Reborn: Apocalypse - Volume 2 - Chapter 94

Chapter 94






Chapter 74

Director Prime stared at Micheal, a hint of interest appearing in his glowing eyes.

"You aren't… surprised to see me." He stated it as more of a fact, rather than a question.

Micheal shrugged.

Prime's ability to stop time allowed him to intensely examine a person's expression, to see how tense they were, to detect any facial tics or anomalies. He could even dissect someone to track their heart rate over a series of stops to see how they were reacting.

The only way to fool him was to believe whatever it is you were using to fool him, or to be a literal God of lying.

"You aren't wrong. I'm not surprised." Micheal replied stoically.

"I find that very interesting, very interesting indeed. You don't fear me, you aren't surprised to see me here… and, huh…" Prime paused, his face the picture of a neutral expression,

"You actually might have the power to destroy this Monster Class Nest." The powerful S Ranker leaned back in his chair lazily, not even bothering to look at Micheal.

Of course, in reality, he was likely freezing time a half dozen times a second, examining Micheal's reactions in extreme detail. That was just the kind of man he was.

When Micheal heard Prime's words, he didn't outwardly react. Inwardly, he remained perfectly calm, without a hint of worry. Hidden deep within his Soul, however, he couldn't help but smile.

'He took the bait.'

Prime's words could only mean one thing. He'd found the tiny, barely visible hint of a damaged window Micheal had left behind. He inwardly marveled at the man's tenacity. To freeze time and sweep through any and everything in the nearby area just as a precautionary measure… it might seem excessive. And it was. But it was something Micheal could use.

If he'd left the hole there for anyone to see, while also pretending to know about Prime and expect Prime was here, the Director's attitude and reactions would adapt to that fact. However, with the extremely minute mess he'd left behind, it was more than believable that he had thought his cover was perfect.

All of that, put together, made it really look like he had expected Prime would be here.

In actuality… he hadn't. He had been roughly 90% confident that Prime would be in the Nightrunners territory, helping them defend the Permanent Nests. The man was known, in history, for his loyalty to his sworn allies.

However…

Given the struggles he'd faced recently, Micheal had drafted up a couple of plans to deal with any unfortunate encounters.

Essentially, he tried to think of the absolute worst things that could happen. And, with that, he then planned as if he expected absolutely everything that could go wrong, to go wrong.

Prime showing up here, waiting for him in the Monster Class Nest…


This was one of the worst possible outcomes and should've been extremely unlikely to occur.

'Freak.' Micheal wanted nothing more than to strangle the calm looking Director and force out how in the world the man knew to be here.

He ignored all of that, however, as he maintained his calm demeanor and replied,

"Yes, I'm pretty confident I can break the Monster Class Nest. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." Micheal casually patted his Ashari Blade as he continued,

"And there's a reason for that. In fact, there's a reason for everything that has happened between us." Micheal nodded at Director Prime.

"And I suppose you'll share that reason with me today, here and now?" Prime studied Micheal with a questioning gaze.

Micheal ignored all of Prime's physical reactions and speaking tones. Nothing the man showed was real. Every reaction he gave was one he had planned over a series of minutes, hours, or even days. Holding a conversation with this man was incredibly nerve-racking.

"Yes, that's right. It's a pretty simple reason." Micheal put on a cheerful smile,

"I'm from the future."

.. .. .. .. .. ..

A quiet thud rang out as Shin appeared behind one of the gun-wielding Nightrunners on Nest B's skyscraper's rooftop. His appearance was so abrupt, no one on the rooftop had time to react to anything he did.

The person he'd targeted was wielding a type of heavy-duty shotgun, full of armor-piercing rounds. The man was heavyset with a large, potbelly and muscular arms that were visible through the black armor he wore. His heavy-duty shotgun was an especially potent weapon at short range, but one he was using in a lackadaisical manner as he tried to avoid killing.

According to Sophia, the people fighting on the roof were only fighting because they were forced to. As lower-level warriors, they didn't really have a say in any of this, but it was likely most of them weren't pleased with what was happening.

The same applied for both sides. In actuality, they might not even be bad people.

The Shin of the past would've felt guilty for even thinking about attacking them.

However, after the battle where he lost his arm and Sophia nearly lost her life, Shin had begun to feel as if something in him had changed. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The change was a sort of realization that had come over him, one that was swept up in Micheal's grand vision and master plan.

If he didn't get serious about each and every fight he got into, people he cared about would die. And even beyond that, it was possible their mission would fail in its entirety. Not only would people he loved die, but his entire race might die.

He couldn't afford to hesitate. He was no longer just fighting for himself. He was fighting for something much bigger than that.

And, as he appeared behind the Nightrunner warrior, he did not hesitate.

His Soul Pistol was already in his hand, pressed up against the gunman's head. By the time anyone realized he was here, he had already fired.

The bullet, not unexpectedly, instantly killed the gunman, the special rounds Shin used obliterating the man's headgear in a fraction of a second.

.

—-Points Notification—-

Points: 2,018

.

The notification placed that the man he'd just killed was, as predicted, not even an A Ranker. 2,000 Points was a nice get, but only enough to place him at B Rank at most.

As soon he received the notification, Shin immediately activated a second Ability.

'Expand!'

It wasn't his bullet that he expanded, nor his gun. Instead…

It was his arm.

Specifically, the Melding Plate Arm Artifact he had obtained, grafted on to replace the left arm he'd lost to Number 6's spear strike.

After he obtained this Artifact arm, and had enhanced it as much as he could, he'd gone about testing it in every way he could.

He'd found that, after a great deal of practice, the arm reacted almost identically quickly to how his previous left arm had reacted. In fact, as he got better at manipulating it, it almost seemed to move even faster, roughly equal to his main, right arm.

Shin knew full-well that he wasn't ambidextrous, so such an upgrade was a pleasant, silver lining to the drastic loss of the entire appendage. Still, Micheal said he could get it back on a later Layer, so Shin didn't take it too much to heart.

After adapting to use the arm in his everyday life, he gradually got used to using it in combat. He could aim his Soul Pistol with either arm now, though he still instinctively preferred to use his right arm.

The Melding Plate Arm was much stronger than his regular arm, boosting his strength by at least 35%. It was far more durable, able to block bullets or most weapons with ease.

And, most importantly of all…

It was a magical Artifact. It wasn't actually part of his body.

And his Expand Ability could affect almost everything, including most Artifacts. Including this arm.

A split second after he activated his Expand Ability, his Melding Plate Arm began to grow at a hypersonic rate.

His hand was the first part to expand. The metallic fingers stretched outward, forming a giant, faintly glowing palm that slammed down hard onto the roof of the skyscraper, stretching an amazing 3 meters in height and 2 meters in length.

Behind the palm, the knuckles, wrist, and rest of the arm expanded to meet his humongous palm. However, the farther up his arm one went, the smaller and smaller an expansion each part received.

When one went all the way up to the connecting shoulder piece, it was as if his Melding Plate Arm had never expanded at all and was maintaining its natural size.

In a split second, a huge, metal shield-palm had formed, completely covering Shin up from the attackers.

Not a moment later, a slew of gunshots and a couple of explosions rang out as several of the stunned Nightrunner guards attacked. The warriors here, while only B Rank extras that held little, overall importance, were still one and all elites. Their reaction speed to Shin's attack was admirable, if ineffective.

The bullets smashed into his gigantic Melding Plate Arm and pinged off ineffectively. Two bolts of white energy, cast forward by a white wand held in the hands of one of the leather-clad guards, exploded against the huge palm and did nothing.

The warriors seemed to temporarily forget their differences as they all turned their attention to Shin.

For a single, split second, they had their focus centered directly on him.

That tiny moment was enough.

A slew of crackling sounds rang out as more than a dozen black streaks of energy shot through the air and slammed into the heads of all of the distracted B Rankers. These bolts of energy were long and clearly not made entirely out of energy. Instead, they appeared to be made of a mix of energy and some type of hardened, spider-silk.

