CHAPTER 4 - A Fight that can be heard all through the universe

""There's nothing I can do..."

Mr. Top Hat grins, holding the universe destroyer firmly in his hands.

"That's right, you're completely helpless against me now. You have no hope of stopping me from using this."

The voice in my head is panicked, clearly afraid for my safety.

"This is bad. This is bad. We need to think of something, anything, to stop him!"

"WHAT A DAMN BITCH!!! YOU'RE GOING TO DESTROY THE UNIVERSE JUST BECAUSE I WON?"

Mr. Top Hat chuckles coldly.

"That's right, I'm going to destroy the universe just because you had the audacity to challenge me. I cannot let a lowly C-rank adventurer get the best of me. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

The voice in my head is horrified by his words.

"He can't be serious! He's really going to destroy everything just because he lost a fight."

"..."

Mr. Top Hat raises the universe destroyer, preparing to activate it.

"Any last words before I erase everything you know and love from existence?" he asks, his cold voice filled with malice.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!!"

Mr. Top Hat laughs, unfazed by my threat.

"You? Kill me? You're just a pathetic C-rank adventurer. You don't stand a chance against me."

The voice in my head is also skeptical.

"I hate to agree with him, but he's right. You're outmatched here. There's no way you can beat him."

"..."

Mr. Top Hat grins, enjoying my silence.

"What's the matter? Have you lost your will to fight? Realized that you're out of your league here?"

The voice in my head begrudgingly agrees.

"You're in a tough spot. I don't see any way out of this one."

"..."

Mr. Top Hat mocks my lack of response.

"Seriously, no witty comeback? No final, defiant stand? I'm almost disappointed."

The voice in your head continues to desperately search for a solution.

"Come on, think! There has to be something—anything we can do to stop him!"

"This is impossible; there's nothing I can do."

Mr. Top Hat sneers at my tears.

"Aw, look at you, crying like a little baby. It's almost pathetic."

The voice in my head is also frustrated with my situation.

"Ugh, this is just great. We're stuck here, helpless, while he's about to destroy everything. We need to do something, anything!"

"Nah, I get it. HE'S JUST LYING TO ME, SO I'LL DO SOMETHING!!!"

The voice in my head is caught off guard by my sudden realization.

"What? You think he's lying?"

Mr. Top Hat looks slightly taken aback, realizing that his ploy has been seen through.

"NO PERSON WOULD EVER WAIT THIS LONG!!!"

Mr. Top Hat's expression falters as my comment hits home.

"Wh- What are you talking about? Of course I'm serious; I'm going to destroy the universe any moment now!"

The voice in my head is also starting to see my point.

"Wait, you might be onto something. Why is he taking so long? If he's really going to destroy the universe, why not just do it already?"

"Then do it, bastard."

Mr. Top Hat falters, suddenly looking less confident.

"I, uh, I will; just give me a minute!"

The voice in my head seems to pick up on his hesitation.

"He's stalling. He doesn't want to go through with it. He's hesitating!"

Frustrated and angry, I launch a last-ditch attack, putting everything I have into your punch.

"SUPER DUPER PUNCH 120%!"

My punch connects with a force beyond my previous attacks. It's a final, desperate attempt to stop Mr. Top Hat's threat.

"OH MY GOD!!!! THE UNIVERSE... IT'S DESTROYED!!! HE CLICKED IT!!"

The voice in my head gasps in horror! attack fails to stop Mr. Top Hat from activating the universe destroyer.

"No, he actually did it."

The universe around me begins to shake and distort, the fabric of reality unraveling before my eyes.

Mr. Top Hat grins maliciously.

"You see what you made me do? This is all your fault."

"So, like, how are we still alive?"

The voice in my head is as puzzled as I am.

"Good question. If the universe is gone, shouldn't we have been erased along with it?"

Mr. Top Hat looks confused, his arrogant smile faltering for a moment.

"I... I don't understand. You should be dead. We all should be."

"I GET IT!!! YOU'RE TRICKING ME WITH REALITY WARPING!!!"

