Grace sounded as time stopped, reality halted, and the plot scene turned black and white... only Patrick and his throne kept their natural color effects. Patrick now sat on his pitch-black throne in a black-and-white plot scene. His gaze remained unperturbed even after the sudden occurrence. Following the halt of Existence was the emergence of letters from Patrick's chest, each of these letters seeming to contain endless amounts of light dots... these light dots being literal Omniverses as they sparkled within the letters like glistering sands in an infinite desert. The letters emerged from Patrick's chest as they assembled before him in neat order; unlike the information Grace showed, the words formed from the letters had a different display. As if the letters were sentient, loud genderless tones reverberated the scene as the letters spoke, their voices causing the plot itself to tremble.
∞ Existential Nature: Absolute Transcendence; Master's presence is the prerequisite; upon entering or existing in any Realm, Domain, Existence, Omniverse, or Totality, Master passively and automatically transcends every creation and existence within that Totality, making you the Absolute True Supreme Omniarch. Master also transcends every known and unknown, abstract and non-abstract concept, definition, and limitation. ∞
∞ Existential Nature: Selective Transcendence; Master can actively and selectively transcend anything and everything, dictating the specifics of that upgrade. Master can also downgrade anything, even if Master didn't cause their evolution or transcendence. Master's will is undeniable, inevitable, and irreversible; nothing or no one can stop, prevent, or reverse Master's actions except Master. ∞
∞ Existential Nature: Eternal Transcendence; As Master will always be the Absolute True Supreme Ominarch, Master can only transcend Himself, and since Infinity is endless and forever unending, Master shall eternally and passively transcend Himself infinitely. ∞
The letters finished their synchronized chants as the scene returned to silence. Patrick sat impassively as he stared at the letters forming sentences in the distance. Each of these letters was sentient, and the power within them was endless and something beyond normal comprehension, as every one of these letters contained literal Omniverses, a Verse that transcends Universes and Multiverses by infinity. With a nod, Patrick spoke as he waved his left hand, causing the letters to turn into colorless essences and return to his chest.
"Hmm... not bad. That sums up everything... Grace, unify yourself with my consciousness so you wouldn't have to catch up with me. Instead, you will be transcending with me. But still keep your installed Natures, as I wouldn't want to become Omniscient and ruin the fun."
"... Yes, Master. [Passive Nature: Absolute Unity; Master can unify with anything and everything, with the unified subject or existence becoming part of Master and forever inseparable. Master is the only being capable of reversing this action]."
Grace sounded as simultaneously, Patrick's infinity symbol eyes pulsated even more majestically with countless-colored golden essence; he steadily breathed out with his mouth as if calming himself from the shocking existence, Grace, which was a tiny percent of his Absolute True Self's will, unifying with him. Everything was the same; his body, face, and eyes didn't change, only his demeanor, which was now that of someone who has solved the mystery of their existence, changed- as of now, Patrick understood the reason for his existence and why everything happened.
"So, this is your perspective, Grace... Status!" Patrick spoke as his status window, Reality bending and assuming the shape of a status panel, materialized before him. The status panel was tangible, yet it was only visible to Patrick.
"[Master-∞-System: Patrick Alexander King-∞-Grace]"
This time, Grace didn't sound. Instead, only the words Materialized on the reality-constructed status panel.
"Good- good... very good!"
_______
At this same moment, at another scene, five hundred meters away from the teachers' quarters, Mark engaged in a serious fight with the last remaining assassin, his Iron Body constantly being attacked by the assassin as Mark's Iron Body limited his speed and movements, his ability was mainly for defense, and that was exactly what it was being used for. Mark stood calm and unbothered as he allowed a certain black-clothed masked assassin to attack him furiously, but every once in a while, Mark pulled out a blue-looking liquid from a ring on his pinky finger and drank it, which suddenly changed his fatigued facial expression to normal and refreshed.
But unlike Mark, the assassin, who was utilizing his ability, held a sweaty and exhausted face as his speed slowly began reducing. A look of doubt and confusion arose on the assassin's face as he attacked the Iron Body Mark. 'What the hell is going on?! I have been attacking him for a while, but he's still unfazed and calm?! Also- every time his Iron Body begins to accumulate damage, it instantly vanishes. Is he drinking recovery potions?! How effective are the recovery potions, and how many does he have?! I'm running out of Mana, and I have drank my four Mana recovery potions to increase my attack power and Mana outburst; if things continue like this, I will be drained of Mana and unable to escape.
No! I have to hold on since I'm the first to encounter him, which means the others would be here anytime soon. And besides, one is also here; if there's anyone I can rely on to survive, that would be him. He should have already completed his task and must be coming here... heh! Your death isn't far, Mark Willis; now, I should go all out and cause as much damage as possible. I believe he's not making enough income to possess more than two recovery potions; that should have been his last bottle, ha! Time to die!'
With this unbelievable thought in mind, the assassin's body burst out with even more verdant Mana as his speed multiplied by three folds. His attack speed and damage increased as he mercilessly and savagely sliced at Mark's body with his blood-colored dagger. Half a minute passed; at this time, the assassin had ceased his attacks as he stood twenty meters from Mark with an exhausted and suspicious look, his chest heaving up and down as he tried recovering enough Mana as possible.
But while the assassin started his Mana recovery, his look of doubt and disbelief intensified as he witnessed this man known as Mark Willis pull out another of the same blue liquid bottles, the old man not even hesitating as he instantly gulped down the liquid-like taking a shot of alcohol, again, the previous look of Mana depletion vanished from the old man's face as a refreshed and calm gaze replaced it.
