He did.

“We have a plan for what to do next?” Fenri asked, wiping the rubble off her body as Verdi shook his head, making sure his newly grown body was fully functional. He still had all 8 monster cores in his new body and his new outfit had a canteen of water on his belt.

“Find Tristiana and have her tell me what my plan was.” He answered, shaking the canteen to confirm it was full before looking to Citrinas and Evangeline. “Hey, does Eren have any weird powers?” He asked, thinking back to the hero when he abruptly appeared in front of him. It was not teleportation since he could detect Eren running forward, but it wasn’t acceleration either, the laws of physics denying such a thing. It had to be a Blessing of some sort or an artifact.

There had to be a trick to it.

“Not really. He hits you, you hit him, and repeat until someone’s dead.” Evangeline answered without hesitation, the angel likely having firsthand experience with the hero’s abilities as Verdi glanced over to Citrinas, hoping she had something to say. Sadly, it seemed Evangeline was dead on in her assessment, the hero’s fighting style one of a blindly angry berserker.

“Hah, let's just heal everyone and get out before he gains his bearings.” Verdi said with a sigh, dismissing the past incident as Citrinas and Fenri made a choked noise at his current plan.

“They tried to kill us and seal you away! Why are you healing them!?” She asked indignantly as Fenri nodded.

“I’m with Princess. If Varrick used his Blessing we would have been screwed. When he wakes up, he's not holding back next time.” She said, no longer treating Varrick as the pushover she usually saw him as. At that moment a wave of guilt ran over Verdi as he thought back to the fight. Nobody but Fenri used their Blessings, and it was only at the last minute when Verdi tried to cause real damage that they tried to kill him. They'd tried to have them calm down and talk, but he'd been too angry to calm down and hear them out.

Why did the sight of Eren’s odd body aggravate him so much?

“I hope you realize we can’t store them in my Domain.” Citrinas said as Verdi raised an eyebrow.

“Why’s that?” He asked.

“Some people can escape pocket dimensions, and I’m pretty sure at least one of them would be able to find their way out. Heck, right now I could drag you out of one with Hunt active.” Fenri said as Verdi clicked his tongue, thinking back to her advice during their fight with Bell. If Hunt could drag him back from a pocket dimension despite being a mere ability meant for dueling, then there was no doubt that everyone else would have methods of escaping a pocket dimension. He thought for a moment, mulling over what to do with everyone before snapping his fingers.

“Dislocate all their joints, break their limbs, and heal them back wrong. They'll be immobile and still alive.” Verdi offered as everyone threw him a dirty glare. Rather than being an idea they objected to on a moral basis, it was an idea they objected to on a pragmatic basis, the thought of leaving them alive still out of the question for them. Sadly, they could tell that trying to change his mind would be impossible, and they didn’t have time to debate with him. Going along with his whims, Evangeline got to work snapping everyone’s limbs before healing them while Verdi did the same to the vampire pair, drooling healing potions into their open mouths. It was gruesome to hear bones other than his own snap, Verdi felt dirty for even suggesting the idea, but at least nobody died.

“So where’d you launch Muscles?” Fenri asked as they escaped the bar, the dry heat bearing down on them as they found dozens of people clutching their ears and groaning, the shockwave rupturing eardrums and leaving them rolling on the ground in pain. To his relief, nobody was dead, and were only dazed or disoriented by the blast. After confirming everyone was alive, Verdi paused for a moment while scanning the city to find Eren, the hero still climbing out of the rubble from slamming into the city’s walls. Not a scratch was left on the hero, his skin near impenetrable despite his clothes being in tatters. The hero quickly replaced his outfit, pulling it from his inventory as Verdi made a crude estimate of how far the hero was from his position.

“12 miles northeast of us.” He answered, the hero regaining his bearings as crowds surrounded him to see just what hit the city walls. Ignoring them, he got on all fours and looked directly at the bar, his eyes focusing for a moment before gathering strength in his legs. Verdi felt a sense of dread at the sight of the hero amassing power in his legs. Trying to make sense of the hero’s odd pose, Verdi stared for a moment before calculating Eren’s trajectory. Gasping, he shoved Fenri to the side, his reaction a moment too slow.

A jolt of pain hit Verdi as he felt his elbows throb, both his arms torn to mere stumps while Fenri let out a scream of pain, both her feet gone beneath the knees. A breath later, the soundwaves hit Verdi, giving him insight into what happened. He trembled, wanting to scream, throw up, and cry. Words could not describe the sensation he felt at that moment.

