Doctors and nurses worked hectically as multitudes of casualties flooded into the hospital.
"We have a new one," a nurse said, drawing attention from a few staff waiting at the entrance.
On the stretcher she pulled, a patient lay unconscious, their left foot completely detached from their body and kept in a cooler at the side.
A few nurses rushed to attend to the wound--which had already been partially treated with first aid--before rolling the stretcher through the halls and into a ward.
A doctor stood in the main lobby of the hospital, her focus evident as she ensured that every new patient was attended to regardless of the severity of their wounds. The respect she received from other doctors and nurses made it clear that she held a much higher position than most in the building, and her confidence made the patients feel much more secure than they otherwise would have.
"I'm... a bit frightened, ma'am," a worker said at her side. "What if... there's no point in all this? What if we just end up dying at the hands of these gods after everything?"
"Stop it," the doctor said swiftly. "Don't think about all that. Instead, focus on helping as many people as you can. The more you hesitate, the more you place their lives in further danger."
The worker took a moment before nodding slightly, understanding the reality of the woman's words.
Suddenly, a loud crash tore through the entrance as a figure walked in with urgency, breaking down the door with his foot. Ahead of every patient and worker in the hospital entrance stood X, the most dangerous man to ever live, moving forward with a girl in his arms.
The doctor glanced in horror, her eyes immediately recognizing who this was. "You're..." she muttered, her expression a mixture of shock and pure terror.
But X paid her no mind.
Moving deeper into the lobby, a nurse stood frozen before him with a stretcher, and he placed his sister's body upon it. Soon, his gaze shifted to the doctor, who stood at the side in silence. He recognized at first glance that she held higher authority than the rest, so he immediately addressed her.
"You," he called out. "Tend to her wounds. Now!"
The doctor hesitated momentarily in utter fear before swiftly adjusting herself after recognizing Mia's critical condition. "R-Right," she muttered, turning to a small group of nurses. "Please take this girl to a ward immediately."
The nurses moved swiftly as the woman remained standing in silence. Her terror of the man before her was so great that she could not even face him directly.
"Get your best doctors and ensure that she stays alive no matter what," X demanded, his gaze slowly turning back to the entrance. "Because if she dies... then so do you."
With a menacing glare over his shoulder, X's eyes pierced into the doctor's, freezing her in fright. Momentarily, she managed to provide a nod to the mercenary, which was enough for him to return his gaze forward and depart the building.
The woman's knees trembled, and she struggled to remain standing. She raised her palm to her face, watching how it shook uncontrollably despite the advice she had given earlier to the worker about staying stoic.
Exiting the hospital, X stood miles away from not just the battle, but New York as a whole, having run as far as he possibly could to ensure there was little chance of Mia remaining in harm's way.
"I need to get back fast," he thought to himself.
But before the demigod could move, his gaze turned to his right side, where his sidearm remained in its holster. Glancing at Soul Slayer for a moment, a thought entered his head, one that he believed could prove beneficial to their chances of survival.
The End grinned widely, his gaze fixed on the Soul Reaper standing beside Nekro. The force radiating from the two was overwhelming, spreading across the entirety of New York City.
It was so intense that countless humans across the city froze in place, their minds unable to process or react to anything despite being out of sight. Animals within the vicinity fared no better, collapsing into unconsciousness where they stood or flew, as though every living creature--regardless of size or intelligence--had been subdued by sheer pressure.
"Fascinating," The End remarked with interest to the being before him. "It seems you managed to inherit that power."
Without another word, Nekro and the Reaper charged into battle.
The two fought with uncanny coordination: Nekro's eyes blazed with focus while the Reaper's hood concealed whatever expression it bore. The Reaper lashed out with shadowy, gaunt fists, its speed far surpassing Drake's. Nekro struck with Banisher, his mastery of the weapon evident in every fierce swing. Yet The End evaded it all effortlessly.
As the battle continued, the Reaper halted before its opponent as a strange yellow glow suddenly manifested within its hood, which remained shrouded in dark smoke. Immediately, it began to breathe out fire from beneath its hood, the golden nature of the flames revealing them to be Ethereal Flames.
