*Disabling safety options… 100%*

*Enabling auto-destruct mode.. 100%*

*Enabling auto-battle mode.. 100%*

*Mana and Nether Energy conversion.. 100%*

*AXYT-022 ready to engage in 5..4..3..2..*

The two robots which fused into one finally made their appearance though they looked very different from the last time they were seen. The big cannon which replaced their head was nowhere to be seen as they changed into a humanoid dark figure. The body was made of black metal, very similar to the ARK, and there were 1s and 0s rotating around the waist.

It levitated above what little was left of the ground and locked its focus on Sol'khin, which is its sole threat, and the only reason it climbed the Red Tower. Most of the robots that belong to the System obey only to one thing and it's the main control hive, they followed the orders unconditionally and are basically immortal so they can be repaired endlessly if parts of their bodies get destroyed.

When Sol'khin was hit by the joint attack, he didn't have enough time to dodge the incoming robot. AXYT-022 flew towards its target and raised its hands, from which a new and dominant type of energy was manifesting itself.

It's a very rare and hard to produce kind of energy, also known as Antimatter. Its sole purpose is to cancel every obstacle it meets, it doesn't devour like Void Magic but it negates everything. When a spell is being cast, a type of energy flows in a certain way for the spell to be successfully unleashed, however, Antimatter purposely goes against the flow. In fact, there has never been a case when a living being was able to control it due to its uncontrollable and self-harming nature.

The System's robots can barely manipulate it and that's at the cost of thousands of failed experiments. Anyhow, Antimatter was, at first colorless, and when a large quantity was cast by the robot, tiny white sparks surrounded the metallic hands and quickly spread around the flying machine.

Whether it's Von Xin's sword essence or Arthur's strike, they all vanished without trace. Even the eternal darkness revolving around Sol'khin was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, that's all the robot could do, and if it actually wants to defeat its target, its shallow control of Antimatter is not enough, not at all.

It managed to reach Leiu within seconds and strike with its heavy body, attempting to crack the black armor defending its user. Sadly, the machine bounced off the moment it made contact with Sol'khin, who pointed his hand at the robot and fired a strange black light. It penetrated the robot's chest and momentarily turned off all its functions and that is when Sol'khin raised Anduril and casually swung it at the unresponsive machine.

Just by slashing down his sword at a faraway target, he was able to produce a powerful attack filled with Darkness and highly refined Sword Essence.

Arthur felt a bit conflicted as Sol'khin was attacking him but he didn't really want to side with Forne and Zodiak because they only want to kill Sol'khin and it doesn't matter if Leiu perishes with him. Nevertheless, the circumstances were pushing him to battle against his 'brother', especially now that the enemy was focusing on him.

It was obvious that Sol'khin wanted to get his soul as that will greatly strengthen him but it won't be easy even with Leiu's body as most of the contestants, including Sigradzomr, were ganging up on the evil being.

Speaking of the contestants, some chose to back away and watch while others were trying to hit Sol'khin, though their attacks were easily deflected by the ominous darkness surrounding him.

The only people that forced Sol'khin to move and properly block were the Sword God, Zodiak, and the Elder Dragon. Ber Von Xin only attacked when a good opportunity arises while Zodiak and Sigradzomr were going all out.

Moreover, the two seemed to have reached a mutual agreement as the dark blue flames merged with the dragon's wings… Zodiak stood atop the Elder Dragon and prepared himself. A spear that was over 5 meters in length was held by Zodiak, who tapped the dragon's head, signaling for it to begin.

In response, Sol'khin repeated his unpleasant laugh and held Anduril with both hands. He disregarded everything else and jumped into the air while swinging his weapon at the colossal dragon which covered his view and pretty much the entirety of the sky.

Sol'khin's sword slash was supposed to wreak havoc and stop the Elder Dragon, however, it suddenly vanished as tiny white particles surrounded the armored youth, locking him into place and canceling all of his powers. It was then that Zodiak and his new companion struck with all of their powers, the former threw his spear, which was embedded with all of his Dark Magic, whilst the latter opened its mouth and used its unique breath.

Illusory yellow flames pushed the dark blue spear, making it faster as it struck Sol'khin within a second, as for the dragonic flames, they engulfed him, pushing him into the bottomless abyss. This wasn't the end, however, as the robot dived into the darkness and initiated its self-destruct, ready to trade its own life to kill the enemy.

Everything happened so fast and by the time Arthur and the rest realized what just happened, a blinding flash came down below, followed by a staggering amount of Antimatter which canceled everything and caused most of the contestants to fall from the air as they were incapable of flight.

