Me and The old man found ourselves facing each other in the middle of the forest clearing.

"It seems your seclusion has brought you significant gains." The old man reasoned.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because, normally, you’re looking for ways to avoid fighting me, not proactively seeking out one."

"Hey! I don’t duck you, okay? I’m just so respectful I find it rude fighting old people."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, boy."

"Damn you, old man."

A beat of silence passed between us.

"So, when do we start?" The old man asked, hands still behind his back as he waited.

I spared my status page another look, eyes brushing over the massive attributes section. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

During the monkey king inheritance trial, I’d thought to myself that I was wasting time with all these laws and what not, since my physical attributes were already this insane, then I could probably just bulldozed my way through.

"Well, I guess it’s to find out if that’s true or not." I muttered under my breath.

My stats were a far cry from what they were during the trials, having finally ranked up and giving them a 15x boost, they were looking absolutely disgusting.

"Alright, old man, here I come." I called out, readying myself.

"Hooo...." I balled my fist slowly, space creaking and tweaking around my arm, audible air explosions sounding out...

"Let’s do this." I took a single step and the distance between me and the old man.. Vanished..

SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!

The air screamed as my fist went flying, connecting clean with his jaw...

THUD!!!

Only for a dull thud to sound out, the entire momentum behind my attack... NEGATED...

"Heh! Your physical abilities never ceases to amaze me, if this were anyone else, you might’ve had an edge, but," the old man’s hand moved faster than thought...

BANG!!!!

My figure being sent flying backwards, crashing through multiple trees before ultimately coming to a halt...

"You’re facing me, raw might won’t cut it, try again."

...

...

A heavy silence followed his words as I pried myself from the trunk of a massive tree...

"Heh!" I smiled..

"Seems pure physicality really won’t cut it huh?" I shook my head.

An attack backed by over 37 million stat points of strength, nullified like it was nothing.

Just saying the numbers out loud felt ridiculous, yet all that had been reduced to a dull thud, not even worth a simple shockwave..

"Alright then..." I grinned, excitement curling up my gut..

My hands balled into a fist once more as I threw a punch from far out...

"I told you...."

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!! The blow connected with the old man’s jaw mid sentence, successfully moving him from his position...

"That...."

"A Supreme law." I could hear the exclamation of those around us as my gaze stayed trained on valen’s figure, as he regained his posture..

"That’s not very nice," like a ghost, the old man manifested before me, "you Learn to respect your elders a bit more." Another back handed strike saw my figure getting launched into another assortment of trees...

"Heh! Old man, this is starting to become fun.." I laughed, pulling myself out..

I had just used Inevitability’s base function, now, it was time to try out one of the things I’d worked on during my seclusion...

ROOOOOOARRRRRR!!!!!

With a mighty roar, the figure of Elira appeared within my grasp, her form already changing, as her spear tip elongated, her axe blades curving inward until it became a fan shape behind the spear..

<Absolute Series...> I whispered silently..

"Hmm? What are you?"

A spear thrust appeared right on the midsection of the old man..

BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

The old man’s figure skidding backwards once more as he looked down, my eyes following his, and then I saw it.

There, on his stomach, a white smudge, evidence that he’d suffered actual damage...

"How?" He asked, seemingly genuinely shocked at the fact that he had received damage, it was small, but significant nonetheless because,

"How did you bypass my law?" I had just bypassed, albeit it briefly, the concept of negation by merely utilizing one of my newly created techniques..

...

<Absolute Series>

A halberd technique born from the Law of Inevitability.

The moment this technique is invoked, the target is designated as the conclusion of the strike.

Distance, barriers, dimensions, spatial displacement, and conventional methods of evasion lose their meaning before the technique’s authority.

The attack does not pursue.

It does not track.

It does not follow.

Instead, reality itself is forced toward a singular outcome.

All possible futures are discarded until only one remains.

The designated strike lands.

The target may flee.

They may resist.

They may alter space, time, fate, or causality itself.

Yet all roads inevitably converge upon the same conclusion.

The strike manifests the moment its outcome becomes unavoidable.

Law Principle:

What has been chosen as the end of the strike shall become the end of the strike.

Note:

This technique does not increase the speed of an attack, nor does it guarantee destruction.

It establishes certainty.

Once a target has been designated, the strike ceases to be a possibility and becomes an inevitability...

.....

It wasn’t anything complicated.

But it was terrifying in its simplicity.

I simply decide an outcome when attacking, and that outcome becomes inevitable.

And the outcome is chosen when I attacked earlier, was simply.. Damage.

But, "damn old monster" it would seem either my comprehension still wasn’t enough, or the old man’s negation was on a whole different level, hell, it might be both..

"Interesting... it seems you’ve comprehended quite a troublesome thing." The old man’s voice was no longer indifferent, his stance changing from that casual posture as his attention shifted back to me..

"Heh! Don’t start getting surprised yet old man, I’ve got a lot more to show you.." saying so, I whispered,

"Absolute series.."

"Paradox.." I swung Elira, her blade manifesting right on the right side of the old man as he raised his arm In a casual block...

CLANGGGGGG!!!!!!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out clearly..

"Impossible..." as the old man’s disbelieving voice followed right after...

"Heh! I told you.." I laughed, looking at my handwork.

The hand the old man had used to defend earlier, looked pristine, but the moment my eyes changed, I could see the structure within.

It was.. collapsing.

Slowly, but surely.

Yet, before it could go further, a strange energy washed over the arm as the collapsing arm stabilized...

[Chaotic comprehension activating...]

"That’s..." my eyes widened in delight at what I’d just stumbled upon...

"It seems I’ve underestimated you.." the old man’s voice successfully broke me out of my trance, I blinked, the lines clearing from my sight as my focus returned to him...

"Old man.. the spar has barely started, yet you’re already acting surprised? I’ve barely even gotten serious yet." I grinned, finally glad I could see the old man taking this a bit seriously..

"Alright then, Dante, show me, show me just what progress you made during your seclusion." The old man finally took a stance, his aura circulating quietly as he raised his arms..

"Hoooo.... Old man, you asked for it.." I breathed out slowly, steadying myself..

I wasn’t going to lie, I was just as curious as the old man.

I’ve seen the numbers.

I’ve seen the percentages.

But what exactly those translated too, I had no idea.

So, I was curious, what would a strike, one backed by the full force of a law like collapse at the embodiment stage, and something like inevitability accomplish.

So, I put it to the test.

No abilities.

Just pure law concentration.

My eyes changed as vein-like patterns appeared within them, the world vanishing, as lines and structural maps replaced them..

I looked at valen and was almost blinded.

The man’s entire existence looked like one complete tangle of madness, not one consistent weakness to be found, but, I was, at this moment, collapse itself, and there was nothing without a structural flaw.

"There...."

I raised Elira up, a single outcome appearing in my mind..

Severe!

Then I brought her down in a simple cleaving motion, the law of time pushing the attack forward, not through time, but literally making the attack skip time itself, landing before even reality were to react...

Earlier, I’d asked, what would happen when an attack was released, backed by the full force of collapse and inevitability, and I just received my answer...

PSSHHTTTTTT!!!

Blood sprayed like a fountain as the arm of the old came off, the world seemingly freezing for an instant as everyone, myself included, had only one thing going through their minds..

"What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened?"

***********

A/N: I’m excited about this clash for real.. been planing it for the longest time now..

Hopefully I don’t mess it up..

***********

Thanks for reading...