But as the flames rushed forward at tremendous speed, The End stood straight with his grin intact. Swiftly, the flames split in two, moving to either side of the divine being as the Reaper continued to release more fire.
Soon, The End began to inch closer--each stream of fire continuing to part before him--until he raised his right hand and drove his fist onto the creature's chest.
The Reaper staggered back a short distance before Nekro stepped ahead, intercepting The End before the creature could recover and rush back in.
As the clash resumed, Nekro tossed Banisher from his grasp to his ally, who caught it and wielded the weapon effortlessly. The two fighters alternated swings of Banisher, striking in perfect rhythm as they fought with fury against The End. But despite their coordination and precision, The End remained untouched.
"I must admit, I had not expected such power from a half-mortal," The End remarked, regarding the Reaper. "Your level of power... is almost identical to that of the gods. I commend you for that."
Yet as he continued to evade their attacks, his grin widened. "However," he added, "I would assume you already know this is nowhere near enough to oppose me."
Despite The End's words, the Reaper continued to fight with relentless power alongside Nekro.
After yet another brief clash, the two fighters suddenly moved to opposite sides of their opponent, keeping a clear distance. They stretched their hands out in unison toward The End, before a yellow glow ignited around their palms. Instantly, a wave of scorching golden fire burst forward, rushing at him from both directions.
The End smiled as the flames engulfed him, their heat so intense it melted the ground beneath his feet and incinerated everything nearby.
The heat was so severe that glass shattered across the city, while trees as far as a mile away burst into flames. Even Olivia and Limbo flinched from their position beside The End's throne.
The firestorm raged for several moments, but at the center, The End remained untouched, his smile unbroken as always.
Stretching both hands outward toward his opponents, he unleashed a force that halted their assault. Immediately after, he invoked a command, dragging them closer in forced obedience. With swift precision, he seized both by the throat and slammed their heads together.
Nekro grunted in pain while the Reaper released a hollow growl. Without hesitation, The End hurled them both away, their bodies crashing through burning walls at tremendous speed.
The End stood in silence, his smile dimmer than it had been a moment ago. His gaze fixed on Nekro, who began to rise from where he had fallen, in stark contrast to his ally, who lay unconscious.
Nekro noticed the Reaper's state but quickly returned his glare to The End, recognizing that his son would be safer while out of the battle. Stretching his hands out, he summoned Banisher once more before charging back into the fight.
Swinging his weapon with rage, Nekro still failed to land a blow on his opponent.
"Is that all you and your offspring have to offer?" The End asked, swaying with such ease it appeared as though he barely moved at all.
"You killed them all," Nekro spat in anger. "Is there no ounce of affection in your being for those who call you father?"
The End glanced at him with a knowing smile. "I have already cast that part of me away," he replied coldly. "And now, she stands beside my throne."
Nekro froze for a moment, shock flashing in his eyes as he realized what Olivia truly was, before continuing his assault. "You placed a part of yourself in chains like a slave?" he demanded.
"She would not submit otherwise," The End answered, his indifference evident.
Nekro's rage built rapidly. He gripped Banisher tightly as his eyes began to glow. His halo soon manifested at his back, a symbol of his infinite power.
Immediately, he rushed at The End with the fastest speed he had ever achieved, so fast that the world around them seemed frozen. Yet his creator swayed easily aside, elevating his own power in response to maintain the advantage.
Nekro swung, memories of his kin fueling him beyond his limits. He was furious, but he did not let his anger overwhelm his mind, knowing that losing control would endanger the planet and even all of Main World. Even so, though his strikes carried infinite power, his strength was still not enough.
At last, The End shifted to offense after evading another attack, slamming his fist into Nekro's torso. The blow shattered the god's armor, though it did not completely pierce through him.
Nekro fell to his knees, the pain from his wound still unbearable. Yet he forced himself up, determined to continue his assault.
As he staggered forward, The End waved his left hand, and Nekro's body was violently flung aside.
The god caught himself, but The End appeared before him in an instant, striking a sharp hand chop across his right shoulder. Nekro collapsed back to his knees with a gasp of frustration as Banisher dematerialized from his grasp.
