Inside, the atmosphere was heavy with age. Mai took the stairs, moving silently from door to door, while Joseph remained downstairs in the main hall. He inspected the ruined altar and the crumbling surroundings, carefully examining every nook and cranny in search of any clues.

  Unbeknownst to Joseph, a figure had silently entered the church. A hybrid demon-witch, disguised as a nun, walked slowly toward him. She carried a spellbook that appeared to be a demonic Bible, a perfect ruse. Somehow, she had managed to bypass Mari’s watchful gaze. The woman’s footsteps were silent, and as she neared the altar, she stopped, close enough to catch Joseph’s attention.

  "Another wandering lost soul, I see," she said softly, her voice smooth but laced with malice. She did not look at him, her gaze fixed downward.

  Joseph, momentarily distracted by her voice, turned. A whistle escaped his lips as he took in her stunning appearance. He couldn’t yet tell what she was, but she was undeniably striking. Tossing aside a discarded piece of junk, he stepped toward her.

  "Lost? Nah," he said with a grin. "We’re looking for something called the Left Eye. Care to lend a hand? Could be fun."

  The hybrid demon-witch tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. She closed her book—the Goodspell—and stretched it out toward him, her hands offering it as though it were a gift.

  "But if you're looking for the Left Eye…" Her voice trailed off as she closed the gap between them, her movements deliberate.

  Joseph reached out to take the book, thinking it might be the key to their search. But just as his fingers grazed the edge, the witch's demeanor shifted.

  "That would either make you an angel..." she said, her voice taking on a darker edge.

  Before Joseph could react, she attacked. Swift and precise, her movements were a blur. Joseph countered with practiced ease, launching a defensive maneuver that kept her at bay. A magical blast from her hand surged toward him, but he dodged, returning fire with his weapon. She evaded with a fluid grace, her acrobatic movements making it difficult for him to land a shot. Neither had the upper hand, both fighting with equal ferocity.

  In an instant, the witch's disguise evaporated, revealing her true form. Her cloak of nunnery vanished, and the Goodspell book dissolved into the air like mist. She smirked at him, her dark aura beginning to flare as her power surged.

  "Or a demon," she added, her voice dripping with amusement.

  They locked eyes, muscles straining as they clashed in a test of strength. Joseph's weapon was at the ready, but the witch's power was formidable. Dark energy radiated from her, swirling around her hands and body. With a sudden chant, she cast a spell that silenced their battle, masking the noise so that none of Joseph’s team would hear the clash.

  In that moment, numerous portals opened, and hellish hordes spilled forth. Joseph was forced to shift his focus, quickly dispatching the creatures with deadly precision, but the witch was relentless.

  The intensity of their fight escalated. The witch caught one of Joseph's bullets midair, her smirk never fading. She held it between her teeth for a moment before spitting it out, her gaze locked on him with mocking amusement.

  "Oh, come on! Now everyone can do that? Is it a trend?" Joseph muttered, a mix of frustration and disbelief in his voice.

  They continued their battle, each move a test of speed and skill. The witch moved with effortless grace, dodging his gunfire as though it were nothing more than a mere inconvenience. Even when Joseph’s ammunition ricocheted back toward him, she countered it with uncanny precision.

  Joseph mirrored her agility, dodging and firing with equal skill. But the witch’s power went beyond mere reflexes. With a chilling incantation, she reversed time for a brief moment, landing a precise strike that Joseph had previously avoided. The battle was far from over, and neither side was willing to concede.

  The hybrid demon-witch moved with an eerie grace, her ability to manipulate time becoming increasingly apparent. As Joseph fought, she slowed time around them, allowing her to land multiple swift and precise strikes. Each blow hit with lethal intent, and she believed this final assault would be enough to end him. But to her shock, Joseph instantly recovered from the barrage, his resilience defying all logic.

  Stunned by his unexpected recovery, the demoness took a step back, unsure of how he managed to break through her time manipulation. She had been so sure of her power, but now, for the first time, she questioned his true strength. Before she could react, Joseph countered with a strike that sent her reeling, her form briefly staggered from the blow.

