Cronos's thoughts weren't his alone; they were shared by Mane. The young Supreme felt a great stifling sensation. He wouldn't be able to use Harch, and Night Mare and Night's Kiss were trembling greatly. They were still under his control, but barely. If it wasn't because of how close he was to his blades and his affinity with the Darkness Element that made them, they would have lost their will by now. But with the suppression of the Origin King, Mane could not use them to their full capacity. The best he could get out of both blades was half of their true strength.
"This may be the toughest situation I have been in; very much like that fight two years ago," Mane felt great pressure upon his shoulders. For the threat before him was much greater than he anticipated. It reminded him of his battle with that barbarian lady two years ago. It was that battle that led to his capture and subsequent 'imprisonment' in the Tower of the Hundred. But even then, the pressure on his shoulders wasn't as great.
"I have grown stronger, but so are my enemies," Mane chuckled inwardly.
The fact that he had unlocked so many powerful skills and was strong enough to handle False Ascenders like Ancestor Fire was a massive showing. It was evidence – tangible results – of his growth over the past two years. But as one grew stronger, the enemies they made were stronger still. And the man before Mane was the strongest yet.
"If you are done blabbering, let's get down to business," Ancestor Origin's – no, the Origin King's – eyes flashed as they grew brighter. Without any warning he activated his power, and Mane's senses rang in alarm. The young Supreme swiftly moved out of the way, jumping to his left and covering a distance of several yards in just that one leap.
*Boom*
The ground where Mane stood previously twisted into several small fragments and disappeared in the wind. Left in its place was a gaping hole that was as smooth as it was round. Mane couldn't help but feel a great chill travel down his spine when he witnessed the sheer power of the Eyes of Destruction.
"One wrong move and I'd be dead," Mane shivered subconsciously as he gauged the range of the skill. The area affected was about ten meters in diameter, meaning that Mane wouldn't be able to evade this killing force by a hair's breadth. The Origin King's power wouldn't give him such a privilege.
"Pay attention to me genius," the Origin King's cold tone came from behind Mane. The young Supreme's eyes narrowed into crescents as his body grew slightly stiff. His eyes travelled to the place Ancestor Origin previously stood. The old man wasn't there any longer.
"How could I ignore that he can actually travel through space?" Mane rebuked himself and gritted his teeth in frustration. It was too late to evade that power. Star Flicker wouldn't be enough because Mane could feel the Edict around him being roused and knew that he didn't have the time to even move his feet much less travel the distance.
"Augendae: Absolute Darkness"
Mane's body flickered and it became slightly darker. Mane activated his technique just in time too because the Origin King's fist went right through Mane's body, and soon his entire body had passed through the young Supreme's as the momentum of his blow sent him crashing into one of the buildings.
*Boom*
The barrier Mane had erected shook slightly. The force of Ancestor Origin's strike wasn't great. Mane could have easily taken the blow without a single scratch. However, soon the barrier around the house underwent an eerie change that proved that Mane's decision to evade the strike was the right one.
*Crack*
*Wrap*
The barrier which was fine only moments ago swiftly began to crumble and the crux of the issue was the seemingly insignificant fist. A small black husk was embedded within the barrier and soon the entire barrier began to crumble. In less than a second it was swallowed by the small black dot that looked harmless. Yet that wasn't the end.
"No!" Mane screamed as the house was swiftly sucked into the dot in next to no time.
"Oops," the Origin King smiled cynically and said.
He seemed to enjoy that Mane was bothered by the death of those who lived within that house. Now that his identity had been revealed, he didn't see the need to hide his disregard for the lives of others.
Mane's expression was highly unpleasant. He had created the barriers to protect the people of Amalgamation. For he didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of innocent people. Yet he had failed. And he couldn't help but feel that this was his fault. Worried that Ancestor Origin could escape into Amalgamation if the battle took place outside and lock it up with the Nature Barrier – an action that didn't require the joint use of the Keys – effectively preventing Mane from getting in, he had chosen the city as the site of the battlefield. Yet the decision had come back to haunt him. For people were dead because of his arrogance in believing that dealing with Ancestor Origin was no great feat.
"There were children in that house," Mane gritted his teeth and balled his fists in rage.
His eyes switched to those that were true as his anger overtook him. He didn't want to resort to using True Eyes because he was facing the one whose power bore those eyes. For he didn't know if there was a way the Origin King could affect the power of his eyes somehow. But he didn't care anymore. He was that angry.
"So?" Ancestor Origin waved his hands in an unconcerned manner, causing Mane's anger to skyrocket.
"We cannot continue fighting in here," Mane mumbled to himself.
"Don't be foolish," Cronos's voice traveled to Mane's ears immediately Mane decided to change the battlefield.
"You cannot face a Space Ascender in a spacious area. That's stupid." Cronos's advice was said in his usual cold tone, but he was right.
And Mane knew that he was. The Origin King wasn't like Ivor. The Elemental called Ivor the Tattler was not a seasoned Space Wielder. Even with the blood of Elementals flowing through his veins, Space was too difficult a power to control. Yet even with the abilities he possessed, he wasn't anywhere near the Origin King in terms of understanding. Ancestor Origin could easily create black holes of any sizes and could even punch with the force of space, as he had proven with his destruction of that house.
"Listen up Ancestors. I need your help." Mane's voice reached out to the three Ancestors who had promised to stay out of this. While they were surprised by the suddenness of hearing that Mane needed their help, each one listened to what the young Supreme had to say.
