Battle
Dichauser Belial presented himself as a classic "tank". That is to say, over the years he had developed a mature and steady fighting style, simple as a cork at first glance, but the details demanded all of his mental ability and experience.
The first aspect was that he never shied away from confrontation. No, at close ranges he could certainly dodge a couple times to avoid getting extra iron in his body, but that was more a tribute to tradition and spectacle. Dichauser could turn off either the sharpness of the blade or the momentum of the strike itself at any moment. Not to mention its years of honed durability, a combination of magical and physical defenses. That was why he, for the sake of publicity and image, never wore any armor. He simply didn't need it.
Emeric abruptly flew out of the smoke, destroying any hint of vegetation beneath him. Behind his back, the magical circles of the House of Gremory immediately formed, which, after just a second of accumulating energy, spewed out thick magical lightning bolts with reddish hues in them. "Filtering" his demonic energy, and afterwards its "transformation" into spells of other aspects is not the most popular technique in the arsenal of the young demon. But in order to defeat the Emperor, you can't do that.
The white glow, which in places took the form of a mist of the same color, on Dichauser's body became brighter in an instant. As expected, the lightning bolts caught up with the enemy faster than their creator. But it had no effect. For a few seconds, the scarlet lightning only scattered on the Emperor's body, having absolutely no effect. As the bright flashes of the clash subsided for a moment, Emeric himself was at hand, aiming his devastation-charged strike directly at Dichauser's face. The scarlet glow that enveloped his limb carried an incredible concentration of destructive power, so great that it would vaporize any high-class demon in an instant.
Too bad Dichauser has long since outgrown that level.
BOOM!
Emeric's fist collided with the Emperor's outstretched palm. The sound of the impact echoed through the neighborhood in a slightly visible wave, but had little or no effect. Dichauser clamped his limb tightly in his grip. The clash of 'uselessness' and 'power of destruction' was accompanied by hissing sounds, like someone spilling water on red-hot rocks, but that was all. Little by little, the sound subsided, and one of the demonic forces slowly disappeared.
And that was Emeric's strength.
The second hasty strike faced a similar situation, also ending up in a grip. In an instant, two strained gazes met.
Dyhauher decided to finally answer.
He swung his head around and put his forehead into Emeric's nose, sending him flying once more.
The young demon immediately began to rise, but he still had to urgently distill demonic energy into his nose. It broke after the blow and spewed out some abnormal volume of blood.
The emperor was still also calmly heading towards him.
«You... - Emeric cleared his dry throat. - You think Cockabiel is a great ally!!! Did it ever occur to you how exactly he knew about the figure! And how Cleria was able to steal the figure?! There are hands sticking out of every crevice.
Balls of the power of destruction shattered powerlessly against the white aura, only causing the Emperor to stop for a second. Everything was turning to dust, the ground beneath him, the vegetation around him, but not him.
«I know," Dichauser shrugged. - The fact that they were using it is clear enough, but.... - Dichauser sent one of his power harnesses at his newly formed ball of demonic energy, nipping the explosion in the bud. - Their same actions would lead to retribution... Cockabiel is insane if he seriously thinks they have enough power to fight a war on all fronts. I wouldn't say that about Zekram, though...
The attempt to block Dichauser's leg kick failed completely. Any magical defenses dissolved themselves into uselessness.
Emeric drew himself through the trench once more.
Here comes the second aspect of Dichauser's style.
Uselessness.
An ability that could negate any phenomena that the user could visualize in his head. And Dichauser was the strongest holder of this ability in the history of his demonic lineage. The years of the Ranked Games had fully revealed the Emperor's ability to adapt right in the midst of a situation. A seemingly brilliant mind could snap other people's abilities like peanuts. After all, even some extraordinary attempts created to "surprise" the Emperor ended in failure.
That aspect was the key to not losing the series. It was his trump card. And in order to defeat Dichauser Belial himself, he needed to understand this ability.
The easiest option is to overpower him. That is, pouring an order of magnitude more magical energy into his attacks. Emeric, who had watched many games over the past week, immediately dismissed it. First, the Emperor was so skilled that he could "suppress" ten units of another individual's energy with a conditional unit of his energy. Secondly, the Emperor himself was a good such representative of the upper class, meaning Emeric wasn't sure which of them was stronger in terms of pure power. Such an option in Hell was only available to his sister.
Option number two, look "deeper" and "broader" into your abilities than Dehouser can....
