The Guardian gods

The goblins saw a different thing. The demons appeared as the warped reflections of the human mages who had once experimented on their ancestors. Even goblins mages who knew nothing of their race past for some reason were overwhelmed with dread from the appearance of the mages. They saw the disdain and smirk at the mages lips, looking down on them like toys to play.

They felt naked under this gaze, as the mages "Demons" got closer, they took a step back in fear. They felt like their thought was no longer their own. The overwhelming feeling was one of being outwitted and outmatched on a fundamental, genetic level by the very beings who had once enslaved them and made them what they were.

For the ratfolk, it was like their hidden thoughts about what the empire had in mind for them came through. The demons to them appeared as the empire army ready to kill and erase their race.

Zarvok blessing was so strong that the empire soldiers who's mind are eredoded by the abyssal armor can still comprehend fear. It was a biological shutdown. The soldiers part of the brain responsible for logical thought and strategy had gone completely offline, replaced by the primitive, lizard-brain response of a hunted animal facing its predator. The empire's soldiers no longer saw themselves as soldiers. They were prey, and their bodies knew it, even if their minds couldn't fully comprehend the horrifying reality of what they were facing.

And when Vellok and the other sixth-tier figures arrived, the effect took hold of them just as it had the rank-and-file. The sixth-tier mage's cry of "Impossible!" was not just about the demons' might; it was the gut-wrenching realization that their fear might have come through and the mages were back.

A magic circle suddenly appeared from the void, locking into their frozen figure.

Keles's figure became a wisp of smoke, giving Ikenga a quick peck before vanishing with the emperor's figure. The same happened with Zarvok and three of the sixth-tier figures.

Vellok caught himself seeing the disapperance of everyone, but he was greeted by Ikenga's fist, which punched him back through the abyss portal he had just emerged from.

This was the signal for battle. The demon army rushed toward the empire's forces. The empire's soldiers, seeing the charge, roared out, but it was not a sound of bravery. It was a roar of irrational fear, as if they were trying to convince themselves they could do something against the nightmares they saw coming for them.

Zarvok and the three sixth-tier figures were spat out from the space crack, falling like meteors toward a planet in the solar system where the goblin world were.

They took no damage from the fall, and as soon as they landed, the mages began to assess the situation. What was that they saw? How did they fall so easily into a trap? Most importantly, how far were they from their world?

Meanwhile, Zarvok wore a bright smile on his face and began to laugh. He turned toward the troubled mages. "Your world is mine. Your army is now nothing but meat on a chopping board for my army."

The mages found themselves unable to deny what Zarvok said. He made a gesture for them to come at him. "If you want to save your world and your people, you must defeat me, for I am the source of your nightmare."

Seeing the look on the mages face, Zarvok thought to himself "Now it's a race for how long i can survive" He unfolded his realm fully as his form began to shift, his impish figure expanding and hardening. His skin cracked and glowed with the inner fire of his domain, and his small wings elongated into leathery, bat-like appendages.

The mages responded in turn as they unfolded their own realm, soon the barren planet was filled with a landscape of fire, lighting, ocean and fierce blowing wind.

Zarvok domain is strong but has a strong flaw when it's used for himself. Once his domain is unfolded it became a sprint for his survival. He engages his opponent not to win, but to survive and learn. He is the ultimate opportunist, dodging attacks, taking calculated risks, and using his cunning Imp nature to gather as much data on his foe as possible. He becomes a living scout, a battlefield researcher trying to understand the principles of his opponent's power what makes their law work, what its conceptual limitations are.

Once he has gathered sufficient knowledge (or is on the verge of defeat), he strategically retreats and plunges himself into the heart of his forge. Using the knowledge of his opponent as a catalyst, the forge melts down his current form. It purges him of his inherent weaknesses, burns away the "Impurities" of his Imp nature, and re-forges him into a new, temporary form that is a perfect counter to the law he just faced.

That was why he was able to hold his own even with Vorenza strength. Moments like this where he has to run reminds him of his past, this in turn makes his victory very satisfying when all this mage will become his meal and their soul his.

Having sent Vellok hurtling into the portal with a punch, Ikenga followed close behind. But Vellok, recovering in an instant, was already in the vaccum of space.

Ikenga had to react in a split second as a laser-like beam of light descended from the sky, slicing through the corrupted earth around him as if it were butter. Thinking fast, Ikenga altered the properties of the ground beneath his feet, making it bouncy. He bounced twice, his form tearing through the air and launching him toward Vellok.

Vellok, however, seemed intent on keeping his distance. A barrage of homing lasers locked onto Ikenga's flying form. In response, Ikenga swiftly opened a portal before him and flew into it, disappearing from sight.

A portal ripped open directly behind Vellok, who was patiently waiting in the vacuum of space. Ikenga shot out, his body already coiled for a devastating kick. Vellok, a master of light and speed, reacted in a flash, moving just as the kick was about to connect.

Ikenga's eyes, now fixated on the distant moon, shifted in perfect sync with Vellok's movement. Though the kick missed its target, a golden arm construct manifested instantly where Vellok had moved. It landed a solid punch, sending Vellok hurtling deeper into space.

Ikenga's form followed, pursuing him. Vellok, taking advantage of his superior speed, created distance between them. But Ikenga didn't try to keep up. Instead, he dissolved into a brilliant golden-green ball of light, following close behind Vellok as they flew past planets and nebulae.

He understood Vellok's strategy immediately. They were heading toward a place where Vellok believed his opponent would be at a disadvantage. Ikenga didn't mind. Nature always adapts, and he was eager to see how his own divinity would react to the chosen environment. Such moments were rare in his immortal life, and he intended to savor it, just as long as it didn't kill him in the process.

After a few minutes of hurtling through the cosmos, they arrived at Vellok's chosen battlefield. The first thing Ikenga noticed was the unsettling lack of planets; the only celestial body in sight was a massive star, with a colossal tower anchored to its surface.

Ikenga stopped at a safe distance, his form coalescing back to normal from the ball of light. Vellok, however, flew right up to the star, positioning himself with his back to its fiery surface and his tower. His arms spread wide, his wings of light unfurling like a supernova behind him.

"This is where you fall," Vellok's voice resonated through the vacuum of space, a chilling sound without an atmosphere to carry it. Before Ikenga could react, a massive sword of pure light appeared and sliced through the space where he had just been.

"Damn it," Ikenga muttered, quickly cursing himself with the ability Untouchable as the attack narrowly missed him. Vellok, it seemed, was even faster here than he was before.

For a moment, the battle transformed into a dazzling light show. Constructs of light, moving at incredible speeds, shot toward Ikenga. He had applied the Untouchable curse to himself, so at the last possible second, his body was forced to move, dodging each attack.

Vellok saw this and simply snapped his fingers. The star behind him pulsed once, like a massive heartbeat, and a wave of pure, concentrated light washed over the battlefield. There was no space to dodge, and Ikenga felt the holy power of the wave wash over him, completely nullifying the curse he had placed on himself.

"No large usage of curses in this fight, then," Ikenga thought to himself. He realized it would be futile and a waste of his divine energy to keep applying curses against an opponent whose element was so strongly opposed to them. He would have to face Vellok head-on.