Chapter 51 Deception

"Once I figured out the nature of your System, it was pretty simple to beat you," Noah explained, "It'd work on most System users, but you see, I'm pretty versatile myself. You're essentially a ghost; that body of yours operates regardless of time or physical hold."

"Nnn…" Haru gritted his teeth, picking himself up to a knee, "You're a fool unlike any other."

"Huh?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

The air shifted around the man who should've by all means been defeated, but Noah found himself perplexed in that moment.

"Your eyes deceive you. Your mind deceives you. You have deceived yourself."

Haru's words came without any sense of injury as he rose to his feet, staring straight at Noah, who was beginning to watch the scenery of Tokyo crumble. The scenery of the land he sought to visit revealed itself not to be so, even though he specifically recalled warping there.

'What's this?' He questioned.

It was then that Haru's appearance itself peeled away, revealing a familiar head of gelled, blue hair that made him question everything.

[Yukio | Level X | Loki System]

"Yukio? What's going on?" Noah asked.

The singular man he called an "ally" in this world stood before him after his disguise peeled away, looking at him with eyes that did not look as though they laid upon a friend.

"You should've trusted your instincts," Yukio said, "I'm not somebody you should trust–after all, I am the user of the 'Loki System', Noah."

The scenery of Tokyo crumbled away completely as Noah found himself in an unknown chamber, where time had never been stopped, seeming to be forged out of a mystical metal that itself was familiar.

'REATH metal?' He questioned.

"Yukio…what's the meaning of this?" Noah asked.

As he tried to invoke his System abilities, he found chains of REATH metal wrapped around his limbs, pulling him down to the ground as they contained his power from being exposed.

"Ngh…!" Noah struggled.

Yukio looked down at him, "All that power, yet you're so naive, Noah Grays. It's almost enough to pity you–if you weren't a soulless, irredeemable killer."

"Don't try and sit on your high horse…You aren't blameless either, Yukio!" Noah growled, trying to look up, "You sat there and watched! You could've helped those people, but you didn't!"

"You're right. I'm hardly better than you, but I am the lesser of two evils," Yukio calmly said, kneeling down, "I am not naive enough to think I can take the world by force like an entitled toddler trying to claim everything as his own toy."

The confusion was fresh on his mind; Noah's mind raced as he found himself in a helpless spot he could've never imagined.

'Even in death, Asiimov…You still cause me so much trouble! I can hear it–from Hell, you're laughing at me!' Noah thought.

"Truth be told, taking somebody like you down requires a certain ability to ignore atrocities. I hate to admit it, but you've got the power of a God there at your side, Noah. I doubt even Elias would be able to take you down in a head-on confrontation," Yukio said, "That's why I didn't."

Noah continued to struggle, though he could feel the very essence of the REATH metal suppressing his internal power, not allowing him to muster even a single spell from his command, leaving him helpless on the ground.

"So, what is it you plan to do?...You're still a part of SENTINEL?" Noah asked.

"Hm," Yukio watched him, "You're mistaken, Noah."

"Huh?"

"Not everything I told you was a lie. I truly did abandon SENTINEL; I left it and sought you out. I used the power you had and the distaste you had for SENTINEL to thin their numbers while I set this all up," Yukio explained.

"Then what is it…? If we want the same thing, then why are you doing this?! Yukio!" Noah yelled.

Yukio stood back up, snapping his fingers as he revealed the dormant seals inscribed on the metallic walls, which seemed to bear some sort of magical inscription.

"What's…?" Noah began to say.

"I've studied what "Systems" are for years now. A mysterious force–seeming tailor-made by some sort of force of the universe, or perhaps God itself. In that research, I've discovered a way to…let's say, 'decrypt' these Systems–I've learned how to take Systems, Noah," Yukio admitted, "Here…I'll stop hiding it from those prying eyes of yours–I'll display it for you."

It was without the guidance of his own System, but he was shown the truth by Yukio, who revealed his unfiltered status to Noah's eyes:

[Yukio | Loki System | REATH System | Superhero System | Level 250]

"You…You took their Systems? How? I just defeated Clark," Noah said in disbelief.

Yukio's former expression of frivolity was gone as he presented a serious side never before seen, "Unlike you, Noah, I am diligent; I followed your every move–everything. I prepared this for years. This is what proper planning looks like–this is proper villainy."

"Then what is it?...What is it you truly want?" Noah asked.

"Freedom," Yukio admitted.

"'Freedom'?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to rule the world like some sort of bloodthirsty tyrant; I wish to free it from the shackles of an archaic government," Yukio said, "Call it anarchy, but I call it freedom–I'll let the world shape itself however it desires once its free from these old rules, but in the meantime, I'll live my life how I want."

It seemed Yukio was truly intent on this goal as he spoke of it passionately, pacing back and forth with a serious expression worn on his face.

"So high and mighty, but you miscalculated one thing…" Noah said.

"Oh?" Yukio glanced over.

Just then, the chains restraining Noah's limbs shattered as he flexed his body and tore through their hold, breaking through their toughness with his physical strength alone. That was the miscalculation; Noah's System wasn't the sole necessity for his strength–it had altered the baseline physiology of his body entirely.

"--Ah, I see," Yukio reacted.

In that quick moment of sudden freedom, Noah ripped away the straggling pieces of REATH metal from his body before regaining access to his System, not wasting anytime:

[Universal Freeze]

Bringing time down to a total halt, he summoned an enchantment to himself: [Universal Enhancement: Lightning Time]

The amplification of his reflexes and twitch movements allowed him to close in instantly, though he found his initial punch blocked by a single arm from Yukio, who managed to move within stopped time.

