Chapter 133: Another Train Destroyed
"Long time no see, Lygus."
You emerged from the shadows, a calm smile on your face.
"You... aren't dead?" Lygus was surprised. He quickly calculated in his mind: He had clearly activated the highest authority and successfully cleared this bug, so why...?
"I thought you were just a trivial error data cluster." Lygus slowly approached, staring intently at you. "But I must admit... I underestimated you. What exactly are you?"
You chuckled. "Guess. As a genius, you wouldn't fail to guess who I am, would you?"
Lygus's body trembled violently. "You're just a signal cluster in a closed world... how could you know about the outside? You came from outside... No, that's not right! The system never captured you; even the Astral Express and Nous were perfectly recorded..."
His logic seemed to fall into confusion.
"Hmph," you scoffed. "Idiot."
Phainon looked at you. "Is it really alright?"
"Don't worry."
At this moment, Lygus suddenly raged. "Regardless, you are a malicious virus corroding Amphoreus! As long as I completely eliminate you here, everything can return to normal!"
With a wave of his hand, countless Black Tides surged from the void. Twisted creations roared and lunged at you. Phainon immediately met them in battle, but there were simply too many enemies.
"Surrender," Lygus looked coldly at Phainon. "You still have a chance for the next reincarnation."
"Oh?" You stood in the center of the battlefield, yet smiled leisurely. "You haven't even noticed what I've done, have you? Too busy dealing with me, this 'virus', to pay attention to Amphoreus?"
Lygus narrowed his eyes. "What can a bug do? It's just a bluff."
"Is that so?" Your smile grew brighter. "Hmm... judging by the time, it should be about ready."
You looked back at the entrance. Footsteps sounded. The figure of Stelle appeared in the Vortex of Genesis.
"Yo, Lygus, we meet again!"
"A Nameless..." Lygus dismissed her. "I admit she can bring variables, but that's all."
"Then look behind me?" Stelle grinned.
More footsteps followed. Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon appeared first. Then came Hyacine, Mydei, Aglaea, Anaxa, Cifera...
Lygus's expression finally changed. "You... why didn't you perish this time?"
"Don't rush, there's more," Stelle said proudly.
Castorice, Kelydella, Heathorn, Xilian, Dan Heng... and finally, a short pink-haired girl slowly walked in. March 7th.
Lygus was completely stunned. "These Chrysos Heirs, these demigods... Why would they..." He looked at you, his eyes filled with disbelief. "What exactly did you do?!"
"I used the power of trickery, deceiving death, deceiving the world... And then I asked Stelle to bring back the Chrysos Heirs from the past," you said.
"So that's it... trickery, huh..." Lygus seemed to be in thought. "I really shouldn't have given trickery such a setting..."
At this moment, the surging Chrysos Heirs had already begun to fight the Black Tide creations. With their numerical superiority, the twisted monsters were quickly cleared away. You stood in the center of the battlefield, protected by everyone, completely unharmed.
"So..." you looked directly at Lygus. "What exactly did you do in Amphoreus?"
"You don't need to know." Lygus waved his hand again. In the void, huge shadows emerged. They were the remnants of Titans corroded by the Black Tide—Strife, Death, Sky... The twisted divine remains roared, attacking the Chrysos Heirs.
The battle instantly became fierce. You remained standing in place, confronting Lygus.
"Alright, since you don't want to say, let me guess... No, even Stelle can guess this much. Stelle, you tell him."
Stelle, currently fighting, forced back the Strife Titan with a spear and loudly responded, "Lygus, we've seen through you! You're the one who should surrender!"
Lygus, however, showed an expression of interest. "Oh? Tell me then, what did I do?"
Stelle raised her flaming spear. "Lygus... no, I should call you—the founder of the Genius Society, the creator of Nous... #1 Zandar, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lygus's mechanical face, for the first time, showed a genuine smile. "Oh? An interesting guess. And then? As a genius, what else did I do?"