Emeric turned with a fighting growl to Dichauser, who had just approached. With a growl, he jerked closer to the Emperor again.
In the one second before the collision, his arm began to be covered by the power of destruction once again, only now in a completely different way.
Magic and science have always been not the most compatible things. For example, how do you explain the appearance of a huge lightning bolt that bursts out of someone's hands?
What would a scientist say, for example, who encountered this sight for the first time?
"Wow, this unknown person was most likely able to create a small cluster of water particles, ice and gases in his hand, i.e. a small cloud! Then he divided the charge at the top of the cloud into a positive charge and the bottom into a negative charge. And finally, this incredible wizard, still by the way I can't believe it, was able to create an ion channel between himself and the target, thus "drawing" the path of the future lightning. The last stage is the accumulation of the critical charge and boom! The lightning is ready!"
This explanation will be created based on the entire current scientific model, we can say the representation of the universe in the eyes of scientists.
Now let's imagine a demon whose magic depends on such a fickle thing as "imagination." How would he explain the lightning he let loose from his hands?
"Well, uh, I, uh, I, uh, you know, the one. I imagined a lightning bolt, then boom and bang! It was supposed to fry hard and make up for its creation with a loud, booming, deafening sound!"
Of course, this is highly exaggerated, but that is the point. Demon, or other representative of the supernatural, do not need to form the entire process of creation in the head. They do not even always need to know the simplest principles, enough strong will and will get the result.
Wizards are something in between. They create the basis of a spell on mathematical or natural models, but the lion's share still depends on the will of the wielder. Particularly powerful wizards can even mimic other supernatural races.
«A-A-A! - Emeric shouted before striking, though he was actually incredibly focused on his strength.
The first layer of the power of destruction covered his hand. This demonic force carried the most basic desire to destroy all things. Nothing more, nothing less.
A second layer was immediately formed on top of it. This layer carried the intention to destroy any manifestation of energy, that is, any manifestation of "abnormal".
Third. Destruction of atomic bonds.
The fourth targets the cells of the body.
Fifth on life energy.
And so on...
Layer by layer, in just a fraction of a second, Emeric's arm was covered in various manifestations of the power of destruction. Some were scientifically based, others were purely imagined in the demon's head. A few he'd even made up off the top of his head, just to burden Dichauser's "uselessness" even more.
Collision.
BOOM!
This time Dichauser's arm didn't stop the blow, but famously warped out of the way. Most of the layers had been destroyed by his uselessness, but a few remained.
That's enough for him!
Dichauser Belial watched with widened eyes as Emeric's fist smashed into his face with force.
This time it was the Emperor who flew off to "plow" the field.
He stood up quickly, but Emeric could see that Dichauser was shaken.
He, with a trembling hand, which had suffered from the collision but was already beginning to heal, gingerly touched his lip.
The trembling fingertips were colored scarlet.
«I... - The shocked Emperor couldn't say anything to such a thing.
«What?" Emeric began to knead his limbs, rushing the energy inside, spurring regeneration. - You're used to the wounds already? Not bad for a "victim," is it?
«Yes," Dichauser nodded, still in shock. - You... It was incredible...
The emperor had not been injured in battle for many years. Even the other members of the Ten had only occasionally smeared his clothes, but they had not bled. It was ridiculous to imagine, but a demon barely twenty years old had done what centuries-old monsters could not! Bleed him!
That was Emeric's original plan. To load his power with such an incredible amount of concepts and phenomena that the Emperor would not be able to react to everything. This method could only be available to Emeric, because of his gift.
From his very first lesson in magic, Emeric realized that he was different from others. Too easily his mind grasped concepts that were inaccessible to individuals his age. His mind allowed him to click with both the "imaginary" part of magic and the "math" part. He simply "knew" and "understood" the inner workings, principles, and even the intent of the creators.
Therefore, within one second, he was able to charge his power with a simply unbelievable number of concepts carrying the same intention but different fulfillment.
Now it has turned into a game where one has to "guess" something and the other has time to "guess" everything.
The game is between Emeric and Dichauser. And only one will win.
«I want to commend your resourcefulness and strength, Emeric," Dichauser recovered from his shock and stood in an even more imposing stance. It was becoming clear that the Emperor was now in the most serious mood. To him, Emeric was no longer a victim, but a mortal opponent. A challenge he had waited many years for. - But this time I will give my all!
«Come on! - Excitedly, Emeric shouted back.
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