Chapter 9 - "Duel of Supremacy"

A battle like no other was about to begin.

The air between them shook.

Phantom and the demon remained frozen, staring with an unspoken understanding this was more than merely a battle. This was one for supremacy, one for dominion over something greater than just the body that held them.

Phantom gripped his sword more tightly. The figure before him had solidified now, no longer a shifting mass of ominous energy. Its form was that of a giant demonic soldier, wearing buckled obsidian armor, veins throbbing with a red light. Its two horns curled back like a helmet of war, and its eyes blazed with fiery wrath.

The anticipation thickened.

The dark figure charged at Phantom.

Then, without warning, Phantom raised a hand.

"Hold up," he said.

The demon was annoyed, its fiery gaze narrowing. "What do you want now? Do you want to give up now?," it smirked.

Ignoring the question, Phantom snapped his fingers. A glass of his favorite drink materialized in his other hand—a blue liquid swirling in the crystal, ice clinking softly. He took a slow sip, savoring the moment.

Then, a realization struck him.

He whispered "What if I do it like this?"

A sharp buzz coursed through his veins, electricity crackling over his skin. Sparks flickered across his fingers, dancing along the edges of his sword. The sheer energy coursing through his body made the air hum.

The dark figure was shocked and got annoyed that he looked a bit like his nemesis.

He smirked. "So, I can do anything here, huh? Makes sense—this is my mind after all."

The demon watched, silent but alert.

Phantom let the power settle before shaking his head. "Nah. Feels cheap. I won't use abilities I don't have outside." He flicked his wrist, and the electricity dissipated. He placed the glass down onto nothingness, where it hovered in the void, untouched.

"Hey, so-called powerful guy in existence, I got a deal for you," smirked Phantom.

The demon clenched its fists. "Enough of your games."

Phantom chuckled. "No games. Just a proposition."

The demon tilted its head, intrigued, "Go ahead."

"How about a deal?" Phantom took a step forward. "You fight me under my rules. No fancy mind-tricks, no cheap hacks. If you win, you get my body. If I win, you do what I say."

The demon studied him for a long moment, then grinned, revealing rows of jagged teeth. "Amusing. And why do you think I should follow your rules."

Phantom got annoyed, "You stupid or what?"

The dark figure got angry, "Insolent, mortal. I will kill you in the most painful way possible."

"Let me finish, you idiot," grumbled Phantom. "So, this is my mind and I have more control over it than you meaning I am in upper hand and here, I can do whatever, however I want and the previous gesture was to show that. But, I don't wanna as I want to beat you fair and square. So, in conclusion if you agree it is a win-win situation for both of us."

The demon grinned, "Interesting. I agree."

"Glad you think so. Now, stand over there." Phantom gestured to a spot several meters away.

The demon complied, taking its position.

Phantom raised a hand and snapped his fingers again.

A deep, rhythmic beat filled the void.

Music.

Something primal and electric. Something that set the stage.

"This fight is a classic duel to death style," smirked Phantom.

He rolled his shoulders. "Let's begin."

Both warriors started walking.

Slow at the beginning, eyes fixed on one another.

The tension built.

Their speed picked up.

Then they sprinted.

Blades out, bodies in line, Phantom and the demon charged.

The world around them blurred.

In an instant, they clashed.

A single strike—lightning-fast, deliberate.

For a heartbeat, silence.

Then, they appeared on opposite sides, crouched low in mirrored postures.

The void pulsed.

Phantom exhaled, steady. Unscathed.

The demon trembled.

A huge slice on right side of it's torso—a wound.

The realization hit a second too late. The demon staggered, gripping its side, black mist leaking from the wound like blood.

It snarled.

A rewind flashed through its mind—

It had anticipated Phantom's strike to come from the left, bracing for an impact near its stomach. But Phantom had feinted. At the last second, his sword's trajectory shifted, aiming for a stab at an open gap. The demon had barely reacted in time, attempting to block—

But that was a feint too.

The real attack had come from the left to right.

Phantom threw his sword to the right of the demon.

