"That was a lot harder than I thought" Vale muttered as he looked at the corpses of the Evil Entities. They were simply too big, and bringing them back to the castle for extraction would not be easy

Even if he borrows Faith's Space Ring, it just wouldn't be enough. Nonetheless, even without the extraction, Vale could still physically collect the cores of these creatures.

Although they no longer have any life force, the Cores still have some remnant Evil Energy that could be used in Alchemy and such.

And so, the Avatar gathered all these cores before he used his Darkness Manipulation to fly and look at the ruined city.

Surprisingly, he felt the presence of some strugglers who were holding on to their dear life.

They seem to be Arcanists who had been lucky enough to hide in a good spot while clinging to their defensive artifacts.

These Arcanists sensed Vale's presence and knew that they were alive, thanks to him. Vale's appearance was definitely a beacon of hope in their point of view.

Nonetheless, Vale's focus on them didn't last long as he shifted his attention elsewhere.

***

In the aftermath of the battle, not too far from the city ruins that once thrummed with life, a figure stood apart from the desolation.

He was hidden by several layers of unusual Arcane Art and was also observing Vale's Avatar.

Var'gakan, the Demon Saint of the Seventh Rank, squinted his eyes as he felt something off from the Shadow Immortal.

Nonetheless, he wasn't worried that he would be caught since he wasn't emitting any killing intent or desire to kill the Shadow Immortal.

He believed that his observation shouldn't trigger the danger sense of the Immortal.

At this time, his form was barely distinguishable from the humans he mimicked.

His appearance was deceptively mundane, with two short horns or bumps on his forehead as the only hint of his true identity. Furthermore, it was also cleverly concealed beneath the hood of his garb.

Since he was clad in attire befitting a member of the clergy, he could easily pass through as an average Arcanist. It shouldn't be hard to hide his true nature with all of these combined.

"That Shadow Immortal Is he an imposter? Why is he so weak?" The Demon Saint muttered as he was confused at Vale's show of power. Although he expected that Vale could win the battle, he didn't expect that it would take that long!

Based on the reports, the Shadow Immortal should be capable of killing these Zyrans just by the touch of his hands if they were not exaggerating the reports they received from other Demon Saints.

"This is weird Does it only work for us, Demon Saints?" Var'gakan muttered as he tried to comprehend the Immortal's limitation.

Var'gakan's eyes, a deep crimson that flickered with a dark intellect, surveyed the fallen Zyrans with a calculating gaze.

He had not anticipated that these creatures of the Abyss were able to cause so much trouble to the Immortal.

Anyway, Var'gakan still sighed at the fact that these Zyrans died. After all, he was expecting that he could destroy three or more cities before they get killed by the Arcanists of the human realm.

The implications of this development were troubling.

'I'll just bring a few more of them' Var'gakan thought as he planned to return to the Abyss Realm to call for reinforcement.

It was time to withdraw

However, as he turned to depart, a presence manifested before him.

It was silent, and he had barely felt the ripple in the air and surrounding energy when the Immortal appeared! Nonetheless, as soon as he felt the presence, he was able to confirm that it was as imposing as the night!

It was the Shadow Immortal who shouldn't have detected his presence!

The Shadow Immortal, cloaked with darkness, was standing in the Demon Saint's path as the surrounding shadows tried to converge around him!

"Where do you think you're going?" Vale's voice was a low rumble, a sound that seemed to resonate with the darkness itself.

Var'gakan, taken aback by the sudden appearance, composed himself quickly.

Although he didn't want to fight the Immortal at this time, he wasn't too scared of him especially after seeing how the Immortal failed to kill the Zyrans in a swift manner.

'The Demon Lord is definitely stronger that this Immortal I received training from the Demon Lord himself, and I should be fine.'

His mind raced, strategies and contingencies weaving through his thoughts.

"Right This should work" He softly muttered.

He was a Demon Saint, after all, and he would not cower in front of an Immortal! Since he needed the Divinity of the Immortals, he might as well try and take it!

