Chapter 25 ─ Beyond Your Limits

We arrived just in time to save Sophia.

As the mansion was being burned, we checked if there was no one inside.

Some servants stealing belongings and for that reason managed to lose the chance to escape were the only ones inside.

Rei used the "Sensing" skill and was able to find a secret passage.

We followed him and that's how we ended up here.

Joachim gave us a dirty look.

"It's you... the brat duke."

"Duke Redblade you mean... well, never mind."

Rei looked at Sophia, she had a complicated expression. Her husband was going to kill her, but we came to save her.

She sure doesn't know whether to be happy or sad, but we'll take that into account later.

Sasha told Rei to put her down.

"Let me get off please."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

Sasha staggered a little as she never thought the day would come where she would fly through the skies.

"Marquis Joachim Catley, the day has come where I will put an end to your crimes both with the Kingdom and, above all, for the offense of provoking..."

Sasha gritted her teeth, but still continued.

"The offense of having made an attempt on my life thus achieving the loss of my mother."

"Surrender peacefully and I'll make sure you get a fair trial, but you'll still pay for them."

"... You're an idiot, aren't you? You think I'll listen to you!"

"I knew it, I knew deep down you were a dirty rat like your father."

"But what do you think you idiot girl. If I go down, you'll go down with me too."

"I know. I'm ready for it."

"... I beg your pardon?"

Joachim broke into a cold sweat at that answer.

"Just as you hear, if I'm going to make you fall, I will too. All this time it was to make you suffer the despair that I and my father felt that day."

"The day you took my mother from me. The day you marked a black day in our lives, the day I stopped smiling."

"That's why today you, Joachim Catley will know despair."

"Before I arrest you, let me tell you why all this happened."

"Aaaaah how boring!"

Rei interrupted Sasha's important monologue for her development. Personally I appreciated it.

"There are a lot of boring parts, the only interesting part is why the money ended up like this."

"Basically this girl manipulated the bills so they all fall apart at the same time and on the same day, a lot of time planning."

"... I don't like that you put it that way, I wanted to give him more technical details."

"Who cares about that. We came to kill him."

The servants like Joachim himself reacted startled at that answer.

"What's weird?"

"This ninny wanted to put you on trial. I'm sure you'll tell a lot of bullshit to try to save yourself. I won't allow it, I'll kill you with my own hands right here and now."

Sasha in angry response said.

"Hey, it doesn't matter how much I hate it. A trial is necessary, we are not savages."

"... I hate annoying women, why can't they be charming like Eli or nice like Rose?"

Rei really wanted to kill Joachim, but Sasha looks angry. Being a big-breasted beauty, Rei couldn't do anything against her.

"... Fine! I won't kill him, but I'll beat you a lot before I take you to the palace."

"Don't fuck with me!"

Joachim refused to lose.

"For several years I've been helping to improve the Kingdom! What's wrong with me getting a little gratitude, huh?"

"It's thanks to my family that we were able to get through hard times! The royal family hasn't been any good since we kicked out the Frazier's decades ago!"

"What if they pay me back!!! My death will put an end to my family, you know that! They know it don't they!!!?"

"They know they need me, I have connections to help this country. We can work out a deal and then just have a small sentence and that's it."

"Isn't that the best option? Besides, your family will also become extinct brat, do you want your ancestor's heritage to end just for revenge?"

"Redblade and Ashton aside, it would be an unprecedented crisis. Our enemies would see that we're weakened by nonsense. it's times like these that we should─!"

"Damn it, this idiot won't shut up."

Rei couldn't stand Joachim's pathetic talk anymore so he decided to shut them up.

"Tie."

From the ground came out tree roots which caught Joachim and his. It was all over.

But at that moment, something strange happened.

"Looks like it's over for you, Joachim Catley."

Suddenly, a mysterious voice called out to him from behind us.

"Who is it?"

Rei turned to look, there stood a man in red robes.

He was about to catch him, but the moment he blinked, he disappeared.

"Disappeared!?"

"I can't let you go on living. I thought you would be a key player, I was dead wrong. Goodbye."

As we turned around, we watched as he put his hand on Joachim's head.

"Wait, I won't say anything about who you are!"

