It's a bold bet.
The three of them were now roughly at the same strength. But due to Hortus' devouring, Varian was slightly ahead.
If they could kill him in a few seconds, they'd win.
If he survived those few seconds, he'd be decisively stronger and there'd be no stoping him.
The first second passed with Varian hanging on the edge of death, on the verge of exploding.
God Emperor was confident Varian would explode the next second.
Architect too was expecting the same.
With the way Varian was currently going, they'd win. It's only logical.
And that's what was about to happen when Varian suddenly changed course, throwing their meticulous plans into disarray.
Abandoning all focus from God Emperor, he decisively focused full forces on Architect.
Architect had elevated himself to the strength of peak rank 3 with the boosts from the materialized laws of the universe.
But with the universe being devoured, this boost was under jeopardy and had already been significantly weakened. He was just barely hanging on.
Varian used Hortus' will to attack the Universe, shaking up its six laws, pushing it over the edge.
The materialized laws were shaken and dimmed. There was still some light in them, but they were not longer dazzling.
Architect's power dropped from peak rank 3 to high rank 3.
"NO!"
Varian seized the moment and attacked the space laws that banished Hortus.
The ban shattered and Hortus appeared back in the universe. The quasi universe soared and its devouring rate exploded.
God Emperor face paled as he realized he could no longer banish this grown Hortus.
But he could try one last time to kill Varian. This was the final chance.
"Varian, die!"
God Emperor burned his vitality, poured all his powers into this attack.
If Varian confronted it head on, he'd suffer serious injuries and his strength would temporarily suffer, falling below even the weakened Architect.
Then, God Emperor and Architect would repeat the cycle, weakening Varian at the cost of their own injuries.
The three of them would gradually drop in strength, gradually going from peak rank 3 to low rank 3.
At that point, Varian wouldn't be able to manage Hortus and would lose even more strength.
That's when they'd strike and kill him.
For all of that to happen, this was the decisive attack.
God Emperor prepared himself for the protracted battle.
But Varian never intended to fight straightforwardly. In his words, it was 'dumb' to fight an enemy like that when the aim was to simply win.
"Respect your teacher." Varian used the power of harmony path.
All the powers of God Emperor were perfect, except for this. So, his three avenues were like a perfect machine except for this single flaw. And that sole gap became his leverage.
Using harmony path, Varian wrecked God Emperor's Order and Chaos avenue, weakening him greatly.
And this weakened God Emperor could no longer exert the strength of a peak rank 3. His true strength was only at high rank 3 and he boosted himself with slivers.
But with this move, Varian destabilised that boost.
The strongest attack was easily resolved.
Now, Varian alone was at peak rank 3, facing the two enemies he weakened back to high rank 3.
"Oh dear, how the tables have turned." He chuckled and raised his sword.
"Damn it! Damn it all!" Architect cursed.
"Teacher, you are doing the wrong thing! Peace is everything Peace is—arghhh!"
"Sword of Soul."
The universe was divided into green and red. Architect's face paled as he watched the attack he used being used on him.
No, it's not the same. It's improved!
"Judgement of Soul."
A third line emerged between the red and green, representing the domain of soul.
The souls of God Emperor and Architect were blasted out of their bodies.
"Sword of Anti-Gravity."
The universe's fabric of space-time repelled their souls, pushing them out of its bounds, into the void.
But he could not just keep them away. As long as this universe existed, they could return.
Indeed, they returned in a moment. Their bodies were regenerated and they looked ready to strike.
But Varian did not foolishly give them the chance.
"Sword of Harmony."
Pristine white and pitch black rivers emerged under Varian. Then they twisted and formed a sword. The middle of this sword glowed with a beautiful gray formed from the white and black.
The sword struck both the God Emperor and Architect simultaneously, ignoring the concept of distance.
The harmony between God Emperor and the slivers was cut off, greatly weakening him.
The sword also struck the 'harmony' of the connection between Architect and the dying universe. He was weakened even further.
"Sword of Annihilation!"
All the nine paths were fused into one and the whole universe cracked. At the same moment, Hortus fully expanded itself.
A brilliant light emerged from Varian, drowning the whole universe and even their senses.
Severely weakened, God Emperor and Architect burned their vitality, giving everything they had to block that strike.
They survived, somehow.
As the light vanished, they looked around.
All they saw emptiness.
"The attack was against the universe, not you." Varian chuckled.
The whole of universe was devoured by Hortus, leaving the three of them in the void!
There were no laws here, no aura.
It's just void.
Interestingly, Varian could still keep fighting like before because he was fully powered by the universe.
But God Emperor was severely weakened as he's outside. He's struggling to exert even the strength of a low rank 3 now.
Architect looked better, but his power level also fell to mid rank 3.
The battle was over.
The variable they used as a pawn, the variable they neglected, the variable that should have had no chance—the variable won!
Varian won!
God Emperor looked at Varian blankly.
"Any last words?" Varian asked with a nonchalant gaze.
God Emperor sighed. "I hope you treat the universe with kindness, unlike this bastard."
Varian sighed a little and clenched his fist.
God Emperor said no words as he vanished, as if he was erased out of existence.
With a flick, the three slivers returned to Varian.
(Haaa~ Good morning—wait? What happened! Var?! Where are we?! Run, there is God Emperor!)
[Run already!]
{Um…where am I?}
The familiar voices of Samsara and Logos greeted him, along with a new one.
'I won the battle. Rest for now. We'll talk later.' Varian said gently and the three slivers were fed information about what transpired after his defeat under the God Emperor.
(Oh? Then I'll prepare Logos' maid uniform! Hehehehe! Oi, newcomer, say hi!)
{H-Hi}
(Just hi? Say Hi, master~ Show your feelings, newcomer!)
{H-Hi master…}
"Haaa~" Varian muted them from speaking temporarily before turning to the trembling creator. "Speak up, little bastard."