System's POV

Chapter 1414: The Weight Of Countless Worlds [Part 2]

"My punches are light?" William grinned. "Is that supposed to be a joke? My fists are meant to protect my family. Anyone who dares to harm them would feel a world of pain."

Thirteen glanced at his own clenched fist before shifting his gaze to his opponent. William’s fist hit hard. It was strong enough to break all of his bones. But, what of it? the teenage boy had endured more pain than the Half-Elf ever did which lasted through thousands of years.

"Fighting to protect someone is a good thing," Thirteen replied. "It brings out the hidden power they don’t know existed within them. You are probably the strongest being in this world. In fact, it’s not wrong to call you the Guardian of this world."

Thirteen then looked up at the sky, observing the power of faith still pouring onto William’s body.

Earlier, the spectators weren’t able to see it. But now, they could.

A faint white aura oozed out of William’s body, serving as a form of defense and backup power that the Half-Elf could use if he wished for it.

This was one of the miracles of the power of faith, exclusive to Heroes.

"But like I said, your punches are very light," Thirteen declared with confidence. "The only thing you’re protecting is your family and your world. As for me, my battle stretches beyond the borders of this world."

A few of the particles of light moving toward William’s body gravitated toward the teenage boy, who opened his palm as if wanting to catch them.

Compared to the countless power of faith that was buffing his opponent, what he got was a mere trickle.

"There are billions of people in this world who rely on you to protect them." Thirteen said calmly. "But do you know? Even in this world, there are Cannon Fodders as well?"

William frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Exactly." Thirteen nodded. "You don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s the reason why your punches are light. You are only protecting this one world. While I..."

Thirteen didn’t finish what he was going to say because even if he did, his opponent wouldn’t be able to understand it.

But on the far reaches of the multiverse...

In worlds where William and even his well-traveled daughters, Maple and Cinnamon, hadn’t been before, something was happening.

Billions, trillions, quadrillions, quintillions, sextilions, septillions, octillions, decilions, undecillion, duodecillion, trecedecillion... an accountable number of souls, who were all labeled as cannon fodders, felt something inside their hearts.

Somewhere out there, someone was fighting for them.

Fighting for their rights to be happy.

Fighting, so they could live their lives to the fullest.

Fighting, so they wouldn’t have to live a life of suffering for eternity.

Someone was out there, risking everything so that the cycle of suffering would end, granting them the power to break free from a fate that would last until the end of time.

The Gods within the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods suddenly sensed something unimaginable.

Even Sun Wukong almost choked on his drink when he sensed that the entire multiverse seemed to be shaking.

Something was happening out there.

Within the countless worlds that made up the multiverse, a revolution... no... a miracle of sorts was taking place.

———

Somewhere in the multiverse, in a world called Elysium...

"Ei!" a baby slime looked up at the sky and tilted its head cutely.

"Do you feel it, Eiko?" the Necromancer of Heaven, Lux Von Kaizer asked, as he, too, looked up at the heavens.

"Un!" Eiko nodded.

"It seems that Thirteen is doing something crazy," Lux said with a faint smile on his face.

Although he wouldn’t say it out loud, he now treated the teenage boy as his benefactor, and in a way, his own spiritual master as well.

Eiko took out a little bomb and threw it towards the sky.

"Boom Boom Bakugan!"

The bomb exploded, and countless colorful fireworks lit up the starry night sky.

———

Pangea...

"... I don’t know where Thirteen is, but I have a feeling that he’s up to no good again," Camazotz said with his arms crossed over his chest. "I just hope he doesn’t call for me anytime soon."

———

Solterra...

"Brother?" Remi woke up from her sleep, and looked at her surroundings.

For some reason, she had sensed her brother, Zion, calling out to her name.

That was when she noticed that her other siblings, Shasha and Mikhail, were also awake and looking at the stars in the sky.

They couldn’t explain it, but somewhere out there, they could clearly feel that their brother, Zion, was fighting against an opponent that he couldn’t defeat on his own.

Shasha closed her eyes and pressed her hands together in prayer.

She prayed silently for the safety of his brother, who always fought in places that not many people could see.

In her heart, her brother was an Unsung Hero who played the role of a Villain. He never asked for accolades, praises, or any of the sort.

Shasha could instinctively feel that her brother had always been fighting for something greater than life itself, and right now, her heart was wishing for his safety.

——

Similar events took place across the countless worlds in the multiverse.

Ordinary people, and even those who were beyond the ordinary, all instinctively looked up to the heavens.

Sending their support to someone whom they hadn’t met in their life.

"T-This!" The Primordial Gods within the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods all looked with concern as a massive amount of power of faith washed across the cosmos like a raging tide.

"Are multiple Gods about to be born at the same time?!" Lily asked in disbelief. She gazed at the power of faith—more than enough to give birth to over a dozen Gods—passing through the temple.

Everyone shared the same thought, but when they noticed that this wave of faith was heading to the world of Hestia, an unimaginable thought crossed their mind.

The System God, Deus Ex Machina, narrowed his gaze as he made internal calculations. He was measuring the quantity of the power of faith that was all moving in one direction, and came to one conclusion.

"My God..." Deus Ex Machina muttered. "That no-good son of mine... just... what has he done?"

———

In the Arena of the Ainsworth Empire...

"Do you feel it?" Thirteen asked the Half-Elf, who was now looking up at the sky. "Do you see it?"

"You... what have you done?" William’s expression was extremely serious right now. The presence and pressure descending upon his world was a first in his life. "What is this?! What is happening?!"

Thirteen smiled faintly. "It’s the difference between what you protect and what I protect. You only protect one world. I protect... countless worlds."

Suddenly and without warning, the rays of light descended from the heavens and landed on Thirteen’s body.

If the aura that was oozing from William’s body was like the size of a car, Thirteen’s aura... made the Half-Elf’s eyes shrink from their sockets.

The teenage boy shone like the sun itself, and the power he held made the Strongest System, Optimus, sigh from within William’s Sea of Consciousness.

Thirteen clenched his right fist, and lightning crackled through it. Three halos then appeared on top of his head, and his green eyes glowed with power.

"Okay, time for round two," Thirteen took a step forward and the ground underneath his feet shattered from the mere pressure of that single step.

Raizel held Stella’s hand and looked straight at her face.

"If you don’t want him, give him to me," Raizel said in a serious tone. "I’ll marry him in a heartbeat."

Stella wanted to tell her sister that now was not the time to talk about such things!

Zion’s emitted a power no weaker than a God who descended upon the mortal realm with their true body.

The impartial judge of this trial, Themis, looked at the teenage boy in shock. She could tell with every fiber of her being that even if she were to fight Zion using her power as a God, the only thing waiting for her was a crushing defeat in his hands.

William gritted his teeth and held his ground. Earlier, he had all the advantages in the world.

But now, he was looking at something that even his title as a Godslayer might not be able to defeat even if there were two of him fighting at the same time.