Damon felt a breath against his left ear. He instantly spun, swinging the scythe, but he only cleaved empty air. Loki was still standing thirty yards away, flipping the silver coin."It's annoying, isn't it?" Loki laughed softly. "You have the power to sever concepts. You can cut gravity, space, the light, and the debt, but tell me, Damon Silverstar... how do you cut a joke?"Damon’s expression remained blank, but internally, his mind was racing. Jubei had taught him to strike intent, but Loki had no intent. Aurelius’ Domain had failed because Damon stopped thinking. Loki was the inverse, feeding Damon so much sensory data that it was impossible to lock onto a target."I don't need to cut the joke," Damon said. "I just need to cut the clown."Damon gathered a burst of Divine Mana, expanding his aura outward. He flared his killing intent so vehemently that the physical space around him began to warp and crack. If he couldn't pinpoint Loki with his eyes, he would use his Divine Percepti

Damon closed his eyes. The necrotic orb was inches from his face. Damon didn't try to dodge. He emptied his mind, entering a state of profound nothingness. He severed his own conscious connection to his nervous system, letting the muscle memory of three years of brutal martial arts training take over.The Flow. Because there was no conscious intent to avoid the spell, there was nothing for The Madhouse to reverse. Damon’s body acted on pure, thoughtless instinct. He casually tilted his head a fraction of an inch to the left. The S-Rank necrotic orb grazed his dark hair, sailing past him and detonating against the crater wall behind him.Loki’s smile vanished. His emerald eyes widened in genuine shock. "What?"Damon opened his eyes. The crimson irises were blank, devoid of malice, anger, or strategy.He didn't step toward Loki. His body simply flowed forward, gliding across the neon purple glass like a phantom. He made no sound, because his mind was empty, the domain's reversal law sli