  "Looks like you’re more of a man than I thought," she said, her voice laced with both admiration and frustration. She attempted to stop time once again, preparing for another death blow, but Joseph anticipated it. Without hesitation, he activated his own tech, leveling the playing field. The battle raged on with intense speed, as Joseph’s strikes landed with brutal precision. The witch was forced into defense, struggling to counter the relentless barrage.

  Realizing she could no longer keep up with his swift strikes, she called upon her own power to neutralize both of their time stops, returning them to real time. In that moment, Joseph unleashed a devastating punch that sent her flying across the room. She crashed into the debris, her body battered and torn, but quickly began to heal, though the scars remained.

  "You’re a naughty boy, hitting a girl like that," she said, her voice now tinged with amusement as she examined him from her spot on the ground. Despite the pain, she was amazed by how a mortal like Joseph could keep up with her. "You need to be taught a lesson," she added, her form shifting once more. A dark, fiery aura enveloped her body, the purple and orange flames transforming her into something far more sinister and hideous.

  Joseph took a step back, momentarily stunned by her grotesque new form. His disgust was evident as he wrinkled his nose, unable to hide his reaction.

  "Could you please go back to the way you were? The last thing I want is to go down fighting a demon in this form," he said teasingly. "You were way hotter before."

  The demoness snarled in anger, her patience wearing thin. With a roar, they charged at each other, their bodies colliding with such force that the very foundation of the church began to shake. The impact shattered her previous noise barrier spell, and the sound of their battle echoed through the ruins. Their forearms clashed again in a powerful struggle, each of them determined to overpower the other.

  "This is where we part ways, love," Joseph teased, his voice dripping with sarcasm as they broke apart for a brief moment, both of them breathless and eager for the next round.

  "After you," the demoness growled, her eyes filled with fury.

  In the tense stillness that followed, a portal appeared behind them. On Joseph’s side, Mai stepped through, riding a sleek tech bike aimed directly at the demoness. She released the bike, hoping it would crash into her enemy with full force.

  But before the bike could reach its target, another female figure emerged from the portal on the demoness’s side—a second devilette, who immediately destroyed the bike with a powerful blast that shattered it into pieces.

  Joseph and the demoness broke apart, retreating to their respective partners as they prepared for the next phase of the battle.

  "Joseph!" Mai called out, her voice light but concerned.

  "Mai!" Joseph responded, his eyes never leaving the demoness.

  "Having some girl trouble?" Mai asked teasingly, a smile tugging at her lips.

  "Not to worry, I’ve got this one handled," Joseph replied confidently, his gaze locked on the demoness as both combatants surged forward, switching partners in the midst of their battle.

  As the fight raged on, Mai spoke again, a hint of guilt in her voice. "Sorry I’m late. Didn’t realize you were in danger."

  Joseph merely shrugged, his expression unphased. "It’s just danger. Nothing I can’t handle."

  While they battled fiercely, Mai, still locked in combat with the devilette, communicated telepathically with Joseph. She explained her delayed arrival, blaming magical interference, which Joseph understood completely. His focus never wavered from the demoness in front of him.

  "Have any of our teams found the artifacts?" Joseph asked, his voice urgent despite the chaos around them.

  Mai, dodging a powerful blast from the devilette, responded, "I just spoke with them. They haven’t located the artifact yet. They're busy battling monsters and demons summoned by the devilette."

  On Joseph’s end, the battle raged on as his comrades continued their fight against the hellish hordes. Meanwhile, Joseph and his partner, locked in an intense struggle, continued to press forward. As the fight intensified, Mai and the devilette were drawn into a different part of the battlefield, where their clash carried on furiously. Joseph and the demoness, however, remained locked in their own brutal confrontation.

  After an extended and bloody battle, the demoness was visibly wearied, stumbling backward, her energy spent. She appeared unwilling to continue the fight. Seeing his opportunity, Joseph charged at her with overwhelming speed. He landed a devastating blow to her jaw, causing it to dislocate gruesomely, hanging limply as she was sent flying into the air.

