"This defense might be capable of withstanding forces up to ten billion combat power," he mused calmly, his gaze boring into Seth's blindfold since the eyes themselves remained hidden from view.
He flicked Seth's forehead again, this time with substantially greater force behind the strike. The result was identical—the attack bounced back at him. This outcome genuinely shook the Emperor, catching him completely off guard despite his vast experience with countless forms of power.
After taking a moment to process this unexpected revelation, he systematically began increasing the power behind each successive attack. He escalated the force incrementally, pushing far beyond the trillions, climbing higher and higher until he was finally compelled to stop. The reflected force being sent back at him had grown so immense it was actually beginning to threaten him with genuine harm.
"Nexus Barrier? What manner of defensive technique is this?" he demanded, his composure finally cracking under the weight of his shock. What kind of barrier could possibly enable someone with a mere seven million combat power to stand completely unmoved while withstanding assaults that beings with combat power exceeding one trillion couldn't even dream of surviving? And why did Seth appear so utterly bored throughout this entire exchange, as though being forced to sit here and endure this interrogation had been nothing more than a tedious inconvenience?
"Abyss Seal," he commanded swiftly, recognizing the immediate need to contain this dangerous anomaly before the situation spiraled further out of his control. The moment the words left his lips, darkness erupted from the ground beneath them—pure, absolute darkness that resembled the endless void itself. It flowed like liquid shadow, surging upward with intent to completely engulf Seth. Yet it couldn't penetrate past Infinity, the first stage of the Nexus Barrier.
The Emperor poured more of his vast mana reserves into the sealing technique, channeling enough raw power to overwhelm the very fabric of space itself. Yet inexplicably, the barrier held firm without even a tremor of weakness.
Even when he shifted his approach and attempted to simply destroy the barrier through brute force, his attacks produced no discernible effect whatsoever. He willed the darkness to expand and swallow Infinity whole, but the shadowy substance suddenly stopped spreading, completely unable to wrap around the entirety of the barrier's spherical protection. Just as he prepared to activate his Abyss Eyes to peer deeper into the nature of this phenomenon, Seth finally took action.
"You've had plenty of fun playing around with your tests and experiments," Seth remarked casually while rising to his feet, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "Now it's my turn to have some fun. Oh, and by the way—the only reason you managed to shatter Infinity that first time? I allowed you to do so."
With a seemingly careless flick of his wrist, Seth sent a wind blade slicing through the air toward his opponent.
The Abyss Emperor's pupils contracted to pinpricks as he stared down at his own severed hand, now separated cleanly from his wrist. The attack had moved with such incredible velocity that he'd been completely unable to track its movement, let alone react to defend himself. None of it made any logical sense—how could Seth possibly launch an assault that traveled faster than an entity of his caliber could even perceive?
"Shocked by that little demonstration? Yeah, this is the inherent advantage of possessing energy control that's simply unmatched in its precision and efficiency," Seth explained with evident satisfaction. "Even if I were reduced to tier zero, I would still absolutely demolish you in combat."
The Abyss Emperor's gaze fixed on Seth, attempting to read his stats and understand the true nature of this threat. His expression transformed into one of pure horror as the impossible numbers registered in his perception.
***
[Name: Seth Williams
Race: Primal Human
Talent:????
Title: [The Honor One], [The World Chosen], [Transcendet]
Tier: 1 Tier (10/10,000,000,000 XP)
Combat Power: 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999{Under 80% debuff) (Under (+25% with gear/x5 in territory/x5 with Willpower/x10 with buffs/ ??? With Nexus Barrier)]
***
"Haha, you should see your face right now!" Seth burst into genuine laughter, thoroughly entertained by the Abyss Emperor's reaction to whatever information had just been revealed to him.
"I'm feeling generous, so I'll take a moment to explain how this works," Seth continued, his tone almost conversational despite the violent demonstration that had just occurred. "My eyes grant me access to energy manipulation that exists on a level completely beyond conventional understanding. I utilize an infinitesimally small fraction of energy for every action—approaching but never quite reaching absolute zero."
