477 Not So Simple (1)
(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
The Cluster General on the throne didn’t stand.
He did not swing.
He only gazed at his target and clenched the hilt of his great sword with his powerful hand.
When he did…
Skullius…
Ferex…
Yuyui…
The blue skinned creature…
All four existence were blasted apart.
No.
It was more like melted apart.
The blue skinned Null Lifeform was deformed into sludge that flew everywhere.
Skullius was melted from the middle, his bones being slogged off like porridge in different directions as only hints of it remained, barely identifiable as bone.
The same happened to Ferex behind and Yuyui who was in the Apostle’s mouth!
None of these four had seen what had happened at all and neither could they comprehend when they were being broken down.
The sword had throbbed with scalding passion at being held by its owner, releasing a velocious heat that traced through the ground from where he sat, opening up the ground as it travelled to its enemies!
This trail that dug deep was the one that carried fearful heat that melted all the Cluster General’s enemies within divided fractions upon divided fractions of a second, its effect being so potent that it travelled through the land up to the cliff Skullius had come in from within a few short breaths, the leaking red from this narrow, lengthy depth hissing with nasty fog!
The guards of the Cluster General were awestruck.
Not because of the power on display but because their master had made a move, and had even caught hidden figures that they hadn’t!
“Do not relax. It is not over.”
The Cluster General then turned to the horny idiot, one of his guards who had been converted by the blue skinned creature and in a fiery show, the Fire Breeder’s head exploded into chunks, much to the other guards’ shock.
“Keep your eyes peeled ahead.”
The two guards heeded as they looked at the continuous cleave on the ground that travelled into the distance. If this land wasn’t already so hot and with creatures and plants that were besties with the heat, a hellish forest fire would be billowing everywhere right now!
But then, this just served to show their master’s might!
The molten goo that was their enemies with barely any parts of them remaining; part of a head with a molten furry side and sizzling threads of what looked like a four legged beast, roasted flesh, charred bone and oozing fat for a peculiar humanoid like them and lastly, parts of a dark blue arm and chunks of a skull with a torn socket that blinked with a dull blue light for the skeleton that had just appeared.
What was there to look at, the guards wondered.
Waa.
Waa.
WA!
The Cluster General turned to be right.
Thirty two lights started to silently blink with power around the molten walking skeleton, growing brighter as they then shot massive bolts of lightning at the body!
The process was rapid.
[Silent Revelation of the Bright King] which had been cast right before the slaughter fest just now by Skullius on instinct, quickly recovered the Penetrator’s body, the Null Lifeform appearing on his feet with his sockets flickering to eventually produce a flame.
At first, Skullius was confused on where he was but then it all came rushing to him.
“Right. That was close. I thought I heard Somanda calling just now…” the Penetrator said with a soft voice as he checked his ribs. Only his white core remained. His saved orbs of mana were gone.
Typical.
‘At least we’re petty durable,’ Skullius thought while gazing down.
On the ground, on the maw of what remained of Ferex, a green light shone as the maw softly clenched on it, the molten body that tried to fight back bubbling and contorting as it rapidly started to rebuild itself!
At the same time, as if a fade in transition was in play, Yuyui appeared sitting down on the ground, her figure jittery as she looked down at her molten corpse and shivered.
The simmering guts were a bit much.
One of the guards of the Cluster General rapidly flew up as he got ready to finish off this trio.
“Stop. Let them get up.”
The voice of the Cluster General reached the guard, making him stop.
Ferex and Yuyui carefully stood and rushed to Skullius’ sides, the Penetrator looking up at the Cluster General with a steady flame.
His thoughts were unknown as his face didn’t give it away, but his followers knew nowhere was safer but with him right now.
The Penetrator himself was trying to settle a lot of thought.
One particular subject being what he had just heard.
‘Kin… Your enemy is strong.’
The last words of the blue skinned creature.
“Fascinating,” a powerful voice spoke.
The crown atop the Cluster General’s head shone, its golden hue with patterns of orange-pink causing a mirage.
Then Skullius heard it.
A voice in his head that he could comprehend.
The Cluster General wanted to talk.
‘You fascinate me. Three different creatures. Three different ways to escape death.’
Skullius’ socket flames flickered ever so slightly.
‘What about it bro?’ he asked nonchalantly as if unfazed.