As one, the distracted guards all collapsed and fell down to the rooftop in a resounding thump.

Killed instantly.

Shin wiped the sweat away from his forehead as he shrank his Melding Plate Arm. The feeling of expanding and shrinking it was eerie and unsettling, but he couldn't help but admit how useful it was.

In its Expanded state, his control of the Artifact was limited, but he could still make very good use of it.

He flexed his arm a few times, able to detect a slight tingling sensation, the only result from the slew of bullets and explosions that had collided with him.

Just as he began to look his arm up and down, the members of the Godfather Organization rushed out from cover and sprinted across the bridge to the Nest B skyscraper rooftop. Sophia, Asim, and Vladimir all ran up to Shin, the last two giving him a thumbs up while Sophia merely nodded.

"Nicely executed, Shin. Everyone, prepare to enter the skyscraper!" Executive Riana's voice was relentless as she reached the rooftop, her eyes glinting.

From her back, 8 unsettling, black legs had emerged, each one giving off a faint black sheen of energy. These legs stretched out about 2 meters each, but somehow managed to maintain their balance as they rested on her back.

Executive Riana's Vast Gaze Ability was what she was renowned for. However, her Nature Type: Black Spider Ability was half of where she got her nickname, 'Stunning Spider.' The black threads of energy she had shot forward each contained the force of a powerful bullet, spawned into existence by the odd-looking legs.

Riana gestured at everyone and then motioned towards the entry shed, reiterating her meaning.

Their attack was two-pronged, with the roof team striking first and then heading down. Most of the enemy forces, according to the scouts, were located on the lower floors. Clearing out the rooftop was intended to create a staging area to create a solid, trapping anvil, with Admiral Cardell's team working as the crushing hammer.

Almost in unison, the rest of the elite warriors charged towards the entry shed, silent determination sweeping through the crowd as they prepared to attack the Nightrunners with everything they had. Asim and Vladimir charged forth bravely first, while Sophia clung to the back and slunk in at the end of the group, moving secretly.

Shin nodded back at Riana and then simply vanished, choosing to teleport directly into the building down below.

In just a few scant seconds, the forces of the Godfather Organization disappeared inside the skyscraper, vanishing out of sight.

A stiff breeze swept across the rooftop roughly one minute later, carrying with it tides of change, tides of the unknown, and tides of possibility.

As that breeze swept past, a quiet thud echoed out as a pair of feet landed atop the rooftop, clad in a set of sharp looking dress shoes. A warm, golden Aura spread out from the bearer of those shoes, covering the rooftop in a half-second.

An Aura full of righteous might, power, and authority.

The Aura of… a 'Hero.'

.

Chapter 75

The first person in Executive Riana's team to reach the site of the internal schism was, unsurprisingly, Shin. His warping speed surpassed everyone else's movement speed by a sizable margin, allowing him to be the first member of the Godfather Organization to reach the combined 4th and 5th floor of the skyscraper.

Beyond the standard ground level floor, the bottom four floors of Nest B's skyscraper were unique, something everyone had been briefed on before their mission.

The fourth and fifth floor that Shin had reached were combined to form a tall section that held 4 very large, individual rooms. Each room was wide and open, decorated with several very large, water-filled glass containers. These glass containers twisted in a myriad of designs and shapes, linking up with all of the other glass containers on the extra-large floor. The water in them was backlit by a myriad of blue and green lights, giving the containers a natural and exotic feel.

In other words, these two floors contained a large aquarium.

No living creatures spawned into this aquarium naturally. After all, Morenkai were the only species native to this strange world. However, the unique lightning and only slightly foggy water still managed to give the bottom floors the appearance of a world-class aquarium, lacking only in the actual fish themselves.

When Shin teleported in, he warped into a nook that was set in the side of one of these aquariums. He'd taken to teleporting into smaller, tucked away areas whenever he could. It was better to be out of sight of any potential enemies when teleporting into a new place, mostly to give himself enough time to prepare.

Teleporting without a direct line of sight was dangerous, after all. He could find safe places to teleport to using his Warping Phaser Ability, but he couldn't actually look around to see where exactly he was going to land.

An excellent example of this happened right now.

The moment Shin warped into the combined fourth and fifth floors, he was serenaded with a cool, wet sensation. The world around him was dyed a light blue, giving it a strange, ethereal quality. Even gravity seemed to have lessened as he floated, suspended in the air.

Confusion swept over him as he felt all of this, not quite sure what was happening.

Everything came clear a moment later, however, as he tried to take a breath.

"Cough, cough!" His lungs burned as he breathed in, and subsequently sputtered out, a mouthful of water.

'Am I… I'm underwater?' The thought flashed through his mind as he twisted about, a faint feeling of horror sweeping through him.

He had accidentally teleported inside one of the aquarium tanks.

Shin forced the feeling of panic down as he assessed his surroundings.

He was currently floating in one of the corners of a large tank, set in the side of the wall. There was a small, underwater castle and a fake reef, but no actual fish or animals in the tank. The natural water of the tanks was mostly opaque, meaning he couldn't see more than half a meter away from his face.

The first thing he did was reach down to his right arm and tap on a white bracelet he was wearing.

Immediately, a few small sparks of energy appeared as an Artifact activated.

Abruptly, Shin's vision warped slightly. Instead of just the foggy water, he could make out the outline of six people fighting in the northwest room, right above the southwest room he'd landed in. These outlines were vague and jagged, but clear and easy to see.

Micheal called this Artifact a Wavelength Crystal Bracelet. It was actually a combination of Artifacts and resources from the Shop, merged together in a rough fashion. The plain bracelet was a Signal Seer Bracelet that heightened one's senses when it came to certain electrical signals. Certain parts on the inside of this bracelet had been melded with a material called Enerton Stones.

It was a crude creation, in Micheal's words, but it would allow them to sense any large concentrations of energy within a few dozen meters. According to Micheal, he saw how to make it in one of his visions.

He'd insisted that all three of them wear one for the upcoming battle, and that they keep them on at all times to be safe, even if the battle was finished. The bracelets would only last for around 24 hours after they were activated, but they would be perfect for detecting enemies or ambushes.

The main downside was that they cost way too many Points to create and lasted for only a brief period. If they hadn't used the Godfather Organization's stores, putting Shin further in Contribution Points debt, it would've cost them more than 40,000 Points for all three.

After finding out that no enemies were in his room, Shin grabbed ahold of his Spatial Ring and brought out three strange-looking grey cubes. The objects each were about half the size of his palm and had odd, metallic lusters.

By this point, Shin was starting to feel the burn in his lungs from being underwater. He quickly looked around the aquarium tank, his mind racing.

'There works!'

Moving quickly, he swam over to the top of the fake castle and wedged the cubes into a spot on its roof. He then brought out a black rope from his Spatial Ring and looped it around the cubes, securing them tightly into the place.

His lungs felt as if they were on fire at this point. Without a whit of hesitation further, Shin warped himself out of the aquarium to the open air of the room just a couple of meters away.

"Stupid… water…" Shin wheezed out as he gulped in air, blinking as he looked around the empty room and ignored the water that was dripping off his drenched clothes.

A burning scent coated the air, giving this room a harsh edge. Several patches of red blood covered the floor, and if there had been furniture in this room, Shin was sure it would've been in disarray.

Before he could get a scope on the battle that was happening in the room over, however, several more figures arrived.

Executive Riana appeared first, slinking out from the stairwell with almost unerring silence. Her entrance was quickly followed by several other figures quickly filing into the room. In just a scant couple of seconds, more than two dozen warriors had snuck in.

Shin spotted Sophia in the back of the crowd, sneaking in alongside Asim and Vladimir. He smiled and waved, ignoring the glare she sent his way.

Riana motioned for the team members to spread out and remain silent as she stalked forward, heading towards the only other source of noise on the floor. Everyone else, Shin included, followed behind.

The room they were in was large, taking up a full fourth of the two floors, but it still took only a half dozen seconds for them to reach the northwest room.

