Chapter 112

Arc 13- Public Enemy No.1 - Part 14

Above planet Earth, Baros - a half-angel, half-mortal - was battling King Iket of Universe-1987 - an artificial and incomplete angel.

The artificial angel flapped his white wings, the ends of which were covered in dark energies.

“I have killed you many times across the many realities, Baros. You will die just like any other.”

The artificial angel’s voice was both demonic and divine at the same time. Hearing it would make someone think he is the most righteous man in existence, but also the evilest man.

“I came here for that human, but I found you, the more interesting person.”

Moving faster than Baros could react to, Iket slashed his armour with an energy sword.

However, Baros’ armour absorbed the energy, keeping Baros safe.

“Tch, that armour is as pesky as ever.”

Iket had more tricks up his sleeve, so he was not depressed about the armour.

In his palm, an energy ball appeared and threw it at Baros.

In return, Baros shot an energy beam from his eyes, countering the incoming attack.

Iket smirked.

He raised his hand up.

“I might not have control over my angelic powers, but my divine powers are more than enough to defeat you.”

Lowering his hand abruptly, a meteorite slammed into Baros.

“After you die, I can steal those energies with ease.”

Another meteor slammed him from the back, sandwiching Baros between two meteors.

His movements were restricted.

Iket controlled the meteor with his index finger’s movement.

He raised his index finger, which caused the meteors to fly towards the sun.

Nazar wanted to intervene, but the other person stopped him once more.

“Baros, you have always been an incompetent king,” said in a malicious tone. “You were kind, naive, and weak. You let others control you throughout your life. And now you have handed your empire to a mere human.”

Iket let out a burst of mocking laughter.

“If you were not created by Michael, I would have destroyed you and your empire thousands of years ago.”

Iket boasted in confidence.

Before becoming an artificial angel, he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Naturally, his confidence matched his power.

Baros always hated him for that infinite confidence of his.

"No matter who you dress as, you will always be the most pathetic person in the room, Baros."

In the past, Baros was forced by the Church of Michael to wear a new face every few centuries. They didn't want the world to know of his immortality.

No one knew who the High Priest of the Chochica Empire truly was, except for the Church and King Iket of the Vanaha Empire.

"After I kill you, I will destroy that human. Then your empire will trample beneath my feet."

He turned back and looked at Nazar and the man next to him.

"I have killed you in many realities and your power… It's exotic," he said with lustful eyes. "I will--"

However, that smile started to fade as he looked at the meteorites again.

"Oh?"

The meteors which were covering Baros and flying towards the sun were turned into smithereens with a bright white light.

"No."

Baros had unleashed his energies in every direction and got rid of the meteors.

"I will never let you get the satisfaction of trampling me or my people, Iket!"

Iket always looked down upon Baros and the Chochica Empire. He used them as much as he could, but he never considered them his equals.

Only if Baros had realised his true power sooner, maybe the way the Chochica Empire was perceived by others might have been different.

"You want to steal my power? My king's power?"

Baros narrowed his eyes.

"Be my guest. But first…"

He shot himself towards Iket.

"You will have to defeat me. If you can't defeat me, you will never even scratch him."

"Hmph. Sure," Iket, ignoring Baros, held his palm towards Nazar.

Shooting an energy blast from his hand, he laughed.

"Watch your weakling king die!!"

Before it reaches Nazar, Baros appeared in front of the energy blast and redirected it away with the fuller of his sword.

With his back to Nazar, he spoke, "Thanks for not interfering."

Before Nazar could say anything, Baros moved.

Nazar looked at the other person and shrugged.

“Just let him be, Prime.”

“I will give him ten minutes. If he doesn’t finish, I will inter--”

“No.”

Nazar frowned.

“I hate you so much.”

“Heh.”

Not far from them, Baros and Iket clashed their swords.

“Ha, releasing all of your power at the same time will make you weaker. That’s the basics of energy emission.”