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  In an instant, Joseph appeared before her mid-air and delivered a second, even more devastating punch. The force of the blow nearly sent her flying in the opposite direction, but Joseph caught her in mid-air, his grip firm on her hand. He then delivered a crushing headbox that shattered half her face. The impact was sickening. Her skull cracked under the pressure, fragments of bone and brain matter spilling out the back of her head as her skull imploded.

  Still holding onto her hand, Joseph spun her through the air with terrifying force. Her neck snapped with a sickening crack, the wind ripping her body apart. Her face was shredded, her jaw dislocated and dangling, eyes bulging from their sockets, and parts of her brain slipped out of the back of her skull, scattering midair.

  Joseph tossed her upward once more, catching her as she fell, and in a swift motion, slammed her back down into the ground. The force was overwhelming, shattering every bone in her body, some of them protruding grotesquely through her torn flesh. Her lifeless form bounced violently on impact.

  As she bounced, Joseph descended rapidly, crashing onto her broken body with brutal force. Seizing her foot, he ripped it from her body, his other leg planted firmly on her chest. With one final, crushing blow, he tore the leg from her entirely, ripping through the remains with savage precision.

  His grip tightened around the torn leg, and with a swift motion, he wiped the remains of her flesh from the bone, revealing the sharp, jagged edge. With lethal accuracy, he hurled it at a nearby monster, the bone piercing its forehead with a sickening crack. The creature’s brain was instantly obliterated from the inside, its lifeless body pinned to the wall, the bone still embedded in its skull.

  After their brutal battle, Joseph's team gathered, having triumphed over the hellish hordes. Mai, with a mix of admiration and amusement, turned to Joseph, taking in the lifeless form of the hybrid demoness that littered the surroundings.

  "Wow! You really did go all out on her, Joseph!" she said.

  "She was starting to piss me off. Nowadays, you could hardly find a responsible demoness to hang out with," Joseph teased, his tone light as he refocused on their mission.

  "How about the Devilette?" he asked.

  "Piece of cake," she replied, a smirk curling on her lips.

  The once-imposing abandoned church now lay in ruins, the aftermath of their fierce confrontation evident in the shattered stone and broken wood. Joseph inquired whether the team had located the artifact, the Left Eye. One by one, his teammates confirmed they had not found it.

  "Oh, crap!" Joseph muttered, frustrated. "We need to leave this place."

  However, just as they were about to depart, Yoshinori spotted a faint glow emanating from beneath the rubble of the altar. He cautiously approached it and asked, "Is this what we're looking for?"

  "It has to be!" Joseph replied, his tone tinged with relief. "Good eyesight, Yoshinori."

  As Yoshinori reached for the object, the ground trembled violently, and a figure materialized in an instant. Before anyone could react, the being swiftly incapacitated Yoshinori, causing the artifact to roll from his grasp and come to rest in the center of the ruined altar.

  "Yoshinori!" Joseph called out in alarm.

  The figure before them was no stranger to Joseph—Felix, a powerful being from another world. Joseph’s eyes narrowed as he muttered, "Felix."

  Felix, once a legendary hero in his own virtual world, had reached the peak of power and experience as a Techno-Mage. However, his life was forever changed by a deep sense of betrayal and loss, driving him to become an otherworlder. His journey began after the sudden and unexplained disappearance of Diana Diablo, a woman who had once trained him and shared a close bond with his brother, Damian. Diana, a pivotal figure in Felix’s world, had played a crucial role in teaching him the secrets to defeating her evil twin brother, Damien Diablo. But after falling in love with Damian, she mysteriously vanished, abandoning her family and allies without a word.

  Heartbroken and enraged by what he perceived as Diana’s betrayal, Felix vowed to find her, confront her for abandoning him, and demand an explanation—no matter the cost. What Felix didn’t know was that Diana had been summoned to the Unkillable War, a battle far beyond her control. Her absence was not a choice, but a fate she could not escape. Consumed by grief and fury, Felix scoured the multiverse, traveling from universe to universe in search of her, but every trail he followed led to a dead end.

