Universe was a harsh place. In ways more than one, it was similar to a jungle. Every species had its own place in the hierarchy.
Befitting to the analogy, every civilization somehow fit itself in the grand jungle of 'life'.
Except for the top and bottom most, every other species had its predators and preys—Their superiors and inferiors.
But unlike animals that remained static in the food chain, civilizations evolved at a rapid pace.
A civilization that remained at the bottom of the pyramid a few hundred years ago could rise and aim for a much better position.
So, for any civilization, stronger civilizations weren't skies that could not be defied, but mountains that could be mounted and surpassed.
To Human Civilization, Abyssals were the mountains..
'Zions are the mountain we have to cross.' Abyss Emperor glanced at the person in front.
He was seven feet tall, bathed in a silver light as golden wings flapped behind him.
"Have you grown weaker with your trashy resources, Haedon?" The person sneered and the space around Abyss Emperor warped.
As the space twisted, even the light dimmed and threatened to break down.
"Fairy Emperor. I'm still stronger than you." Abyss Emperor replied and clenched his fist. Even though he hid it well, he was considerably weaker than his peak.
'You're hiding something. Why don't you just die?' Fairy Emperor was furious.
The space exploded and cracked into pieces.
Abyss Emperor guarded himself and sensed his enemy teleport.
All of a sudden, he looked down and gritted his teeth. "You'll pay."
Boom!
His speed was way higher than sonic limit, and in an instant, he reached a gigantic city.
It was the only cosmic city of the Abyssals.
Reka, Imperial Capital of the Emperor Abyss.
Unlike usual times, the streets weren't bustling. Students weren't trained. Ideas weren't discussed. Meetings weren't held.
The streets were desolate, save for the city guard patrolling with visible nervousness.
Without warning, it happened!
Boom!
Boom!
A section of the city, at least a few dozen miles in radius, was suddenly blasted into pieces.
The houses, the buildings, the roads—everything was reduced to smithereens. Only broken limbs, crushed bodies and littered corpses remained.
Abyss Emperor's figure blurred, and he punched through the air.
In an instant, he appeared in front of the damaged area and his fist aimed at the Fairy Emperor.
His enemy waved his hand, and space shattered like a mirror.
Abyss Emperor experienced a 'space suction' as the space cracks around him tried to pull him into the gap.
He resisted it with his strength and locked the Fairy Emperor.
'I just need to send him off. Endure. Endure.' He told himself as he appeared in front of the enemy.
Fairy Emperor flapped his wings, and the space in front of Abyss Emperor solidified.
Even a Sovereign would not be able to break open that space and would be crushed by it instead.
Crack!
Of course, Abyss Emperor easily cracked it open and saw the Fairy Emperor a few dozen miles away.
He was still not used to fighting in Celestial Ranks and thus made a mistake.
For Awakeners at their level, a few dozen miles was no distance at all. Even though Abyss Emperor wasn't very old, he was an excellent warrior.
Abyss Emperor's body blurred again.
'I'll injure him and repel him. We must endure the bullying for now.' He tried hard to convince himself.
And almost succeeded.
"Sister! Mom!" A silent whisper reached his ear.
At the edge of the rubble, buried under the ruins, a short boy called out. He seemed to be only six years old and was likely the son of a famous diplomat who was killed by the Fairies.
To survive, he must have been incredibly lucky. But the boy was in no mood to appreciate the luck and he removed the debris beside him frantically until he found a familiar body.
"Mom!" His gaze turned vacant, and he shivered.
The boy's bright blue eyes lost their splendor, and he growled
"I'll kill. Kill. Ki—."
He couldn't continue and collapsed from exhaustion.
Abyss Emperor's eyes turned cold.
"Killing my people! I'll repay this a thousandfold!"
"Wha—?!" The Fairy Emperor only felt a blur in his space sense and hurriedly set up a space barrier around himself.
At the same time, he was about to teleport.
But—
Crack!
Boom!
Space itself fell apart as the punch broke the solidified space and shot at him.
As a last ditch effort, the fairy emperor created a space portal to at least block the attack.
A blue opening appeared on his torso and a space portal formed.
It was essentially a gate to the side of the portal and could be used to divert powerful attacks within bearable range.
Alas.
Boom!
CRACK!
Abyss Emperor's fist broke through the space portal.
Even though the space portal took away some of his momentum by sacrificing itself, it was not enough.
Fairy Emperor could only pin his hopes on Space Enhancement and believe it made his defense strong enough.
The fated fist arrived.
Boom!
As he took the punch in the gut, the space enhancement broke and the force from the punch transmitted to all corners of his body.
"Blurgh." Fairy Emperor was sent flying as he coughed out blood and flesh.
Abyss Emperor raised another fist to follow but suddenly controlled himself.
'... I did it. This is bad.' He sighed and observed the Fairy Emperor, who teleported a few hundred miles away.
'We Abyssals should endure until we find that on earth.' He calmed himself.
At the worst possible moment, the Fairy Emperor's growl reverberated across the city.
"I'll slaughter your race in the providence trial." It was not a declaration, but a statement.
As those words settled down, every Abyssal in the capital, even the ones loyal to the Emperor, felt heart palpitations.
Their hopes took a hit, and the already gloomy atmosphere was now filled with despair.
Even the guards standing closest to the Emperor, a few dozen miles away, trembled lightly.
Abyss Emperor's calm expression disappeared, and he yelled.
"Abyssals will survive."
He crossed the distance in an instant and gave a full-blown punch.
His strike was much faster than earlier and Fairy Emperor had little time to react
This time, his countermeasures were even more useless.
Boom!
"Argh!"
As he was once again sent flying, Fairy Emperor realized the stark difference between their strength.
Even though they were both at the same rank, their combat power was vastly different.
'I was a fool to think I could win.' Fairy Emperor thought as his entire body bled the sacred golden blood.
As the hundreds of millions of residents watched, Abyss Emperor let go of his restraint.
Boom!
Boom!
Soon, he was facing a broken, bloody, and weak opponent.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The cries reverberated across the capital.
Every street, every district, was filled with the same word.
Abyss Emperor listened to the passionate roars of his people, but didn't raise his hand.
"K…i…ll" As he was carried to a safe location by the soldiers, the boy muttered unconsciously.
Haedon trembled and raised his hand.
He recalled every attack by the Fairy Emperor till date. Every destroyed district. Every lost life.
His self-restraint was pushed to its limit as his emotions wanted him to slaughter the guy in front.
His rationale, on the other hand, pushed him to the opposite.
Fairy Emperor laid on the ground, powerless to fight any longer.
However, he flashed a crazy smile and laughed.
"Kill me..Kill me? Are you kidding?! I dare you."
Abyss Emperor's fist clenched, and he gritted his teeth.
'Endure. Endure. I'll just knock him out.' He shook his fist and a light punch reached the Fairy Emperor.
"He's here."
A beam of light descended from the sky, and the next moment, Abyss Emperor was sent flying.