There’s always that time that time when someone tries to make a fool out of me, but when that happens, I get pissed and try to beat the hell out of them. Luckily I have my friends to hold me back at those times. Unfortunately, in this world…

***

[What about this, Heretic, you give me the power of infinity and I’ll leave you and your family alone. Isn’t that what you want?]

“Are you serious?”

I stared at the god that’s possessing Senmael with a shocked expression.

With my arms holding my scale shield and crimson crystal sword, I prepared myself both mentally and physically as my enemy talks to me.

[As a God such as myself, doing those things is merely a small feat. I could grant you divine protection from the other gods and let you prosper beyond your imagination.]

I look at every wing blades that are levitating while slowly rotating. Each of them is starting to glow in blue light as they fly around me while pointing their sharp tips at me.

“But if I did give you the power of [Infinity], does that mean you’ll antagonize the other gods?”

I pour a large amount of mana on the boots and it transformed into a robotic-like form that specializes fast and versatile movements. I’m doing it carefully because I feel like I’m losing the sensation from my leg.

[Antagonize? We gods to not fight each other instead, we bow to the one who is more powerful.]

I notice every wing blade glow in turquoise blue light. Unlike >, this one is way higher than it in many folds.

“Key, what’s happening there?”

All of a sudden, I received another connection in my mind. Judging from the sound of this voice, it’s Sora.

“Senmael got possessed.”

“Possessed? By who?”

“A god, probably the god of the wind.”

“God of the wind, are you talking about Elthesius?”

“Yeah. Tell everyone to evacuate and make the barrier around us stronger. This will be one hell of a fight.”

“Got it.”

The connection immediately disappears and I look again at Elthesius.

From where I stood, it looks like he’s waiting for me to decide.

“Before I answer your question, will you repeat what you promised?”

When I said that, Elthesius crossed his arms while looking down on me.

[I promise to give you divine protection if you give me the power of infinity.]

In that instant, I jumped straight towards Elthesius with a speed that doesn’t lose to a jet at maximum speed.

Immediately closing our distance, I swung my sword towards his neck.

“>”

When I invoke the word, a green light burst out from the hilt of my sword and covered the red crystal blade.

> - This magic is something I’ve been working on since I got to obtain the [Divine Flame]. When I was studying it, I tested if I could purge this kind of power (I used Sanjeet as a guinea pig at that time). I wasn’t able to purge it as expected, but I did remove it from Sanjeet’s soul (which I returned afterwards).

If my theory is correct, I can remove the possession of Elthesius from Senmael. Hopefully it doesn’t damage his soul or whatsoever.

[Naïve!]

Out of nowhere, new wing blades appeared in front of me with an already charged power.

Before I could land my sword, barrage of laser-like beams from the wing blades rains before my vision.

As expected, the attack is way stronger than Senmael’s original >. It destroyed my shield that was enchanted with > while blasting me away with my armor half broken.

[So that’s your reply, heretic.]

Sounding like he expected my words, he chased after me with great speed.

Changing his weapon from rapier to halberd, he swung it down towards me.

I managed to parry it despite not having a foothold while on flight, but I fell down hard on the ground when I did. It’s better that getting sliced in two though.

After standing up from getting slightly buried, I put my sword down and raised my right hand then activated my ring.

“> > > >”

Numerous fortified daggers appeared as I summoned them. After getting coated in dark green colored enchantment, all pass through lighting orbs and flew towards Elthesius like lightning.

[Useless]

Elthesius used his wing blades to intercept the flying daggers. Some daggers manage to get through, but he only lightly swings his halberd and deflected them like nothing.

--He’s strong, stronger than I anticipated. Is this the power of a God?

Just when I thought about that, Elthesius suddenly disappear from my line of sight.

[It’s futile to resist against a God.]

Before my mind could respond, a powerful kick landed on my left side threw me away from where I stood. It was so powerful that I bounced numerous times.

I can feel two of my ribs broke. It hurts a lot!

I tried to stand with my remaining strength, but my legs keep on shaking from the pain I feel all over my body.

[Right now, you are at my mercy. Surrender and I will spare your life.]

“‘Mercy’ my ass! Did you think I’d fall for that trick? It’s pretty obvious that you’re just going to kill me just to take my power. After all, the only way to take the Infinity inside of me is to rip my soul apart. I’m not some dumb shit you shitty god.”

I mind feel clouded that I couldn’t think straight.

When he received my reply, Elthesius grabbed me by the neck and tossed me in the air then launched a powerful kick with a speed that doesn’t lose to a F1 car.

I fly with my mind going blank.

Since there’s a barrier surrounding us, I crashed into it and since the attack was powerful, it left a huge crack on the barrier.

“Key! Run away!”

While I try to stand up leaning on the barrier, I heard such voice entering my head. I think it’s probably Sora’s.