The End's smile dimmed. "Are you finished at last?" the being asked.
Nekro panted heavily, his infinite power somehow unable to shield him from exhaustion in the face of his creator. "Why... did you not kill me immediately?" he forced out. "Like you did... the others?"
The End's gaze softened. "You still know not, do you?" he said, his tone almost pitying. "You remain unaware that you are not like them."
The god struggled to make sense of his creator's words, yet he pushed thought aside and rose once more, swinging to strike. The End slipped past the blow effortlessly, his movements fluid and deliberate.
With one motion, he seized Nekro's glowing halo from behind, bracing a foot against his back. With a sharp pull, the ring of light tore free, and Nekro crashed to the ground. The End snapped the halo in half as a purple essence consumed it before it could fall.
Weary and shaking, Nekro forced himself upright again and lashed out with sluggish fists. The End evaded with ease, then waved his right hand. A dark shackle formed around Nekro's neck, crushing his strength and draining his power until he collapsed, gasping on the floor.
The End crouched beside him, still hovering above the ground. "You asked why I have not killed you," he said, watching Nekro struggle to keep from falling flat. "When I was released, I vowed to kill every god. And I carried out that vow without hesitation, even here in this reality."
He raised a finger toward Nekro. "However... unlike them, you simply do not fit that category, since you were made from a fraction of my being."
Nekro's eyes widened in shock, his hands trembling as they gave way beneath him. "I-It cannot be," he muttered.
The End sighed before straightening, his feet still hovering above the ground. "Have you never wondered why your power surpasses the others so drastically?" he asked, turning away as he drifted slowly to the side. "After I created the first two among you, their efficiency in forging new worlds for my pleasure was... unsatisfactory. Because of that, when I chose to make more of you, I designed one using my own essence during the second batch, ensuring efficiency would never again fall below standard. That being... was you."
The End turned his gaze back to Nekro. "Although," he said evenly, "I had not expected your perspective to stray so far from mine. But I suppose that is the disadvantage of granting you sentience."
Defeat and terror filled Nekro's eyes. His creator had always been cruel and inconsiderate, yet never deceitful. He knew this was no lie.
The shackle on his neck drained him of power, leaving him unable to continue the fight in such a state.
The End kept his glance at Nekro in silence before suddenly stretching his right hand outward, toward his right. At that moment, the Reaper lunged from the same side, Banisher in its grasp, its swing aimed directly for the being.
The scythe's blade halted mere inches from The End's palm, frozen in place despite the immense force behind it.
"So, you still have some fight in you," The End said, slowly turning his gaze to the ghastly creature.
His inverted eyes flared, and the sheer force of his presence made the Reaper's body falter. At once, the creature dropped Banisher and collapsed to its knees, submitting to the oppressive weight of his power.
The End placed his right hand atop the creature's head, and Nekro's eyes widened in dread upon the sight.
"N-No," the god muttered. "Please... he has done nothing wrong."
Ignoring him, The End pressed his palm against the Reaper's head, probing its mind through its hood. "Fascinating," he murmured. "A being manifested from the simultaneous composure of two distinct minds in a single body. Such a unique use of the power you inherited directly from me."
Slowly, his lips curled into a smile as he turned fully to the Reaper. "A shame that all comes to an end here," he said calmly, resting his other hand on the opposite side of its head.
"Stop this!" Nekro groaned, straining to rise. "No!"
But The End paid the god no attention. In an instant, the being applied force with his palms on the creature's head. The Reaper screeched in incredible pain as Nekro tried his hardest to rise from his fallen state.
The End continued his actions. However, where it appeared that his hands were pushing inward against one another, the reality was the opposite. He pulled both sides of the creature's head outward and away, before a strange phenomenon began to occur.
The Reaper's form began to change as The End lifted it off the ground. The creature suddenly started to shrink in size, its cloak shifting as the smoke shrouding it dissipated. Before long, The End pulled his hands apart with force, ripping the creature into two halves.
But as Nekro watched, he realized the outcome was not what he had assumed. In The End's left hand was Ash, and in his right was Drake, the two halves of the same demigod split from one being.
