Chapter 188

Arc 16 - The Fastest Man Alive - Part 25

Jabalot Empire:

Baros of the Chochica Empire witnessed something heartbreaking.

“It feels wonderful, does it not? To be hurt by the one whom you love the most? So!” A thin evil smile ripped Michael’s face in half as he taunted his child. With a snake-like voice that was poisoning Baro’s very soul, Michael added, “Show me your despair.”

Michael clapped his hands as he walked around his son.

“I have never felt something like this, so explain to me, how does it feel? Mm?”

The excited angel hummed as he waited for his son to describe his feelings.

“Mm, I am waiting. Go on.”

However, Baros replied with something else.

“I humiliated you in front of the entire universe, which has never happened to me before, so before I explain my feelings now, can you describe what you felt back then?”

Michael’s ear twitched as he came to a halt behind his son.

He looked to his right and saw his face in the armour’s collar.

The veins in his face were popping out in anger.

“Oh, you want to know?”

The prideful angel stood before his son. And began to angrily explain, “Rage. Yes, that’s right, I felt rage. How can a mere mortal speak those words to me, huh? Even with my powers sealed away by God, I am still an angel. An angel who can destroy your very existence with but a thought. But I did not. I didn’t because I didn’t need to. Why? Because you are worthless, Baros, worthless. And I still struggle to understand why he hasn’t killed you yet. You are nothing but dead weight.”

Baros smiled softly.

“I am a rather handsome individual, even if I am heavy.”

Realising how his son was playing around with him, Michael’s anger intensified.

However, before he could do anything... "Now, be gone," Baros touched his father's chest, sending him away to the heavens.

Being left alone, he sat on a chair near a desk and looked at his wife.

"So…" he leaned forward. "When were you going to tell me?"

"It's… It's not what it looks like," she said nervously.

"I am surprised, out of every angel, why him?"

Darkness sighed as she sat down on her bed, realising that hiding the truth is useless, so she doesn't need to feel nervous about it.

"He sought me out."

"Hm, you didn't have to go this far, and now… Your soul is bound to mine for an eternity."

Baros chuckled.

"If you wanted a copy for my core, there was an easier way to do it… The angel could have done it himself. Easily. Unless..."

Darkness did not want to accept whatever Baros was going to say, so she cut off his words, "Perhaps he feared your king."

"Hmm. But I wonder," Baros crossed his legs as he leaned back in the chair and glanced upwards. "Why does he need my core?"

He is a halfling, a half-angel, so his core is extremely powerful, but not as powerful as a real angel, so why couldn't Michael steal the core of full-fledged angel instead of his?

"What need would such a feeble artefact have?"

He glanced at Darkness.

"You still didn't answer, why go this far for something so simple?"

"It was the only way. A prolonged experiment would have not worked otherwise." In a barely audible voice, she added, "And a learning experience."

Baros nodded, "I see."

Baros tilted his head to a side.

"So, can you break apart our souls?"

Darkness did not answer at first. She thought about how she could break the soul contract without harming herself.

"I am not sure yet. Every way I think of, there could be residual feedback."

"I see…"

Baros leaned his head back on the chair and let out a loud sigh.

"Interestingly, I too was working under the orders of someone else."

"..."

Darkness did not realise at first, but once she did, she stood up abruptly.

"Huh?!"

"To simplify Nazar's plan, it's a long game of politics. Dirty politics. You are on the high council of Jabalot Empire, one whose voice dwarfed many, taking you under his command, his victory was assured. But things changed when his other personality came out."

"???" her confusion skyrocketed, wondering what any of that meant.

First of all, I wouldn't give up this much control over this empire, no matter who I marry. What do they take me for? Also, separate personality? I heard rumours of it, but I didn't know if they should be taken seriously. He is just a mad man.

"You were to play a much bigger role, but since his other personality changed the game, you became useless to him. However, when you appeared in front of everyone the other week, his plans changed slightly. He allowed me to marry you for the sole reason of having a powerful sorcerer under his command."

