Chapter 1348: Epic Chaos!
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The three new arrivals on the battlefield changed the tempo immediately, one moreso than the others. An entity on the level of a Deity would always outss their mortal counterparts in terms of presence, not to mention all other aspects; that was to be expected.
But regardless of how natural the idea was, the fashion in which this party ofbatants arrived was anything but natural.
Suddenly, the pressure of the unnatural state of existence - false death, false life brimming within a powerful body - enveloped everything and everyone. It pped a queer crimson hue over the living, the unliving and those in between, marking all things under its reign. It was deific power indeed.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everyone noted how different it was from the presence of an ordinary Deity, however, especially the Hybrid Warmoth, who subconsciously recalled his experiences with Boron, Suzamete and Luserus.
Skullius was staggered seeing Kenno and Araeyn facing off the undead creature in the sky. ''You can''t be serious!'' he thought.
He had paired Kenno and Araeyn for the mission to save Aigas because their powersplemented each other very well. Kenno was good at controlling the movements of opponents and Araeyn was good at taking away their environmental advantage. Skullius had hoped the two would stall Boron if he happened to make a move too early but...
...!!!
As the familiar power spread itself to all and pierced Skullius'' senses, it brought on a dark sense of déjà vu - where once, Undeath energy had reigned within his broken, skeletal body of old. Something tragic was triggered within him as a result.
''DAMMIT!'' the fresh Divine cried in despair.
His mind spiralled.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!
A courseugh seemed to travel light years through the great void, crushing obstacles, piercing Rules and storming into his senses with all the intensity of many worlds!
It was augh Skullius loathed very much.
It was too familiar.
It triggered the surfacing of the image of an ugly, humanoid creature, barely decorated with flesh, oddly green from head to toe, and with sockets that zed with an eternal red me!
It was not a vision, Skullius knew right then!
It was indeed Somanda,ughing. The High Lich could see him and he was pleased.
He said nothing. Instead, he pointed with a long, thin finger from within the hall of giant pirs and blocks of ice. He showed Skullius a familiar block housing-
"MY LIEGE, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Beyrmir''s voice came. It sted through the illusion or tempered reality Skullius had just been swimming through, trapped, and once again, he was back on Aigas, standing with Aurolio, Serenity before him.
The pale Voided Deathform,pletely oblivious to the fact that Skullius had been ''absent'' just now, was gaping at the sky. The threat of Void had been one thing, but for it to be supplemented by the threat of a deific undead creature was overkill, he felt.
"Fuck me," he said. He turned to the Hybrid Warmoth. "You wouldn''t happen to have something to do with this too, would you?"
Skullius merely ced a quivering hand on his temple and took steady breaths. He was sweating and his mind was yet to settle. He could still hear the echo of Somanda''sugh. He hadn''t heard what Aurolio said at all.
''Even something like undeath can trigger the Doom Factor?'' he thought, horrified.
Unlike Aurolio, Serenity noticed his distress, however. She sighed.
She was inhabiting S''s new body, temporarily suppressing his consciousness. She wasn''t as taken aback by the appearance of the new enemy, but she didn''t take it lightly either.
Her vision whipped over to Elita and Uyuniya who were drawing back while looking upward behind their masks (Bare Guises). The Void Clot around Uyuniya waned until it vanished. Her surprise must have affected it, or simply the exhaustion from using it for so long.
Whatever the reason, Serenity was pleased.
She zoomed to Skullius'' side and held him by the shoulder. There was a little sympathy in her eyes.
"You don''t have to worry about Void anymore. At least for now. She risked a lot by attacking you just now, and won''t do it again unless she wants topound her ''repercussions''," was the first thing Serenity said to Skullius. "As it stands, you only have one enemy to defeat right now, and many allies on your side. Focus on that."
Skullius gave her a shaky look. He knew what she was trying to do. Neither she nor Skullius could do anything about the Doom Factor, and thus, she was reassuring him about the situation right now - the one they could do something about.
Void was the greater threat, of course, but now she was a nonfactor. All that remained, was the Doom Knight. Skullius immediately recalled what Serenity had said about these types of
undead minions before.
Deities tamed by Liches.
He cursed silently.
"We have a lot to talk about. Regarding Void..." he said to Serenity.
"I know," she said. "But for now, you have a life or death battle to handle. I''m not allowed to engage in a conflict with anyone other than my sisters, so I won''t be much help. Hopefully, S will."
And then she left S''s body and streamed back into Skullius'' body. Aurolio didn''t miss that. S''s vessel remained stationary. It appeared his consciousness would take a few moments to surface.
Only ten seconds had passed since the three arrivals burst through the boundary of Aigas''
canvas.
They remained in a strange stare down thatsted only a second more before Kenno used Granted Warp to teleport himself and Araeyn to Skullius.
"Hey there, boss," the Unlimited Star said with an exhausted breath. Araeyn said nothing. His dark sockets remained pinned on the Doom Knight.
The great creaturended a great distance away and appraised everyone in the area.
Skullius carefully concentrated his senses on his subordinates rather than the creature.
"How you are still alive is a great mystery to me. You look to be hanging on by a mere thread though," he said to Kenno.
Kenno gave a heartyugh and wiped the messy sshes of blood over his face. He looked really banged up - torn flesh, scrapes, burns, gashes - as did his armour, which looked right
about ready to retire.
"It''s a little worse than that. I''ve died more times than I have fingers on one hand. By any chance, can you restore my charges for Granted Restoration? If not, my sixth death will be myst," he said cheekily before looking at Skullius. The smile disappeared from his face
instantly. "Are you alright?"
Skullius gave a smirk.
"I''m thest person you should be worrying about," he said and patted the Unlimited Star''s shoulder. Kenno was not reassured at all. "Then again, now that you''ve brought this abomination to me... you might need to be. Just a little bit."
Kenno gave a chuckle.
"We felt a terrible reverberation run through Aigas moments ago and figured it had
something to do with you. Pherdanta would have rather died a sixth time against this thing"
- he gestured towards the Doom Knight - "Honour, loyalty and all that, but I''d rather live a little longer. So, I thought it would be more... prudent that we fight it together."
Skullius sighed.
"Right. Prudent."
He noted all the yers on the battlefield.
Kenno.
Araeyn.
Aurolio.
The still unconscious S.
Uyuniya.
Elita.
All these were allies or had the potential to be, as Serenity had said.
''If Void is no longer a factor...'' Skullius had just begun to gather his thoughts when Kenno
interrupted him.
"Um, boss." He had an odd look on his face. "For some reason, my guidance field is acting strange. There''s a bold message on it. It''s for you."
"What?" Skullius turned to the Unlimited Star, puzzled. "What does it say?"
"It says to tell you to pick one of the Limited Contracts you''ve been offered without fail, and preferably sooner rather thanter."
[Author''s Note]
I know Kenno is probably not a very notable character. To refresh on his introduction, you can
refer to Ch.534-537.
And yes, he does have the guidance field like Yuyui. He was the first to be given one by
Skullius. You can refer to Ch.538.
For his more recent exploits, you can refer to Ch.833.