A thin wire, silk-like, connecting Phantom's glove and the sword. A twist of his wrist, and the blade curved in mid-air, cutting into its mark.

A clean strike.

Phantom picked it up again with the same motion. Cutting the same spot twice.

The demon growled deep in its throat. "Clever."

Phantom grinned. "Thanks. Let's do it again."

The battlefield fell silent, the sole noise the light rustle of Phantom's fur as he moved forward. The demon growled, claws extending, its darkened power throbbing in the air, warping space around it.

Then—

BOOM.

A streak of black shot into the air.

Raven had taken over.

High above, his midnight cape flowed behind him, his masked face emotionless as he hovered in place. A flick of his wrist, and the sky darkened.

Raven's unique skill: Raven's Withering.

Daggers rained down in an elegant, spiraling storm. Each blade moved with deadly precision, cutting through the air like falling stars. The demon dodged to the side—only to realize half of the daggers had changed course mid-air, twisting in unnatural angles.

Threads.

Thin, nearly invisible strands glistened faintly in the dark, extending from Raven's fingertips. Each dagger was a puppet, guided by his will alone. The demon barely managed to evade, each step backward only forcing it deeper into a tightening web.

Raven tilted his head slightly.

"You're in my web now."

The demon roared, dark energy flaring around it. With a powerful leap, it shattered the daggers around it in a burst of force—

—but Raven had already landed.

His head tilted, as if his job was done.

And then—

A shift.

The air grew colder. The battlefield fell silent.

Phantom had taken over.

The demon blinked—Phantom disappeared.

Its instincts screamed, but it was already too late.

A blur of night. A hum in the wind.

Then—steel.

SLASH.

Phantom's afterimages danced around the battlefield, each attacking from a new direction. The demon tore at the illusions, but they dissipated like a cloud.

Then, Phantom materialized behind it, sword inches from its throat. A cold whisper caressed the demon's ears—

"You're already dead. You just don't know it yet."

The demon spun around, striking wildly—

But Phantom vanished.

The battlefield was a spectral nightmare, Phantom weaving in and out of reality and illusion. Each strike was akin to death itself. The demon's breath grew ragged as it struck, but Phantom evaded its attacks with ease.

Then—

The demon ceased its motion.

The air was charged with a mysterious energy.

A deep, rumbling laugh shook the battlefield.

Dark energy burst outward.

Phantom hardly had time to jump back as the whole battlefield distorted. The earth under their feet melted into molten stone. The air turned stifling, thick with black energy.

Phantom narrowed his eyes.

It was time.

Another shift.

The battlefield was heavier—not from the demon's aura, but from something much worse.

Ashok had taken control.

No illusions. No tricks. Pure, undisguised skill

Ashok took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders as he cracked his knuckles.

"Killer is done."

His hold on his weapon grew tighter.

"Assassin is done."

The ground under him cracked as he moved forward.

"Time for the warrior. I aint gonna give time for your transformation."

The demon lunged, its claws slicing through the air with enough force to shatter boulders—

—but Ashok didn't dodge.

He stood straight at it.

The initial blow came with the impact of a meteor. The blow shook the battlefield, shattering the molten ground beneath them. The demon's arm shook for the first time.

Ashok did not hesitate.

He pressed forward—every movement precise, every strike carrying the weight of mastery.

No trickery. No false moves.

Only crushing combat ability.

The demon attempted to counter, but Ashok had already gained a lead. He ducked, pivoted, struck—a relentless storm of precise, devastating blows.

Then—

BOOM.

The demon slid across the field, its balance precariously maintained.

It laughed like a maniac.

The fight went on, a blur of strike and counter. Sparks flew as steel clashed, each parry more fierce than the previous one. Ashok remained in front, anticipating the demon's actions, adjusting with each impact.

Then—

Something changed.

The demon, although injured, burst out laughing.

"You fight well," it admitted, its eyes shining. "But I was never fighting at full strength."

The transformation was complete.

It raised its hands.

The battlefield distorted and changed. Rivers of liquid rock cut through the earth, razor-sharp cliffs rising up from the depths. The air was heavy with sulfur, the sky filled with black smoke.