Baros clicked his tongue as he swung his sword.

Iket bent his back unnaturally and evaded Baros’ attack.

"Hehe."

With his back bent back, he raised his hand and held it towards Baros.

A large energy blast shot out of it.

Baros did not try to evade it.

Instead, he let the armour absorb it.

"Tch," Iket clicked his tongue. "I will get rid of that armour of yours first!"

He clenched his hand and Baros was pulled towards him.

"!!"

Clenching his fist, he punched Baros in the chest.

The armour, however, absorbed the impact, which caused Iket to frown.

"What!"

With a wave of his index finger, Baros was repelled.

"Is!"

Losing control of his own movement, Baros was flying right at the sun.

"That!"

“Brf?!”

Baros coughed out blood as energy spikes appeared within his body. One of those energy spikes was stabbed into his heart.

“ARMOUR?!”

Iket let out a sigh of relief as he saw the spikes trick worked.

A large spike of energy had broken through the armour.

He was even more impressed to see that the armour is not as durable on the inside, as it is on the outside.

“Should have tried that earlier,” he muttered to himself.

On the other hand, Baros was anything but impressed.

He screamed out in pain as he moved his hand slowly.

“Ngh!”

Grinding his teeth, he grasped the energy spikes with his hand.

Baros tried to get rid of the spikes, but he couldn’t move them.

Thousands of years ago, Lilian - Darkness - had created a spell that could nullify any magical spell. So, he cursed himself for not learning it back then.

Baros was being thrown at the sun at an extremely fast speed.

Iket wanted to melt the armour in the sun.

The armour might be extremely powerful, but at the end of the day, it is just metal. So, it must have a melting point.

Once the armour was melted, Baros would be weaker. So, he can be killed easier.

Iket will then collect his energies.

However.

“???”

Iket widened his eyes in surprise.

Baros stopped moving.

Quickly, Iket pulled Baros towards himself, then pushed him away once more.

However, it was as if there was a wall blocking him.

“A restrictive barrier?”

There was a huge barrier that was covering them.

No matter how hard Iket tried, he could not teleport Baros out of it or use him to break through it.

Frantically, he looked around.

All the mercenaries were sent away or unconscious, and the only other person who could be seen was Nazar.

“That damned HUMAN!!”

He gritted his teeth.

"TIME TO DIE, BAROS! AND THEN I WILL KILL YOU, HUMAN!!"

Nazar did not react to his glare in any way.

“YOU WILL SEE YOUR PATHETIC KNIGHT FAIL TO PROTECT YOU!”

Iket then glanced at Baros before looking down.

The artificial angel held his palms near each other, inside it a white energy ball appeared.

“Is he going to do a ‘Kamehameha wave’?” Nazar exclaimed excitedly.

The other person frowned, “Seriously?”

“You are invisible to them, right?” Nazar asked him a question, while still looking at Iket.

He nodded.

"I am always invisible when going to other universes."

Nazar ignored that and asked him another question.

"Why did you come now?"

Seeing the serious look on Nazar's face, he thought about it for a moment.

“A few moments ago, Iket unsealed his power which is why I found him.”

“Oh?”

“You see, Iket from my universe destroyed my Earth when he activated Angel Fall. He destroyed many planets, but after a long fight, I put an end to his reign. So, I have been keeping an eye on Ikets across the multiverse.”

“History shall not repeat itself, huh?”

He nodded.

“When he unsealed his power, I picked up his trail and came as soon as I could.”

“And immediately sealed this place in a restrictive barrier, right?”

He held an index finger at Nazar, smiling, he said, “Bingo!”

“Ah, so that’s why you stopped me from helping him out,” Nazar just now realised.

"You didn't notice the barrier?" he seemed surprised.

"I wasn't paying attention, so no."

For some reason, that made the other person smile proudly.

Leaving aside his childish pride, he said, “Don’t worry, the universe will be safe.”

But Nazar wasn't really listening to him.

