95 Dirty Fireworks #95

Observing Metron's desperate struggle to contain the volatile pocket dimension, I couldn't contain my amusement. My grin stretched wider as I met his panicked gaze, his supposedly all-seeing eyes filled with dread. With a nonchalant shrug, I withdrew my hands from my pockets, a mischievous glint in my eyes.

Metron's eyes widened in disbelief at my casual demeanor. "What on earth do you think you're doing? Have you completely lost your mind?" he demanded, his voice tinged with urgency.

I maintained my grin, unfazed by his alarm. "Come on now, Metron, no need to get your circuits in a twist," I replied dismissively, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "And as for closing the portal, well, I'll pass. I leave this matter in your capable hands," I added with a smirk.

"Pass? You fool! We need to close it now, before it's too late!" Metron urged, his voice tinged with desperation. "You'll perish alongside me if this rift collapses and unleashes its energy!"

I shot him a condescending look, rolling my eyes at his insistence. "Perish? Ha! Hardly," I scoffed, my confidence unwavering. "Unlike you, I'm far too powerful and good-looking for something so trivial to kill me," I boasted, rubbing my chin with the most obnoxious and smug expression a human could muster.

Metron's frustration was palpable as he struggled to comprehend my audacity. "This is no time for jests! With your powers being suppressed, you'll meet the same end as me when this pocket of space collapses!" he exclaimed, his urgency growing with each passing moment.

I shot Metron a look that clearly conveyed my disbelief. "Are my powers really being suppressed?" I questioned, watching as confusion clouded Metron's expression, unable to grasp the situation. With a resigned sigh, I motioned towards the base of the mechanical tendril, where Rattigan was busily gnawing away, his razor-sharp teeth making quick work of the device.

"Why don't you take a closer look?" I suggested, a smirk playing on my lips as I observed Metron's growing horror at the scene unfolding before him.

Metron's complexion turned ashen as I effortlessly removed the tendril from my abdomen, the wound it left closing up almost instantaneously. "Remember when your ship lost power during the rift incident?" I reminded him with a grin.

"Well, in that split second of chaos, I managed to summon my little friend here using a bit of space magic. And voila!" I exclaimed, gesturing toward Rattigan, who had turned into a spectator enjoying an amusing show.

"You... you deceived me!" Metron exclaimed, his voice tinged with a mix of anger and frustration as he struggled to face me.

I shook my head with a sigh, unable to contain my amusement. "Your words imply I actively misled you. But as you so astutely pointed out earlier, it's not trickery if you willingly allowed it," I retorted, a satisfied smirk spreading across my face.

"In your case, it wasn't arrogance that led to your downfall, but sheer foolishness and shortsightedness... quite ironic, isn't it?" I remarked, giving him a patronizing pat on the shoulder for a job well done. Truly, I couldn't have done it without him.

To be honest, I could've ended this whole debacle without breaking a sweat. When Metron's ship went dark, I could've teleported away from that pesky tendril and handed him a beatdown he wouldn't soon forget.

But his jab about me being inferior to my future self? Yeah, that got under my skin more than it should've. I mean, who even is this future me? Shouldn't I be glad to know I'm destined for greatness? Yet, his words still irked me.

But aside from my little ego trip, I wanted to stick it to Metron for his arrogance. So, I cooked up a plan, one that's overly complicated and risky, just to humiliate him by beating him at his own mind games.

And as for the whole space destabilization story I fed him? Pure fiction. I shut down his escape routes using my bloodline's powers, plain and simple.

Leaning on the backrest of Metron's Mobius chair, I pondered my next move. "What's the best way to mess with you now?" I wondered aloud, a mischievous glint in my eye.

"Should I go for the classic knife to the ribs? Or maybe tickle you until you lose focus and get swallowed by that pocket dimension?" I teased, my grin widening with each absurd suggestion. "Or maybe I'll just leave you here to stew in your own panic until you run out of steam and turn into fireworks?" I chuckled, thoroughly entertained by the options at my disposal.

As I pondered my next move, brainstorming ways to make Metron's demise as humiliating and miserable as possible, I noticed a sudden change in his expression.

His features contorted with rage, yet his voice remained eerily calm. "I'll concede defeat..." he began, his words laced with an ominous tone. "But don't think for a moment that I'll let you toy with me to my demise..." His voice trailed off, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Let us die together, mortal!"

Before I could even react, he dispelled the barrier around the portal with a furious gesture. In an instant, blinding light erupted from the unstable pocket dimension, its energy fluctuations sending a wave of dread coursing through me.

And then, without warning—BOOM.

...

Emerging from the pocket dimension he hastily conjured to shield himself from the explosion's aftermath, Micah couldn't stifle a groan of pain. His gaze dropped to his lower body, and a surge of frustration coursed through him as he took in the sight of his scorched stumps where his left arm and leg once were.

He clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to unleash his anger on something—or someone—preferably Metron. Unfortunately, the knowledge-hungry New God was now dead

In truth, Micah could have created a pocket dimension and escaped the explosion relatively unscathed if he had been alone. However, he couldn't abandon Rattigan.

Racing against the engulfing energy, he had managed to snatch Rattigan and whisk them both away just before the unstable energy could devour them. But even with his quick reflexes, he hadn't emerged unharmed.

As if sensing Micah's frustration, Rattigan poked his head out of Micah's jacket and emitted a chitter that roughly translated to, "A small price to pay for saving my life."

The rodent sounded remarkably self-assured, and Micah briefly entertained the idea of teleporting him into the core of the nearest sun. However, he dismissed the thought with a sigh raising his left hand to palm his face, only to stop as he remembered that the said arm was now gone.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Micah reached into his shadow storage with his good arm and retrieved a heavily decorated glass bottle brimming with shimmering red liquid.

With a swift motion, he unscrewed the cap with his teeth and hastily downed the contents before tossing the empty vessel into the vast expanse of space. As the bottle drifted away, Micah braced himself for the intense sensation that followed, akin to thousands of ants skittering beneath his skin.

It lasted for five agonizing minutes, during which his injuries, including his missing limbs, miraculously healed.

"A hundred million gone... just like that..." Micah muttered ruefully, his expression pained as he watched the empty bottle vanish into the void.

The elixir he had consumed was a pricey purchase from the system's daily deals tab, even with its hefty 90% discount. It had cost him 10,000 points, equivalent to a staggering hundred million dollars.

"Well, it's my own fault for pushing that bastard Metron too far... He's still a New God, after all," Micah grumbled, shaking his head in frustration.

Despite Metron's pragmatic nature and his singular focus on accumulating knowledge, his pride as a New God was unmistakable. He wouldn't tolerate humiliation, especially when he had no means of escape.

However, dwelling on what had transpired wouldn't change anything. Micah shifted his gaze to the now-empty Mobius Chair, its former occupant erased from existence.