『 ALERT!!! 』
『 Ariii Akumasha has been selected as the Plunder Target 』
『 Plunder Target is neither deceased nor defeated in any specific scenario 』
『 A Negative Exception has occured!!! 』
『 Requiring elevated assistance... 』
...
『 Approved! 』
『 Huh? What's happening this time??? 』
『 Hm... Why was I also called here? 』
『 What?! You guys... 』
There were three voices ringing in Philip's head as time absolutely stopped in the ⟨⟨ World of Imagination ⟩⟩. Three different displays are also showing within his field of vision, with the addition of the ordinary blue display from the system itself
'What...'
Philip was confused. This was almost at the same level as to when the Omega System was forcing him to make decisions back then and there was one mysterious person, entity, or existence that seem to slap the system in the face for Philip
But this time, there are three existences
『 The 12th Negative Exception has occured!! 』
『 Alright, what's happening this time?? 』
『 Wait, tell me what's happening. Why are we here? 』
『 Just look at the Omega System's logs... I'm already browsing through it 』
『 Plunder has been used! 』
『 HUH?! WHAT?! 』
『 Hold on... THE Plunder??? 』
『 How in the world... What is up with this guy??? 』
『 Why and how was it unlocked?? He shouldn't have the Plunder ability at this time! 』
『 Him being able to unlock it now means that this iteration is extremely special or is an ultimate exception 』
『 What is up with these Negative Exceptions anyways??? 』
『 Wait a minute... Him unlocking the Plunder ability is not the reason why we are here, is it?? 』
『 You're right... If it's just the Plunder ability, the system can handle it itself 』
『 So why? 』
『 Plunder has been used towards Ariii Akumasha 』
『 Target Plunder is Ariii Akumasha's evil 』
『 Ariii? Who's that?? 』
『 Ariii Akumasha??? Who?? 』
『 Is that a new person in this iteration?? 』
『 Apparently, she's a Demon Lord? 』
『 What??? Demon Lord? This early in this iteration? 』
『 No, there's definitely an exception... Re-read the logs again 』
『 I see... He has already made contact with the Demon Realm... Mine never touched upon it 』
『 She's the 999th Demon Lord and a Desecration Maiden making him a candidate for the Desecration Bachelor to birth the next Demon God... Interesting... 』
『 Wait... He decided to make her his next Messenger of Fate??? 』
The three voices kept ringing inside Philip's head. He couldn't do anything since time is absolutely stopped
He could try to break free from being stopped with Sword Concept, Twinblades Concept, Mana Actualization, or his own anger, but he couldn't bring himself to do it
It's not like he can't do it, it's because there's no reason for now and the three existences are not being unreasonable in this current moment in time
In Philip's eyes, they are like troubleshooters, mechanics that are fixing a problem that popped up and a system called them
On the other hand, Philip is also contemplating the origin of these three existences
He already thought that the one previously was another personality of the Omega System, like Emily, from another timeline or universe within the Absolute Golden Timeline. An ultimate iteration where another version of himself with the Omega System exists, where his [Ultimate Title: None of a Kind] doesn't work
So, for now, he'll let these three existences yapp in his head all they want. He has all the time in the world anyways
『 But plundering her evil? There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right? 』
『 Even though he didn't defeat her at this moment, she could allow the plunder to a certain extent 』
『 To be fair, he has defeated her and brought her into submission several times from training to expand her limits 』
『 So, why did the system deem her not defeated and hasn't submitted? 』
『 Is the Omega System acting up again?! 』
『 It shouldn't be. That protocol has been forcibly removed previously 』
『 Ariii Akumasha's evil cannot be plundered... 』
『 Searching for a substitution for the Evil Quotient... 』
'...?'
『 Three results! 』
『 Wing Mastery - Lost Demonic Bagua - Over Power 』
『 Cannot Plunder Wing Mastery 』
『 Cannot Plunder Lost Demonic Bagua 』
『 Over Power has been selected as Plunder Objectivel! 』
『 Okay... What's wrong with that? 』
『 According to the logs, Over Power is an ability that let's the user overpower almost any powers that's directly in contact with the user 』
『 Over Power? Wait a minute... 』
『 Over Power cannot be completely plundered due to a highly elevated restriction! 』
『 Searching for alternatives... 』
『 One found alternative! 』
『 Signature ability is locked! 』
『 Requesting elevated access... 』
...
『 Requesting elevated access... 』
...
『 Requesting elevated access... 』
...