"Let's say a particular ability normally costs one MP to activate. Through my control, I pay an infinitely small amount, so close to zero that it's functionally free. So here's the interesting question—what do you think happens when I actually choose to invest a full MP into an attack?" Seth's smirk widened with the implications of his rhetorical question. This was the true power of the Nexus Eyes, currently operating at only level four, yet already devastatingly overpowered beyond any reasonable measure.
This was what it genuinely meant to possess a UR-tier talent—at least, that's what it signified in Seth's mind. When it came to hax abilities, who could possibly rival what he brought to the table? In terms of raw combat power, who could even begin to compete with him?
"But this hardly seems fair to you, does it? I won't rely on my eyes.," Seth announced with a predatory grin spreading across his face. "How about I impose a limitation on myself and restrict my options to using only my Nexus Barrier? That should make things more interesting."
He waved his hand in a casual gesture, sending a gentle breeze drifting toward the Emperor. The Abyss Emperor frowned deeply at what appeared to be an utterly normal gust of wind, one that seemingly carried no power or threat behind it whatsoever. Yet he didn't dare allow himself to be careless after what he'd just witnessed, immediately raising his defenses to shield himself from whatever hidden danger this deceptively simple attack might contain.
But the wind revealed itself to be something far more lethal than it first appeared—impossibly sharp blades that sliced effortlessly through both his defensive barriers and his physical body as though neither offered any resistance whatsoever.
His pupils shrank to mere points as the horrifying realization dawned on him: time itself had been frozen on these wind currents, rendering them completely and utterly unstoppable. These were paradox winds, phenomena that could interact with and affect the physical world while remaining entirely immune to any influence the world might attempt to exert upon them in return.
"If you can't even withstand a casual wave of my hand when I've reduced my combat power all the way down to one, how exactly do you plan to defeat me?" Seth asked, his smile widening as he observed the Abyss Emperor slowly regenerating, his body covered in countless lacerations left by the devastating wind attack.
"W-what manner of technique is this?" the Abyss Emperor stammered, his voice thick with genuine horror and disbelief.
"I call this stage 'Unchangeable,'" Seth explained care freely. "The first stage of the Nexus Barrier is known as 'Unreachable,' which you've already experienced firsthand. The second stage goes by 'Unstoppable.' And this—what you're experiencing right now—this is the third stage, Unchangeable."
The ability bore the name"Unstoppable" in most contexts, but its true name, the one Seth knew it by, was Lion Heart. The technique essentially allowed Seth to remove the concept of time from himself or from anything he happened to be physically touching at the moment of activation.
Since time had been completely halted for the affected object or person, Seth transformed them into a walking paradox—an entity capable of affecting and interacting with the world around them while remaining completely immune to any reciprocal influence from that same world.
This fundamental asymmetry made every single attack he launched while in this state absolutely inevitable, impossible to defend against. For instance, if he simply threw an ordinary rock while Lion Heart was active, that rock would pierce through absolutely everything in its trajectory, regardless of density, durability, or defensive capabilities.
Having instantly absorbed and processed all the information he needed about this nightmarish ability, the Abyss Emperor immediately attempted to flee the battlefield. He cast his most reliable teleportation spell, only to feel it sputter and fail completely.
The destination he'd targeted, a location that should have been easily within his range, somehow registered as impossibly, infinitely distant. The terrible truth crystallized in his mind: Seth had somehow applied the Nexus Barrier to him, specifically utilizing the "Unreachable" component to trap him.
"H-how?" he managed to whisper, his voice emerging slow and trembling, his eyes fixed on Seth with naked, primal fear.
"Because... you're weak. Tragically, pathetically weak," Seth replied casually
"You stand before Mount Tai itself, yet you completely fail to recognize its greatness and magnitude." He paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully as his mind wandered briefly. "No, wait—those cultivation novels would phrase it more like: 'You have eyes yet you are unable to recognize Mount Tai when it stands before you.'"
Seth seemed momentarily distracted by his own tangential thoughts, but he shrugged off the digression and refocused on explaining the situation his opponent now found himself trapped within.