Micheal and Jack. Two archangel's staring at one another waiting for the other to make a move.

“Ready?” Jack whispered to Sahaqiel.

Jack pulled Gram to himself, holding it aloft before seizing the initiative to attack.

“Ready.”

He disappeared, slashing, the edge of Gram cutting through the Black King’s mana barrier who reacted with alarm.

Micheal leaned back, avoiding the attack and raising his hand.

Suddenly Jack could feel the metal of Gram shifting, the Black King attempting to yank the weapon from Jack’s control. But Jack wouldn't have it.

His black feathers segmented, flying out, each one laced with Gehenna and attacking Micheal who furrowed his brow before backpedalling and swiping at the air to erect a mana barrier.

It was ineffective.

The feathers pierced through, impaling Micheal in various spots along his white suit and drawing a look of shock from the angel as Jack swung Gram.

“Ignite, Dandelga.”

Those two words, uttered before a massive blade of black burst into existence from a flash of fire.

In Micheal's hand was a two-handed slab of flaming metal, a sword that clashed against Jack's with a resounding clang.

Suddenly Gram began to react, heating up, the blade of the weapon engulfed in flames.

“A cheap copy wielded by a cheap copy,” Micheal taunted, “Irony.”

“Kill yourself,” Jack hissed, spitting into Micheal's face before unleashing a repulse point-blank.

Micheal scowled, wiping the spittle away from his face before raising his palm. “Enough.”

A beam of gold energy intertwined with corruption poured forth from Micheal's hand, striking Jack who cast it to the side with Gehenna before rushing forward in a stream of lightning.

The pair clashed, releasing flames and sparks with each strike of their metal smashing against one another.

Lightning began to manifest around Micheal, the man's Sahaqiel firing bolts at Jack only for the latter to twist the energy to return and strike Micheal.

“What?” Micheal muttered before being blasted by a thunderous bolt of lightning that drowned out all sound.

Micheal tumbled, hitting the ground and skidding to a halt as his hand dug into the ground.

The man twitched, his body spasming slightly before embers spewed from his mouth.

Suddenly the man immolated, his body wafting with flames as his wings ignited.

“Good. Good! Show me what I've made!” The archangel shouted as he shot forward in a stream of fire.

“RAAAH!” Jack roared, answering in kind and racing forward, slashing at the archangel who ducked and delivered a blow into Jack's stomach before releasing a fireball point blank from his palm at Jack.

Covered in flames Jack retreated and sent his feathers forward, his attacks being dodged by Micheal who either expertly evaded his feathers or parried them to close the distance and lift his burning blade.

Jack raised Ruby's shield and blocked Micheal’s sword. The impact making Jack wince as the Black King’s strength lifted him off his feet and sent him a few yards back.

“You're running out of time Jack,” Micheal said, directing Jack's attention to the mass of flesh growing out of a vein from the infinity machine that began to sprout ligaments and bones. “Once Adam reforms we'll be back to where we already were. And no matter how many times you dispel him, he'll come back and your little friendship-is-magic-trick, well, you've just removed another body from this fight.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Jack. It's time.” Lilith said.

Jack smiled, standing upright, his wings flapping lightly.

“Pray tell, what are you so smug about? You've only delayed the inevitable. You and Sahaqiel alone still aren't enough.”

“Well, it's a good thing we aren't alone,” Jack replied as the metallic sphere behind them began to pulse.

Suddenly the white room flashed black, the tree-like roots of the Infinity Machine pulsing as intense pressure began to build in the space.

“What? What did you do?!” Micheal snapped as the white room dimmed.

“Hello father,” Lilith said, smiling as she revealed herself to the man responsible for her creation. “Did you miss me?”

Realization dawned on Michael, the man's eyes wide as he momentarily stood in a state of shock at the being with gold Gehenna tattoos covering her body.

“You… I see, so you were the blind spot,” Micheal hissed, his words lost on Jack.

The white room pulsed, the mass of flesh suddenly deflating as a pulse of energy washed over Jack and Micheal.

Micheal could feel it, the call of infinity. The same feeling he had felt forty thousand years ago when the kill switch was activated.

“So this is what you've chosen,” Micheal hissed, “All that power at your fingertips and this?! This is what you choose to do with it?! Do you realize all the good you've undone? How far you've set humanity back?! You were supposed to be the ultimate weapon! The one to stop Adam and you've doomed us all!”

Micheal slashed, sending forth a chaotic wave of flames that Jack cut through with Gram.

“It doesn't matter, it's not your problem now,” Jack glared, his wings glittering away.

“You fool, you've only temporarily halted armageddon!” Micheal spat, his composure broken and vanishing to appear beside Jack with sword in hand.

Jack stood motionless, eyes closed, smile on his face as the edge of Michael's Dandelga neared his neck.

Then the two vanished, both archangels ripped from existence as the world rebooted.

****

Tenno frowned, waking with a start as he felt a mysterious energy sweep across his skin.

He looked to his left, he looked to his right. All signs of the demonspawn hordes gone as Kenichi sat beside him drinking a beer.

“Did I miss something?” Tenno said, sitting up and flexing his hand that no longer held the strength he was used to. “We aren't dead?”

“No… no we are not,” Kenichi sighed as he removed his bandages on his face to reveal eyes that could witness the hundreds of people milling about in a confused daze.

“I take it we've won?”

“I think so?” Kenichi said, attempting to pull up his system that didn't respond. “I can't access my system.”

Tenno had no luck either, in fact, he couldn't feel the energy in the air or the mana he was so used to flowing through his veins.

“Interesting… very interesting,” Tenno said as he laid back on his recliner and went back to sleep.

Elsewhere Selfia narrowed her eyes as her floating limbs fell upon the sandy beach she'd been deposited at.

“Well… that's disconcerting,” Selfia said, unable to feel her mana.

“What's going on? What's happening,” Ada said as she attempted to lift her nodachi from the sand that wouldn't budge. “Why do I feel so weak?”

“I take it Jack activated the kill switch.”

“Kill switch?” Ada asked as the flying city in the distance crashed into the sea.

“Yup,” Selfia said, turning away from the ocean to eye the landscape before her that was now devoid of the purple corruptive smog.

The Queen scanned the horizon, eyes sweeping over the massive crowd of people standing around confused. Some faces she recognized, others she didn't.

There were thousands of them, men and women wearing outdated uniforms and armor.

“Great… this is going to be a fuck load of paperwork,” She looked down, eyeing her arms strewn in the sand, “Mi’shka, can you help me install my limbs?”

No response.

Selfia looked up, eyeing the white-haired officer who was staring at a blonde woman with red eyes wearing a mechframe pilot uniform.

“Eleanor?” Mi’shka said, the woman turning with wide eyes filled with shock to stare at the man.

The two ran to each other, embracing tearfully as Selfia's eyes settled on a familiar face wearing black armor and sitting in the sand with a confused look.

“Ruby?” Selfia whispered, the girl's violet eyes shifting to face her with her skin tone vibrant with life. But perhaps what surprised Selfia more, was the group of officers beside her alongside a narrow-eyed man. “Python?!”

Python looked around confused, his eyes darting left and right before he chuckled as Ruby shot up and approached Ada.

“Where's Tanji?” Ada asked, her eyes almost pleading, fearing the worst.

Ruby lowered her head for a moment before taking the woman's hands and uttering her first words as a living person.

“He says to wait for him,” Ruby said, delivering Jack's final message for his loved ones.