The angels watched in awe as the battle raged. Adriel and Gabriele cheered Uriel’s apparent upper hand—until Samael cut in, voice cool.

  “Don’t celebrate just yet. This isn’t over.”

  As the smoke cleared, Fafniel emerged smirking, a shimmering force field crackling around his hand. He’d blocked Uriel’s attack. That was the moment Uriel realised—this wouldn’t be easy.

  He narrowed his eyes, reassessing. His spell activation is fast; if I want to land an attack, I need to be faster.

  He condensed flames into his left forearm to incinerate the embedded spike.

  But Fafniel wasn’t idle. Healing his scorched skin, he snarled, “You really think I’d let you do that?”

  He lunged. Uriel countered with a roaring wall of fire that blasted Fafniel backwards. He managed to block at the last moment with his force field.

  Annoyed, Fafniel unleashed a condensed form of [Absolute Godspeed X Multiple Ice Explosions], freezing the advancing flames solid. As he closed in, Uriel unexpectedly burst through the ice with his fist cocked.

  Fafniel barely dodged the punch and retaliated fast, grabbing Uriel’s arm and neck, flipping him. But just before he could strike, he heard a deafening boom. Uriel exploded, a fiery detonation blasting Fafniel into the ceiling.

  Sensing Uriel's presence behind him, Fafniel realised the attack had come from a clone created by [Kings: Kings' army] and turned to counter.

  Uriel’s fist, packed with concentrated firepower, collided with Fafniel’s ice-enhanced strike. The shockwave flung both combatants—Uriel slammed into the ceiling, and Fafniel crashed into the floor.

  Both their hands trembled, but they both had a smile on their face.

  The battle between these formidable adversaries reached new heights, captivating all the watching angels with its intensity and uncertainty.

  “They’re even,” Jophiel muttered. “You sure Uriel’s winning?”

  “He would’ve won,” Samael replied, arms folded. “But I gave Fafniel pointers. The future changed. Now… just watch.”

  Adriel and Gabriele sighed, anxiety replacing hope.

  Fafniel climbed to his feet, conjuring ice lances. “An exploding clone? How very Michael of you.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Uriel retorted, pulling himself from the ceiling, hovering mid-air as he conjured fiery weapons.

  Their smiles widened as their conjured weapons clashed—each strike meeting its perfect match, the force of impact echoing like divine thunder

  But Fafniel frowned. His lances were stronger… or should’ve been. Then he noticed it: Uriel was manipulating kinetic energy—increasing the velocity of his projectiles while draining Fafniel’s. He’d expanded his manipulation range, making it less precise, but enough to even the odds.

  Their collisions created a light show that amazed the watching angels. They couldn’t take their eyes off for even a second.

  He increased his range? No matter. Fafniel clasped his hands. An even faster spike erupted from beneath him, skating him forward like a missile as their clash continued in the background.

  Uriel dodges the spike, but the spike creates smaller ones that Uriel shatters as he absorbs their kinetic energy and hurls it back as an intense fire wave.

  Fafniel flipped over Uriel, narrowly evading the roaring fire blast that obliterated his towering spike.

  Uriel’s eyes widened. What? He dodged that?

  He whipped around and saw Fafniel upside down mid-flip, finger pointed at his face like a gun.

  A point-blank ice and shockwave blast hurled Uriel into the wall. As Uriel collapsed, Fafniel lunged, fist cocked to shatter Uriel’s heart. A wide grin played on his lips as he closed the distance.

  However, at the last second, Uriel unleashed all the stored kinetic energy in a single, condensed explosion of fire.

  The blast vaporised Fafniel’s right arm, scorched his soul, and caved in his ribs, searing through his organs as it flung him across the battlefield and slammed him into the far wall.

  Uriel’s mana surged, and his head began to regenerate.

  "Damn it, I got too careless," Fafniel scolds himself as he began healing.

  “What?! They are both still conscious?” Adriel exclaimed.

  "That’s impressive," Jophiel muttered. "Most angels would’ve died—or at least been down for the count—but their healing like it’s nothing."

  "Well, most angels don’t have Fafniel mana efficiency or Uriel’s training," Samael replied, “They’d burn out trying to keep healing spells running like that."

  Jophiel nodded, but a flicker of worry crossed her face. "Yeah... you’re right. Fafniel really is something else."

  As she watched the brutal exchange unfold, doubt crept in. With how the fight between Uriel and Fafniel was going, she wasn’t sure she could beat either of them.

  Azrael’s words echoed in her mind, sharp and lingering. If any of them stopped being useful, they would be replaced. So, she stayed silent, eyes fixed on the clash, determined to watch and learn.