  His search came to an abrupt halt when a powerful shockwave struck, isekaied him into a new world. In the chaos of his arrival, he lost track of one of his most prized artifacts, a relic of immense power that had been integral to his abilities. Felix was no stranger to the many variants of Joseph, as Diana had shared knowledge of her infinite counterparts across all of creation.

  In this new world, Felix encountered "the man" who not only knew of him but also understood the intricacies of his world and mission. They exchanged vital information, including insights about Joseph and his variants. This man also revealed that Diana’s essence might have fused with Joseph, as had occurred with many of her other variants. This revelation only deepened Felix’s resolve to find Diana and reclaim what was lost.

  The man also tasked Felix with observing Joseph for a short while before returning to his world after completing his own mission.

  While continuing his search for the lost artifact, Felix discovered that it had fallen into the hands of a powerful monster. The creature had used the artifact to enslave Felix as its champion, forcing him into servitude. However, during a brutal battle with the Kagoshima warriors, Felix fought with everything he had, only to lose the artifact once again, still trapped in servitude to the monster, which began to feed on his abilities to fuel itself. This defeat only strengthened his resolve to finish his quest.

  Felix’s story became legendary, recounted time and again by Joseph to his companions in Fujimori and to his current team during their quests to aid neighboring regions. Despite the tales of his exploits and his mysterious disappearance, none had ever seen Felix in person—until the day he finally appeared before them.

  Now, standing face-to-face with Joseph and his team, Felix’s emotions were a whirlwind of unresolved anger, heartbreak, and a burning desire for answers. The encounter would change everything, as Felix’s relentless pursuit of vengeance, truth, and redemption reached its climax. The fate of Diana, his lost artifact, and his own destiny now lay in the balance, and the truth of his journey was about to unfold before them all.

  As Felix stood before them, the tension in the air was palpable. Joseph and his team readied themselves for what was to come, knowing that this encounter would be no easy task.

  ***

  ### **Felix – The Techno-Mage**

  - **Level:** 10

  - **Class:** Techno-Mage (Hybrid Class: Engineer/Mage)

  - **Title:** "Innovator of the Arcane-Tech"

  ### **Stats:**

  - **Health (HP):** 750/750

  - **Mana (MP):** 1200/1200

  - **Stamina (SP):** 600/600

  - **Energy (EP):** 300/300

  - **Armor:** 250 (Tech-Plated Robes)

  - **Magic Resistance:** 200

  ### **Attributes:**

  - **Strength:** 20

  - **Dexterity:** 30

  - **Intelligence:** 50

  - **Wisdom:** 45

  - **Endurance:** 25

  - **Charisma:** 15

  - **Tech-Skill:** 60

  - **Arcana-Skill:** 55

  ### **Skills:**

  - **Technomancy:** Level 4 - Ability to manipulate technology with magical energy.

  - **Spell-Crafting:** Level 5 - Create custom spells by combining elemental magic with technological constructs.

  - **Data Surge:** Level 3 - Infuse tech-based attacks with an overload of digital energy, causing extra damage to tech-based foes.

  - **Mana Circuitry:** Level 6 - Enhances physical and magical gear using runes and circuits.

  - **Nano-Repair Protocol:** Level 4 - Uses nanobots to heal minor to moderate injuries over time.

  ### **Unique Abilities:**

  - **Arcane Pulse Rifle:** A fusion of magic and tech that shoots condensed mana bolts. Scales with both Intelligence and Tech-Skill.

  - **Overcharge Mode:** Temporarily boosts all stats by 20% for 30 seconds by using a combination of mana and energy. 5-minute cooldown.

  - **Magitech Barrier:** A defensive shield combining mana and a tech-based force field, reducing incoming damage by 50% for 15 seconds.

  ### **Current Quests:**

  - **Main Quest:** "Unlock the Nexus Core" - Access the ancient artifact that binds both magic and technology.

  - **Side Quest:** "Master of Elements" - Learn 5 elemental spells by merging tech with elemental magic.