What unfolded in Shin's sight, then, was a brutal scene of carnage.

A full dozen bodies lay on the ground, frozen in rigor mortis. Most of the figures wore the dark armor customary to the Nightrunners. Half of them were covered in severe burns, while the other half had been chopped up to near pieces.

In the middle of the room, six masked figures were currently fighting.

Two of them were heavily injured and fighting defensively as they blocked the attacking four.

The two defenders were both men, one dressed in shredded leather armor of some sort, while the other wore a set of tattered, cut robes. They looked exhausted and were gradually being driven into a corner by the attackers. The man in the tattered robes had the number '4' carved into his mask, while the man in the shredded leather had the number '3' set in his mask. Both of them were covered in several large bloodstains, clearly blood that leaked from injuries they'd suffered recently.

The four attackers wore masks that read '13,' '12,' '8,' and '7.'

Number 13 wore grey armor over a huge, furry frame that bulged with muscles, leading the attack against the two injured defenders. Number 12 was the lone woman of the group, dressed in tight-looking black leather armor and wielding two long, pointed daggers as she ducked in behind Number 13. Number 8 wielded two large stone hammers and a heavy-looking collection of chainmail, and was currently in the process of charging over towards the defenders. Number 7, the last of the attackers, was dressed in a simple robe and stood at the back of the group, holding a blue wand in his hand.

At the time that Executive Riana and everyone else came into view of the fight, the battle had abruptly come to a halt as the fighters noticed the Godfather warrior's presence.

The masks covered up the expressions of all of the Numbers members. The shock and surprise at Executive Riana and their team's presence, however, was palpable as both sides froze in unison.

The first person to break the tense silence was Number 3 of the defenders.

"Brave rescuers, please help! The lower Numbers have betrayed the Nightrunners and are slaughtering the innocent!" Number 3's voice was deep and contained a force of presence that was hard to fake.

His serious, debilitating injuries took away from that a bit as he hacked up several spurts of blood, forced to clutch at his chest as he finished speaking. Number 4 quickly stood up next to him, yellow flames bursting into existence around his arms as he guarded the injured warrior.

Both of them subsequently fell back against the wall they had been forced up to, using this moment to catch their breath.

To have driven elites such as Number 3 and 4 to such a state… Shin could barely believe it. Both of them were ranked within the top 20 A Rankers on the First Layer. The 4 attackers here were all extremely strong too, but for these two to be in such a state, they must have been badly injured by someone else beforehand.

"I told you we should've killed them immediately. Just because they used to be our allies is no reason to show mercy. We should've gone all out from the start!" Number 13's voice was a growl as he turned his attention to Executive Riana, his hair bristling.

"Not everyone is as careless as you and 14 were, 13. Slow and steady wins the race all the same." Number 7 shrugged as he spoke from the back, his voice a light tenor that carried softly in the air.

"The ending will be inevitable, either way." Number 12's voice was cool as she flicked her daggers out, her masked eyes zeroing in on Executive Riana. The attackers seemed surprisingly unconquered with their arrival, though surprised nonetheless.

"Indeed." Number 8's voice was stalwart, matching his stout figure.

Despite their confident-sounding bluster, the four masked fighters didn't seem to be in perfect condition either. Number 13's chest was clearly trembling, as if extremely tired, while Number 8's body was lathered in sweat. The group chose to ignore the resting figures of Number 3 and 4 as they moved into a defensive position.

Executive Riana observed all of this and confidently spoke aloud without missing a beat, completely ignoring the Nightrunners' banter.

"Shin's, Hashien's, and Kelley's, teams, go down and assist Cardell." Riana paused as she took a step forward and raised both of her hands.

The 4 attackers watched on without reacting. Some of them even tilted their heads as they heard the order for Shin and the others to descend, as if in mild amusement. It was a very strange reaction that pitted a sinking feeling in Shin's stomach.

"The rest of you are on me." Executive Riana's eyes began to glow as she ignored their odd behavior. The air around her began to fluctuate, a vast, overwhelming presence spreading out as her Vast Gaze Ability was activated,

"Show no mercy!"

.

Chapter 76

Shin had no plans on disagreeing with the powerful Executive, and so instantly turned his attention back over to Sophia, Asim, and Vladimir. The trio were currently in the middle of turning around, heading back towards the stairwell to descend to the floors below.

Shin teleported through the air, warping till he was right next to them. Behind him, two other teams split off and rushed alongside them as they, as one, began to pound down the stairs.

In the background, Shin heard the sounds of screeching metal and a few explosions as a battle broke out between the other teams and the Numbers. Those sounds faded as Shin moved into the stairwell, heading downward.

None of them spoke as they jogged down the stairs. Everyone was tensed up, however, unsure what they would find in the two floors below.

Like the aquarium up above, the second and third floor of this skyscraper were combined together to form a large gymnasium. The Permanent Nest Core was judged as likely to be on this floor by the Godfather Organization's intel, though there was a chance it was on the lowest possible floor like most Nests.

Shin, ever the adventurer, decided to teleport in ahead of everyone else, warping to a point high up in the rafters of the large room. His body shimmered and vanished from the stairwell as he teleported, his Soul Pistol appearing in hand as he prepared for anything.

Adrenaline was pumping in his veins as he abruptly appeared up near the roof of the combined floors. Once he arrived, he immediately looked down and assessed the situation.

However... the very first thing he saw made his heart drop.

Standing at the center of the room was a familiar, masked figure holding up a long, thin spear.

At the end of that spear was a blood-soaked body, pierced through the heart. The corpse was covered in a thin layer of black armor and had a shattered mask on its face.

A mask that had the remnants of the number '2' carved into it.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

"You… are from the future?" Prime blinked as he looked at Micheal. For the first time, his face showed emotion as he stared at Micheal in disbelief.

"Yes. I am from the future." Micheal replied with a shrug and a rather deadbeat tone.

Prime stared at Micheal.

Micheal stared back.

The soft hum of air condition, and the faint sizzling of Morenkai blood, were the only sounds present in the room as the two warriors gazed at each other without speaking for several seconds.

Prime finally broke the impasse, saying,

"Explain." His words were commanding, brooking no room for refusal. His body language gave away nothing, but…

When Micheal heard his words, he smiled internally. He forced himself to keep down his heartbeat and his nervousness, maintaining a cool and calm facade.

When Micheal was straining his mind to go over the worst ways his plans could go wrong, some of those plans contained an encounter with Director Prime.

After experiencing Prime's ridiculous intelligence and planning personally, Micheal's way of looking at things had changed. Previously, he'd planned on using General Pedro to help him take down Prime. The General's Ability allowed him to call on powerful, invisible attacks that even Prime wouldn't be able to see coming if he wasn't prepared.

However, given that Prime knew about Pedro, Micheal was forced to scrap that plan. He had found some other ways to use General Pedro, but using him to take out Prime was no longer feasible.

Indeed, even if Prime hadn't been aware of his powers, it was still possible using Pedro to attack would fail. The historical records stated Pedro killed Prime after the man was fiercely tired from multiple battles, and that it had involved a great deal of luck. It might have been impossible to recreate such a perfect scenario twice.

With this, his thought process shifted.

If he couldn't kill Director Prime, he would have to figure out an indirect way to deal with him.

"You know of the Seer, yes, and her vision powers? Well, I have something that worked kind of like that. And because of that, I was able to live through a small part of the future, like an in-depth vision." Micheal took a few steps to his left till he was leaning on one of the theater chairs as he spoke, looking Prime directly in the eye.

Prime silently listened, not interrupting as Micheal continued,

"And in that vision that I lived through… I discovered an enemy that was poisoning and corrupting the minds of certain heroes here on the First Layer. A vile manipulator that sought to create a grand war, to weed out those he sees as 'the weak' and to raise up those he sees as 'the strong.'" Micheal took a breath as he finished part of his explanation, still gazing at Prime.

The man remained silent.

