"I'm sorry, Arak. I can't journey with you anymore." A bleeding lady said with a tone of helplessness, clutching the hand of a youth, sporting an expression of regret, "If only I listened to you before…"
"I'll heal you, no matter what!" Arak grunted as he continued to seep healing energy into her. Upon seeing that it wasn't functioning as intended, he cut his hand and made her drink his blood. His immortality as a Titan ought to heal her better.
Moreover, he even unleashed a Dragon's Divinity Incarnation, using all his authority to prevent her from dying. Unfortunately, it seemed whatever it was affecting her was beyond the laws that he wished to employ.
"How…why is this happening?" His eyes were moist as his vision turned cloudy, the figure of the woman was all that lay in his frame of sight.
"It's all because of his Cheat." The woman gasped for breath as she spoke slowly, "I hid…the truth from you."
"I'm not actually from this world."
"That doesn't matter!" Arak shouted, "I'll heal you, no matter what!"
"It is…important." The woman clenched his hand for reassurance and spoke with all her strength, "A Cheat…is an ultimate ability. It's a fragment of the law that is part of the multiverse. And I…am one of those Cheat users, sent to this world as a delegate of Mascot."
"Mascot? Multiverse? What the heck are you talking about?" Arak shouted in confusion, "Does that matter now? Hold on, let me fetch my mom. She's strong!"
"Just…hear me out." The woman prevented him from leaving her, uttering with every ounce of strength she could muster, "Only a Cheat can face another Cheat. But, even among Cheats, there are levels. Or rather, there is a difference in status depending on the source in the multiverse that the Cheat is based upon."
"That…bastard's Cheat is at the highest level I have ever seen." She said in despair, "Instant Death. That's his cheat. Any average powerhouse would die instantly from his Cheat. My Immortality Cheat is the only reason I'm able to prolong my life until now. But I cannot avoid death. It's absolute…"
"No, it's not! It's just death!" Arak thought something as he bellowed, "Grand Master! I know you can hear me! Please, save her!"
"No matter what, please save her!"
"Calm down, Arak." A figure manifested before Arak, sporting a long, conical beard that fluttered in the wind. The wind seemed to accompany him everywhere, for it magically acted only on his beard and the shawl draped on his shoulders, causing them to glide in the air.
It was Slayer!
Staring at the woman sprawled on the ground, Slayer unleashed a gentle energy fluctuation and commented, "She's affected by an Instant Death Cheat."
"Unless the source is destroyed, saving her is impossible."
"No…" Arak whimpered in despair, tearing up as he stared at Slayer, "Grand Master! There should be another way, right? You're all-powerful!"
"There's another way indeed. But I'm not sure if you're willing to bear that burden." Slayer sighed, sporting a helpless tone.
"Whatever it is, I'll do it!" Arak said without hesitation, "As long as she can live, I'm ready to bear anything."
"Then…" Slayer stared at the woman, "All you need to do is one thing, child."
He said with a tone of helplessness, "Wholeheartedly will that you'll transfer everything supernatural about you to me. That includes your Cheat and the Instant Death affecting you. Once you do, you'll be reduced to a normal human. Is that alright with you?"
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"I want to live." The woman said, clenching her hand into a fist resolutely as she said, "Sir Slayer, I wholeheartedly give everything supernatural about myself to you."
The moment she finished her sentence, the space around her cracked as a suffocating authority flowed out of her. It resembled a piece of rock that had been broken off a boulder. And latching onto one side of it was a patch of algae.
The rock was the fragment of authority—The Cheat of Immortality—that she had been bestowed upon by Mascot. And the patch of algae was the Instant Death afflicted on her by a fellow Cheat user.
During the war, Mascot made a favourable deal for herself and sent three Cheat users to the Fantasy World. Their actions empowered her, for they were rampaging around in the Fantasy World with one of the strongest fates in the multiverse.
They became a staunch blimp in the Fantasy World's timeline, attaining a lot of causality as a result. They had weight in their existences to such an extent that even Slayer couldn't do anything to them, for doing so would cause a blow to his foundation.
