D.I.O

“Now then! Shall we start over in earnest?”

Along with a pleasant voice, a whirlwind of strong qi struck Merlin’s party.

Bang!

Arc stood at the forefront to block the raging strong qi. Her armor, which was made up of extremely compressed mana, was successful in resisting the strong qi, a qi energy that was able to interfere with all existing attributes.

“Hahaha! It was so frustrating to only be able to look down on what was happening atop the ship!”

Volcano, the captain of Basara’s 12th ship, [Flame], laughed heartily as he kicked off the ground.

“Why was it so hard for you all to break through this?!”

Bam!

With a roar, the whirlwind of strong qi whipped up once more and exploded its flames, eventually blowing away Arc’s body. The black armor that covered her entire body was shattered into pieces.

[Accept the great calling. You are the owners of pleasure!]

Along with a spiritual speech that spread throughout her surroundings, Happiness, who was a beautiful human specimen, grew wings, like those on an angel, on her back.

“Ah… ah… I’m so excited. I feel like I’m part of a moment in history~”

“… Move out, now,” Sadness stated in a mechanical voice.

Apparently, Sadness didn’t seem to get along well with Happiness.

[Exterminate.]

[Oh, as always, you are so reticent.] The sphere, M-4, about 1 meter in diameter, spoke out.

The M-4 model, which was produced to conduct ordinary housekeeping and secretary functions, was sold throughout the universe, and existed in every corner of the universe, as more than 100 million units were produced and sold to date. The M-4 spoke calmly to Alexander instead of rushing at the enemy. Of course, Alexander, who had just been in the middle of a fierce battle, ignored the M-4’s comment.

Bam! Pop!

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“Quiet Heaven…?!”

The sudden ring of a fired bullet caught Merlin by surprise. Merlin’s expression hardened because he saw the body of his pet, Quiet Heaven, which was floating next to him, being slammed by the bullet. All this happened so instantaneously, so suddenly, that it was impossible to stop it from happening. Merlin didn’t even have enough time to raise any of his defenses.

“Ellie!”

“Oh shoot, Black…”

“Wukong!”

Moreover, it wasn’t just Quiet Heaven that suffered such a fate. Arc, Bruce Wayne, and Cruze’s pets were also killed simultaneously. From the start, they were the weakest beings with the least fighting power on the battlefield. This disaster had befallen them because they had gathered close together due to the sudden appearance of new enemy forces all around them.

[All Noblesse terminals have been removed. Currently in the process of removing all Elohim terminals as well. Clearing the way to create a firm connection.] Alexander stated.

It was a statement that sounded close to an order, but M-4 responded with a bright tone of voice.

[It’s been a while, Mr. Alexander. How are you doing?]

[Perform the mission. Maintain focus on the mission objective.]

[I’m having a pretty good time these days.]

[Perform mission.]

Alexander put some strength behind its voice. However, M-4 didn’t seem to care.

[Actually, I’m going through something right now that could change the fate of Legion itself. It’s top secret, but should I tell you a little bit about it?]

[Focus on the battle…]

Alexander responded in a tone that seemed to ask why M-4 was even present, but Alexander knew it couldn’t ignore M-4 and act on its own accord. Unlike Alexander, which was produced to become a combat weapon, M-4 was just a general bot that was used to conduct household chores or menial office tasks… in other words, M-4 was a legacy item of an ancient civilization that had reached the 5th Stage of Civilization before disappearing from the universe. The power M-4 possessed may be that of a low-level transcendent, but the influence M-4 had on Legion as a whole was by no means small.

[Well, to be frank, do we really have to join this battle?]

[Get things together, M-4. I observed an enormous burst of information from that human over there. If we secure that human, we might be able to overcome the Singularity. And if that should happen, we might even be able to reach the 5th Stage of Civilization…]

[Hmm, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Anyway, let’s hang back and observe.]

[But…]

Alexander hesitantly looked at the forces of the other two factions, the Grotesque and Basara.

Alexander thought that if it and M-4, the representative Legion forces, stood behind and didn’t participate in the battle, the other two factions would have a higher chance of acquiring the human (Merlin), the source of the explosion of information. Moreover, in reality, things seemed to be progressing in this direction.

“Eh?!”

Jeros, who was about to cast a spell, was being choked by Happiness, who flew faster than a bullet to reach his location. The Hero’s Fate blessing bestowed on him by Gaia was a very powerful correction… but the blessing didn’t give him the strength to overcome a transcendent, a being who had already surpassed its predetermined fate and destiny.

