Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1656: Beyonders (6)

Zu’sse. Indeed, it was Zu’sse.

Boron was compounding his Amras, which kept surging in volume because he was yet to finish absorbing the faith from all the creatures he’d ’turned’ before coming here. Even he hadn’t realized when his Amras suddenly turned thin, its nature changing into something treacherous and violent to anyone but him.

It was only for a moment, but Quintess was swiftly overwhelmed by it. His newly developed Zu’sse Fel Conch wasn’t nearly sturdy enough to stop Boron’s attack. The blunt force that flew through his chest, damn nearly punting it flat, sent every inch of him spiralling. Several things in his vessel burst apart, and his mind shuddered, which in turn forced his Zu’sse to collapse.

But at the same time...

PWAAAAA!

Because Boron had just accessed Zu’sse, his Fated Reef shattered like glass; the liquid-like Exotic Parlous Nature gushing through it, causing the Void rank halberd to multiply, dissipated. Amras used for Zu’sse wasn’t compatible with Andori and Parlous Natures, after all. That fact, funny enough, saved Quintess. He would have been skewered a millionfold by the halberds and turned to stone.

Still, the one blow from Boron sent him flying like a comet.

Boron spared a moment to frown and try to parse what had just happened, but not for long. His vigor returned, and he streaked towards Quintess, caught up with him, locked his fingers over his (Boron’s) body, and smashed his hands down on Quintess’ head. Quintess became akin to a star plummeting somewhere unseen, where the Second Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher ended.

Boron went after him. He sensed weakness and rejoiced. Quintess’ vessel was cracking terribly.

<Hey, hey, hey, hey now!> cried the rampaging Deity. <Don’t you dare lose your will now! Weren’t you a prodigy? Let’s enjoy this while we can. Are you going to become like Rorsetta at a time like this? After all that ambition? After all that pristine> – he caught Quintess with a kick to the midriff, launching him upwards – <inspiring> – he flattered the side of Quintess’ face with a palm strike – <remarkable> – he crashed his knee into Quintess’ jaw – <speech about creativity and creation and power!> His Zu’sse surged again, flashing for a moment. He caught Quintess by the neck. <You know it, Parrhaya! The instant your faith and ambition falters, your Direction darkens! Is this all you were in the end?>

Boron squeezed. It was funny how Quintess suddenly felt insignificant. Yes. This was how it should have been from the beginning. Quintess didn’t have the right to look down on him like he did. How could he have dared to influence Suzamete so badly that she turned on him? How could he have dared to seal him under Aigas... and then release him with the claim that he should have learned about the beauty of being a Deity – of creating things – in his time of solitude? Absurd!

As it happened, however, Quintess’ will was yet to falter.

Enduring the harsh way Boron squeezed his neck, he managed to retort:

<You’ve definitely surpassed me in strength. Congratulations. But... what price did you pay for it? Your soul? You never did care for your sense of self, did you? Your simple goal was to hide behind your sappy background as you targeted some goal too vast for even your ego. That’s why I wanted to humble you. You’re not without limits, Ciumin.>

These words... made Boron burn from the inside. The bastard still dared...!

Calling for his halberd, which had long been restored to its previous form and size, Boron ended it right there.

...Or he would have.

"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Demesne of Maximum Fatality!"

...!!!

The words inspired immediate panic.

Fulgardt was grinning. He couldn’t have been happier that the two Deities had been so absorbed with each other that they’d momentarily forgotten he existed.

Darkness rushed to form a shell around all his targets.

Yes. It was time.

Fulgardt had recovered his body enough to be able to endure another strenuous use of Fatal Embrace. The only hiccup was that he hadn’t yet managed to cut down the miniscule stretch of time between the Territory’s expulsion and Fatal Embrace’s activation.

For creatures like Boron and Quintess, who were now privy to this sure-kill ability, it was enough time to mobilise some kind of resistance.

Boron acted first. Unconsciously, he condensed his Amras, using Zu’sse to streak towards Fulgardt astoundingly fast.

Quintess was faltering, lagging behind, but he still summoned a Flyer to shuttle towards Fulgardt and cut him down.

...But Fulgardt wouldn’t be bested that easily. Unlike before, when Quintess’ Flyer caught him off guard, he made sure to make full use of one of his two special eyes, the Zero Sight. He would catch everything that was hard for him to see normally.

’Or I’ll take a hit if I have to!’ thought Fulgardt, oozing confidence. ’Either way, one of you is dying!’

Boron’s Zu’sse-clad fist was close to smashing into him by the time he called it:

"Fatal Embrace!"

He’d chosen his target, and it was...

...

...

...

"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Demesne of Maximum Fatality."

As soon as the darkness smothered them, Boron and Quintess, now fully aware that Fulgardt had something so dangerous up his sleeve, responded. Boron hurtled towards the Immoral himself while Quintess sent a projectile Andori.

...But Fulgardt laughed. He was willing to endure what it took to kill yet another Deity.

’Or I’ll take a hit if I have to! Either way, one of you is dying... Hold on. Hasn’t this already—"

Boron and Quintess paused. They both had shocked looks, having come to the same realization as Fulgardt.

"I bet you all forgot I was here too," came a voice that sent chills down their spines.

Skullius was below them, back in his Default Body with a cloud-like robe wrapped around him. A strange, throbbing mass of tendrils was also twisting around his outline – an unidentified power.

And then, for the sixth time today, he crossed his middle and ring fingers, activating [Instant Embodiment of Perfection]!

The War Body was invited onto the battlefield. It wasn’t the shabby, restriction-riddled one Skullius had been using all along, however.

No. No, no, no.

It was the real deal.

As it appeared, tempestuous clouds surged above everyone – above everything – thundering with all sorts of malevolent Ju`wttes. They carried something for their master. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

[’Sovereign’s Authority: Storm Baker’ has been established in the skies. Do you wish to retrieve it?]

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[Author’s Note]

Hey guys. So, I’ve been working on a few things over the last few months – custom character art, among other things. If you’re interested, please check out my Patreon: @patreon.com/Livelysockets.