Alcimus stood up and glared at Nawdren. His face was disfigured and was covered with his own blood, however, for some reason, that made him even more intimidating. His eyes shining under that bloodied face… Alcimus looked frightening. And this was not true for just appearance alone. The energy around Aclimus… Its intensity matched Nawdren's… Yes, the energy the two of them released were of the same intensity, no, Alcimus's energy was even overpowering Nawdren's energy. "Y-You crazy bastard." Nawdren cursed. It was the first time he stuttered this whole time. It showed how serious the situation actually was. Alcimus, however, didn't say anything and disappeared. Nawdren took his battle stance and a vigilant expression appeared on his face. Even he couldn't keep up with Alcimus's speed, therefore, he had to be prepared for everything. He quickly used his Mana to cover all his vital spots, ready to take on Alcimus's attack. Alcimus didn't play any tricks, he directly appeared in front of Nawdren and punched him. Nawdren tried to block the punch, however, Alcimus's punch carried a far greater force than he expected. Nawdren's body was shot back and it collided with a tree. "Khokkcchkkhh!" It was the second time Nawdren was hurt in this battle. Alcimus, however, didn't have any change in his expression. As if he was in some sort of hurry, he quickly appeared in front of Nawdren and aimed at his neck, wanting to end this as soon as possible. Nawdren, however, focused all his Mana on his neck and chest and defended with anything he had. *Bam* *Bam* *Bam* Alcimus didn't give up, knowing that it was useless to attack Nawdren's neck, he started unleashing frighteningly strong punches, disfiguring Nawdren's face and hoping he would use his Mana to defend his face. Nawdren, however, held on as if he was clenching to his dear life. He continued getting punched, at the same time, maintaining Mana to defend his vital points. *Crack* "AAAgggGGghhhHHh!!" Suddenly, Alcimus changed his tactics and attacked Nawdren's groin with his knee. A *Crack* sound was heard. Nawdren's eyes widened in horror and an agonizing scream was heard. Alcimus used this opportunity to rip Nawdren's head, however, he was so focused on killing him that he didn't notice the 2 large wind spears that were aimed at his shoulders. [Lance of Destruction] A 7-Star Skill. Since the activation time of a 7 Star Skill was too high, using it in the battle between Emperors was impractical, therefore, the 7 Star Skills were completely ignored. The Skills below this level were too weak to actually be able to do anything, therefore, Emperors rarely used any skills when they fight. However, Nawdren was different. He had a lot of time to prepare this. He wanted to rip off Alcimus's arms using this Skill. However, contrary to his expectation, the moment the 2 [Lance of Destruction] touched Alcimus's shoulders, they disappeared, failing to do any damage. Of course, it didn't mean they were useless. Alcimus's hair turned white, Nawdren used this chance to get out of there, thus getting a safe distance away from Alcimus. He cleaned the blood around his face, and at the same time, started thinking of different ways to get rid of this bastard. He needed to waste more time. Alcimus, however, wasn't willing to let him go and rushed towards him again. … "W-What the hell is happening…?" On the other hand, Nux, who was looking at this fight couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise. How did Alcimus become so strong? Was he holding back this whole time? He turned towards Astaria for answers and seeing the grim look on her face, Nux realized she knew something. "Astaria, what is happening?" Nux questioned. "Do you remember when I told you to kill or at least slice both their arms off whenever you win a fight against an Emperor?" Astaria questioned back with a solemn look on her face. Nux nodded and Astaria continued, "This was the reason I said that… An Emperor's last Trump Card… Life Force." "Huh?" Nux frowned. "Alcimus is currently exchanging his life for that power. Do you see how his hair is turning white? That's a sign that his Life is diminishing. It may look like Alcimus has the upper hand right now, but… He won't be able to hold on for much longer." Astaria explained. "Life Force? What's that?" "It is just what it's named, it's your Life Force. An Emperor can 'burn' his Life Force and can convert it into the purest form of Mana. A Mana whose output is incomparably stronger than one's own Mana. It is like turning your Life Force into Mana itself." Yes, it was also what Herms used in his last moment to free himself from Astaria's grip. If not for his arms, which were sliced off, he would have killed Nux right there, however, since he knew he was helpless, he didn't give Astaria the joy to kill him and took his own life. "Turning your Life Force into Mana…" Nux repeated those words again. He had a strange expression on his face when he did that. "Of course, I also know the best move for us is to rush towards them and assist Alcimus, but the problem is, that battle is currently out of our league... The speed at which they are moving, the strength behind their attacks… It is completely different from compared to us. For now, the only thing we do is hope that Alcimus somehow defeats Nawdren, or even if he can't defeat him, he should at least injure him to the point the two of us can defeat him." Astaria spoke as she continued to watch the battle with a hopeful look on her face. However, as if to bash away that hope, "Khkkhcckk!" Alcimus, who was about to rush towards Nawdren again, suddenly coughed out blood again, his skin turned pale, and then, his body started shrinking. Alcimus then fell on the ground, his hair completely turned white and the shine in his eyes started fading away. Seeing this scene, Nawdren's expression changed and, "Ha… Haha… Hahahaha…" He started laughing.