"So, that was all a play…"

"Just like yours."

Darkness' shoulders drooped down as she let out a heavy sigh.

"You seem disappointed."

"I am not," Darkness replied exasperatedly.

"Hrn," Baros scoffed. "Well, it seems my mission ended in failure."

"Perhaps, but your master succeeded."

Baros lowered his head and looked her in the eyes.

"That's because he cannot fail," he said seriously, causing Darkness to almost feel fear. "No matter the path, which is designed for him, he will stand victorious."

"How can you know?"

"Because he is a Celestial whose wishes dictate that of the creation."

"Hm?"

Baros stood up and began to walk away from her.

"Anyway, I have wasted enough time on this game, so I should get going. But…"

Baros turned his head around a little and continued, "You have made a grave mistake entering this cosmic pond, and you cannot escape from it, ever. No matter what happens to you now, know this, you brought it upon yourself."

She clicked her tongue.

"You have entered a game which has rules, and you don't understand any of them. You cannot hope to survive, but even then… good luck."

"..."

Darkness noticed the hint of pride and ego in Baros' words.

She wondered, was he always like this? Or is it because he knows he is a half angel now, a being from a higher plane?

"To the Celestials, we are just toys, and you have stolen the attention of the wrong one."

He waved his hand and looked away from her.

"I bid you farewell, my bride, I hope you survive t~h~e~ ex~~p~~er~~~ie~~~~~~~~"

Momentum ceased existing in this universe, nothing could move, not even sound.

Baros' mind raced at insane speeds, trying to understand what happened, but even that was becoming hard to do so.

The few seconds of the momentum-less universe felt like an eternity.

This state of the universe was new to everyone, but each in their own way, tried to find a way to understand what was going on.

However, they could not think for too long.

It was becoming extremely hard to think.

Thoughts, like everything else, need a form of momentum, and that was being stolen by Rewind.

His control over the universe lasted a few seconds before a golden energy washed over everything and saved the universe.

"!!"

As soon as the universe regained momentum, Baros widened his eyes.

"No…"

He realised what had happened.

Everyone did.

The entire creation felt it.

"NOOOO!"

And so, he blasted away towards the skies of this criminal world and began his trek towards Earth.

လလလ

On Earth, Aarin tried to revive her newly dead brother, however, her efforts were fruitless.

He was dead, gone forever.

An immortal unkillable God was killed today in front of the universe.

Aarin found it hard to believe what had transpired.

He had tried every method to kill himself, but it never worked, so how did it happen now?

“He isn’t dead...” she said very slowly, perhaps trying to ease her own pain. “He can’t be dead.”

Next to the body, Baros landed, however, she did not even notice him.

His white wings of this half-angel flapped under the bright golden sun and his halo spun over his head.

The half-angel looked at Nazar’s dead body.

Like Aarin, he could not believe it either.

Unlike the rest of the universe, these two know about the true power of this God.

“He is not dead,” Aarin said slowly.

Baros sucked in a deep breath as he steeled his heart.

While Nazar and Baros were not remarkably close, they still considered each other allies and perhaps even friends. So, he felt an emptiness within him after Nazar was gone, killed by a criminal.

“Yeah,” he said slowly as he picked up Nazar's body from the ground. He couldn't let the divine body of his emperor get dirty on this ground.

As he slowly picked up God's body, Aarin's head sank lower and lower.

Baros knew who she was but did not know her personally, however, even then, he felt terrible for this angel.

"I am sure."

Baros' silly words ignited hope - false hope - in her heart.

She sniffed her nose and nodded.

"I am sure too."

Behind Aarin, a bright white light appeared as another angel stepped out.

Like all female angels, she had a muscular yet feminine figure.

Her long black hair flailed in the summer breeze as her icy black eyes stabbed in the souls of anyone who dared look her way.

Anaiel, the Angel of Pride, crouched behind Aarin and hugged her from the back.

