I created an explosion to blast Kronos away from me just after grabbing the hilt of his sword. He was blown away by the blast and let go of his sword.
He stood up several meters away as he and the others finally regrouped.
My HP had nearly hit zero.
I wasn't sure how I was still alive...but I wasn't about to complain.
"Looks like this it. Everyone, get behind Mako. He's going to explode," Kronos said.
"I think not..." I said.
"Oh? Your heart stone was destroyed. You cannot survive without it."
"Ha...this world... and this body of mine... It's all based off of false information. I'm not sure how you made it work, but you've been fighting a fake version of me all along."
"...what?"
I pulled Vengeance out of my chest and my health rapidly regenerated. I grabbed the fake heart device and yanked it out as well, throwing it to the ground.
"What you failed to realize is that I didn't have the heart device when you put me in here. The Heart of the World fused with the Eye of Destruction. If you really wanted to kill me, you should have aimed at my left eye."
"I'm truly not sure how we missed that. But why would you tell us this? I'm curious. Have you gone mad? Are you really that conceited?" Kronos said.
"I'm telling you this...because the battle is over. I have your sword. I've won."
Kronos laughed.
"Really? You can't use it. It's not like-"
As he spoke, I placed my claw over the hilt and destroyed it using my power.
Kronos' eyes went wide in horror.
I now held the power stone of Vengeance in my palm.
"WHAT!?!? BY THE CREATOR!!! HOW IN THE ARTIFICER'S NAME DID YOU BREAK ONE OF THE DEUS ARMS!?!?" Kronos screamed.
Vengeance doubled over in agony and dropped to his knees. His form began to flicker.
And just as well, Kronos' Fury Form began having trouble staying active.
"Hahaha! I don't know what's about to happen when I do this...but I suppose we'll all see..."
I took the power stone and allowed my left eye to absorb it.
"NOOOOO!!!!! STOP HIM!!! KILL HIM NOW!!!" Kronos screamed.
At once the entire Hero Party began attacking en mass.
But it no longer mattered.
The resulting energy release was enough to dispel all forms of attack. Energy erupted from my body in a pillar of crimson and cyan. Swirling into the sky and pulsing like a beating heart.
It continued as I felt my body change. The power of Vengeance began to fuse with my Eye.
And I placed Eris as the weapon's resident spirit. I could feel her giggling with pure joy as I did this.
I watched as well...
...as the man once known as Vengeance...crumbled to dust forever.
"Goodbye...you traitorous bastard."
"And hello ultimate power!!!"
The sky lit up with explosive energies. All around, shock waves pulsed and annihilated the landscape.
Kronos watched in horror as Mako struggled to protect them all. He could only hope that Mori made it to safety.
As all of this unfolded, he saw a barrier form around Nasumi, protecting her from everything. But she had long since shut her eyes in terror. Covering her ears from the incredibly loud noise...
Completely detatching herself from the situation. She wanted nothing to do with it and trusted Mizik to keep her safe.
The pillar of explosive energies continued to swirl violently and release violent energies all across the region.
And finally...it dispersed. Leaving only smoke and dust veiling the terrible abomination that was just created.
"What have we done...?" Kronos whispered in fear.
"By the Creator...what in the nine hells did we just create?" Mako said.
"An abomination...a menace. A terror without equal..." Kronos said.
"Like hell... I'm not just gonna sit here and watch!" Kesia said angrily.
But as she spoke, an orb of chaotic magic formed around the center of the smoke, concealing the figure within. It swirled violently as yet more explosions occurred.
Mako tried his best to protect everyone as the landscape and sky were assaulted an nearly obliterated by the incredible power.
As soon as it dispersed, Kesia charged forward.
"WAIT!!! KESIA NOOOO!!!" Kronos screamed.
Kesia leaped into the cloud of smoke and slashed wildly. Bright explosions flashed and a clash was heard.
After a few seconds, there was an unnerving silence. The smoke finally cleared as a figure stood clutching something in its massive claw.
He was holding a skeleton by its head as its charred body dangled from it. He clutched the skull that used to be Kesia and her bones fell to the ground...crumbling to dust.
What the remaining hero party members saw was easily the most horrifying thing they had ever witnessed.
It was obviously Mizik. He seemed fine. His hair had become much longer and turned white. The clawed gauntlets on his hands that extended to his shoulders now bore the runes and designs of Vengeance.
It was...a sight of ultimate power.
After killing Kesia, I turned to the rest of the Hero Party. I had destroyed Willpower the same way that I dealt with Vengeance. The power stone now rested in my inventory.
Now...I needed do get Isabella's and Cassndra's weapons back.
"What...what are you...?" Kronos said.
I hadn't given it much thought. But I suppose I knew regardless.
"I am Perfect Vengeance. The ultimate living weapon. And every single one of you will suffer the curse of my wrath."
Kronos took a step back as my hand twitched.
Then I afflicted Mako and Garen with Vengeace Death Curse and closed the distance instantly.
Since I now decided how severe their sins were against me instead of the old Vengeance, I ensured their inability to move at all. I grabbed both of them by their throats and incinerated them with extreme prejudice.