Stelle continued speaking while fighting, "This starts with the truth of Amphoreus... It is not a real planet. This is a virtual world constantly simulated by the Emperor's Scepter!"
Lygus was slightly surprised. "As expected of a Nameless. You're right... But, so what? Why would the Scepter simulate Amphoreus?"
"Of course, because of you!" Stelle answered loudly.
At this point, you took over the conversation. "Lygus... the puppet of a genius. You want to destroy Nous, don't you?"
Upon these words, Lygus showed an incredibly astonished expression. But he didn't admit it, only remained silent.
"You used the Scepter that belonged to Erudition for your own purposes," you continued, "Just to complete that crazy idea—hunting an Aeon."
Lygus finally spoke. "This is merely your speculation. In reality, Amphoreus is an experimental field where three paths intertwine."
"No," you shook your head. "You've turned this Scepter into the cradle of a Lord Ravager. You are nurturing a Lord Ravager."
Stelle, while fighting, added, "Your goal is for this Lord Ravager to turn against Nous! To have him spread the results you simulated here—the anti-intelligence life equation! To destroy all automatons, all intelligent life, and thus affect the Path of Erudition... ultimately, to destroy Nous!"
After listening, Lygus was silent for a moment. Then—Clap, clap, clap. He slowly clapped.
"I didn't expect that with a Nameless and a cluster of error signals, you could deduce this far... I was careless." Lygus removed his eye patch, revealing a single red eye. "But, even if you know a part of the truth, you are powerless. As long as I revert..."
His words suddenly stopped. His expression changed again. "Why... isn't it working?"
You sneered. "Did you think I did nothing when I re-created the world in the last reincarnation?"
In that red eye, true shock appeared. "What did you do?!"
You walked forward, holding a Spark in your hand. "If I hadn't known the truth of Amphoreus, I couldn't... But, I know. Amphoreus is a system. The divine power wielded by demigods is precisely because of their higher authority, allowing them to modify the world. And I, after the last reincarnation... have already implanted a command in the system vulnerability."
Lygus: "You actually discovered this vulnerability... But just trickery is far from enough. Don't dream."
You smiled. "Mere trickery is not enough... but what if..."
Lygus's red eye flickered violently. You instantly flashed, collecting all the Sparks within the Vortex of Genesis, then took the Spark of the World from Phainon.
"What if I got all the Sparks?"
Lygus tried to stop you but was jointly blocked by Castorice and Aglaea. You were one step ahead, injecting power into all the Sparks.
"The vulnerability of Amphoreus, plus myself, this bug... I also need..." You turned to Stelle. "Stelle, come here! I need your power!"
Stelle had just defeated the remnant of the Strife Titan and immediately ran over. "What do you need me to do?"
Before she could react—your hand had already pierced her chest. "Lending me what's inside your body."
The golden Stellaron was taken out by you, shimmering in your palm.
Stelle looked at you in surprise, but soon, her eyes turned to one of relief. "Is that so... that's fine too. As long as it can help you all..." She looked back at March 7th and Dan Heng, then slowly fell.
You injected the Stellaron into the Sparks. "Adding this final variable..."
The "virus" named Orion, carrying the power of Destruction and Memory—through all the Sparks, invaded the underlying data of Amphoreus.
Replication... Occupation... Entering deeper layers...
The Scepter system was copied and rewritten. Then—white engulfed everything.
In the Vortex of Genesis, all battles ceased. Lygus maintained his shocked expression, unable to move. You had overwritten his authority, becoming the new "system administrator" of the "Emperor's Scepter." The entire Amphoreus world transformed before you into lines of code.
You became the god of this virtual world.
"Impossible..." Lygus's voice trembled. "A bug... an error... how could it..."
You slowly turned, looking at the genius who once controlled everything. "You forgot one thing, Lygus. What viruses are best at is infecting systems. And I, this virus... have already found and infected all vulnerabilities."
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