"--!" Noah reacted.

"Surprised?" Yukio looked at him, "--I told you; I have been diligent. I've implanted REATH metal into my body. I knew there was a chance this would happen."

[REATH Surge]

As the neat, black suit that Yukio wore had its sleeve torn from guarding the punch, it revealed a gauntlet of REATH metal protecting his arm with a snow-white complexion.

[Universal Incineration]

Noah pointed his hand forward, unleashing a blaze straight from Hell that roared against his enemy, shattering through the wall behind Yukio with the bright-crimson heat. The heat surpassed the temperature of the Sun's core itself, yet even that wasn't quite enough as Yukio's voice was nonchalantly heard.

"Haven't you been listening? I'm prepared for you."

–Yukio's confident words met Noah's ears, who swung around, instantly enhancing himself [Universal Enhancement: Godspeed]

In that moment, even the ever confident Yukio found himself at odds with the sudden skyrocketing in speed as he was kicked sharply, being flung through one of the metal walls. Noah didn't let up, using [Godspeed] to move like a flash of light through the wind, following the man he kicked outside of the unknown dungeon into what looked to be some sort of underground, abandoned facility.

"Urgh…That smarts," Yukio said before flipping himself around, catching his balance.

Just then, Noah had already summoned [Vanta Black] into his grip, swinging it towards Yukio who weaved through the incoming strike and responding with a colossal blow of his own straight against Noah's chest. The punch actually stunned Noah for a moment as he slid back, finding a dull ache fluttering against his chest.

'This strength–it's greater than Clark's own. How is he so strong?' Noah questioned.

"Surprised? I told you–I've studied Systems for years; I know how to unlock their full potential better than anybody," Yukio explained.

"I don't care about your high and mighty bullshit," Noah interrupted him.

"Huh?" Yukio raised an annoyed eyebrow.

"...All this crap about dismantling the government, anarchy, giving the people a choice…My dreams aren't so grand like yours, sure, but they're real," Noah said.

"--" Yukio watched him.

"This world burnt me. I experienced discrimination and prejudice my whole life–even the slightest, most meaningless differences, and people will use that to stamp you out like rubbish on the road. More times than I can count, I was left bloody and beaten for nothing more than being a bit more frail than average, or wearing glasses," Noah explained, "Yet, I don't want to burn the world in return. I don't seek death or retribution; all I want is to be somebody revered for once–after years of being on the receiving end of those scowls, I want to be king."

"Yet you've already burnt your fair share of it, haven't you?" Yukio asked.

Noah seemed caught by those words, but didn't shy away from them as he instead faced them head-on, holding his pitch-black sword up as he manifested a mystical armor around himself. A sleek silver design, honing in on speed.

[Armor Construction: Quicksilver+]

"You're right–I have," Noah admitted, "but, I'm going to change my approach. I have the power to take the world without burning it down."

[Universal Enhancement: Elemental Mastery]

[Universal Enhancement: Champion's Insight]

[Universal Enhancement: Strength: Hercules+]

[Universal Enhancement: Shock Absorption]

[Universal Enhancement: Status Reflection]

The mass amounts of self-enhancements allowed Noah to burst forward with speed that completed bent space around his form, allowing him to blitz Yukio, who barely defended himself with his Reath armor.

"Ngh!" Yukio gritted his teeth.

–Among all the calculations one could make, it was clear that trying to apply reason or logic to the [Creator's Grimoire System] was an exercise in futility as Yukio quickly found himself physically overwhelmed.

Even with the [Superhero System] providing a godly level of physical prowess and the [Reath System] granting a powerful armor and engine for Yukio, the sheer speed and power of Noah was too much; he contorted space, warping in his movements and leaving trails of cosmic rays in his wake.

Avoiding the colorful beams that swept through the underground interior, Yukio swiped his hand, causing one of the attacks to be completely diverted by a distortion, "That System of yours is the 'One Above All', Noah Grays! I'm sure you understand that well, but you don't use it to its full potential!"

Noah didn't respond as he intended, swept by as a construct of light before kicking his leg, unleashing an array of explosions just from the simple attack that blew Yukio back.

Still, Yukio seemed relatively unharmed as he caught himself, "But I can! I can bring out its full potential!--The ability to warp reality as you please! The power to make falsehood into truth! My Loki System can only pretend to be what your System is!"

"Oh, yeah?! Try and take it then!" Noah shouted.

[Universal Disaster: Grand Tornado]

Spawned from a thrust of his hand, he manifested a chaotic tornado within the underground area, completely sweeping through with a wild torrent of destruction that tore away the pillars and brought the facility crumbling down.

The tornado was by all means magical in nature, with the spiraling winds it produced being able to cut through steel itself as it swept through the facility within moments.

"Ngh!" Yukio winced, being thrown back by the tornado.

It was de-manifested quickly as the pillars holding up the underground lair were annihilated, leaving everything falling down as the ceiling of stone collapsed from above. Noah still didn't let up, however, as he used the essence of light itself to burst forward, grabbing onto Yukio and breaking through the walls and into the open world.

The land they were in was vast and devoid of civilization; open mountain ranges that Noah sped through with speed that surpassed any man made piece of technology, blitzing through the mountains with Yukio in his grasp.