Xiandre turned to King Dula, his gaze from behind the helmet intense and intimidating.
King Dula smirked, then broke into a wide grin.
But the moment he blinked, a fist was already in front of him. That single punch sent him flying through the wall, crashing through multiple rooms beyond the throne room.
Xiandre stood there, his fist dripping with King Dula's blood. He sighed, then launched forward, charging after the king.
King Dula sat up, his face bleeding, shocked that someone on this planet was strong enough to make him feel pain.
Suddenly, Xiandre was right in front of him again. He swung his blade at King Dula, but the king teleported upward, breaking through the castle roof to dodge the slash.
Xiandre leapt after him, swinging upward releasing a slash made out of black fire at the airborne king. King Dula extended his palm toward the attack and absorbed it.
Then, without warning, the attack fired back at Xiandre. He spun mid-air, narrowly avoiding it.
King Dula raised both hands—and meteors began falling from the sky.
Xiandre dodged the first, but the impact shockwave still hit him from a distance, knocking him upward.
King Dula teleported in front of him, slamming a glowing palm into Xiandre's chest, sending him plummeting down through the castle toward the gates.
BOOOOM
An explosion erupted as Xiandre crashed into the ground.
But he didn't stay down.
He stood immediately and launched himself back into the air toward King Dula.
The king summoned chains of divine, heavenly magic, swinging them like whips at Xiandre. Xiandre slashed through the chains with his sword, then grabbed King Dula by the shoulder and drove his sword into his chest.
But the blade passed through without leaving a wound. King Dula grinned—his chains wrapped around Xiandre, binding him tightly.
He lifted Xiandre above him, grabbed his leg, and spun him mid-air like a ragdoll before throwing him down.
Then he teleported to the ground before Xiandre landed.
Charging up a divine punch, he struck Xiandre's back with such force that the armor cracked.
Xiandre was sent flying again, but remained conscious, blood spilling from his mouth inside the helmet.
He raised his sword to the sky—it pulsed with a black beam that expanded outward, engulfing the castle, the surrounding buildings, and then the entire city.
"Space Control—Domain Creation," Xiandre chanted.
Suddenly, all the demons on the ground, along with the controlled citizens, adventurers, and King Dula's guards, turned on the king and charged at him.
King Dula was momentarily stunned by the spell. He roared in frustration and punched the ground, cracking it.
Without hesitation, he flew into the sky, directly in front of Xiandre, and threw a swift punch. Xiandre blocked it with his arms but was still knocked downward.
BOOM
Xiandre crashed into the ground, dropping his sword. As he tried to get up, King Dula leapt down, landing a devastating punch to Xiandre's stomach.
Blood spilled again as the king climbed on top of him, raining punches down on his face.
Each strike echoed like thunder, breaking the sound barrier.
Xiandre eventually blocked a few punches, grabbing King Dula and slamming his own head into the king's face—his helmet cracked, and King Dula's forehead bled.
Xiandre grinned under the broken mask, then spun around, grabbed the king by the hair, and flipped him—reversing their positions.
With a glowing purple hand, he slammed a punch into King Dula's face, sending him crashing deep into the earth.
Xiandre flew upward—but King Dula followed him instantly, now moving at the speed of light.
This time, King Dula's hand turned gold. Before Xiandre could react, he was already gripping his heart.
The chestplate shattered, revealing Xiandre's undead body, blood pouring from the wound.
"For an undead, you still bleed. Now how is that even possible?" King Dula muttered.
Xiandre struggled to breathe, glaring at him.
Suddenly, his heart—still in King Dula's grasp—turned black and burst into dark flames.
Even with his divine resistance, the heat seared King Dula's hand, and he was forced to drop it.
The heart splattered as it hit the ground.
Xiandre's body began glowing with a deep black aura.
"What is this? Some kind of power-up? Just how many power-ups do you even have?" King Dula growled.
Xiandre's sword teleported back into his hand. He pointed it at King Dula's head—then fired.
A beam erupted with force, echoing through the air and breaking the sound barrier every millisecond.
King Dula raised his palm, absorbing the blast—and then launched it back.
Xiandre ducked and dodged it with a graceful dive, manipulating gravity to fly through the sky.
Then, under the blood-red sky, he raised his hand and grinned darkly beneath his cracked helmet.
Suddenly, thunder came striking down upon King Dula.
He was hit immediately—then another bolt followed, then another. Though he managed to dodge some, many still struck him.