The End had just separated the two sides of the same person: the divine half in his left, the demonic in his right. He held both demigods by their faces before, with a single motion, hurling them in opposite directions. Ash slammed into a faraway wall to his right, while Drake did the same on his left, both falling unconscious from the impact.
Soon, The End returned his gaze to Nekro, whose eyes began to flicker as he lay flat on the ground. "I have no desire to kill the half breed," he said. "And since he entertained me, I will grant him the privilege of a few more moments of life."
The being's expression shifted. "Or rather... them," he added with a grin before moving on. "Now then, it is about time I proceed to the other--"
But before The End could finish, his eyes widened as a loud sound echoed across the area, one unmistakably like a gunshot. For the first time since his arrival, his face displayed genuine shock. But this was no accident, nor a moment unworthy of such a reaction.
To his left, his hand had instinctively stretched out, his middle and index fingers extended and slightly apart while the others folded. His mind processed the situation instantly, before a thrilling smile crept back onto his face.
"How amusing," he muttered, his gaze slowly shifting to his left.
Directly before his head, a sleek blood-red bullet froze in place, intricate black-lined designs carved along its surface.
"An ability that guarantees a hit upon activation," The End said, still grinning. "Such an ability, accompanied by a bullet that, upon contact with any divine being, strips them of their power and renders them mortal."
His smile widened as chuckles escaped his lips, his gaze lifting beyond the bullet with utter amusement. "I will admit, had I not taken your attack seriously and reacted on instinct... you would have indeed gotten me."
His chuckles continued briefly. "However... every ability has a counter."
As his glance fell on X in the distance, the demigod was revealed to be on his knees, grunting in pain.
From X's face, blood streamed downward over his mask, seeping from his eyes, which had been severely damaged.
During his attack moments before, The End had instinctively stretched his two fingers at the demigod upon reacting to the threat. With that motion, he fired two beams directly into X's eyes, stopping True Accuracy from remaining active when X had fired the special bullet with his sidearm. This was the only reason the projectile had not come in direct contact with its target and had traveled the distance instead.
The End's gaze remained on X, whose pain was immense as he placed his hands over where his eyes had been. The beams had completely seared them, rendering him instantly blind.
The End smiled, and with a slight wave of his left hand, the usual purple consumed the bullet that had lingered before him, destroying it in a second.
"Your plan was impressive, half breed," he said. "But now, you have nothing left."
X's breaths began to slow. He could no longer feel his face, and the exhaustion from activating True Accuracy, even without it being fully utilized, was enough to leave him immobile. His best chance of victory had been countered by his opponent, leaving him with no choices left in the fight... except for one.
As The End hovered closer, X slowly reached into his pocket and retrieved a small dagger.
The End smiled, watching X still desperately cling to hope. But as he moved closer, he stopped abruptly at the sight before him.
In a single instant, X drove the dagger straight through his heart.
He twisted the weapon deeper into his chest, his teeth gnashing in unbearable pain beneath his mask. In that moment, he desperately tried to perform a single action: to make his heart beat. And within seconds, he succeeded, his eyes widening as he collapsed to the ground, slowly nearing his death.
The End glanced with a grin. "You choose to take your life with your own hands?" he asked cheekily, before his gaze sharpened on the demigod. "Though... it seems there is more to your actions."
"...Look at you. Pathetic."
"You were not able to save your father... you were not even able to save your sister."
"But... are you going to protect this pathetic, undeserving planet?"
'Y-Yes.'
"Are you going to ensure the survival of the few people you have come to care about?"
'Y-Yes.'
"Will you annihilate your opponent... and ensure not a single trace of him remains?"
'Yes.'
"Then get up. Your death is not allowed to be in vain."
And in that moment, X began to pick himself up.
The End glanced at the spectacle with wide eyes, watching the demigod rise to his feet as a tremendous force overwhelmed the area.
As X arose, tombstones emerged from every side of the battlefield, their presence making the moment even more tense. His teeth clenched beneath his mask, his body releasing immense heat as he roared in unbridled rage, arms upon his head like a Berserker.
Finally, as he stood before The End, his eyes that had been supposedly lost opened, their deep red sclera and black irises revealing his nature as an Apex Predator.