Deity class

[??? has arrived at your current position]

Nuriel stared at the screen panel in front of him, There was no way everything that happened was just a simulation inside the scepter system and everything that happened wasn't actually real.

He blinked twice in quick succession. Nothing changed.

Around him, the entire world had stopped. Time itself froze in place. The air was still, heavy. The blood in the air hung like dust in sunlight. The fallen creature lunging at him had halted, just a few meters away, its grotesque limbs mid-swing, suspended in a moment of impending death.

He tried to move, but only his ability to think was permitted.

[??? recognizes you as the Mother]

His mind stumbled a bit when he read the new screen appearing. 'Mother? Me?'

[??? would like to establish a connection with you]

'???,?'

Nuriel's imaginary expression twitched. 'Who the hell is ???' He thought it might've been the unknown entity that tried to enter his space a while back, but thinking further, it wouldn't make sense for the screen in front of him to display the words ??? instead of unknown entity.

'I'm in quite the pickle huh'

He didn't want to imagine refusing. If he did and time resumed functioning, it was basically signing his own death certificate.

Nuriel thought of anything that could explain the situation but in the end,

'There's no point in beating around the bush'

'I accept'

[Establishing connection]

[??? file size is too big]

[Deleting internal Scepter data]

'Wait what?!'

Nuriel's mind screamed in terror. 'Shouldn't there be some sort of confirmation first?' His mind raced as he saw the screen continuing to do its bidding without his further consent.

'All that precious data I could've used...'

He sulked at the miserable sight. At least it was only the internal data. He'd hoped there was a backup somewhere in the Universal Database, though he never managed to access it.

[Redundant files deleted]

'They aren't redundant' Nuriel lampooned at his own scepter.

[Downloading ??? into internal memory]

[Please wait]

At that point he could only hope this was worth it. If only he could move his face and body, he would be rolling on the floor and sucking on his thumb in a nervous wreck.

He reminded himself of the previous screen he saw, describing him as a mother. It bothered him a little but not in a way that was incredibly suspicious.

Mother was a strange choice of wording indeed, but as he thought about it further, it would make sense for his given situation. After all, Nuriel was the one that led and gave birth to the research and development of the Scepter System.

His mind eased. At least in the far future, there was something that still remembered him.

He reminisced about his previous life once again. He was someone that didn't have close companions. His position was too high which looked too daunting for someone ordinary to try and make friends with him.

If he could smile.

He would.

Just a little.

[Downloading finished!]

'!!!'

[Unpacking files]

'...'

Nuriel would've sighed a big one right then and there if he was permitted. To pass the time, he thought about the other previous messages. 'Reality is being disrupted'

Magic was merely another form of science to Nuriel. Yes, it could do things that were considered fantastical, but you still needed to understand its aspects. Casting and projecting spells was something a human couldn't do alone.

A human couldn't cast a fireball without the tool to project and process the magic, just like a human can't fling a bullet fast enough. You'd need a gun for that.

Magic still needed to obey the laws of physics. But reality being disrupted was on a whole other level for him.

There was only one way to find out what this was.

. . .

Nuriel waited. Imaginary sweat dripped down his face. If something like [Scanning for viruses] appeared before him, then the fallen creature might have just killed him right there and Nuriel wouldn't care.

[Installed!]

[Untainted Scepter Fragment]

[Class: Deity]

– An untainted Scepter fragment, untouched and devoid of corruption. It seeks its rightful owner.

[New Scepter detected! Applying new hardware]

[Status]

[Processing speed slightly increased]

[Projection has been restored]

[Access to Universal Database remains unavailable]

. . .

Nuriel stared at the information closely before him. His mind squinted. This is more of a game-like system than what he originally designed it to be but a hundred thousand years is a hundred thousand years. He had no control over its future development growth.

'It is what it is'

He stared at the class. Deity was quite grand, same as the Steel Witch. The feeling was similar to getting a legendary drop in a game. He didn't mind the childish game-like setting of describing rarity onto his Scepter. He couldn't help but bring a bright grin inside his consciousness.