"I am merely a traveler, passing through these troubled lands" Var'gakan replied, his voice smooth and even, betraying none of the surprises he felt.

'What? Are you serious? Did he think I can't tell that he's a Demon Saint?' Vale was momentarily confused as he realized that the Demon Saint was planning to play innocent.

This was quite unexpected. He thought that Demon Saint would just suddenly attack him.

Vale then stepped closer, the shadows coalescing around him like loyal vassals.

"A traveler who observes destruction and emits the smell of the Abyss? You are not a wanderer. Speak truthfully, Demon Saint"

Var'gakan wryly smiled as he confirmed that all his disguise and even the Artifact given to him by the Demon Lord were useless to the Shadow Immortal!

His identity was still very clear in front of the Immortal!

Nonetheless, he suddenly received a report through telepathy about the deaths of the special squad that was dispatched to spread curses and diseases to the land!

It was confirmed that it was done by the Shadow Immortal!

'Then why is he here?!' Var'gakan couldn't understand how the Shadow Immortal could appear so easily in two different places with a distance that covered more than two thousand kilometers!

Even for an Immortal who could fly, it should still take them a few hours to arrive unless he was also a master of Space Magic!

'Not good Something is really wrong in this situation' The Demon Saint thought.

To engage in combat with this Shadow Immortal, whether it was an imposter or not, could prove costly. He then took a deep breath and chose his words carefully.

"I seek only knowledge, a comprehension of the events that unfold in this realm. I shall take my leave with no further interference."

Vale shook his head as he had enough. He just couldn't understand what was going on in this Demon Saint's head!

There was no way he would let him go!

"You're staying here" Vale said as he controlled his shadows to bind the Demon Saint.

However, the Demon Saint didn't like that.

Var'gakan's voice was a low growl, resonating with the power of the Abyss. "I had given you a chance to escape Immortal! I am the seventh-ranked Demon Saint, Var'gakan, and you will regret this foolishness."

As he said this, he burst with the power of Corruption!

However, something else was mixed in there! However, before Vale could tell what it was, the Demon Saint was already in front of him!

Before he could react, Var'gakan struck with a speed that defied sight!

Vale could only raise his hands and burst with Divinity and Spell Dispersion to protect himself!

However, Vale's hands, once instruments of his will, were mutilated in an instant, leaving him shocked and disarmed

literally!

It tried to affect his body and even his soul, but his natural Divinity and physique prevented the attack from causing further damage!

The Demon Saint's strength was overwhelming, his power dwarfing those Vale had faced before.

'This aura Time Manipulation?' Vale was shocked! Without his Temporal Timepiece, he would be useless against this power!

However, he realized that the Demon Saint's disguise had been removed, and he looked like he had aged a lot, and his life force had also weakened!

'A Time-Wielding Artifact!' Vale realized as he also noticed that the Demon Saint's ring shattered!

It means that he had already used the Time Manipulation Artifact and perhaps, he could no longer use it again!

With a desperate tenacity, Vale fought on, his Shadow Divinity conjuring darkness that sought to envelop Var'gakan.

'That was your only chance to kill me!'

Vale then summoned meteors from the void, each a fiery harbinger of destruction!

It started raining down upon the Demon Saint.

It didn't end there, his Mind Break Spell lashed out, a psychic assault aimed at shattering Var'gakan's mental defenses.

Vale then winced in pain as he realized that the attack that mangled his arm hadn't ended yet!

Nonetheless, he endured the pain and continued!

He followed up with Cursed Flame! This fire roared to life, seeking to consume the Demon Saint's flesh!

As the Demon Saint countered and tried to attack with his Corruption, Vale's Presence Shift allowed him to dance around the battlefield and avoid any more attacks from him!

But Var'gakan was a force unto himself! Although his life force was weakened, his power seemed to be connected to the Abyss.

He countered each of Vale's attacks desperately, as he seemed to possess an unlimited source of Corruption!