“No! If I run away, who knows what this guy will do to everyone here.”

After talking, I felt like something is coming out of my stomach. Before I noticed, I was already throwing up blood.

“Just run away, dude!”

“If I run away, this guy can easily catch up to me. Not only that he could kill me easily, he would kill Cherry too if he did kill me!”

I watch as Elthesius walk towards me readying his halberd and wing blades. If I don’t fight this guy with all I have, I can’t imagine what’s going to happen.

[Resistance is futile, heretic.]

The tip of his halberd shines in torques blue light as he raises it up in the air. Not only that, his wing blades formed a funnel while making electric sparks as it rotates in the air.

--If I get hit by this attack, I’m surely going to die.

[I remember this scene. It’s like you’re standing on the same shoes as your grandfather.]

“What do *cough* do you mean?”

He stops walking and levitates in the center of his funnel of wing blades, charging his incoming attack.

[He fought against us gods and ended up breaking his own spirit and mind. Though we don’t know how he passed down the power to you, I’m sure he died a dog’s death. Forgotten and unloved by the one he adores. Sadly, we couldn’t harvest the power of Infinity from him since his soul suddenly disappeared from the spirit realm.]

While listening to his words, unknown amounts of anger and rage suddenly swelled up from inside me.

[Like him, your mind is only filled with rage. It’s as if you are him.]

When he said that, a question suddenly entered my mind.

--Why did I attack him earlier without thinking?

When I think back, I did feel that I was angry at that time, so angry that I attacked him without any hesitation or doubt with my actions. All I could think of about that time was that ‘the enemy is a god so I need to destroy him.’

[Well that’s just an insignificant thing because I’m going to take the power from you.]

Holding the halberd like a javelin, Elthesius threw it towards me. Passing through the funnel of wing blades, the halberd gained more magical power and became a thick beam of torques blue light.

Seeing the light of death shine in front of me, I raise my right hand with my remaining strength.

“>”

*3rd person view (author’s)*

The beam of light with the radius similar to a small plane struck Key where he was standing.

Accompanied with the sound of explosion, the air became violent and the clouds disappeared from the sky because of the shockwave generated by that explosion.

Luckily the buildings in Berigious were very durable and didn’t get destroyed. The people of Berigious could only feel a small quake on their feet, but they only thought that it’s just a normal earthquake since they experience it almost every day.

Looking down on where Key was standing, Elthesius’ fists clenched in fury.

[Wrath, maybe this was the reason why Maltirus cannot control the Divine Flame inside you. You have surprised me beyond my imagination Heretic.]

“I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, but I’m going to beat your godly ass.”

While the dust settles down, violet flame rises in the middle of the crater Elthesius created.

Making his way out of the crater and the cloud of dust, a Key in full violet armor wrapped in violet flames came out, unscratched from the power that could equal 20 advanced level magic.

Blowing the dust away from behind Key, a wing blade suddenly comes targeting at him.

When the wing blade came into Key’s range, in an instant, Key grabbed it with his left claw like it was nothing.

[Naïve.]

With a snap from Elthesius’ fingers, the wing blade that Key grabbed blasted a > directly at him.

But when the light disappeared, to Elthesius’ surprise, nothing happened to Key.

“>”

Coating the wing blade with violet light after touching it with his right hand, Key analyzed the composition of the wing blade’s magic as it tries to struggle to escape.

“Hmm… as expected, it doesn’t have a [Divine Fragment] since it’s only an extension of the magic armor. But yet, this magic is still usable.”

While ignoring Elthesius who’s charging up his next attack, Key muttered to himself while reading the analysis of his magic.

[You dare look down on a God like me?! I’ll destroy you!]

Because Key didn’t give his attention to Elthesius but to the thing he’s holding, it infuriated Elthesius and scratched his pride as a God.

For Elthesius, they are beings who should be highly revered and must not be ignored. But since Key did ignore him like nothing despite beating him badly earlier, it incurred his anger.

Elthesius threw another beam of torques blue light that has the size of a small aircraft.

Another explosion occurred when it landed, but Elthesius was not convinced that this has defeated Key.

When the smoke was forcefully removed, what remained in the crater was only a broken wing blade that received the blow.

“Where are you looking at?”

Before Elthesius could notice, Key was already beside him.

Key was so fast that even his approaching fist wasn’t noticed before it could land on Elthesius’ face.

Blown away from Key’s punch, Elthesius tried to control his speed and prevented himself from crashing.

[Where were you hiding this much power?!]

Looking at Key, Elthesius scowled while summoning another halberd. Even though Key’s punch didn’t give him any physical damage, he received a great shock instead from the sudden surge of strength from Key.

“It took me a while to figure it out, but when I did, it was really simple.”

[Simple?]