[Reality is returning to its default state]

'!!! Wait'

Nuriel looked at the monster in front of him. If time continued, he'd still die.

'Don't I get a power-up or something?'

[Projection has been restored]

This screen flooded his thoughts. If he could project some offensive magic then maybe he'd make it out alive. He focused his mind. Anything. A fireball. The light whips Sayla used. Unrivaled strength like the knight.

[Cannot project due to unknown failures]

'But you said it was restored!'

[...]

Nuriel felt the world slightly move faster and faster from the frozen time. He could see the creature moving towards him in slow-mo but gaining speed.

The ground—no, the entire world, quivered, almost unnoticeable. The fabric of reality was groaning to set the settings back to normal.

In what felt like a mere moment, Nuriel gained control of himself, but not his fate of death. The monster was only a single meter in front of him, its hideous tentacle skin itching and squirming at the sight of their prey.

'Shit!'

Boom

A shockwave emerged in front of him. Instinctively closing his eyes, he felt mushy bits slamming on his body and face as he was flung back a good distance away from where he was previously at.

The loose gravel cushioned his butt, although the stinging pain from the sharp rocks made his eyes spring open into life.

Looking around him, streaks of orange light slammed on the ground, like a barrage of tiny meteors. The creature in front of him was reduced to mush, its body unrecognizable, scattered across the dirt in sizzling chunks.

Turning towards where the knight was, the barrage of light was even more prominent. The streaks pummeled the two beasts from above without pause, like a torrential storm hammering a delicate flower into the mud.

His gaze followed the source of those streaks. Above, he saw a small group of figures with pointed hats, circling around the skies like vultures, delivering death from above with surgical precision.

He turned his head towards the moon. A much smaller figure hovered at the backdrop of the full moon, unmoving, only watching.

The storm ceased.

The figure descended rapidly toward his position.

Nuriel's brows raised. He was taken aback by the sight before him.

A girl silently floated in front of him. Wearing a gray military garb, rifle slung and ready, she stood on what seemed to be a broom-like device, only without its bristles. Her lack of a hat left her face clear in the moonlight.

Her hair was colored a grayish dull blue. Prominent bangs and a rough ponytail that didn't take all of her hair into account. Her eyes were yellow, almost glowing despite the dim light of the moon.

She flew past Nuriel, heading straight for Sayla, who was blown away along with her brother and the medic.

Nuriel took the chance to observe her more closely. But one thing echoed in his thoughts.

'She's so short'

If she weren't floating, she'd barely reach his lower chest. A childlike size paired with a weapon too large for her frame.

The other figures descended behind her, standing in formation like well-trained hounds.

"Fly her to the nearest hospital" the girl ordered. Her voice was weak, strained, like she hadn't slept in days and didn't plan to anytime soon.

"Yes, Major!"

Two of her soldiers grabbed onto Sayla's arms and carried her on their shoulders, her body limping as they flew away into the night sky.

"Patrol the area. One-kilometer radius"

Without hesitation, the rest took to the skies, forming a widening cone as they vanished into the clouds.

The girl turned her attention back to the trio and asked, "Are there any survivors?"

Her gaze swept past the medic, who was panting and stunned, then Edward, catatonic and hollow eyed, and finally landed on Nuriel, who stood up shakily, looking the most intact.

Nuriel shook his head.

Her face didn't move. Not even a blink. She simply stared at him, as if waiting for something more, but expecting nothing.

A husky, muffled voice echoed from the side. "You almost killed me, damnit!"

Nuriel watched her expression turn from emotionless into a sinister smirk as she replied.

"Oh, forgive me, dear knight. If only you old-fashioned people brought radio communications, you could've warned me that you were in the middle of our killzone" she replied, not bothering to hide her snarkiness and condescending tone.

She flew a bit higher before speaking. "Wait for the rescue team. They'll escort you to the city. Unless you'd rather carry all three in a princess carry"

A sharp shockwave rattled the earth and blasted their eardrums as she shot into the sky like a bullet, leaving behind only wind and silence.