NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 1199: The One Left Standing (13)
Chapter 1199: The One Left Standing (13)
Skullius had created the Stolen Angel - the new mobile Attegoth - by using the Blessing he received from Luserus, Graceful Monolith of the Eminent.
He had only managed to fully manifest this creature a day before Replicus came for him. Its composition was, of course, cultivated by fusing the eye he had stolen from Dellan, the Grinning Jester Fox and the body of a powerful but basic Cluster beast with an extraordinary healing factor that paired extremely well with [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance]'s own regenerative prowess (which he had captured during his journey from Opungale to Maqi) to the Preeminent Attegoth.
Because of the limited time he had after creating the Stolen Angel, Skullius hadn't been able to ensure that the Stolen Angel was very well acquainted with battle - even with its close combat ability, [Bombastic Imminent Barrage].
He had felt that it would be useless to try making the Angel fight against other opponents who were probably no match for Replicus. Thus, he gambled. The Angel's fresh experience would come from fighting the Colossus Warmoth's Progeny and in the process it would await Skullius' command to use its innate quality.
As this quality could only be used once per opponent and had strict requirements that required a lot of 'observation', Skullius had instructed the Stolen Angel to wait until it had gotten a grasp of Replicus' combat style and achieved a sufficient degree of... 'humanity', before using it.
The time was fast approaching, but right now...
As the gaping hole in the city conjured by the female Arch-Mage swallowed Replicus and some of the slashes, Skullius dismissed the Spirit of Blind Drowning and yelled, "Now!"
The Stolen Angel immediately activated [OverLight], a sub-skill of [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance] that maximised the light-based traits of the skill!
The [Heart of Revelation] above the Stolen Angel shone with astoundingly bright light just as its whole body turned into a pure mass of luminance as well.
The radiance was no doubt bolstered by Skullius' trick, and thus, it managed to reach the Arch-Mages and reveal their vulnerable innards - pushing away the effective resistance of their robes, their many defensive spells, skin, flesh and bones!
...!!!
Immediately following this, Skullius grinned and had the Stolen Angel activate another sub- skill under [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance]: [Soul Spawn]!
Twenty chubby, winged, bald creatures with no faces appeared around the Stolen Angel, all of them made of faint, golden white light.
In a blink (because Skullius had peeled away the effect against warping applied by one of the Arch-Mages), they reached the Arch-Mages and attached themselves to their exposed forms within which powerful Mana Cores and souls could be seen!
Right then, the effect of the [Heart of Revelation] ceased, but it was already too late.
The Arch-Mages were done.
The Soul Spawn had latched themselves onto their souls, and the immediate teller as to the fact that this did not bode well, was how the eyes of the Mages were suffused in golden white light.
Skullius grinned.
The dark malevolent space gap behind him vanished right when the effect he commanded on Aigas with [Evil Veneration] ended. Replicus was nowhere to be seen.
Skullius scoffed and looked to the Mages as he dropped to the ground along with the Stolen Angel.
'Of course. You are the exception,' he thought, looking at Arch-Mage Ryte.
The old man, unlike the others, wasn't completely subdued by the Soul Spawn that had branded itself onto his soul. He had an ugly grimace on his face, as though he was experiencing great pain, but he kept his sense of self.
Skullius chuckled.
The guidance field flickered in his vision as it announced:
[You have received two new Creeds!]
'Good.'
And indeed it was.
[Soul Spawn] was a skill that allowed Skullius to sway the localities of his enemies by appealing to their very souls through the chubby creatures that were summoned just now. The moment the Soul Spawn made contact with the target's soul, at the very least, the target would find it hard to retain control of their bodies.
If they succumbed to the 'persuasion' of the Soul Spawn, another sub-skill of [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance] could then be used: [Masterpiece].
The Soul Spawn and the soul of the target would merge to create a loyal subject of the Antiphon of Malignance that would be blessed with the same passive effects that Skullius enjoyed - all the light properties he had access to.