"And that is what led me here, to the Main Cluster, and what led me to do everything I've done. I know that, because of me, some of your Numbers members have died." Micheal began the riskiest part of his explanation. He couldn't help but feel a bit of nervousness sweep over him as he studied Prime, feeling extremely on edge.

"But I never wished for any of that. Indeed, if that man had not infected your men, I would not have had to fight them at all. That was never my wish." Micheal shamelessly blamed everything on the Vile King.

Finally, Prime broke in, his voice tinged with irritation.

"You claim you were forced to murder my brothers because of some unseen, evildoer that was manipulating them from behind the scenes, one you just so happened to see in a vision of the future you magically lived through?" His voice was filled with incredulity, though whether that emotion was real or feign, Micheal couldn't guess.

Micheal simply nodded.

"Yes, that is accurate."

Prime simply stared at him, his eyes flashing multiple times.

Michael took that as a cue to continue, knowing he needed to say his piece as quickly as possible,

"The man is a vile murderer and a shrewd genius. I don't know who he is, but I know that his plans are incredibly intrepid, and that he must have plans not only here, but on the other Layers." Micheal mixed his words with half-truths, weaving a tale of epic proportions. The most convincing stories were ones that were based in truth, a lesson he'd learned long ago.

Prime remained silent for only a split second before he stood up. He then leaned on the guardrail in front of him, still between the two dead Monster Class Morenkai.

"This tale you weave is one that seems too fantastic to be true." Prime began as he rubbed his chin, his eyes looking at Micheal lazily,

"But what proof do you have?" Micheal could've backflipped when he heard that. Despite himself, his heart had begun to pound ever so slightly above average speed due to his nervousness. It was incredibly stressful to control his every expression, every physical reaction, every word.

"What proof do I have?" Micheal shook his head sadly,

"Open your eyes, Director. Think back to the last time you spoke with your subordinates, like Number 1. Tell me, was his behavior… odd? Did it strike you as something jarringly out of place? Were his aspirations somewhat… changed?"

With everything Micheal knew about Prime from history, and all the information he had about what was going on, there was only really one likely reason why Prime would be here.

The man had encountered a problem he could not solve, and was thus doing what he could to find a solution. And that problem almost certainly had to do with this whole mess.

Prime froze as he heard Micheal's final reply, his eyes flashing with light as a memory of the recent past swept over him…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Previously…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

"Garen… What have you done?"

Prime had just walked in on the other members of the Number Organization in the midst of their jubilation, as they sat or stood around a table and talked of the success of their missions. He had frozen time to check on everyone there, noting that most of the Numbers, apart from his Four Corners, were present.

His being here was not by chance. Recently, he'd begun to notice a series of oddities occurring. Not only were his plans running into unexpected mishaps, he'd even discovered that Number 1, one of his most closely trusted allies, seemed to be doing things behind his back. It was even starting to feel like the man's personality was changing, in subtle ways that were hard for even Prime to identify.

And beyond that, the loyalty of the lower Numbers seemed to be shifting. They still treated him with near adoration levels of respect, but their eyes alighted on Number 1. The observations he made were subtle, but he was certain of his hunch. He had examined things a dozen times over already, thinking on the issue for days.

And thus, one thing led to another, and he eventually found himself here. To end things directly, he opted to directly confront Number 1 and the lower Numbers, the allies and comrades he had recruited to join him on their lifelong quest.

And it was a simple quest.

To create an organization that was so powerful, all of humanity would have to listen to its whims. And by doing so, restore order to this chaos-strewn reality.

He had no tragic past to regale others with, no epic mission to stake everything against. He was simply determined to change this world for the better, and knew that there was no one better for the job than himself. He would give up everything, even his original name, to do what he believed in, as if he had been reborn for this very purpose.

His determination was like a mountain, immovable in the face of anything and everything. He had climbed his way from the bottom all the way to where he was now, through his sheer, mindless dedication to his simple cause.

His arrival had frozen the atmosphere over as everyone in the room stared at him, their fear and guilt palpable. Prime noted down and memorized each and every reaction, a sinking feeling filling his chest. They were brothers in arms, were they not? One and all, trying to make this reality a better place? When did he become an object of fear to them?

"What have I done, Director?" Number 1 stood at the head of the table, a powerful, golden Aura bursting free from him as he took a step forward.

"I have done what needed to be done. To save the Nightrunners, to save our very race! I have done everything that I must do! And I will stand here, unashamed for my actions!" This Aura grew in intensity, to such a degree that everyone in the room took a step back.

Everyone but the bored-looking Number 6. When Prime's eyes flicked over to look at him, he noted that the Aura Garen was giving off wasn't affecting Number 6 in the slightest.

As he glanced between both warriors, he realized he could sense something… different. Something about the way they sat or stood, the look in their eyes, the feeling of their Ki…

Number 1 had become stronger, much stronger.

And so had Number 6.

Both of them had, out of nowhere, become incredibly strong. But underneath that increased power, Prime could feel something. Something unerring. The long experience with battle he'd picked up over the years could tell it was the scent of death.

This power they had gained… it had come at a price. A price measured in lives.

"I see." Prime said slowly, his words measured.

He looked at them. He looked at the others, huddling or frozen in fear. His closest allies, men and women he cared dearly for, horrified by the mere sight of him. He looked around the room, feeling the emotions in the air.

And then he turned around and left.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

"And so here we are now." Micheal's words shattered Prime's thoughts, bringing the man back to the present.

"All of this because you couldn't bear to do what must be done."

For the first time, Micheal saw a hint of real, genuine emotion appear on Prime's face.

A flash of red, unrelenting anger warped onto Prime's face for a split second, his eyes twitching. That emotion vanished a second later as Prime froze time to gather himself, but not before Micheal picked up on it.

'That's it. I have him.' He thought, a seed of excitement buried in his heart. Now all he needed to do was live.

Before he could dwell on that feeling, Prime's words shattered his own thoughts. This time, when Prime spoke, the air began to take on a heavy feeling. A tangible, white layer of energy began to rise from the Director's body as his voice echoed in the air,

"If what you say is true, I will find this man, and I will kill him." He spoke as if pronouncing the inevitable,

"But for what you have done to my comrades, I can never forgive you. For the information you've given me, should it be true, you will have my thanks. However..." Prime bent his knees and reached out his hands to either side.

The two spears he'd set down abruptly flew into his hands, the Monster Class Morenkai corpses on them flinging off to fall to the ground.

"No matter what, this room shall be your grave."

.

Chapter 77

Director Prime made the first move.

With almost unearthly grace, the man stepped off from the upper balcony of the theatre and began to fall down.

The instant Prime moved, Micheal reacted.

His right hand settled onto his Spatial Ring as he pulled out three large gas grenades.

How do you fight a man that can stop time and analyze your every movement? It was something Micheal had pondered for a long while, and eventually reached a couple of conclusions.

The first was to depend on his Spatial Ring.

No matter how much time Prime spent studying him, the man would never be able to peer into the contents of his Spatial Ring when time was frozen. That meant he could squirrel away various tools to use in the battle without Prime being aware of them.

This was part of why, before he started this mission, he had temporarily switched Spatial Rings, using a temporary Low-Tier one that he stocked full of everything he thought he might need.

The second conclusion he'd reached was, of course, to depend on those tools to aid him.

Prime was four to five times stronger than Micheal's base stats. Micheal had yet to use his Bracken Enhancement Fluid potion, saving it for later. Direct combat with such a huge difference, against Prime, was extremely unfeasible.

The three grenades Micheal had pulled out were each about the size of his closed fist. They were colored black with a sleek metallic luster, and had small 'x's drawn onto their sides.

Micheal lobbed two of these grenades down towards the ground, while lobbing the third one up towards Prime.

The Director noticed Micheal's actions immediately and responded by halting his fall in mid-air. Micheal's eyes flashed as he recognized the pair of shoes Prime was wearing.

Cloud Stepping Shoes, the exact same type Micheal wore.

