The air screamed as Barkan's presence expanded, turning the molten ground into a graveyard of black ash. He turned his four crimson eyes away from Neweland, locking them entirely onto the boy in the goggles.
"I will deal with your betrayal later, Neweland," Barkan rumbled, his voice vibrating in the tectonic plates. "First, I have to break this child's ego. It's too loud for this world."
Neweland's grip tightened on his staff, his heart racing. He's not calling Lapis an insect anymore, the Arcon thought. Barkan is actually serious. He sees a threat. "Lapis! Don't let your guard down!" Neweland shouted. "He isn't like the dragons!"
Lapis didn't even shift his stance. He just adjusted his goggles, the magenta light of his Honoured Eyes cutting through the dark aura. "He can't touch me."
"Helllight Demon Blast!" Barkan roared.
He thrust his hand forward, a beam of pure, agonizing red energy erupting from the Void Core . It was an attack meant to erase souls. But as the blast hit the space around Lapis, it didn't explode—it bent. The beam curved around him, reflected by an invisible barrier of spatial distortion, as if reality itself refused to let Lapis be touched.
Barkan's four eyes blinked in unison. "You reflect my attack without even looking at it? You are actually strong, boy... or perhaps you just have a broken Passive ability."
"Do you think I'm going to tell you?" Lapis smirked. "A magician never reveals his secrets to a 'low-class' audience."
The Monarch's expression shifted from anger to a chilling, dark curiosity. "My name is Barkan. For a human to stand before me... you deserve to be known. What is your name?"
"I don't need to tell an old man like you my name," Lapis countered.
"You think I am just an old man?" Barkan's aura flared, turning the sky the color of blood. "You know you are going to lose. The math of this universe says so."
Lapis tilted his head. "Nah. I've already won."
Barkan vanished. "Helllight Kick!"
The Monarch moved with a speed that rivaled Techyon's FTL velocity. Lapis's Honoured Eyes tracked the movement—he saw the trajectory, the heat, and the intent—but Barkan was so fast that Lapis could only barely slide his body to the side.
The kick missed Lapis's head by a hair's breadth, but the Impact was absolute.
BOOM!
The shockwave didn't just shake the continent; it vaporized the entire battleground. The Energy Sector was turned into a pit of white-hot fire.
"LAPIS! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Techyon screamed from behind the Hydro Barrier. The shield was the only reason he and Alya hadn't been turned to ash by the friction of that move.
Through the smoke, Lapis's voice drifted out, calm and mocking. "Techyon... do you really think a scratch like that could touch me?"
Lapis stood in the center of the flames, his clothes slightly singed but his skin untouched. Barkan landed a few meters away, his eyes glowing. "You are fast, kid. And so, 'Lapis' is your name. But don't think a lucky dodge means victory."
Lapis looked the Demon King in the eyes and gave the ultimate grin.
"Nah, I'd win. Because honestly? You're kind of weak."
Barkan's face didn't twist in anger at Lapis's insult. Instead, it became terrifyingly calm. "Weak, am I? Let me show you the weight of an eon."
"Helllight Punch!"
Barkan didn't just move; he erased the distance. Techyon, even with his 0.10ms perception, saw absolutely nothing. To him, the world simply skipped a frame.
Lapis's Honoured Eyes screamed a warning. He saw the red light of the fist approaching, but for the first time, his body was a cage. He was too slow. The fist slammed into Lapis's chest with the force of a collapsing star.
CRACK.
The sound of Lapis's ribs shattering echoed through the silent sector. He was sent flying, coughing up blood that glowed with purple mana.
"Matter Technique: MAGENTA!" Lapis gasped, trying to stabilize the space around him to create a crushing gravity field.
"Predictable," Barkan hissed. "Helllight Demon Blast!"
The massive beam of red energy erupted, but it was a feint—a "bet" to force Lapis to focus on defense. As Lapis warped the space to deflect the beam, Barkan appeared directly in his blind spot.
What followed was a nightmare. Barkan began using Lapis like a punching bag, his four arms moving in a blur of demonic violence.
Snap. Shatter. Burst.
Lapis's iconic goggles—the symbol of his pride—exploded into shards. His arms were twisted at impossible angles. His legs were snapped like dry kindling.
Barkan grabbed Lapis by the throat, hoisting the broken boy into the air. "Demon Light Drill!"
Barkan's hand began to spin with a drill of concentrated void energy. He thrust it forward, the attack tearing through the right side of Lapis's face, destroying the bone and the eye beneath it.
Lapis hung limp, blood masking his face, his "Honoured" vision gone. Barkan leaned in, whispering the ultimate insult back to him:
"Stand proud... you are weak."