Sparks flew every time Thirteen’s short swords collided with Deus Ex Machina’s staff.
The two of them had already exchanged countless attacks, and yet, there was still no clear winner. True to what the sign said, no one had the upper hand over the other.
At least, that was what Tiona could see for the time being.
She could feel her Master’s pain and anger as he hatefully clashed with the System God, intending to cut him to pieces.
But despite using his fighting ability to the fullest, his swords just wouldn’t reach the opponent.
Thirteen had no idea that Deus Ex Machina was also having a hard time because he couldn’t neutralize his son with the current strength that he possessed.
Despite being stronger than his opponent, the System God was unable to draw out his full power and was forced to fight with the same restrictions that Thirteen had on his body.
But even with those restrictions, he knew that when it came to fighting prowess, and experience, the black sheep of his family was stronger than him.
The only reason why he was able to fend off Thirteen’s attacks was due to the fact that his calculation power was stronger, allowing him to predict where Thirteen’s blows would land.
Even though he was only using an Avatar, it was still powered by his Divinity. This meant that Thirteen was fighting against someone with the processor of a Super Computer, while he was just using the processor of an ordinary gaming PC meant for regular use.
In layman’s terms, it was a 1 Gigahertz Processor (1 Ghz) versus an Intel i9, which goes up to 6 Gigahertz (6 Ghz) in processing speed.
This meant that Deus Ex Machina’s calculation was faster, allowing him to compensate for his lack of combat experience.
However, if both of their powers were unsealed, the System God would win hands down. After all, he was a God, with powers Thirteen couldn’t surpass even at his peak.
But now, things were different.
They were fighting with equal stats, and the one with the best skills, experience, and luck would win at the end.
“We already know how this battle will end, you brat,” Deus Ex Machina said as he parried Thirteen’s blow. “Yes,” Thirteen replied. “This will end with your head rolling on the ground.”
“Delusional Son.”
“Smelly Old Man.”
Thirteen was starting to feel his hands slowly going numb. However, he could also feel his senses heightening to its limit.
All he needed was one chance, and his blade would hit its target.
He knew with every fiber of his being that if he couldn’t defeat the System God when they were evenly matched, there was no way he would be able to defeat him when he regained his powers.
Tiona, who was watching the battle from the audience stands, noticed something peculiar in the arena where her Master was fighting.
Several symbols were etched on the ground, which Thirteen had made while dancing around the Arena, chasing his father, to deprive the latter a single breathing moment.
She was quite familiar with these symbols because she had seen her Master use them many times in the past.
Yes.
As Thirteen fought against his father, he used the fighting style of the Righteous Sentinel and the Beast Heart Drunken Fist to create the symbols on the ground, which was now starting to near its completion.
Rune Magic.
The only Skill available to Thirteen, which he could only use when certain conditions were met.
Tiona watched anxiously as her Master completed the combination of runic symbols on the ground.
The moment Thirteen deemed that the formation was complete, he slashed at his Father while taking out a Rank 6 Beast Core from his Dimensional Gate and dropping it on the ground.
As soon as the Beast Core hit landed on one of the Runic Symbol in the formation, a domino effect transpired, activating the formation that was meant to give him the victory that he needed.
Dark flames rose up from the ground and bound the system God’s legs, preventing him from escaping. Thirteen’s sword was also suddenly covered by dark flames, ready to annihilate the System God at the point of impact.
But the System God only sneered at his son’s decisive blow before raising his hand.
A second later, something appeared in his grasp, which he used to block Thirteen’s blow that was only inches away from him.
The moment Thirteen saw what his father was holding in his hand, he roared and forcefully changed the direction of his blow, missing the System God’s body by an inch.
A second later, the System God’s foot collided with Thirteen’s chest, sending the teenage boy flying in the opposite direction.
“Foolish child,” Deus Ex Machina sneered. “You relied on these cheap tricks, but hesitated at the last moment. If you just continued your attack, you would have already won.”