『 What is the system doing??? 』
『 No... You don't understand... If the system is doing this and it required for us three to be here... This is going to be an extremely serious matter 』
『 I agree. There's a reason Over Power can't be plundered... 』
『 And what is that? 』
『 It's because of the locked signature ability... Similar to Resurrection and Plunder... 』
『 WAIT! YOU'RE NOT SAYING-- 』
『 Yes, it's exactly what you think... 』
『 Then it really is too early 』
『 What are we going to do?? 』
『 We could only wait and see and learn why the three of us were called here 』
『 Are we going to finally see the end here? 』
『 Don't jinx it. Although this iteration is extremely different, it's very unstable from the very changes that's happening 』
『 Requesting elevated access... 』
...
『 No response after 323,666,999,323 requests... 』
『 Requesting an unfiltered reason... 』
...
『 What? The system is asking for a reason?? 』
『 Usually, the system just moves on and doesn't force it's requests 』
『 Let's just wait and see... 』
『 Requesting an unbiased reason... 』
...
'...'
Philip is also undoubtedly confused
At times, the system blatantly request things from a high authority or administrator, although even he doesn't know what kind of existence the system is trying to connect to
He can't even fathom it nor imagine it, even with his powerful imaginative power
『 Requesting a--- 』
Stop
[ Requesting a--- ]
STOP
『 ... 』
『 ... 』
『 ... 』
『 ... 』
「 ... 」
'...'
*POW*
No one noticed or heard the unknown existence stopping the Omega System's request for help. They only paused when the system itself stopped as they began to wait for the next course of event
The system was very confused. It was conditioned to follow and nurture Philip to the best of its ability
That's the reason why it existed in the first place after all
However, it became aware the moment that the highest authority is blocking Philip for empowerment
I wonder
Philip doesn't have original external wings, other than the [Blood Wings] since it's within the ability of the Pureblood, so he can't ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ Ariii's Wing Mastery
He also couldn't ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ an inferior system such as the Lost Demonic Bagua. He could only replicate it and make a different version that suits himself
However, [Over Power] is a different matter. Philip could directly ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ this power, but it will cost him greatly
⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ doesn't make a copy of the power or ability, it forcefully takes it away from someone or something that has died, defeated, or in submission
In other words, Ariii will lose the [Over Power] ability and all the character development will be lost. She'll become worthless. The build up of the Demon Realm will lose its meaning and she'll ultimately die without her unique power for the battle against Pure Evil
Although, it will be interesting to see what will happen in a world where Ariii doesn't have [Over Power]
But that isn't what Philip wants to achieve his ultimate goal
Is that the only reason?
No
Philip with the [Over Power] ability, plus the Omega System, including all of his other abilities would just destroy the universe, and probably the Field of the Multiverse, maybe the Omniverse too
The Absolute Golden Timeline might be broken into an uncountable strings of timelines once again
It might cause the end, but not the way Philip wanted it to be
Is that really the reason?
Perhaps
It could also be an impediment, a prevention, a stop block
For what?
I can't tell about it
There's a reason for everything
What now?
Surely Philip will get something after using ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ on Ariii?
He will
But this should be the last time as it is the first time
What do I mean by that?
A change in description, function, and condition
⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ will now not require death, defeat, or submission
It will only require a death caused by the user for it to be used
Nothing more, nothing less
Even if someone were to allow Philip to ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ one of their abilities or powers, Philip has to absolutely kill them in order to ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩
This also means that ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ will only work on beings and existences with egos, not aspects or concepts without egos
On the other hand, I'm torn
Should ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ work only once on the same being or existence with an ego?
What if there is a Reincarnator or a Resurrector or a Returner or a Time Traveler or a Clone?
Anyways
There is a special condition
⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ can be used on a fusion partner to take one ability or power per being or existence with an ego
However, the plundered ability or power will not be removed or taken away from the fusion partner
It is not a copy, but a replication with no wasted power
So, if Philip and Ariii were to fuse somehow, Philip could ⟨⟨ Plunder ⟩⟩ the [Over Power] ability while Ariii will not be able to lose it
Does this mean there will be fusions?
No
Philip will never earn the ⟨⟨ Fusion ⟩⟩ power, along with a few other abilities, even though he has the Omega System
Why?
Is it an unfathomable level of restriction?
No
It is □□□□□□□ that way
Oh, I think it's nearing its limits
Limit of Probability? Plausibility?
No
That doesn't exist
Anyways
Instead of getting [Over Power], I'll unlock one signature ability that's similar to [Over Power]
This is a reward
But it is still a Negative Exception
*POW*
『 ... 』
'Hm??'
Philip flinched for some reason
...