"I am sure he is alive, so…" The prideful angel lacked her usual voice. In a sympathetic and sad tone, she continued. "Let's wait for him in heaven."

Aarin raised her head slowly as she looked to the blue sky.

"Heaven…"

"Yes, we will wait for him there. He will return to you there."

A memory of a world long gone flashed through the minds of both angels. A memory of a human who died, and he stayed dead for many years. Then one day, the human said, "This is boring." With those words, he ripped through the boundaries of life and death, of reality and unreality.

Like a golden sun, it rose in Heaven and smiled at his sister.

It was a warm memory that made the crying angel smile.

"When he comes back, be sure to scold him a lot."

Aarin nodded.

Baros, who was looking at the two angels, did not say anything but simply observed them.

Even higher dimensional beings, soldiers of God, hold such human emotions. It surprised the half-angel.

Perhaps his father was one of a kind, a terrible man.

Baros breathed a soft sigh as he glanced around.

"Nazar was a noble man," Baros began to speak to the world. "A man who saved this world from monsters and Gods alike for many years…"

The humans glanced at one another in confusion.

They have learned and experienced a lot today, and it was overwhelming for them.

"A mad God rose to power and tried to destroy us all, but he stopped him. Then another mad God rose from her grave, trying to end us all and the only one who stands against her was him. Fighting for all there was and there is and there will be."

Baros didn't care how much of it were the truth and how much of it lies, he just wanted to tell the world something.

"He fought alone in the darkness, carrying the weight of creation yet… Yet… YET!" Baros' angry words reverberated across the entire planet. "You rejected him. You increased the weight on his shoulders ever more. So much, any man would collapse… but not him. Because he was strong. Not just physically, but mentally too."

Aarin slowly raised her head and looked at Baros.

She had seen this mortal from a higher plane, but for the first time, she looked at him from a different angle.

At first, she believed Baros was no different than any other ally of Nazar, ready to backstab when opportunity rises, but it seems she was wrong.

She was very wrong.

"On this world, he had peace. He had hope. He had happiness. And do you know what you did? YOU TOOK IT ALL AWAY FROM HIM!"

His anger could be felt by every human on this planet. The rage of this half-angel was too much for the entire human race to bear.

"You took away the little happiness he had found. You put him on the spotlight, trying to question an innocent man about---"

Baros swallowed his own words before taking a deep angry breath.

"You are all worthless, undeserving of his protection. Undeserving of his sight."

He glanced at the dead body of his King.

"He is gone, perhaps forever. And WHAT DO I FEEL FROM ALL YOU?"

Baros angrily raised his hand, staring at the soul of every human.

"Relief."

Both Aarin and Anaiel could feel their relief and happiness, but they did not say anything.

One word from either of them, and humanity could be changed on a fundamental level - without their will.

The words of these immortals carry a hefty weight in these mortal planes.

Baros, however, was different.

He was of both worlds, and the weight of his world was not as heavy.

"Disgusting. You humans---"

Suddenly, a shadow was casted upon this world, and everyone looked at the skies at once.

The humans gulped in fear as they looked up to the once beautiful blue sky.

Above them stood monsters or robots so familiar yet unfamiliar, a simple yet complex design they could not understand - no one could. These towering beings that looked like robotic monsters, stood. The menacing and angry aura they were giving off caused the people to feel weak.

Their rumbling sounds caused the world’s ecosystem to change momentarily, becoming something no different than Jupiter.

"...Huh?"

"What is that?"

"Aliens?"

At a loss for words, the humans questioned each other, hoping someone will finally open their mouth and answer these lingering questions, hoping that one of these higher dimensional beings will answer the questions they can't.

But no one spoke up, not only because they did not know, but because fear spiralled out of control deep within their hearts.

Those five robotic monsters - or perhaps monsters wearing shiny metallic armours - straightened their forms, casting an even bigger shadow across the world. In fact, they covered every speck of light in this tiny world.