The System God then looked at the struggling black snake in his hand, which he had forcefully dragged from the audience seat to use as a shield to stop Thirteen’s death blow.
If Thirteen ignored Tiona’s safety and simply continued his attack, the System God would have been defeated without fail.
Since the teenage boy had activated his Rune Magic at the last second, the System God also gained the opportunity to use some of his abilities as well.
Thirteen spat a mouthful of blood as he forcefully propped himself up from the ground, glaring at his father who was still holding Tiona in his hands.
“Let her go,” Thirteen said, his voice filled with killing intent.
“Make me,” Deus Ex Machina replied with a sneer. Tiona, who was doing her best to break free from the System God’ grasp, had already coiled her body in his arms.
She wanted to use her abilities to free herself. But for some reason, she couldn’t use them.
There were many ways she could free herself from the System God’s grasp, but regardless of what method she tried to use, her skills just wouldn’t activate.
“I’ll tell you one last time,” Thirteen said as a purple portal appeared behind his back. “Let her go or else.”
The System God frowned when he saw the figure looking straight at him from the portal behind the teenage boy’s back.
It was none other than Metatron, who gave Deus Ex Machina a smile that made the System God understand that the black sheep of his family was willing to do something crazy if he didn’t release Tiona from his grasp.
“The One will not allow you to do that,” Deus Ex Machina said. “Of course, he won’t,” Thirteen sneered. “So, in order to stop me from doing this, what do you think he will do?”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Okay. Metatron, do it.”
A chuckle escaped Metatron’s lips as the purple portal expanded.
But, just as the God of the Apocalypse was about to do what he and Thirteen had agreed on, someone appeared beside Deus Ex Machina and casually pried Tiona from his hand.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Laplace Demon said coldly. “Don’t include others in your family feud.”
Metatron chuckled before snapping his fingers.
The purple portal shrank back to its original size.
The God of Apocalypse then pointed his two fingers at his eyes before pointing it back at Laplace Demon as if telling him “I’m watching you.”
The right-hand man of The One then returned to the Celestial Realm, bringing Tiona with him to make sure that the System God wouldn’t be able to use her again as a shield.
What Metatron was about to do earlier was to open a portal that connected the homeworld of the Jinns, Gomorra, to Solterra.
When Thirteen discussed this with Metatron, the God of the Apocalypse thought that the teenage boy had finally gone insane.
In order to open such a portal, a great sacrifice would need to be made.
And that sacrifice would be Thirteen’s Soul Core.
The Soul Core of a System who had both the accumulated Karma of his hosts and a thousand years amount of wishes that weren’t granted was enough of a sacrifice to meet the requirements that allowed Metatron to open a portal that connected the two worlds.
Even The One wouldn’t be able to intervene if this portal activated in full, so Laplace Demon had decided to descend to the mortal realm to prevent this calamity from taking place.
One Majin King was enough to upset the balance in the Absolute Heavens.
If several beings stronger than a Majin King were to cross that portal, then the end of the world would come to Solterra.
“Even Demons run when a good man goes to war,” Laplace Demon muttered. “This crazy kid actually used Solterra as a hostage just to free one snake from his father’s grasp. Such madness.”
“…” The One gazed at Tiona, who was looking at the projection that showed Thirteen in the arena with conflicted feelings. Similar to Deus Ex Machina, he didn’t believe that Thirteen would really try to destroy the world just for the sake of a single snake.
But he did without even batting an eye.
Staking his entire existence without hesitation.
If the portal were to truly open, the System known as Thirteen would truly cease to exist because his Soul Core would be used as a sacrifice for opening the Gate of the Apocalypse.
‘Metatron… it seems that you’ve truly taken a liking to this kid,’ The One thought as the purple portal behind the boy slowly shrank.
But before it vanished completely, The One saw Metatron look in his direction and even gave him a playful wink, making the God of Wanderers sigh helplessly.
Once a comrade.
Once a dear friend.
Was now waiting eagerly for the coming of the Apocalypse that would make the entire Multiverse fall down to its knees.