"!!!"
In an instant, both men's expressions changed. They stared fixedly at Vincent, and within moments had made up their minds.
"Move!"
At William Augustus I's low command, George III unleashed the full force of his Sequence 1 ability, targeting Ouroboros, while William Augustus I himself went straight for Vincent.
The next instant, as Ouroboros found himself split off into his own independent "battlefield," he took several of George III's abilities in quick succession, and, on his own initiative, hurled Vincent straight toward William Augustus I.
The two Angels from Castia and Tamara caught on immediately. Neither of them understood exactly what the Augustus family was playing at, but operating on the principle of opposing whatever the Augustus family wanted, one moved to block William Augustus I, while the other lunged for Vincent.
Bernadette said, low, "No wonder the Augustus family's Angel suddenly turned on us — he must have sensed the Nation of Disorder's presence on us."
"Was it that Nation of Disorder stone?"
Vincent understood too, now — but caught between four Sequence 1s all fighting over him, he had virtually no ability to resist at all.
He knew perfectly well that whoever ended up winning him wasn't going to end well for him either way, so his only option was to shout, as loud as he could, at the one person here who hadn't made a move at all: "Adam! Help me!"
Adam raised his head slightly, his golden eyes betraying no reaction at all, as if lost in some thought of his own — but he kept his same posture, clearly with no intention of stepping in.
Well, screw it.
Vincent silently cursed, using the Sage's Diadem to turn himself back into a formless stream of information, while at the same time waving a hand, spirituality surging through him like a burst dam — summoning the Sword of Damocles above William Augustus I's head with one gesture, and with the other, rapidly condensing the crimson Spear of Longinus, shouting the Words of Order:
"You are guilty!"
"You have killed!"
"You have blasphemed!"
The next instant, multiple abilities fired off at once, all aimed at the four Sequence 1s currently fighting over him like he was a basketball — with roughly the same energy as the old Empress Dowager once declaring war on eight nations at once.
And, much like that historical fiasco, all the shouting in the world didn't accomplish much — the point wasn't to actually win, just to throw even the smallest wrench into their plans, and buy himself the faintest chance at survival.
Ouroboros quickly broke free of his isolated "battlefield." His pale face stayed just as expressionless as ever — except now, in his eyes, two translucent silver snakes appeared, each biting its own tail.
Then, one after another, complex mercury-colored symbols leapt from his body, rapidly linking together into a massive, illusory, scaleless serpent.
Across the surface of this silver-white giant serpent, dense patterns and symbols formed interlocking wheels, each ringed by its own distinct markings.
Its cold, blood-red eyes swept the area once, and the enormous serpent surged into the air, curling its body through the void, and bit down on its own tail.
Its shadow fell over the spot where Vincent stood, forming a strange, exaggerated wheel.
"Reboot."
Ouroboros said, flat.
Instantly, everything within the surrounding area seemed to hit a rewind button, everyone snapping back, unchanged, into their exact prior actions from "the past."
Vincent, too, was pulled backward along with everything else, returning to Ouroboros's side.
Ouroboros made no attempt to flee immediately. His illusory wings gave a light flap behind him, and he extended a hand toward the four Sequence 1s, pressing forward, laying a curse of misfortune upon them.
Then he tapped a finger against Vincent's forehead, letting a finger-sized snake pattern sink into his skin, leaving behind a faint, serpentine marking.
And it was at that exact moment that the reboot ended, and everything snapped back to how it had been.
William Augustus I, just as he had before the reboot, drew a silver rapier, sweeping it forward to slice Ouroboros off into his own isolated "battlefield," while George III unleashed a rapid barrage of Distortion, Amplify, Bestowal, and other abilities.
Ouroboros, his actions and mind twisted by the assault, once again hurled Vincent away on his own — seemingly no different from before the time reboot.
But just as Vincent flew three or four meters clear of Ouroboros, the serpent marking on his forehead suddenly leapt free, transforming into an illusory image of a serpent biting its own tail.
And then, time reversed once more.
Vincent found himself back at Ouroboros's side again, as if nothing at all had just happened.
This was the "Cycle of Fate" Ouroboros had just cast — capable of trapping a target within a fixed area in a strange, reboot-like state, which would then loop, again and again, once a set condition was triggered, sustaining a kind of endless balance.
