Chapter 548 - Vs. Virillius Augustus IX

  The damage itself was inconsequential. Claire healed it off, cracked her neck, and ordered Boris to switch forms without missing a beat.

  Seeping through her body, he integrated himself into her nervous system, sprouted from her back, and replaced her wings. His shape was as it was when they slew Olethra—a hundred blades of ice and metal—but no longer was he a mostly passive participant. Having ascended to godhood, he’d gained the ability to not only enhance his wielder beyond even his own godly might, but fully and truly optimize his form for the purpose.

  That was why he grew from her elbows. In her left hand, he became a cannon. Specifically, a particle cannon—a weapon that borrowed from Vella’s designs to enhance the most powerful technologies found across all the realms. Its shape was almost like that of a flattened shieldlance; it was bulky and loosely conical, but its midsection was devoid of any metal or other material. Instead, it housed a plasmatic mix of magic and divinity, a roaring inferno of pure energy ready to obliterate all who were subjected to its wrath.

  In her right hand, he was a spear with an oversized blade. His design was as usual, with his face worked into the guard and his body a mix of blacks and blues. The biggest differences lay in his material. He was no longer just living metal, but a brand new substance that he’d forged in the moment. Dubbed Borisite, it was flexible but rigid, heavy but light, and sharp but unbreakable—every quality that a blade could possibly have was present all at once, despite their contradictory natures. A thin halo of light surrounded his body, wrapping it in a dense divine force that would eat away at whatever drew near.

  Though her father stood at a planetary distance, Claire led with her spear.

  Six of her wings turned to thrusters, boosting her speed to the point of teleportation as she drove her weapons towards her father’s neck.

  In spite of all its bonuses, in spite of its literal indestructibility, he shattered it with a casual swing. His eyes ablaze with divinity, he followed her perfectly even though she’d broken the universal speed limit a hundred times over.

  He followed with a thrust of his own, but she caught his spear with her cannon and stopped it dead in its tracks. Immediately pulling the trigger, she began to charge the weapon—to pull in all the matter in her surroundings, including her father’s flesh. For a brief moment, he seemed to join everything else in spiraling into her gun’s barrel, but his body returned to normal almost as quickly as it was distorted. Evidently, not even a point-blank black hole was capable of causing any harm.

  Just as she’d hoped.

  She wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Jerking her neck backwards, she evaded a stab and kicked him in the chest just as her cannon finally finished charging. Charged with a full twenty five quintillion points of divinity, it exploded into a pitch-black beam that surged straight for her father’s skull.

  Everything behind him was swallowed.

  Annihilated.

  Light, anti-matter, and mass were all obliterated by the nigh infinite burst of divine magic.

  But again, he’d warded off the attack with a light wave of the spear.

  It was fortunate then that it was never meant as anything more than a distraction. Ordering Boris to consume more of her blood, she faded out of reality and appeared behind her father with both weapons reformed and primed. It was a perfectly timed blow.

  He was still midswing.

  But he bucked his hips and kicked her right as she appeared. She blocked the attack with her wings and countered with her scattered feathers. Appearing all around him, they rammed straight into his chest. Every single Boris ran him all the way through, making a giant hole in its body before sprouting a dozen tendrils and actively draining his life force.

  But he broke them with a flex.

  Shedding the last remnants of his flesh, he emerged as a being of pure energy almost like the God of the Inner Flame. Only, unlike Dorr, he was far more detailed. His shape was still perfectly defined, with none of his features obscured by the light.

  His body was mostly a brilliant white with faint blue contours identifying his features. Somehow, he wasn’t naked. Fresh pieces of plate armour appeared all over as soon as his flesh was purged. Made of the same pure energy, the shielding was effectively an extension of his form. Just like his refreshed weapons.

  Despite his non-divine colour, he was a being made of pure divinity—one who had shed even the shell that the gods maintained. It was simultaneously his most powerful and his most vulnerable shape. He was effectively exposing his soul, abandoning the very concept of defense.

  And yet, he knew no fear.

  He closed the distance between them, leaving a trail of distorted light in his path as he brought his weapon straight down.

  Claire matched the attack with one of her own. But even with all of Boris’ divine strength, she became a shooting star.

