The scene that played out in front of us could be described as if the air had become a great pile of sand pressing against our bodies.
-Until we finally meet, Lich.
The "God"(?) who speaks to me is one I have never heard of before. His appearance does not resemble that of any particular mythology.
Without knowing him I cannot take countermeasures. And besides, the hydra beside him... that thing is unlike any hydra I've met in the past, and I must say there were too many of them.
Nothing left but a pool of blood of what Ares once was. No doubt this guy killed him.
-Call me Liselotte. Today I will be your executioner. -. I point Maxwell's staff at this unknown entity.
-Sitri, I'm going to take care of the hydra. I'll get us far enough away so we won't be in the way.
-Careful, Morrigan. That thing can be a bloody pain in the arse.
-I know.
Saying that, Morrigan throws a beam of light towards the hydra, provoking it. This allowed Morrigan to take it with her, and clear the battlefield for the two of us.
I have to be vigilant now... this thing has the capabilities of Hera, Zeus and Kronos for some reason. And I don't even know which God it is to begin with.
-That leaves you and me, Liselotte.
-Yes.
-Before you came I was thinking... and I'm abandoning the old name Hephaestus.
...
So it's Hephaestus, uh... I understand, direct blood tie to Hera. That damn witch had to do something to pass on all her power to Hephaestus.
-What do you plan to call yourself then? What do you plan to call yourself? A god needs an identity.
-Tiberius. [GOD OF ALL, Tiberius].
-Heh... to call yourself "God of All" I guess you're pretty narcissistic. All right, Tiberius... I'm going to treat you as I would the "God of All".
My feet left the ground, and along with it, a myriad of luminous spheres began to form around me.
A thousand years ago, the way to know a wizard's potential was by the number of [Magic Threads] they possessed. One was enough to cast simple spells, but as this number increased, the greater the power of the wizard.
And then, I was born. One of the last generation of the inhabitants of Zawar Orcubalis, a child born under the bed of one of the peasant families of the village that saw her grow up, with an [Abnormality].
The [Abnormalities] were mostly generated in those wizards who were not suited to use magic, or those whose bodies were unable to bear the burden of the [Magic Threads].
However, in exceptional cases, these [Abnormalities] produced wizards far more powerful than average.
And one of those was me, who despite being born with a single magic thread, there was something different with that single magic thread compared to everyone else.
That was a creation of multiple [Thaumaturgic Vertices] that gave me the possibility to appropriate every magical thread in my environment and make them mine indefinitely.
Add to the fact that my own [Thaumaturgic Vertex] already provided access to an avalanche of magical power, it was being able to connect to all the elements at the same time that gave me the explosive potential I was trained for as a child.
Now for some reason your rank as a wizard depends on your control over your own personal magic. It's ridiculous to tell you the truth. There's no point in dedicating yourself to one magic if you can't handle all the others.
That's why the wizards of this generation are millions of times weaker than the wizards of a thousand years ago.
-Throw all the magic attacks you want, I'll resist them without a doubt!
Tiberius ignored my intentions. Of course, that's what I was going to do even without you telling me.
It's been a thousand long years of studying magic without failing once. Even this whole conflict with the Gods has allowed me to learn a new application or two for magic.
And yet there is still not one of them who can measure up to me.
All the luminous spheres became beams of light that flew towards Tiberius like a storm. A relentless attack from all directions. This is just basic modern day magic.
It would have taken me more preparation time to do it like in the old school. But that's more than enough.
A few minutes passed before I stopped bombarding Tiberius with magic. The cloud of dust that rose up didn't let me see anything... but for sure the result is what I wa-...
Out of the dust, multiple silver-coloured spikes shot towards me. Up, down, left and right, and back. All directions were covered with precision.
Amalgam of magic steel, uh...
-Inferno. -. I mutter.
The amalgam of magical steel that was already basically in a semi-liquid state was completely evaporated from the point of origin.
Though surely that attack was just to distract me, because Tiberius appeared in front of me, quite wounded... but not deep or fatal wounds.
He seems to have propelled himself with a single leap. And now he's going to want to grab me by the neck to take me with him and slam me to the ground.
-First rule of fighting me: Don't approach me rashly.
I deflect Tiberius' giant hand, and strike him in the abdomen using the lower end of the staff. That single touch was enough to conjure a wind spell that lashed out violently at him and sent him flying hundreds of feet.
I don't spare the opportunity, and resume my flurry of attacks against him while he was flying.
