Seraphiel's razor-sharp blade remained pressed tightly against the armored Creator's neck. He knew that a single wrong move meant the sentient spear would split him in two without hesitation. Slowly, carefully, he stepped backward until a safe distance opened between them.
As they separated, divine energy washed over both fighters, sealing their physical wounds.
A few meters away, Null, Leo, and Lana stood huddled together. Because they were standing within the 2-meter radius of Null's Axiom, all supernatural illusions, magical armor, and divine light were completely erased from their perspective. To them, the battle looked utterly absurd—one fully naked man swinging their arms at the empty air.
Lana blinked, shielding her eyes awkwardly. "What... What are they doing? And why is that guy naked?!"
Null adjusted his posture, keeping his eyes on the fighters. "They are using high-level magic, but because of Axiom, we can't see spells or enchanted gear. His armor must be woven entirely out of magical energy."
Lana shuddered. "Are we... just going to stand here and watch?"
Leo backed up a few paces, shaking his head. "I suggest we stay as far away as possible. We're nowhere near their level. Let's just pray the guy who wins isn't trying to murder us."
Back in the center of the void, the Leader narrowed his eyes at his opponent. "Why didn't Seraphiel's magical energy disruption affect you?"
The armored Creator scoffed, his voice shifting strangely. "What, do you take me for a fool?! Why would I reveal my tricks to you?!"
"It's because of the armor we're wearing, stupid!" a second voice suddenly echoed from the armored Creator's throat.
"Why did you tell him about our armor?!" a third voice snapped from the same mouth. "That hurts me a lot! I'm still in pain!"
"Stop crying! We're in the middle of a fight!"
The Leader stared in shock as the armored Creator bickered with himself—three distinct consciousnesses violently arguing inside a single body.
"Wait..." The Leader's eyes widened. "Did the three of you... merge into one entity?!"
"Yes!" the first voice answered.
"Hey! Why are you telling him everything about us?!" the second voice yelled. "If he tells you to die, are you going to kill yourself too?!"
"Guys, can we please do something that isn't painful?!" the third voice whimpered.
"I am talking to him right now! Why do you two keep interrupting me?!"
As the three minds clashed inside the suit, the Leader suddenly realized something terrifying. He scanned the armored body, his tone dropping. "If the three of you merged... where is the fourth one?!"
The armored Creator went silent for a second before answering darkly. "We traded him... for Aetherion."
The Leader reeled back, genuine horror written across his face. "You traded your own brother for a weapon?! How could you do that?! Was he not one of us?!"
"You have NO right to ask us that!" the armored Creator roared, all three voices overlapping in pure rage. "You sacrificed not just him, but all of us!"
"I did it because I saw you all as my brothers!" the Leader shouted back, his voice cracking. "You left me no choice!"
"And what about us?!" Tears began pouring down the armored Creator's face. "Do you think you were the only one who saw us as family?! We viewed you as our big brother! You left us no choice! Do you have any idea how painful it was to stand against our own brother?!"
The armored Creator lowered his head, his shoulders trembling. "Please, Brother... just listen to us."
CLACK.
He willingly dropped Aetherion from his hand, letting the branch fall onto the white floor. He took a slow, hesitant step toward the Leader.
The Leader panicked, raising Seraphiel defensively. "D-Don't come near me! I'll kill you!"
The armored Creator ignored the threat, continuing to walk forward with open arms. When he reached the Leader, he leaned in and gently wrapped his arms around him in a tight, desperate embrace.
Held in his brother's arms, the Leader's rigid posture shattered. Tears welled in his eyes, spilling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... If I had just listened to you all from the beginning, we never would have lost him... I'm sorry..."
PUCK!
A sickening squelch echoed through the quiet void.
The Leader's eyes went wide. A sharp, unbearable pain exploded in the center of his chest.
He looked down.
The Aetherion branch the armored Creator had dropped earlier was broken—it was a decoy. Taking complete advantage of the Leader's emotional breakdown, the armored Creator had secretly manifested a fresh, razor-sharp Aetherion blade behind his back and driven it straight into the Leader's Core.
Every Creator-level being possessed a single, absolute fatal weakness: the Core located in the center of their chest.
The Leader coughed up a mixture of golden blood, staring at his brother in utter disbelief. "You... said you wanted us to listen to each other..."
The armored Creator pulled back, his tear-stained face twisting into a cold, cruel smirk. "Did you really think there was a way to go back? Big Brother Once you're dead, I will recreate this entire universe from scratch—a world where you never existed. I will become the Leader from the very beginning of time, and instead of wasting time on humanity like you did, I will forge true, absolute magic!"
Hearing those words, the Leader's grief instantly incinerated into pure, unadulterated fury. Betrayed a second time by the family he loved, his eyes burned with lethal intent.
"AGHHH!"
With a deafening roar, the Leader condensed a terrifying amount of raw, concentrated magical energy into his fist, smashing it straight into the armored Creator's face!
BOOM!
The impact launched the armored Creator across the void, tumbling across the white floor. As he flew back, the Aetherion blade slipped out of the Leader's chest, falling onto the ground between them..
Then, he gripped the Seraphiel, pulling his sentient spear close to his side.
"Thank you, Seraphiel..." the Leader whispered hoarsely, his eyes hardening like steel. "Thank you for saving me once again."
He looked across the field at his rising brother, his voice echoing through the white dimension with terrifying resolve.
"I finally understand... After losing everything, I know I didn't just sacrifice him. I sacrificed all of you... including myself. And to achieve my goal, I don't care how much time it takes! I will willingly walk into the deepest pits of Hell if I have to! I will sacrifice every last one of you, because there is no turning back!"
The armored Creator slowly pushed himself up from the ground, wiping blood from his lips, a dark smile spreading across his face.
"So... that was Seraphiel's core hidden inside your chest, wasn't it?" the armored Creator sneered. "Don't worry, Big Brother... I know where your true Core is now. And without Seraphiel protecting you... taking you down is going to be far too easy."