Right now, two of the Arch-Mages had been seized, but of course, the seventeen other Soul Spawn Skullius had created were eyeing the Academy behind Arch-Mage Ryte.
It was filled to the brim with Mages of all calibres, as well as other Energy Formers, watching apprehensively what was going on outside.
The only reason Skullius' Soul Spawn weren't rushing forth was because the defences around the Academy were still in place, but...
Skullius grinned.
He gave a command with the Stolen Angel.
Without needing to lift a finger himself, the new thralls he had made - the Arch-Mages - turned to dismantle the defences under Ryte's bewildered eyes.
"NO!" the old Mage cried and his hand shot into the air as he activated Shocked Time, a spell under his famed Binding Patch!
His compromised associates waved their hands and defended themselves, however, the male Arch-Mage with what appeared to be conjured sword of glass, and the female with a great purple orb that pulsated, releasing waves of ungodly gravity!
But Ryte didn't give up.
He immediately cast another spell the instant he felt that his attempt to stop his fellow Mages wasn't going to work.
"Cross Time!" he cried, and it was as though the entire Academy had become nothing more than a fading memory. It became illusory and lost all colour.
Skullius frowned slightly.
While he didn't know what the spell Cross Time did, he knew it wasn't something he couldn't undo or penetrate easily.
And he was right. Cross Time was one of Ryte's strongest spells. It forced the target to be bounced around different timelines in Aigas' history, with the maximum limit being six
hundred years in the past!
Because of this, it was immensely difficult to effect the target in any way, as it was more likely than not that it wouldn't exist in the present time - hence the illusory form.
...But Skullius wasn't to be underestimated.
He unsheathed Demion's Dance, and as Mortal Ruin coiled around the green blade, he activated the one Divine Sword Art in his arsenal that he had yet to use in this battle.
The Unmotivated Bender Divine Sword Art!
He applied his 'trick' as he swiftly sliced downward, even while a fair distance from the
Academy.
SHIIIIIIIIIIING!
A thin white line that bent lazily, tracing the path Demion's Dance took, appeared with Skullius' action. It looked like a precise casting of white paint on the air.
Ryte's eyes bulged.
Even before it happened, he knew at once that what he was witnessing was beyond anything
he had ever seen before.
Skullius, whom he knew as Festos, that little man who had called himself a mere Swordsman Class-Branching into Magecraft back then... was really cutting through time!
There was thunderous clap and Ryte felt his application of Integral Time around the Academy
kept sliced up!
But... was it?
Because it was his spell, he felt the way in which it had been dispelled rather vividly.
No. Cross Time hadn't been sliced apart.
It was... sabotaged?
The illusory nature of the Academy was culled at once.
Ryte panicked.
The other two Arch-Mages didn't waste the chance.
They immediately ripped the other defences from the Academy, allowing the Soul Spawn to
dash in unrestricted!
"Heh!"
Skullius sensed the presence of several other Arch-Mages moving to act. They likely hadn't understood what was going on with their compromised companions until the magical spells around the school were undone.
Their response was quite fierce. They didn't hesitate to use lethal spells against the two
thralls!
'Futile. I'll have you all as Masterpieces soon enough,' Skullius thought as he prepared to use
the [Heart of Revelation] again.
But right then... Skullius sensed the presence of the Warmoth's Progeny following a crashing noise which emanated from the skies!
The CREATURE turned and he saw Replicus falling from a crack in the sky!
'I knew you weren't done for,' he thought with a scoff. 'And you probably got a few new
concepts to toy with, didn't you?'
Skullius had known that this would be the case because of Replicus' robes. He had avoided
giving them too much to work with because he understood their powers, but the Mages
didn't.
Anticipating the worst, Skullius' body exploded with darkness and light. He would summon the Noboboyama quickly, before it could be destroyed like before, and kill Replicus or at least deter him from freely using whatever he had absorbed.
...
In the next few moments, however, Skullius soon found that he had severely underestimated the Warmoth's Progeny.
Even from the distance, he sensed the shuddering waves hissing from Replicus' new, rapidly
weaving mana cores!
It was....!