Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1652: Beyonders (2)

Some Consternals before...

Somewhere close to the center of Reality...

Rorsetta and Parrhaya were on watch duty. They hadn’t ascended enough to be given more important roles within the Aspire to Divine. Then again, watch duty wasn’t all that bad for a purpose. It meant the top brass trusted you, but alas, the fact that Deities – gods in their own right – could be relegated to such tasks in some odious places within Reality was astonishing.

<Was it worth it in the end?> Rorsetta suddenly said, as they were looking at the stars.

<What?> said Parrhaya, turning to her.

<You and I... All we really wanted to do was create things that were better than what we’d seen on our home worlds. The Aspire to Divine was just a means to an end. We’ve already accomplished what we originally set out to do. So, was it worth it? Are we there?>

Parrhaya looked confused. <Originally. You said it yourself. For crying out loud, we’ve only made one world so far, Rorse. I want more than that. Or rather, I’ve evolved past that original premise.>

<Right.>

Parrhaya didn’t like the look on Rorsetta’s face as she said that. He could tell at once that she had reached her limit.

<You’re already satisfied?> he said, a little heated. <I thought we had so much more to explore, you and I. That’s the whole point of Divinity, you know. It’s tied to our ambitions – boundless wants.>

<I know.>

<I don’t think you do.>Parrhaya flew close to her and held her by the shoulders. <I’ve seen you accomplish so many amazing feats I could never hope to match in a few Consternals. I’ve seen you fight barehanded against behemoths bigger than worlds and beat them without a single Andori. I saw you fighting desperately and imagined... you had something bigger than this to fight for, Rorse.>

<I was.>

<Were you?> Parrhaya shook her. <I can’t have you falter now. This can’t be your limit. You’ll cripple your Direction. The less driven you are—>

<The less likely I am to grow as a Deity.> Rorsetta intercepted. <I know. But I never imagined half my fate would be stolen by the Aspire to Divine. This fight with the Primeval Deities... somewhere along the way, it killed my passions.>

Parrhaya was horrorstruck by these words, but he quickly composed himself.

<It’s not going to be forever. Soon, we’ll be free from the Aspire to Divine, and then we’ll have all the freedom to be bold and ambitious as we want.>

Rorsetta didn’t seem convinced. She had another idea, it seemed.

<Why wait?> she said, smiled a shallow smile, and looked intently into Parrhaya’s eyes. <I’ve recently come to realize that perhaps the only kind of freedom I desired all along was...>

***

Present time...

"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Demesne of Maximum Fatality!" cried Fulgardt.

...!

Skullius was the first to realize how dangerous a move this was; it was, after all, copied from his earlier impromptu Territory, Demesne of Maximums!

Where he applied Maximum Catalyst and Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz to sharpen the abilities he used offensively within its range, however, Fulgardt’s Territory was sustained by a mix of Voided Death and the Insurgent Magnus elements.

It happened in less than a blink; a massive shell exploded outward from Fulgardt and encompassed everyone within its range. Then, as Amras flared, an Imaginary GeoScape that resembled a whole garden of daffodils, each with an odd eye, flourished. These eyes lanced one figure – locked on.

...And then an insurmountable number of hands made from [Evil Darkness] and tinged with Voided Death Essence whipped out from behind Fulgardt. It hardly mattered that Skullius, Quintess, Boron, and Listafelle could move faster than them. The hands simply left no room for evasion. There was no escape, which was a problem because everyone could tell: each one was almost certainly a certain kill projectile.

The best option was guarding. Skullius mobilized his Focused Null Life Ota in case he took a hit, but he had assurances.

His wakizashi and gladius guarded him from the front and back, spinning at beyond light speed to ward off the hands. There were also the Strawlers Skullius was summoning without ceasing. As the master of the Bosom, he could summon an unlimited number of them to his side. They would work well enough as shields.

...But it turned out that all this was unneeded.

’What the...!’

Just as Skullius realized the oddness of the situation that ensued, so did Quintess and Boron.

The former, inspired by Litte, was expanding on his applications of Zu’sse. With a thought, he transformed Zu’sse Conch – the ranged, offensive application of Zu’sse he’d used on his enemies before – into a defensive barrier around himself: Zu’sse Fel Conch.

...But it too was unneeded, as was the method Boron defended himself against the Territory.

As it turned out, the hands weren’t interested in Skullius, Boron, or Quintess.

They phased through them and their defenses as though they were mere apparitions. With their staggering numbers, they swarmed, wound, flitted... and then abruptly rocketed towards Listafelle.

Something about the way the hands made clawing gestures as they neared; about how Fulgardt grinned sadistically; about how Quintess shouted in the distance... made Listafelle panic. Somehow, even as a Deity, she seemed to be only one caught completely lacking.

She didn’t know what the hands approaching her could do, but the instant the first one dapped her skin, she knew she was done for.

Perhaps that was why, in that moment, she caught Quintess’ horrified gaze and recalled the words she’d said to him all those years back, after they left Aigas.

I’ve recently come to realize that perhaps the only kind of freedom I desired all along was...to create something extraordinary with you, Quintess.

...And then the hands ripped through her vessel with such overwhelming, unrelenting power that she could hardly heal quickly enough. Soon, her soul was left exposed, and when the hands ripped into that too, Listafelle felt the hands sink into her Broader Existence and extract everything that she was, breaking even that and leaving nothing behind.