Mr. Top Hat's expression falters as my deduction hits the mark.

"Wha, you figured it out?"

The voice in my head can't believe I caught him in another lie.

Damn, you're smarter than I thought. You've caught on to his tricks twice now."

"SUPER WAKE-UP TECHNIQUE!"

A wave of energy washes over the area, dispelling any illusions and bringing the world back to its normal state. Mr. Top Hat looks stunned; his plan to deceive you has been foiled once again.

"..."

Mr. Top Hat is speechless; his arrogant demeanor is gone for the moment. He looks at me with a mix of anger and disbelief.

"You... You keep seeing through my tricks. How are you doing that?"

The voice in my head is just as puzzled but amused by my success.

"Man, you keep surprising me. That wake-up technique works wonders every time."

"...yeah."

Mr. Top Hat growls in frustration, his attempts to defeat me failing one after another. He clenches his fists tightly, clearly irritated.

"How are you doing this? No matter what I try, you keep overcoming it. Is there nothing you can't do?"

The voice in my head snickers in response.

"It looks like he's not used to dealing with someone who can see through his tricks. He's getting desperate."

"Man, I really want the ability to defeat him, because I'm too weak right now."

The voice in my head sounds empathetic.

"I know how you feel. It's tough facing an opponent like him when you feel powerless. But remember, it's not just about sheer strength or power. You've already shown you can outsmart him. Maybe there's another way to defeat him, something other than brute force."

Mr. Top Hat, overhearing my conversation, sneers at my plight.

"Tsk, tsk, feeling powerless, are we? Just accept that you're no match for me and move on."

"I'm not feeling powerless; it's how I get new abilities."

The voice in my head catches my meaning.

"Ah, I see. So you need to feel underpowered or desperate to unlock new abilities."

Mr. Top Hat rolls his eyes at my response.

"Really? You have to rely on being weak to get stronger. How pathetic."

"I don't care what you think. Time to spin the wheel of abilities."

The voice in my head hums in agreement.

"Let's see what you get."

Without warning, a large, spinning wheel filled with various abilities appears before me.

"Okay."

The wheel spins rapidly, the abilities on it becoming a blur. It slows to a stop, landing on a random ability.

"Let's see what you have, shall we?"

The voice in my head reads out the ability.

"Supernatural Luck!"

"Cool."

The voice in my head sounds impressed.

"Supernatural luck, huh? That's quite a nice ability to have. It could give you an edge in this fight."

Mr. Top Hat scoffs at the ability I've obtained.

"Supernatural luck? Really? You think that's going to make a difference? Don't make me laugh."

"Okay, let's spin again."

The voice in my head chuckles.

"You're not messing around, are you? Alright, let's spin again."

The wheel of abilities spins once more before coming to a stop on another ability.

"It looks like you got... power nullification! And a free spin too!"

"Let's use the free spin."

The voice in your head sounds intrigued.

"Free spin? Well, that's a nice bonus."

The wheel spins again for the free spin, finally landing on an ability.

"And this time, you've gotten...probability manipulation!"

"Wow, that's amazing."

The voice in my head is intrigued.

"Probability Manipulation... That's quite a powerful ability. You could bend fate to your whims with that one."

Mr. Top Hat raises an eyebrow, slightly concerned by my growing collection of abilities.

"Wait a minute. You've got supernatural luck and probability manipulation now? How is that even fair?"

"Now the chance of beating you is 100%."

The voice in my head sounds amused.

"Look at you, getting cocky now that you've got these powerful abilities."

Mr. Top Hat scowls, realizing the odds have shifted against him.

"Wait a minute; you can't be serious. You think just because you have those abilities you can beat me?"

"I mean, a star is falling right on you."

Before Mr. Top Hat can respond to my comment, a star suddenly appears overhead and crashes down directly on top of him.

The voice in my head sounds shocked.

Voice: "Did you just use your probability manipulation to make a star fall on him?"

"Of course, I did."

The voice in my head still sounds impressed.