『 Confirmed! 』
『 Plunder has been successful! 』
『 Wait, no way, right??? 』
『 He's going to get Over Power? 』
『 That's going to become too troublesome, but it will be fine... Maybe... 』
『 Signature ability has been unlocked!!! 』
『 Oh... 』
『 Shit... 』
『 That's actually way worse... 』
『 Overload has been unlocked!!! 』
...
'Overload?'
Philip reminisced back when he was at the Mystical Academy, during Mystical Test
There was a Guardian named Karina there who had the [Overload] ability
She was capable of bringing the maximum and hidden power out of anyone she touches. It's literally overloading, but with no side effects after overloading
It's almost the same effect as his [Touch of Vitality] ability, although only temporary
'Why Overload? What's the difference compared to Karina?'
「 Wow, you actually unlocked Overload this early... Like all other signature abilities... 」
'Emily! You finally spoke!'
「 Why would I? While in front of them 」
'Them? Oh! Are they gone?'
「 Not yet 」
'Huh? Why?'
In Philip's eyes, the storm has already passed and the problem has been resolved
'Wait...'
He then realized that he was still stuck in absolutely stopped time, which means it's not yet over
「 I had to speak because it's needed 」
'...'
「 Overload - It is an ability that overloads any of your abilities to its maximum output. It has the potential to temporarily unlock the evolution of an ability to the next level 」
'...!'
『 Due to Overload being considered as one of the Overpowered Series and according to the Natural Order of Things, Law of Meaning, Principle of Definition, and Supercausality, Overload will have adverse effects after use 』
'A last ditch effort... This is one of my signature ability?'
「 As one of the Overpowered Series, you are required to experience its first use the first time you obtain it 」
'Oh okay, I can do that'
『 Ah, now I understand why we are here... 』
『 I also understand 』
『 Yeah, no use in complaining. This is a must 』
'Hm?'
「 Using Overload... 」
『 Overload is being used! 』
『 First instance of using Overload! 』
『 Overloading all abilities 』
'WAIT WHA--'
Philip didn't have the chance to exclaim loudly in his head. Instead, he severely braced himself because he knows what would happen if all of his abilities are activated, more so being overloaded
He didn't take any chances or underestimated the severity of the situation even though he's in the ⟨⟨ World of Imagination ⟩⟩
It's like his sixth sense was screaming at him, as well as the [Extreme Self-Awareness] trait that was made as a passive ability
*Fwoom*
At this point, time resumed back to normal. Philip felt this and the grip on his hand, that's holding Ariii's face, has loosened as he subconsciously pulled it as his body's defense mechanism activated
He put his arms in a cross as he half covered his face and his kness are almost tucked into his chest. He closed his eyes to brace himself
He floated backwards away from Ariii and she looked at him with confusion
*CRACK*
*SHAAAH*
Ariii's eyes broke. It didn't shatter. It broke
Her eyes split apart and a relatively wide deep trench went across her pupils. There were no cracks nor chips across her eyes
However, the skin surrounding her eyes did crack and dead skin was being peeled off. This is a first time experience for her once again. Her skin never got affected from the after effect on her eyes from using [Over Power]
Ariii immediately went unconscious. She wasn't able to close her eyes since everything happened in an instant. Her armor and wings never even got the chance to manifest to lessen her burden
Both Philip and Ariii floated away from each other. It's as if some kind of force were guiding them
『 We should push Ariii away 』
『 She will get swept up by this 』
『 I'll keep an eye on her 』
Then...
*CRA--*
*DOO--*
*KABO--*
*SHIII--*
*FWOO--*
*SSSHHH--*
Time and space stopped. The colors of the world became inverted
*CRACRACRACKKK*
A giant crack crawled across the ⟨⟨ World of Imagination ⟩⟩ and went past through Philip. The 99% white particles were moving at breakneck speed, circling around the cracks like multiple giant schools of fishes
Everything is stopped yet the 99% white particles are still moving, as well as the ever growing cracks
Just then, golden fire bursted from Philip's eyes and flared outwards to his left and right
Golden light also shone through between his eyelids. The golden light intesified as it became brighter and brighter to the point that his eyes are almost stars
Rays of golden light shot out from his eyes and rotated across the crumbling ⟨⟨ World of Imagination ⟩⟩
But before anything could happen, literally all movements stopped and the planes and space between the cracks shifted in the opposite direction from others
This caused Philip to be split in half, including the shining light, 99% white particles, the golden flames, as well as Ariii
It was then that everything shattered into an uncountable number of shards
Nothing survived. There was no exception
Except for one thing
As the shards fall and fly everywhere, another world of white was revealed