  Meanwhile, the last of Fafniel’s wounds sealed shut.

  He can release stored kinetic energy like a bomb… I have to cut off his absorption—somehow.

  Uriel wiped the blood from his nose, the last of his head wounds sealing shut.

  Even caught off guard, he's still regenerated? Tch. That means he’s got passive healing. What a pain.

  “I’m surprised you could still move after I destroyed your head,” Fafniel muttered. “But that miracle won’t happen again.”

  Clasping his hands, he cast [Genesis X Genesis], summoning a gravity well that warped space and the effective range of Uriel’s kinetic energy manipulation, weakening it.

  He can use Genesis Square? At his level?

  Uriel frowned and cast [Divine Nullification]—but it failed.

  Crushing gravity overwhelmed the spell, forcing him to his knees and leaving him wide open.

  When a spell is cast twice, it becomes exponentially stronger, but casting it takes a lot of mana, and it’s easier said than done.

  As the battle raged on, Fafniel began to piece things together. Uriel was using [Genesis X Godspeed Reversal: Absolute Stagnate]—a technique that slowed the flow of kinetic energy around him. Combined with his natural affinity, he could manipulate that field to dodge, absorb, or redirect attacks with unnerving precision.

  Worse still, he had layered [Godspeed] on himself, boosting his reactions within that distorted space.

  To counter it, Fafniel turned to the one force that ignored speed entirely—Gravity.

  Relentless. Unyielding.

  Strong enough to collapse Uriel’s advantage.

  Fafniel’s gravity field encompassed the ring, leaving no room for escape. He landed multiple brutal shots as Uriel struggled to his feet.

  Uriel, gritting his teeth, activated [Godspeed X Jobs: Ultra high-speed regeneration] to heal his soul, then [Judges: Strength of The Lord] to reinforce his soul.

  He rose, countering blow for blow and landing brutal counterattacks. Now it was Fafniel on the back foot.

  But not for long.

  Smirking, Fafniel invoked [Deuteronomy: Law of the Land], imposing a condition: lower gravity when moving, higher gravity on impact. His speed surged—each punch now a bone-shattering weight.

  Fafniel targeted pressure points. Uriel tried to counter, but his timing faltered.

  If this keeps up, I’m done, Uriel thought, just as a punch slammed into his chest, nearly bursting his heart.

  The impact hurled him to the ground.

  I can’t lose. He rolled aside, dodging a brutal stomp, blood trailing from his lips.

  “Still struggling? Just give up,” Fafniel sneered. “Let that weakling get kicked out. Even Lord Samael thinks he is unworthy, just stop fighting, save yourself the pain.”

  It’d be easier to give up—but my master would be disappointed, and I couldn’t face myself if I did. I’ll win. Not just for me… but for Adriel.

  Uriel rose, eyes blazing with resolve. “No.”

  “Fine then, I’ll make you suffer,” Fafniel advanced, but Uriel was faster; he closed the distance and landed a punch on his sternum.

  “You talk too much.”

  Good, I’m getting used to the gravity, I can win.

  Fafniel stumbled, then layered another condition—increased gravity upon impact, reinforcing his durability.

  He charged again.

  This time, Uriel’s blows barely registered.

  Fafniel countered with a brutal hook, dislocating Uriel’s jaw.

  Uriel slid back and analysed Fafniel. His durability is unreal, it's because of this gravity well. He is augmenting the rules to suit him. I need to destroy it if I want to stand a chance, but it’s reinforced. I’ll need everything I’ve got.

  Uriel switched to a wide stance for maximum power, and he augmented his mana flow, boosting his stats. With this increase, he deflected all of Fafniel’s incoming attacks.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Fafniel’s eyes widened as he pondered how Uriel was now keeping up with him. As the fight raged on, Uriel dodged Fafniel’s cross, landing a punch on his liver, dropping him to a knee.

  Uriel continued landing a knee on his face before throwing him across the ring.

  “Not bad, but you would have to do better to beat me,” Fafniel said, putting his hands on the floor to prevent himself from moving back further. Then he noticed Uriel charging energy in his fist.

  Oh, so that’s his plan.

  “Like I would let you," Fafniel said, lunging at Uriel.

  Just as Uriel’s fist neared the ground, Fafniel slashed with a shockwave-enhanced wind blade, severing Uriel’s hand.

  Adriel, Jophiel, and Gabriele stared in shock.

  Even Uriel froze—his reinforced soul, sliced clean like butter. He hadn’t seen it coming.

  Before he could recover, Fafniel’s knee slammed into his face, dropping him.

  “That was for kneeing my face.”