And of course, he wouldn't take it lying down, turning the disaster into an opportunity instead. Now, he stared as the Cheat bestowed to the woman flow into him and become his power.
'One down, two more to go.' He thought internally while putting on a concerned exterior. Of course, it was due to his machinations that two Cheat Users had engaged in a life-and-death conflict in the first place.
"You're okay now!" Arak shouted in excitement upon seeing the woman regain her lifeforce and hugged her tightly. He observed all her injuries vanish instantly thanks to his healing powers. After all, she was now just a mortal.
Arak stared at Slayer, "Thank you…Grand Mas…W-What happened to you?"
"Huff…haaah…" Slayer panted in exhaustion but tried his best to put on a calm façade, causing Arak to worry. "It's fine. I'm just tired. A bit of rest would be enough…cough! Gah!"
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, muttering wryly, "Shit, it seems I have underestimated the power of this Cheat. Damn that Mascot."
"Grand Master! W-What should I do to help you?" Arak asked in worry. It was his wish that had implicated Slayer. He didn't wish to see the most respected individual in his life take the fall for his selfish desires.
"There's nothing you can do…" Slayer put on a strong façade.
"No, I should be capable of doing something to assist you. Dad always said so. Please, Grand Master! This world still needs you." Arak saw through Slayer's state and pressed forth, unwilling to budge, "You mentioned me bearing something. So, there is a way to assist you, right?"
"You've grown smarter, Arak." Slayer smiled wryly, but what he failed to mask was the feeling of pride he felt towards Arak, eventually relenting. Letting out a forlorn sigh, he said, "I promised your dad to take care of you…haaah."
"I can transfer the Cheat, along with the Instant Death into you after reinforcing it a little. With your innate qualities, you will somehow live, but every second of your life would be a living hell. But," Slayer made a solemn vow upon seeing Arak's readiness, "I'll make arrangements to ensure you master that curse and make it your own."
"Do it, Grand Master," Arak nodded resolutely, sensing a torrent of power explode from Slayer.
Slayer kneaded the cheat and transformed the authority into the unique System Variant that he had designed. He fused the Cheat of Immortality with the effect of Instant Death plaguing it, turning it into a hellish power that would torment the user forever but won't allow them to die.
They would die and revive at the cellular level. And to make this happen, Slayer made the necessary changes and enhanced the power of Immortality.
Gah!
Arak screamed in pain the moment the Cheat flowed into his body, causing him to feel as if every cell in his body was getting ripped apart. Destruction and rebirth, he was undergoing the same millions of times every second at the cellular level, the pain accompanying it overwhelming at the macroscopic level as they all accumulated.
He collapsed to the ground and fainted.
"Arak!" The woman shouted in a fluster as she observed Slayer recovering immediately.
Slayer then patted Arak gently and said, "I'll send you to a special world that would help you gradually master this curse and turn it into your blessing instead."
"I'm sorry, if I hadn't underestimated the effects of Instant Death, this wouldn't be necessary." Slayer apologised to the woman and bowed in response, "Please guide him. He'll need your advice as a Cheat user to master this power."
"Leave it to me." The woman nodded in all seriousness, "If not for you, I would have died by now. So please rest assured as I'll give my everything to support Arak."
Slayer then pointed at the woman, "I can still bestow upon you a power. It'll prove helpful in that world. As long as you become the supreme existence controlling that world, Arak will master his power and become a terrifying character even in the multiverse." Slayer stated, "You know about the Systems and Genre Representatives, right?"
"He needs to be prepared for that. As long as he's related to that person, his life would never be peaceful."
"Arak is my beloved. My loyalty is with him." The woman said, implying that she wouldn't take Mascot's side in the future if they were to fight her.
Slayer let out a wry smile and teleported them away. The moment they left, his expression returned to normalcy as he got up and calmly dusted his clothes before walking away, "Arak has fallen under my control. Now, only Anak is left."
Arak was an individual blessed by the multiverse itself, possessing a ginormous fate. After all, he was Arnark's son, birthed during the peak of the Main Character System's life.
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