Mjolnir in Daniel's grip pulsed with restrained power. With a simple downward press, the Thunder Net contracted sharply, its crackling arcs folding inward like a predator's jaws.
The bloody figure's movements shrank with the tightening cage of lightning. Every inch of space burned with lethal energy. Daniel's control was absolute.
'Just like the sword kept him sealed for centuries,' Daniel thought, 'but I'm alive — and that changes everything.'
Unlike the long sword's fading strength, Daniel's power was growing every day. The hammer — a divine relic of thunder — fed his magic and amplified it tenfold.
The blood figure seemed to sense this, his essence trembling. Even in Kunlun, god-tier weapons were rare. But this hammer felt to the entity like the artifacts of Kunlun itself, a weapon forged by gods.
And now, it was his executioner.
Daniel pressed the hammer again, and the net flared like a stormfront, shrinking to a fraction of its size. Each arc of lightning danced with voltage that would vaporize any living being.
The crimson shadow stopped moving, appearing subdued, but Daniel's instincts screamed otherwise.
'He's planning something. Waiting for me to slip.'
He fed more power into the net. The voltage rose, a blazing web of death.
No attack could reach him without passing through it — and any hesitation meant instant annihilation.
Daniel's muscles tightened. The air trembled.
'This ends now.'
Suddenly, the shadow's stillness cracked. Like a volcano erupting, the entity unleashed all its strength at once.
A flash of cold, killing intent cut through the hall — the blood figure morphed into a three-foot crimson blade, slicing through Daniel's Thunder Net in a violent burst.
Lightning seared its surface, peeling away layers of its essence, but the blade forced its way through, darting straight for Daniel's heart.
"Got you," Daniel muttered.
The blade struck, but there was no impact. No flesh. No resistance.
It pierced through a phantom.
The blood figure froze.
A massive golden magic circle bloomed around him, locking him in mid-flight. No matter how he thrashed, no matter how his body dispersed into mist, the circle held him like a vice.
Daniel's voice cut through the air, sharp as thunder:
"Crack!"
The space itself shattered.
The hall split into countless shards of fragmented dimensions, each one isolating parts of the blood mist. There was no connection between them — his essence, his consciousness, his control — all severed and splintered.
The entity's shriek echoed across every fragment. "NO!"
Daniel's golden eyes flashed with cold amusement.
"You're meat on a chopping block."
Thunder filled the shattered space, an unending storm tearing through every corner.
Then came the fire.
Golden flames roared to life, merging with the lightning, scorching every fragment of blood essence.
"No! You cannot—" the voice of the blood entity broke into static-like screams before being consumed entirely.
When it was over, nothing remained but ashes in the void.
Daniel lowered the hammer, his chest heaving. But he wasn't relieved.
"That was just a clone," he muttered. The real body — the true power — was still trapped in Kunlun.
He turned to the crystal sphere floating at the center of the room. Destroying it crossed his mind. Wouldn't it cut off this thing's power entirely?
But as he examined it, he hesitated.
The crystal wasn't just a conduit for that evil force — it was also a prison. Destroying it might open doors he didn't want to open.
Instead, he'd use it.
Daniel conjured a silver-white carving blade. With practiced precision, he began inscribing runes across the surface of the crystal.
The runes glowed faintly, etched with symbols of captivity, space-binding, and thunder reinforcement.
Then he added another layer — sensing runes, allowing him to detect any fluctuations of the trapped power instantly. And, hidden beneath all else, he carved runes of charm and control.
If the entity ever escaped and returned to Kunlun, Daniel would leave a mark within it — a way to trace and manipulate its path.
"Kunlun…" Daniel whispered.
The Hand wanted to challenge Kunlun. The Iron Fist, the guardians, the ancient sects — all tied to that mystical mountain city.
Whatever secrets Kunlun was hiding, they were the key.
Daniel's gaze hardened and he murmured, "If I want to end this, I'll have to go there. And I will."