Mane was fast and soon he reached Ancestor Origin's location. The Origin King had one knee on the ground as he coughed up large amounts of blood. The armor around his chest was broken into several pieces and a large blue mark could be seen from the visible skin. Mane had injured him!
"Spirit Scan"
Mane was swift to activate the skill he hadn't had the chance to use on Ancestor Origin just yet. And soon enough, the oldest ancestor's information appeared before Mane.
NAME: Ancestor Origin
AGE: 1,000,000
HEALTH POINTS: 50,000,000/50,000,000
RACE: Elemental
BLOODLINE: Fire Ancient
BLOODLINE RANK: Level 13
LEVEL: Ascension (Level 93.25)
POWER LEVEL: 75,000,000,000
WIELDER TYPE: Energy Wielder
SPECIALTY: Intelligence
GLOWS: Wind Manipulation; Devastating Wind Bullets; Tornado Slash
BREATH: Wind Avatar
"As I suspected, his Spirit is registered as Ancestor Origin," Mane frowned as he quickened his pace. Spirit Scan's abilities were in its name – it scanned the spirit of the victim. For it to identify the Origin King as Ancestor Origin meant that Mane was right to think that Ancestor Origin had been reborn here and registered to this world as Ancestor Origin. He was the Origin King from the very beginning!
"Augendae: Spirit Scan; Specify – Eyes of Destruction"
Eyes of Destruction: Unable to provide any information.
"Well that isn't surprising. It was worth a shot anyway." Mane mumbled as his eyes shone brilliantly and his hands moved through the air seamlessly. The area around them rippled and returned to what it was soon enough.
"A barrier?" Cronos murmured, but soon he understood just what Mane was doing.
"I see! Since his body isn't strong enough he cannot use any powerful Space Laws. And that means you can keep him trapped!"
"You sure are talkative today," Mane mocked with great disdain. And then he activated Basileus.
"Hehe. I am." Cronos didn't argue with the young Supreme, much to Mane's surprise.
Cronos was right however. Having determined that the Origin King was relying on lower Space Laws than more powerful ones, Mane had grown a bit more confident. The fact that Ancestor Origin could travel through space portals with nothing but wind energy coats for his protection showed that he was indeed using weaker Space Laws.
For if he was using his power at its strongest, the wind coats would have been shredded before they could even come into contact with the Space Laws. If Space Laws were so weak that wind could resist them, Space Users would not have been feared so. Using that logic, Mane deduced that creating a barrier around a certain area would be effective in limiting Ancestor Origin. With the two trapped within such a small barrier the oldest Ancestor wouldn't be able to use those dangerous black holes of his for fear that he would fall victim to them himself. And that gave Mane a greater advantage.
"Augendae," Mane spat out his favorite Lease, and the barrier shone faintly before its color brightened. Initially it was transparent and barely visible. Now even Ancestor Origin could see it and he quickly realised what was going on.
"Sh*t" Ancestor Origin cursed uncouthly once he spotted Mane's tricks. And without any hesitation he summoned a portal and slipped into it. But it was too late. The older man reappeared soon after, away from his previous position but well within range. He had an ugly expression on his face as his eyes fixed onto Mane's form with hatred.
"Well then," Mane murmured and disappeared from his position. The young Supreme's fists were coated with a great amount of energy, so much so that the space around his fist shifted just as uncomfortably as the one whom it was due for.
Ancestor Origin panicked in slipped into yet another portal. The rate at which he summoned the portals and escaped through them was so fast that even though Mane was able to get to him in less than a second, he was greeted with nothing but the old man's prints on the ground.
*Boom*
Mane's fist smashed into the ground with much authority, and the foundations of the earth were shaken. A large crater, many times wider and deeper than what Ancestor Origin's black hole could produce was formed as a result of Mane's insignificant fist, and it stretched all the way to the land beyond the confines of the barrier.
Ancestor Origin reappeared a few several yards away from Mane. But this time he was much calmer than before. Having determined that at a particular distance Mane wouldn't be able to get to him before he could escape, he was a bit more reassured. Even if he couldn't kill the boy, he could force him to waste his energy and then strike when the barrier couldn't be maintained any longer.
Having decided on this, the lips of the Origin King curled up into a giant smirk as he taunted, "In the end, you cannot hurt me," before disappearing into another portal.
He reappeared several meters away before declaring with great authority, "Thousand Portal Maze."
Under Mane's astonished vision, several portals appeared around him. There were about 40 or 50 of them. Some were very close to him, whereas others were very far away from him. Some were located midair and others were opened directly on the ground, showing Mane that he wasn't the only one who could limit his opponent's movements.
"Why didn't you create a smaller barrier?" Cronos asked exasperatedly. Although the barrier Mane had conjured was arguably a small one, considering the fact that he would never be able to catch the Origin King, his plan seemed destined to fail.
"This is the smallest I can create," Mane shrugged and confessed. He didn't create a more limiting barrier because he couldn't. The intricacies that came with creating a much smaller barrier could only be explored and matched by a Scholar God. And Mane wasn't one.
"So what will you do now?" Cronos asked.