The bolts surged through his veins, burning him from the inside out. He grunted in pain as Xiandre teleported right in front of him, slamming his helmet into King Dula's skull again like a bolt of lightning.
The impact sent the king flying even higher into the sky.
Then, gravity twisted violently—King Dula was yanked upward, only to be slammed down to the earth like a crashing plane.
BOOM!!
Xiandre opened his palm as his domain turned a deep, glowing purple.
"Inside this domain… I am the strongest," Xiandre muttered. "Because I can control anything. Yet somehow… I still can't control everything about you."
King Dula stood up slowly, blood dripping from his mouth. He lifted his head, then opened his jaw unnaturally wide.
Suddenly, a barrage of golden light arrows exploded from his throat like a magical cannon.
Xiandre dodged all of them mid-air, twisting and maneuvering gracefully. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he redirected the barrage back at King Dula.
The king reacted fast. He grabbed a chunk of ground and lifted it upward, forming a wall. The wall turned gold and absorbed the redirected arrows.
Without pause, he spun the massive barrier and hurled it directly at Xiandre like a discus.
Xiandre, unfazed, snapped his fingers.
Time stopped.
Everything inside his domain froze.
Everyone—except King Dula.
The king still moved, immune to Xiandre's temporal control.
He teleported right in front of Xiandre, his hands glowing with divine gold, and launched a punch.
Xiandre dodged to his left, avoiding the blow. He followed with a swift sword slash.
King Dula narrowly escaped upward, soaring higher into the air as the slash missed him—but hit the castle behind, causing a violent shockwave that shook the entire structure.
CRACK!
Part of the enormous castle began to collapse.
King Dula hurled a kick toward Xiandre, then followed it with a heavy punch.
Xiandre dodged the kick and blocked the punch cleanly.
The two clashed with staggering force—Xiandre teleported above, then charged downward, his sword aimed like a missile.
King Dula summoned a barrier of divine energy, catching the blow just in time.
Xiandre vanished again—teleporting behind King Dula, his sword glowing with energy.
He fired another beam, but King Dula spun mid-air and kicked the sword, deflecting the blast skyward before launching several rapid punches.
Xiandre weaved around them with ease, grinning beneath his broken helmet.
Then—King Dula's eyes flashed gold.
Suddenly, beams of divine lasers shot from his eyes.
Xiandre was caught off guard. One of the lasers hit his arm directly—
Slicing it off.
His severed arm dropped to the ground, blood spraying from the wound.
Gritting his teeth, Xiandre angled his sword to catch the next laser—deflecting it back.
The beam ricocheted off his blade and into King Dula's face.
The king screamed. His eyes burned as divine blood poured from them.
Xiandre didn't waste the opportunity.
As King Dula screamed with his mouth open, Xiandre lunged, grabbed the king's tongue—
And ripped it out.
Before King Dula could recover—
SHHHING—
One clean swipe.
Xiandre's blade sliced through his neck.
The king's head rolled, lifeless, as his body dropped from the sky.
The tyrant had fallen.
Xiandre's sword shattered, and suddenly, a massive blast from the sky struck him—burning him from the inside and outside.
"Ack, ngh... I should be resistant to fire," Xiandre exclaimed.
His domain shattered as time resumed. Xiandre, still burning, grit his teeth as his system window appeared.
[Enemy located. Three bosses capable of defeating you are targeting you.]
He groaned, clutching his severed arm, when a familiar voice echoed behind him.
"Long time no see, old friend. It's a shame... I shouldn't have let my pride overwhelm me. But what can I say? I am the very embodiment of pride. I am Pride itself," Lucifer said.
"Morn... or should I say Lucifer. Looks like being immortal made you cocky. You think you can defeat me?" Xiandre replied.
"I'm afraid so. This is our second fight, and I doubt you've gotten stronger. Meanwhile, I'm more capable now than before," Lucifer replied—but then suddenly stiffened. Something cold and tight was around his neck.
Xiandre was already in front of him, choking him, his fingers digging into Lucifer's throat.
"How funny, isn't it? You think you've gotten stronger?" Xiandre said coldly.
Lucifer grinned.
"I did."
Suddenly, Lucifer opened his mouth, and a portal formed before it. Xiandre teleported back as several dark, winged skeletons poured out of the portal, charging straight toward him.
Then, a wave of blinding light appeared behind Xiandre. Lucifer's eyes widened just as King Dula flew up, fully healed.
He now had four eyes—two extra beneath his original pair—and a white wing extended behind his back. A golden halo glowed above his head as he grinned.
"Looks like I have a teammate," King Dula muttered.