And the person caught within the cycle wouldn't even realize they were trapped in a loop at all — they'd simply repeat, again and again, whatever they'd already done before. Much like what happened in the original story, when Little Sun Derrick, out exploring with the Chief, encountered that little boy.
Bernadette thought, startled, "Time's looping again?"
Trapped within the cycle himself, Vincent naturally had no idea. "What?"
"You didn't notice?"
Hearing her say that, Vincent immediately recalled that exact scene from Little Sun's arc in the original story.
But the four caught in the loop this time were, after all, Sequence 1 Grand Angels. After it repeated six or seven times, they finally noticed something was off.
By the eighth time Vincent found himself back at Ouroboros's side, William Augustus I suddenly threw an arm out, stopping George III. "This area's been placed under Ouroboros's 'Cycle of Fate.' Until we break the loop, we're going to keep repeating this."
George III immediately understood, raising a hand and clenching his fist hard, unleashing "Chaos" and "Distortion" together, aiming to tear apart and destroy the "rule" underlying the "Cycle of Fate" directly.
William Augustus I, meanwhile, focused himself, preparing to strike the instant the loop broke.
But the two Augustus family members had apparently completely forgotten the other two Angels present — from the Castia and Tamara families.
Before either of them could act, the other two Angels' attacks landed without warning, and the recently paused battle erupted all over again.
Rules and order were torn apart, rebuilt, restructured, twisted, and shattered, over and over, in rapid succession. The four Sequence 1 Angels descended into a full-scale brawl, no longer able to spare Vincent a moment's attention.
The translucent snake in Ouroboros's eyes, endlessly biting its own tail, flickered rapidly and vanished, and a heavy exhaustion settled visibly across his face.
"Go."
He gripped Vincent's arm, met Adam's gaze once — Adam had still done nothing this entire time — then casually tore open a rift into the Spirit World and stepped through.
"Spirit World transit is forbidden here."
An authoritative voice rang out, cutting off Ouroboros's movement.
It was Derek Augustus, ignored by everyone up until this moment. As a Sequence 2 Angel, he obviously stood no chance against a Sequence 1 opponent — but using his abilities to slow him down, even buy a bit of time, was still well within his reach.
"Ancestor! George III!"
Derek Augustus spoke quickly. "Don't forget what actually matters here!"
The reminder snapped William Augustus I and George III instantly back to their senses. Both of them retreated at once, putting distance between themselves and the other two Sequence 1s, exchanging a glance — and in that glance, each recognized the other's hesitation.
The only reason they'd both been holding back against Ouroboros wasn't that he was genuinely strong enough to take on all four of them at once — it was their fear of the mad god, the True Creator, behind him.
But with the Nation of Disorder now on the table, even if the True Creator really did step in, they'd have no choice but to risk everything.
They couldn't afford to keep dragging this out. The moment the Castia and Tamara pair caught on, one of them going for the tomb and the other for the target, the Augustus family would be thrown into a defensive scramble instantly.
At that thought, grandfather and grandson reached the same understanding.
William Augustus I and George III shifted their target once more, and this time, they clearly weren't holding back at all — simple, direct, aiming to settle this as quickly as possible.
Faced with two Sequence 1s attacking without any restraint at all, Ouroboros — already stretched thin — was immediately thrown into serious trouble, with no attention left to spare for Vincent.
He decisively raised a hand, empowering Vincent with a burst of good luck, then hurled him away with force. "Run."
The next instant —
Ouroboros's form rapidly twisted and expanded, transforming into a massive, scaleless silver serpent. As a Sequence 1 Grand Angel, he could freely take on his Mythical Creature Form at will.
Vincent, hurled through the air, quickly steadied himself, glancing back once at the silver serpent now holding off the Augustus grandfather-and-grandson pair, before gritting his teeth and shooting off like a streak of light.
Whether Ouroboros's actions were purely a result of the True Creator's orders or not, this was a debt Vincent knew he owed.
If he managed to survive today by some stroke of luck, the only way to pay this debt back would probably be to hunt down and hand-deliver the little snake to Ouroboros, tied up in a bow. (Little Snake Will: fyour mother)
To be continued…
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