Chapter 394: Tier 7?
Sophia was certain.
She was absolutely certain.
This decision was not fueled by impulse. From the micro-second her ocular
sensors first locked onto Kaito in the street, her processors had been
simulating every possible branch of the roadmap.
Option 1: Feign ignorance and continue the 'Gou' protocol. Audit: Liquidated the
moment Kaito uttered the words "God of the Old Era." The target had already
locked her signature; the masquerade was no longer a viable variable.
Option 2: Negotiate. Audit: Aborted within three seconds. She possessed zero
leverage. Why would the Sovereign of a unified continent negotiate with a Tier-2
derelict deity?
Option 3: Pre-emptive Strike. Audit: The only logical path. Though her baseline
combat stats were currently at Tier 2, she possessed a Complete Authority. In
the world of high-order entities, an Authority is not bound by the standard
constraints of energy gradients. A Tier-1 Mage cannot cast Tier-10 spells, but a
unit possessing an Authority can execute feats that bypass the tier-system
entirely within their specific domain.
Time was her domain.
And within this private instance of Time-Space, she was the Absolute Sovereign.
This was her leverage. Pull the Evernight Sovereign into her domain, utilize the
Authority of Time to initiate a terminal seal, and secure the duration needed to
restore her Od.
As for the fallout within the Empire? She had already calculated the variables.
She would masquerade as the Sovereign, hijack the administrative hierarchy, and
utilize Imperial logistics to accelerate her restoration. By the time she hit
her peak, the world would only have room for one God—herself.
A perfect calculation. The only remaining variable was the battle manifesting
before her.
She had to win.
"Are you certain of that logic?" the Skeleton asked.
Sophia didn't bother with a verbal response. She raised her hand.
A golden hourglass manifested within her palm. It wasn't large, but the sand
flowing within emitted a pressure that caused the surrounding space to warp and
ripple.
[ARTIFACT: THE HOURGLASS OF AGES]
This was her Divine Armament. Even at less than 10% of its original output,
within this domain, its power was sufficient to rewrite local reality.
Kaito watched the hourglass. He didn't recognize the asset, but his sensors
detected the energy wave-forms emanating from it.
Powerful. High-tier threat detected.
The Authority of Time and the Authority of Death collided silently within the
grey void. Space at the boundary of their respective auras began to shrivel,
fracture, and stitch itself back together in a violent loop.
Kaito performed a rapid audit. The woman's Temporal Authority and my Planar
Authority share the same quality-tier. Both originate from the Planar Core.
However, her Proficiency Rating is significantly higher.
She had mastered these variables for eons. He had only been running the Empire's
OS for a few years.
But Kaito remained calm. He possessed his own "Override Protocols."
"Very well," Kaito's voice was a flat, detached rattle. "I didn't expect to have
to initialize a personal combat sequence today."
As he spoke, a colossal eye opened in the void behind him. The iris was a void
of absolute obsidian; zero light could escape its gaze. It loomed over the
battlefield, auditing the very concept of existence.
[AUTHORITY: DEATH'S END]
Sophia looked at the eye, her expression shifting into something meaningful.
"Intriguing," she murmured. Then, she smiled—a cold, clinical expression. "You
have yet to fully synchronize with the Authority of Death, haven't you?"
Her perception was terrifyingly precise. "As I suspected… this Authority does
not natively belong to your soul-signature."
Kaito's soul-fire pulsed once, but he offered no clarification.
Initialization complete. Execute.
The power of Death's End diffused outward. The grey floor began to fracture
under the weight of the "Ending" logic; fragments of reality drifted into the
air before being liquidated into nothingness.
Sophia hoisted the hourglass. The golden sand began to flow upward—a temporal
reversal.
Time and Death slammed into each other head-on. At the point of contact, space
manifested a bizarre phenomenon: Death was dissolving all variables, while Time
was manually rolling back the dissolved state to its original configuration. A
terminal stalemate.
Sophia narrowed her eyes. She had assumed that within her own domain, her
Authority would maintain a dominant frequency. But Kaito's "Death's End" was
more resilient than her simulations predicted. It wasn't just magic; it was a
core-level command from the plane itself.
Frontal assault: Inefficient. Switching to dynamic maneuvers.
Sophia struck first. Her right hand traced an arc through the air. Thousands of
golden light-points erupted from her fingertips, condensing into arrows. Each
projectile was saturated with the logic of "Aging." Anything struck would not
suffer physical trauma; it would be accelerated to the end of its timeline,
collapsing into dust instantly.
A rain of golden arrows saturated the sector.
Kaito raised his hand. Behind him, dozens of spatial rifts tore open
simultaneously.
Erupting from the rifts were pitch-black spears composed of pure necrotic
energy.
[STANCE: SILENT EXTINCTION – SKELE-ENVY STYLE]
Sophia's pupils contracted. The golden rain and black spears collided in
mid-air, each impact manifesting an explosion sufficient to level a fortress.
