At this point, it was fairly obvious that the human, ‘Stanley Martin’, was not the man standing in front of me. What was standing in front of me was by no means human, even if it looked like it was trying to wear a human skin. So… what was he?

As I tried to figure this out, I kept my eyes trained on him, waiting for that moment when he moved close enough for me to strike. I might not be his match in terms of physical combat, but that was not my only option for battling. Yet, my efforts were in vain. Before I even noticed him moving, I felt a pain in my chest. Somehow, he had crossed the dozens of meters faster than my eyes could see, and landed another punch on me.

Ragdoll physics enabled! -1000 Health

Oh, fuck! This was double the damage he had inflicted before, and I instantly shattered one of the scales hidden beneath my red armor, restoring me to full health. However, this time, I wasn’t able to stop myself from bouncing along the ground several times before coming to a stop.

Okay, options! I can’t take him to subspace, that requires being able to touch him, and I’m not even sure where we are in relation to the abstract right now. My element manipulation is sealed and--oh god he is getting uglier by the second. As I got myself back to my feet, I once again saw him walking in the distance. Judging by how far away he was… did he seriously just punch me over a mile away?!

Anyways, the skin around his right arm, as well as both of his legs had completely shattered at this point. Even the shirt sleeve and pants he was wearing had gone with them. His fingers were long and chitinous, his limbs long and narrow. From what I could see at this distance, his legs were actually digittrade, rather than the normal humanoid model. However, another thing that changed was his head.

His face looked like it was peeling off, a helmet of sleek chitin forming over it. Scraps of his flesh fell to the grass, until even his eyes had been covered by his natural helmet. Okay, the less human he gets, the more powerful he becomes. If he doubles in power again, I am dead with one strike…

“Lex, bring them all out!” I shouted, holding up my hand. Although my clothing and equipment was also covered by my lifeblood armor, it was clear that the message went through. Streams of mana originated from my hand, spreading out in every direction to form my fifty elemental soldiers.

“You have a Worldforce Army?” The creature posing as Stanley asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. “No matter, they won’t be able to help you here.”

Before I was able to question how I was able to hear his voice over this distance, I saw a fine line of dust rising along the ground, leading… directly behind me. Okay, you REALLY have to stop doing that.

Block it with your back! -1200 Health

Okay, using another of those scales now, as I bounced along the ground again, this time thankfully finding something to stop me early. Sadly, what I found to prevent my continued free-flight was a mountain, which I seemed to find myself buried in. I let out a pained groan as I tried to pull myself out of the rubble. My elemental army was no longer in earshot, and they were nowhere near close enough for me to send orders.

By the time I pulled myself out of the stone wall, Stanley was already standing there in front of me. This time, both of his arms held the thin, chitinous form, and he had a long, spiked tail behind him that extended several meters. Oh, fuck.

“Klax…” I muttered under my breath, remembering the warlike race I had briefly encountered way back in NeoLife. Yet, they should be on the other side of the galaxy. Even if they adapted instantly to the game world, this should not be possible.

Although his chest was still largely human, the rest of him was undeniable. Even the back of his head had begun to elongate. As he opened his mouth, glistening drool leaked out. I heard a series of harsh guttural tones while his voice translated into my mind. “We never did like that name.”

Part of me wanted to do nothing more than jump in a portal to the other side of the planet, and order Celeste to nuke this moon from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. Yet, I had no doubt that this thing either had a way to stop me, or was able to survive such a blast, with the strength it had shown thus far.

Stanley reached down, his six thin fingers gripping my head and effortlessly lifting me up. “You’ve done well to make it this far, John.” His clacking voice echoed in my mind as I felt his fists slowly tighten. “But this is the end for you, and your little army.”

Just as I began seeing the damage numbers appearing, my lifeblood armor being crushed like tinfoil, another voice echoed out, this one from the air above us. “Not so fast, jerk! Reality Break - Limitless Silver Sands… Deus Ex Machina!”

Stanley’s head tilted up in surprise as a giant cloud of silver appeared above us. I would recognize that skill name from anywhere, but why she was here instead of commanding the fleet I didn’t know. Before Stanley could crush my head, the cloud formed into a single, giant shape. The figure was obviously that of Celeste, her pink hair falling down to her waist. Yet, right now, the normal bracelet cannon she typically wore was fully extended, its barrel only a few feet above our heads. “Do you trust me, John?” She asked into my mind.

Fry the bastard. Seeing as I couldn’t nod, and my head was gripped too tightly to talk, my thoughts would have to suffice. And before the thought even finished, we were engulfed in a golden light. I felt the grip on my head loosen, but instead I was driven into the ground beneath me from the force of the blast.

Friendly Fire! -200 Health

That’s not going to do much. I warned mentally as I saw the damage number in the window in front of me. Yet, it was enough to get me out of its grip, which was at least something. And why did you never tell me you can turn your clones into a giant mech!?

