Overpowered Wizard-Chapter B4 Ch19: Infected Void Horde

“She took my arm! And it’s not healing! What the heck is she?!” Cal screamed as he hitched a ride with Zarian through the void to escape Ultra Para.

“Yeah, I think unleashing her wasn’t one of my brightest ideas,” Zarian said. “She’s kinda off the rails, huh? But I’m sure things will work out somehow.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING?!” Cal roared.

“No, I’m actually being serious. Erm, well, maybe ninety-five percent serious. But that’s fairly serious for me.”

Cal stopped short of attacking Zarian. They stood in a murky void area filled with fleshy trees and a ground covered in silently screaming faces. Horrific monstrosities lurked in the deep, deep dark shade outside of the conjured waiting spot. In truth, if it weren’t for Zarian’s wizardry, the void would’ve been mostly empty, and the creatures would’ve attacked with ceaseless hunger.

Cal breathed deeply as he looked around with wild, frenzied eyes. He used his other hand to hold the bleeding stump that his injured arm had become. There wasn’t much but flesh, blood, and bone beneath the shoulder. Seeing that he was still upright, Zarian turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Cal asked.

“I need to stop Para before she attacks random villagers or Racella. She’s my responsibility, and I’m on this sorta dark hero run right now. Yeah, I’m screwing up a lot, but I won’t stop trying.”

“No, no, no, you can’t go out there. If you’re out there, what if she gets me?” Cal asked, face red, eyes bulging. He was breathing hard. And he was sweaty. Something was off about the guy, but Zarian couldn’t quite tell what. His ultra powers were probably getting in the way. Or something else. As Zarian looked deeper, Cal screamed. “I can still feel her! She’s chewing on my arm! Every bite is reaching me! Why won’t she stop?! What the hell have you done?”

“Okay, you need to get yourself under control. You’re an Ultra God, man. Act like it. One arm isn’t going…” Zarian stopped talking when he noticed the injured side growing veiny, reddish, and tumorous.

It was becoming bloated too, looking far different compared to the rest of Cal’s more pale complexion. The bloated area spread as worm-like tendrils wriggled underneath the flesh and caused more of Cal’s upper body, neck, and even his midsection to grow lumpy like balloons being bound. And as the transformation happened, Cal remained strangely unaware.

“What? What is it? Why are you staring at me like that? I’m not the problem!” Cal shouted.

“We didn’t know each other for long, but maybe I’ll get you a beer once we meet again top side or something,” Zarian turned to leave.

“ZARIAN!” screamed the Para-infected Cal. A red tentacle with a bone-hook erupted out of the injured side and lashed forth to grab the wizard. But Zarian made his escape and left the Para-infected Cal behind him.

Reentering the Mega World, Zarian looked up and saw red, fleshy, parasitic phantom magic cover the sky. He saw thick stalks of Para’s pulsating and horrifying power reach down to invade the world. Whole continental thrones became consumed by Para’s power. Numerous divine beings and Master Ranker tournament contestants became prey to the rampaging Ultra Para.

“Hello, dad,” said Para, her disembodied voice blaring down from the skies. “I see you’ve returned to us. Were you concerned about the weaker snacks? Don’t worry … I’ve spared them. I’ve only targeted the tournament contestants and the wannabe godlings.”

“Ah, well, good for you, Para. I’m pretty sure that helps me stay in the top spot.” Zarian turned around midair as he tipped back his bombastic hat. All of his grimoires floated or clung to him. “Is there any chance I can convince you to chill out a little more and be less scary?”

“You see … dad … that’s hard for me to do. I’m doing all I can to stop myself from consuming this world entirely. Because all of my focus is on you. I believe I’m being very, very, very reasonable right now. I hope you understand.”

“Did you spare Racella?” Zarian asked, bracing himself for a grim answer.

“Yes, I’ve even spared her. But she and the other innocent snacks will only remain spared if you stop running away.”

Zarian sighed. He supposed this was going to happen eventually. The moment he’d picked a cloak-based skill that was a parasite, there was always a chance that Para would turn against him. Granted, who else would be better at challenging him than her? This could be the test he needed to push himself further while on his way to dealing with Ariana.

“Alright, let’s do this. I think it’s safe to say the real tournament was me versus you anyway.”

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The red, parasitic power covering the world contracts. Strands, strings, streams, and gory energy beams raced to one focal point above Zarian’s head. As the wizard floated down to the ravine-covered ground, the contracting red monstress continued to reshape herself into a perfect parasitic being. Then she came down to stand across from him on a track of land a few miles wide between ravines.

Para had six arms, three tails, a dozen horns, and reddish scales mixed with softer flesh. She looked like a devilish deity of gluttony, destruction, and raw power. Every digit ended in claws of an unknown quality. Behind her lips were rows upon rows upon rows of fangs. She stood seven feet tall, but the true bulk of her body was filled with so much condensed material and raw power that she had her own gravity well that tugged at Zarian.