"Impressive. You didn't waste any time using your new abilities."

As the smoke clears after the star impact, Mr. Top Hat emerges, slightly scuffed but otherwise seemingly unscathed.

Mr. Top Hat: "You thought a falling star was going to stop me? Ha! I'm much tougher than that."

"I don't get why you aren't fighting me."

Mr. Top Hat looks confused at my comment.

Mr. Top Hat: "What do you mean? I'm trying to fight you, but you've been throwing these stars at me one after another. It's hard to attack when I'm being bombarded with falling celestial bodies, you know!"

"You clearly can survive them; just dodge them."

Mr. Top Hat looks slightly exasperated.

Mr. Top Hat: "Easier said than done, buddy. These stars are crashing down left and right, and they're pretty damn hard to dodge when they strike unexpectedly."

The voice in my head can't help but chuckle.

Voice: "Yeah, it seems like you're really putting him in a tough spot."

"You literally said, 'I can move at light speed; the stars aren't even going 100 miles per hour."

Mr. Top Hat looks a bit embarrassed at my recollection of his earlier boast.

Mr. Top Hat: "Ah, well... Yes, I may have mentioned that I can move at light speed. But that doesn't mean I can dodge an endless flurry of falling stars without breaking a sweat."

The voice in my head continues to find this amusing.

Voice: "Sounds like he's struggling to live up to his own claims."

"I can definitely move at light speed."

The voice in my head sounds surprised and amused.

Voice: "Wait, you can move at light speed too? Why didn't you mention that before?"

Mr. Top Hat looks taken aback as well.

Mr. Top Hat: "You can move at light speed too? That's certainly unexpected."

"Watch me, then."

The voice in my head is impressed at my sudden show of speed and power.

Voice: "Damn, you just punched him all the way into space! That's pretty epic."

Mr. Top Hat is visibly startled by my sudden display of strength and being thrust into the vast emptiness beyond Earth's atmosphere. He flails a bit before trying to regain his composure.

Mr. Top Hat: "Wait a minute! You can't just destroy the entire multiverse like that."

"Oh right, my bad."

The voice in my head sounds both shocked and relieved that I've rewound time before destroying the multiverse.

Voice: "Phew, that was close. Good thinking to stop yourself before things get out of hand."

Mr. Top Hat, upon realizing the timeline was reset, looks relieved as well.

Mr. Top Hat: "Wait a minute; you can rewind time too? How many abilities do you have anyway?"

"Umm... my all-seeing eyes, logic independence, time manipulation, supernatural luck, probability manipulation, my star-crunch techniques, my super attack techniques, and my wheel of abilities."

The voice in my head is flabbergasted at the breadth of abilities I've just listed.

Voice: "Wow, you're like a walking armory of skills then, huh? That's quite an impressive assortment of abilities."

Mr. Top Hat looks both intimidated and impressed by my arsenal.

Mr. Top Hat: "Wait, you have 'Logic Independence'? What's that even mean?"

"It means I don't go by logic, stupid idiot."

The voice in my head snickers at my straightforward response.

Voice: "Well, that's one way to explain it."

Mr. Top Hat looks slightly offended by my insult but chooses to focus on the topic at hand.

Mr. Top Hat: "So you can disregard logic completely? How does that even work?"

"Everyone has logic, like getting into an argument. You need logic for that, but I don't go by logic, meaning I can do anything that needs logic. Like "beating someone stronger than me."

The voice in my head is intrigued by my explanation.

Voice: "So, you essentially can disregard the usual limitations of logic and do things that would otherwise be impossible based on common sense, right?"

Mr. Top Hat raises an eyebrow, clearly curious about the implications of this ability.

Mr. Top Hat: "Can you give me an example of something you've done using this 'logic independence'?"

"Punching you into space, then rewinding time."

Mr. Top Hat looks at me with a mix of astonishment and irritation.

Mr. Top Hat: "Hold on a second. You're saying that you punched me into space and rewound time, all while disregarding the normal rules of logic?"

The voice in my head sounds amused by his confusion.