  Fafniel grabbed his leg, yanked him closer, then drove a fist straight through his chest.

  “And this… is for throwing me.”

  Uriel gasped blood and fired a blast of flame, which Fafniel blocked with a windshield.

  Fafniel scoffed, “Was that supposed to hurt, or are you just delaying the inevitable?”

  “No,” Uriel grinned. “That was a distraction.”

  “Distraction? What do—?” Fafniel’s eyes widened, darting to Uriel’s severed hand, which was now glowing, reattached.

  When did he—?! A feeling of dread filled his soul.

  It doesn’t matter; I’ll end this now.

  Fafniel aimed for Uriel’s head. As his fist was inches away from connecting, Uriel slammed his glowing arm into the ground, causing a giant explosion that shattered the gravity well and launched Fafniel across the battlefield.

  Fafniel flipped mid-air, healing as he landed. Dust kicked up as he skidded backwards.

  His brow furrowed.

  This doesn’t make sense. How did he get his hand back without me sensing any mana? Did he use [Manipulator] to mess with my perception?

  Too many questions. No answers.

  He’s fighting like Lord Michael—striking when you're certain you've won. I need to be careful.

  Fully healed now, Fafniel took a guarded stance.

  On the sidelines, Adriel and Gabriele stared in disbelief.

  “His healing speed is unreal,” Adriel muttered.

  “That blast shredded half his soul,” Gabriele added, voice tight. “He recovered like it was nothing.”

  “Even I couldn’t come back from that,” Jophiel admitted, a sliver of unease in her tone.

  Gabriele’s eyes widened.

  His regeneration... It’s stronger than even Lady Jophiel’s.

  Just how far are you going to climb, Fafniel?

  Back in the ring, Uriel finished regenerating his heart. He smirked, blood still wet on his lips.

  "Getting tired already?" he taunted, eyes locked on Fafniel.

  Fafniel growled. “You’ll regret that.”

  He unleashed a storm of ice bombs and lances. Uriel dodged every one, landed a sidekick, and dodged again the lance aimed for his head.

  Fafniel stumbled back, but the barrage didn’t stop. Uriel danced through it all, untouched.

  How is this possible? Fafniel thought, his frustration mounting as Uriel advanced.

  He fired spike attacks to stall him, but Uriel easily slipped past them. Then, Uriel vanished.

  Fafniel’s eyes widened. He spun, searching, but it was too late. Uriel appeared behind him and tore out his heart.

  Fafniel’s eyes widened in shock, but he moved instantly, twisting mid-air to hurl a compressed shockwave at Uriel.

  Uriel met it head-on, countering with [Chronicles: Divine Counter]. The wave surged—amplified tenfold—before slamming back into Fafniel like a divine cannon blast.

  The blast began tearing through his skull—skin, bone, soul—but Fafniel’s mana surged like a dam bursting. His regeneration flared at full throttle, knitting his head back together even as it was being obliterated.

  Uriel let Fafniel’s heart fall, then drove a left hook into his jaw, slamming him into the wall with a thunderous crack. Blood sprayed—but Fafniel’s healing didn’t slow. His head remained intact, sinew and bone reforming mid-air.

  Uriel surged forward, his aura flaring as he force-boosted his stats to overwhelm Fafniel’s regeneration by sheer brute strength. In a blink, he was on him, screaming at the top of his lungs as his fists rained down like a divine tempest, unrelenting and merciless.

  Fafniel didn’t strike back—he blocked, endured, and healed. Over and over again.

  “I can’t lose. I can’t lose. I can’t lose…” he muttered like a mantra, clinging to his resolve.

  “Is it just me, or has Uriel gotten faster?” Jophiel asked, eyes narrowing.

  “I noticed it too,” Adriel replied. “But he didn’t cast anything. How is that even possible?”

  “It’s a trick I taught him,” Samael said casually. Mana manipulation. I’ll teach you all soon enough.”

  Just then, Fafniel slipped past one of Uriel’s blows and thrust his palm forward, mana surging into it. Uriel scoffed, ready to counter, but an invisible force pulled him across the battlefield and slammed him into the wall with bone-rattling force.

  “What the—?” Uriel staggered to his feet, healing his head and spine.

  “What just happened?” Gabriele asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Samael replied, drawing Gabriele and Adriel’s attention. “He created a black hole behind him. However, Uriel managed to incinerate it just as it touched his back.”

  “I get the head injury—wall impact,” Uriel muttered. “But how did my back get hurt?”

  “I see,” Fafniel said calmly. “I didn’t reinforce it with enough mana.” His eyes now shimmered with an aura.