  Three thousand galaxies whooshed past her. And at the same time, she was still within them. Both the system and the very fabric of reality struggled to process her coordinates. Neither could agree or even quite determine her exact location. Somehow, she destroyed a star before she passed it while simultaneously observing its annihilation from the end of her journey.

  And it wasn’t just the one star.

  The whole world was made a complete mess. Nothing made sense anymore. There was radiation both everywhere and nowhere at once. The whole sector was both a nuclear wasteland and completely untouched.

  There were rays of light that simply refused to move, staying exactly where they were, like they were frozen in time. There were planets that both did and didn’t exist in the wake of the world-bending attack. And there were galaxies suddenly cut off from the system, which had lost all ability to process within the affected areas.

  Without the ability to negate her momentum, Claire probably would’ve reached the universe’s furthest edge before she managed to come to a halt. But completely stopping space and time alike, she instantly appeared in front of her father again and returned the blow with one of her own.

  He instantly spun around and blocked it with his shieldlance.

  Exactly as she had hoped.

  Engaging her ultimate again, Claire tore straight through his defenses and drove her spear towards his neck. Boris grew and expanded as the distance shrank. The energy that coated his blade grew ever brighter as it was further empowered and condensed. It began to whirr and vibrate, to simultaneously exist in multiple places in the broken spacetime.

  Her father’s reaction was delayed. He tried several times to cast his ultimate—to negate the effect of her ability—but hers overruled the decision. He was trying to defend. And against Claire, that was simply not allowed.

  It was concept against concept.

  And she had the edge.

  At least until he spun his spear into her path and completely redirected her weapon.

  His shieldlance shot towards her chest, but she parried with her shard and spun her foot into his neck. Her boot warped into another Boris mid-kick, its edge just as sharp as any other, but he knocked it away with his elbow and slammed his antlers down on her skull. Even blocking with her horn, she was sent flying again.

  But Claire instantly negated the vector and spun around with no regard for physics. He deflected the accompanying blow and warded off her cannon’s barrel, but she moved her body with another set of vectors and immediately continued the assault.

  Finally, she was accelerating again, moving even faster than her supposed limit by cutting her muscles out of the equation.

  But he kept right up.

  Having recognized that he wasn’t allowed to block, he parried and dodged all of her attacks and simply took her frontal assault head-on.

  She manifested all of her spirits and ordered them to join the fray. Shouldersnake shot for her father’s neck, only to be split right in half. Shoulderhorse unloaded the eons of mana stored within its stomach, just to have its full burst punched through. Headhydra called upon her rotting flame while Collarsaur taxed away his strength and used it to boost Claire even further.

  But every one of her attacks, no matter how fast or absurd, was met with a counter. It didn’t matter that every strike was imbued with her blood and powerful enough to dismantle the fabric of reality. It didn’t matter that they were so fast that half the gods had to rely on Flitzegarde’s interpretation. It didn’t matter that she felled trillions of planets as she pulled out every last trick she knew.

  He deflected it all.

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  He deflected it all and countered, landing a dozen equally powerful hits every time she eked out a glancing blow.

  Still, she laughed.

  She laughed, swung her weapon, unleashed her breaths, and actively drained his health and mana.

  She even tried to rip his soul from his frame, but like Boris’ most outlandish abilities, the attempt was readily rejected.

  It was just as she’d expected. There was no way for her to get past his ultimate—to circumvent his ability to rewrite any phenomenon that he perceived and understood, not when he could deny even death itself.

  That was meant to be his answer—his solution to her mother’s prophesized passing. He’d been certain that he’d be able to prevent it with the power that he’d acquired.

  And at the same time, it was what Vella had always wanted to challenge—the reason she’d ensnared him in her web to begin with.

  He could have easily ended the duel at any time. But he didn’t. Grinning all the way, he allowed her to demonstrate everything she learned. He allowed her to fight her hardest, besting her with pure technique.

  It was only when she was finally exhausted, when she was panting, out of fuel, that he finally cast his ultimate on Flitzegarde’s unbinding and returned Claire to her system-limited strength. She immediately tried to break free of it again, but he overwrote the command while putting his spear to her throat.