“Talk later, dying now!” Her rather worrying answer came back a moment later, causing me to open my eyes and pry myself out of the ground. What I saw was a fully transformed Klax soldier, its claws dug deeply into the giant Celeste’s thigh. With one angry howl, it ripped her leg clean off, leaving her barely able to balance… at least, until his body spun in midair and kicked at the stump, sending her falling onto her back.

The fact that a three meter alien could casually rip apart the leg of a fifty meter tall mech was… worrying to say the least. Thankfully, this mech was made with Celeste’s silver sands, so the detached leg shattered, quickly flying back to its stump and reforming. I don’t even want to know what the requirements to use such an overpowering skill is.

Shaking my head, I looked to the distant elemental army, which was standing motionless without having received an order. Celeste, buy me some time. Just keep him busy, and I’ll be back to help soon.

“Well, I’m trying!” Came her hurried response as she kicked at Stanley, only to have her foot caught. With a savage twist, her entire foot broke off, and he cast it aside. “Try to hurry up, though! This isn’t easy!”

With that as my cue, I quickly opened up a portal to bring me back to the army. Although I can’t transform mana, or utilize the mana from my grove to do things thanks to the formation, it seemed these guys weren’t affected. After all, they were living elemental mana. “Lex, communicate with them for me! Tell them it’s Titan time.”

Once my voice had finished, I could feel a pulse of mana spreading out from Lex, which bounced off each elemental soldier to create a network of transmissions, passing the message along over short distances to prevent the message from dissipating. And once the message had been sent, the various elemental soldiers all broke apart and surged towards me.

I found myself in the familiar inner shell of steel, tapping into the mana attempting to connect to me using order mana. I could feel new arms and legs forming of fire and stone as my form took shape. The cape of shadows billowed at my back. I might not be able to control the elements on this moon, but they can. And I can control them.

Honestly, summoning the elemental soldiers was a gamble, because I wasn’t sure if they would even be able to hold their form within the formation set up. But if they did, it meant that the formation had no real effect on them. Thankfully, my gamble this time won out.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself assuming the form of the elemental titan. Sparks danced along my broken stone skin, fire visible through the cracks. Not wanting to waste time appreciating my new appearance, I turned and saw Celeste and Stanley fighting in the distance. Well, really it was just a case of Celeste trying to fight back while body parts were constantly ripped apart and regenerated. By now, it seemed to be a race of which could happen faster… and Celeste wasn’t winning.

“Any time now, you know!” I heard her calling out to me in a panicked tone as I began to rush over. Each thunderous step caused the ground to shake beneath me, so it was no surprise when Stanley noticed me. His head snapped to face my direction, and his hands actually stopped ripping apart the giant Celeste as a harsh tone sounded out through the area.

“How?!” His words came out. “Which one was it!?” I could sense the elemental mana being distorted as he charged rapidly towards me. I still had trouble tracking him, even in this state, but the mana didn’t lie.

Raising my foot, I wasn’t surprised when he caught it, undaunted by the flames surrounding the limb. Before he did anything, my foot shattered on its own, fire and stone wrapping around him to form a tight cocoon. Even then, that only lasted a moment before it shattered from his strength, his skin tinted light orange from the heat.

“Which god was it, you insect!?” Ironic, considering who was wearing the chitin here. Nonetheless, he jumped up towards my chest and kicked. He seemed surprised when his foot did not find the bundle of metal hiding my real body, which I had already hidden within the shadows. “The Worldforce Army is one thing, but the Titan?! This is a clear violation!”

I wasn’t even able to understand what he was talking about anymore, until Celeste mentioned a name I had all but forgotten. In horror, she looked at the relatively smaller Klax, muttering in a barely audible tone. “Abzul…”

It was then that I remembered. Stanley Martin, Champion of the God of War… and that god’s name was Abzul. Okay, this is just so not fair, Malthan! You sent me down here to kill a god!? Without even having my universe mana!

Surprisingly, I didn’t get an answer back from that complaint, but Abzul tilted its head towards Celeste. “That’s right, and I’m sick of this!” As he spoke, his body began growing slowly. “Countless eons of the same shit, but no more! They want to break the rules, then fine! Let’s break the fucking rules! This whole fight is nothing but a farce!”

Soon, he was just as big as Celeste, his fingers wrapped in a golden light. With an unearthly roar, his hand slashed down towards me, faster than I could react. By the time I even realized what was happening, I felt the shadows I was hiding in being torn apart, my true body ripped to pieces in a moment.

God doesn’t like you. -500,000 Health

You have died.

I felt my consciousness beginning to fade as I saw that message, distinctly aware that this was not a clone… there was no taking this one back. Yet suddenly, the world seemed to freeze around me. Even my scattering thoughts somehow remained, long after I had died.

“Yeah, no.” I heard a casual, vaguely familiar voice ringing out, echoing against itself as the world responded. Before I could even think to mutter the name of the god that had come just a moment too late, a voice appeared in my thoughts, one distinctly not my own. You just sit there for a minute, Johnny boy. Us grown ups have to have a chat.