Chapter 1188: The One Left Standing (2)


    ?


    Replicus, while using [Sorcery of Essence] had long sensed the massive purple core in the Stolen Angel''s body. It didn''t perturb him that the core had nearly eighty million units of mana, but the fact that an organism with a Tier could produce Aura did make him question just how exactly Skullius had put this thing together.


    Beasts couldn''t produce Aura, after all. The closest Replicus hade to meeting such a contradiction, was Jerthrax, a beast who utilised the human, Sif and Giant power system.


    This was insignificant for now, though.


    What mattered was that Skullius was ramping up his attack strategy, choosing to start with Aura rather than Nitros for some reason.


    The Stolen Angel, in addition to using [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance], had manifested a Genuine Incarnation and merged with it, quite like how peak Masters did to achieve the full 1,000% power boost granted by their Stage. The entity didn''t look all that different from before except for the fact that its shawl was now ck with sigils of [Just Light] printed on it. Skullius had merged with his Incarnation, which had been a set of red beads strung into a ne. Now they looked like red tattoos around his neck. The shadows around his body became deeper, as though he had be a sketch with heavy hatching.


    Replicus didn''t miss the fact that this was likely the effect of the skill he had activated just now.


    What could it be?


    Before the answer could find him, however, Replicus quickly found himself in the midst of a hard assault.


    The Stolen Angel threw a fist towards his face, but with infinitely higher speed thanst time. As it did, its body swelled with blinding light!


    Replicus was unfazed, but he was a little surprised when he found that the Ju`wtte which reacted to the attack spontaneously, was unable to reach the Stolen Angel. It was repelled by the bright light!


    Replicus had no choice but to block and swipe away the Stolen Angel''s fist.


    ''Why is it so... heavy?'' Replicus wondered when he felt the creature''s hand. ''Could it be...?''


    From the back, Skullius'' zhanmadao left a series of dark afterimages as it aimed for Replicus'' neck, but before it could touch him, tens of extra shes had already been released against the Warmoth''s Progeny which his Ju`wtte responded to sessfully.


    The Stolen Angel cast a flurry of deadly punches at Replicus, but he blocked them all easily with one hand despite them moving faster than the speed of light. They could not bepared to those of Caxec, after all. Not by a long shot.


    Skullius kept sending a series of shes with his sword that kept Replicus'' Ju`wtte busy and didn''t seem to intend on stopping any time soon.


    The look of focus that had suddenly formed deep shadows on his face concerned the Warmoth''s Progeny a little.


    Thus, with his three free hands, heunched his offensive.


    After blocking the brutal storm of fists from the Stolen Angel with one hand, he conjured arge blot of Distorted Gravity behind the Stolen Angel with another, and before the entity knew it, it was pulled sharply backward, losing its bnce in the process. By the time it recovered, arge hand made of purple-gold crystals had already grabbed it, seemingly resisting the repelling effect of the light it expounded!


    This was an application of [Maximum Catalyst] Replicus had learned from the Second Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher known as (Maximum Reach]. It worked the same way as [Neutral Acumen], but instead of offense, it worked as a support ability that allowed Replicus to grab distant objects and enemies before they could even fathom what was happening.


    Replicus then conjured a sliver of the Rule-Level concept Absolute Frost, and froze the Stolen Angel at once. The creature was instantly into a pure white icicle.


    The Warmoth''s Progeny then turned to Skullius who continued to hack away at his protective Ju`wtte almost dementedly.


    Replicus'' hand shot towards Skullius at once.


    However...


    ...!!


    A detail that would have been easily overlooked met Replicus'' senses just as a wide array of nigh-infinite, thin, dark red threads exploded from one of Skullius'' swords, and stormed towards him!


    His Ju`wtte reacted promptly, catching the majority of these thin, crazy sharp threads, but... Seemingly without the activation of mana or any energy for that matter, a rapid sword sh was sent forth by Skullius amid the strings of dark red Mortal Ruin towards Replicus head! The sh came with a brilliant, short-lived sh of light!


    POW!


    It was unthinkable that a sword sh could carry about as much grace as that of a whip''s swing. Replicus was surprised when the force behind the attack actually forced him take a few steps back!