  “Of course… He’s achieved flow,” Uriel muttered, retaking his stance. He activated [Acts X Godspeed: Flame Generator], and white flames roared to life around him, amplifying every stat.

  “You think that’ll help?” Fafniel sneered, summoning ice spikes.

  Uriel’s flames melted them instantly.

  “Such weak attacks won’t work on me now.” He lunged forward, but a massive rock intercepted him, bashing his head into the wall. Momentarily dazed, Uriel blinked up to see Fafniel already in front of him.

  Fafniel struck with a flurry, cracking Uriel’s skull and rupturing his heart.

  Uriel responded by intensifying his flames, forcing Fafniel back.

  “Tsk, those flames are such a hassle.” Fafniel hurled a black hole at Uriel’s head.

  Uriel sidestepped—but the black hole froze midair and pulled everything towards it with crushing force.

  So that’s what threw me to the wall earlier, since when does he have gravity manipulation? Uriel braced himself, holding his ground, but felt his mana begin to drain, bit by bit.

  However, as he tried incinerating it, Fafniel reversed the process, using Uriel’s energy to amplify the resulting shockwave.

  The shockwave blew apart Uriel’s arm and sent him flying, leaving him in a near-death state.

  The sight left Gabriele and Adriel speechless with one thought in their mind: Is Uriel about to lose?

  But Jophiel's voice cut through the uncertainty.

  “Uriel!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Don’t you dare lose.”

  However, Fafniel didn’t hesitate—he lunged in and shattered Uriel’s heart. A second punch raced towards his skull, but Uriel caught it, his hand wreathed in white flames.

  “Sorry,” he said, grinning through bloodied lips, “but I can’t let you win.”

  Fafniel snarled and threw another punch. Uriel dodged and countered with a brutal blow to the chest, sending Fafniel flying—and ripping off the hand he’d just grabbed.

  Uriel turned the severed hand into a bomb and launched it. Fafniel formed a shield, but the explosion obliterated it.

  “Damn it—he reached flow too?” Fafniel scowled.

  The angels exhaled, smiles of relief and awe breaking across their faces.

  Fafniel conjured another black hole, letting it orbit silently behind him and then launched multiple attacks.

  Uriel lunged forward, dodging a flurry of ice and spike attacks as more black holes formed around him.

  “Die!” Fafniel bellowed, launching the black holes. Uriel slipped between them, though some drained his mana.

  I need to finish this now. If not for [Flame Generator], I’d already be out of mana, Uriel thought. He fired a volley of flame arrows.

  Fafniel used the black hole orbiting behind him to absorb the flame arrows.

  “You’ll have to do better than that,” he said, spawning more black holes.

  “He blocked those too? Fine—I’ll use it.” Uriel dove low, weaving past the orbiting singularities.

  “What’s wrong? Tired of running?” Fafniel mocked.

  “No. Just getting serious.” Uriel narrowed his stance, condensing the radius of the stagnation spell and cranking up his Goodspeed output.

  Fafniel sneered. “'Serious'? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t do anything against—”

  He choked mid-sentence as Uriel vaporised all his black holes and nearly took off his head with a flame blast.

  Fafniel flinched. My head moved on its own. If it hadn’t… I’d be dead. Gritting his teeth, he wiped blood from his cheek. “Damn you. I’ll destroy you.”

  He summoned more black holes.

  “Let’s see what you do now,” he taunted, hurling them forward.

  But Uriel’s speed had increased so significantly—his shockwaves now obliterated the black holes. He landed a strike that incinerated Fafniel’s chest.

  Fafniel reeled. How is he this fast?!

  Uriel followed up with a punch that, although Fafniel dodged slightly, incinerated part of his head. Before Uriel could follow up, Fafniel used his regeneration at full output, healing his head.

  His regeneration can keep up with my destruction speed? Fine. I’ll keep hitting him until I outspeed his regeneration or he runs out of mana. Uriel resolved.

  He pummelled Fafniel’s head and heart, but Fafniel’s regeneration kept saving him, when Uriel increased his speed—Fafniel cast [Godspeed X Godspeed] which pushed his regeneration past Uriel’s assault speed.

  I can’t keep this up, his speed is too much…Fafniel thought. I’m I about to lose? No, I can’t lose. I must show Lord Samael that I’m better than his student. He declared, filled with resolve.

  The aura in his eyes darkened. He deflected Uriel’s punch and countered, striking his chest. Uriel skidded back, clutching the wound.

  Level Two Flow—already? Uriel gritted his teeth, arms trembling as he remembered the absurd boost Fafniel gained at this stage.