It was a line of destruction spanning 12 miles in length, decimating anything that got in its way. He could see people screaming and clutching missing limbs while others were unlucky enough to stand in the direct path of ****, their bodies reduced to mere paste and splintered bone from below the waist, their intestines strewn around them like tails. Buildings collapsed as fires were started, the **** line ignoring all obstacles in a blind charge to Verdi’s position. Verdi glanced over to the line of ****’s endpoint, his heart sinking to see a nightmare before him.

Eren was back.

Every inch of his body was dyed red with fresh blood while his body was clad in organs as though they were clothing. The only part of his body that was left unstained was his right hand, the Glove of Purification somehow untainted by the blood and gore from his ****. His presence was accompanied by a chorus of screams and moans, the pain of his **** finally hitting his targets. Buildings collapsed behind them as the laws of physics took hold, his charge ripping the walls to shreds. Yet, in spite of Eren’s insane speed and unbreakable body, Verdi found a flaw in the hero's powers.

“His reflexes aren’t as fast as his body. He can’t react when he’s fully accelerated. If he could react, he would have killed us all while he was accelerated.” Verdi thought as Fenri muttered inventory, spawning potions in her stomach and summoning piano wire to tourniquet her legs. At the same time, Verdi froze both stumps on his arms, his blood shooting out of him and coating his body like armor. He could detect Citrinas nearby, pulling a high grade potion from her coat and throwing it at Fenri’s legs, the glass shattering and spraying the wound as she began regenerating a new pair of feet. Only Evangeline was stunned by the abrupt ****, the angel on the verge of tears from the devastation and **** left in Eren’s wake.

“Ev, heal!” Verdi commanded as Evangeline dove to a nearby disembodied head, the person’s eyes somehow widening despite the lack of blood pressure to keep them conscious. Her flesh quickly engulfed the decapitated head, absorbing it into herself as a screaming face formed on her arm. Another joined as Evangeline began what could best be described as a feeding frenzy, grabbing whatever tattered bodies she could find and assimilating them, pausing only to excrete the surplus biomass every 4 dozen people or so, leaving giant screaming flesh balls in her wake like an overgrown mutant cat. She seemingly slowed down for a moment, her magic rapidly depleting as Verdi began freezing his blood and slicing himself open from the inside, his pain rejuvenating her magic as she continued “rescuing” anyone in her path.

“Tch.” Eren snapped, taking a step forward and stomping on a person, the hero treating the local residents as mere pavement as they let out a moan of pain.

CRACK

A jolt of pain hit Verdi as he found himself suspended in the air, Eren’s fingers digging into his solar plexus. His ice had coated him and he had frozen the inside of his chest expecting such a blow, yet that did nothing to diminish the shock he felt at how quickly his defenses were shattered. When did he get there? How did he move so quickly? Verdi couldn't even think, focusing on freezing the rest of the blood in his torso to reinforce himself.

Despite how quickly he had reacted, he was still too slow as the hero spread his arms out, the sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone resonating with the shattering of his frozen blood. He felt his intestines fall out of his body like a fleshy leash while the rest of his organs followed suit, the rib cage and skin meant to hold them in place currently clutched in Eren’s fingertips. He quickly froze his chest into a set of jagged teeth, the icy jaws snapping down on his dangling organs as he fell back to the ground.

“He’s going to go for a right uppercut. He always does.” Verdi thought while looking up and freezing all the blood in his chin, minimizing the impact to the best of his ability. As fast as Verdi was with his magic, it was still a moment too slow as he felt pain in his chin, the hero stabbing him with his own rib mere moments before the ice could crystallize. The rib punctured the roof of his mouth and popped out of his head, parts of his brain sticking out like an antennae while his mind grew fuzzy, the hero accurately destroying the parts of his brain dictating math to seal off his formulaic magic.

Forcing himself to stay conscious, Verdi froze his right arm’s stump into a blade, frost forming around it as he slashed at Eren’s torso. A high pitched whine caused everyone to shudder as the frozen blade scraped against the blood soaked hero, Verdi’s attack doing no damage. Yet, the second the blade touched Eren, the hero’s movements slowed to a crawl as the blood coating his body froze, Verdi’s magic powerful enough to at least weaken the hero’s next attack.

“This is gonna hurt.” Verdi thought as Eren punched him in the chest. Though his body was sent flying backwards, his face remained in the hero’s grasp, the rib impaled in his chin remaining strong. Verdi felt a draft in his frontal lobe for a moment before a sea of blood surged forth, his missing face a vast outlet for his blood to escape him. Not even taking a moment to appreciate the brutality of his attack, Eren sprinted forwards while Verdi was still reeling from the previous blow, his entire face a gaping hole of writhing sinew and frozen flesh as he coughed, blood flowing into his lungs with every breath he took.

