"Activate, [God-Killing Array]!"
Mana surged from the people in the four corners. The mana then turned into four giant multicolored chains.
Four mana chains rose from the ground. The mana chains created a barrier around us that flew towards me.
I frowned. Without hesitation, I jumped back to avoid them, but a barrier suddenly appeared around me, blocking my movements. The chains had created the barrier!
In other words, the current me was effectively trapped.
A second later, I started to feel the other effect of this array.
My mana... It was leaving my body
"This is..." I frowned.
"Hahaha, what do you think about our [God-Killing Array]? Stop struggling. Once inside, it's impossible to escape." The middle-aged man laughed
"Is it so?" I frowned.
"You can continue trying if you don't believe me." The middle-aged man said. "However, that will only drain your mana faster. Once your mana is gone, it will be the time of your death!"
How interesting. But although this array is pretty original, its effects are subpar compared to other similar techniques. I know a few better than this.
For now, though, I guess I will chat with them for a bit.
"Who are you?" I asked. "You are not from the Ferret family."
"Of course not, young man. We are from the Carmell family and the Riea family, and we came representing two of the capital's biggest gangs."
"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows. "I did not know that the three families were allied. Mmm... Plus, there is nobody of the imperial family... How rare, the four gangs are each one backed by the three noble families and the imperial family respectively, so why is nobody of the imperial family here?"
I scratched y chin and closed my eyes. Then, I thought of something.
"... Could it be, you are planning to rebel?"
Instantly, the people in the surrounding flinched.
"It looks like it's true." I nodded. "How surprising. I thought Earl Riea was supporting the crown prince, but it looks like he also has plans of his own... Yes, The three great families have been under the imperial family for too long. It's normal for you to wish to become the ruler."
"Boy, who are you!?" Aaron suddenly asked.
But I put on a mysterious smile and continue my reasoning. "... However, the imperial family is not so easy to overthrow. Although the current emperor is a bit lacking, the accumulated resources of generations of emperors are not something you can estimate... I see, so you plan to divide the imperial family into two... The crown prince will rebel too? So that is Earl Riea's goal."
"... Pretty smart, heh." The middle-aged man sneers. "Unfortunately, you will not see it."
I ignored him and continued thinking. "... If the three families form an alliance, then it's certainly possible to defeat the empire. But which family will be the new imperial family? Or are you planning to nuke it out between you after you wipe the imperial family out?"
The people around me stay silent.
I chuckled. "Well, it doesn't matter. I think it's time for me to make my move."
Aaron instantñy felt a chill on his spine.
"Careful! Increase the mana in the array!"
"Huh? But–"
"It's useless." I shook my head leisurely. "Since the start, something like this was never able to stop me."
Slowly, I extended my hand towards the barrier. This time, though, the barrier was unable to stop me.
It was as though the barrier was inexistent. I simply extended my hand and grabbed the four chains holding the array in place.
"What the..."
"Fall." I whispered.
Instantly, the chains crumbled into bits.
"NO!!!" The four people holding the chains screamed in anguish. They desperately tried to keep the chains together, but the power destroying the chains was not something they could go against. In one second, the chains were gone.
*Spurt!*
Mouthful after mouthful of blood fell from their mouths. The four men looked at me as though looking a monster.
Then, they fell to the ground.
Their hearts had stopped beating.
An intimidating silence filled the place. I looked at the three powerhouses remaining and chuckled softly. "The problem with arrays is that if the enemy finds a weakness and uses it to destroy the array, the users will receive a powerful and deadly backlash."
Aaron's eyes narrowed. He then heaved a sigh of defeat and let his shoulders fall powerlessly. "What a monster..."
"Did Alice also foresee this?"
Aaron chuckled bitterly. "... So you knew from the start."
"Seers are very powerful, but Alice's personal strength is far from enough to plot against me. We are simply on different levels."
"I see." Aaron nodded. He then held his two swords and narrowed his eyes. "However, we will not go down without a fight."
I looked around. The old man and the female mage also seemed ready for the last struggle.
I nodded in praise. Yes, a powerhouse is supposed to fight until the end.
And this is the end.
When the three of them attacked, I moved.
Everything finished in seconds. The old man was dismembered by a spatial distortion, the female mage's head was crushed against a wall, and the old butler was kneeling in front of me.
"Any last words?" I asked.
"... Tell my young miss... I'm proud of her."
I nodded. "Don't worry. I tell her."
Then, I swung my hand down.
But at that moment–
[Stop!]
–A giant hand descended from the sky.
"Dammit!!!"
The hand crushed the isolation barrier in an instant and flew toward me. All the power inside the hand, enough to crush the capital completely, was concentrated in a point.
I snorted. Almost instantly, my body disappeared and reappeared out of the hand range. But then, the hand simply grabbed the old butler and returned.
My eyes turned ice-cold. "Do you think you can attack me without paying the consequences!?"
In the depths of my soul, a set of runes appeared. The runes took the shape of a sword, that quickly took form on my hands.
Then, I slashed.
[Reality Render]!
But this time, I did not bother to suppress its power.
Space was cut, and dimensions were sliced. Everything between my sword and the hand disappeared.
[Arrrgghhhhhh!!!]
The clouds screamed in rage, shaking the entire capital. Even the divine entity above the clouds was unable to stop my attack.
An instant later, the hand dissipated completely, leaving behind some words.
[Darned mortal, I'll kill you!]
And everything went back to normal.
When the hand was gone, I furrowed my brows.
"A god."
That was my first encounter with a god.