The grenades Micheal had thrown towards the ground fell down with simultaneous thuds and then subsequently exploded, sending out two waves of black gas.

Before they hit, however, a small throwing knife coated in Advanced Tier Sword Energy blazed through the air and…

Instead of slamming into the third gas grenade Micheal had lobbed, it ricocheted off a second knife that had been thrown to intercept it.

A knife that also glowed with cutting, red energy…

Micheal's eyes narrowed when he saw this. That was Advanced Tier Weapon Energy, likely Sword or Spear Energy just like his own. Most Weapon Energies acted and looked very similar.

However, just from looking at it, he could tell that the user had grasped only a rudimentary understanding of Advanced Tier Sword Mastery. They were still laying their initial foundation.

Prime was a genius tactician that could stop time to plan and study, but something like Sword Mastery came about as a result of gaining an understanding not only of your weapon, but of the mysterious energy that held up all of reality. It took a certain kind of mindset to make progress, something that had taken Micheal years of experience to pick up.

If one was guided by a wise teacher or possessed a Type Ability that was disposed specifically toward Weapon Energy, one could exponentially increase their rate of improvement. The Sundering Swordmaster Bastien Amiot, in Micheal's past life, possessed the Limited Sword God Type, and was said to have used that to reach the World Master Tier of Sword Mastery, a step above Grandmaster.

It was virtually unheard of to reach the Grandmaster Tier without a guiding Type Ability or an experienced teacher, even if one practiced for a dozen years.

Micheal lacked both of those things in his past life, but so, too, did Prime in this life. The fact that Prime managed to reach the Advanced Tier in three years was a testament to the man's considerable talent and perseverance. That said...

When their two knives collided, Micheal's knife sliced through Prime's like it was butter.

The Sword Energy Micheal used could be considered at the absolute peak of Advanced Tier, while Prime's was still learning the basics. There was no real comparison to be made. Even the much stronger throwing force behind Prime's knife was useless in the face of such a qualitative difference.

A frown appeared on Micheal's face as he saw the two blades collide, processing everything in an instant.

Prime's dagger fell apart, sliced into shards. However, while his weapon couldn't damage Micheal's dagger, the powerful strength behind the throw, aided by the cutting power of his Advanced Tier Weapon Energy, was just enough to slightly alter the path of Micheal's throw.

'Cunning bastard. Still, it'll hit you anyway.' Micheal couldn't help but feel a hint of grudging respect. Prime had recognized his own inferiority and accounted for it, something very few strong warriors could handle.

As a result, Micheal's dagger missed the grenade by a couple of centimeters.

Without Micheal's knife to redirect it, the gas grenade he'd lobbed upward continued to fly up till it reached the ceiling. Once it collided with the roof, it exploded, letting out a torrent of black gas that slowly drifted down, but rapidly spread to cover the entire ceiling.

Micheal wasn't able to see this, however, as by this time, the black gas from the ground swarmed over him.

His body shivered as tendrils of poison crept into him. The gas had rapidly spread and expanded, growing to cover the entire floor of the theatre. A sickening sensation swept over him as he felt the gas seep into his blood, weakening him.

This black gas was known as Mire Wicker Poison, released by a Mire Wicker Flower. It was a light, airy gas that could float and easily spread, commonly found in certain dangerous swamps on the Second Layer. Its poison was corrosive and focused on weakening whatever creature walked into it.

The weakened creatures would eventually collapse and have their nutrients be absorbed into the nearby soil, essentially becoming the Mire Wicker Flower's fertilizer. This gas was extremely hard to resist, mostly because it carried several special spiritual properties. Even if you were fully covered from head to toe and breathing in outside oxygen, as long as you came within range of the gas, you would suffer from its effects.

The grenades weren't effective in large open areas, but that wasn't the case for crowded, dense swamps that had dense foliage and thick trees. Anything open would cause the poison to disperse rather quickly. A closed-off theatre inside a skyscraper was a perfect place to make use of the deadly toxin.

The white bracelet Micheal wore on his wrist glowed slightly as he activated it, using his willpower to stave off the feeling of weakness and foggy senses for now.

Immediately, he could sense a powerful force of energy emanating around a dozen meters away from him. Beyond that, he could sense an immense force floating around 30 meters away from him, over on the front stage of the theatre. The Monster Class Nest Core, silently observing.

Micheal ignored the Nest as he zeroed in on Director Prime. The Mire Wicker Poison was rapidly filling up the room, floating upward to encompass everything. Thanks to his bracelet, Micheal could easily pinpoint exactly where Prime was, regardless of his weakened and foggy senses.

The poison was dense and impossible to see through unless one had a special eye-based Ability, which Micheal was certain Prime didn't have. As a result, Micheal was confident that Prime was unable to see him.

Of course, considering that Prime was almost certainly repeatedly stopping time to pinpoint his location and actions, that point was a bit redundant. Still, the toxin was definitely weakening Prime's senses.

Micheal's mind raced ahead of him as he tried to predict and react even further.

It had only been a couple of seconds, but he had to assume that Prime had already determined and found a way to heal himself from this poison. From history, Micheal knew that Mire Wicker Poison was notoriously difficult to recover from and, unless some of the special healing Abilities were used, the best antidotes would take several minutes to repress the effects.

That meant he had several minutes to work with. Prime couldn't have encountered this type of poison yet, because only someone who had been on the Second Layer would know how to get it from the Shop. The man couldn't possibly account for things he couldn't know, the one advantage Micheal had.

Of course, that also meant that everything Micheal did, he could only get away with once. If he failed… well, that would be that. There would be no second chances.

Abruptly, Micheal jerked backward, his heart pounding as he forced himself to fall down and jump at the same time, angled so low he was almost on the floor. He raised his left arm out in front of his chest, tapping on his Spatial Ring.

A large, blue shield appeared, covering his chest up completely.

Not even a heartbeat later, Micheal felt thuds as three daggers slammed into the shield. Each dagger sank all the way to the hilt, their blades powered by Advanced Tier Sword Energy or Spear Energy, Micheal was still unsure which of the two. They functioned and looked almost identical.

If he hadn't dodged in that frantic moment, one of the daggers would've pierced his left eye, the other one his right, while the third would've stabbed into his heart.

The blue shield Micheal wielded was ripped from his arms due to the sheer force of the throw. Micheal winced slightly as he felt that, but let it go, instead tapping on his Spatial Ring once more as he prepared a counter.

Before he could do anything else, however…

Micheal's head knocked into one of the theatre seats.

'Damn.' His heart plunged as he cursed internally. He had planned for the uneven terrain as best he could, if he did end up fighting here, but planning and doing everything live were two very different things. With his senses dulled, fighting in essentially pure darkness, it was especially difficult to get a reading on his surroundings.

Micheal's reaction was perfect. He grabbed ahold of the seat and used it to help flip himself backwards and over it, leaving virtually no opening of any sort. At almost the same time, his Ashari Blade appeared in his right hand in a guard position in front of his chest.

Unfortunately, 'virtually no opening' only applied to normal people.

While he was mid-flip, Micheal felt rather than saw two daggers pierce through the air towards him, aimed at exactly where he was. He could also sense Prime beginning to move out from floating in the air, the man's energy signature descending towards the ground.

Micheal tilted his Ashari Blade at a precise angle, coating it in a layer of Sword Energy. He perfectly intercepted the first dagger that was plunging towards his throat, sending it careening off towards the stage with a flick of his wrist.

The resulting impact almost broke his hand and numbed his entire arm despite his perfect deflection.

These daggers carried more force than the previous three, each one enough to send Micheal careening. If he had pulled another shield out to block them, he would've been crushed backwards against it due to the awkward angle. Deflecting them was the only possible solution he could work with.

Unfortunately for him, Micheal was only able to deflect a single one of daggers. The other one was aimed just far away enough from the first that it was impossible for him to block. All he could do was jerk his legs as far up as he could.

Not enough to dodge the blade, however.