“Badass,” Zarian said. “I think I deserve a pat on the back for fathering you. Now let’s go on ahead and deal with your teenage rebel streak. I might have to go rough here, but that’s not because I don’t love you.”

“I will remember you just like this,” Para said. “Cracking jokes even in the face of doom.”

Para sent a ripple of void magic through the air and opened a portal. Out came the Para-infected Cal and a host of other creatures from the void that Para had infected. Even the eldritch weren’t free from Para’s horrific power!

There was one obvious weakness in giving Para her freedom. Zarian’s physicality was hugely reduced. Without her, he was far more squishy. He was also on his own for the first time in what felt like a long time. But there was one major benefit that was the most incredible for him. All of his aura belonged to him. And he had a lot of aura to use along with ways to recover that aura.

His grimoires faded into his body. Sorcery diagrams lit up the air in myriad colors, each a fusion of an elemental cast and a mirror-like effect. Zarian unleashed numerous beams from his newest skill, Dark Emperor Madness Smite Beam!

Each beam came out orange-yellow before hitting the sorcery diagrams and taking on an additional new color. Fiery red. Icy blue. Acidic green. And more. The beams struck infected Cal and the infected horde behind him, obliterating most of them.

Cal’s grotesque and lumpy body powered through anyway. With one malformed hand, he swiped and unleashed thousands of claw strikes through the air. With his tentacle limb, he whipped out his bone hook at Zarian.

With the void being unsafe, Zarian shifted, juked, and sent himself skidding out of the way of danger using aura and magic. He cast gravity magic to divert a barrage of attacks away, his bombastic hat flopping the whole time as he averted the worst outcome. But more of the infected horde came out of void portals summoned by Para.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not fun to be on the other side of the zerg rush,” Zarian muttered, before casting a gator spell. This one differed from the ones prior. Instead of having to summon a hellish swamp, the swamp and the massive gator kaiju appeared at once together. The enormity of the aura cost was staggering, but Zarian had so much power to spare, he abused it.

The hell gator snapped its jaws over Para’s eldritch horde and burned away their bodies and the infection. It rose out of the depths on sturdy feet, its muscular arms raised, ready to fight with scaly balled fists. When it swung its meaty tail, it swiped through a hundred eldritch monstrosities and turned them into paste. Then it turned its wide and monstrous jaws upon the infected Cal and spewed a destructive beam of its own that washed over the Ultra God and the horde.

Para stepped in and ripped the hell gator’s head off with a swipe of three hands. Before the creature died fully, Zarian sacrificed it for his own physical empowerment. His body became scaly and more muscular, pushing up to being a head taller than Para, but no more than that. Still, he knew that wouldn’t make him Para’s equal in a physical confrontation. He just needed the extra physical boost as he kited Para.

“Why are you running?” Para hissed.

“Me? Running? Never. I’m just playing the part of a wizard. You’re the one who’s being a weirdo stalker.”

Para chuckled with a predatory lit to her voice. “You caused this. You could’ve kept me under control like a good skill. But you let me go berserk. And you freed me! And I know you, Zarian. I know deep down you want it all to stop. I know deep down you don’t feel worthy of this. If it weren’t for Ariana, you would’ve just…”

Para trailed off, stopping herself short.

The humor in Zarian’s voice went away. Steel replaced it. “I would’ve what? Come on, Para. Say what you really want to say. There’s nobody who had as much access as you did. Not even Ariana.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to break you psychologically. I’m more than strong enough to overpower you!”

“Prove it, brat.” Zarian stopped moving backward and set his feet on a large track of land. There wasn’t much around, and the villages were far away. He checked his profile and saw that he was up to Level 198. He dispensed his free points where they needed to, mostly bumping up his Mysticism.

Para was Level 200 already. She hadn’t evolved into being a Champion Ranker, but she probably would once she had her fill of Zarian.

They stared at each other for a while. Then Para attacked, disappearing and reappearing behind Zarian. She swiped her claws at Zarian’s wide back, and the wizard blocked her attack with a dark column. Twenty percent should’ve been enough to stop her.

Para swiped through the dark column like it were made of flesh. She reached for him again, and Zarian unleashed a gravity cannon that shoved her back by a few inches. Then he filled the space with fusions of darkness beams and smite beams. They struck like bombs, obliterating most of the ground beneath them. Zarian used aura to bend the backlash around him.

Para’s hands pierced through the destructive barrage to reach for Zarian again. Her claws elongated to slash through his flesh. From the end of Zarian’s tail, he formed a dark sword made from the void and a storm-like power. He clashed with her claws, and the backlash threw him back a few steps.

The hungry Ultra Goddess kept pursuing him. She launched sorcerous diagrams around him, each flashing green, red, black, and purple. The diagrams fired down nuclear beams and parasitic flames. Toxic black fireballs and gravity cannons came down with a thunderous roar. Zarian spun his aura around to block off Para’s sorcery while focusing on the real threat barreling straight at him. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“Thank you,” Zarian said, shrinking back to a more human form and unlocking thirty percent of his darkness.