“Let’s begin, Spear Hero of Mankind! I will showcase the power of a demon who once suppressed three heroes from the previous era!”
Before Valen could react, Heidel, standing several meters away, suddenly vanished.
In an instant, he reappeared right in front of Valen, his appearance completely transformed.
What had once been a middle-aged man was now a black humanoid figure with terrifying red eyes.
Valen’s heart raced at the sight of this transformation, and an inexplicable dread gripped him.
Subconsciously, he recoiled, but an incredibly swift attack suddenly struck his stomach.
The force of the blow made Valen vomit blood, and he was hurled hundreds of meters before crashing into a massive sandstone boulder.
The explosive sound of the collision was deafening, hinting at the intense pain he felt from the impact.
“Cough! Cough!” Valen coughed, covering his mouth.
When he glanced at his palm, he was stunned to see a sizable puddle of blood.
“I’m injured?” His eyes widened in disbelief.
As a hero, he had an incredibly strong physique, making him resistant to even the most powerful attacks.
However, a single punch from Heidel injured him, causing him to vomit blood and leaving him in shock and disbelief.
Suddenly, excruciating pain shot through his stomach and back, jolting him back to reality.
“Is this all you have, Spear Hero?”
A cold, indifferent voice pierced the air from his right side, freezing him in place.
He quickly scrambled to his feet to escape, but an overwhelming strike slammed into his chest.
“Pufft!” Valen’s eyes widened as the blow struck, and more blood than ever spilled from his mouth.
The intense pain in his chest made him dizzy, but he quickly summoned the holy power within him. In an instant, he teleported hundreds of meters away.
“Cough! Cough! Damn it!” Valen groaned, clutching his chest.
He did not expect Heidel to appear instantly beside him and strike with even greater force than before.
Fortunately, he quickly summoned his holy power, narrowly avoiding the attack.
With gritted teeth, Valen tightened his grip on the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon and glared fiercely at Heidel, who regarded him with an indifferent expression.
“What a terrifying punch. I didn’t expect you to possess such power,” Valen said coldly, a grin tugging at his lips.
He had to admit he had been careless and had underestimated Heidel, but he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Taking a deep breath, Valen mobilized the holy power within him, and his eyes suddenly glowed with an intense white light.
Unsheathing the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon, he took his stance and lunged toward Heidel with incredible speed.
In an instant, Valen closed the distance, appearing just a few meters from Heidel. He spun his spear and thrust it directly at Heidel’s heart.
The strike pierced through Heidel’s chest, and fresh red-black blood gushed out like a fountain.
Valen could barely contain his excitement and was about to launch another attack when Heidel transformed into an illusion and slowly vanished.
The sight left him stunned, but before he could fully comprehend it, an indifferent whisper floated beside him.
A massive, pitch-black hand suddenly emerged from the void, lunging toward him with terrifying speed.
Valen’s eyes widened at the sight of the attack, and he quickly activated his hero technique.
Within a radius of several meters, hundreds of white stars suddenly appeared, radiating an intense light.
Moments later, all the stars converged onto the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon, causing it to shine brightly.
With a fierce expression, Valen thrust his spear directly into the giant’s hand.
The collision of their attacks created a massive explosion, sending Valen flying hundreds of meters away.
He quickly regained his footing, but his right hand, gripping the Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon, felt slightly numb.
“What on earth is happening? How can his attacks be this powerful?” Valen wondered inwardly, his heart gripped by horror.
Even when he unleashed his hero techniques, he struggled to keep pace with Heidel’s onslaught, leaving him both terrified and astonished.
“There seems to be no choice but to activate the hero’s destiny,” he murmured softly.
Hero’s Destiny was a special ability possessed by the three heroes of mankind. When activated, it could amplify a hero’s power tenfold, showcasing its terrifying potential.
However, the cost of maintaining Hero’s destiny was significant, as it consumed an enormous amount of holy power. Had it not been for the urgency of the situation, he would have hesitated to activate it so quickly.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes as a star-shaped mark slowly formed on his forehead.
The mark emitted an intense white light, causing the surrounding space to distort.
Valen’s eyes began to shine even brighter than before as he stared indifferently at Heidel. Without hesitation, he lunged toward him with incredible speed.
The Holy Spear of Soaring Dragon blazed with brilliant light as Valen thrust it toward Heidel’s chest, just as he had before.
However, this time, the space around the tip of his spear visibly warped, as if it could shatter at any moment.
Recognizing the danger of Valen’s attack, Heidel dared not be careless or underestimate it.
As an archdemon who had lived since the previous era of the three heroes and fought against them, Heidel had witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of Hero’s Destiny, often referred to as “the ability gifted by the gods.”
Quickly, he stepped back and extended his right hand forward.
Before him, a black hole several meters wide suddenly materialized, unleashing a powerful devouring force that rushed toward Valen’s attack.
Stunned by this sight, Heidel quickly retreated, but Valen’s attack managed to sever his left arm before he could escape.
Fresh red-black blood flowed freely, showing no signs of stopping.
Unless he could remove those traces, this wound would never heal, and his hand would not regenerate.
“What a hassle,” he muttered calmly, betraying no signs of anger.
He shot Valen a brief glare before lunging at him with incredible speed.
A powerful punch aimed at Valen was swiftly blocked.
Valen raised his spear and slashed toward Heidel’s neck, but Heidel deftly dodged the attack. Seizing the opportunity, he launched a punch at Valen’s stomach from the blind spot on his left side.
“Argh!” Valen felt a sharp pain in his stomach, but the star mark on his forehead suddenly glowed brighter, instantly alleviating the pain.
With a grin spreading across his lips, Valen teleported behind Heidel and launched a deadly attack.
In a matter of moments, they exchanged thousands of blows, causing destruction all around them.
Fortunately, no Demon or human soldiers were in the vicinity of their battle, resulting in no casualties.
However, it was evident that Valen was at a slight disadvantage in the battle.
Although Hero’s Destiny provided a drastic increase in power, the risks were significant. Every passing second drained an immense amount of holy power, making Hero’s Destiny unsuitable for prolonged combat.
Meanwhile, Heidel, in his transformed state, grew stronger with each exchange, giving him a considerable advantage.
Suddenly, thousands of pitch-black hands emerged from the void, lunging toward Valen at incredible speed.
Valen quickly blocked the onslaught, but one hand slipped past his defenses and struck him in the chest, sending him hurtling dozens of meters away.
“Hah… Hah… Damn… How is this possible?” Valen gasped, clutching his shattered armor, disbelief etched across his pale face.
In their confrontations, not only did Heidel effortlessly withstand his attacks, but Valen also consistently found himself at a disadvantage.
Despite having activated his hero’s destiny, he couldn’t understand why this was happening.
“Cough! Cough!” Valen spluttered, blood spilling from his mouth.
“You are indeed strong, Spear Hero, and I acknowledge that,” Heidel said calmly. “However, you are still too young, and your control over your emotions is unstable.”
Valen was momentarily stunned by his words.
“My control over my emotions is unstable?” he echoed, his expression vacant.
Though he wanted to deny it, deep down, he felt Heidel’s insight was the key to his defeat.
If only he hadn’t underestimated Heidel as he had before, he wouldn’t have found himself in this predicament.
At that moment, Heidel’s indifferent voice echoed in front of him.
“Well then, it’s time to end this, Spear Hero.”
Valen’s heart raced at the sight of Heidel clenching his fists, seemingly ready to strike.
With a pale expression, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “Luna, now is the time!”