A burning sensation slashed into Micheal's left leg as a dagger sank deeply into his flesh, piercing through his fancy leather armor as if it was non-existent. The blade sank all the way to the hilt and then cut cleanly through his lower thigh, boring a huge hole into his lower body.

"Arrgh!" Micheal spat out a grimace as he finished flipping, his body cascading backwards to land in the middle of the seats. He shut out the pain from his leg, sending a sliver of Ki down to prevent it from gushing blood as he leaned on one of the seats.

They were less than 30 seconds into the battle, and yet he had already taken an injury that would've ended the battle for other warriors.

This was Director Prime, the strongest man in the First Layer.

A single misstep could have fatal consequences.

"Your reactions and planning are among the best I have ever faced. I find it ludicrous to believe you are simply an 18 year old. I now firmly believe that you have lived through certain visions of the future." Prime's voice echoed out calmly as the man landed a half dozen meters away, sounding the very image of a man in control.

Micheal didn't reply, but instead took the time to regulate his breathing. He forcefully prevented his body from going into shock as he tapped into his Ki, his senses focused entirely on the energy signature that was standing just a few meters away.

By this point, the Mire Wicker Poison had fully engulfed the room, covering it entirely in a black haze.

'Focus, Micheal. Stick to the plan.' A small trail of blood leaked from his lips as his eyes gleamed, piercing through the poison fog to gaze at Prime,

'Everything is still going perfectly.'

.

Chapter 78

Meanwhile…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Apart from Number 6 holding Number 2's corpse, Number 10 was also present downstairs, as were a few Nightrunners that Shin didn't recognize. From the grey lines marked on their black robes, he could tell that they were all Cell Captains, the strongest warriors below the Numbers.

However, a small frown appeared on Shin's face as he scanned the rest of the room, still hiding in the rafters. In his hands, a large, red sniper rifle appeared, the Heaton Sniper Rifle Micheal had gifted him a while back.

'Where is the Nest Core?' The thought fluttered into Shin's mind as he readied the gun and made sure it was good to fire. A hint of unease burrowed its way into his heart.

The Nest Core was supposed to be located on this floor. He even trailed his eyes over to the center of the gymnasium, where a large circle was painted into the ground. This was the exact spot it should've been.

In that circle, only Number 10 was present, holding the remnants of what appeared to be some type of spear.

Before he could reach any other conclusion, however… Admiral Cardell and his team arrived.

"Avast, ye landlubbers!" The Admiral burst into the room from one of the two southern stairwells, his powerful force of presence overtaking the room. A huge anchor appeared in his hands as he withdrew it from his Spatial Ring, holding it out in front of him.

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The Nightrunners, including Number 6 and Number 10, all looked to be understandably shocked. The torrent of powerful warriors that poured out after the Admiral quickly filled up half the south side of the room, creating a throng of allies.

Just a moment after, the three teams that Executive Riana sent down all arrived from one of the northern stairwells. Shin quickly spotted Sophia, Asim, and Vlad, pinpointing their location with a slightly worried look.

For… despite the shock that swept over the Nightrunners, especially the two Numbers who stiffened up in surprise…

Neither of them made a move to retreat or flee. Instead, they seemed to quickly overcome their shock, relaxing as they turned to face the enemies.

Number 10 even began to laugh.

"Ahahaha… AHAHAHA! No… it can't be!" A delighted, girly voice sounded off from Number 10 as her head twisted to look at the teams emerging from one of the northern stairwells,

"How good to see you again!" Shin could see that the familiar foe had turned her attention completely onto Sophia.

"Focus, 10." Number 6's voice was calm and collected as he studied both teams, waving his hand casually as he turned his attention onto Admiral Cardell,

"I think-"

Admiral Cardell didn't let him finish speaking.

In what appeared to be a single second, the Admiral's body transformed into a blur as he sprinted across the gymnasium and arrived right in front of Number6, and then immediately attacked.

The Admiral possessed a very unique Limited Type Ability, the Light-Heavy Type. Even the name sounded weird, which rather suited the Admiral's odd character.

This power allowed the Admiral to manipulate the weight of any non-living objects he came into contact with, as well as himself.

For his attack, not only did he lower his weight to maximize his speed, but he also manipulated the weight of his anchor. Normally when he carried it, it weighed a few grams at most and was easily wielded. Whenever he went in to attack with it, however, it's weight would change drastically.

The Admiral's abrupt arrival was accompanied by that huge anchor smashing down towards Number 6's face.

Number 6 was forced to abandon what he was going to say as he flicked his spear out, the corpse of Number 2 falling from it. Number 6's spear glowed with wavering, red energy as he brought it up to slam against Cardell's anchor.

In that moment, Shin struck as well.

A quiet boom rang out as he fired a condensed 'heat bullet' from his Heaton Sniper Rifle. At the same time, he activated his Expand Ability, causing the blur of red energy to grow slightly. He held his Melding Plate Arm out to cover himself, Expanding it to form a small shield to hide behind in case anyone returned fire.

Unlike regular 'Expanding' objects, when Shin tried to 'Expand' energy, he found that it was much more difficult than expanding physical things. He could still do it, but only slightly. The heat bullet grew by around 30%, becoming more potent and powerful, but not transforming into a cannonball.

Shin had experimented with this once he got the sniper rifle from Micheal, eventually managing to get the results he had here. He still found it worthwhile, after talking to Micheal about it, because he'd come to a certain realization.

It was much easier to block or slice a bullet or cannonball than it was to block a blob of molten fire. His Soul Pistol would allow him to accurately fire precise, moving bullets that he could manipulate, but his heat bullet would melt into and slip past many things that might block his Soul Pistol's shots.

The heat bullet also moved faster than the bullet his Soul Pistol fired, as a result of the bullet being made purely from energy. The only real negative was that he had to charge up each shot, meaning he couldn't fire from the weapon in quick succession.

The bullet melted through the air, piercing towards Number 6's right shoulder. Shin had timed the attack perfectly, as just as Cardell's anchor was about to collide with Number 6's spear.

'Even if you're a martial genius like Micheal, I doubt you can handle both at once.' His thought process was relatively simple. Even if Number 6 had a Defensive Artifact for blocking long-range attacks, the impact should at least startle him and throw off his defense, without giving the man time to adjust.

And, indeed, Shin's abrupt ambush was launched too quickly for Number 6 to dodge or redirect. The warrior's full attention was on Admiral Cardell in front of them. At the exact moment that his spear and Cardell's anchor collided, Shin's bullet slammed into Number 6.

Or, rather, it should have.

Instead, just as the heat bullet was about to detonate on the man's shoulder, a small, glass door opened up and swallowed the bullet whole. The door opened up as soon as the bullet came within one meter of Number 6, activating in an almost automatic fashion.

A second portal opened up a moment later, one that shot the bullet right back at Shin.

A small explosion of heat swarmed over Shin a split second after he fired his gun as the heat bullet exploded onto the shield his Melding Plate Arm had formed

'Wow. Micheal was right.' Micheal had somehow known that Number 6 was able to do this, to create an automatically reflecting defense using his portals. This was one of Number 6's trump cards, something that was unknown to anyone living. Supposedly. Even the Godfather Organization hadn't been aware of this, as far as Shin knew.

While they might be rival organizations, there had never been any overt, large-scale battle between the groups, and the Nightrunners were fairly secretive about the operation of their Numbers.

His bullet hadn't caused even a hint of distraction for Number 6. However, when the fire and heat dispersed and Shin could see the result of Cardell and Number 6's clash, he realized why he felt so uneasy.

Instead of witnessing Number 6 be blown backwards as he had expected…

Number 6 and Admiral Cardell stood locked in place, evenly matched.

The sight was ludicrous.

Shin was well aware that Cardell's anchor, right now, should weigh around 8,000 pounds (3600 kg), much heavier than its normal 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg). Cardell made no attempts to hide his powers as the Rank 1 Supreme A Ranker. He had talked about how it was much easier for him to make things lighter, but that making them heavier was limited to around a 2-3 times limit, largely due to his Soul stat.

