At this moment, the Absolute Sea of Mana had already expanded to a radius of several hundred billion kilometers.
Only after reaching this scale did the rate of its expansion begin to slow noticeably.
After all, once it had grown this large, every additional meter of radius increased its total volume by more than one hundred billion times what it had at the very beginning.
However, some time ago, Kanzaki Rei's maximum mana capacity had increased dramatically.
That increase had also accelerated the rate at which his mana regenerated.
And as his mana regeneration rate rose, the expansion speed of the Absolute Sea of Mana increased as well.
Thus, the cycle fed itself.
The more mana he possessed, the faster it grew.
The faster it grew, the more mana he possessed.
As a result, the early expansion of the Absolute Sea of Mana had remained in a constant state of positive feedback.
There had even been a period during which, as the Sea of Mana expanded, its rate of expansion actually became faster rather than slower.
Now, with a range of several hundred billion kilometers, it had become unimaginably vast.
Although it was still far from covering the entire Moonsea, enveloping tens of thousands of island continents was more than trivial.
Within the range of his perception alone, there were already over seven hundred Tier 8 monsters.
Rei's senses swept across them one by one.
"Then let's start with you."
...
"Desmonk... his life signs have vanished."
On a continent approximately five billion kilometers south of the Land of Moonwatch, two figures stood with their hands clasped behind their backs.
Their forms were almost indistinguishable from human beings.
They stood atop a magnificent golden palace built by humanity, gazing down at streets littered with corpses.
This continent had once been home to humans.
"Desmonk? Heh. Maybe he went off to play with another human girl."
"He's becoming more and more human—he's learned human cruelty and human desire. Give him a little more time, and he might even learn human cunning and betrayal."
"He's been hiding his whereabouts more and more often lately," said one of the monsters, clad in a dark green robe, his tone cold and sinister.
Beside him stood another creature that looked almost entirely human, except that its chin extended downward into what looked like melted tendrils.
It shook its head.
"No, Harlan."
"Desmonk is not that kind of companion."
"He would never betray us. And the Creator would never tolerate betrayal."
As he spoke, his body jingled with metallic sounds.
He was covered in priceless jewelry.
The splendid golden robes he wore were symbols of imperial authority, and he had layered one emperor's robe over another.
It was impossible to guess how many kingdoms he had conquered, or how many emperors he had killed to collect such garments.
His voice carried a hint of concern.
"We should report this. If we still can't locate him after some time, we may need to be cautious."
The monster in the dark green robe snorted through his nostrils, his voice thick with disdain.
"Cautious?"
"Cautious of these feeble humans?"
"We were born with greater talents than they possess. Our bodies are vastly superior to theirs. And we should be cautious of them? Ridiculous, Mordec!"
The monster called Mordec shook his head and sighed.
"Harlan, you don't understand."
"These so-called intelligent races possess qualities we truly need to fear. Our wisdom is still far from complete."
...
"Pathetic."
"Mordec, you've become a coward. The Creator said we could all learn something from humans. It seems what you've learned from them is cowardice."
Harlan's voice dripped with contempt and anger.
"Mmm. I believe the proper term would be humility."
Harlan was about to retort.
But he suddenly realized that the response had not come from Mordec.
The voice had originated from the space between them.
A strikingly handsome young man had appeared there without warning.
His long hair flowed to his waist.
His eyes were black and unfathomably deep.
Kanzaki Rei.
"You've even learned virtue."
Rei murmured softly in admiration.
The moment his words fell—
Clang!
The surrounding space was completely sealed.
All forms of spatial movement were restricted.
Phase-based movement in particular was entirely suppressed.
Nothing outside could enter.
Nothing inside could leave.
It was a living prison.
And the prison was not formed from space alone.
Time itself had also become a cage.
"I'll use the two of you to test my hand."
Future Simulation could not predict what Talent he would obtain.
So even after simulating his battle with Akira before completing his advancement, Rei had not known what he would gain.
"The Azure Dao — Third Principle: Rain of Vanishing Phantoms."
No one saw him move.
There was no sound of air being split.
No spatial distortion.
And yet, in that single instant,
countless holes opened throughout both monsters' bodies.
Whoosh—
Only after the holes appeared did a radiant battle spear begin to form in Rei's hand.
Pfft!
As those wounds manifested, the monsters' bodies began to tear apart, releasing large swaths of corrosive colors.
Brilliant multicolored toxins flooded into their bodies.
After his combat techniques transformed into Dao Techniques, the Moonstar Intent he had previously acquired remained fully intact.
Destruction accompanied the technique and invaded the body.
"Moonstar Intent: Destruction"
[Wounds inflicted by this combat technique will continue to wither and decay, and cannot be healed by any means.]
Every Moonstar Intent possessed effects as absolute as those of a God-Tier Talent.
The only reason Akira had been able to regenerate during their battle was because Rei had deliberately held back.
Now, in a single instant,
one of the two monsters—both of whose bodies had been completely perforated—was stripped of all life.
The one who died was Mordec, the creature who had learned human humility.
The one who survived was Harlan.
The moment Harlan witnessed the scene, his face twisted in terror.
He turned at once and fled with his ruined body.
Whoosh—
It had to be said: the speed of a Tier 8 monster was extraordinary!
In an instant, wings burst from his back.
In the blink of an eye, those wings, trailing dark black blood, had carried him hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
Even gravely wounded, he retained such speed.
Rei remained where he stood.
He made no move to pursue.
"What is he? What kind of existence is this?!"
"Mordec died instantly."
"This is absolutely not something I can fight. Damn it! Why can't I contact the others through my senses? Is this area sealed? How large is the barrier? Why isn't he chasing me?"
Panic consumed Harlan's thoughts.
Yet when he looked behind him, he saw no trace of Kanzaki Rei.
Burning everything he had, he flew with all his might.
In just a few seconds, he had crossed nearly one hundred million kilometers.
If his injuries had been less severe, he could have gone even faster.
From far away, Rei watched him cover that enormous distance.
One hundred million kilometers.
To his former self, such a span would have been unimaginably vast.
But now...
Rei's body remained completely motionless.
He merely gazed into the distance.
"The Azure Dao — Third Principle: Rain of Vanishing Phantoms."
Pfft!
Far away, Harlan—whose body was already riddled with holes—was pierced once again, until only a few strips of flesh remained connected.
And at a distance of one hundred million kilometers,
several seconds after Harlan's death,
Kanzaki Rei casually swept his spear once.
Only then was the cause and effect of the strike repaid.