System's POV

Chapter 1415: The Weight Of Countless Worlds [Part 3]

The Trial of Valhalla was a fair duel between two warriors.

To ensure it would be so, this sacred tradition was under the jurisdiction of the Gods of Aesir. Every battle must have one of their gods presiding.

Although Themis wasn’t an Aesir, her divinity was based on their laws. This qualified her to serve as the referee for today’s battle.

As the one supposed to uphold the fairness of the battle, she felt a bit stumped. The moment the power of faith entered the equations, she immediately knew she had no ability to balance it out.

’Damn...’ William cursed internally as the powerful force oozing out of Zion’s body slowly pushed him back.

All his young opponent did was take a single step in his direction. And yet, the power in that simple step had already made him skid a meter away from where he originally stood.

After making up his mind, his body slowly rose from the ground.

"Let’s take this battle up there," William pointed towards the sky. "I don’t want my city to get destroyed."

The Half-Elf didn’t wait for Thirteen’s answer and flew upward.

The teenage boy’s power was continuously increasing, and it was only a matter of time before the stage collapsed. More importantly, it could also injure William’s family members.

Thirteen gave Stella a brief glance before looking to where William had flown.

Tendrils of light sprouted from Thirteen’s back and fluttered in the breeze.

They flapped a few times as if being tested if they were strong enough to take Thirteen to the skies. Feeling that there would be no problem, the wings rose and flapped one more time, sending him airborne.

The two men rose until they reached the Stratosphere.

A place too high for any ordinary mortal to survive.

But both of them were perfectly fine, for the power of faith made the impossible... possible.

"Who... no... what are you?" William asked in a serious tone.

"Why don’t you ask Optimus instead?" Thirteen replied. "He should know who... No. He should know what I am."

’Optimus, do you know him?’ William asked.

[...]

The Strongest System remained silent. Despite how many times the Half-Elf repeated his question, the system didn’t budge.

"He’s not answering me," William said to his opponent. "Do you know Optimus?"

"Yes," Thirteen replied. "But we’re not particularly close. We have different roles after all."

"Care to explain?"

"No."

Thirteen cracked his knuckles. Power overflowed from his body. This was the first time he felt this powerful.

Powerful enough to even fight against Gods.

"Enough talk," Thirteen declared. "Let’s fight."

After saying those words, William blinked.

In that short period of time, Thirteen’s fist was only a centimeter away from his chest.

A booming sound spread in the surroundings as the teenage boy’s punch connected.

William was blown away by that single punch, and he swore that it hurt as much as the time when he was hit by Truck-kun before he reincarnated.

’Sh*t..." William forcefully used his powers to regain his balance mid-air.

At that moment, the effects of the Trial of Valhalla finally disappeared. Thirteen had just unleashed a strength that surpassed what was deemed fair by the Goddess Themis.

William’s strength rapidly rose, bringing him back to his peak.

The Half-Elf was a Godslayer.

This meant that if he fought against Gods or any beings with a hint of divinity, his strength and power would drastically increase, making him one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse.

But the passive boost of his Godslayer Job Class didn’t activate because his opponent wasn’t a God.

There was not even a hint of divinity in Zion’s body.

He wasn’t a God, but the power of faith that was still pouring onto his body made him just as strong as one.

"This isn’t fair..." William muttered.

"Fairness?" Thirteen arched an eyebrow. "You’re talking to me about fairness? Did you forget how weak I was earlier? But you didn’t hold back and use your strength in order to suppress me?"

Before William could even give a reply, Thirteen’s fist had already smashed on his chest a second time.

But it didn’t end there.

Thirteen teleported and repeatedly hit William’s body, treating him like a ping pong ball. The Half-Elf did his best to defend, but each blow that he received felt like he was rammed by a truck.

The kind of truck that sent people on a one-way treat to a fantasy world.

"Ah, right." Thirteen abruptly stopped hitting the Half-Elf, giving him some time to recover. "I understand why you want to prevent anyone from marrying your daughter. You must be annoyed and aggrieved because you believe your princess is being stolen from your life.

"But did you ever stop to reflect? Surely, you know that I’m doing exactly what you’ve done when you married your lovers? Do you think the fathers of your wives have been happy to experience a red-headed Half-Elf barge into their home and steal the daughter they raised with love and care?"

William wanted to retort, but he couldn’t.

There had been more than one occasion when the father of his wife had fought him tooth and nail because they didn’t approve of him as their future son-in-law.

He barely won those battles, which made his father-in-laws grudgingly give him their blessing to marry their daughter.

"I’m not that different from you if you think about it," Thirteen replied. "If I ever have a daughter in the future, I’m sure I will also beat the crap out of them like how you tried to do earlier. But there’s a big difference between you and I."

The Half-Elf waited for the teenage boy to say what their difference was.

"I’m not as merciful as you," Thirteen declared. "But I’m also not narrow-minded. If my daughter really loves that person, and I am assured that he loves my daughter, I’ll give him a chance to prove himself worthy of her."

Thirteen raised a finger.

"If he survives one shotgun shot from me, I’ll give him my blessing," Thirteen declared as if shooting someone who wished to court his daughter was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"You’re crazy!" William shouted. "You’re no different from me!"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the Half-Elf’s face, and Thirteen whispered in his ear.

"You’re a jack of all trades," Thirteen whispered. "But the main difference between us is... Skill Issue."

A second later, an explosion lit up the sky, making those looking from the ground wonder what was happening.

Stella hesitated for a bit before summoning her bird, Aethon.

The little Wren increased its size, allowing its Master to climb on its back.

Together, they flew high above the clouds in order to stop the battle that might hurt both of the people who were very important in her life.