Carl finally made it to where he was being beckoned, coming to a stop at a set of massive doors cut from white marble, trimmed with gold and veined in platinum. An architectural choice that seemed counter-productive to the theme of perfection that the palace had been built upon.

Carl tutted as he braced to expend considerable effort opening them, but to his surprise they glided open as if made of thin air, impossibly weightless for the materials used and they opened in complete silence to reveal the throne room.

The entire room was designed with a recurring serpent motif that left no part untouched, designed in a way to make it seem as though the whole thing was one solid piece of the same white marble the spread out from the throne that Samael was sat upon in a posture Carl could only deem… Disappointing.

The throne itself was built into the open mouth of a serpent about the same size that Levi was at the time of her birth, sculpted to look as though it had tried to swallow the individual sitting in it only to have its tongue folded back as it failed to swallow them.

“So the hero finally arrives at my door!”

Carl stepped forward without responding, walking the carpet that ran from the throne singularly before splitting into a fork that touched both doors to mimic a forked-tongue.

When Carl was close enough that a mid-sized coffee table could be reached as easily by one as the other, he gracefully sat backwards into a replica of Samael’s throne that seemed to come into existence around him.

“Samael, I would be shaming myself if I didn’t thank you for your assistance, or compliment the artistry that went into this palace.”

Samael studied him carefully, surprised by their likeness, but also trying to discern the meaning of Carl’s words. He finally commented, the bitter and nostalgic tone making it clear he was being reminded of what he considered a lesser version of himself.

“Well I’m not sure how I helped you exactly, but I must say that your grandmother told me you were adopted, so why do we bear such a striking resemblance?” As he spoke, his eye twitched, almost imperceptible but something Carl was able to notice as he desperately tried to hide such signs and the inner turmoil he was experiencing.

“I was certainly adopted, my biological origins trace back to none other than Ishtar and Margo. So unless you happened to bed creation’s greatest hypocrite before you all went to kill her, I would attribute the likeness to my utilisation of replicated divinity.”

“I most certainly did not, your grandmother is the only woman I want, if only the same could be said for her… Regardless, it seems I have been taken for a fool and will have to kill her, just as soon as I’m done rectifying the mistake of letting Mobius’ imperfections ruin our attempt to avoid this mess.”

The pair chuckled like bantering jesters for a few seconds, then both lunged simultaneously, fingers interlocking as the intercepted one another for the briefest moment before Carl won the opening skirmish and sent Samael flying with a frontal kick that smashed the ornate throne and marble as though made of hollow clay simply disguised as marble.

Carl’s head throbbed suddenly, anger flared within. It was a wholly ungraceful move, one that went against the perfection he strove to embody. It was the mucky, tooth and claw style of fighting that the weakness trying to claw out of him would resort to.

He followed after his opponent, then upon finding him stopped and apologised. “Forgive me, that was a truly unbecoming blow. I feel I owe you a fair recompense, please feel free to strike me.”

Samael laughed, seizing the opportunity to land a blow after feeling one of Carl’s.

When he was done and confirmed Carl was ready, he lunged forward using a tactical flap of his wings to maximise momentum and ensure his form and positioning was perfect as he threw a punch that would have seen Carl’s body blown apart just weeks ago.

Carl saw his eye twitch again, but he prepared for the blow to honour his promise, then a sound like a taught thread being tightened a bit too far seemed to come from somewhere inside himself and everything went black for a second.

“Stay away from my family! We’ve lost enough already!” Carl heard the words shouted, it was his voice and when his sight returned as he finished, he saw Samael bloody and the surrounds destroyed by the impacts.

Carl grabbed his head and roared. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!”

With his roar, the palace was reduced to rubble, the island paradise reduced to a barren wasteland and the sea of clouds pushed back to reveal the absolute abyss that lay beneath them.

The roar helped bring Samael’s own mind into focus and he once again lunged at Carl to try and catch him in his moment of unfocus, he didn’t intend to simply punch him though, he reached into a pocket space of some kind and withdrew a blade of pure beauty that came to life in a dazzling inferno.

The blade pierced through Carl’s Solar plexus, then sent flames coursing through him. “Carl! You have to break free of this! I don’t have time to wait, so I’ll apologise if I have the breath to later!”

He then pulled the sword out and cast it aside as he filled a hand with divinity and punched into the wound before releasing it in a single jolt, like a defibrillator trying to kickstart a pulse but for his senses.

Suddenly the cracks that had been forming in his mind shattered and the psychological barrier came crashing down as Carl gasped took the deep breath of one who had been held under water to the point they were on the verge of passing out, falling to one knee as he healed the damage Samael had inflicted.