Following the trail of Nazar's glittering excited eyes, he looked at Iket.

“Ah, he is going to do… Damn it!!” said out loud as his excited smile vanished into the netherrealm.

Nazar thought Iket was going to recreate a move from a manga, but at the last moment, he did something else.

“Wait!”

Iket slowly raised his hand above his head.

The energy ball started to grow larger and larger.

“Is that a SPIRIT BOMB?!” A wide excited smile appeared on his face once more.

The other person - who was invisible to everyone besides Nazar - let out a disappointed sigh.

Those shining eyes of Nazar would once again turn gloomy when Iket revealed his true move.

“AHHHHH?!?!”

“I am surprised you haven’t killed him for that already.”

Nazar lowered his gaze.

"I can't kill right now. But when I get over this weakness, I will kill tons of people."

“Hm?”

For a while, images of dead people he had once known flashes before his eyes, especially his father’s which causes him to hold back his powers and can’t kill anyone.

He did not have any problem killing people, but these days, those images make him question his actions and spares his opponents’ lives.

Nazar clenched his fist in front of his chest and with a lot of determination, he said, "This weakness is temporary. I will be back to normal!!!!"

The other person let out a sigh.

Both of them focused on Iket once more.

Iket broke apart the large energy ball between his palms.

Nazar clicked his tongue.

“What a wasted opportunity...”

The small energy balls floated around the artificial angel, horizontally.

Iket closed his eyes as the energy balls started to move around him at an extreme speed.

The distance between him and the energy balls started to slowly expand.

“GOD OF MAGIC! HEED MY PRAYER AND GRANT ME POWER!”

God of Magic. It’s an abstract entity that has existed from the dawn of creation. The Supreme One made this being because he needed someone to govern the infinite magics of this Ultraverse.

The God of Magic’s role is to distribute magic to the right person when a spell is cast.

This being is also responsible for taking the life force in return for the magic. That life force is turned into magic, which can be used for others. However, the life force of magicians is not enough to compete against the excessive energies left by Angels and dead universes.

Even then, it’s his job to contain and distribute the infinite magics of the Ultraverse.

“AN ANGEL COMMANDS YOU!”

Although the God of Magic is an abstract entity, it still answers to the Supreme One first and then angels.

The angels are the Supreme One’s soldiers and second in command.

“God of Magic - Astrosh - doesn’t know the difference between the angels,” Nazar said slowly. “It was made only so it can only answer to Lucifer and Michael, but since it does not have sentience, it can be manipulated easily by other angels if needed.”

“Makes you wonder if Aarin ever tried it.”

Nazar shook his head.

“Nah, she wanted permanent power, not a temporary power-up.”

“I can’t believe how much she has changed.”

Nazar nodded.

“Glad she did. If not, I don’t think I could live with another power-hungry idiot.”

"AN ANGEL NEEDS POWER!" Iket shouted out.

The energy balls around him started to dissolve and created a small barrier around him.

A massive beam of light shot down, breaking apart the protective barrier which was placed by the other person.

However, Iket did not notice that.

"Gyahahaha!!" Iket laughed like a maniac as more magic flowed within him.

The protective barrier contained all that magical power in one place so he could use it later.

"Prepare to meet your death, Baros, the weakling!"

Iket held his palm towards Baros.

"I have killed many of you over the years, now it's your turn!"

An energy blast left his palm and was shot at Baros.

"Die!!"

However.

Behind him, a red magical circle appeared, and someone jumped from it.

"??"

His arm was cut off.

His maniac-like laugh was replaced by a fearful look.

Iket slowly turned back and saw his enemy whose gaze pierced his very being.

Seeing the demonic sword in her hand, he gulped.

For a second, he was confused as to who it was, but once he saw the person, he widened his eyes.

"YO--"

He felt fear like never before.

"Shut up, you dead meat," said a busty blonde woman with blue eyes in a cold tone as she gripped her hand on her demonic sword.