Yet, within this domain, the destruction was swallowed by the void, never
reaching the external world.
While the projectiles were still neutralizing each other, Kaito's profile
shifted.
His right hand closed around nothingness, pulling a colossal, jagged
Bone-Cleaving Greatsword from the void. The weapon's mass was absurd—several
times larger than Kaito's own frame. The blade was etched with complex necrotic
runes, radiating a pressure that caused the air to vibrate.
[STANCE: PUNISHMENT LEGION – SKELE-PRIDE STYLE]
Simultaneously, the shadow beneath Kaito's boots began to writhe. A skeletal
warhorse manifested from the darkness. Kaito mounted the beast, hoisted the
greatsword, and initiated a charge.
Arrows clashed in the sky. The Sovereign charged on the ground.
Sophia's hourglass glowed with blinding intensity, manifesting a revolving
temporal shield. She didn't attempt to tank the charge; she pivoted to dodge.
But her reaction-time was too slow. Not because of her own failure, but because
Kaito's velocity exceeded physical laws. The skeletal horse wasn't running; it
was executing short-range spatial "jumps."
[STANCE: FEARLESS VANGUARD – SKELE-WRATH STYLE]
The greatsword descended like a falling mountain. Sophia couldn't clear the area
in time; she was forced to manifest a reinforced temporal barrier.
BOOM!
The barrier shattered. Sophia was propelled backward by the shockwave, her heels
plowing two long furrows into the grey floor. She stabilized her frame and
looked at her arm. Her sleeve was torn; a shallow laceration was weeping blood.
She looked up at Kaito as he wheeled his horse for a second pass.
I am wounded. In my own domain, a Tier-7 unit has drawn blood.
Just before the next impact, Kaito and his mount suddenly dissolved into the
floor.
[STANCE: SHADOW GUARD – SKELE-SLOTH STYLE]
Sophia instantly entered a High-Alert state, diffusing her Authority in all
directions to localize the target.
"BEHIND YOU!" her instincts screamed.
She spun around, the hourglass held defensively. Kaito erupted from her shadow,
the greatsword executing a horizontal sweep.
Sophia parried the blow, but the kinetic force left her arms numb. she retreated
three steps, her processors working at terminal frequency.
This Skeleton's combat logic is a Logic Error. Long-range: Envy's spatial rifts.
Melee: Pride's heavy pressure. Charge: Wrath's spatial leaps. Ambush: Sloth's
shadow-prowling.
He was utilizing four fundamentally different combat styles simultaneously.
According to her intelligence, the Sovereign of Evernight was a
"Functional-Class" entity. His core competencies were governance, rules, and
undead-command. His offensive capabilities should have been a "Statistical
Weakness"—which is why he required the Seven Generals to wage his wars.
No Deity can be both a Supreme Commander and a Peerless Combatant. This was an
iron-clad law derived from eons of experience.
But the Skeleton in front of her was liquidating that law.
Sophia steadied her soul and increased the distance. Her hands traced a complex
runic array. Temporal energy condensed into dozens of light-blades, circling
Kaito from every coordinate.
Kaito raised his hand.
Purple thunderclouds gathered above his skull. Black flames ignited in his palm.
Ice-shards crystallized around his frame.
Three elements manifested at once.
[STANCE: ARCANE LEGION – SKELE-LUST STYLE]
Sophia's light-blades and Kaito's elemental flood collided, filling the void
with a blinding spray of shattered mana.
As Sophia focused her Od to counter the onslaught, a voice whispered directly
into her auditory canal. The tone was soft, low, and felt as though it were
flowing through her very veins.
"Kneel."
[STANCE: STATE ARMY – SKELE-GREED STYLE]
Sophia's knees buckled involuntarily. A Blood-kin Word Spirit.
She identified the trick within a micro-second, flaring her temporal power to
purge the suggestion. But in that heartbeat of hesitation, Kaito's blade was
already at her throat.
The greatsword descended.
Sophia pivoted violently, the hourglass spinning in her hand, golden sand
manifesting a shield. The blade scraped across the light-screen, sending sparks
flying through the void.
The two entities blurred through the grey expanse, each collision causing the
Time-Space Domain to vibrate with high-intensity shockwaves.
Sophia's internal dread was rising. This Tier-7 skeleton was cycling through
seven distinct combat philosophies.
He is the Seven Generals. The Seven Generals are HIM.
Logic Error: Impossibility detected.
But regardless of the "How," one fact was established: purely in terms of combat
efficiency, this Skeleton was a Calamity.
However, Sophia thought, he is still fundamentally capped at Tier 7. And I am a
God.
Time was the most "Fair" variable—and the most "Unfair."
Sophia took a deep breath, reaching a terminal decision. No more probes. No more
sub-routines.
Initializing: Divine Core Output. Protocol: Termination.