— What is this about?
— I just did a bit of cleaning!
— Cleaning?
— A bit of cleaning? Theos truly did not understand what she meant.
Everything she did was incoherent. And now, what will you do? he asked.
— I already told you how many souls you need to accumulate to be reborn. Oh, and as I said, if the price is so exorbitant, it's because of the configuration of this world.
— I admit that I could have done it without all this, but reincarnating you at the cost of an apocalypse, isn't that an interesting development? Amusing, intriguing?
The more Theos listened, the more his ears felt dirty, and the more his anger grew. The conclusion came quickly: she had to die. It was not just emotional reasoning; it was also logical reasoning, and that is what made Theos so terrifying. But he still had to prove that he was capable of killing a God.
At that thought, his body had already begun to move.
Did Isha sense it? She backed away in an instant, but behind her was a wall.
Without any guard up, in one of the most basic movements of martial arts, Theos rushed at Isha and threw a punch, which Isha avoided by slightly tilting her head.
Bam.
Theos's fist had just pierced a wall. Perhaps it was the coating that covered it, but it was still a thick and hardened layer, and he had penetrated it.
— Scary, Isha said to Theos with unmatched calm. Yet, Theos had almost managed to touch her. If an average human had received that blow, they would have been knocked out on the spot.
Given how close they were to each other, Theos was not really surprised that she had been quick enough to avoid such a blow. Or perhaps it was a reflex, but he was sure of one thing at that moment: this thing had a human body, a body that could be damaged, a body that could...
...die?
Isha raised her hands toward Theos's face.
He watched as Isha touched his face, and rage flooded his heart.
— Yes, by trying this, given the absence of divinity in this world, the world imposes restrictions on itself, which impacts everyone present. And add to that, your brain, to protect you, limits your capabilities. What would happen if I broke all these chains that bind you?
She squeezed his face even tighter.
Restructuring.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Theos screamed in pain, a wave of heat overwhelming him.
He felt a fatigue and a desire to sleep, but this was constantly repressed by the irrepressible pain. How far would she go to make him suffer, he thought.
As the pain increased, Theos's skin turned red, and red veins appeared in his eyeballs.
Badum. Badum. Badum.
His heart beat slightly faster.
— If you could see your face, you would be terrifying, Isha said sarcastically.
She began to laugh softly, although she was not extravagant. She was slightly distracted, looking to her right. Theos did the same, but there was nothing there.
— Oh, has it already begun? Ah, don't worry, I won't forget you, my dear Theos.
The pain had diminished, but it was still present. Theos mentally checked the changes in his body. He regained his composure for a moment. She is going too far; something doesn't fit, and I feel like my mind is in a fog. She's not alone?
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there were even more questions, and the more it brought him back to his sister's death.
He gritted his teeth and screamed.
In a fit of rage, he seized his enemy by her kimono, quickly positioned himself, and lifted her. The movement resembled what could be called an *ippon seoi nage*, but mid-movement, he decided to throw the girl away from him. Where his enemy should have been brought to the ground in the initial movement, he projected her against the wall several meters ahead of them.
But what happened next was even more surprising: every time she was supposed to hit a wall, it eluded her—simply put, she sustained no damage, as she did not actually touch those walls. It was incomprehensible, and it was all the more astonishing that Theos could see what was happening so quickly.
Several walls collapsed one after another. She had fallen outside; Theos lived on the sixth floor. Such a fall could be considered fatal for any human in this position.
Theos wanted to see what would happen, so he slowly walked through the holes in the walls, finally reaching the last one. He looked down; he now had a very good view. Everything below was clearly visible to him. As God had predicted, Theos didn't know if he had caught her by surprise, but the girl's smile never faded.
— So, is this the value of the human summit? Being freed from these chains?
Provocation. What are you trying to achieve? A question directed at Isha, but that Theos did not articulate. After all, at this stage, he didn't care.
— I thought I would have to disable your autonomic nervous system to let you control it, but in the end, you would have died instantly at the moment I disabled it. Although it would have been interesting to see what you could do while controlling it, for now, you can't bear it.
— This is unpleasant!
Theos decided to take the bait; his goal was clear. He no longer wondered how he could hear his enemy despite the distance separating them, even though she spoke so softly. The same went for him. *
— You haven't seen anything yet, he replied to Isha's remark.
He looked at Isha one last time, turned away from the opening, and calmly left the apartment. Fortunately, everything still worked. He took the elevator, went down to the ground floor, and exited the building. He was so happy to finally see Isha.
He stepped out of the building, looking so calm, as if it were just an ordinary day, or that he was about to meet an old friend.
There was no one around, and what was even stranger was that Theos had not encountered anyone while leaving the building.
Once outside, he found himself about six meters from where Isha had fallen.
The two locked eyes, and as if to follow up on Theos's declaration:
— Show me how far you can go beyond your limits!