Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1111: Heading North



Red Rage descended from the skies like a formless ball of light to stand beside the Warmoth's Progeny, responding to the mental call he'd just received. Only after he became still, floating an inch above the corrosive ebony sea did his startling radiance begin to wane ever so slightly, revealing the handsome figure beneath it.

None of the Unlimited had ever met Red Rage, so it wasn't surprising that they weren't as astounded by the changes he had gone through, but it was still rather odd for them to see this strange creature.

Earlier, they had seen that Araeyn had changed as well. He was taller and more menacing. It was that strange to say that he seemed more... mature.

This shining figure, however, if they had known, had been quite a bit tame in terms of physical appearance. What had blabbered to the entire world about his eccentrics, was his bombastic personality... and maybe his freakishly long cape. Yet now, Red Rage resembled a human; a white-faced human with locks of silver hair, and adorned in a valiant, rough suit of stretchable fabric. His sockets brimmed with a reassuring light, as did his entire body, which, now built with tough flesh, pressed against his heroic suit, branded with a diamond of blue and red.

Red Rage was no longer the Juvenile Pelvic Arbiter.

He was something two Tiers higher and much more powerful, not to mention skilled.

He was, the Hidden Antiquity, as ironic as it seemed (there was nothing remotely close to 'hidden' about him).

Replicus turned to him.

"Go back to the Bryne Estate. I'm sure everyone still needs your help there," Replicus said. Red Rage looked appalled.

"Are you sure you do not require my services for your last battle ahead?" the Apostle said while bowing deeply.

"This is far from the last battle. Trust me. I need to ensure that Silrat and Stylla's father are safe. If those dark creatures are still attacking populated areas, they might be overwhelmed sooner or later," Replicus said.

Through Red Rage's memories from the merge, Replicus had been able to tell that Silrat was alright.

Oddly, it felt weird to think about Silrat now. It was almost as though he hadn't thought about him in a long time. The name even felt a little foreign to Replicus.

Red Rage contemplated a little and then nodded.

"Then, I shall take my leave, my lord," he said, and without a second wasted, he took to the skies at hypersonic speed, and started spinning in place, creating a glowing oval and then, with a silent flash, he had disappeared.

The current Red Rage had awakened a plethora of skills far removed from the Arbiter class, one of which allowed him to not have to brave the ordeal of the Reverse Clusters more prominent on the way back from this part of the world.

Replicus stared at the spot his shimmering Apostle had disappeared from before turning to Araeyn.

"You will stay with them here. Protect them until I get back," he ordered.

Surprisingly, after a second or two, the Apostle gave a light bow and...

"As you wish," he said.

The Unlimited were surprised. They hadn't missed how reluctant Araeyn had been about listening to Replicus before. Now, he seemed a lot more subservient.

Of course, this was because the Warmoth racial properties had forced Araeyn to acknowledge his master. But naturally, this wasn't a permanent and sure sort of obedience, as Araeyn's Flaw still remained.

Like Red Rage, he had also evolved twice through means that had opened up to Replicus when he reached the Fourth Tier, and was much stronger - which was why Replicus was trusting him to protect his crew - but his path hadn't changed all that much when compared to Red Rage's.

Pherdanta looked at Araeyn and the will to say something about following Replicus was purged. It really was better if she and the rest stayed.

"I'll be back soon," the Warmoth's Progeny said and with Baddan and Yuyui in his arms, he launched himself up with such great force that the sea as a collective layer, dug inward as though drained from below, yellow-red lightning spiking it from where Replicus had been a moment ago!

The three streaked further north like a shooting star, disappearing from view.

Only when the sea finally settled did someone make a comment.

"What a turn of events," Eaniss said with a smile before summoning her ship from her storage. It landed on the ebony waters and a few heads popped from its deck, looking down at everyone else.

It was evident that these were all the Head Faction leaders and a few of their subordinates that Eaniss was generous enough to welcome aboard after they lost their vessels before. "We'll be off then," Eaniss said as the Bishop summoned her own vessel too.

Em-Sul emitted a low grunt and looked at Pherdanta who, sensing his gaze turned to glare at him.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Em-Sul laughed.

"I wouldn't bear such an attitude if I were you," he said. "Your lordship interrupted me before, but I'm generous enough to speak again. Warding Pride might have perished, but she didn't allow her collection of followers to die alongside her. I happened to find them hidden away in a barrier above the sea. Do you know what I'm getting at?"

Pherdanta's brows shot up high and in the next moment, she leaped onto Em-Sul's ship.

A blink later, Araeyn was by her side.

Em-Sul was amused.

"Where are they?" Pherdanta asked with a stern face.

"Follow me."

A minute later, Pherdanta was looking at a handful of men and women who looked as though they had been sentenced to death. All of them turned their heads when Em-Sul, Pherdanta and Araeyn appeared.

At once, one of these few locked eyes with Pherdanta and she frowned deeply, as did he.

***

Replicus, Baddan and Yuyui were flying in a stream of thick lightning at bold speeds, but they were all unbothered by the vicious friction!

As odd as it may seem, Yuyui felt that they weren't moving quite as fast as they could be. In fact, she had been close to asking her master if she could use her Eye of Moving to make the journey a little less lengthy, but she held her tongue.

Of course, Replicus wasn't going at full speed.

He had a few things to sort first before he reached Edagon.

One of them was...

'This is as good a time as any, right?' he thought.

"Sure."

"Let's do it."

"It will give us more incentive to test out all of our working theories, including that one about mana."

"Can't wait to get started,"

Four phantoms all gave him responses.

However, they were no longer the same phantoms. After acquiring the Warmoth's powers, Replicus' Subjective Phantom Inference turned into Phantom Omniscience.

He no longer had small versions of himself swirling around him. Now, they were illusory versions of himself with the same dimensions following him everywhere. They were smarter and more prone to bringing forth objective conjecture rather than blabbing a thousand theories that were all false.

On top of this, these phantoms could hijack Replicus' body if they sensed that they could do a better job than him in a certain circumstance, after all, they all now represented different

things.

One phantom dealt with Replicus' skills; constantly striving for ways to best use them individually and create perfect combination effects. Another focuses on Replicus' essences; mana and conceptual energies. Another was determined to maximise the use of his tools, and the last dealt with short and long-term planning for events exclusively.

The feedback from all these phantoms had led Replicus to finally prepare for real combat, and that all began with the activation of a skill known as [Mana Centurion].