  Claire didn’t immediately admit defeat. She scanned him for openings, watching for a solid second before finally lowering her weapons.

  “I yield.”

  And then, suddenly, they were back in Valencia.

  Returned to his body, Virillius did away with his weaponry and met his daughter’s eyes.

  “You fought well, Claire. You’ve grown far beyond even my greatest expectations.” And then, he broke his mask, loosening his lips into a completely different type of smile. It was strange. He’d maintained his cold gaze for the better part of a decade. But somehow, his body still remembered the exact way he used to look at her when she was still just a foal. “I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you, Father.” Sighing just once, she returned a grin of her own. There was a faint hint of moisture in her eyes, just enough for it to scatter in the wind as she parted her lizard from her body and gave her natural wings a stretch.

  There was a moment where they sat in silence, where the crowd was completely stunned.

  And it wasn’t just the Cadrians.

  Even the gods were baffled.

  It was like time itself was frozen.

  And in some places, it was.

  “W-we should get started on repairs.” The first to finally speak was Archimess. The God of Perfectly Sequenced Numbers muttered the words while still half frozen. Not even with his mathematical perfection was he able to determine how best to think or react.

  “He broke Flitzegarde’s spell.” Feywin, the God of Linked Lists—one of the minor deities in Flitzegarde’s service—was next to break the silence, voicing one of the thoughts on all of their minds.

  Claire’s demonstration was already absurd. She’d not only generated googols upon googols of divinity and birthed a brand new god, but created enough life to fill an entire realm. But somehow, Virillius had gone even further. He had stolen control of the system away from the Goddess of Order. He had taken it into his own hands to decide who was and wasn’t connected. And if not for his interference, his daughter would have done the same and broken free of her own accord.

  It was a feat that only a select few gods had ever accomplished.

  Sure, the divine were technically free from the system, but that was only because Flitzegarde had allowed them to become its administrators. She herself existed on a higher plane and could easily force them to reintegrate.

  But even as mere aspects, the two Augustuses had completely shattered the wall, and in the midst of combat no less.

  It was impossible.

  Complete and utter blasphemy.

  A show of defiance that completely shattered the very concept of order and humbled all but the truly almighty.

  That was why Vella’s voice was the third to be heard.

  She broke into a cackle—a deranged, hysterical cackle. Her face flushed, she licked her humanoid lips while wiping her arachnid jaw with one of her metallic legs.

  “You’ve grown so strong, Virillius.” Her eyes burned. Her chest heaved. Her genitals moistened. “So, so strong.”

  “And people say I’m a pervert,” said Alfred with a shake of the head.

  “You are. Be grateful that you are even allowed to be in attendance,” said Flitzegarde.

  The ancient human raised his hands and smiled. “Not to worry, Flitzegarde. I wouldn’t ever do anything to displease you.”

  Scoffing, the goddess briefly scanned the crowd. The gods were still bamboozled. Half were stupified, stunned to the point of stillness and silence. The rest had started to discuss the matter with their closest companions, speaking in hushed voices as they foolishly debated their plans in public.

  Sighing, Flitzegarde returned her attention to the mortal realm, where she found the same scene repeating in slow motion. Even with her magic and divinity easing the process, the mortals were still stuck in time, ingesting the information one drip at a time, so as to not turn their brains to mush.

  She wanted to make an announcement, but she didn’t have the leisure to simply wait until they recovered, so she scribbled something quick into their logs and returned to her organisational duties.

  Even then, it took the better part of a minute for them to fully comprehend exactly what it was they saw. And then, finally, they cheered. They howled and screamed at the top of their lungs, filling the stadium with such noise that Claire thought she would go deaf.

  “What an incredible show!” The screaming didn’t quiet down again until Ocatvia snapped to attention and activated the artifact that projected her voice. “The winner is God-King Virillius Augustus, who has once again proven to be far beyond all mortal comprehension! This means that Cadria emerges victorious with four wins, two losses, and a tie!” There was another wild round of cheers. “Our leaders will be conferring with the victors shortly after this event in order to discuss the outcome. Rest assured, we will have all of the details made public as soon as possible. Under ordinary circumstances, we would be showing you a replay of this battle, but unfortunately, that is not possible given our inability to record it. However, our analysts will still be happy to discuss their opinions in the meantime. Today, we will be having four of the most powerful people in the audience as special guests. Please welcome Queen Arciel Vel’khan, Master Durham Vespran, Grand Magus Allegra Cedr, and King Ragnar Unfrid!”