He could detect Fenri and Citrinas attacking Eren with a mix of knives and magic, yet they could do nothing to slow down the hero’s charge, his power in a league of its very own. Verdi shot several ice shards at Eren, the attacks shattering on his skin like glass. He felt his mind grow faint as he fell to the ground, his body thawing out as he lost focus. He’d used up too much blood and was losing consciousness. Seeing his attacks slow to a crawl, Fenri threw one of her knives at him, a length of piano wire tied to it in an attempt to help him regenerate. It was a great attempt, but by the time it reached him he’d be dead. Just when Verdi was ready to feel Eren stomp his head into paste, he heard two voices cry out in unison.

“Freeze!”

“Hit him!”

Upon their command, a massive black claw slashed at Eren's face, staggering him as he stumbled backwards. A fireball hit him in the face as a sword thrusted into his heart, the blade unable to break his skin as Sarah, Bey, and Eris arrived. The three of them didn’t even hesitate as they got into formation, taking care to attack Eren at the same time to keep him from regaining his bearings.

Bey and Sarah shouted simple one word orders while harassing the hero with stray blows, Bey stabbing at him with her sword and Sarah threw fireballs at him. Whenever he tried to pursue one of them, Eris would strike at him with her claws, each blow sending shockwaves audible even across the city. Yet even with her insane power, Eren’s skin remained unblemished from his blows, his body near unbreakable. Yet, that singular moment was all Verdi needed as Fenri’s knife reached him, spawning fresh biomass in him as his body regenerated in the blink of an eye.

“YIP!” Eris cried out after one blow to Eren’s face, the stink of iron permeating the air as her own blood sizzled on her skin, 3 of her claws missing from her paw and spurting gouts of blood. Next to her, Eren’s mouth was full, 3 pitch black claws clenched between his teeth as he took in a deep breath. She squeaked and ducked her head as he spat the claws back at her, a sonic boom filling the area as he sliced off one of her ears with the attack. The claw shattered a nearby building’s walls, a cloud of dust falling over the area as Citrinas shouted.

“Fall back!” She commanded, not needing to explain herself. Eren was too strong. Nothing they did hurt him, and whenever they hit him he'd just break straight through. Even without his strange acceleration powers, he was unbeatable. They had to get to the Coliseum, but judging by the look on her face, she didn't have an idea of how to escape. At that moment, Verdi began calculating, an idea forming in his mind as he repositioned himself, making sure Fenri and Citrinas were in a straight line behind him.

Snapping his fingers, he pointed in front of him with two fingers and behind him with 3 fingers, the silent command enough to convey his plan as Fenri threw knives where he pointed, spawning 3 water barrels behind him and 2 in front of him. Seeing Verdi plan, Eren stomped on Eris’ foot, the hellhound crying out in pain as her foot made a right angle. In the next breath, Eren suddenly appeared in front of Verdi, his acceleration ability as terrifying as ever. He raised his fist as Verdi cracked a grin, the hero falling for the trap.

With all 8 monster cores in him dedicated to calculation, he had a calculation time of a single second.

More than enough time.

The water barrels shattered, ice flowing out behind Verdi like living serpents as they formed a frozen path from him to Citrinas, the arch-imago instantly understanding his plan and calculating a spell, staring deeply at the water barrels Fenri spawned behind them. Meanwhile, Verdi was busy shifting the ice around him, erecting several dozen torso high walls between himself and Citrinas, leaving only 8 of them reinforced with magic. Rather than being thick walls meant to block an attack, they were thin pieces of ice only half an inch in thickness that would shatter with slight pressure. At the same time, a thicker wall of ice formed in front of him nearly two feet in depth and reinforced with formulaic magic to keep Eren at bay. Rather than dive around the ice, Eren opted to for a frontal ****, punching the ice like the juggernaut he was as, the entire construct was sent flying backwards, pulverizing Verdi’s body as he was hit by a wall of ice moving 80 miles per hour.

“Gah!” Citrinas said as one of Verdi’s ice walls hit her, shoving her back while it shattered like glass. Another ice wall hit her, accelerating her more as it too shattered. Then another, and another, the constant blows bruising her and accelerating her forwards with each impact, dispersing a blow meant to kill normal humans to lightly bruising her. By the time Verdi’s main ice wall reached her, her arms and legs were purple and swollen, but intact as Verdi’s crude sled flew forward. They hit Fenri as well, the hero slowing the sled only by a hair as they made a beeline for the 3 barrels she had spawned earlier.

