CHAPTER 197: TRIALS (UNEDITED)

Author’s Note: Had a tone of crap to do today, Give me a day to fix it.

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It was absolute anarchy. For all the beauty of the capital, it was in ruins. All because I decided it to be that way. Seeing the chaos drove home how much power I wielded. Not the kind of punching hard, but the type of power that got entire legions of armies to move.

Hellsend grew by the day. The Awakened would soon also begin to increase their numbers from recruitment. After Africa, Amari’s faction would rebuild and become our allies; at least, that was what I hoped would happen.

The sheer scale of my journey dawned on me during moments like this. I, who was once nothing more than a loser stuck in a dead-end job, now had enough power and influence to take over a continent. And now I was on my way to make history.

’Not bad for someone like me,’ I joked to myself.

[My lord, I doubt the anomaly of Limitless can simply be brushed away as someone like ’you’. Your results are already beginning to snowball out of control.]

’You think? It feels like I have not done much, though.’

[Yes, that is also true. Your actions since your first night in Hellsgate have not changed much in scope, but they have changed many times in scale. You kill, intimidate, and plan to close Hellsgate. Its just that, unlike before, your words are no longer just empty promises.]

’I guess. Thanks for the pep talk, Exa.’

[It is my pleasure to be of service, my lord. Now Onye, should be in the next room.]

’Think I can kill him?’

[Without a doubt.]

’Is he weak?’

[Hardly, my lord. There are no weak Specters. But in contrast to your extremely high standards, he is but small fry.]

’Okay, then I do not want to waste time. Suggestions on how best to kill him?’

[Use the [Ninja] discipline, strike him from the back with[Shadow] and a full-powered {Fast Forward} with a Faker Weapon.]

At Exa’s suggestion I couldn’t help but agree. I didn’t have any intention of listening to him bitch about his problems or let him gloat like some two-bit hack. It would have been better to just kill him with one blow.

’Interestingly enough, my {Entropies} has resolved my {Fates}’ greatest weakness.’

[Although I would argue that it only got to that point because of your merits, my lord. {Fast Forward} by its own could have never managed to become what you turned it into.]

’I guess.’

Running to the center corridor, I followed Exa’s digital markers all the way to my target. I was sure, if given the chance, Onye would gloat and try to convince me to be by his side. Typical anime and game logic forced that mechanic against a player’s will.

’I wonder why?’

[The most obvious reason is to give the player time to understand whether the villain is truly evil or acting under manipulation by a greater being.]

’You think Onye is being manipulated?’

[Evidence we have gathered proves that he isn’t, he is truly just a deranged individual. We even had Lady Jas confirm with {Insight}. You may kill him with a clear conscience.]

’Thanks.’

Still in [Ninja], I ran through the corridors and sensed the presence of a lot of Phantoms with [Scout]. They were surrounding a much larger presence whom Exa had marked as my target.

"Guess it’s as good a time as any. {Tuesday}."

I summoned one of my soul avatars.

"[Gladiator], M134D, FT5, Burger, get your ass out here," I invoked using Tuesday’s body.

With the soul avatar as my bait, I had Sunday {blink} into the room with Onye in it. Ironically, due to them having so much CCTV, I could practically see everything. Just knowing the insides of a room allowed Exa to help me plot my {Blink}.

It made my entrance undetectable. And as I was in {Ninja}, {Suppressor} muted any sounds I might have made. Barring using a gun, I could beat up the people here without them seeing me. Just like a hentai protagonist with invisibility in a room full of virgins.

The Phantoms all trembled and were looking at the door. I could feel the intense sense of dread they had. Many of them were carrying expensive-looking soulgear and had on a gaudy appearance. They looked like spoiled rich kids who bought everything using their parents’ credit card.

"It’s him! That has to be Limitless! The reports are true!"

"Where are all the Specters? How did he reach this far? What is he even here for!"