"Ancestor Origin isn't who he says he is. He is a person from my world and a great danger. He has just killed a family of five and will do much worse. I am leading him outside Amalgamation. Once we are out, lock the city up and retrieve Ancestor Fire. She needs treatment."
Once Mane gave them their orders he jumped straight into action.
"Star Flicker"
*Whoosh*
Mane moved like the wind, weaving through the buildings and making a beeline for the city gate.
"In a battle between behemoths, the ant suffers. Why should you care what happens to those around you? You do not even know them." Cronos argued with a grunt of disdain.
"Don't lump us together as the same type of people Cronos," Mane spat out as he tried to escape the city.
"You dare disrespect me?" Cronos's voice was as cold as the fiercest winter storm, and his rage could be felt. Yet Mane was even angrier.
"I think you're getting something wrong here. DON'T YOU DARE DISRESPECT ME OLD MAN! DO NOT FORGET WITH WHOM YOU ARE SPEAKING!"
Mane's fury showed as his voice reverberated in his Soul Space and shook it greatly. Cronos's throne crumbled into dust and the Selfish Titan King was forced to settle for the ground. Yet instead of being maddened by Mane's rebuke, Cronos was excited. He laughed sincerely and said,
"Hehe. Good. I thought you will never grow up."
Mane moved swiftly. And in less than five seconds he was just a few meters away from the gate. However right before he could go out a space portal was opened in the middle of the street, and Ancestor Origin stepped out of it. Then it closed as quickly as it appeared.
"Leaving so soon?" the Origin King smirked with a look of pure superiority. However his expression changed when Mane didn't stop his charge but barreled into him anyway.
"Are you crazy?" Cronos asked with a stunned expression. How could Mane leave himself so vulnerable with a direct confrontation?
"No," Mane replied. "I am finally thinking straight."
His True Eyes span within their sockets as he gathered power into his less dominant right arm. And with a merciless whisper he used one of the simplest Leases – a Lease he was addicted to relying on.
"Augendae: Splintering Fist"
*Boom*
Mane smashed his fist into Ancestor Origin's abdomen, directly into the crevice he had created on the internal armor the first time. The eyes of the oldest ancestor popped out of their sockets as he was made to go through excruciating pain. For Mane's power was much greater than before. If before it felt like he was struck by a mountain, this time he felt as though he had been struck by three.
*Poof*
Ancestor Origin spat out a jet of blood from his mouth as Mane's fist broke into his armor and smashed his chest into pieces of what it was. And under Mane's cold gaze he was smashed out of the city, flying several hundreds of meters away.
"Close it now," Mane commanded the three ancestors as his figure flashed past the gate and towards the direction he had beaten Ancestor Origin into.
"How?" Cronos was slightly startled by the outcome. As a peak Space Master, Ancestor Origin shouldn't have been hit so easily. Surely Mane was endangering himself by getting so close to the man. Yet the result was different from the expected.
"When he appeared behind me the first time, if he had activated his black hole power I would have undoubtedly died. Absolute Darkness cannot evade something with such a range. But he didn't do that. Rather, he chose to make a compressed black hole which he threatened to strike me with. And that was odd."
When Mane recalled Ancestor Origin's strange decision at the time, he felt that it was queer. Even he felt like it was a checkmate situation. For at that distance, opening up a massive black hole would have killed Mane for sure. But he chose the much harder option.
"But soon I knew the answer. The Origin King was initially an artefact. And the bodies of artefacts are sturdy. They can easily withstand the power of his eyes. Whether it was time or space, he used them proficiently because his body could withstand them. And though he reached a stage where he couldn't improve anymore, his body was a treasure."
"That isn't the same with Elementals. They have weak bodies and everyone knows this. And the same goes for Ancestor Origin. It is said that Eyes of Destruction users don't usually live long because of how much strain the power puts on their bodies. If this is for regular folks with good physiques, how much more will this hold against an Elemental?"
Mane found it mightily odd that Ancestor Origin was only known as a powerful Wind User. There were Elementals with power over more than one element, so why display only wind? Simple. Eyes of Destruction would have Ancestor Origin dead in less than ten years if he continuously used its power. So the oldest ancestor smartly avoided doing so.
"If he was that weak, the space laws would have torn him apart by simply using space portals. So how does he…" Cronos wondered before realizing the answer and saying, "Never mind I got it."
Ancestor Origin was a Wind User. It was because of this that he was able to use the space portals. By relying on his great understanding of wind, he coated himself with several layers of thin wind laws, making it possible for him to pass through the portals without killing himself.
Although Mane had never seen how Ivor used his portal, he reckoned that the technique may be similar. For though Ivor wasn't a wind user, Ashera was. Sunflower told him once that Ashera regularly helped Ivor with 'maintenance'. What if all she was doing was reinforcing wind coats around the kid so he wouldn't die to his own power eventually. It sounded logical.
"How ironic that his eyes revealed this to me," Mane smiled coldly as he pressed on towards Ancestor Origin's location.
It was by using True Eyes that Mane realised that when Ancestor Origin executed that Black Hole punch which killed that family, he wasn't holding on to the miniature black hole like he made it appear. He coated the black hole with wind instead of holding it directly. And the reason it activated only after he moved away was because it was corroding the wind laws around it first.
"Nothing escapes True Eyes," Mane's eyes flashed brightly within his pupils and even Cronos couldn't help but grow slightly wary of the young Supreme. Even within the storm of battle, the boy had been capable of deducing this. Surely Cronos wasn't in such a great position of power like he thought he was.