‘Hmmm? You have no fear?’
‘Why should I be afraid, bro?’
‘Because… I can dictate whether you live or die.’
‘…’
‘Hmmm?’
‘Hahaha. That’s fleshing hilarious bro. Even if you kill me, I’m afraid it won’t be your win. Someone else already…called dibs. Oh, nice phrase.’ Skullius said with a relaxed voice, his mind coughing up another phrase he wasn’t familiar with…until now.
‘Hmmm?’
‘Do I look like a normal creature to you?’
‘…’
The Cluster General was little confused.
This enemy seemed a little… too relaxed.
And what was with his statement?
Even if he killed this creature, it wouldn’t be his win? What the heck was that supposed to mean?
‘Do you perhaps mean a binding?’
‘A binding?’ Skullius asked, it being his turn now to be confused.
The Cluster General leaned back on its throne as the crown atop its head shone bright once again.
A pulse of barely seen energy bloomed, streaming outwards in all directions.
Skullius could feel it.
It was weird.
This item, the crown.
It seemed to be amplifying something!
Shortly after this pulse went out, a shocking scene occurred!
Even the guards were shocked beyond belief as well!
From the direction of the settlements, thousands upon thousands of Fire Breeders appeared, all of them either flying or running over the ground.
Their red eyes seemed blank, their faces showing no expression.
Within no time at all, the masses of Fire Breeders gathered at the base of the hill, away from the pool of magma and gazed sternly at the Cluster General.
‘This is binding. Every one of them is bound to me now. Their lives and all. I have used a special method over the years to grow my strength. To mutate myself and gain different abilities while making those I already have stronger,’ the Cluster General explained. ‘Unfortunately, I can only amount to this. I cannot last another hundred years and I will not be able to reach the next Tier.’
‘This prison… is bland. I know there is another world beyond this one. My aging bones yearn for it. But even if I see it, I might not live long enough to enjoy its entirety. My strength also leaves much to be desired when there are strong enemies.’
Skullius’ socket flames danced.
‘This guy knows that he lives in a Cluster?’ he thought.
The subject wasn’t something they Nullmancer’s had explored.
Whether Cluster beasts knew from the beginning that they lived in a different world, only finding out about Aigas when the Cluster crack ruptured was a mystery to him.
Was this normal for Cluster Generals or was this guy an exception?
The Cluster General’s guards couldn’t believe their eyes.
Their lord had the ability to forcefully control their entire race, probably related with how he could read minds as evidenced earlier.
Their lord…
‘Oh. If you’re asking if what I’m talking about is the same, well then, sorry to say, it’s different,’ Skullius said while grinning hiddenly. He thought this would boil down to just a brutal fight but…
This was better.
‘I have a master who owns my soul. If I die, he can resurrect me as he wishes and give me power as he wishes through a special technique.’
‘Hmmm,’ the Cluster General hummed with intrigue. ‘Amusing. I am not so foolish as to believe such a silly lie. If your ‘master’ has such strength, why give you the means to escape death and not the means to give it freely to any calibre of an enemy?’
Skullius scoffed.
This bastard dared to call him weak when he wiped out so many Fire Breeders without breaking much of a sweat?
‘I am but a messenger. I have been tasked with finding relics. Powerful relics. My duty is to bring back information when I die and bring my master treasures when I find them,’ Skullius said as he then played a card he had just churned up while following the trajectory of this conversation.
‘For instance, a throne that draws on unique energies, a crown that amplifies skills and abilities and a sword that can both attack and nullify techniques. These would interest my master greatly.’
…!
The Cluster General’s eyes shot open, its pupils flaming wildly.
‘How do you know that?’ it asked with a threatening tone, the sword it held by the hilt vibrating while shining with a bright orange-pink hue.
‘My bro. My body doesn’t react to torture and I’m definitely more scared of my master than I am of you. So those two won’t work on me. As for how I know all about your weapons… well, like a said. I’m a messenger. Fighting is just a pastime. My main duty is collect information and relics and bring one or both back, either by foot or by death.’
Skullius’ body took a few steps towards the hill where the Cluster General was.
He reached just before the pool magma and his socket flames flared.
‘You still have a bit of time here. Maybe a little more than two days. I can afford to wait. I can afford to die. Either way, my master will be coming for these treasures. So, flame bro. What will you do with me?’
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