Chapter 162: Angel - 3 Chapter 162: Angel - 3 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 Just a few seconds later, a massive hole tore open out of nowhere in the obsidian claw barricade. Though nothing could be seen, everyone present felt it—an attack advancing relentlessly, devouring everything in its path. Barriers collapsed the instant they brushed against the invisible sphere surging forward, unraveling as though erased from existence. It was headed straight for the Emperor, who had yet to fully complete his regeneration. In the next moment, the man known as the Barrier King appeared directly in the attack’s path. His obsidian claws erupted fully as he crossed his arms before his chest, bracing himself to block whatever unseen force was rushing toward them. "NO—!" the Emperor snarled through clenched teeth, but it was already too late. The attack made contact. For a few precious seconds, the Barrier King’s claws resisted, grinding against the unseen force, successfully halting it—if only briefly. Then, without warning, the claws began to disintegrate. They were torn apart and sucked inward toward the epicenter of the attack, spiraling violently like fragments being swallowed by a raging tornado. The next instant, the attack pushed onward. The Barrier King’s eyes widened in horror as he felt his arms being destroyed piece by piece. Then came a crushing impact against his chest—followed immediately by an overwhelming pull, as though something was trying to drag his very existence into itself. Half of his chest had already been carved away, bones shattered and blood spraying visibly through the air as they started spiralling too. And then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished. The Emperor had teleported him away. But that only meant the attack was now coming for him. The Emperor did not waste a single moment. A sword materialized in his hand, its mere presence radiating overwhelming power. The energy pouring off the blade made it instantly clear—it was a weapon of an extremely high rank. He didn’t even wait for his other arm to finish regenerating. With a full-force downward swing, he cleaved into the invisible attack. Every king beside him felt it—a massive, crushing weight being severed. In the very next second, two distinct explosions thundered far behind the Emperor, shaking the air violently. But the cost was immediately evident. The sword crumbled into dust. "The Red-tier spatial sword... disintegrated...?" Siegfried muttered, his mouth hanging open as he stood beside the Emperor, still channelling healing into him. The Emperor’s body—which towered at nearly twelve feet after the soul fusion—utterly dwarfing him. That sword had been forged by the most skilled human craftsmen in existence, specifically designed to endure the Emperor’s power to some extent. It was the highest-ranked weapon ever created. And yet, it had been destroyed by a single attack—one that hadn’t even been visible. But that wasn’t the most horrifying part. In the next instant, four more holes tore through the crumbling obsidian claw barricade, identical to the first. Each one birthed the same unseen attacks, all of them converging toward the Emperor. By now, however, the Emperor had recovered a portion of his mana through [World Lifedrop]. He extended his right palm toward the incoming assaults. The kings felt it immediately—four invisible attacks, identical to the one that had nearly killed the Barrier King, forming around the Emperor himself. The air screamed as space bent unnaturally in four directions. Spheres took shape where reality twisted, dense and oppressive, before being hurled forward. At the same time, an unseen barrier wrapped itself around every king present. Then came the collision. A colossal explosion erupted as the attacks met, warping the surroundings as space itself became distorted and corrupted, the barrier around them protecting their bodies from tearing away. Through the fractured reality, they caught a brief glimpse—an angel, speeding straight toward the Emperor. It bore a human-sized form, slender and radiant, but even that was completely dwarfed by the Emperor’s towering figure. Before anyone could properly register the angel’s full appearance, their attention snapped back to the Emperor— Both of his hands, now fully regenerated, were raised in front of him. With the middle finger and thumb of each hand brought together(touching together), and the remaining fingers pressed against their counterparts on the opposite hand, the Emperor completed the gesture. Everyone knew what that hand sign entailed. Akash. Sky. Space. {Anyone interested, Google for Akash Mudra—but both hands joined in that form} It was the signature hand sign of a space-element user when they invoked their soul itself as part of an attack. He is opening his domain! That realization struck everyone at once. But that wasn’t the most dangerous part. The real danger was that they would be caught within the domain’s range. It would have been one thing if the Emperor had opened his domain merely to demonstrate his technique to the other kings, without activating any offensive functions. But right now—when the angel’s hand was inches from the Emperor’s chest, moments away from tearing open his heart—everyone understood the truth. The instant the domain opened, a barrage of attacks would descend upon everything inside it. Domains fell under the category of soul-related abilities. And soul-related abilities did not consume or need mana. Which was the most ideal attack method for someone like Emperor, who had nearly exhausted his mana. In the current world, humanity has only scratched the surface when it comes to the soul. But of all soul-related powers, the only one subjected to extensive research was the Soul Domain. A Soul Domain was a personal pocket dimension, formed only after an individual created a spiritual space within themselves. But possessing a spiritual space did not automatically grant one a domain. One had to designate a specific region within that spiritual space and refine it meticulously—defining it, shaping it, reinforcing it. They had to create something. They needed to visualize it so vividly, so accurately, that anyone who stumbled into it would mistake it for reality itself. And most importantly—relatability. The domain had to reflect the user’s mind, soul, and personality. To put it simply, if someone practiced fire abilities, their domain needed to embody fire. They couldn’t suddenly impose water within it, because their understanding of water would be shallow compared to fire. That didn’t mean it was impossible—but attempting such a thing often led to disastrous consequences. If they weren’t careful, their domains would become unstable—so weak that they couldn’t even withstand the presence of an external being. The moment the user tried to draw someone inside, the domain would collapse.