CHAPTER 38: SHINRA INCIDENT [8]

「Creator – ??- Rank」

’A new skill? It has no rank...’ Leon blinked, reading along the lines.

From the description it was clear that this skill directly affects the World System. The system which controls all the game’s backend mechanics.

’That’s basically a cheat,’ he sneered.

Indeed. Having control over the game’s architect would make Leon a literal god. Heck he would be even stronger than the all Five Calamities combined.

But his excitement came to a halt after he read the skills limitation.

[Can only be used for 30 seconds. The user may fall into a coma for a few days, depending on the commands the user overwrites.]

"Are you kidding me?" his eyes twitched at the statement.

A thirty-seconds timer is fine, but a coma? That’s not something he would want.

Imagine using the skill in the middle of the battlefield, and then immediately falling into a coma... that would be a suicide.

And the worst part was, the duration of the coma wasn’t even mentioned.

"Haaah..."

Calming his mind, he read the statement carefully again.

’The user may fall into a coma depending on the commands the user overwrites... that’s an interesting way to put it.’

So, if Leon uses a command which only focuses on a small scale, then the coma wouldn’t be for that many days.

"..."

Many possible scenarios erupted in Leon’s mind, as he began altering his strategy.

’The risk can be taken if I don’t directly alter something massive, like... deleting a whole character.’ he inwardly chuckled just thinking about it,

’Heh, that would be something a maniac would do.’

Glancing at the scene where Lucian slowly transformed into a horned demon, he finalized his strategy.

’Gross, he became uglier.’

Ethan’s light mana was powerful, but not enough to rival the [Soul Eater]. He could take one direct hit of its full caliber, more than that, Ethan could lose his life.

A clash between Light and Dark Mana could be catastrophic. With every hit between both their blades generated a shockwave which destroyed the surrounding houses, and even cleared off the clouds over their heads.

Leon saw Eula circling Lucian, avoiding every hit from Lucian’s third arm.

The rest of the Twilight Orders wielding weapons of different kinds launched themselves from the roofs towards Lucian.

’Ahh.. they won’t even scratch his skin.’ Leon thought before drawing his silver blade from his side.

The Twilight Order swarmed Lucian from every angle. Their blades rang against his flesh in a storm of blows.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Not even a scratch appeared.

Lucian’s grin widened, his laughter boomed through the street.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS ALL YOU HUMANS HAVE?! GANG UP ON ME AND STILL LOSE! HOW PATHETIC!"

Judging from how relaxed he seemed, it looked like he didn’t see Eula and the others as a threat.

’That’s perfect.’

It wasn’t an easy task to bridge the gap between a Primordial Demon, and him. But with his newfound skill, it would be somewhat possible.

Leon exhaled slowly.

’This guy is really annoying.’

His finger hovered over the transparent prompt.

▷ Accept.

The moment he clicked, the world before his eyes twisted.

[Creator – ??-rank]

[Activate]

Immediately a blinding cascade of code, symbols, and digits flooded his vision. It was too fast for a human eye to read, yet his mind read each one of them effortlessly.

He could feel the weight of every stone, the pull of every breeze, and the heartbeat of every living thing in the range.

Threads of golden light stretched across his vision, mapping out every object, every entity. One of them burned darker at the edge, shaping a humanoid with horns and four arms.

It was Lucian.

Leon’s gaze locked on him.

Holding his blade in one hand sliding it to the floor, he slowly walked towards Lucian.

He thought of a command, and slowly spoke it aloud.

"Adminitrator Command – Motion set to static."

[Timer : 30 sec]

At once, the world seemed to obey. The threads around Lucian froze, locking him in place like an insect trapped in a web. His snarl froze mid fight, his eyes locked in a static position, and even a bead of sweat hanging motionless on his cheek.

"Huh?"

The battlefield fell silent.

Eula’s eyes widened at Lucian’s frozen state. Ethan faltered backward, glancing at the black haired figure advancing through the crumbled street.

Light Mana was condensing around Leon’s body in heavy streams, drawn towards him as if the world itself was feeding him power.

His mana could rival even Ethan’s at some point.

’What is... he?’

Both Ethan and Eula had the same thought.

’And... how did he do that?’

They knew Leon had frozen Lucian, but not how.

’Is this his unique skill?’ they thought.

Leon kept on walking, dragging the Mana infused sword behind him.

"What did you do?" Eula asked, stunned.

Leon stopped near her figure, facing her, he told Eula.

"That spell, you can perform it now."

All Eula saw was a pair of golden eyes so bright, that it reminded her of Madam Veronica.

Gritting her teeth, she signaled the others.

"Yuki, take everyone far away." Eula ordered.

"But Commander why’re you even listening to his wor—"

Yuki tried to retort, but failed before Eula’s intense glare.

"Do as I say."

"Y-yes."

In a matter of seconds, every cloaked figure vanished from the vicinity.

Kicking off the ground, Eula landed on the half crumbled house’s roof.

[Timer : 14 sec]

Glancing at the timer, Leon noticed more than half the time had gone.

Immediately, he turned to Ethan who was witnessing all of this, and said.

"Ethan listen, we have ten seconds before Lucian sets free again, in that state he won’t even see, feel, or hear anything which was happening outside."

Ethan understood.

Nodding his head, Ethan lunged, as his blade arced towards Lucian’s throat.

CLANG—!

The string rang off, as it was blocked by a silver blade.

"What are you doing—?!" Ethan’s eyes widened.

It was Leon who blocked the strike.

Leon’s voice cut through.

"The atoms in his body are locked," he calmly explained.

[Timer : 10 sec]

"Atom?" Ethan clicked his tongue, not understanding a word he was saying.

"Yes, every part of him is frozen, even the smallest particles. And you can’t cut something that’s not moving at all."

"What does that mean, and what skill did you use?"

Leon ignored and shot him a glare.

"We don’t have time."

Due to Leon freezing every motion inside Lucian’s body, the atoms in his body also froze, locking in a state of absolute superposition.

No force in existence could shatter it.

Leon stepped into view, his golden gaze never leaving Lucian.

He looked up, and called,

"Prepare the spell. And cast on my signal."

Eula blinked down at him, then nodded sharply.

"What are you planning?" Ethan asked.

[Timer : 7 sec]

"We don’t have time, Ethan when the spell strikes, aim at his neck."

Ethan was confused, but he did as Leon said. He believed that Leon had a plan, that even the Twilight Orders were following it.

’I will trust him just this once.’ Ethan thought.

The timer in Leon’s vision ticked down — 5... 4... 3...

He walked behind Lucian.

"Get ready."

Ethan gripped his hilt, and Eula started envisioning the Spell Formula in her mind.

2...1..

As the timer ended, the freeze shattered with an audible crack.

Lucian snarled, his focus snapping instantly towards Ethan.

"Now!"