Mark drank the bottle of Regeneration Fluid, and his Mana energy was instantly recovered; his fatigue washed away as he now stood refreshed and ready to fight again. Looking in the distance and at the assassin, Mark couldn't help but sigh helplessly; he could see the eyes of the assassin in shock and disbelief, with a hint of dread and despair mixed within. To think the assassins had met his Boss as their enemy was an unfortunate destiny. Even Mark had to revere his Boss as if it wasn't for his Boss' generous and life-saving monthly bonuses, which were the Regeneration Fluid; he wouldn't even be alive after encountering the first two assassins.
"Sigh! I must say- kiddo, you are truly too young and talented to be wasting your potential as an assassin; if only you hadn't come here today, your fate would have been alot different now... You must be wondering why your comrades haven't appeared yet; I hate to bring you more despair- but two of them are already dead by my hands, and you are the last one remaining, so-
Haha- hahaha! What a funny old man you are, Mark Willis. I must say, old age must be catching up with your mental prowess... even as an Awakened with decades of combat and life experience, you can't even figure out a simple situation like now... At first, I was surprised when you spoke about killing two of my comrades, but then again, with that blue potion, I wouldn't be that much suspicious if you killed them. You have held against me for a while now, and your Mana seems to be replenished every time you drink that potion.
But let me ask you something... old man, when has there ever been an assassination where all the assassins are of the same rank?! Shouldn't it be many lower ranks and one higher rank?!..."
The assassin interrupted Mark with laughter as he loudly spoke with mocking gestures, his arms on his hips and shaking his head as if disappointed at the old man for his low comprehension skills.
Mark stood as he listened to the cryptic words of the assassin; he understood what the assassin meant; if the assassin and his comrades were D-ranks, then their leader should be the one higher rank this assassin so proudly boasted of, meaning their leader was a C-rank and was the strongest among them. A sarcastic 'Oh!' look came on Mark's face as he raised his eyebrows in fake surprise; he even held a hand to his chin as he spoke.
"Hmm! Yes, you are right; old age must be catching up with this old man- how can I forget such an important piece? Please forgive me; I will think of that next time if there is one at all..."
"Hmm?!" A look of frown and doubt appeared on the assassin's face as he saw the old man not even acting worried after knowing of the presence of a C-rank Awakened; on the contrary, the old man was even being sarcastic, not taking the knowledge of the C-rank's presence seriously the least. A look of realization drifted past the assassin's face as if realizing something, but then, the old man broke the six-second silence.
"Ok- lad, your time is up; you may be young, but your heart is already corrupted with evil, and your hands painted with the blood of innocent lives... Now, use whatever Mana you have recovered and come at me with all you got because I must tell you, whoever that C-rank leader of yours is, he won't be coming to save you, as he would be facing someone of greater intellect than even a thousand of your leader combined. The potion I drank was made by the being who your leader would be meeting against; if he can create such a magical item, which can even recover a person's full Mana, what is a mere C-rank he can't handle?!"
While speaking, Mark's body raged with killing intent as his skin, which was literal Iron, shone under the brightening brilliance of the Verdant Mana; he stared at the assassin coldly, his action causing the assassin to react with panic and hesitation. "Come- boy, stop being a lousy coward and come to Grandpa!" Mark bellowed as he stamped his right foot to the ground, his feet borrowing a foot deep into the ground with his legs spread apart and his hips lowered as if waiting to fight a rushing buffalo.
The assassin had at first birthed the thought of escaping since speed was his strength. It was impossible for the Iron Body Mark Willis to even dream of catching him. Still, after the taunting words of "lousy coward" was uttered by Mark, the assassin's face changed to that of disdain and rage, these words directly affecting his ego.
He had hated being called a coward ever since he was young and had lacked the courage to confess to his crush; he had been branded with the title of "Coward" as he was later famous for that title, and he had dropped out of High School and became a shut-in, even his friends ridiculed him and disregarded his mental state of constantly be mocked.
But fortunately, he had slept one night and had undergone a dream so nightmarish that not even the most strong-willed would volunteer to revisit that nightmare. With that, the assassin had Awakened the "Golden Rush" ability, where his speed was as fast as a fired bullet, and he could become even faster if he used his Origin Energy Essence to push himself to his limits. Without much positive impact on his life, the assassin chose death and slaughter.
With his speed ability and the powerful Knights Shadow Guild protecting his information, the assassin had spared.
He made no effort as he got his revenge against all those who bullied and ridiculed him in the past, killing almost five hundred people- all in less than a month. He even got revenge on his previous crush; time had passed, and she was no longer the beautiful and attention-grabbing queen she once was; the assassin had met her, made her completely fall for him, and at the height of her dream of meeting the perfect man, the assassin showed his true colors, physically and sexually abusing the woman, even publicizing a sex tape of her getting abused by multiple men, ultimately forcing her to take her life as all of her dignity was erased from existence.
But as of this moment, the assassin had to relive all those painful and shameful memories he had buried within his deepest memory storage. As if returning to his days of being called a coward, the assassin's body erupted with a thick murderous aura as he clenched his teeth as hard as possible, even causing his facial veins to outline themselves and blood to glide down on the side of his lips. "I...will...kill..you!!" The assassin largely bellowed as he flashed at Mark at full speed, the assassin's speed multiplying by at least five folds as it even left a slight afterimage, otherwise known as Speed Mirage, but he only lasted for a millisecond as it instantly vanished.