Out of trust in his own strength, Chthon's Flickering Realm had always been open, welcoming all visitors.
As long as one had the coordinates, they could enter directly through a portal.
Over countless years, Chthon's Flickering Realm had never lacked visitors.
Most of them came to borrow power from Chthon.
As the first master of Black Magic, Chthon was an existence both feared and revered by countless black magic users.
And today, this Flickering Realm, which had existed for countless ages, welcomed an uninvited guest.
Lucas.
He was here to collect a debt from Chthon.
On a boundless wilderness, a glowing white light flickered, and Lucas emerged from it.
Looking around, he found an ancient temple, forgotten by time, in this desolate wilderness.
Although countless visitors had come to the Flickering Realm over these countless years, when averaged over these countless years and infinite wilderness, those who could reach near Chthon's main body were seen few times in countless years. Therefore, the temple being abandoned was not surprising.
Lucas looked towards the ancient temple. The temple was mottled, and moss covered the stone walls.
On the stone walls, raging fire burned.
Yet, the moss was frozen by ice.
In the fierce fire, the frost on the moss continuously thickened.
This was a phenomenon that violated the laws of physics, but such phenomena were ubiquitous in this Flickering Realm.
In front of the ancient temple, a tall creature with red skin and two horns on his head stood on the stone steps. The tall creature wore only a red cape that billowed without wind, and his naked body radiated a crimson glow.
As if sensing Lucas's gaze, he turned his head to look at Lucas, meeting his eyes.
Madness! Loneliness! Destruction! Incomprehensibility!
Countless negative emotions, upon meeting the gaze of that creature, instantly tried to rise from Lucas's heart and rush into his mind.
However, these negative emotions could not shake Lucas's mind at all, and with a sweep of Lucas's divine power, all negative emotions vanished.
"Lucas, how dare you—"
A strange glint flashed in his eyes, and he spoke Lucas's name.
"Chthon, pay up." Lucas was impolite, calling him by his name directly.
Silence.
Faced with Lucas's preemptive strike, Chthon was momentarily speechless.
"Sharp-tongued."
Chthon sneered disdainfully, but still remained calm and did not get angry. It seemed that the person whose clone was crushed by Lucas earlier was not him.
"Since you're here to collect a debt, then I'll pay you back."
Chthon pointed to the sky, signaling Lucas to look up.
One moment, the sky was clear and cloudless.
The next moment, five gigantic dark clouds rapidly swept in from the horizon, blocking the sunlight above Lucas's head and casting a shadow.
And these five dark clouds were continuously pressing down, as if the entire sky was also pressing down.
At the same time, the soil churned, and the earth also rolled up, pressing towards where Lucas stood.
As the dark clouds pressed down, more details emerged. Fingerprints, keratinocytes in the fingerprint grooves, details within the keratinocytes.
What was pressing down from above were not five dark clouds, but five fingers.
As for Lucas, the ground he was standing on had also, at some point, turned into Chthon's palm.
Although Chthon appeared calm on the surface, it was clear that Lucas's Palm Technique had left a deep impression on him. Therefore, now that he was on his home turf and could unleash his full power, he wanted to return a similar move to Lucas.
It's just that Lucas was not Chthon, who was bound to the Flickering Realm and could only exert full power within it. Once outside the Flickering Realm, Chthon's usable energy would plummet, and his strength would also plummet.
Lucas stood still, gazing at Chthon across the wilderness, and likewise pointed to the sky.
Chthon followed the direction of Lucas's finger and saw a gigantic glowing white light pillar in the sky, tearing through the long sky and pushing aside his gradually closing five fingers.
The glowing light pillar descended from high above, landing on Lucas. Then, it continued downwards, seemingly intending to pierce through the ground beneath Lucas's feet, which was Chthon's hand.
Boom!!!
The glowing light pillar struck the ground, instantly unleashing a terrifying explosion. Rocks flew everywhere, a shockwave swept out, and a gigantic mushroom cloud soared into the sky. But this gigantic mushroom cloud, compared to the glowing light pillar, appeared incredibly tiny.
Rumble!!!
The roaring sound continued, as the glowing light pillar wrestled with the earth, neither yielding.
But as time passed, the deep pit beneath Lucas's feet grew larger and larger, forcing him to float up to maintain eye contact with Chthon.
Gradually, the edge of the deep pit reached where Chthon was, and Chthon, unwilling to show weakness, also floated up.
The struggle between the glowing light pillar and the earth was, in essence, the struggle between Lucas and Chthon. This was a move where they tested each other.
After a long while, another roar exploded, and the glowing light pillar pierced through the earth.
The entire continent, starting from where the glowing light pillar pierced through, began to crumble and crack outwards, forming a void far larger than the diameter of the glowing light pillar.
"You're not bad." Chthon chuckled, as if he wasn't the one whose move was broken.
Swish!
Before the sound could even fully register, Chthon's figure flickered, teleporting close to Lucas and unleashing a claw strike.
This master of Black Magic seemed particularly fond of close-quarters combat.
Perhaps, it was because before he was known for Black Magic, he was an Elder God, and he was equally confident in his own body.
Unlike ignoring attacks in the bookstore, this time Lucas raised his hand and parried Chthon's claw with his arm.
Facing the first formal attack from Chthon, Lucas felt it necessary to show some respect.
However, Lucas soon realized that he didn't need to show Chthon any respect. His restraint over Chthon was far greater than he had anticipated.
Chthon's true form was rnergy. Lucas could ignore his attacks and directly absorb Energy.
Talent [Energy Absorption] activated!
In an instant, Chthon felt an invisible suction emanating from Lucas, pulling his body closer and closer.
Bang!
Energy erupted, and Chthon pushed himself far away.
Looking at his claws, Chthon remembered his brief skirmish with Lucas in the bookstore, using his energy body.
At that time, the energy from his body was devoured by Lucas. However, he hadn't thought much of it.
After all, devouring energy was not a particularly advanced spell among sorcerers. Many black magic users knew it, and he himself was quite skilled at it.
But devouring the energy from an energy body controlled by his soul fragment, and directly devouring the energy from his main body, were two different concepts.
For a moment, Chthon was somewhat terrified.
But while Chthon was terrified and stunned, Lucas wasn't.
Offense and defense switched.
Lucas, knowing that his restraint over Chthon far exceeded his imagination, pressed forward, simultaneously activating his talent [Energy Absorption] at full power while attacking Chthon.
Since you withheld my energy, refused to pay your debt, and even tried to assault the creditor, don't blame me for violent debt collection.