The Over-Break System

Brance’s last move was to press the intercom system; it was time to taunt the Angel, if this worked, everything would be set, and his opponent would rush right into the range of his teleportation so that he could draw him into the second floor, where the real battle would begin.

CRACKLE

“Ayo, Birdguy, you sure talk a big game, but as of yet, all you’ve done is arrogantly stood there and eaten five hits from me.” As Brance began his taunts, he equipped the Tier-3 Katana that he looted off the Spy previous since it was the only weapon he had on him, along with his School Uniform.

These two items were the best he could do, for now, considering all his gear was still with Jessup Pinhurst.

Outside the Tower, the Angel stiffened at Brance’s words as fury spread through his body in the form of visible light Mana.

“YOU!!!” The Angel started to say but was soon intercepted by more of Brance’s Taunts.

“You, you, you. Come on now, is that all you’ve got, chicken man? All those years, you harassed me, trying to get me to kill off everyone I love, and here you stand, mouth opening and closing like a fish. What a fucking letdown.” Not hiding his disdain, Brance didn’t stop there.

“Fuck you, fuck everything you stand for, and MOST OF ALL, FUCK THOSE STUPID DUMB ASS SIX WINGS ON YOUR BACK! Seriously, all gold; even your armor matches your little birdy wings. Have you never heard the word TACKY used to describe you?”

“Oh wait, I see what happened; your mommy and daddy abandoned you at a young age, so you had to learn to dress yourself alone, didn’t you? Tsk, that makes sense; who in their right mind would dress in all gold? Silver is a more pristine and pure color, to begin with,” with his eyes locked onto the monitor displaying the angry Angel, Brance channeled all three of his Affinities into his Katana and uniform, reinforcing them significantly with Mana.

However, without realizing it, the Light Mana Particles began solidifying and changing his uniform into a silver plate armor, while his Katana, too, was covered in a Light Mana Construct.

Having attained Tier-3 with his Light Affinity and Reaching Master Grade, Brance’s Affinities adhered to his Will. Instead of simply reinforcing his equipment, the Mana particles went a step further on their own by unconsciously creating a true Mana Construct.

“What happened to the overbearing kill everyone mentality? What happened to giving into my destiny, huh? Where’s your tough guy routine now? Hell, I nailed you with two cannons and ballista PLUS the Positron Lazer, and your ass is still sitting there like a two-bit poorly written supervillain; WHAT A FUCKING JOKE YOU ARE!”

Placing his palm on the hilt of his Katana and feeling the warmth radiating from the weapon, Brance glanced down and saw the multicolored glow. He only then noticed he was wearing translucent silver armor over his uniform.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to examine the change because a booming shockwave slammed into the [Radient Tower], nearly causing him to fall.

Snapping his eyes to the monitor showing the durability levels of the Barrier, Brance’s pupils constricted as he saw it lose a full 15% or 75,000 points.

Wearing a solemn expression, he glanced at the display showing the Angel, hunched forward with a golden flame-clad sword in his right hand. Even more impressive than the flames was that the Angel’s sword had expanded in size, from a standard longsword to a large Greatsword, and with this singular image, the Angel’s identity had been revealed.

“Well, well, what do we have here? It looks like you finally decided to show off your greatest weapon, isn’t that right, General of the God Of Light’s forces, One of the Few Seraphim, The Archangel Michael Demiurgos,” Brance said as his lips curled into a knowing smirk.

Flinching at the sound of his name coming through the loudspeakers of the Tower, the Angel’s lips curled up in a sinister snarl.

It was hard to tell whether Michael was more impressed that the Barrier remained functional after one of his strongest attacks perfectly hit it or that Brance had recognized him so quickly.

“Do not casually speak my name as if you know me, Mortal. You may carry a fraction of the same bloodline as I, but you are a Mortal Nephilim, while I am a full-blooded Seraphim.” Straightening his body out of his combat stance, Michael struck a heroic pose allowing a bright light to shine upon him as he flashed his true strength in the SOC, creating an oppressive atmosphere not dissimilar to high levels of Killing Intent.

“Sounds pretty racist if you ask me. The way you throw around me not being a pure LightBringer is pretty messed up.” Realizing that words alone weren’t enough to push Michael into a frontal attack, brance pressed another button on the command column, and a giant hologram in the shape of Brance’s floating head appeared on the surface of the Tower as if turning it into a movie screen.

“Bitch all you want, old man, but the fact still stands, my Barrier ate a full power attack from you like it was nothing. This poor filthy tainted blood Nephilim seems to be holding his own, pretty easily if I say so myself.” Tilting his head down and mimicking his older brother’s facial expressions, Brance went on the full verbal offensive.

“Not to mention, but that weak ass pressure your exerting doesn’t even hold a candle to what my brother and I can put out. Here, how about I match that pitiful pressure?” Grinning evilly, Brance inhaled sharply through his nose, targeted Michael, and unleashed part of his Killing Intent, 3g to be precise.