In their right hands, they were holding giant claymores - or something remotely resembling it.

They brought their palms together and gripped the large weapons with both of their hands.

In unison, all five of them raised their claymores and then stabbed it into the dark space around the planet, cracking it slightly.

Although normal humans could not see it, they could feel it. They could hear a silent sound that passed by their ears.

And once again, the humans gulped in fear. Some, however, couldn't bear it anymore, so they lost their will to keep their eyes open. The weakest of them lost their lives, ascending to the fiery hell in a plane above.

However, no one paid them any attention. Everyone was scared and they knew they could not help the weak no matter what.

After all, these monsters, bigger than the very planet, could eat them at any moment.

And at that moment, they asked themselves in unison; “What did we do to deserve this fate?”

“Listen, you natives of this planet, we are 「Libra Iolos」,「Creatures of the Void」, the 「Celestial Judges」 and by the authority of your Ultraverse, Lucifer, we accuse your planet of heresy and thereby...”

Without further ado, they raised their claymores and slammed it in space again.

The humans did not understand how they could hear the thud sound, but they did not have any time to think about it.

“Your planet is to be destroyed along with your species until the end of time.”

Baros narrowed his eyes as he sensed a dwarfing presence above the planet. A presence so powerful and threatening, the monsters felt like bunnies compared to it.

Who… WHO COULD IT BE?!

He feared it was Nazar's enemy, the Queen of Virrasil. He feared she had come to destroy them all now that Nazar was dead.

So, he raised his head and looked at the sky.

Instead of an evil Queen, he found a beautiful blonde angel and flaring red eyes descending from the heavens.

The angel's halo and wings were missing, but everyone could tell it was an angel. After all, only an angel could be this beautiful and graceful.

"L…" Baros gulped, feeling fear for the first time.

He had never seen this angel before, but he knew who it was. Everyone knew who this angel was.

"Lucifer?"

The angel descended near Baros. He ignored his nephew and looked at the dead body of God.

"Oh, this…"

Was Lucifer happy this entity finally died? Or was he angry? Baros could not tell.

"Oh, this is not good… Not good at all."

Lucifer understood what had happened.

After Nazar died, she took his place, becoming the Supreme God of All. Lucifer thought to himself.

Lucifer clicked his tongue and crouched in front of Aarin.

He looked at her empty eyes, and he did not like that for several reasons.

Lucifer, then, looked at Anaiel.

"Take her to my domain," a portal opened behind Anaiel. "For if she were to stay any longer on this plane, it could lead to disastrous events."

Anaiel nodded, agreeing with Lucifer's assessment.

"Stay with her until I return."

Anaiel did not like Lucifer, no angel did, but she had no choice today. Today, Aarin needed her and she did not care if she was in Lucifer's presence.

"As you wish," she nodded her head.

The portal came closer and swallowed the two angels.

Now that Aarin was gone, Lucifer stood.

"Libra Iolos," then Lucifer raised his head and looked up at the judges.

Lucifer wanted to know if he was truly dead. Unlike the Celestial Judges, Lucifer exists on a lower level, so he cannot comprehend their entire creation. If Nazar was dead to him, he could have been alive in a higher world. However, the judges confirmed his lingering thoughts.

I see, so he is truly dead.

"Go ahead. But..."

The judges understood Lucifer's conclusion and so, they slammed their claymores into the space once again.

“However, the Great Lucifer wishes you are given a chance, a chance to fight for your survival. Therefore, if you want to send a representative, someone who will stand up for you, then please by all means, send them to us now. Who will stand in front of us today for your survival?"

The humans did not have to think, only one person came to their mind at that moment.

But… will he help them?

"Know this, you are putting the future of your kind in the palm of their hands, so choose wisely," Libra Iolos added.

Humanity saw the end of their existence at the hands of these monsters. The little hope they had within them dispersed out of existence.

The person, the shining light in this dark day, didn’t come down from the sky.

They expected the skies to roar angrily as a Godly figure came down and saved them.

