?Lucien’s immense power was now beyond question.
Athena was considered one of the stronger fighters among the Absolute Deities, yet she was defeated by Lucien with a single move!
His rebirth, powered by the strength of warriors from three thousand parallel worlds, was no joke. Even Odin and his ilk were mere puppets before him. What chance did Athena stand?
However, his strength was still far from sufficient when compared to William.
Just earlier, in front of the Parthenon temple, William had merely defended passively. It was already impressive that Lucien could break through his defensive barrier, especially since once William put on his mask, Lucien couldn’t even sense his presence. This alone clearly showed the gap in their strengths.
Now, as they entered a separate space, Lucien immediately sensed something was amiss.
He had been forcibly brought into this space by William.
He knew all too well what that implied.
William’s ability to bring him into this space indicated that Lucien was completely outclassed.
“How strong are you, really?” Lucien asked, holding his sword but not daring to strike.
William smiled. “Do you remember the first time we fought?”
Lucien pondered. Back on Earth, as a descendant of Nostradamus and a genius in the arcane art of the Ninefold Stellar Sanctuary, he had dared to attack William in a bookstore.
William had merely flipped through a book and effortlessly dismantled Lucien’s Ninefold Stellar Sanctuary.
That battle had once been considered a humiliation for Lucien!
But looking back now, it was a different story.
The fact that he had dared to attack William, who had spared his life, was an act of mercy.
“Does bringing that up serve any purpose?”
Lucien’s expression was grim. “You don’t think I’m still that same little Soulmancer, do you?”
“Do you think it makes a difference?” William countered.
“How can it not?” Lucien’s expression turned strange. According to William, what was the point of his rebirth after hundreds of thousands of years and countless efforts?
“Then make your move!” William was tired of the talk.
After all, Lucien was merely a lingering obsession expelled from a body, reborn in a mortal form. How much stronger could he get?
“Aren’t you going to use your sword?” Lucien, now a fusion of two consciousnesses, shared William’s pride. Unlike those who possessed others and erased their souls, he disdained the idea of erasing Lucien’s soul, just as he had spared Athena.
Though he sought strength, he was not the type to kill indiscriminately. Many of his beliefs aligned with William’s; whether or not to erase Lucien’s soul made no difference to him.
“Would you prefer I use a sword?”
Lucien nodded seriously.
William reached out, and the sword in Lucien’s hand shifted into his: “You can’t even hold your own sword steady. How do you expect to fight me?”
Lucien was shocked. He had sensed the spatial turbulence and knew William intended to use the power of spatial laws to take his sword. He had tried to counter it.
But it was all in vain.
“Haha!!” Lucien burst out laughing. “Just kill me!”
At this point, Lucien felt no urge to fight.
“I finally understand why you expelled me from your body!”
“To become stronger? There’s no need, right?”
William mused, “Not exactly. When I expelled you, it was more out of curiosity after discovering many Soulmancers could do the same. I didn’t know how to reverse it, so I thought, why not just end you?”
“It was probably just boredom at the time. You should understand.”
If anyone could understand William’s feelings then, it would be Lucien.
“No regrets!” Lucien chuckled. “Go ahead.”
“That’s it? We’re not fighting?”
“No more fighting!”
He couldn’t see any reason to continue.
Decades of effort had proved futile against William’s might.
William casually tossed the wooden sword aside; they were back in front of the ruins of the Parthenon temple.
Lucien looked at William and laughed. “So, you think killing me or not doesn’t really make a difference, right?”
“You wanted to grow stronger, right? Why not join the Cosmic Entity Guardians’ battle? I’ve heard there’s a sacred city called Nebulaeopolis for the Cosmic Entities.” William didn’t dislike Lucien; he could simply erase that one obsession, but as Lucien said, there was no need!
Wanting to grow stronger was not wrong, especially since that obsession was something William himself had expelled. He had already killed him once; why kill him again after such a hard-
earned resurrection?
It seemed unethical.
“Even dying in the arena of the Cosmic Entity Guardians’ battle wouldn’t be so bad. To die and then vanish, leaving nothing behind.” William smiled at Lucien. “If you want to grow stronger,just do your thing. Why think about killing me?”
“That makes sense!” Lucien had come to a realization. Since he couldn’t beat William anyway, whatever William said was right.
He just wanted to become stronger, even if that meant trying to kill William, it was all in the pursuit of strength.
Knowing he couldn’t win but still fighting head-on would be foolish.
Clearly, neither William’s expelled obsession nor Lucien were that foolish.
The sacred city of Nebulaeopolis was a place even William hadn’t set foot in, potentially offering a chance to grow stronger.
Why keep butting heads with William unnecessarily?
Lucien didn’t say anything more to William and simply vanished. Where he went wasn’t William’s concern.
This was about William’s obsession with becoming stronger, not about killing. His thoughts were much like William’s, so William wasn’t worried about him doing anything drastic.
It seemed, even if the world suffered, it didn’t really matter.
What did it have to do with William?
After Lucien left, William found himself a bit bored. He had thought Lucien might become strong enough to challenge him, but the gap in their strengths was just too vast.
Or perhaps, it was that he was too strong.
Back in Metispolis, Alice and Zeus were waiting in the distance.
On the way, William spotted a healthy-looking banana tree and picked three bananas.
“Eat a banana,” William handed one to Alice and Zeus.
Alice shook her head. “I won’t eat!”
Eat a banana?
Was William implying something?
That would be twisted!
Thinking this, Alice’s face flushed, and she shyly glanced at William.
William simply punched Zeus on the head.
Zeus, holding the banana, looked innocently at William, unsure why he had been hit.
“It’s okay, I meant to hit Alice but hit you by mistake,” William said.
Zeus: “…”
Alice’s face turned even redder, clearly guessing what William had thought.
Could it be?
Really?
That feels so twisted!
Alice decided not to look at William anymore.
William rolled his eyes at her. What was this woman thinking about every day?
But considering Alice’s current constitution, he wondered if she could even bear him a child.
The stronger the species, the harder it is to reproduce, but William was now so powerful that he could disregard those rules. Having a child didn’t seem too excessive.