"Simple: I will not use my eyes" Mane smirked and shut his eyelids.
True Eyes was useless here. But his senses as a Scholar were not. Mane thought that the Origin King was pretty naïve to think that this was the best solution. Without his eyes feeding him useless information, he could feel the energy of each portal. They may be weak space laws, but the Origin King wouldn't be able to survive in a portal past a few couple of seconds lest he risk being torn apart. Mane had to rely on his power to sense any discrepancies in the portals so he could deal with this situation. And unlike what the Origin King thought, this was very easy.
"Well, first let me use his tricks," Mane smiled as he coated himself with thin wind energy coats. He didn't know what was coming and might find himself in a portal so he had to be prepared. The area was quiet for only a second, but soon there was movement. And Mane could feel it.
"There," Mane's feet shifted as he pushed himself to the side and pulled out Night Mare and its sibling, Night's Kiss. Without any hesitation he filled them with darkness and thrusted them towards the portal a few inches away from his feet. This portal was directly in the ground and a dangerous rabbit hole. But the danger wasn't Mane's to bear.
"Cr*p" Ancestor Origin swore once his head appeared out of the portal. However, his unease lasted barely a moment before his eyes brightened like the sun in the sky upon seeing that the things coming at him were artefacts.
"I have such great luck," he smirked as the glow of his eyes engulfed Night Mare and Night's Kiss. The two weapons immediately started to rebel in Mane's hands. They screeched and pulled and changed direction, twisting Mane's hands forcefully and pointing their blades at him. They were ready to strike at the hand that fed them and kept them. And they were planning to do it with his own hands!
"Sometimes I doubt your brain's credibility," Cronos mocked from within Mane's Soul Space.
Mane ignored the Selfish Titan King's mocking and swiftly let go of Night Mare and Night's Kiss. Their trembling intensified when he let go of them as they flashed towards his chest. Mane's expression was still calm, his countenance largely unruffled by the current circumstances. While what was happening wasn't ideal, it was far from deciding the fate of the battle. With great flexibility Mane twisted his body out of the way, allowing the two blades he had successfully used to take many lives to flash past him without dealing any fatal blows.
*Whoosh*
*Rip*
For the first time since the battle started Mane's fabric was sliced at the sides. And a bit of blood was drawn from him. Although he was able to avoid the fatal strikes to his chest, he wasn't fast enough to completely get out of the way. Though he was able to completely avoid Night Mare's line of sight, he wasn't so lucky when it came to Night's Kiss. And the dark blade cut into his side and tore apart his coat. Coating the two with darkness proved the wrong choice for it was because of this very decision that Mane wasn't able to use Absolute Darkness. But as stated earlier, he avoided any fatal blow.
*Warp*
Night Mare and Night's Kiss disappeared into two different portals. Mane didn't seem bothered by the fact that he had lost his weapons though. He could feel the approach of the Origin King. The oldest ancestor hadn't given up on attacking Mane just because he used his swords against him.
"Stupid using artefacts against me," he chuckled as he twirled his cane within his hands and summoned a small black hole at its tip. The black hole was like a dark devourer, ripping apart the space around it with murderous intent.
Mane could feel the threat coming but instead of a frown, it was a smile that occupied his face. With his eyes closed he looked like a lazy clown, but Ancestor Origin couldn't find it within himself to laugh. For a great unease filled his heart. However, he had already started his charge and was mighty close to Mane by now. And that meant he couldn't pull back.
"Reflexionem," Mane smirked and pushed out his palm. Chaos gathered within his palm as the energy within the barrier rioted like it had been struck by a great storm.
Under Ancestor Origin's astonished expression Mane countered with nothing but his palm, striking the black hole with that soft hand. However, the results stunned Ancestor Origin. Instead of Mane to be vaporized, his black hole disappeared into Mane's palm.
"Impossible!" the Origin King mumbled in shock. That was a black hole. How could it be done away with so easily? However, he had barely processed the shock of watching his space laws fail when the black hole reappeared. But this time it wasn't under his control. It was his power alright, but he could feel its ominous energy lock onto him. And he knew right away.
"I need to get away!"
Alas, how could it be so easy to do so? Mane hadn't simply evaded the earlier black hole the Origin King summoned within Amalgamation. He had devoured a small segment of it! Why would he give up the chance to comprehend a bit of the Space Laws? He couldn't take in much because it was a powerful law he didn't understand, but the little he took in granted him some minor comprehensions. And because of that he could finally use Reflexionem.
"Brilliant," Cronos couldn't help but praise. But he swiftly added, "Losing your weapons though was still a stupid thing."
Reflexionem was one of the most powerful skills possessed by Basileus. But one couldn't just use it. To use Reflexionem one had to have some understanding of the power he was trying to redirect. And since Mane didn't know anything about space, he had to bide his time. And oh how it had worked out like a charm!
Mane didn't give Ancestor Origin the chance to get away. The Origin King tried slipping into a portal close by and was already halfway through it. But Mane was eager to say hi. With a merciless thrust he struck the Origin King with his own black hole and as the man disappeared within the portal Mane could hear his shriek and a massive tear.
*Crack*
*Rip*
"Argh!"