Arthur quickly changed into the Azure Dragon and helped Lucy and the nearby Ber Von Xin and Losha. The three stood atop the wide and majestic dragon as it rose into the air, trying to avoid a powerful blast which heavily injured everyone without exception.

Even the Joker was forced to use one of his cards to protect himself. He was stepping on a floating card while clicking his tongue, clearly unhappy with what the robot just did.

Sadly, when everyone came to their senses and thought that this was all over, a sinister laughter reverberated across the floor. Arthur noticed a red light emerging from his chest, it was none other than the card given to him by his brother. It was meant to summon the Joker in case he met one of the Deadly Sins but it automatically activated itself when a life-threatening danger befell on the parasite.

"No good!"

Losha was panicking as she felt shills down her spines, she retrieved the Escape Ticket and hurriedly said:

"We must leave now!"

She ushered Lucy to leave then, without any hesitation, left the Red Tower. The Sword God, despite his exceptional prowess, didn't lag behind either as he could feel that whatever was coming should not be faced head-on. With the exception of Forne and his group, all the other contestants swiftly left.

A thick pillar of crimson light shot down from below and, most unexpectedly, behead Sigradzomr before he was even able to do anything. The Elder Dragon's humongous head along with its body instantly turned into black ash and dissipated. A second attack made its appearance, going straight at Zodiak, who trapped himself in a large dark blue cube, which shattered the moment it made contact with the red pillar.

The old man's body was directly hit and all the dark blue flames were extinguished.

These successive and terrifying attacks were nothing but the beginning as as darkness crept from the abyss and dominated the whole tower, making it violently shake as it's about to collapse at any moment.

This was one of Leiu's signature attack, it's called [The Blackest Night] and it can even kill someone like Timos or Xyktia.

Speaking of the Lady of Darkness, she also left the Red Tower but her undead was able to seriously injure Celes and Forne before she 'died'. The two members of Black Rose were barely in a condition to fight but they still didn't leave the tower. 'X' used his Time Magic to freeze himself in a separate special, rendering him immune to everything for a short period of time.

The darkness released a deep and chilling growl as it covered everything on the 49th floor and even affected the lower flowers. Even the tiniest speck of light was gone as Sol'khin cast one of his host's strongest attacks. It wasn't destructive or loud and didn't last long either, apart from that growl, there was nothing but the cold darkness, which lasted for about a minute before everything went back to 'normal'.

However, those who remained, with the exception of Arthur and Lucy, who were protected by the Joker's card, and the Joker himself, everybody else was heavily if not fatally injured.

Forne was holding his chest and coughing one mouthful of blood after the other. Celes was shaking and about to collapse at any second while 'X' lost his arm and was trying his best to heal himself.

He didn't look as miserable as his companion but that lost arm can never be restored, even with his Time Magic. G'am Tir and the Void Behemoth were floating next to each bother, both bloodied.

The big purple beast was roaring and unleashing Void Magic, trying to purge the darkness from within its body but it wasn't working at all as its skin was slowly turning jet black.

From down below, a fast figure shot into the sky and stopped a distance away from Arthur and Lucy. Sol'khin's armor was shattered in several places and his complexion didn't look good. Zodiak's spear and the robot's self-destruction clearly did significant damage.

"The meddling outsiders were taken care of so how about we chat for some time… for old times' sake, eh?"

*******

BONUS LORE : The Eras

When Arthur traveled to the past, he brought the concept of time with him and make things flow linearly, sort of. The first phase of history was called the Era of Beginning, it was when the Twelve showed themselves and started creating planets, star systems, and realms. Throughout the whole history, the Era of Beginning was by far the longest and it built the foundation for the next eras.

A new era is born was a disastrous calamity affects the whole multiverse and that's exactly how the Era of Beginning came to an end. The war between the light and dark factions lasted a long time and when the final battle occurred, many of the Twelve disappeared and the people of that time named the new age; the first era.

Arthur's cycles mainly revolve around the 6th era, which is the present, though Zodiak's lived in mainly in the 4th and 5th era.

The 4th era, also known as the Void Era, was a harsh one for all inhabitants of the multiverse. The Void Magic spread across every star and realm and greatly diminished the amount of energies, whether it's Nether Energy or the natural elements, this rendered the cultivators unable to reach the God or Overgod Realm. The players were also unable to level up, so it was to be expected that the number of experts significantly decreased as many died trying to forcefully strengthen themselves.

Many speculate that the Void Era was caused by Castra Obis, the Omega Universe, which exploded, killing every single person in it. The death count was in the trillions and the only supposed survivor vanished without a trace, appearing only in the far future.

To be continued…