"I'm surprised by your mental fortitude," Lagus remarked. "In the past, it only took a few words and a few deaths to push you over the edge. Now? You're fighting back."
"Naturally." Neraxis nodded, approaching him. "But it's not like you didn't expect this, right? Your body compatibility stat is at an all-time low. You're doing damage, sure. But that's about it."
After all, Lagus's current level, at most, was that of a Mythic+ ranked awakened. While it wasn't someone Neraxis could deal with normally, the current circumstances were pretty favorable.
Though... I don't believe this is 3% of his power... There's a big gap between each rank, and from what I can see in my memories, Lagus was an Eternal- ranked being.
So basically one of the strongest beings in the universe.
It was safe to assume that the 3% would fall into at the very least Celestial+ rank if everything was normal. However, that was not the case here.
That led him to believe Lagus was holding out on him.
"Why are you holding back? It's not like I mind, but are you sure you want to be killed?" Neraxis asked flatly. "I sure as shit wouldn't be."
"Death? Do you really think I'd die here?" Lagus chuckled.
But Neraxis immediately noticed something off. His voice was slightly shaking.
Without wasting another second, Neraxis dashed toward Lagus and threw a punch at his face.
Yet with a simple weave, Lagus evaded, then struck Neraxis straight in the ribs, shattering them.
But Neraxis didn't even budge. He was used to the pain by now.
He relentlessly chased after Lagus, who simply evaded and counterattacked.
Neraxis had died a couple more times, but he found out one crucial detail.
"You're weakened, aren't you? Is it because of the 11th floor?" Neraxis mused with a smile. "I remember Alice mentioned the Sovereigns had pieces of themselves stored away somewhere. I was wondering if that applied to you too... and my guess is, it does."
The Delta from the alternate timeline had said she was going to go for Lagus, and if Neraxis had to guess, she succeeded.
But due to the lack of a reaction from Lagus, Neraxis found his theory difficult to confirm.
So he asked about it outright.
"Say... are the pieces of yourselves actually the alternate reality Laguses? That's a funny theory, no?" Neraxis chuckled.
Yet he managed to get a single reaction out of Lagus.
Not a visual reaction, but more of a single pulse of mana escaping his body.
Neraxis wouldn't be able to tell something in the real world. But as long as it was inside his mind realm, he had full control of what was happening.
"So I'm right..." Neraxis muttered with a sigh. "How comedic... to defeat you, we must kill your alternative reality selves."
With that, Neraxis was done playing games.
He imagined a single meteorite falling from the sky, then splitting into millions of pieces.
It took a bit of a toll on his mental capacity, but that was fine. After all, he had redirected more than half of the tiny meteorites behind him.
And that was precisely where Lagus had appeared.
The meteorites crushed him, while a few even managed to graze Neraxis.
Instead of trying to dodge them, Neraxis walked in front of a falling meteorite, letting it kill him.
After a few moments of darkness, he was back. And the meteorites had also finished falling.
It was a pretty simple solution to a difficult problem. But most problems could be solved with a rock the size of a planet.
As he approached the rubble-filled ground, he saw a few traces of blood. Despite that, Lagus was nowhere to be seen.
But not even a moment later, he heard a cough from behind him, and as he turned around, he saw Lagus staring at him, missing an arm.
"That was quite the fierce attack, Neraxis," Lagus remarked. "But is it enou—"
Neraxis dropped another meteorite on top of him, just this time, he ran up to Lagus and grabbed hold of him so he couldn't escape.
Of course, he died within a second, but the meteorite had squarely hit its mark.
Neraxis revived a few seconds later, approached the rubble, and this time, he saw Lagus crushed under a meteorite rock.
"Need a hand?" Neraxis asked mockingly.
Lagus scoffed. "You truly are a disappointment. All you've done since I first saw you was thwart my plans. Eons ago, and even now."
"Do you want me to write that down?" Neraxis tilted his head and summoned a notepad.
"Are you trying to write me a will?" Lagus mused. "It seems a bit unfitting considering I've killed you tens of thousands of times. Yet now you stand arrogantly before me. It amuses me, truly."
Neraxis shrugged. "I expected you to be a bit stronger."
"I am merely a fragment of my true self," Lagus replied, narrowing his eyes. "Once you meet the real me, you will understand why they call me the Eternal Sin. Everything you've faced up until this point will be child's play. Mark my words, Neraxis."
Before Neraxis could reply, Lagus continued. "You may have won here, but you still carry my will. Your experiences that span nearly until the beginning of time have all revolved around me. So whenever you think this is over, just remember the person who you're dealing with."
Neraxis rolled his eyes as he approached Lagus.
He took a deep breath and, with a full-power stomp, crushed Lagus's head.
The entire mind realm shifted uncontrollably. The moment it did, a single notification appeared, making him exhale a relieved breath.
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Finally... He's gone. Or at least, I hope he is...
He knew this was only just the start. He still had to create his own system so Lagus would truly not be able to touch him.
And of course, he had to grow strong enough to kill his true body.
Only then will this all be over...
Nonetheless, he looked around the mind realm, which, after expelling Lagus, had returned to normal.
But now, it was a little more than normal. For the first time in a long while, it actually felt was his own mind realm.
There were trees in the distance, and a giant moon hanging high in the sky. Instead of a throne, there was now a single sofa, the same one which was inside his previous home.
A training ground was by the side, and most importantly...
He didn't press anything. Instead, he focused on one message in particular.
Having decided his next course of action, Neraxis summoned a sword and a few training dummies.
After all, he was planning to make the most of this.