Ch. 10 Awaited fight

The battlefield remained, encased within the shimmering barrier. Inside, Maw stood poised.

"From now on, be careful!" Maw declared, his voice resonating through the enclosed space.

Ash, a smirk playing on his lips, replied, "Wow, what a kind heart you have. Giving a warning to your enemy before attacking."

Maw remained silent, his gaze unwavering, focused intently. Then, he began to chant, "Dark replica of black flames."

Suddenly, from his sword, black flames erupted, coiling around its blade until it was entirely enveloped. In the blink of an eye, Maw vanished.

He reappeared instantly, his sword aimed directly at Ash. With an almost casual confidence, Ash moved to block the oncoming blade with his bare hands. However, the sword pierced through him effortlessly, carving a path from his midsection to his shoulder, splitting Ash's body in two. Where the blade had cut, black flames now consumed his form.

Ash's body shimmered, then vanished, teleporting to another location within the barrier.

A flicker of black consumed Maw's white iris, turning his eye completely dark for a fleeting moment. Then, Maw too disappeared. Both reappeared at the same spot simultaneously.

How did he know where I would teleport? Ash wondered, his mind racing.

Without a word, his expression neutral, Maw swung his sword at Ash's neck. Ash, still regenerating from the previous attack, found himself in a precarious position—defending, offending, and healing all at once. Yet, he managed to twist his body at a precise angle, causing Maw's attack to miss this time.

Again, Ash teleported. Again, Maw's white iris momentarily turned black. Maw vanished and reappeared at Ash's new location.

"Again," Ash muttered.

They continued to teleport, a blur of motion across the battlefield. Within seconds, there was hardly a spot within the barrier they hadn't occupied.

Suddenly, Maw ceased his movements, a grim smile spreading across his face. Ash, too, stopped, now standing directly before him.

"Looks like I was right, you aren't a worthy opponent for me, you used your trump card too soon, thinking that cutting me into a thousand pieces will kill me. You're just a fool, you can only use it in your petty wars against your own kind. But against us, Curseumans, it's useless."

Ash's smile faded, his expression turning serious. His eyes glowed fiercely with a crimson light. He raised a single finger into the air.

In an instant, the entire environment within the barrier transformed. An immense pressure descended, forcing everything within the confines of the barrier towards the ground. Soil and stones began to crush and compress continuously, forcing the earth downwards as if under a hydraulic press. Maw, though still standing, felt the overwhelming pressure against his entire body, his eyes widening in surprise. Scratches and cuts appeared spontaneously across parts of Maw's body, born from the sheer force.

Inside Ash's head, Krishna's voice resonated, "Ash, don't overdo it, or the barrier enclosing this immense pressure will break, and the sudden burst will destroy all of Baston."

A demonic smile stretched across Ash's face. "I know! I'm just putting a bit of my finger's weight on this insect in front of me." He added, "Let me go a bit further."

Suddenly, a tiny ball of natural energy, imbued with all the curse energy present in the barrier, began to coalesce at a single point. In a second, all of Maw's released curse energy was absorbed into the ball, clearing the barrier of its lingering effects.

"Focus energy, compress it," Ash chanted, his voice a low, continuous murmur. "Again, focus energy, compress it. Again, focus energy, compressing it."

As Ash's words echoed, the tiny ball, no larger than a marble, grew denser, heavier. It rested atop Ash's finger. With each word and each increase in density, the ball turned a pure, dark black, a testament to the immense, focused energy contained within. Simultaneously, the pressure intensified exponentially.

The ground within the barrier continued to bear the ultimate pressure, compressing to a depth of ten feet, transforming the soil into unbreakable rock. Maw's body, amidst this cruel phenomenon and immense pressure, still endured.

Maw's eyes were now crimson red. I have already focused most of my energy to enhance my physical body and endurance, he thought. But with each passing moment, it is becoming unbearable.

Ash continued his relentless chant: "…focus energy, then compress it…"

Suddenly, Maw's feet gave way. A sickening symphony of fracturing and breaking bones echoed, loud enough to reach Maw's own ears, but even the sound was instantly suppressed by the overwhelming pressure. Maw was now on the ground, not lying, but his hands and knees pressed against the earth.

