Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1204: The One Left Standing (18)



Boron's scowl made him look less stone-like than even he could have imagined. Watching Aigas take on a rather unusual shape that most of the mortals on it couldn't even recognise, much less comprehend, was almost appalling on several levels.

This was what most would have called the end of the world, and to Boron's disgust, it was coming about not because of him, but because of two oddities that he had severely underestimated.

Boron gazed at Suzamete. The expression on her face hadn't changed. This, to him, spelled that the current state of Aigas wasn't going to lead to its extinction. Or would it?

Boron hadn't missed the fact that Suzamete was hiding a lot of details, probably many more than she had admitted to. There was something more than just the ending of the fight between these two anomalies, something else hidden in the future that only she could see. <Quite impressive> Boron said as he gazed upon the two canvases of Aigas' past and present - or was it present and future? <They both have a capacity for rapid growth. I'm almost envious. A little more of this and they might achieve Divinity in the next few minutes.>

Suzamete merely smiled at her lover's words.

***

Vali and Maxim had returned to the former's estate shortly after accompanying Skullius to Maqi.

Before the Royale - the final event of the Premium Age Royale - had ended, Vali had instructed all the Families that had agreed to become her underlings during the event (choosing to withdraw from the Premium Age Royale in exchange for bringing one of Vali's many cousins, blessed with her genes, into their fold) to gather at her estate and await her return. Of course, since the end of the Premium Age Royale, she had not returned home for a while, but now, she asserted her dominance with an authority that made it seem as though she had been here all along.

Maxim joined her not because she didn't have a home to go to, but because Skullius had shared with them the rough details of what was to come: his battle with a 'malevolent version of himself', as he worded it.

Quite like Replicus, Skullius had believed that defeating Replicus wouldn't be too hard, but he had prepared contingencies, just in case. He was aware that his abilities would be leaked by Serenity, after all.

One such contingency he prepared, was something he noted to be the key to certain victory should Replicus prove to be stronger than he had imagined.

Skullius had abused Vali's incomplete Imaginary Technique, which she had taken from Rias EverSword during the final stages of the Premium Age Royale.

The Kinn beauty had used it to help Skullius before by adding an extra Affix to the Bashful Abomination during the battle in Opungale.

Now...

"Yes, this will do," Skullius said as he stood on the balcony to a great mansion with the two ladies. Soul Spawn were shooting out of him incessantly.

He held in his hand what looked like a small, thin square piece of transparent glass.

This was a product of Maxim's technique, Planate High, which allowed her to preserve and suspend anything - even techniques - in a glass-like plate as simple two-dimensional objects.

Within the glass plate Skullius held, a white ring with a bluish-silver zigzag pattern engraved around it could be seen.

"I did the best I could. If it doesn't deliver, well, I guess you can chew me out for it later. Provided you're still alive, that is," Vali said with a sweet smile.

Skullius nodded, his blank gaze still on the ring.

Maxim pursed her lips.

"You remember how to bring it out, right? And I hope you don't release it until you need to use it. Otherwise-"

"I have a good memory, thanks," Skullius cut her off.

Some of the Soul Spawn around him were flying down and latching onto Vali's subordinates, old and new, turning them into Masterpieces.

Vali had agreed to help Skullius with this, though she didn't understand the significance.

"You will return them to their normal state afterwards, right? You said you didn't need them to fight for you," Vali said.

Skullius grinned.

"Yes. I'll do so as I promised."

Maxim - more than Vali herself - was compelled to doubt this promise. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something inherently distasteful about the way Skullius was speaking. She had already found him oddly changed ever since that night in Opungale, but

now...

"Will this world still be standing after you two are done fighting? It's already feeling like the end of Aigas as it is," Maxim asked apprehensively.

Skullius chuckled and did something rather unnerving.

He slid his index finger down on the space before him and a fine cut was made on it.

He then grabbed it, pulled it to the side and spreading it wide. He had ripped the fabric of time in the present Aigas!

Neither Maxim nor Vali could understand what he was doing, but they both gaped at the sight of what was beyond the rip Skullius had made: another place, another Aigas.

"This world will be just fine," Skullius said and he pushed through into the past Aigas from over 4,000 years ago.

***

Meanwhile, Replicus was in a standoff with the Stolen Angel.

A second went by, and then two.

Then, with shocking speed, the Stolen Angel extended one of its hands towards Replicus, and

in an instant, a swath of darkness bound him tight, but only for a split of a split of micro- second before Replicus' Ju`wtte smashed it apart.

Yet it was too late.

The Angel was already upon Replicus, its fist blazing with powerful Nitros as it charged his

way.

'Is it... copying my fighting style?' the Progeny thought right as the Angel's fist blasted into

his chest.

...!!!

Replicus felt as though a tremor had just coursed through him. The impact from the punch

was sharper and smaller than the surface area of the creature's hand, which felt odd. Even worse than that was the string of explosions that rushed down all of Replicus' mana channels and his mana cores!

For a moment, Replicus' body failed him.

He was alarmed.