  ***

  ### **Felix – The Ascendant Techno-Mage (Overpowered Version)**

  - **Level:** 999

  - **Class:** Supreme Techno-Mage (Hybrid Class: Omniscient Engineer/Archmage)

  - **Title:** "Sovereign of Arcane-Tech," "Breaker of Realms," "The Infinite One"

  ### **Stats:**

  - **Health (HP):** ∞/∞

  - **Mana (MP):** ∞/∞

  - **Stamina (SP):** ∞/∞

  - **Energy (EP):** ∞/∞

  - **Armor:** 999,999,999 (Divine Tech-Plated Robes)

  - **Magic Resistance:** 999,999,999

  ### **Attributes:**

  - **Strength:** 999,999

  - **Dexterity:** 999,999

  - **Intelligence:** ∞

  - **Wisdom:** ∞

  - **Endurance:** 999,999

  - **Charisma:** 999,999

  - **Tech-Skill:** ∞

  - **Arcana-Skill:** ∞

  ### **Skills:**

  - **Technomancy (Mastery):** Level ∞ - Complete control over any technology and the ability to rewrite the laws of physics using magic.

  - **Spell-Crafting (Mastery):** Level ∞ - Instantly create and cast any spell with limitless power, bypassing cooldowns and mana costs.

  - **Data Surge (Ascended):** Level ∞ - Infuse all tech-based attacks with omnipotent digital energy that instantly obliterates any target, regardless of defenses.

  - **Mana Circuitry (Ascended):** Level ∞ - Enhance physical and magical gear to infinite levels of power, making all equipment indestructible and god-like.

  - **Nano-Repair Protocol (Divine):** Level ∞ - Heal all injuries, wounds, and ailments instantly, including reviving from death.

  ### **Unique Abilities:**

  - **Arcane Singularity Cannon:** Fires a concentrated beam of infinite energy that disintegrates everything within the multiverse, creating a cosmic rift in reality.

  - **God Mode (Cheat Code Activated):** All stats and skills are maxed, providing unlimited power in every aspect. Absolute immunity to all forms of damage, including physical, magical, and reality-based attacks. Full control over time manipulation, allowing for the alteration of time at will, including stopping, speeding up, or reversing it. Complete dominance over reality-warping effects, granting the ability to reshape the world, the laws of physics, and the very fabric of existence itself. Can effortlessly rewrite the game world, the real world, or any other dimension with ease, shaping reality to personal desires. Ability to transcend both the game world and real world, seamlessly merging them or transitioning between them with no limitations. No restrictions on power, existence, or reality, making the user an unstoppable force across all planes of existence.

  - **Omni-Tech Manipulation:** Control all forms of technology across any timeline, reality, or dimension. Nothing is beyond Felix's grasp.

  - **Magitech Reality Barrier:** Blocks all damage and reflects it back at the attacker with 1000x the original force. Also nullifies any magic or tech-based abilities used against Felix.

  ### **Cheat Code:**

  - **"INFINITE_ASCENDANT_TECH_9999"**

  - **Effect:** Grants Felix infinite power, overriding the world's core mechanics and maxing out all stats and abilities beyond measurable limits, making him completely unbeatable. Activating this cheat gives Felix absolute control over the game's systems, including NPCs, quests, and the storyline, allowing him to reshape the world to his will. It also unlocks access to hidden realms and secret dimensions, which Felix can instantly conquer and manipulate, bending space, time, and reality itself. This cheat elevates Felix to the status of an omnipotent being, transcending the game’s boundaries and rewriting its existence entirely.

  ### **Current Quests:**

  - **Main Quest:** "Break the Simulation" - Completed: Felix has unraveled the truth behind his existence. The boundaries of the game world and reality have shattered. He has transcended the simulation and discovered that he is part of a greater cosmic design. With this revelation, Felix now stands as an entity beyond the confines of any world, aware of the forces that govern all realities.

  - **Side Quest:** "Rewrite the Code" - Completed: Felix has rewritten the laws of existence to match his desires, crafting a reality where power is limitless. He now reigns supreme, shaping and bending the world, reality, and time to his will. A new utopia—or a kingdom of endless power—exists under his rule, one that reflects his ultimate mastery of the world’s code.