They died...and I moved their swords to my inventory.
Kronos, the coward, had taken his chance.
He ran away from me in terror.
But that was fine.
I had another target...
I widened my vision and located Mori, several miles away on a small cliff. Then I teleported to her location.
As soon as she saw me, she froze in place. Letting go of the intricate sniper weapon she was holding onto.
I could see Intelligence sheathed at her side.
"M...m....ah....h...help....please... Nooo...." She whimpered.
I gently picked her up by her shirt collar and stared into her eyes.
Nasumi was right. From a distance, she was incredibly powerful. But up close, she was no different than a regular teenage girl. I almost felt guilty for what I was about to do since she was so pathetically weak...
"How many people begged you to stop shooting them? Did you show mercy to my crew? My loved ones? Did you show me mercy? Wouldn't you rather our current roles be swapped? Hm? Speak up."
But Mori was too busy urinating in terror to speak a single word. It was sad really. Luckily, I held her out far enough to avoid getting any of her filth on me.
And just before I could kill her, I heard a sound behind me.
"DIE YOU MONSTER!!!! UNHAND MY LITTLE SISTER!!!!" Kronos screamed.
I simply turned in an instant and used her as a shield to take the impact of his sword.
His blade went through her torso as I sidestepped to avoid it.
I was impressed that he could still wield Hope in his terrified state...but...
As soon as he realized what he'd done, tears began to roll down his cheeks.
"No...NOOOO!!! WHY!?!? IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" Kronos cried.
"Don't worry. You'll be united with her soon. Goodbye Mori," I said.
I placed my claw over her face and erased her.
I made sure to catch Intelligence and transfer it to my inventory. Her sniper weapon was also curious to me. I took it as well.
Now it was just me and Kronos.
I smiled at him.
"You monster... Why? Why did you have to kill them!?"
"Let me ask again. Because I'm getting really sick of you not understanding me... Am I a monster for doing exactly what I was made to do?" I asked.
"Yes. Because even if you were made to kill, you were given free will unlike the rest of us. You can choose to ignore your programming. Yet you didn't. So why?"
I thought for a moment. And after several seconds, I came to a conclusion.
"They were in my way."
Kronos became even more enraged at my response.
"FINE THEN!!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THE SAME REASON!!!! PROGENITOR OS: USER!!! FULL ACTIVATION!!"
Kronos flew into the sky and shone brightly. The red sky seemed to dismantle itself along with the rest of the landscape.
We seemed to be in a digital space without an environment now. All I could see was a gray platform stretching out endlessly that I now stood on.
And far away, I could sense Nasumi still waiting for me to finish.
It wouldn't he long now.
Kronos slammed into the ground a short distance away and glared at me with seething hatred.
"This is where you die, abomination!"
I just smiled as I summoned my new ally.
Eris now stood at my side with the same claws that I had.
I gave her Vengence's old spot. Now I could summon her whenever I wanted by using Faith's abilities.
"Oh boy! Want me to kill him?" Eris said.
"Go nuts. Just stay out of my way."
Eris readied herself and so did I.
Kronos shot towards us with Hope ready to strike. He slammed his sword into a shield Eris made and was sent flying by a punch.
She chased after Kronos and caught him in mid air.
But he smiled just before he disappeared.
He reappeared behind me and I instinctively avoided his swing. I responded by summoning several wires to bind him.
But they seemed to phase through his body.
Wha...!?
Kronos didn't speak a word. He continued to strike at me. I tried to block and party his attacks, but they simply phased through my claws and sliced into my body.
I moved back as Eris arrived to catch him. Somehow, her attacks were still able to touch him.
Why can't I touch him? Hm...
"How the hell are you able to hit me, woman!? Who are you!?" Kronos said.
"You don't recognize me!? Well, I recognize you. You're the bastard that invaded Tanavol and hurt my hero!" Eris said.
"Wait...the Avatar of Destruction...Eris!? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?!?"
"I absorbed her and her power back on Tanavol. I left that detail out because I didn't trust any of you," I said.
"And you replaced Vengeance with her spirit..."
Kronos seemed afraid again.
He was right to be. Because my power had now grown far beyond what it was before.
I expanded my power once again and focused my magic into one of my claws. While he was fighting Eris, I teleported behind him and slashed him in the back.
After being met with several blocks to his abilities, I used the Archmage to hold his magic in place. And then used the Eye of Destruction to destroy their barriers. Finally, using Exo-Adaptability boosted by the power of Vengeance, I stole his power.
As I backed away, several new messages appeared before me.
{NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED!}
{ABILITIES GAINED: GODSLAYER, HYPER-SOPHON, PROGENITOR OS: USER!}
Kronos looked on in horror as I awakened these powers to match his current status.
"What...what is this...? How!? I BLOCKED THAT!!! I SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM THAT!!!" He screamed.
"Using a combination of powers I've picked up over the years, it seems as if I can dismantle any barriers you put up. I didn't expect it to work so well. Are you ready to die?"
Eris reappeared next to me as Kronos glared in my direction. A mixture of both fear and rage on his face.
"COME AT ME, YOU BASTARD!!!!"
Kronos and I charged at each other once more.