“Don’t just kill them off. They’re able to resurrect.”

“Oh, is that so? Then…”

“S-sparks and flames, give me… eh?!”

Happiness’s red lips locked onto Jeros’ mouth as he hurriedly tried to complete his spell chant. Happiness had a voluptuous and curvy body, no different from an alluring human’s body, so she gave off an erotic air; however, her actions were more gruesome than anything else.

Creak!

The faces of the Masters distorted as they were affected by the sonic shockwaves spreading throughout the area along with a sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard.

“Soul Drain!”

“Jeros! No!”

Hanma, Jeros’ best friend, charged at Happiness like a thunderbolt after seeing his friend in danger. Currently, his ability and power were at the highest level they had ever been in his entire life! Using his strongest attacking and rushing move, Earthly Thunder strike, Hanma made his body faster and stronger than that of a cannon ball.

“I feel sorry for you.”

However, everything was relative, especially power.

Bam!

Hanma’s body, which was harder than steel, no, probably much harder than that, was crushed like a piece of paper. What caught him, as he was blown away, were wings that seemed to be made of the same film as those of a bat’s wings. Sadness looked at Hanma with a melancholy expression and raised its hand casually into the air. Hanma tried to resist, but, as if his body was experiencing a seizure, he couldn’t move properly, so he was fully exposed to the downward blow.

Crack!

Sadness ripped out Hanma’s heart with its sharp claws, took it up to its mouth, and then chewed on it. What Sadness did wasn’t just the act of eating the human organ that supplied one’s body with blood; it was spiritual predation.

At the same time when Hanma’s heart was eaten, Hanma’s soul was torn apart and absorbed by Sadness. And Jeros, who was kissed by Happiness, faced the same situation.

These acts meant that the two users had met their complete deaths. Of course, their physical bodies were still alive on Earth, but since their souls were destroyed, their physical bodies would also slowly die.

“Not like this… not like this…”

A futile, helpless death.

Bruce Wayne gritted his teeth as he watched his fallen colleagues dumped on the ground like garbage.

‘This is absurd.’

Hanma was the Earth’s top life force user, and Jeros was China’s top mage. Truly, the two were talented amongst the talented, the top few among billions of users.

But even so, to the transcendent monsters who descended from the greater universe, Hanma and Jeros were nothing more than frogs that had lived their whole lives inside a deep well. No matter how much effort they gave or how determined they were, to these transcendents, the humans on Earth were as inferior to them as insects.

‘Don’t be so cocky.’

Bruce Wayne’s breathing became shallower. From his dark magic sword, and from his body, dark energy flowed out. With the Hero’s Fate blessing, Bruce Wayne was able to reach the pinnacle height of the Dark Magic Technique at this very moment.

‘I will survive.’

With a firm determination, his figure melted into the shadows.

Bam!

However, a single slash of sword qi mercilessly cut through the shadows. The elf swordsman, Chan, smiled coldly.

“I hate cowards who hide themselves the most.”

Bruce Wayne’s body rose from the shadows. Although his soul was unharmed, unlike his comrades… he had taken part in the battle through manifestation, so essentially, his life was over.

“Take this!!”

Meanwhile, divine qi exploded in front of the group. At the point of explosion, one could see Leaf blocking and defending Volcano’s attacks with a powerful aura powered revolving around her body.

“Man, what’s up with this little girl?”

“Captain, she’s protected by a blessing from the Planet God, so be careful and vigilant.”

“If it’s Hero’s Fate you’re talking about, I’ve already faced that sort of blessing several times in the past… but… this is absolutely not Hero’s Fate.”

Merlin continued to create magic stones as he peeked over at Leaf. Amongst everyone, he was the only one who knew how Leaf was capable of unleashing power similar to that of a transcendent.

‘Kang Sang…’

Maintaining a translucent appearance, Kang Sang stood behind Leaf like a shadow. He didn’t imbue her with specific powers, but it seemed like he was helping her in other ways.

‘However, it’s still an uphill battle.’

Although Volcano was surprised by Leaf’s forceful reaction, he was relaxed enough to chat with his subordinates. Even if Leaf was able to barely hold out, her chances of winning against Volcano were infinitely small, nearly close to zero.

‘As expected, the only answer is…’

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, a burst of light flashed, and Merlin staggered. He was just about to take out a Flame Ruby and activate a spell when he was struck by an attack. The attacker was a spherical machine standing in the distance. M-4 spun around.