It seems his skin has a very high resistance to magic... although he won't be able to recover from those small wounds anyway. Sooner or later the wounds are going to accumulate and the blood loss will be what's going to bring him down.
So I just need this to be a battle of endurance.
-You're not the only one with cheap tricks. -. Tiberius' voice reaches me from above.
A crack in space was what immediately transported him above me. I see.
Using another amalgam of magical metal, Tiberius forms a warhammer. He lifts it up a little, just to build up kinetic force and perform that weapon's full potential with a single attack.
I imbue my legs with magical energy to absorb the impact. And the tip of the staff is enough to prevent the hammer from distributing all the energy anywhere else but that single point.
Just as I said, I was thrown to the ground. My magic was the only thing that kept my legs from being torn to shreds by the tremendous impact. And the staff had its golden moment to accumulate all that energy in one place, like a nail.
-I'm not going to give you distance!
Another rift in space opened up in front of me, from which Tiberius' fist is the first thing to emerge. I throw the staff into the air, so that I can engage him in melee.
-I'm used to beasts like you. It's not hard to slow a mastodon down.
I use both hands to stop Tiberius from impacting another part of my body, the force of the blow such that the earth was torn away as he retreated. It was several metres before I was able to bring him to a complete stop.
-That was pretty impressive... I thought you were just a sorceress.
-Everything so far is just a teaspoon of what the old school has to offer. When we ran out of magic or were prevented from using it, we had no choice but to fight with our fists.
Tiberius throws another punch then.
Sorry, but it won't happen again. I have to catch the staff before it falls.
I spin around on my feet to avoid the punch. That gave me a running advantage to leap and dive for Maxwell's baton like an acrobatic stunt.
Perfect.
-Torment.
Muttering another spell, a multitude of lightning bolts erupted from the staff, directed not at Tiberius, but all around him.
This was enough to destroy an area around him. It then triggered a landslide that would bury Tiberius...
Yes, that would happen if he were an ordinary God. But that's obviously not the case.
Next, I had to deflect with my left hand the boulders of earth and rocks that Tiberius started to throw at me. All these impurities must not touch the staff no matter what.
At the slightest opportunity...
-Luvius. -. I pronounce, and from the staff there is a magical inlet from which gallons and gallons of water emerge unceasingly.
That can take care of the rocks and earth, while Tiberius? is simple.
-Torment. -. I conjure again.
And then the multitude of lightning bolts landed in the tidal wave, causing the energy of these lightning bolts to proliferate throughout the watery body.
That should do some damage, I'm sure....
-LIIIIIIIIICH! -. shouts Tiberius, who is now swimming against the current.
Impressive, even the impact of those rays doesn't affect his body. This makes it clear to me that magic attacks are useless, I'm just wasting magic energy.
With everything done, I'm not that far off in terms of recovery to use Lich Archetype, but it doesn't mean I can have enough time.
Having Kronos' abilities, it would be no problem to counter any reality bubble or temporary advantage I want to take. So, I need to buy some time.
I guess it's time to start with the fists. I stow Maxwell's staff in the inventory, and immediately undo all spells present in the area. I descend again.
Tiberius, as imposing as can be, stands in front of me.
I'm not the least bit afraid of his appearance, what is worrying me is the heat he's emanating.
The amount of "Divine Energy" accumulated in his body is so great that I can feel it slowly liquidising my cells. Prolonged exposure to this is going to kill me.
But if he doesn't manage to control that either, there's a chance that his body will end up as complete rubbish, unprecedentedly turned to mush.
-Your legend... -. Tiberius mutters something.
I couldn't quite hear him.
-Mm? -. I grimace, watching him.
He lowers his face to look me straight in the eye. The pitch-black eyes feel as if they pierce my soul.
-The legend of Liselotte Sitri, the "Immortal Sorceress" is popular among the "Gods". Although we do not approve of your methods, we all recognise that you are by far the best sorceress in heaven, earth and hell.
-What exactly does the legend say?
-It's about a sorceress powerful enough to grant any wish you have without asking for anything in return. Respectful over those who seem under her power if you happen to deserve it.
-That makes me sound like I can work miracles.
-Isn't it a miracle to erase that which is supposed to be indelible? Not even the "Gods of Death" above all can compare to you.
-... I didn't ask for this...
-We know. But you are obliged to do it anyway. Let's start with this, Liselotte Sitri.
...
OK, let's get started. Let's get started.