“Samael, you you?”

Samael gave a sharp forced chuckle. “Never thought I’d say this, but thank God. Now listen and don’t argue.

Destroy me completely or keep my corpse away from the crowns, including your Grandmother, you won’t be able to burn the system out of me like you did the others.”

Carl’s mind was racing, but as it did, something changed in Samael as the system-warped version of himself regained control, blinking as he looked confused at the blood on his hand and discarded sword on the ground.

“Apologies, seems I responded in kind an-“

“Sorry, just following your orders.” Carl was on top of him in an instant, punching him, keeping his other-self on a swivel incase the crowns arrived and robbed him of his time to consider what to do.

Unfortunately, despite the surprisingly clear difference in power that left Carl astonished at his own strength, speed and reactions, he was fighting Samael. A being considered infallible amongst a race that numbered in the billions and lived by the basic rule of survival of the fittest.

Carl discovered quickly how and why Samael went unchallenged by his kin for millenia and dictated their lives and actions, all without exerting his power as the ten-star of his species even a single time.

Despite being pummeled by someone with the power to leave him a bloody mess, he had remained fully conscious and focused, keeping his body just healed enough.

When he had the timing certain, Carl’s arm seemed to pass through him like an afterimage before seeming to rip itself apart as his fist connected with the ground. As his arm disappeared, carl saw only a small pile of powdered stone with lingering traces of Samael’s divinity.

Before he could think too much about it though, Carl was suddenly struck in the back just to the side of his left shoulder as he rested his weight on the, making the shoulder take the brunt of what proved to be a bone shattering impact.

As the arm gave way and his weight made him fall flat, two hands gripped the base of one of his wings and ripped it out of his back.

It proved a crash course in immortal combat he hadn’t considered, to say power played no part would be foolish, but the reason why the Elder-gods were respected even if they lacked it was currently being hammered into Carl as the burning pain of being pulled apart burned scarred the flesh to stop it escaping.

Experience.

That one word had completely bridged what would have been an insurmountable power gap if their roles were reversed, placing the initiative solely with Samael.

In one move that Carl couldn’t even figure out, the battle had become a river following a path Samael could draw and redirect at his leisure, Carl couldn’t help but admire him despite the pain.

The King Of Hell was one deserving of his authority and suddenly his title made sense.

“The Grand Crown” A ruler greater than any other.

The other crowns weren’t mere heirs, they were each powerful rulers of their own independent realms, but even in his absence Samael was the undisputed king they bowed to.

Then Samael stopped, catching the glimpse of a grin on Carl’s face, he backed off and studied the area. Then slouched, confused and weary, but too proud not to admit he had been played and honour it in some way.

“Why do you grin? I sense no friends coming to rescue you, I sense not a slither of your power outside your own body.”

Carl started laughing. “I’m sorry, really, I didn’t mean to distract you…”

Carl healed his body in an instant, then pushed himself up to all fours then back to sit on his heels as he threw his head back and laughed even harder. “…I’m so glad I actually found an enemy to respect in this fucking game!

Gilgamesh was a coward that called on Margo in a desperate attempt to flee.

Pandora tried to sacrifice herself to doom one world to endless chaos.

Mobius sacrificed himself to try and take over the time-stream.

The mad prophet sacrificed himself to try and open the door to give the Outer-gods entry.

Finally, one of you is actually fighting. It was killing me is all.”

Samael examined Carl’s power reserves as he spoke, then his body for any signs of lingering damage, but both were no different to how they were when the battle started.

“Were you really so eager to test your strength? Do you seek to insult me by treating me as a pitiable foe who never stood a chance?” The contempt was clear in his voice, but Carl apologised for giving him that impression.

“…Truly, it was just killing me that you were all doing this and not one of you seemed interested in being there when all was said and done. Why do all of this? Why sacrifice all you had before for a game that none of you expected to survive? What would it achieve? What would you gain? What would Existance, Nonexistance, Thingness or Nothingness gain?

I’m just happy, truly, thank you.”

“Unasked questions are rarely answered, if you were so desperate to know, then why didn’t you ask?”

Carl shrugged, said it was because none of the others had ever given him the chance and something about how he was behaving and the words he was saying, landed.

“We are doing this to prove Margo’s point. To prove we immortals were too complacent for any fight to go our way, that we should leave you humans be.”

Carl was left dumbfounded by the revelation, not simply because he received a sincere answer, but because hearing it suddenly made everything make sense to Carl’s adrenaline overdosed mind.

