The vessel of war’s skin scorched and peeled off, but then it regenerated almost instantly, the damage disappearing as if it had never happened.

It was truly a machine specifically made for war, which could heal itself and cause infinite chaos without ever stopping or tiring.

"I’ll deal with it," Leon grinned, his eyes gleaming with determination, "By myself."

"You’re insane," Iris said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"What’s the worse that could happen? Either you stay here and die eventually, with tens of thousands of people dying outside as well, or you leave, with the chance of me dying, but at least you save others," Leon shrugged, laying out the options clearly.

While they were talking, Iris made sure to charge one of her most devastating attacks, energy building in her staff as she prepared to strike.

And as the wall of flames disappeared, and the vessel of war turned its gaze at them, she fired the spell with all her might.

Imperial Beam!

The very same attack she had used against Leon and Alphox in the Imperial Arena, and she launched it directly toward the vessel of war with all her power.

The monster’s singular eye gazed at it, but it didn’t even bother to dodge, a wide smile appearing on its face as it welcomed the attack.

BOOM!

The beam, which could defeat level 100 monsters in an instant, even up to 10,000,000 Combat Power, hit the vessel of war directly in the chest.

But the Vessel of War simply spread its arms wide, as if welcoming the attack, embracing the power as if it were a gift.

The entirety of its form was hit by the attack, but as it faded after a few seconds... it seemed completely fine, not even a scratch on its body.

A faint barrier erupted from his eye, blocking the entire attack without any effort, the energy dissipating harmlessly.

"I-Impossible..." Iris fell to her knees, her spirit broken, "None of us can win, m-my kingdom is done... no one can fight the gods..."

Leon didn’t know it, but in his past life, as the chaos became too much and Iris was on the verge of collapse, she decided to end her own life.

She hadn’t submit to the gods, instead deciding to go peacefully.

Fwoosh!

Still, Leon rushed forward at that moment as he noticed that the vessel of war was about to attack again while she was vulnerable, its claws raised.

’I’m sure the God of War is watching right now,’ Leon thought, his mind racing, ’I need... to kill that thing no matter what it takes.’

Time Stop!

He stopped time as the monster was about to swing, the world turning grey, appearing right behind it, and he unleashed his [Eclipse Dance] as time resumed.

Hundreds of slashes erupted all across the Vessel of War’s form, but as expected, nothing happened to it, its defenses too strong.

Many injuries appeared on the monster’s body, and it bled from the wounds, but after a few seconds only it fully healed, the damage fading away like it was nothing.

It turned its gaze toward Leon as its smile grew even wider, and its mouth opened as a panel appeared before it.

[Celestial, your kind are not fit to oppose the gods, we do not seek to battle, back away and you shall be spared, we do not want to clash with them.]

’Kind? Them?’ Leon raised his eyebrows, confused, ’I guess the gods know about the celestials, but they don’t want to clash with them?’

Still, what annoyed Leon the most was that [Celestial’s Might] didn’t activate against the vessel despite his best efforts.

And the reason was simple: Iris was here in the chamber with them, preventing the passive from triggering.

If his passive worked, the vessel of war’s combat power would drop to 10.5 million, which Iris would be able to defeat easily with her own power and skill.

This meant the battle wouldn’t be "fair" anymore.

So if he ever wanted to be able to defeat that thing, he needed to be alone with it, without any allies nearby.

"LEAVE," Leon shouted, his voice echoing through the chamber, "I CAN DEAL WITH IT MYSELF!"

SLASH!

The vessel of war slashed at Leon’s figure with lightning speed, forcing him to dodge by using [Time Stop] again, the world freezing around him.

He appeared right beside Iris, and then on his knees, he looked at her with desperate eyes, pleading with her.

"Go save your kingdom, I swear I’ll deal with that thing."

Iris stared at Leon’s eyes directly, searching for any sign of doubt, and seeing the determination in his eyes, she finally decided to trust him.

"Alright..." she mumbled as she got up, "Please... save us, I don’t know how you will do it, but I believe in you."

Leon simply nodded, "Yeah."

With that, she used [Teleport] again to go help the people in the kingdom, leaving only Leon and the Vessel of War in the chamber.

"We’re alone now," Leon smiled, his eyes gleaming, "You know what that means."

As a response, the Vessel of War opened its mouth again as another panel appeared.

[The Celestials shall not oppose the Gods, and the Gods shall not oppose the Celestials.]

[That is the rule to avoid mutual destruction.]

"Fuck your rule," Leon took his stance, ready to fight, "We’ll talk once I’m in the [Eternal Domain], until then I’ll deal with the threat."

Of course, Leon had no plans to talk to any of them, he only said it to give them "hope" and confuse them about his true intentions.

A few seconds passed, then one final panel appeared, glowing with ominous light that filled the chamber.

[...So be it, Celestial, it seems like you will die today.]

[I hope the others do not ask too many questions as to why one of their own perished.]

For some strange reason, even though it was simply through a panel, Leon felt like the God of War was actually cautious about fighting him directly.

As if... the celestials were actually beings that could kill him, and he didn’t want to provoke them unnecessarily.

’How strange,’ Leon thought, filing that information away for later consideration.

Still, now that he was alone, he immediately dashed toward the Vessel of War and swung his sword with all his might.

Of course, it swung back with its claws, deflecting the blow and even sending Leon flying back across the chamber.

But...

"Got you," Leon grinned, a silver white aura appearing in his eyes and surrounding him.

CELESTIAL’S MIGHT!