Not long ago, Number 6 had proven to be pretty powerful, able to toy with Sophia and Shin. Strong, yes, but he had failed to kill Shin when he tried. If Admiral Cardell had been in his place, the Admiral most likely could've easily killed both Shin and Sophia without failure or any mishaps.

Now, however… after just a brief period, Number 6 was fighting evenly with the strongest A Ranker in the Main Cluster. It should've been impossible.

The two fighters began to exchange a flurry of blows, Number 6 concentrating intently on Admiral Cardell. Attack after attack, Number 6 artfully maneuvered his spear to perfectly block Cardell's enormous anchor strikes. Turn for turn, however, Cardell successfully blocked Number 6's own attacks, showing off the legendary skill he held that earned him the title of Rank 1.

As Shin watched this, it was extremely apparent the Number 6's power, his speed and his strength, had been boosted by a very large margin. And if that was the case…

What about the other Number down here, Number 10?

Shin's head jerked to the side as he zeroed in on the other side of the room.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

"He said I might run into you again." Sophia's voice was cold as she spoke, her eyes emitting light as she slowly stalked forward. Next to her, the other teams brandished melee weapons, everyone tensing up as they glared at the other.

Standing calmly before her was Number 10, alone. The various Cell Captains had all retreated to focus on the warriors Cardell had brought, a grand melee just inches from taking place behind them.

Indeed, in the background, the momentous battle between Number 6 and Cardell had already begun. Sophia even saw a flash of light shoot down from the rafters up above but fail to hit Number 6, her eyes flicking upward as she spotted Shin.

"Ohhhhh, girl, I am SO happy to see you here." Number 10's voice was full of excitement, as if she was relishing this moment. Green vines had already sprouted and covered her arms, legs, and chest, giving her an odd, almost monstrous appearance.

As she spoke, Sophia realized something. There was an almost visible Aura that she could make out surrounding Number 10, one that practically frothed with energy. This Aura was especially noticeable when Number 10 talked, flickering and wavering around her.

This was only visible to her thanks to her Fairy Eyes Ability enhancing her eyesight, granting her the power to see things others couldn't.

Before their battle even began, Micheal had gone over so many plans it made her head ache. In that time, he had described each of the Numbers to the best of his impressive knowledge, noting down their powers. Number 10 didn't have a Type Ability, but instead relied upon a motley collection of unique powers.

And none of those powers matched this.

"I was almost afraid we wouldn't get to meet!" Number 10 laughed out loud as she held her hand out to the side.

Immediately, dozens of vine tentacles burst free and shout out into the air, spreading out to slowly surround Sophia and the other teams. Each vine had tinges of green light simmering around them, making them look rather dangerous.

Sophia ignored that as she glanced beyond Number 10, staring at the battle between Cardell and Number 6.

After a split second, she noted that she could make out the same, flickering Aura around Number 6 as well.

That could only mean one thing.

It looked like one of Micheal's worst-case-scenarios was taking place. The Nightrunners got to the Nest Core before her team did, and not only got there first, but had already broken the Nest Core.

That meant there was only one thing left to do, according to Micheal's plan…

Sophia reached down and tapped on her Spatial Ring, her Fairy Eyes gleaming with power as she glared at Number 10.

…Shamelessly cheat.

.

Chapter 79

After Prime finished speaking, Micheal had roughly 3 seconds of time to recover before Prime moved again. The man's nature was to be extremely cautious, something Micheal took full advantage of as he steadied himself.

Prime, of course, noticed Micheal's actions, and moved because of them. A long, white sword appeared in Prime's hand, one that glowed with bright red Advanced Tier Sword Energy as he took a single step forward. He raised his long sword up in one hand, pointing it at Micheal.

'He's probably going for my Spatial Ring.' Prime didn't show any indication of where he was attacking, but that alone helped Micheal predict what Prime was gunning for.

The biggest uncertainty in this fight was Micheal's actions using his Spatial Ring, and the tools he had inside. Uncontrollable variables were things Prime hated, and the first thing he would seek to get rid of, something Micheal knew for a fact. The historical records of the First Layer had detailed, to a rather extreme level, some of Prime's fanatic exploits.

With that thought in mind, Micheal's actions were brutally direct as he raised his Ashari Blade…

And stabbed it through his own heart, killing himself.

'One down, two left.' The thought fluttered through Micheal's consciousness as life left his body. The world around him became rather hazy as his spirit rose free from his collapsing corpse, leaving the lifeless body to flop down toward the floor. His Ashari Blade flew free from his grasp, flung across the theatre till it landed with a loud clang on the main stage.

Prime, to his credit, didn't hesitate or break step at all in his attack. The man's blade reached Micheal just a scant moment after, faster than Micheal had anticipated.

In a smooth, almost mechanical motion, Prime severed both of Micheal's arms, cutting through Micheal's leather armor easily. In the same movement, his free hand struck forward and pulled off the Spatial Ring Micheal used, securing it.

Spatial Rings were extremely durable. There was a time in the Second Layer where, before they grew scarce, someone created a set of extremely tough armor by linking together several hundred unbound and empty Spatial Rings. That armor never really panned out due to its many openings, but it was a well-known fact that Spatial Rings were extremely hard to destroy.

Even if Prime wanted to, he wouldn't be able to destroy Micheal's Spatial Ring. Thus, Prime's best course of action was to steal it and prevent Micheal from being able to use it.

In his spirit-like form, Micheal could see all of this and think clearly, forcefully pushing past the brutal shock of dying. He could also sense three small, glowing orbs, floating within his consciousness, his Life Orbs.

One of those Orbs was covered in cracks and just moments away from shattering. Micheal ignored this as he forcefully moved his consciousness, putting all his attention on coming back to life as far away from Prime as possible.

In the meantime, Prime jumped backwards and looped a chain around Micheal's Spatial Ring, locking it into place on his waist. Micheal noticed this out of the corner of his mind, a small, internal smile forming.

'He really isn't all-knowing, huh?' Prime's actions, for the first time, made Micheal feel a sliver of relief.

Fighting against Prime was stressful mostly because it felt like the man simply knew everything. The man's reactions to Micheal's actions were perfect, he was able to recover from things near-instantly, hitting Micheal in the worst possible ways.

But, as with before… Prime couldn't know what he couldn't know.

Micheal's Life Orb finished shattering, leaving only two gleaming Life Orbs behind.

An instant later, Micheal's body blurred into existence, still wearing the damaged remnants of his white leather armor. His eyes were clear, though that clearness quickly faded as he was poisoned, for the second time, by the Mire Wicker Poison that had covered the theatre.

At the same time that he reappeared…

Micheal's old body dissipated into dust… and the Spatial Ring in Prime's hand blurred and then vanished as it reappeared on Micheal's left hand.

Prime froze when he noticed this, his eyes widening slightly.

The powers of a Life Orb Master were incredibly mysterious.

It allowed a person to reform their body after death, free from all injuries, but still sustaining the same exhausted state as before. It wasn't a simple resurrection or anything of that nature, but something more abstruse and complex.

Micheal had a few theories on how exactly it worked. One of them hypothesized that the Ability rewound time, in a manner. It might be better to describe it as rewinding 'Fate' to bring one's body back to a condition of being 'healthy.'

And with that in mind, he had devised a rather complex plan that revolved around his Spatial Ring.

For… Spatial Rings were not like regular Artifacts.

A Spatial Ring was bound to a person's Soul, making it extremely difficult for someone else to open. One could bind multiple rings, but if they carried more than a single Spatial Ring on their person, the rings might react negatively and explode.

It was almost as if to say… the natural state of a being's body is where they wield a single Spatial Ring. When they carried that ring, it would be viewed as part of them. If that ring was brought away, just like if one lost a limb, one would slowly adapt to that, but that adaption would take more than just a few seconds.

And thus, if a Spatial Ring is viewed as part of one's body…

And if Micheal's Life Orbs bring his body back through 'Fate' or 'Time' to its 'healthy' condition…

Then shouldn't his Spatial Ring be brought back to him when he respawned?