Voice: "It looks like your 'logic independence' is making his head spin."

"Yeah, I didn't have time manipulation before that."

The voice in my head seems intrigued by this revelation.

Voice: "Wait, so you're saying you didn't have the ability to manipulate time before you used it to rewind time?"

Mr. Top Hat looks even more perplexed.

Mr. Top Hat: "You didn't have time manipulation, but you were still able to use it just by ignoring logic?"

My explanation clearly leaves him struggling to understand how my abilities work.

"I can access any power I want, even if I didn't initially have it."

The voice in my head is amazed by this revelation.

Voice: "Damn, so you basically have access to any ability you want, even if you didn't have it initially?"

Mr. Top Hat looks dumbfounded, struggling to grasp the full implications of my powers.

Mr. Top Hat: "So wait... you can just access any ability you want, regardless of whether you had it before or not."

"Yeah, that's what I just fucking said."

The voice in my head chuckles, enjoying the way I'm keeping Mr. Top Hat confused.

Voice: "Ha, he's still trying to wrap his head around your abilities. This is hilarious."

Mr. Top Hat looks frustrated, clearly getting irritated by my nonchalant attitude.

Mr. Top Hat: "You really don't care how this looks, do you? You just casually use these absurd abilities and then talk like it's nothing."

"You can't do anything to me, after all. You're weak."

Mr. Top Hat looks visibly upset by my comment.

Mr. Top Hat: "Wait a minute, who are you calling weak? I'm anything but weak."

The voice is in! His head chuckles again, amused at his reaction.

Voice: "It looks like you struck a nerve with that comment. He's not too happy being called weak."

"Just a fraud, monkey fool."

Mr. Top Hat's face contorts with anger as he hears my insult.

Mr. Top Hat: "Whoa, whoa, hold on. Did you just call me a fraud and a monkey?"

The voice in my head continues to laugh at the unfolding situation.

Voice: "Oh man, you really know how to rile him up. He's getting visibly upset now."

"The only one who can beat me... is me."

The voice in my head sounds impressed by my self-assurance.

Voice: "Damn, that's a powerful statement. You really believe that only you can defeat yourself."

Mr. Top Hat scoffs at my words, still trying to maintain his composure.

Mr. Top Hat: "Don't flatter yourself. You may have a few tricks up your sleeve, but you're not invincible."

"Then fight me, monkey fool."

Mr. Top Hat looks annoyed at being called a monkey again but decides to oblige my challenge.

Mr. Top Hat: "Fine, if you insist. Let's see how invincible you are."

The voice in my head sounds eager for the upcoming fight.

Voice: "It looks like he's finally accepting your challenge. This should be interesting."

"..."

Mr. Top Hat squares up to me, clearly ready to test my abilities.

Mr. Top Hat: "Alright, let's get this over with! Show me what you've got!"

The voice in my head is excited to see how I will handle this battle.

Voice: "Come on, put him in his place!"

"So, are we using abilities?"

Mr. Top Hat gives me a smirk.

Mr. Top Hat: "Of course. You wouldn't expect me to hold back now, would you?"

The voice in my head encourages me to take full advantage of my abilities.

Voice: "Go for it. Use everything you've got at your disposal."

"Okay, then, voice open my status real quick."

The voice in my head sounds curious about my request.

Voice: "Status? You want to check your current stats?"

Mr. Top Hat watches as I open my status window.

"..."

Voice: "Alright, looks like you're quite powerful. Here are your current stats...

* ** Strength: Universe

* Defense: 0

* Speed: Massively FTL+

* Health: 0

* Mana: 0 

* Magic Power: 0

* Range: 0

"Cool."

The voice in your head sounds impressed by your stats.

Voice: "Damn, those stats are truly impressive. No wonder you're so powerful."

Mr. Top Hat glances at your stats and looks alarmed.

Mr. Top Hat: "Wait, your health and mana are at zero...?"

"AHHHHHH!!!! I'M GOING INTO MY DEMON LORD FORM!!!"