 

He had the leisure to look away from his fight to observe the other and the shock was drawn on his face almost instantly.

 

What he saw was a large chunk of purple ice, the size of an asteroid, being thrown at his allies before bursting into something terrifying. It was merely an ice block, but it caused so much damage that the entire planet shook and some bits were thrown into space.

 

Shiva coughed blood and was buried under the ground. Shakti was also struggling but her incredible control granted her the ability to change the ice coming at her into water. But even that resultant water was capable of killing weaker transcendentals. She looked through the vapor and the reflections on the ice and saw Arima slowly wielding Karma

 

"[Fifth Cryptic Art…]," he chanted and she prepared to deploy an array to block the attack. But after a single blink, she had already lost sight of the black dragon.

 

"[Aeterna, Quartum Stella, Gemini] (Eternal Night, Fourth Star)."

 

She heard these keywords from two different directions and saw herself being attacked by two different waves of lighting and darkness. She yelped in fear and was shrouded by an extremely large magic explosion.

 

Two shadows flew out from it and merged together. Arima was back into a single piece after using Gemini and grabbed Superore with his left hand.

 

"[Ratione detester leges transcendere] (I defy all laws and transcend reason)."

"[Im 'exitium voluntatem Dei manifestaretur] (I'm the will of destruction made manifest)."

 

He intoned and a blue-green energy gathered inside the two barrels of his gun. Black lightning then followed and thunder roared.

 

"[Veluta aeim, quifa quifa]."

"[Samda maa kaav]."

 

Arima pointed his gun at Shiva who was getting up.

 

"[Fourth Cryptic Art, Third Armament, Magna Blast]."

 

He pressed the trigger and the massive wave of condensed energy directly struck the infamous God of Destruction. Shiva managed to block a part of it with a wall of ice but his injuries from the precedent blow impeded him and he once again vomited blood and the two bullets made a hole in his chest and leg.

 

Arima made Superore spin and shouldered Karma. Illuminated by Aeterna's light, he smirked.

 

Ambrogio trembled. "What is going on? Why is he suddenly stronger?"

 

"You should focus on me," Malum abruptly closed in and punched the vampire with a fist covered in a sort of scale gauntlet.

 

Ambrogio's face distorted. ‘What a ridiculous amount of raw power!’

 

He was astounded as his bones almost snapped. It was the first time since the beginning of this fight that he had shed blood which was his own. He was sent flying but he easily stabilized.

 

"Enough!" He shouted and transformed into a bunch of bats.

 

At the same time, Malum noticed a small inscription made of blood had been drawn on his bones. The flames he had for eyes vacillated and his entire arm turned red before exploding. Just after that, the red stars in the sky shined again and barraged Malum's position.

 

"The future changed too quickly!" Layla exclaimed. She was also about to get hit by those rays of light. Thanks to Malum, they had still not witnessed what they could truly do. But she had seen it in the alternative futures. She knew that it would suck the blood out of her body and destroy her life energy. A mummified image of her passed through her mind at that moment.

 

Arima who had just finished subduing Shiva and Shakti saw that and snarled.

 

"As if," he growled and time stopped. Everything froze. The flames, the ice, the water, the blood, the air, the light, the matter… nothing was moving. Arima was plunged into darkness colder and heavier than he had ever felt before but his mouth still opened to chant one magic.

 

"[Second Prohibited Art, Meum Arbitrium] (My choice)."

 

The entire Reality that was stopped in time started being rewound. No, that it was being reshaped would be a better description. It winded back until the moment Ambrogio was still watching Shiva and Shakti being defeated.

 

Then, time regained its normal flow, and Ambrogio felt a sudden headache for a second. It was the same for Layla. Two distinct images were superimposing each other in their heads.

 

Ambrogio grunted and looked at where Arima was supposed to be. His pupils contracted in panic when he didn’t see anyone.

 

"[In fabula incipit cum tristis mundi] (The story begins when the world falters)," a deep voice boomed behind him. He heard it in accelerated.

 

Ambrogio was strong enough to resist time magic influence and had made preparations for it just before. But it was as if the Laws of Time had suddenly been altered and that nothing could be done about it.

 

"[Quod in hac sola] (In this lonely existence)."

"[Quomodo potestis vos testimonium perhibetis abyssi deambulasti?] (How can you witness the abyss?)"

 

Arima's entire body became a black hole that didn't let any light come in contact with him. His left hand was particularly affected. There was an aura around it which would make you feel so small and weak that you'd faint and die on the spot. If it wasn’t for his body shape and his glowing crimson eyes, no one would be able to determine if he was a living being or not.

 

"[First Destruction Art, Comoediae Mundi, Histrio Est Scriptor Calamum] (World's Comedy, Actor's Pen)."

 

He finished his chant and as if he was possessed, he grabbed Ambrogio and crushed him with a single hand. When he opened his fist again, the First Vampire had been reduced to nothing.

 

Without even being able to tell his last words, or even use his full power, his entire existence had been erased, just like that. Afterward, Arima's body went limp and fell on the ground like a shot bird.