  The angels watching were left speechless; the action was so intense that they couldn’t spare a moment to talk.

  Uriel clenched his fist, regaining his composure as he dashed in, but Fafniel evaded with ease, to Uriel’s shock.

  He’s improved this much? This boost is far greater than what he showed against Adriel. If I’m going to stand a chance, I need to evolve too, Uriel thought.

  Suddenly, a golden pillar erupted beneath him, slamming his solar plexus. He vomited blood, rocketing back towards a black hole.

  Uriel incinerated it—only for another to spawn inside his chest. He dodged incoming shockwaves and burned out the black hole. He then launched fireballs to counter, however, Fafniel created a black hole and absorbed the incoming attack.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” he mocked, throwing the black hole again.

  Uriel dodged. Fafniel manipulated it to chase him, erasing part of the arena and destroying the seals Uriel had secretly set.

  He noticed them?! Uriel realised, flying higher as the black hole chased him.

  Uriel dodged the incoming black hole, but Fafniel halted it beside his head, then reversed its effects. The debris absorbed from the ground exploded outwards like shrapnel, although he blocked, they still shredded through his soul.

  Fafniel seized the opportunity, lunging at Uriel.

  Uriel healed at the last moment and responded with a blazing palm strike, blasting Fafniel into the ground and obliterating his chest.

  “You’ve achieved level two of flow, too? This fight just got more interesting” Fafniel coughed blood, smiling.

  “Interesting? You are about to lose,” Uriel replied, soul burning white-hot.

  “You think that’ll stop me?” Fafniel grinned, healing his injuries as he stood. “I’m offended you think so little of me.”

  They both circled each other once again, analysing their strengths—weaknesses. After collecting all the battle data, they charged at each other and continued their intense battle.

  Meanwhile, Gabriele and Adriel stared in disbelief, wondering how Uriel achieved a higher level of flow.

  Samael, catching their expressions, explained.

  “It’s the pressure,” he said calmly. “The desperation to win. The will to bring Adriel back. All of it pushed him to evolve—again.”

  Jophiel stayed quiet, absorbing it all. Uriel has grown strong...stronger than any of us expected. I see why Samael chose him as a successor.

  Back in the ring, Uriel weaved around Fafniel’s incoming blow, eyes narrowing as he analysed him mid-motion.

  He still has that much mana left? What a monster. I’ve burned through forty per cent already—and he’s only used a quarter of that. If this keeps up, I’ll lose.

  I need to land attacks that are difficult to heal.

  As Uriel was about to land a counter-attack, Fafniel leapt back, materialising another black hole in Uriel’s chest.

  But Uriel twisted out of the way as it was materialising, landing a crushing blow to Fafniel’s face.

  What—?

  Before the thought finished, another punch slammed Fafniel’s chest, hurling him back.

  Uriel pressed the assault, hammering Fafniel with strikes. His fists blurred with speed, aiming to destroy both head and heart in a single breath. But Fafniel, though battered, regenerated just in time.

  "How did Uriel get faster?" Jophiel asked, awe creeping into her voice.

  “You can’t tell?” Samael replied in a disappointed tone, “And you call yourself an archangel.”

  "You know, you could just tell us instead of being so high and mighty," Jophiel snapped back.

  Samael turned to Gabriele and Adriel. "Do either of you know how he did it?"

  They shook their heads, silent.

  Samael sighed. "He compressed his stagnation spell to its absolute limit—and pushed his kinetic energy manipulation beyond its peak. That's how."

  Adriel brightened. "Then Uriel's going to win, right?"

  Samael smirked, a chill curling through Adriel’s spine. "We’ll see soon enough."

  What is this? Fafniel gritted his teeth as he healed through another barrage of attacks. Why is it harder to heal, and why is healing taking more mana? I healed them easily before, so why?

  Uriel was still accelerating, blows landing faster, sharper.

  I see. You’re using [Deuteronomy: Punishment of sin] to give me injuries that are unhealable and require more mana, while using [Divine Nullification] to nullify my defence. Not bad. But I still have a trump card.

  A grin tugged at his lips.

  He’s smiling? He probably has something planned. Uriel studied Fafniel’s stance.

  Uriel exhaled, condensing his flames in his fist and launching a blazing left jab. It doesn’t matter what he has planned, I’ll counter it.

  Fafniel deflected it, countering with a swift elbow. Uriel caught it, eyes narrowing.

  "Your speed’s improving," Uriel admitted.

  “That’s not all,” Fafniel said, clasping his hands together. “Divine Territory.”

  Uriel’s eyes widened as the world bent around them. They vanished from the ring, transported into a new phase of battle.