Pointing forward, Verdi focused, casting a formulaic spell, the three barrels exploding as a ramp of ice formed while Citrinas casted her own spell, unleashing a blast of compressed air to accelerate them further. All three of them felt their stomachs churn as they felt the ice sled push harder into their backs. Reaching the ramp, they began to soar into the skies as Citrinas continued to cast the same wind spell behind them, accelerating them further as they spotted the Coliseum looming over the city, the structure a beacon to victory.

“Fuck!” Fenri said, looking down at her stump legs as they slowly grew back, the bones slowly extending outwards as new flesh grew in They had given her a healing potion earlier, but even potions had their limits. The only way she’d be back in fighting condition before Eren caught up was if Evangeline was around to regrow her legs. Verdi scanned the region, hoping to find the angel for the next phase of his plan. To his relief, he found her at the corner of the city, her hulking body spitting out another wad of screaming flesh as she finished rescuing everyone Eren had maimed. She looked up as if sensing his stares, seeing Verdi soaring across the sky as she focused for a moment, seemingly casting a spell on herself.

Her body shifted and squirmed, muscle accumulating while her skin calcified into a long cylinder. Her flesh sloughed and compressed, pressure building up as she **** her body to generate compound no natural animal could ever produce. Eventually, her body hit critical mass, the sheer metabolic activity igniting herself as she launched her head straight upwards, a new body forming midair from the angel as she made a beeline for the Coliseum. At that moment, Verdi muttered a silent thanks to have the Angel on his side as he watched Eren sprint for the Coliseum, carving a line of red straight to it.

Despite being midair, Verdi could detect Eren’s movements, the shift in the air enough to let him see the berserker’s every move. He could see his brutality, how he seemed to ignore things like walls or people, ramming straight through them in a blind sprint to the Coliseum. No, that’s not it. Verdi saw it. How Eren altered his trajectory ever so slightly, tackling people as he ran. His eyes went wide as he realized his idiocy, watching Eren reach the stadium at the same time as Evangeline.

“GET EV OUT!” Verdi shouted, horrified as he finally deduced Eren’s ability. They had to get Evangeline out of there ASAP. She had to be kept far away from Eren. He wanted to curse himself for not realizing this sooner. He was an idiot. He jumped to the wrong conclusion and now they were all going to die because of it.

Eren wasn’t fast.

Eren wasn’t fast.

Eren wasn’t fast!

EREN WASN’T FAST.

EREN WASN’T FAST!

Citrinas quickly tried to change her formula to redirect their flight, but it was too late. The most she could do was cushion their fall and send them flying to the border walls of the Coliseum, the trio crashing into the arena just as Evangeline unleashed her strongest attack, her flesh coating the arena as Eren leapt backwards, unwilling to let the ravenous flesh touch him.

“STOP!” Verdi commanded as Evangeline chuckled.

“You’ll be fine dear.” Evangeline reassured as Fenri imbued Spirit power into one of her knives, maximizing the weight while grabbing onto the length of piano wire tied to it with one hand. With her other hand, she grabbed Citrinas by the waist, preparing to evacuate the area while Verdi sprinted towards Eren. He froze every inch of his body, leaving only the bare minimum amount of blood for consciousness as he used all the magic he could to reinforce his body.

He and Eren stepped forward, their feet sinking into the fleshy bog of meat Evangeline had coated the arena in as Verdi prayed Eren saw him as the greater threat. He had to distract Eren. Take the blows. He had to show Eren that he was the greatest threat in the area. He couldn’t let Eren touch anyone else. If they got hurt, it was his fault. He should have told them everything.

He knew Eren’s ability from the start.

At that moment he heard the voice of god whispering behind him, Melanoche’s words like honeyed venom as she trounced what little hope Verdi had left.

“The juice of this fruit, when drank by a monster of suitable power, will bestow upon them the Blessing of Time. This will allow you to perform an extra action for every one you undertake. Think of it as in your videogames, when a monster can attack multiple times in the same turn.”

Eren had the time fruit. Everytime he hit someone, he wasn’t accelerating. Time itself was stopping. The reason he kept missing attacks was because he couldn’t see. When time was stopped, even light was unable to hit his eyes. Fighting him as a team was the wrong move. Everytime he hit one person, time stopped and he could land more hits on other people.

And right now, Eren had an entire arena full of meat to hit.

It was all over.

He lost.

Eren won.

And it was all Verdi’s fault.