GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The armor was made of energy, so it didn't have to pay attention to any rules that bound physical beings. It couldn't feel pain, and it had no limits to the forms it could take. It created a multitude of arms that it turned into blades, which it used to fight back. It was willing to sacrifice a large portion of its body just to harm PRIDE a little.

Despite its bravery and its determination to fight to the death, the armor was losing the fight. This clone of PRIDE is far bigger than the previous one and also more experienced, so it is not giving Aeternus a chance at all.

It didn't care about resisting the corruption of its existence. Instead, it burned all of its energy in order to destroy Aeternus first before succumbing to corruption. PRIDE was burning so much energy that it turned into a bright star that threatened to burn his enemy to ashes.

The giant armor was shredded many times. It was on the verge of death. But Aeternus was unscathed. PRIDE's victory is only against a puppet. His energy and his existence are not one, so the beating that the armor is taking doesn't affect him at all.

He hid within the armor to create the illusion that he was the armor. Meanwhile, he used every drop of energy that he could draw on to support the avatar.

At first, Aeternus's avatar was struggling to resist PRIDE's second body. But it was getting bigger and bigger the longer they fought. That's because it was receiving an endless infusion of Chaos energy.

It was also getting stronger by the second. That's because Aeternus himself was getting stronger as he continued to devour PRIDE's first body.

The third factor that was the last nail in the coffin was that PRIDE's second body was weakening quickly. PRIDE was burning large amounts of energy, and Chaos energy from Aeternus was corroding it simultaneously. PRIDE was a bright star, but the darkness of Chaos couldn't be dispelled by all the light. The two of them reached a stalemate in one minute after fighting. But that dynamic was about to be broken again because another angry golden comet was streaking towards them.

Aeternus smirked and mocked. "It seems you are hell-bent on dying today."

PRIDE retorted. "Keep on laughing. I know your weakness. You won't be laughing soon. I will bury you today, or my name isn't PRIDE."

"Bring it on," Aeternus said in confidence.

PRIDE did just that. The demon god brought it on. It brought out all it was capable of. 10 golden comets joined the fight.

Aeternus couldn't hide the fact that he was cheating anymore. He had to create 10 avatars to defend against them, so PRIDE found out that it had been wasting its time.

PRIDE was furious. It roared with anger and bitterness, "You are an abomination. You are an anomaly that shouldn't exist. You must be eradicated, or the whole abyss is doomed."

PRIDE's anger is understandable. It thought it was slugging Aeternus, only to find out it had been fighting a puppet all along. But then Aeternus did something more. He created 10 more avatars to make a total of 20. PRIDE was quickly outnumbered.

Aeternus laughed wildly. "You thought you could bury me? You thought you could bully me with numbers? You and what army?"

He roared valiantly as soul force surged from him and avatars formed. The avatars are temporary, unlike clones. But he can create as many as he wants, and he can always replenish them as long as they are close to him. This is the advantage of having infinite Chaos energy.

PRIDE was not to be outdone. His numerous bodies moved closer to each other and combined. They became a colossal entity, far larger than 10 planes combined. More clones were still coming, but this form was enough to tower over Legion-1, who is the biggest clone.

Aeternus looked up and stopped laughing. He said, "Oh no."

PRIDE's current form has enough energy to outmatch his total output of Chaos energy. He has infinite Chaos energy, but he can't produce and use an infinite amount of it at once. PRIDE, on the other hand, can create a surge of power so strong that it will break his current defenses instantly and reach his main body.

He can see it already. His mind flashed to the explosions created by the second body of PRIDE when it first appeared. Next came the memories of the explosive thunder that the star created with its actions. Then images of PRIDE as a star surfaced.

If all of these are combined into one, then amplified by 10 times, he will surely die if that happens. He may have an advantage in numbers, but there is a level of power at which numbers become useless.

"Why aren't you laughing now?" PRIDE mocked him as it gave chase.

Aeternus didn't reply. He couldn't reply because he was busy running. He had turned tail immediately after he sensed the problem. PRIDE hadn't even finished fusing before he ran away.

It was PRIDE's turn to jeer, and it took the opportunity seriously. "You thought you could defeat an ancient demon god?"

Aeternus really thought so. He had an advantage in energy and Supreme Law, so he thought so. He still has those advantages, but he is lacking in raw power and maximum energy output.

All of his advantages have become useless now because PRIDE has acquired enough energy to outmatch his current highest power output. PRIDE will have to consume a lot of that energy and will become weakened after, but it will be a move that will surely kill Aeternus. So Aeternus ran for his life, and he ran at the highest speed he could manage, regardless of the energy cost.

Aeternus isn't afraid of death since he can resurrect through Legion-7, but he will lose his mark of sin and all the power that he has currently accumulated. He didn't want that, so he ran.