"Please forgive me, you just need to erase my memory!"

"No. I wish to do this too, failure is forbidden. Zekken is dead, the academy was tranquilized thanks to the royal knights."

"I had to kill all the Codes so they won't find out anything. Die."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Rei ran towards that guy, without even turning around, he gave Rei a swat similar to shooing away a fly and... sent us flying several meters against the ground.

◇◇◇

"Die."

"No, husband!"

Sophia watched as her husband was absorbed by a strange force, which gradually turned him into a mummy.

After a few seconds, Joachim Catley became something that was no longer a person.

"You just the same."

"Please forgive us."

"We know nothing."

"I swear, I have no idea who you are."

"It doesn't matter. Die anyway."

The mysterious hooded man did the same to the servants.

Sophia watched as her husband lay dry and stiff on the floor, she wanted to touch him, but Sasha took her hand.

"I don't know what's going on here, but we must go, let's go!"

The two of them took off running to escape from the mysterious man, but it was useless.

Within a few meters of escaping he appeared as if he had teleported away.

"You were witnesses, you will also die. Only the academy I left alone because it was an order."

"Don't get in our way, Air Ball!"

Sasha used magic against that person.

Raising his hand, and with a light punch, the air ball was destroyed.

"How did you do that!?"

"No need to know since you're going to die."

"That's my line, you hooded son of a bitch!"

Rei came flying over, his uniform had blood on it and his clothes were torn.

Rei strengthened his fist to achieve the same effect, but to no avail.

"Futile is your attempt."

Again the man swatted at him as if shooing away a fly, but this time it was with much more force.

Rei was sent several meters against the earth impacting it, generating destruction in its path.

The hooded man was about to kill them, but Rei avoided it thanks to his magic.

"Hoop!"

The hooded man was sucked into the hoop, ending up in a more secluded place.

He watched curiously as he ended up here.

He was floating, as if he was a cloud.

The beautiful moonlight illuminated the entire forest.

Rei floated angrily until he was face to face with him.

"Hey, who the fuck do you think you are, huh, fucker?"

The hooded man wasn't paying attention to Rei, just wandering his gaze, Kurono spoke to him.

"Rei, this one doesn't look normal. In the game there was never anyone like this, I don't know who he is. Be careful, kill him quickly."

"Who will kill who?"

"...!"

The two of them were surprised. That man had heard Kurono's voice.

Rei became more serious than usual.

"Did you hear him?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, you heard God's voice didn't you!"

"... God?"

The man's voice became enraged at the same time that a great pressure could be felt in the air, it was the same pressure that occurs when you go down several meters to the level of the bottom of a swimming pool.

But this pressure managed to make the trees crush and the earth fracture.

In that darkness that hid his face, two glowing red gems that were his eyes glowed sinisterly.

"What would you know who God is!"

"You don't know who God is!"

"You have never had the opportunity to speak to him!"

"Don't you dare sully that sacred name with your filthy words!"

Near him appeared huge fireballs in the shape of black skulls.

"Die for blasphemers!"

He threw the fireballs, Rei activated his hoops.

"The only one who will die is you!"

The fireballs were absorbed by the hoop which positioned itself behind the hooded man, spitting them towards him.

It was an impact for sure, a huge mass of fire was visible to anyone.

"Hahaha, that's what you get for being an idiot."

Rei was confident for defeating him, that was his mistake.

"What the hell?"

He watched as the black flames were absorbed by the darkness that hid his face.

"You think my own power will hurt me? You really are a trusting brat if you believe that."

"Let me show you what true power is."

Several magic circles of different colors and sizes formed in the sky.

The circles came together almost forming a huge gear.

"Try to dodge it. Ea."

From that circle whose color was more beautiful than the rainbow, a huge beam of light descended.

The beam of light was so deep and powerful that it erased everything in its path, leaving only destruction and after finishing its attack, a huge hole could be seen in the middle of the forest.

With almost thousands of kilometers. Enough to almost reach the center of the earth.

The hooded man said.

"I think I got too excited, I hurt the planet, I'm going to regenerate it."

And with those words, he made mud sprout from the entrails and managed to turn everything back to the way it was, the trees and flowers grew normally again.

