"One is ten."

"...?!"

Zero experienced confusion for the first time in a long time.

His eyes lost their intelligence as John continued to attack him. But something weird was happening. Even with the opening given by it.

Zero's body was still reacting. Every attack was countered, parried, or blocked.

John decided to get serious.

They were both moving at speeds unfathomable. While Zero may have only been affected for a few milliseconds... This was an eternity to beings like them.

Thanks to 'Impulse'. Zero didn't need to consciously control his body to react to the situation. He had also experienced getting killed by John before. So he didn't let his guard down this time.

"Final Destination: Primordial Fusion: DEATH."

"Primary Focus: Annihilation!"

A white ball of energy appeared in the hands of John. He then launched it at Zero.

It was at this moment. Zero felt danger.

The daze in his eyes disappeared.

He flicked his fingers and like a spark... the ball of energy was dispersed.

"..."

John was completely speechless.

Zero then smiled and said:

"One is ten!"

John laughed.

"That won't work on me! I create-"

DANGER!!!

John found himself launched from his position. The environment shifted thousands of times in an instant. It was like a reality slash.

Zero punched John through multiple layers of reality!

John felt dizzy.

He looked all around himself and found fragments of reality.

"What the fuck..."

He saw Zero standing in front of him.

Zero flicked his finger and John exploded into a bloody mist.

Zero laughed...

"I win! Aga-"

John then appeared out of nothingness. The attacks at the beginning were a bait. With each punch... while he wasn't crossing the infinity around Zero. While every attack was blocked effortessly by Zero.

John had injected dark energy into each punch.

This was to prevent Zero from hiding. But it wasn't in Zero's nature to hide either way.

Calamity Mode

John reappeared in his eldritch form.

Zero's pupils constricted.

"Impossible!? You are... rank 9?"

"Nope!"

"I am rankless!"

"..."

With the wave of his hands... John saturated this environment with origin.

This was a mix of dark and light energy.

"Trying to restrict me? Foolis-"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The Origin Race entered the battle!

Zero put his hands into his labcoat.

"Do you think you are unique?"

Zero transformed into his eldritch form as well. Not only that, he spawned millions of himself. All at rank 9.

Both John and Zero clashed. With each movement, reality was getting torn into tatters. At the same time, the origin race was getting dominated by the countless rank 9 clones.

John was becoming larger and larger. But it was a game. Zero was becoming larger too.

But with John providing infinite energy for the origin race. They were a immortal army. But rank 9 wasn't a joke.

They were wiped out infinitely.

Zero finally was done holding back.

"I see now the point of your existence..."

"This was the reason for the hiatus of my book! The author thought he could beat me by creating another 'main character'."

John ignored the words of Zero and said a few words.

"Final Destination: Exist-"

Zero felt something was terribly wrong. He realized he must now allow under any circumstance for John to launch this next attack.

Zero held out his hand and a book materialized within it.

John's eyes widened.

"Origin of Calamity?"

Zero sneered.

"This is your book. I can rewrite the story!"

"I am a constant across all space and time, and you are a bit special. I acknowledge that."

"So all I have to do is change the story..."

John felt a chill. This man was dangerous.

"Blasphemy!"

John started to bend the rules of reality.

"Knowledge!"

John was grasping infinite opportunity.

"Fate!"

Through 'infinite opportunity'. John saw the outcome of Zero messing with his book. He saw a future of him becoming as powerless as an insect. Then Zero wiping him out completely.

But something deep within him resonated.

He wasn't the origin of calamity just for show.

"You say you will rewrite my story?!"

"Well... I can change my [Fate]!"

The book within Zero's hands shattered to his confusion.

"What!? You've crossed the threshold?"

John looked all around. He felt 'different'.

"I see... so that is the secret of higher and lower realities...a book, huh?"

John had reached a understanding on the same level as Zero.

John looked at Zero as if he was looking at a speck of dust.

"Ruin!"

Zero felt himself fall apart.

Zero tried to use his reload.

But his technique shattered for some reason.

Zero was surprised.

"A Paradox?!"

John Hell was helping John Destinatus from the time realm!

With the technique of his mysterious artifact failed. He shouted to John.

"I am the constant! My existence is fundamental!"

John shouted too:

"I am [redacted]! My existence is fundamental!"

John and Zero seemed as if they were teleporting around.

At a certain point, things got ridiculous. The size and scope of their battle became too large. The movements they did unraveled reality itself.

The waves from their attacks was messing with the rules that the author had created.

John realized that he couldn't win in a battle of might. So he decided to win in a battle of wit. He used 'Reversed Infinite Mind'.

Zero was sucked into his paradise.

"Is that all you have?"

With the snap of his fingers. John's paradise shattered!

John felt a backlash... he coughed up blood and felt dizzy.

"You are truly something else... to have pushed me this far."

"But we both know... that I have plot armor!"

Zero sneered:

"So what!?"

John did a fake time leap to distract Zero. When the leap failed, he activated his ability.

"Final Destination: Existence Reset."

Zero felt weird. He looked at his hands in confusion.

"My body? I've become a mortal?"

John was also in a normal body. But his control of energy was legendary. He attacked millions of times in an instant.

But it was as if he hit a barrier.

"Infinity?"

Zero snapped out of his confusion.

"It seems you are clueless, even with my introduction. I've battled beings on par with myself that the author had conjured out of nowhere. I have trained for millions of years by fighting with a mortal body."

"I am a omnipotent even as a mortal!"

John then said:

"Omnipotent or not. I am the strongest!"

John's 'Existence Reset' technique shattered.

A red portal appeared and out of it came Du.

Zero then said:

"Two against one?"

John said:

"No..."

John's army reappeared. Zero rolled his eyes, but then John did something he had semi-learned in the data lifeform universe.

"Fusion!"

John fused with the entire origin race! Even Du.

His Paradise became extremely confusing and his avatar changed a lot. His avatar then manifested by him using light energy.

Zero felt an aura quite insane.

"These tricks won't allow you to win."

Astor Nelius appeared on the scene.

"Great. More waste, who are you?"

Astor looked confused. He had stepped through a red portal to escape the collapse of his world. But he found himself standing in a battle between two higher beings.

"I am the Aspect of Soul!"

Astor fused with the abomination that had become John Destinatus.

Zero didn't feel much a threat, even when facing this weird fusion. But Astor had the ability to transform into an 'Aspect'. By becoming a part of the fusion.... he allowed John to transform the avatar.

The eldritch form started to squirm and shrink.

Until it looked like John's initial disguise. A white suit and mask.

He then transformed on top of this and a heavenly aura was leaking out.

Zero was surprised... He felt danger.

He was bigger then a star. The body of this 'fusion' wasn't even a speck of dust to him. With the wave of his hands, the body should've been destroyed.

But he found a limb ripped off his body.

"!!!"

A giant hole was opened up in his chest.

He was getting the shit beat out of him.

John was enjoying this ultimate power he was experiencing. He felt invincible.

Zero's attacks weren't working, so he changed his approach. He started to create loops of universes around John to trap him.

But John simply walked through reality as if the restrictions didn't exist.

"Fuck this!"

Zero vanished.

It seemed he had retreated.

The fusion collapsed and John found himself confused and surrounded by his allies.

"I... won?"