Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1635: Liches, Gods and Deviants! (6)

Seconds before...

<What did you say to me?> Boron scowled below at the Fruit Bearer Suzamete was inhabiting. Even though he, much like Quintess and Listafelle had shrunk down in order to not become an easy target for Deific Usurper, the average human still looked rather small by comparison.

<I told you the same thing long ago when you kept trying to match yourself against Quintess. What exactly do you have to prove here? Is revenge really worth it?> said Suzamete. <You’re smarter than that, Ciumin. Give up.>

The word smarter had never sounded like an insult to Boron’s ear.

<Smarter, is it? Women will always glorify cowardice and shirking away from ideals when it suits them. You’d rather I just buzz off and forget everything that was done to me, huh? That would be much more convenient for you.>

<...Yes.>

Boron gave a hateful laugh. He wanted so badly to kill Kaella right then. The poker face she adorned masked her emotion. Or was it that there was no emotion left within her at all? That she could care less for Boron’s fate.

<I figured. You’re all about convenience now. I didn’t notice how much you changed until you betrayed me. You had no problem seeing me cleaved by a mortal’s blade. But that shouldn’t be surprising.> Boron said. <You had no problem using your own son for convenience.>

This... hit Suzamete hard. Wrinkles cascaded along the bridge of her nose. <That was different. I knew he would return once more, after death.> She spared a glance a distance away. <I’d hoped to say goodbye, if the future plays out as I hope.>

Right then, a mighty voice blared against the breaking world.

<Serve me well, my dear Wardens.>

Boron and Suzamete snapped in Quintess’ direction.

<This is your last chance.> said the latter. <Quintess really will kill you if you don’t escape right now.>

Boron said nothing. He kept his eyes on Quintess, no, on Parrhaya.

Yes. The bastard had always been a genius of horrifying proportions.

...But Boron had been his match in those days before he was sealed under Aigas.

He remained his (Quintess’) match – a prodigy in his own right.

*

<Serve me well, my dear Wardens.>

The moment he heard those words, Soizar’s dark socket flames condensed into little orbs.

"Oh." He realized immediately. "There was a Deity of this caliber here?"

VWOOSH!

A tempest blasted in the Arch-Lich’s direction right then. Listafelle sped towards him at top speed, warping the still-intact Imperial Territory. She shrank down to the size of a regular human as she ran, narrowly avoiding a blotch of black.

It was very rare for Deities to cut loose and fight at their peak, especially on worlds. The Deitess’ vessel, built like a female gladiator, was optimal for quick, highly physical exchanges. The fact that she was in possession of two high-level Realm rank weapons made her even more lethal, as well as...

’The perfect distraction!’ Soizar thought, and tktktktktktktkted.

Listafelle glanced at Quintess once. She indeed had to buy her friend some time, and indeed, she was best suited for that role.

She held one of the two short swords in her hands like a javelin, cocked back her arm and flung it so hard that it transcended ordinary space in its travel. Before it could reach Soizar, she flicked up the other sword and roundhouse kicked it at the Arch-Lich while simultaneously activating a Sage Tier Andori.

Soizar clutched the collars of his suit and deftly dodged the first short sword, but when it came to the second...

It was an inch from his neck when it suddenly tipped upwards to stab into his chin. Suzamete was suddenly in front of the Arch-Lich, the short sword in her grip. Soizar barely managed to whip his head aside, evading the blow.

’She must have realized it too. The nasty law against ranged attacks in this odd domain is loosely defined. And that’s why she’s free to use Andori like this: ones that attract her instantaneously to her weapons and probably vice versa.’

The two were in super close range, but the exchange of blows between them only intensified.

"Watch the suit."

Suzamete ignored the Arch-Lich’s warning. She slashed with her short sword across to cleave Soizar’s head, but he pulled it back and retaliated with a sharp front rising kick. The Deitess saw it coming and surged backward to dodge, left her sword suspended in the air, lunged, caught it again and pushed its hilt to stab Soizar in a flash. The Arch-Lich lunged, cackling, opened his mouth and allowed the sword to pass into his mouth and pierce through the back of his skull. With the closed distance, he delivered a devastating one-inch punch into Listafelle’s gut.

In raw power, he was superior.

...But Listafelle couldn’t take damage currently. And unlike last time, she anchored herself onto the ground using her Amras so she wouldn’t go flying. She was already retaliating. Hard.

The first sword she’d flung came spinning from behind Soizar, poised to slice through him. At the same time, Suzamete used another Andori: one that immobilized her and surrounding allies and enemies for three seconds in exchange for increasing their physical attributes by 20% afterwards. It was a great tool for killing the momentum of a battle and resetting the intensity.

Soizar’s teeth shattered as Suzamete ejected a blast of Amras through the sword in his mouth; a simple feat to perform even while paralyzed. A moment later, the other sword reached the back of the Arch-Lich’s skull and...

...!!!!!

Suzamete was stunned when Soizar’s bones suddenly turned a vibrant shade of green and thickened, creating some kind of stalwart, uneven armor over him. (The suit still settled over them.)

The spinning sword failed to cut through Soizar’s green bones... but not because they were too hard to cut. With an odd wiii sound, it was violently catapulted away from the Arch-Lich upon contact. Suzamete suffered the same fate. The Amras anchoring her to the ground was meaningless. Before she knew it, the world was spinning and racing past her.

"Nifty, isn’t it?" said Soizar as he fixed his tie and bolted after the Deitess.

Quasi Immors Soul Art, Form Six was a technique that repelled everything (with a limit directly related to the user’s skill) without a connection to Undeath: objects not made using Undeath; techniques not derived from Undeath; bodies not sustained by Undeath beings and so much more.

It was a powerful ability indeed, even though it wasn’t infallible. It was evidently troublesome for someone of Listafelle’s caliber.

The Deitess expelled a flood of Amras from her body. It was so much energy that she was suffused in a bubbly glow, as though she was emitting soapsuds. When she finally caught herself, she pulled her second sword back and crossed both of the twin Treasures in front of her. Flakes flew from them the instant they clashed.

<And here I thought Liches and Arch-Liches were the same thing.> she thought. Soizar charged at her faster than she’d imagined. It was a little intimidating. <Hurry up and end this, Quintess.>