The Sentinels Arrive

Asiimov gritted his blood-stained teeth as he clenched the steaming, air-rippling core from his chest, gushing arterial fluid from the new hole revealed in his torso as he held the core of his very system forward, aiming it like a cannon.

In response, Noah flicked both of his wrists as he de-manifested his swords, invoking magecraft from the farthest pages of his Creator's Grimoire.

["Absolute Enhancement: Sure-Hit"]

["Absolute Enhancement: Mana Amplifier"]

["Beyond Level 100 Magecraft: Universal Sector"]

It was a section in the grimoire that he had not yet had the opportunity or necessity to tap into, but at last, he found something that required its usage to firmly be put down.

["Absolute Destruction: Breath of Creation"]

The light of the cosmos emitted from his outstretched hand, showing flashes of miniature galaxies, spiraling like discs of infinite life and potential. It was a condensed aspect of the very force of the "Big Bang" itself; a taste of it that withheld its capacity for territorial destruction and inhabited its ability to erase.

If it was truly an unrestrained version of the "Big Bang" the damage would be far too catastrophic for Noah's intentions, which were to control, not to destroy.

In the wake of power dimensions higher than perceived possible, the region shook and the skies became an aurora; dancing with greenish-blue lights in a reflection of the cosmos' arrival.

"Disappear."

With that single, icy-calm word leaving his lips, he unleashed the ["Breath of Creation"] in response to the pure, unrefined energy released from Asiimov's core.

The destructive aspect of the cosmos swept forward like astral winds, sparkling with the essence of stars and a riptide of creation, spawning foremost from the destruction.

"Ah…" Asiimov's eyes opened to the bleak reality of the rousing clash.

There was no contest in raw output; Noah's destructive spell swept through Asiimov's last ditch attack, swallowing it and moving forward without obstacle, encompassing the Sentinel in its creational wrath.

It only lasted a few seconds before he lowered his hand, allowing the ["Breath of Creation"] to fade away after leaving a charred-black, eradicated valley carved through the Antarctic.

"You're one tough old man, I'll give you that," Noah said.

Despite facing the full wrath of primordial forces of destruction, Asiimov remained standing, though clearly moments from death as his exoskeleton was cracked and crumbling apart, one side of his body had its flesh burned away as he stood there, hardly conscious by the looks of it.

"--" Asiimov didn't respond.

In his last moments, Asiimov was more focused on the core he held in his hand; the very heart of his system and being–it was crumbling apart as well, softly blinking as the final droplets of power left.

BEEP. BEEP. BEPP.

Curious, Noah walked over, manifesting a sword into his hand: ['Weapon Construction: Vanta Black"]

As he stopped just in front of the man, looking at him for a moment to wait for any final words, his ears were met with nothing as Asiimov's dreary eyes watched his core continue to blink.

"Well, ciao," Noah said.

Almost in a bored way without any theatrics or grace, the young man simply slid the pitch-black blade through the man's chest, dealing the final blow.

[Experience: +150,000]

As expected, killing a person of such power granted him experience beyond the scope of any gain he'd seen before.

[Level 100 -> Level 100]

'Huh? I didn't level up? Is one-hundred the max? Oh…my stats went up,' he realized.

[Strength: 5000 -> 7000]

[Constitution: 5000 -> 7000]

It was the same for all of his minor stats as well, but he didn't have time to check them in detail as his attention was drawn to Asiimov again, who coughed out blood before holding a smile unbecoming of a defeated man.

"What're you smiling for?" Noah asked with a raised eyebrow.

Asiimov held the blinking core up, displaying it to the adolescent's eyes as he held a triumphant expression, "...My core…I rigged it specifically for this situation…If it were to weaken, signaling my end…it would alert each of the Sentinels to my location."

It took a moment for Noah to understand what was being implied before his eyes suddenly widened, "--What?!"

"Here is one last tidbit for you, Noah Grays…It's the nature of these 'Systems' themselves. It's mostly impossible to study systems when they truly possess no tangible form to dissect; it's as though trying to rationalize the divine–it is simply fruitless. However, I did come across one piece of information…" Asiimov told him, "...These systems are perfectly tailored for us. They are embodiments of your will; personifications of your aspiration. Such indiscriminate malice wielded in your hands…It makes me wonder what pain you had to go through to become the monster you are now?...You're no older than my daughter, yet you've turned into this. In the end, it doesn't change anything. The damage done to your psyche is irreparable. What you've done cannot be undone. All that's left is to stop you–I may have failed, but they won't."

BEEP. BEEP….BEEP…

Finally, the core stopped beeping and blinking as it went silent. It dropped to the ground, falling onto the blackened soil of the desecrated tundra, leaving the snowy-haired Sentinel passing on with a smile on his face.

'All of the Sentinels?...All at once? If there are others at his level, then…!' He thought.

There wasn't any time to react as already, he felt multiple presences arrive as a rift appeared a few dozen meters ahead; the nebulous portal gave way for an array of figures walking out–ten in total.

It was the Twelve Sentinels, or rather, now the Ten Sentinels. Noah didn't waste a moment gathering intel on them as they were all right before him.