“The reason why I was late in activating this power was because I forgot a 1 crucial thing.”

Key looked at his hand while letting some runes glow on his hands to his arms.

“Though I never said this once before, I’ve been thinking about it since the day I got branded as a heretic. Now that you’ve made it clear for me, there’s no need for me to hold back.”

[Hold back? What nonsense are you talking about?]

Elthesius became confused of Key’s words so he asked.

And with a smile under his demonic looking helmet, Key gave his sinister answer.

“My grandfather merely wants to take the one he loves back, but you took it from him. As his grandson and the inheritor of his power, I will slay you with the sword of revenge.”

After saying that, the runes on Key’s hands entered his armguards and glowed.

“>”

In an instant, wing-like extensions grew out from the armguards. Not only that, Key’s claws also connected with one another and became a fork-like weapon freeing his hand underneath it.

[You! You copied my power and assimilated it into your own? What a filthy magic!]

“Yes and this magic that you called ‘filth’ will be the one that’s going to beat your ass out of Senmael.”

With violet bursts behind Key, he charged towards Elthesius that is possessing Senmael.

And thus, the second round of their battle began.

Elthesius gathered his wing blades and shot them with > in rapid succession towards Key.

Seeing that barrage of incoming attack, Key rotated numerous times to evade. Some were able to corner him, but he deflects it using his new weapon, >.

When the barrage ended, the wing blades disappeared from Key’s sight along with Elthesius.

“You think you can hide from me?”

Extending his left arm, Key’s left > detached itself from the rest of the armor and flew like it had its own mind like the wing blades. After that, another > appeared on Key’s left arm.

The > immediately descended like a fighter jet while extending its wings. The next moment, it suddenly shot beams of violet light towards the smoke of dusts below.

[Impossible!]

Shocked, Elthesius deflected the incoming attacks after getting exposed using his halberd.

Seeing a gap in the barrage, Elthesius returned fire with powerful >.

Key flies around to dodge the incoming attack. However, he was intercepted by wing blades that came from nowhere and has been charged with a powerful magic.

Seeing that there’s no way to escape, Key created a spherical barrier around him with a violet color.

[Resist this.]

Every wing blade fired a concentrated beam in succession towards Key.

Then all of a sudden, instead of the barrier break from the outside, it broke from the inside. What came out of that barrier were the > which number equaling to the number of wing blades that are shooting beams.

Without wasting a second, the > also fired violet beams countering the torques blue beams.

Since the Guard Piercer’s attack weren’t as powerful as the wing blades, the attack didn’t take long to finish and the guard piercers destroyed. However, it did buy Key some time to escape.

Flying in low altitude, Key branded his blades and increases his speed with a burst.

As Key threw a slash with his right blade, Elthesius parried it with his halberd.

Sparks fly as they contested with their speed and strength of each blow they deliver to each other.

[Not too shabby for a mortal.]

“Right back at ya God.”

Bursting once again, Key’s back thrusters pushed stronger than before and gradually pushes back Elthesius.

Then all of a sudden, Key parried away Elthesius’ halberd and fall back. If he didn’t he would have been hit by the numerous beams that were flying towards him from a distance.

Before Key noticed, Elthesius was already charging towards him.

Elthesius landed his halberd on Key, but Key managed to defend against it using the arm blades. However, the power was still strong enough to blow him away.

After gouging the land with his legs to kill the momentum, Key once again charged to Elthesius who is also charging towards him.

Key jumped and rotated clockwise diagonally in the air while putting a lot of strength into his right arm.

Anticipating that attack, Elthesius’ halberd glowed with power.

When Key’s blade clashed with Elthesius’ halberd, the air shook and the ground beneath Elthesius exploded like a meteor just crashed. The clash between two powers damaged the barrier that was containing their fight.

Bouncing back from giving a sure kill blow, Key also evaded the incoming wing blades by using > and making them his footholds.

‘How can a wounded man move this much’ were the thoughts of Elthesius while looking at Key.

After positioning himself properly mid-air, Key’s back thruster pushed him again towards Elthesius while making his blades burn with violet flames.

Curling down his body, Key also parallel his blades upward beside his head, and then, with a strong explosion that could damage a normal person’s ears, the thrusters behind Key bursts into large flames while making Key himself rotate with great speed. Because of the speed of his rotation and the fire around him, he looks like a giant fireball of death.

Sensing that Key’s blades have increased in power, Elthesius changed his weapon into twin long swords. At the same time, he enchanted them with power that could even cut air itself.

“Take this you shitty God!”

[What blasphemous accusations.]

When Key’s blade clashed with Elthesius’, accompanied with a thunderous explosion that blew away the surrounding and created a crater at the same time, both didn’t falter while staring into each other’s eyes.

“This is the end.”

-End of Chapter-