Four radiant sigils materialized on its body, chaining its power. The demon snarled, its voice full of malice.

"Even with four seals, I am still powerful. But you—"

It snapped its fingers.

The domain shattered indication it's control on the field.

Ashok grimaced.

"Great. Now we're on your home field."

The demon gestured.

Lava boiled.

Globs of molten rock flew at Phantom, slicing through the air like meteors.

He dodged, sidestepping the incoming rounds. But before he could retaliate—

SNAP.

Lava chains erupted from the earth, binding around Phantom's limbs.

His body locked in place, suspended in mid-motion.

The demon laughed, advancing closer.

"Now, I am going to watch you fight when you can no longer move."

The lava at their feet started to boil up, swirling through the air, taking shape as a weapon.

A trident.

Molten stone wrapped around it, incandescent white-hot. The demon raised it, grinning.

"You will not die swiftly. You will die in pieces."

The trident whirled in his hand—slowly, methodically, threateningly.

Then—it hurled the weapon forward.

The world lowed.

The trident spun, cutting through the air with a low, hellish drone.

It wasn't moving fast.

It didn't have to.

It was made to kill slowly.

To tear Phantom apart—inch by inch.

Phantom's eyes went blind.

Then—a voice.

"Bow before me."

The world changed.

Phantom found himself standing before a mountain of corpses.

At its top sat a man.

No—something greater.

His presence was overpowering, beyond human understanding. His aura screamed of battles, of centuries-old conquests. His very existence crushed down on Phantom, bearing him to the bloodied ground.

Phantom didn't move.

The weight became greater.

Blood dripped from his lips. His body howled in revolt.

And still—he didn't bend.

The figure watched him. And slowly, nodded.

"Very well."

The vision splintered.

Meanwhile, outside the vision.

Phantom's frame shook.

Then—his lips curled into a smirk.

A golden glow flickered across his skin.

The demon's smile faltered. "What…?"

A new voice rumbled through the space—deep, ancient, unshaken.

"Man… it's been ages since I got sealed in here."

With two fingers, he stopped the enormous demonic lava trident.

Then—a crack.

CRACK. CRACK.

The trident shattered into pieces.

The demon stumbled back.

"Who the hell are you?"

The glow intensified.

A pulse of ancient energy erupted from Phantom's body.

Then—a chant.

A deep, rhythmic incantation in Sanskrit, echoing with divine authority.

पात्रोऽहमस्मि राक्षसवधाय संकल्पितस्य वंशस्य।

IN ENGLISH: pātro aham asmi rākṣasa-vadhāya saṁkalpitasya vaṁśasya.

विष्णोः कीनाशावतारस्य अनुजन्मनः अनुयायी।

IN ENGLISH: viṣṇoḥ kīnāśa-avatārasya anujanmanaḥ anuyāyī.

Light erupted.

Then—

Another chant.

मम जीवकालसखा आह्वये।

IN ENGLISH: mama jīvakāla-sakhā āhvaye

युद्धाय संनद्धः भवतु।

IN ENGLISH: yuddhāya saṁnaddhaḥ bhavatu.

मनोराक्षसं संहारार्थं,

IN ENGLISH: manorākṣasaṁ saṁhārārthaṁ.

खड्ग-कवचं मे साहाय्यं करोतु।

IN ENGLISH: khaḍga-kavacaṁ me sāhāyyaṁ karotu.

From the light, a weapon came.

A blade—glowing and unyielding.

The demon had hardly time to respond.

One blow.

A lone, crushing slash.

The underworld shook.

The demon's body disintegrated, lost to nothing.

Silence reclaimed.

Phantom gasped as his awareness reasserted itself.

When he opened his eyes, he was not in the realm of minds anymore.

He was on the cold stone ground of a secret cave, far within the belly of a mountain. The atmosphere was heavy with an ancient energy.

And in his grasp—

A ring.

Simple. Unassuming. Yet pulsing with untapped power.

He breathed out.

A new puzzle piece had finally fit into place.

And the game was a long way from being over.