They have known that entity for just a little while, but for some reasons, they trust him more than anyone.

But the skies didn’t roar angrily with thunder, nor did their saviour appear.

“The end is nigh,” Libra Iolos spoke loudly. “Humanity will cease existing today. After all, it has outlived its usefulness.”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

New York City:

In a relatively small apartment, Eddie, who just opened his eyes after a long sleep, groaned as he sat up in his bed.

He massaged his head slowly as continued to groan slowly.

“Ugh, what did I drink last night…?”

He continued to massage his head as he tried to regain his equilibrium. Yesterday he had been drinking for no good reason, so it was affecting him terribly now.

While he was massaging himself, he heard an odd rumbling.

The curious hero lazily got up as he grunted.

“Ugh, what a pain...”

He tried to find his clothes, but then he realised he was wearing them. He had gone to sleep with his usual clothes, jeans and a shirt. No normal person does that.

The hero got out of his bed and walked slowly out of the room.

“Jess?”

He called out to his girlfriend, but she did not respond.

Eddie glanced at the window and realised that the sun had been out for a long time, despite the blinds covering most of the light.

“Oh, right, she is probably at work today.”

He slowly opened the door of the room and went out into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen.

The hero was thirsty, so he wanted to drink some freezing cold water that will wake him up.

Once he stepped out of his room, he heard the sound of television, which confused him.

“Jess?”

Usually, she would have been at work around this time, but today, she was at home. He found that odd.

“Jess? What’s… up...”

Eddie’s words trailed off as he noticed that her eyes were glued onto the television.

He walked closer to her, making sure his footsteps are as quiet as possible.

Eddie smiled like a child as he put his hands on her cheeks.

He slowly lifted her chin, so he could get a good look at her face.

“Good morning.”

However, unlike the cheerful Eddie, she was horrified.

Upon seeing her face, a worried look spread on his face slowly like melting butter.

“I… Is ev...”

There was a rumbling sound in the room earlier, and he could still hear it.

The confused hero raised his eyes a little, and looked outside, only to see a large shadow being casted over the entire city.

“Hm?”

He walked away from her and looked out the window.

“What is going on…?”

Eddie’s eyes widened as he glanced beyond the city and into another place.

He noticed the same shadows for hundreds of miles.

“This is weird. I will need to see what it…”

“The end is nigh,” Libra Iolos’s words reached Eddie’s ears. “Humanity will cease existing today. After all, it has outlived its usefulness.”

“...is...”

Eddie’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

He put his pinky finger in his ear, trying to clean it, thinking there was something in his ear and he couldn’t hear too well.

“Perhaps you did not hear well enough, Edward Hunt,” Libra Iolos spoke directly to Eddie. “Your world has outlived its usefulness.”

In my head…? Hngh, my head hurts... Oh well, Nazar will take care of it as usual. Plus if I go out like this, I can't do much... But why had my healing factor not kicked in yet? It should have gotten rid of the toxins a long time ago.

Eddie shook his head.

As he was shaking his head, he caught a glance of his horrified girlfriend.

What is…?

He went close to Jessica and crouched before her.

He touched her cheek and asked, “H-hey, is… Is everything okay?”

With her horrified eyes, she slowly pointed at the TV.

Eddie slowly turned his head around and looked at the large TV.

As his eyes laid on the TV, all he could see was an angel holding the dead body of God.

“...”

Eddie swallowed his saliva.

In a barely audible voice, Eddie questioned himself, “...H-h?”

What what what what what--- What?!

Eddie shook his head vigorously as he tried to consider what he just saw.

“Huh… What?”

Eddie chuckled.

What’s this? Some kind of joke? He can’t die, obviously.

He chuckled once again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

What a joke…

He laughed slowly.

He laughed.

And laughed.

But then suddenly, like a speeding rocket, he flew away at speeds that far surpassed the speed of light.

He phased through the ceilings of the apartment building and flew away, leaving only a shockwave behind him.