Location: Far away from the Sacred Temple
Not a single sound of vehicles or footsteps remained.
The entire area had fallen into an unnatural silence.
Revenant and Marcus were moving at such terrifying speeds that even sound itself seemed unable to keep up with them. There were warriors faster and stronger than them in the world, yes but the intensity of their battle alone was enough to suffocate the surroundings into silence.
And then-
The silence shattered.
Marcus and Revenant:
Super Technique!
Both activated their techniques simultaneously.
A brilliant white spherical barrier began forming around them, expanding outward until it reached nearly fifty meters in diameter.
One of the rarest dual manifestations of a Super Technique-
Barrier Type.
Enhancement, acceleration, weakening, slowing, and offensive amplification all merged into a single domain.
The names of their barriers echoed through the white void.
Marcus:
Sacred Judgment!
Revenant:
Wild West Duel!
Inside the barrier, everything turned pure white.
Then reality reshaped itself.
Behind Marcus, a golden-white courtroom materialized massive pillars rising toward nothingness, execution devices scattered across the chamber like instruments of divine punishment.
Behind Revenant appeared a dusty wild west town, abandoned yet alive with tension. A towering clock tower dominated the skyline, its silent presence measuring the flow of fate itself.
A dividing line formed between the two worlds.
Their barriers were colliding.
Neither side gained ground.
Both fighters were already weakened.
Marcus's entire body was injured-
everything except his brain had taken damage. He was wounded, but far from unconscious.
Revenant, meanwhile, had nearly exhausted his energy. Opening a barrier should have been impossible for him.
Yet Flaming Energy had restored ten percent of his lost power… and something within him felt awakened.
This was no longer a contest of raw strength.
It was a battle of domains.
A battle of minds.
Revenant (Thinking):
Whoever wins this barrier clash…
Marcus (Thinking):
Whose barrier collapses first…
At the same moment, both reached the same conclusion.
Revenant (Thinking):
…wins.
Marcus (Thinking):
…loses.
The structures behind them expanded and shrank repeatedly, struggling for dominance. Sweat mixed with blood as the clash dragged on, threatening to become a prolonged war of endurance.
Then-
At the exact center of the dividing line-
A thin layer of ice appeared.
The space was sliced cleanly apart.
The barrier… had been cut from the outside.
Someone had forcibly interfered.
With a single ice attack, two reinforced Super Technique barriers were split in half.
The domains shattered.
Marcus and Revenant were thrown backward as reality snapped back into place.
While falling, Marcus glimpsed the attacker
Purple-blue hair.
Before he could react, someone appeared behind him, twisted his body midair, slammed him onto a rooftop, and restrained him in a reverse lock.
The man had crimson hair and a long scar stretching from the left side of his lip.
Revenant suffered the same fate but worse.
Ice instantly encased everything below his head, immobilizing him completely.
The purple-blue-haired figure walked calmly toward him, grabbed his hair, and spoke.
- - - : Hm… a bounty hunter. We've come to arrest you. The barrier may have protected the city… but this is still a crime.
The red-haired man called out from the other rooftop.
- - - : Hey! Zach! That's the King of Justice!
Without turning around, the ice user replied while staring directly into Revenant's eyes.
Zach: We'll take him to the Absolute Detectives as well, Richard.
The moment Revenant heard those names, realization struck.
Revenant: So… the fourth strongest Absolute Detective came personally to arrest us.
From the opposite building, Marcus shouted with his remaining strength.
Marcus: Tell him to release me immediately, Zach Horizon!
Revenant's eyes widened beneath his damaged mask.
The man he had been hunting for a bounty… was connected to one of the strongest beings alive.
Zach formed an ice sword in his hand. Without even aiming directly, the blade floated forward and embedded itself beside Marcus's head.
Zach glanced slightly over his shoulder.
Zach: Watch your mouth, King of Justice.
Zach Horizon
Fourth strongest among the Absolute Detectives.
Ranked fifth strongest in the world.
The youngest Absolute Detective.
Purple-blue hair. Snowflake-colored eyes.
White suit, white coat worn like a cape.
White jeans.
Height: 1.91 m - Age: 18.
Zach: Richard, let's take these two to the Absolute Detectives' prison… the Null Prison.
Richard grinned.
Richard: Then I'll knock Marcus out.
Richard Techno
Fifth strongest Absolute Detective.
Sixth strongest in the world.
Crimson hair. Long scar crossing his lip.
Black eyes. Gray suit and orange coat worn like a cape.
Height: 1.76 m - Age: 24.
Zach: I'll learn why you two were fighting once we arrive.
Revenant understood instantly.
Escape was nearly impossible.
Richard alone was slightly stronger than Marcus.
But Zach…
Zach radiated something entirely different.
A terrifying aura spread from him vast, cold, overwhelming. The size of one's aura reflected their total energy.
Zach's aura was as massive as a building.
Nearly one-tenth of Arthur's.
Richard: They can't escape, Zach. They've burned too much energy and taken heavy damage.
Zach's expression remained completely emotionless.
Zach: Good. That makes things easier.
He extended his hand toward Revenant's face, preparing to freeze him completely.
Then-
A cracking sound echoed behind Revenant.
Zach reacted instantly.
Zach: He's trying to escape.
Just as Zach moved to freeze him
Reality split open behind Revenant.
A massive hand emerged from a dark fracture and seized him.
Zach launched an immediate counterattack. Countless ice blades pierced the enormous hand but it retreated into the crack before disappearing entirely.
The fracture vanished as if it had never existed.
Zach spoke coldly.
Zach: …Damn it...
Inside the collapsing rift, Revenant slowly opened his eyes.
Two figures stood in the darkness.
Their auras were suffocating.
Both were at the level of Great Demons.
A familiar voice spoke.
- - - : I told you that day… if you ever needed help, all you had to do was call us.
Revenant immediately recognized the voice.
Revenant: Lucifer?
A smile appeared within the darkness.
Lucifer: So you made a contract with an Ancient Relic. Faster than I expected.
Beside him sat another Great Demon, casually crushing pieces of ice in her hand.
- - - : Can this man really help our plan?
Lucifer smiled toward the shadowed figure.
Lucifer: He's worth it, Hana… the Demon of Immortality.
Hana laughed loudly.
Hana:Hahaha! You're as mysterious as ever, Lucifer.
Hana Undead - Demon of Immortality
Green hair.
Glowing green skull-shaped pupils.
Thin black armor covered in skull motifs.
A massive skeletal emblem behind her whose eyes ignited green whenever she used energy.
Height: 1.82 m - Age: Unknown.
Even while exhausted on the ground, Revenant understood.
Hana was the Great Demon who had once inflicted an unhealable wound upon Arthur years ago.
But Lucifer…
No history.
No records.
No past.
Hana smirked knowingly.
Hana: You're wondering what kind of demon Lucifer is, aren't you? The answer is-
Lucifer raised his hand.
Lucifer: I'll tell him myself, Hana.
Hana clicked her tongue and turned away.
Lucifer extended his hand toward Revenant.
Lucifer: I am Lucifer Deadman… the Demon of Reality. And I want you to join us.