Even at a distance, Michael felt the pressing weight of 3g land on his shoulders, forcing him to the ground as the sudden onslaught caught him off guard.

Unlike the force he had exerted, called “Grace,” Brance’s killing intent was dark. It contained a heavy amount of bloodlust, something unbecoming of a LightBringer as only those with evil thoughts and murderous tendencies would have Killing Intent.

“You, YOU’VE STOLEN THE LIVES OF OTHER MORTALS FOR UNJUST REASONS! HOW DARE YOU TAINT YOUR BLOOD WITH SOMETHING SO FILTHY!” Completely outraged at what he was feeling, Michael snapped. Still, the second he began moving forward, Brance increased his Killing Intent to its maximum limit of 4.5g, planting Michael’s feet firmly on the ground as he looked up in horror at the floating head painted across the Tower’s outer walls.

– Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista One is recharged, loaded, and ready to fire.-

– Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista Two is recharged, loaded, and ready to fire.-

“Tsk, Unjust my ass, every person I’ve killed had it out for me first, don’t try judging my actions with your idiotic and twisted logic. If someone wants my life, I WILL BEAT THEM TO THE PUNCH!” Catching sight of the two notifications, Brance immediately spun the dial on the command column and fired off the two Terra-Wind Javelins.

FWoOSH FWOOSH

-You have dealt 1500 Points of Damage to your Opponent with Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista One.-

– Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista One is recharging and reloading, time to completion, 2 minutes 55 seconds.-

-You have dealt 1397 Points of Damage to your Opponent with Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista Two.-

– Tier-3.5 Mana Construct Ballista Two is recharging and reloading, time to completion, 2 minutes 55 seconds.-

Even under the weight of Brance’s Killing Intent, the moment the Javelins left the Ballista, Michael slashed out, parrying the first one and slashing the second one into the ground. In the process of doing so, he still received a slight amount of shock damage due to the strain on his muscles; still, it was a far cry from the amount he would have received if he had taken the attacks head-on.

Clicking his tongue, Brance rolled his tongue against his front teeth under his lips.

‘He’s fast enough to counter the Tier-3.5 Ballista, which is something I don’t think Cynrik could pull off even with his 900 AGI. Then there’s the fact that he was able to deflect both Javelins, which I for sure couldn’t do with my current STR. Using these two instances as a basis, I can assume his AGI, DEX, and STR are all well over 2000.’ Running his fingers along the creature-hide hilt of his Katana, Brance analyzed the situation.

‘The difficulty of the battle has increased significantly, with his STR, DEX, AGI, and VIT all more than triple my own; if I want to stand a chance against Michael, the only thing I can do now is rely on the 35% Stat reduction.’

‘It was smart to go with Option three. Had I rushed out there and confronted Michael, shit would have gone south very quickly.’

BOOOM BOOOOM BOOOM

Steadying himself with the aid of the command column, Brance watched Michael continuously hack at his Barrier, each attack dealing a minimum of 30k damage.

“HAHAHA! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE, LORD MICHAEL? Do you honestly believe a few long-distance attacks will be enough to drop my Barrier? I’ll have you know that with over one million HP and a rapid repair function, there is no way your slow-paced attacks will ever destroy it.’ Bluffing his way through the speech, Brance mimicked Cynrik’s speaking tone and continued his harassment, infuriating Michael further until he completely lost his temper.

“FILTHY NEPHILIM, DO YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN HIDE IN YOUR TOWER FOREVER? THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME I HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST A MAGES TOWER. AND LET ME TELL YOU THIS, YOU ARE NO MAGE; I WILL BREAK THIS BARRIER BEFORE DRAGGING YOU KICKING AND SCREAMING AND DISMANTLING YOU LIMB FROM LIMB UNTIL YOUR BODY BELONGS TO ME!” Losing his temper entirely due to how Brance continuously talked down on him, Michael kicked off the ground, unfurled his wings, and rushed forward.

Within a single breath, the Archangel arrived outside the walls and began brutally attacking the Barrier with a combination of Mana Skills and brute force.

Once Michael was in the desired range, Brance shut down the hologram of his head and prepared himself for battle.

Falling for his trap, Michael was now inside the range of Brance’s teleportation and could now be brought in; however, he stalled for a bit longer and glanced at the display showing the durability of the Barrier.

Since the Archangel was misled about the repair function, the HP of the Barrier was rapidly dwindling, and Michael was none the wiser as he brutally attacked out of blind rage.

Taking a deep breath, Brance waited until there was less than 5% left, summoned the angry Archangel to the second floor, activated the Mana suppression, and smiled adventurously.

“Let’s do this shit,” Brance said as he was whisked down from the 5th floor to the 2nd, where the actual confrontation was to begin.