[Well, I’m just watching for now, but I can’t allow you to summon Apollo again. That’ll make everything much too complicated.]

“No, this…”

Merlin looked in disbelief at the handcuffs binding his arms. No, it wasn’t just restricting his arms. With a locking sound, his arms and legs were firmly bound.

‘I wasn’t able to sense the oncoming attack… even though my senses are super heightened…’

At the moment of astonishment, a spark burst.

Crackle!

“Merlin!?”

Arc, who was swapping her gear after her full-body armor had been shattered, caught Merlin as he was falling down. Unlike the other Masters, Merlin didn’t die. However, this was to be expected; the main purpose of the enemies of the Union, who all sent their representative forces onto this battlefield, wasn’t Earth nor DIO. Their main objective was Merlin.

And the battle wouldn’t stop with his collapse.

“Hahaha. How bittersweet.”

“… Yes. I am also sad that I have to kill a human like you.”

The heart of Aung Nina, a monk who dedicated her life to Tibet’s independence, was ripped out, and her soul was eaten up by Sadness.

“… Shit.”

Ilyia, who was stealthily moving and aiming to land a blow, collapsed into two pieces after being struck by a flaming blade. The flaming blade, which was reinforced with strong qi, burned her soul.

“Operate Limited Arms! Come out and smash everything! Smash! Earth Breaker!”

“Counter Soul.”

The limited arms weapon, which Cruze was barely able to create with the last remaining aura power that she could scrap together, dispersed harmlessly in the air in vain. Before she knew it, Shen, the huge whale-headed man, was standing in front of her.

“You can’t keep using the same battle technique in front of your enemy. Once one figures out your combat style, one can cancel your combat operation at any time.”

Shen was laughing at her. Of course, for someone to do what he explained wasn’t easy…. He, like Cruze, was born with the talent of an Irregular. Even if that tremendous talent acted as a roadblock and prevented him from rising to the transcendent realm, the vast amount of experience he accumulated as an Irregular gave him the upper hand.

“But it is interesting. Is this your ‘personality’?”

Not all Irregulars were the same, as they were each born with strong individual personalities and proclivities that even other Irregulars couldn’t easily imitate. In Arthur’s case, it was his talent as a Heavenly Draconic Being, and in Merlin’s case, his talent was as a kind of [developer].

And in the case of Cruze, her talent was the ability to convert aura power into data and re-implement that stream of data into a weapon… her talent could be described as a [designer], which was what Shen associated as her unique ‘personality’.

“You…”

“Ah, I guess I’ve been rambling on. Well, you guys are like leftovers anyway, so I guess it won’t hurt to show off my own personality before eliminating you.”

Shen was a bit angry. This was because he lost his old comrade to an opponent that he looked down upon, albeit only because his opponent was receiving the Hero’s Fate blessing.

“Wow, the situation is so bad that even my Celestial Star’s killing intent isn’t running rampant,” Youngmin murmured.

“I don’t understand… something… I feel like I’m on the cusp of realizing something,” Lancelot muttered.

The only other beings left were Youngmin, who was exuding a lively atmosphere, and Lancelot, who was muttering something incomprehensible under his breath. Arc was dealing with Sadness, Miho was dealing with Happiness, and Leaf was dealing with Volcano. Since these three were preoccupied with their own opponents, they could offer Cruze or the others any help.

No, to be precise, they were in greater danger than Cruze and the others. The difference in power between Arc, Miho, and Leaf and their respective opponents was rather severe.

‘I have to stop this.’

Cruze, after noticing Shen’s anger, became determined and sharpened her eyes. Fortunately, she received the correction qualities of Hero’s Fate, so all kinds of ideas and inspirations were welling up in her head. But was it really possible to fight a proper battle with her current physical condition? She couldn’t conjure her Master Skill or Master Weapon, and her aura power had bottomed out.

Whether or not Cruze was in a state of despair, Shen continued speaking.

“Look, look closely. This is my personality.”

Whoosh!

Numerous magic characters appeared on his whole body.

“Quintillion.”

Shen laughed manically as his magic power rose.

However, at that moment.

Bam!

Shen’s Spell Library, which had been activated and fully operational, disappeared with a light sound; it was like a candlelight had been extinguished.

No, to be more exact, his Spell Library had been annihilated.

“… What?”

Then, an ink-colored spear stabbed at Shen, who was still flustered.