“Darkness,” Nazar muttered to himself.

Before Iket could react, she moved and cut off his other arm.*

She tried to attack him again, but Iket released a short burst of energy in every direction, so she jumped back and increased the distance between them.

Darkness looked at Iket with bloodlust eyes.

"I am going to kill you for that."

Nazar, far from here, smiled.

"But first…"

Darkness, without turning around, held her palm towards Baros, who was about to lose his consciousness.

"[Spell Breaker]!"

Spell Breaker is an original spell created by Darkness which is only compatible with demonic magic. It can negate any forms of magical spells.

She was going to teach Baros how to use it with angelic magic, but he never learned. And she never got the chance to see if it could work with angelic magic.

She glanced at Nazar, angrily.

"We will speak later."

Although they were hundreds of kilometres away and in space, he could hear properly.

"Did you know she would come?"

Nazar nodded.

"People of my empire, when they get married, they take their soul bonding and soul mating to the next level. In the marriage ceremony, their souls are bound for eternity. Eternal love, I guess you can call it."

"Interesting."

"They can sense when the others are in danger and whatnot," Nazar explained in a disinterested tone. "Since their souls are connected, they also die if one of them is killed. Not sure if it's stupid or romantic."

So, when Darkness sensed Baros' life is in danger, she rushed here.

Darkness tried to heal Baros but Iket attacked her with energy beams which came out of his eyes.

She swung her sword, negating the coming energy beams.

Iket did not try to hide it anymore. He was angry.

Grinding his teeth, he created arms for himself from energy.

"Die, you stupi--"

Iket shot himself at Darkness, trailing off. He didn't want to finish his sentence.

Manipulating the space between them, the distance shrunk.

With a thin smile on his face, full of anger and malice, he swung his energy arm.

Beneath Darkness, a magical circle appeared and teleported behind him.

Swinging her sword, she was about to cut off his head but from his back, an energy spear shot out.

Changing her plan, she stopped attacking and jumped back while negating the coming energy spear.

"Tch," Darkness clicked her tongue.

She had caught him by surprise earlier but Iket is just too fast for her now.

With a peal of crackling laughter, he kicked her in the stomach, sending her away.

While flying, she coughed blood.

She was about to slam into a small asteroid, but Iket appeared behind her.

He kicked her in the back, throwing her at the nearby planet, Mars.

The battle had started above Earth, but now they came to Mars.

Even then, Iket did not realise that the protective barrier around them, which was placed by the other person, was destroyed. So, he did not glance at his main opponent.

"I have had enough to joke around with your pathetic empire. I will finish you-- Argh??"

An energy beam had slashed through his back, damaging his very soul.

Turning around his head, his smile vanished.

"Baros…"

Baros did not pay him any heed and swung his sword.

The fuller of his sword started to expand. The edges of the sword became thinner. The grip became thicker.

The fuller of the sword expanded from 10 centimetres to 30 centimetres.

The length of the sword increased by a meter.

“You...”

Five thin energy lines appeared on the fuller of the sword, vertically.

“You underestimate me, Iket.”

“Urk!?!”

Iket was not sure what happened, but his body was cut off in half.

"Don't you dare look down on me!!"

Sucking in a breath, he moved.

Closing the distance between him and Iket, Baros swung his sword once more, cutting off his head.

Iket's head was flying in space.

"I have always been the superior king between the two of us…"

He swung his sword fast, cutting Iket into small pieces.

"And now the SUPERIOR ANGEL!" Baros spat out.

The sword in his hand started to light up with energy.

Swinging it, a large burst of energy was unleashed, destroying every trace of the artificial and incomplete angel, Iket.

Baros took a few deep breaths before flying down to the planet Mars.

He landed near Darkness, who seemed more than fine after getting hit by such a powerful individual.

Baros was not surprised in the slightest.

However, he was surprised that his wounds had healed.

Brushing aside that momentarily surprise, he smiled at Darkness.

"Thanks."

