Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1038: Disabled



The Boring Mine Nova Star Course was incredibly vast, so much so that one would wonder if Araeyn had perhaps warped a third of this side of Aigas into it.

That wasn't the case, however.

The Star Course was a compressed space, made to fit within the same stretch of Aigas that Araeyn was capable of transposing it onto.

As such, this Null space existed in two states. It was massive and it was also, somewhat small. The only ones who could interpret the Star Course in this manner, though, were those who understood Null Life Essence.

Replicus had used [Titan World Canvas] both as a means to defend himself and also as a means to bolster his sensory capabilities. The latter, was his main objective, which was why he wasn't quite as displeased that he had practically wasted mana for nothing with Warding Pride.

With the expanded senses he acquired, he managed to reach into the void of space, searching, scouring for Baddan's Territory.

Because it was also uniquely tied to Null Life concepts - the creatures summoned through Baddan's technique - Replicus had been able to sense it after not-too-long.

The large ball of white, within it several individuals ganging up on one man - as the Penetrator thought - was sitting among the stars... far, far away.

'If only that damn Apostle was a little more subservient!' Replicus thought as the [Titan World Canvas] exploded towards this direction.

Right when everyone had entered the Star Course, Replicus had commanded Araeyn to separate him and everyone else from Baddan's Territory, but the blasted Apostle had overdone it. He had taken them too far. The Penetrator had a sneaking suspicion that Araeyn was already beginning to rebel. The wrinkled newborn was a menace.

'Blaming him for all this won't help my case. I just need to speed things up some more!' Replicus thought.

This was easier said than done though. His thundercloud body was quickly being frozen by the semi-living thing that Warding Pride had summoned. Its abilities were shockingly effective on matter it shouldn't have been able to freeze. Replicus tried to apportion a part of his mana to rain bolts of Levin as powerful as those he had sent towards Warding Pride, towards the frosted abomination.

The results weren't pleasing.

Unlike Warding Pride, it didn't have phenomenal defences, but it was capable of rapidly 'regenerating' the massive chunks of ice that were shaved off its body by the consecutive bolts. Worse yet, it began to adapt to the situation by turning portions of itself into liquid, which made Replicus' efforts even more wasteful as penetration damage didn't exactly do much to bodies of water.

As if this wasn't enough, Warding Pride had recovered to some degree from the earlier attack and was chasing his storming cloud body. There was no small amount of fury brimming from the Faction Leader.

The Penetrator grunted in displeasure.

He had one option here.

Well, he had multiple, but most would produce a similar result to what had happened with Warding Pride at best, and that's why he didn't use them.

His thoughts laid in using Spatial Lightning to transport his body to Baddan's Territory, but that wasn't such a good idea at the moment. If he teleported, he was inevitably going to bring the water monstrosity with him and add it to whatever tribulations his subordinates were facing against Em-Sul.

Worse yet, using Spatial Lightning over such a distance, would drain a sizable chunk of his

mana reserves.

The worst of it was that there was a chance that the four he sent were nowhere near close to retrieving the Harmonic Ember, which would make his waste of mana pointless. The then him joining the four probably wouldn't help much either.

'Damn it...'

As Replicus sensed the firm Territory, showing no signs of being dispelled, his thoughts spiralled.

"Bright Storm!"

A shrill call came just as the top layer of clouds to the [Titan World Canvas], was ripped through. The Bishop and nine angelic-wannabes appeared and all faced Replicus, their bodies - almost pure and sacred - engulfed by Nitros!

Replicus was alarmed.

It wasn't because he hadn't sensed the Bishop coming. He had. However, he didn't think she would be donning her rare serious expression, devoid of traces of mirth and madness.

Replicus wasn't in the know as much as the other Faction Leaders about the Bishop, but he did know that she was at her most dangerous when she shed that layer of insanity she always wore for some reason.

In that regard, Warding Pride had been right. Replicus was still green.

"What is the meaning of this, Bright Storm? Are you looking down on all of us? How could you dare to wiggle your way through our ranks pretending to be one of us, pretending to honour what it is to be one of us. There is no greater spit in the face than a beast making comrades of us with hidden intent. You do realise what the Severed Union exists for you, don't you?" the Bishop said in a cold tone.

She made no moves to attack, but that didn't give Replicus any peace of mind.

"I know, I know," he said, holding his ground. "But I already told you. I'm not one of you. I never wanted to be. But, I do embody the same things you do. Selfishness, self-service... I really wasn't hurting anyone by exercising the ideals that make someone... human, right?"

The Bishop's face showed no emotion.

Her hollow sockets remained pinned on Replicus.

"Is that all you've learned about being human, beast?"

'Beast, huh?' Replicus thought.

The Bishop was quickly changing how she addressed him.

"No. Far from it. I've devoured the memories of thousands of humans. No shot that I would only learn that much. But these traits do take someone pretty far," the Penetrator said.

The Bishop merely hummed. It was impossible to know what she felt from just this alone, but her sudden step forward atop the clouds did tell that she now saw Replicus as someone to extinguish mercilessly.

"I've been alive for 322 years. I have heard many calamitous beasts speak in a manner you do, providing logic to their actions or none at all," she said. "I see you as no different from them.

In fact, you might be worse."

Replicus readied himself.

He didn't know what he was going to do next, but he was sure he wasn't going to meet his end

like this.

No way.

No wa...

ROO0000000000000AAAAAAAAAAAR!

A great, loud roar that shook his soul shattered his resolve and made it so that his

thundercloud form came to a halt.

His radiant humanoid figure was frozen still.

The Bishop was too, and so was Warding Pride, who had been approaching from behind.

Replicus couldn't think for a hot second. His mind went numb.

What in the world was that?

In the next instant, the wide expanse littered with stars, suddenly vanished.

The dark Null space was replaced by the familiar, sunny-ish skies, filled with mana and

moderacy.

[Grandiose Manifestation] was disabled, which brought all those who had been dragged into the Boring Mine Nova Star Course back to the ebony sea.

This sea, however, was no longer calm, and neither was it hollowed out as it had been because

of the struggle of Territories earlier.

No. It was full and level.

However, it was boiling, as though a great volcanic mountain had awakened right under it.