Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1622: Disciples of the Future Hybrid (2)

Everything has a soul, even objects and yet-to-be mature weapons. Recognizing this truth and treating a weapon as you would any valued ally transforms it. You might not see a change in its status and its power, to be sure. It doesn't work that way. You see the value in your own growth.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.1463.)

Aurolio couldn't say that what Future Skullius had taught him in the Empyrean Bosom earlier was new knowledge to all Arma Users. A swordman like Alaris could have said it all to his face and he still wouldn't have been compelled to take the teaching.

…But Future Skullius had a different voice. His presence made his words as permeable to all things as mana.

That was why Aurolio had broken his previous vision of strength and finally incorporated a weapon in his fighting style.

It was no ordinary weapon, though.

CHACHACHACHACHACHACHACHACHA!

He released it before Kintar's spectacular loss to the masked man, and fortunately for him, that paid off more than he could have ever imagined.

It was a strange weapon indeed, something never conceived on Aigas, at least not entirely.

As it soared through the air at flabbergasting speed, chattering, cluttering and cutting, it sought out Aurolio's enemies with staggering accuracy.

It looked like a wheel you'd typically find on a carriage, only it was made of some dull blue (sturdy) wood and was almost twice as large. Instead of the spokes inside the ring for balance, it spotted nine single-edged longswords, their hilts kissing at the centre of the ring, and their opposite ends spilling through the wheel's rim and almost a meter and a half out. At a glance, it very well could have counted for an oversized chakram, but it was far more than that.

The collections of Riases in the sky narrowed their eyes at the weapon. It was this same thing that had saved Pherdanta's life once within this domain. Defence wasn't its only power, as it appeared, though.

After hitting an absurdly smooth curve in the sky, it aimed for seven Rias… and bisected them all in one fell swoop. The weapon spun in rapid circles afterwards and shot forth at great speed, hitting another wide arc to target several more Riases right when Elita fell.

But the masked men would not fall for the same trick twice. The strange wheel was slightly faster than any of them could hope to be, for sure, but they had a series of means to avoid it. Using each other to cover blindspots, they used their own bodies as step ladders and escaped violent laceration.

"NOW!" cried Aurolio.

…And his strange weapon changed.

The nine swords embedded into its wheel violently catapulted out and shot in nine different directions. Each of them caught a body; they might have been sentient and aware. They caught the masked men in vital points on their bodies, killing them at best and maiming them at worst.

They didn't stop after that. Each of them began spinning wildly in place… and then they traced arcs in the sky homing towards more of the masked men!

A single sword flew down and began revolving around Aurolio protectively. It slew one of the masked men reaching for him before he could be discounted like Elita.

The Void User breathed a sigh of relief and spared a micro moment to consider Pherdanta's fate. He didn't get more time than that. He didn't dare lose focus.

His weapon was powerful, but not overly so. The masked men were already adapting to it.

"Fuck…"

Aurolio had expanded his interpretation of the void. Indeed, he had broadened his understanding of STRENGTH and added weaponry as one such facet of it. This allowed him to create any powerful weapon he wanted. Depending on the nature of the weapon, however, Aurolio couldn't simply materialize it from desire like Rias. He had to forge a template and reinforce it with his Mastered Void Gate Aspect.

With Future Skullius' help, he designed this unique weapon of his – the Clusterfunk. (Aurolio originally named it Clusterfuck but was rebuked by Future Skullius and forced to change it.)

Because of the first Fundamental Barter operating on Aurolio's Mastered Void Gate Aspect as a whole, the Clusterfunk was already a powerful tool capable of extreme short and long-ranged attacks.

The weapon worked as a chakram and could fire nine swords suddenly, catching enemies off guard.

…But then Aurolio added a second Fundamental Barter installment to the weapon, just like he did with his defensive interpretation of STRENGTH; this elevated the Clusterfunk's attributes even more, sharpening its lethality and sturdiness. The weapon even gained an additional function: after the swords split off from the whole, Aurolio could have the swords automatically target his enemies and even use the released swords for other support functions.

For instance…

"Veeruha-err deun ur (Mountain lady)!" Aurolio cried in the one phrase he'd learned in Uyuniya's native language.

The terrestrial princess had been waiting. She had not fallen to the Riases just yet in such a short span. In a blink, she was striding across the sky, the five of them hot on her heels. But then slick, spinning longswords slid under her feet, tipping her upwards and giving her an edge in the contest of speed.

Once Uyuniya gained some distance between herself and the enemy, she leaped hard and high, turned and looked down on all the brutality below.

She spared a moment to lament the loss of Pherdanta, drew a quick breath and screamed to cock her force of will.

"RAAAAAAAAAAR!"

With a roar, she unleashed the blunt trauma of her Broader Existence on all the masked men!

Each and every one of them was struck by an equal, invisible blow to the head, knocking them down to the ground with great booms!

The attack… killed none of them.

'Right. I almost forgot she could do that. Did she reserve that as a trump card since our initial clash?' thought the masked men as they regrouped and recovered. 'No matter. That won't work on me anymore, but it's an interesting ingredient.'

The masked man resumed his pace, flashing towards everyone left alive.

Aurolio and Uyuniya had merely bought everyone a few seconds, but that was enough; it was plenty for the Stark Troops, the Generals and most importantly, the Void Users.

Aurolio stabbed his gaze in Elita's direction and sucked in a deep breath.

He wasn't the only disciple of Future Skullius. Unlike him, though, Elita wasn't merely a student of the Future Hybrid.

"RESTORE YOURSELF AND SAVE US, YOU OBNOXIOUS SAINT!" Aurolio cried at the top of his lungs. "GET THE FUCK UP! WE NEED YOU!"

Those must have been some magic words, because something was triggered.

A violent torrent of Voided Death Essence blasted upwards in a pillar where Elita's punctured, bisected and mangled body laid. It shook the desert domain and brought some of the masked men pause – those who needed a new target. A twinkle ran in all their eyes.

'Outstanding. There's more to her?' said Rias.

The desert sand and the cacti made way. A formidable opponent was rising from the torrent of power, around her the pressing strength of the Void. It wasn't Void Clot, but it was similar. It was dark, but it was power nonetheless.

A hero's power.