    His silver armour hissed of smoke and a long, thin, angled, scratch rang along it from the helmet to the right side!


    Skullius let out a subtleugh of happy surprise. Before his darkened vision, notifications sprang up one after the other.


    [You are HYPED!]


    [You are HYPED!]


    [You are HYPED!]


    [You are HYPED!]


    ...


    Replicus didn''t like this. Not one bit.


    Almost instantly, he darted towards Skullius, fully utilising his Ju''wtte Blizzard Motion - which allowed him to temporarily enter an alternate spatial tunnel that elerated his movement - and sent Ju`wtte smashing into the Hybrid Luman''s head from above! Before itnded, however, Replicus had grabbed Skullius'' arms with two of his hands, and with a third, threw the meanest straight punch right into his chest!


    However, the punch went straight through Skullius seamlessly, and as the Ju`wtte Replicus had sent towards his (Skullius'') head hit, it was revealed that what he had bound was no more than a... ghost. It dissipated like smoke!


    But the Warmoth''s Progeny was undeterred. With [Sorcery of Essence], he immediately deduced Skullius'' presence and stormed towards it at full speed!


    In a fraction of a moment, he had grabbed the Hybrid Luman''s neck and was crushing it, but the vile grin on Skullius'' face told him that this too... was a fake. And it indeed was; it vanished


    from his hand like a ghostly dust.


    Replicus turned urgently.


    He saw thousands of Skulliuses flitting about at frightening speeds around him. All held the presence of mana Replicus recognised with his skills to be Skullius'', and all werepletely indistinguishable from the other.


    What was more, all of them seemed... real.


    A dozen of them hurled themselves at Replicus, but before they all could swing their swords or release shes, the Progeny knocked his Ju`wtta together. There was a loud ng and a


    terrible storm of violent Ju`wtte that boomed, crackled and shuddered,pletely obliterated most of the like-faced assants!


    "There was an unwanted Prince once, you know?" Replicus heard a voice behind him. One of


    the Skulliuses had shed behind him.


    He sent a bolt of Ju`wtte to kill it instantly. It dissipated after it was hit.


    "He took in the darkness of the world when all the cowards in their civilised shelters and


    those in their luxurious forests fled from it, terrified, when the night came."


    Another Skullius had stormed towards him from the side. Replicus struck it at once. It


    dissipated.


    "This Prince was blessed by the darkness," another said with a chuckle.


    "As long as he carried a shadow and was embraced by the dark, he would never know any


    harm. He would never die," another added.


    "Is that so?" Replicus challenged and he called upon the Fallen Reincarnator''s Shadow into


    his hand.


    "Indeed," one of the remaining Skulliuses said, right as a brilliant mark appeared on his


    forehead; it was a half a skull mark!


    ...!


    Replicus frowned.


    Before he knew it, something ck and humanoid escaped from the Skullius who had just


    spoken.


    It was a dark outline of Skullius, perfectly shaped like him, quite like a shadow!


    At once, Replicus realised what this was! It was Crude World Projection! Skullius had projected himself as an entity of darkness with his consciousness that could


    move freely in the world.


    Whenever he used this ability, his body was usually left limp like a corpse... but not this time.


    As the Projected Skullius reached Replicus and made a wing gesture with its hands, the Warmoth''s Progeny saw the body it had just left behind, clutch the hilt of the Bashful


    Abomination and lower itself in a frightening stance!


    The mark on its forehead grew brighter!


    Perhaps because of the influence of the Projected Skullius and his gesture, the light from the


    chandelier above vanished and everything became dark, so much so that all the other


    Skulliuses who had been flitting about, disappeared from Replicus'' view.


    All turned dark.


    The Warmoth''s Progeny was left in a soundless, lightless, substance-less void in that


    moment. He could hardly tell if he was standing on something solid or not.


    ''Dammit!''


    Replicus immediately made full use of [Sorcery of Essence] at full throttle, anticipating an


    attack while he was blinded like this.


    But he couldn''t judge the surging of mana or any kind of energy from anywhere.


    There was none.


    However, that didn''t mean no attack came.


    A crisp, metallic whistle loudly red in the dark space at the next instant, and...