"That's enough, now to kill those two─"

"Don't sing victory so fast, asshole!"

"What?!"

Rei came flying towards him from the other end, with a huge ball of fire and lightning in his hand.

"Eat this! Cheat Lord Absolute Wrath!"

The hooded man took the ball of fire and lightning full in the face.

An explosion occurred, sending him flying straight into a mountain.

"I'm not finished! Great Pillar!"

Rei clasped his hands together and from the ground a huge pillar of rock emerged, slamming into the hooded man, pushing him up into the sky.

The hooded man thought.

(How did he manage to survive? Ea is an attack using the planet's own power, he should be reduced to ashes.)

"Now, the coup de grace!"

Rei smiled in a confident manner, several magic circles manifested and out of them came the head of a missile.

"I didn't want to use these since Kuro said they were to confront the republic, building them is a pain in the ass, but as long as I kill you I don't mind using it!"

"Die forever, motherfucker hahaha!"

The missiles were sent towards the hooded man who was about to almost come out of the thermosphere.

The large rock pillar came apart, the hooded man was out of bounds already.

From his position, Rei could see some beautiful fireworks.

*Whistling*

"How pretty it looks doesn't it, Kuro?"

"Rei, you big idiot, you almost made me have a heart attack, even though I don't have a heart!"

"Look at you using the hoop on yourself and thus sending it somewhere else to avoid the attack, that was risky that!"

"Hahaha, the important thing is that we managed to kill it. So answer it, don't you know who it is?"

Kurono was upset, but more than anything, he was confused.

"Yeah. I have no idea who it is. But whoever he is he is extremely strong."

"He was strong you mean, he's dead now. I killed him and he'll never screw up again."

"It was a good plan no doubt, I was about to really die."

Rei turned around, there was that man, his clothes were intact, everything about him was. He looked like he hadn't taken the equivalent of 10 atomic bombs on him.

Rei began to feel something he had never felt before.

Fear.

Followed by anxiety and doubt.

"Why... are you still alive?"

"'Why' you ask?"

The man bowed his head.

"Because I cannot die. Death does not affect me as she blesses me. I am the leader of the cult of the goddess of death."

He returned his head to its original position and raised his hands as if to pray.

"I am Azoth of Faith! The goddess Ereshkigal blessed me to do her word and her will!"

"Dying is a luxury I cannot receive until I fulfill her wish."

He clenched his hands as he rejoiced.

"To fill everything living with death and despair. An ideal world for the dead, where cold and melancholy is the only beautiful thing there is. That is your wish and therefore your will that I will fulfill."

"No... no..."

Rei was stuttering, he activated different abilities due to the madness he heard.

"Don't fuck with me with that! What goddess of death or anything!"

"Take all my power, Infinity Cheats!"

Rei used his trump card.

The magic circles turned blue and began to glow.

The hooded─ Azoth just put his hand in front and said.

"Humbaba."

A strange magic circle appeared and Rei's strongest attack was absorbed.

Rei was stunned, he didn't know what happened.

Azoth said to him.

"That was it? I thought you were going to do something more amazing."

"In that case, let me show you what true power is."

He clasped his hands together as if praying.

"Gugalanna."

A sound was heard. Rei didn't know where it came from until something began to cast a shadow.

Looking up at the dark sky, he visualized something incredible.

"Uh... no kidding."

"Rei, is that real, take coveeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!"

Kurono warned Rei to run away, the reason was because a huge meteorite was falling at high speed. The size was big enough to turn the whole capital into a hole.

But there was a problem, Sophia and Sasha were still running away, they would die if it fell, and even if Rei attacked it the remains of the meteorite would destroy the forest completely.

The size was so large that it was impossible to use the hoops. There was only one option.

"I'll stop it the old-fashioned way!"

"Freeze, 20 times magnified."

Rei raised his hands as he activated a spell to stop the meteorite.

It was beginning to turn red after entering the planet. It would not stop.

"30 times."

It was still not stopping, despite its large size it was incredibly fast.

"40 times!"

Slowly it began to stop.

"50 times magnified!"

Rei began to sweat, his hands were shaking and his eyes were filling with blood.