In return, she was looking somewhere else.

Following the trail of her eyes, he turned around and saw Nazar floating above him with a serious look on his face.

Baros was about to open his mouth, but he noticed something.

Neither Nazar nor Darkness were looking at him or each other.

Their eyes were fixated at Baros' head.

He slowly moved his hand and touched his head.

Everything seemed fine.

He was wondering what was going on.

He tried to scratch the back of his head awkwardly but suddenly touched something.

"...Huh?"

Seeing the confused and surprised look on his face, Darkness reached out her hand. In her palm which was facing up, a mirror made of energy appeared.

Once he saw his reflection in the mirror, his eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped.

"Is that…?"

Baros gulped.

"A halo," Nazar said slowly.

Unlike the others, Nazar was not surprised.

Seeing that look on his face, the other person asked, "Did you expect this?"

Nazar nodded.

"Of course. Another reason why I didn't finish this immediately. I guess I was just looking for an excuse not to interfere. So, thanks for that."

From the corner of his eye, Nazar noticed the angry look on his face.

"It was the other guy's request."

The other person did not have to ask whom Nazar was talking about. He knew.

"I call him #2 these days."

"I truly hate that guy."

The other person let out a sigh.

Looking down at Baros, he started to speak in a remorseful and regretful manner.

"I hate how this system is built… I hate how this universe is built… The more someone suffers, the stronger they get. The more someone feels pain, the stronger they become," said the other person. “Truly, a sadistic system.”

Nazar couldn’t help but agree.

This is how this Ultraverse was created.

“Everyone has one aim in their head the day they are born… An aim that’s placed within them by the Supreme One.”

Nazar narrowed his eyes.

“Except for the angels and newly created species like humans, everyone else… They have no other choice but to gain more power.”

The other person bit his lips in anger.

He has come across many people who couldn’t fight the destiny that was set for them. They tried to fight, but in the end, they fell to the basic thinking that was designed for them.

He has managed to free a few from this fate, but it was not enough.

“However, the stronger you get, the more you suffer. That's everyone's fate. That's the fate that's decided by the supreme one for us. To become more powerful and then suffer. No one can fight against this fate.”

Compared to the other person’s angry and depressed look, Nazar smiled proudly.

“No, there is one.”

He looked at Nazar in surprise.

“Oh?”

“A man who has the powers of multiple Gods. A man who can grow far more powerful, but chooses not to.”

The other person has never seen Nazar speak so proudly of someone.

“If he wanted to, he could grow more powerful. Perhaps more powerful than anyone else in the universe but he chooses not to.”

“But--”

Nazar raised his index finger, causing him to stop.

“He can gain more power without suffering. Fate says that the stronger you get, the worst your life gets, right?”

He nodded.

“You won’t believe this, but he has fought and defeated that fate many times over.”

The other person widened his eyes.

“Get stronger? He did that. Did he suffer for it? No, he didn’t. Did his life get worse? Far from it. Did it get tragic? Hell no.”

“...”

He could not believe what Nazar was saying.

"I am not sure if he exists in your world, but I know a man who got beaten down by fate many times over, but even then, he stood up, smiling like an idiot and said, "Is that all you got?" and defeated that fucked up fate.”

Nazar scoffed.

“Truly, what an oddball."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Norse God. Eddie."

"Oh..."

He did not know who that was.

"I will have you meet him one day. You will like him."

"I see… I have never seen you be proud of someone. Interesting."

"What can I say, it's like seeing your younger brother grow up in front of you. From nothing to this."

"Perhaps he knows you are watching his back and that's why he can overcome it?"

"I highly doubt that but even then…"

A wide smile appeared on Nazar’s face.

"If it means that he can fight against his dark fate, then I don’t really hate being the most powerful guy around."

The other man stared at Nazar, he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

He has known him for a long time, but this is the first time he has uttered such words.

Smirking, he said, “You have truly changed.”

Nazar shrugged, “Who knows.”