  Ignoring the crowd’s continued cheering, Claire nodded at her father and made for the gladiator gate.

  Boris waddled right behind her, but she knew he was paying very little attention. Flitzegarde had grabbed another one of his bodies for something along the lines of an orientation—an introduction to the responsibilities that came with his newfound godhood.

  She wasn’t really sure how to feel.

  On one hand, she was glad that it was all over. She was glad that her father had provided her with his approval, but at the same time, she was a little annoyed that the process wasn’t entirely organic—that everything had ultimately followed Panda’s design. Her joy was also further mitigated by the knowledge that her father had never truly disapproved of her in the first place.

  He’d only pushed her for her own good. And while she hadn’t exactly found him to be reasonable in the moment, or even necessarily in retrospect, she understood why he acted the way he did. And that alone had already rid her of the need to hear the words he’d said.

  Still, she couldn’t deny that she was happy to hear them—to know for sure that he really was proud of what she’d become.

  Her next goal would be to finally defeat him, but that was still a long way off.

  Somehow, thinking about it frustrated her. She’d known that her loss was inevitable. There was simply no way for her to beat him after just a few years when he’d spent the last thousand carefully and strategically building his strength. Even if she’d matched his raw power, she would’ve needed much more time to match his experience.

  Still, even knowing that her loss was expected, she couldn’t help but feel like she could’ve done better, that she had a way to defeat him despite what her instincts had screamed.

  It was a whole mix of emotions, and not even slowing down time allowed her to finish sorting through them before she made it to the gate, where she found the others awaiting her arrival.

  “I lost,” she said, with a smile. She wasn’t sure if it was fake or genuine. It was a little awkward. But somehow, that felt just right.

  “It’s okay, you’ll win next time!” said Sylvia.

  “I hope so,” said Claire. She laughed as she picked up the fox and gave her a bit of a hug.

  “How curious. I was expecting far more frustration,” said Arciel.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready to analyze the fight?”

  “I have long since delegated the task to a clone Sylvia crafted with her magic.”

  “Right.”

  “Good work out there. You may not have won, but it was an impressive battle. I’m not even sure I can think of a point of comparison, but the closest would b—”

  “Thanks, Krail,” said Claire.

  “Good fight,” agreed Lana.

  “Wait, hold the fuck on,” said Jules. “Are you guys seriously about to just walk away without any fucking questions? After all the bullshit we just saw? Like, how the actual fuck!?”

  “I saw little reason to ask, knowing that you were certain to,” said Arciel.

  “I already knew it’d be like this,” said Sylvia.

  There seemed to be another rabbit-like voice in the wind, but Claire decided not to hear it.

  “I’m not really too surprised either,” said Chloe.

  “The fuck do you mean you weren’t too surprised!?” screeched the clam. “Were you even fucking watching!? Did you not see that shit? Normal people can’t casually blow up entire fucking galaxies!”

  “I do get where you’re coming from, but we literally watched her kill a goddess,” said Chloe.

  “Just this year,” said Lana.

  “I mean, sure, but this and that are two completely different levels of bullshit,” said Jules. “Speaking of, when the fuck did you hit level 3000?”

  “3473. 5000 now.”

  “Sure, whatever. I don’t give a shit. Just tell me.”

  “A lot of it was from the time we spent way up north,” said Sylvia. “You know, when we were hanging out with all those celestials? Oh, and she also grinds a lot when you guys are asleep.”

  “Doesn’t really explain how she managed to go from 1000 to 3000 in half a year,” said Jules.

  “Enough overreacting,” said Claire. “Let’s go get lunch. I’m starving.”

  “I’m not overreacting,” said Jules. “And it’s literally been less than five minutes since you started fighting.”

  “I know,” said Claire. “But I’m still hungry.”

  Giving her shoulders a stretch, she wandered out of the colosseum and stepped into town.

  For once, without a disguise.