The Angel was not just copying his fighting style, it had somehow managed to replicate his physical traits as well!

The punch just now was akin to his Dual Concept-Sourcing Impact (his version of the Strength stat), which allowed him to adjust the impact of his punches and strike even the deeper workings of enemy bodies, like their mana!

What's more, it even had strength enough to completely bypass the rebounding effect of his Empowered Deviant Trigger Build!

The orange eyes of the Angel gleamed and it swept Demion's Dance towards Replicus' face. The Progeny managed to duck his head down, but...

BOOOOM!

A fierce fist bashed into his back with enough force to topple a country!

The enthralled Mages were still assisting the Angel from the hidden dimension of

[Benevolent Melanoid Prince]!

The Angel's hand was warped through space, appearing behind him as a disembodied limb!

Tsssssssss!!

Replicus felt his skin sizzle from the blow. A large, black searing print was left on his back, and strangely, because of it, he felt a powerful downward force that increased in potency every second pull him downward, hampering his ability to move!

'This is the work of that female Mage!' Replicus thought as he activated [Neutral Maximum] at full throttle and then used Spatial Lightning to warp behind the Stolen Angel. Right as he landed elsewhere, however, it was already upon him with the Demion's Dance. The sword spat [Courting Death] - a net of sharpened, red Mortal Ruin - all around with the freakish output of Skullius' trick!

[Neutral Maximum] held against the flurry of rending attacks, but only for a few seconds. Replicus didn't remain idle, however. He pulled the essence of Maximum Catalyst into one of his fists and used a skill he had learned while in the Second Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher:

[Neutral Impact]!

The effect of the skill was simple, so simple in fact that even the Stolen Angel, which lacked a ton of battle experience recognised the bare danger in the attack.

In a blink, the Stolen Angel, to Replicus' surprise vanished from view and escaped through a

hidden tunnel in space which accelerated its movement!

...!!!

'It has even copied my Blizzard Motion?!' he thought.

The Stolen Angel had mimicked even his ability to traverse through private spatial tunnels

with Ju`wtte Blizzard Motion. However, it seemed that it couldn't copy innate powers like Ju`wtte or Null Life, so whatever it replicated was an inferior variant. But still...

As he watched the Stolen Angel land far away, and cast a deadly slash his way, Replicus

couldn't help but curse.

The Stolen Angel was a problem.

Just to what extent could it keep coping abilities?

Was it only limited to replicating the physique of its opponents?

Replicus dodged the fierce slash and quickly grabbed the wrist to a punch that had sneakily streaked towards his head from above through a distortion in space.

Right as he contemplated the best way to utilise [Neutral Impact], which his opponent had

now become wary of, he heard a great ripping noise in the distance, and to his utter astonishment, the present Aigas was torn in two once again!

Before the severed parts flew up like last time, however, Replicus felt his skin shiver as

though an electrical current had rushed through it.

'No,' he thought as he cast his gaze beyond, to where a new sky, and new space was swiftly

being created under the drape of the present Aigas!

A new timeline was revealed, which meant that Skullius had cut apart the time in Aigas once

more!

"No!" Replicus barked, his eyes gleaming frightfully.

It couldn't be!

An ungodly amount of mana was gathering somewhere far, far, far away!

No. Nearly all the mana on Aigas was gathering there!

It was drawn to the truly immense maw of a creature that he had heard about a lot two months

ago!

The mana, as it gathered so far away, flared and was transmuted into something far more potent, far more efficient and far more destructive; yet it carried blessed properties! Even though there was an insurmountable distance between where Replicus was (Pelian) and where the certain doom was being produced, the visual was clear. A stark light brimmed far

away, so intense it might have been coming from a nearby star.

The temperature rose around Aigas, then dipped terribly and rose again.

The sky darkened and then brightened.

Replicus gritted his teeth.

There was nothing for it. He had to escape!

He wasn't confident that he could face THAT!

What was Skullius even thinking by unleashing IT?!

Had he gone insane?!

Replicus had decided to reach for the ivory key - the key to the Empyrean Bosom - when...

"I GET CRUSHED! |" Suddenly, Skullius' voice boomed from all around Replicus and a swath of darkness rushed to

drown him and exacted the demand that came from its master's lips! Replicus' body immediately began to twist and contort, his limbs turning at odd angles while

his skin condensed, trying to fold itself into a neat, ceramic blanket!

"Not a chance!" Replicus growled.

His [Neutral Maximum] wasn't for show. It immediately lessened the effect of the [Evil

Veneration]. It had the power to, after all, it was born from a Rule-Level concept! But Skullius, who was watching from the distance, laughed.

He had known that even his fully powered [Evil Veneration] wouldn't be able to kill Replicus.

It had a limit, after all.

His intent was already achieved.

By the time Replicus' body stopped contorting, his arms bringing the Ju`wtta together for

[Ju`wtta Resounding Restoration], the blinding light in the distance was already set upon the

world!

Jiggorrhax the Abiding Madness had readied his all-defying breath and had cast it on the

Aigas.