The meteor stopped several thousand meters from the mesosphere.

He flashed his victory smile at Azoth, but Azoth shot back.

"Who said I only called one?"

"...?!"

The moment Rei relaxed, another meteorite of the same size fell at an even faster speed, managing to hit the first meteorite.

Rei could feel the spell break and now two meteors were coming to impact.

"Now... How will you save this country?"

The impact of two meteorites could annihilate half a continent.

Rei did not care about people's lives, he was a villain. A despicable being with an ego so big that he only thinks of himself.

But at that moment his mind recalled a conversation.

(Being arrogant is fine. Being confident too, but on the battlefield a single carelessness can lead to your death).

He clasped his hands together as if praying.

He showed his flaming face, blood pouring from his orifices.

"Fuck you! I won't let you do what you place! I won't die and I won't let you kill anyone! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With that proclamation, Rei activated his ability to the maximum.

"100% freezing!"

Even activating that, it was useless, the speed was incredible, they had already broken through the penultimate layer. There was only one left and they would be just a few meters away from destroying everything.

"At 200%!"

They were still not stopping, Rei was bleeding more and more. The human body had limits of power.

He was surpassing his own limits, he was surpassing the level of a cheat lord to being a cheating existence known as a god.

"300%"

There was no change at all, he managed to break through the last layer.

"400─ ¡700%!"

A change was noticed, the speed slowed down a bit, but it was just as fast.

"1000%"

Rei's teeth like his eyes were covered in blood.

His eardrums exploded and his nose wouldn't stop bleeding. Rei had destroyed his limiter long ago, he could die at any moment.

But those words were still hanging around in his head.

(For that reason young man, don't say things like that. There's always someone waiting for you at home, you don't know what torment they might be enduring without hearing from you. You can be arrogant at home, you can be confident in your city, but not on the battlefield. The only thing we have is certain death if we step on the wrong step.)

The people Rei has known ran through his head, his parents, Sigurd and the others, ending in Eli and Rose.

"I'll... win, I'll win, I'll win, I'll win!"

"Freeze... 10000%!"

Being only 100 meters away, the meteors stopped.

Rei had managed to turn the ground from which his blood fell into a huge puddle.

Stuttering he said to Azoth.

"W-W-What about... do you see that... you can't beat me?"

"... I never told you I stopped, did I?"

"...!"

Four more meteors fell from the sky.

In less than ten seconds they would hit the other meteors.

A strange image came to Rei's mind at that moment.

It was... a woman.

The moment they hit the two meteors, a gigantic explosion occurred.

But before that happened, a magic circle made in the shape of a ball absorbed the explosion.

Azoth was dismayed, Rei managed to defend the planet at the last minute, was what he thought.

But then he recoiled as he saw Rei falling bloodied to the ground.

The explosions continued and the glowing ball compressed the explosion to the point that when it disappeared, it created a shockwave strong enough to reach the capital, it only lasted a second, but it caused a strong earthquake that everyone felt.

Azoth was heading towards Rei, he was unconscious with his eyes rolled back in his head.

From his hand a sword materialized, before plunging it in, he was stopped by a voice.

(Stop.)

"Why do you want me to stop?"

A strange black mist in the shape of a red colored eye appeared on the spot.

(Don't kill him.)

"He is dangerous. We must not leave him alive."

(No. It's necessary for that. The promised day needs him to stay alive.)

"I understand. If that is your will."

Azoth turned his gaze to the blue stone on the ground.

"At least let me kill this one. He is an abomination in your eyes."

(No. He too is part of the promised day.)

"I see, you're lucky. Next time you won't make it out alive."

Azoth withdrew his sword, the ghostly eye seeing Kurono as if it knew he was inside.

"Farewell, reincarnated one. Until the day we turn."

"How do you know I am one?"

"Who are you?"

The ghostly eye and Azoth disappeared like dust in the wind.

"I know everything. But, it's none of your business, the game from long ago... it was a bad end..."

They both disappeared without a trace.

"Rei wake up, Rei!"

Kurono tried to use his abilities that he could achieve despite not having a body.

He healed Rei, this took several hours, but he was still unconscious.

Morning came and just like that, this was all over.