I have enhanced my body so much that I can't feel any pain, Maw reflected. But I can sense that I no longer have control of my body. I can't feel pain, but the crackling sounds from my body tell me what is happening inside me. His gaze fell to his palms and knees. Even after putting all my energy into enhancing my body, I am bleeding from various parts. I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't enhanced my body.

The pressure escalated further as the energy ball continued to form and Ash continued his chant. Suddenly, blood burst from Maw's ears and nose, gushing out like rockets. His entire eyes filled with blood, turning his black irises to crimson. In a flash, Maw's entire body collapsed onto the ground, his hands and knees bursting into fragments of flesh and pure blood. Yet, instantly after the burst, the blood and tiny fragments compressed, vanishing. His face and body were pressed so tightly to the earth by the pressure that even the continuously flowing blood had no chance to display its crimson color, instantly disappearing.

Maw was unable to speak. I… I… I can't breathe, he thought. Where is the air? Even the air, comprising all gases, was compressed under immense pressure.

"How are you feeling, insect?" Ash taunted, his voice dripping with arrogance. 

After a brief pause, he added, "Looks like the insect can't speak. No problem at all. I should put some more force into my finger's weight…"

Ash increased the pressure even further. Due to this, one of Maw's legs burst and simultaneously disappeared, compressed into nothingness. The same fate befell one of his limbs, then another leg, and finally, his remaining limb. Both his legs and hands had burst and vanished. The earth was now stained crimson.

"I have prepared my attack now," Ash declared. He focused his finger towards Maw, who was now unconscious. Ash's smile vanished. "Wait, why are you unconscious? Ahhh… I don't like to attack someone when they don't even know what is happening…"

Suddenly, the energy ball disappeared, and all the immense pressure dissipated, returning to a neutral state. The earth within the barrier was permanently marked with Maw's crimson blood.

Ash moved, stopping beside Maw, who lay in a fearsome and severely damaged state. Ash's eyes brightened. "I can see… there is not a single spirit bone in your body. Almost all your blood is compressed, making the earth red, and even your mind is so severely damaged that all spiritual activities in your spiritual body have ceased. Even regeneration."

After a pause, Ash continued, "I want to talk to you, so I think healing some part of your awareness will not be a problem." 

 Ash—placed two fingers on the dry flesh of Maw's head, where only a minimal amount of muscle and tissue remained, along with crushed bone powder. It was all dry, devoid of blood, which had been utterly sucked out and compressed into the earth.

"Where is his brain part, ummm…" Ash mused, his eyes brightening for a moment. "Here, no… it's here!" Ash placed his two fingers on the spot and uttered, "REVERSE." Instantly, a portion of Maw's head healed.

I am surprised, Ash thought to himself. He was able to bear 0.01% of Krishna's power without his full body exploding…

"Now, I have to make an awareness link with him," Ash stated, his eyes brightening again.

Ash found himself in a dark space, his form obscured by the darkness itself. "He is so rotted from inside also," Ash remarked. With a snap of his fingers, the entire space became blindingly white.

"Where is he?" Ash wondered. "Looks like he hasn't gained spiritual internal awareness yet, even after healing his mind awareness."

Slowly, someone began to appear in the white space, presumably Maw.

"What is this?" Maw mumbled, staring at his hands. "I've never felt like this before." He raised his head from his hands and saw the white space and Ash standing there.

"You bastard, what are you doing here?" Maw roared. "I will kill you!" He moved to charge at Ash, but suddenly Ash's eyes brightened again, and the entire space transformed into a grand castle or palace. Ash was now seated on a throne, while Maw was suspended by chains from a long iron pillar directly in front of him. His hands and legs were chained, the chains connected to iron pillars. It was a scene reminiscent of Jesus being crucified, serving to enhance the dramatic effect.

"Even if this is inside your awareness, I can do whatever I want here!" Ash declared, his voice filled with authority. 

"So, it would be better for you not to do anything more than what I say. Now tell me… Who defeated and sealed you 6000 years ago? Also, tell me about the history of Spiritumens and Curseumans."