"Maybe he will leave. They said Limitless is a womanizer, right? Why don’t we offer him our women?"

The guards all sweat bullets as they murmured among themselves. Combined with the fact that the ceiling kept rumbling from Bella shelling the place, it was picturesque. You would think that the cowards huddled in the room were little girls still drinking milk.

I looked at the Phantoms and didn’t bother to waste any time on them. Instead, I locked eyes on my target. Seated in the center of the room, clenching his teeth, was Onye. He was an obese African man who had extremely slimy features that made him look like your typical asshole.

There were several gorgeous women around him of different races. None of them were Specters. I had expected more surprises, like hidden traps, but nothing came up even with Ninja.

___

Name: Onyebuchi Ndekwu

Race: Reaper | Class: Shifter (Hybrid Path) | Origin: 4th-Gen Descendant

Fate: {Ishoko’s Descent}

Danger Rating: C

Combat: C | Assassination: E | Support: C | Defense: C

___

’Weak. Let’s just get this over with. Exa, where is his soulgem?’

At my request, several parts of Onye’s body lit up. It was under the roof of his mouth, behind his shoulder blades, the back of his knees, and one on his dick. It was standard to Reapers, I surmised to separate your gem.

’Although up until now, I still have my soulgem on my neck. Maybe I should try to move it in the future.’

[You hardly have a reason to do so, my lord. Given the nature of {Rewind} and your tendency to use soul avatars, anyone who could take you down would have no trouble finding your soulgem.]

’But it might delay them, you know? Like how the Speedster from the Seeker War threw his arm away to buy time.’

[Why wouldn’t you just use {Blink}, or better yet {Replace}? {Rewind} already makes dismembering you useless. They have to be able to kill you in one blow, or you will never die.]

’Hmm. I guess you’re right.’

Walking towards the back of the room, I pulled out a Faker mourning star. This was probably the first time I was able to appreciate [Ninja] in this manner. Although Tuesday was outside, I had yet to attack. His mere presence was already enough to distract the people inside.

’And when you consider that these bastards fattened themselves up while the real heroes all died, it makes me sick to my stomach.’

I moved behind Onye and raised the large club in my hands for a two-handed overhead bash. Up until the last moment, I half expected this snake to have something. Anything as a trump card. It kind of felt somewhat underwhelming.

’Guess, not all villains are those who managed to get your attention. Exa, get a video feed going of Onye’s execution and broadcast it to the entirety of Africa.’

[Understood. I have started recording; Lady Bella has connected your feed to every computer and television in Africa.]

’Thanks. Time to die, you fat fuck!’

Steeling my will, I swung down and invoked my {Entropy}.

"{Fast Forward}!"

Just like before, I felt the immense power of my Entropy. Waves of malice exploded outward as my Weapon began to fall down. A full-powered strike fell on Onye’s head. But he wasn’t the one who died. Instead, the girl beside him suddenly had her head explode into a bloody mist.

With the abrupt detonation of blood and malice, everyone in the room turned towards me. But it was too late. My Faker weapon reverted and fell again. Five times it slammed into Onye, twenty times. Yet rather than him, practically everyone around him died in his stead.

’Annoying.’

It was a cowardly power. I didn’t care if he was using a soulgear of it was an effect of his own {Fate}, but using the lives of those around you as shields was just disgusting.

Onye and I locked eyes. My teeth clenched as my rage and disgust began to build.

{Fast Forward} followed a script. It executed all the actions in {Record}’s log. It had 999 actions. And right now, what I had saved was 999 all-out bashes. Onye grinned when he saw himself survive the first 25 blows.

But he had no idea that he was short of 960 lives in order to survive my strike. Knowing this, I felt immense excitement at the carnage to come. {Fast Forward} continued.

Despite it all occurring in a single second, my INT already allowed me to process the flow of time as slow as I wanted.

"And I intend to relish every second butchering this fucking asshole.’