And so it did.

Micheal grinned viciously as he broke out into a mad sprint, rushing for the Monster Class Nest, and the central stage where it floated. He strained his body to the maximum as he jumped over more than a dozen seats, depending on his memory to help him pierce through the dark haze around him.

Unfortunately, his Signal Seer Bracelet had fallen to the ground where his body had lain. It was a regular Artifact, and a rather crude one at that, adept at picking up and transmitting energy signals, but not too much else. Lacking that, he could no longer directly sense Prime's presence.

His Cloud Stepping Shoes and Ivory Skin Leather Armor both returned to him, however, as both were Artifacts that could be bound to one's Soul.

"Clever. To warp your Spatial Ring out of my Omen Sealing Chain, your Life Orb Mastery Ability is far more unique than I thought." Prime's voice cut through the mire of darkness, full of a hint of surprise and ostensibly genuine respect.

Micheal didn't react to Prime's words and instead continued to shoot towards the stage. He used his Cloud Stepping Shoes to up his pace, feeling slightly dizzy from the weakening poison in the air.

Even he, himself, wasn't fully aware of his own powers. He had only discovered this part of his power by chance, back when he was working with the Godfather to lure several Monster Class Morenkai.

In that adventure, he had made a mad rush for the Godfather while taking on multiple serious injuries. In the end, he had ended up dying just as he reached Head Cameron, causing a Life Orb to shatter.

However, when he reformed… his Ivory Skin Leather Armor, an Artifact that had been in tattered remnants not long before, had been restored back to its original condition. His regular clothes were still a mess and only this Artifact had been restored.

This was the first major clue that made this entire plan possible. He had pondered long and hard about this phenomena, eventually extrapolating and reaching various conclusions that led him here.

Artifacts that were both 'bound' to him and were consistently 'carried' by his body were seen as 'part' of him. And when he died, those Artifacts would return to their 'carried' state so as to restore his 'parts' back to full.

He didn't know what the limits of this were. How long could he remain apart from one of his 'bound' Artifacts before it wouldn't return to him? How badly damaged or destroyed could an Artifact become? What about the contents of his Spatial Ring? What if he quickly withdrew some of them and then tried to restore everything? His clothes came back to him too, but they remained in their tattered, destroyed state. Why?

He had many questions, but few answers. He saved those for more peaceful days, however, and had instead turned his focus into planning for the future. A future he was experiencing right now, here in the present.

As Micheal flew through the air towards the stage, he started a mental count in his head. For every meter he crossed, he counted off a single number. Relying heavily on his perfect memory, and the fact that he'd jumped from the stands and knew exactly where he had been, he was able to reconstruct roughly how close to the stage he was.

A total of 4 seconds passed as he hurtled through the air, accelerating forward.

He couldn't see Prime, but he could still vaguely sense the man's presence using his sixth sense. He knew for a fact that Prime was about to attack him, and that the time he had left was extremely scant.

The moment he landed down on the stage, Micheal acted.

From his Spatial Ring, Micheal withdrew 4 armed 'Tazer String Guns.'

Each gun was roughly the size of a normal handgun. They were colored a sleek silver and had a metal prong attached to the end, where a bullet would normally fire from. The prongs were connected to a long, thin metal wire that would conduct a heavy electrical charge imbued with Elemental Lightning.

Micheal grabbed two guns in each hand, pointing them vaguely in Prime's direction. Each gun began to light up with energy as they were activated and readied, armed to fire at any second. His eyes gazed out searchingly, as if seeking something out.

And then, as he was about to fire the four guns…

He hesitated, unable to find where Prime was.

It was only for a split second. Right after that, he pulled down on the triggers and activated the Tazer String Guns, firing them in a determined manner.

However, because of that split second of hesitation…

Before he managed to shoot, six knives pierced through his chest, ripping through the Ivory Skin Leather Armor like it was paper. A wave of pain swept across Micheal's mind as his arms jerked wide at the abrupt attack. His four carefully aimed Tazer String Guns all shot off in random directions, completely missing Director Prime.

The hum of electricity simmered in the air as the guns fell from Micheal's grasp, setting the Mire Wicker Poison to cascading about energetically, but completely failing to injure Prime.

"Alas. You are lacking, young Micheal, even if you have had visions of the future. Losing the Artifact that allowed you to sense my presence was a fatal mistake." Prime's voice was cold as he landed on the stage with a light tap, appearing just a few meters from Micheal. He had somehow managed to figure out exactly what the Signal Seer Bracelet did, reverse engineering its properties.

In that time, Micheal had fallen backwards. Miraculously, of the six daggers that had pierced his torso, only two of them pierced into one of his lungs, directly collapsing it. One had stabbed into one of his kidneys, while the other three had pierced non-vital flesh.

The injuries were horrifying, but not enough to kill him.

But Micheal wasn't surprised by this. After all…

He knew Prime wasn't trying to kill him again. Not yet.

Micheal spat out a mouthful of blood and looked back up at the Director, his eyes gleaming viciously as he showed a hint of his true self. His hands trembled as his body tried to go into shock, a reaction he shoved away forcefully as he tapped on his Spatial Ring.

Two small, metal daggers appeared in his hands as he got to his knees.

'A little longer…' He thought as he began to speak,

"I have never claimed to be an all-knowing expert, Director. But I will not just sit down and let you kill me." Speaking with multiple daggers inside of you was difficult, to say the least, but he managed to speak clearly, ignoring the dribbles of blood that fell from his mouth.

The black haze in the air shook energetically behind Prime as the man sighed.

"I don't enjoy this, Heron. But I hope that isn't all you have." Prime's voice was supremely unconcerned, as if everything was in the palm of his hand.

Micheal took a slow, ragged breath as his hands trembled from blood loss. He slowly raised the two daggers he'd pulled out in front of him, taking a defensive stance.

"Oh… it's not." Micheal grinned, the blood on his lips transforming his smile into a rather horrifying rictus of pain. His motions were jerky and unsteady, haphazard at best as he readied himself.

Prime's gaze was cautious as he watched all of this, dropping his unconcerned pretense. The man's eyes glowed as he stopped time several times, apparently trying to determine if Micheal actually was still a threat.

In the midst of that, by seemingly random chance, Micheal's two daggers lightly tapped on each other.

Upon impact, a couple of sparks appeared. A rather normal sight for two metal weapons making contact, especially strong weapons bought from the Shop. These two daggers, in particular, were commonly seen ones imbued with Elemental Fire, making the reaction expected.

Those sparks fluttered in the air, sizzling slightly as they made contact with the Mire Wicker Poison that had spread across the entire room, a dense poison gas that only managed to cover everything by accident due to Prime intercepting Micheal's attempted redirection of a gas-filled grenade.

A gas that, just a few moments ago, received a huge amount of Elemental Lightning-based energy from four misfired Tazer String Guns, guns that had only been fired off-target because of Prime's lightning-fast attack and Micheal's split-second hesitation, resulting in them covering different areas of the large theatre.

As a result of that energy, the poison gas, as a whole, fluttered energetically. In the current darkness, however, it was almost impossible to notice.

Impossible unless you were constantly studying the surrounding gas and watching its movements, knowing how it normally operated from experience.

Gas that weakened Prime's senses such that, even when time was frozen, it made it more difficult for him to notice things and focus. Even more so when his full attention was centered on Micheal, trying to understand the mystery behind Micheal's words and trying to figure out what his next attack would be, or what Micheal was doing.

A series of apparently random coincidences, many of which Prime himself had created by his own actions. Things that, individually, would not even be worth a moment's notice.

The gas spread. Some guns were jerked from a man's hands and misfired. A large amount of energy was near-invisibly absorbed into the gas. Several sparks imbued with Elemental Fire made contact with the large room full of dense, energized gas imbued with Elemental Lightning.

For a single, frozen moment, nothing happened.

A microsecond later...

The entire theatre exploded.

.