There was no way the other immortals, especially Elder-gods, would have accepted that sentiment.

There was no way that they would have sat idle forever.

There was no way that humans would have survived to any degree if the pre-system incursions continued.

It was only after the system, and because of it, that all the factions and pantheons and races were forced into a stalemate that proved the most peaceful era creation had ever known.

Things were hard, but not impossible.

Supposed to be challenging enough to inspire the period of revolutionary enlightenment that always followed the worst periods of history, whilst keeping victory inevitable.

“…The reason they threw their lives away young man, is penance for what sins they committed to bring a lasting peace. I only live, because only I can keep the billions of demons in check and under a single banner.”

Carl wanted it all to be a lie, but the crushing weight of their truth was undeniable. The “villains” were an assembly of the few immortals willing to sacrifice themselves for what they believed was right, those willing to selflessly give their lives to create an ideal future for those they left behind.

There was only a couple of bits that didn’t make sense to Carl still.

“Two things. The first is why Amaterasu was forced to be a villain and the second is why I was flung through time so far, a thousand years was excessive and risked outside interference derailing the plan.”

“Amaterasu was the failsafe, she was to sleep unless something truly went wrong, use the power dormant inside of her to end the game. As for the second, have you not seen how long it takes things to sink through the thick skull of a long-lived immortal?

There were two issues that arose however, an outside interference of unknown origin, a second system signal that flared and shut the system down temporarily rendering we villains frozen in stasis for years.

The second was Gilgamesh, we have no idea how he evaded us and seized control of humanity.”

“Too many people looking into the future…” More pieces clicked into place and the Carl asked about the maintenance message they all got prior to the war against Gilgamesh.

“Maintenance message?”

The moment he repeated Carl’s words back to him, the last few bits clicked into place.

The very experience Carl had been praising, it was clear, Samael was positive that something would happen and sealed that part away before the game ever started via a self-imposed contract.

As the Game started and the system was sent out, the unstable cortex of divinity inside Carl that was the sister he desperately tried to keep alive somehow used it to stabilise and structure herself.

When Carl was flung into the future, Ishtar used an unfinished way to shut down the system and fled, likely one using observed traits in Sis, but that pulse also followed them through the time maelstrom and effected Sis in a way that felt like programming.

The moment the system shut down the first time, Samael’s echo woke up, read the situation and calculated the best method of course correction. A quick glimpse into the future under a microscopic lens he saw Carl and a daughter of Lillim and begins liberating the crowns from his thrall.

He succeeded with Lillim, but then Eckro refused to abandon his father to the system and got mistaken for a traitor, but with limited time he had no choice but to imprison him so he would at least survive.

While he was gone however, a certain parasite stumbled across the scene, not long before Samael returned to go unnoticed and caused him to flee, but before he did he swiped an important looking prototype paradox-field generator and was able to go unseen by anyone for short periods.

He used that freedom to establish control, but before he did, he knew Margo was elsewhere and seized the opportunity to raid his workshop as well. Finding a few rough notes and the control cortex for the entire system, not enough for much, but enough to throw a wrench into the works.

One which Margo noticed when Carl was able to burn out the system so easily and performed maintenance, but in the process he activated a trap Gilgamesh had prepared, but was unable to implement.

That was why he called Margo, he had been hoping his trap would spring and wipe them all out at the same time.

As for what it could possibly be, that was obvious, the only thing that Samael was concerned about in his last moment of clarity. He sensed something had changed, or those twitches were him unconsciously examining himself to figure out what was wrong.

“Samael. I’m sorry, but for your own good I need to kill you, thank you for everything. If anyone’s the hero in this game, it’s you.”

“What are you talking about boy? Fine, this was always going to be seen through to the end.”

Carl found himself suddenly trapped in a contained space, one that felt similar to the one Equinox had created to slow down Lillim.

It was completely blank, except for a large “I” at the far end and line moving steadily across it. Thanks to what he knew from their first encounter, what Equinox had said about Lillim saying they were the same type and what Samael had been trying to warn him of, it quickly became clear that Eckro was the cause.

“Infinity! Shatter this immediately!”

From seemingly nowhere a large sail-finned whale burst out of the ground, shattering what Carl correctly thought was a clockface.

Unfortunately Eckro’s tactic to buy time was enough and when the area dissolved, Eckro was missing an arm, a leg and screaming in agony as strange symbology burned itself into his skin.

The most horrifying part though was the fact that Samael laid on the ground in a pool of blood as a figure unknown to Carl, like the charred remains of a man engulfed in dragon-fire stood over him with a still beating heart in his hand.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep