NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 1218: The One Left Standing (32)
Chapter 1218: The One Left Standing (32)
The Tertiary function of a Majestic Territory was not simple to forge.
Its power could only be accessed when a Territory acquired traits similar to those of a world- forming living things within its boundaries.
The power to launch a Tertiary tier attack could only be siphoned from the energy of these living things.
Beasts made it seem easy, but it was far from so. The key laid in having the Territory progress naturally, which meant that the Territory would need to remain open for a long period of time. As most humans, Sif and Giants didn't have the means or knowledge to casual leave their Territories open in their Dormant states, as guardian beasts from forests often did, the Tertiary attack power was out of reach for most experts unless they fought strong opponents very often and over a long period, ensuring that their Territories were open as many times as possible.
...
Skullius' white ring burst into countless, orb-shaped particles of [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light].
The great skeleton behind him mimicked his motion, also pointing ahead with its right middle finger.
The particles released from the white ring surged and began dancing around the Stygian Mimic's middle finger. They multiplied at an alarming rate, and started violently bouncing against each other with each passing second, creating tiny sparks that grew intense, burning hot and hotter!
Skullius had only created his Territory less than a week ago.
He couldn't possibly have acquired the Tertiary power already.
...But he did.
With Fulgardt's knowledge, he crafted a work-around that was extremely conditional. One could say he had been preparing it as a backup of a backup since earlier, when he started to use the Soul Spawn. And of course, the Soul Spawn were the key.
Skullius had made many Soul Spawn and in turn many Masterpieces as well. There was a limit to how many Soul Spawn could be made using [Greatest Antiphon of Malignance], but Replicus had made that restriction meaningless by using his 'trick' on the Super Skill.
This was why he had managed to create so many Masterpieces between the three timelines he had created by slicing time!
Now, he had hundreds of thousands of Masterpieces over the present Aigas and both versions of its past.
Using 10,000 Creeds earned from this grand feat, Skullius made a declaration. The Masterpieces he created over the varying versions of Aigas would serve as the fuel required to power his Tertiary assault function for a maximum time limit of twenty seconds!
But of course, Skullius didn't have a defined Tertiary assault function yet. He didn't have a well thought out ability. The best he had made so far, was the skeleton, the Daemon's Stygian Mimic.
Thus, what was being fuelled here by the energy from the Masterpieces, was an ability he brought in from the outside; an ability that was in the ring he had been given by Vali.
The Stygian Mimic behind Skullius trembled as many energies sifted through it.
The energy drawn from other living things was far more profound in powering higher forms of might than mana. This was, after all, why Deities created livings things on the worlds they created.
The Mimic's finger shone bright as the sparks from the clashing particles around it grew brighter and brighter!
'This is it! It's working perfectly!' Skullius thought and soon, the sparks pouring from the Stygian Mimic's middle finger grew so bright that they hid the two's figures.
Skullius wore a terribly nasty grin.
This was it!
He had made Vali create for him a ring that could bind [Just Light] and [Evil Darkness] together and calibrate them into an extremely powerful, offensive product using her Imagining Technique.
This had been a tall ask, however. [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light] weren't just any element or concept. They were mysterious powers created by the Fruit of World Myths and simply combining them wasn't something any odd treasure on Aigas could do. This was especially true for anything created by Vali's inferior copy of the Imaginary Technique. Thus, the ring Vali made created an alternate route to making what Skullius wanted a reality. Once equipped, the ring began greedily absorbing any nearby essences, which was why Maxim told Skullius to only unleash the ring when he needed it. But Skullius had known what he was doing. As soon as he unsealed the ring from Maxim's storing technique, he had begun feeding it large amount of darkness and light all throughout the fight.
After it was full and was ready for the next step, the ring expelled [Just Light] and [Evil Darkness] in solid forms (the orbs) and forced them to bounce against each other, creating what might be aptly called 'Assimilating Friction'. A third element, a bizarre type of flame, silver in colour, was created because of this friction, imbued with properties similar to those of [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light]. This flame would be the bonding agent for the two
elements.
This was the way the ring used to merge the intended elements.
Because [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light] were too outlandish, the binding would not be 100% complete, or even 60%, by that was fine by Skullius.
The resultant offensive power was what was going to be considered as the Tertiary attack of Aphotic Catacomb of the Daemon, fuelled by the energy of hundreds of thousands of people!
VWOOOOOSH!!!
Replicus couldn't see, but he felt the immensity of the attack that was incoming.
Beyrmir's eyes narrowed at the great blaze flourishing ahead, licking the darkness in Skullius' Territory!
In the heart of the blaze, Skullius and Stygian Mimic barely showed as distorted, grinning figures with their middle fingers pointed at the Apostle and his master.
The silver flame lurched and barrelled forth.
"MY LIEGE!" Beyrmir cried.
But Replicus was aware.
It was coming!
The silver fire was just a kind warning!
'Just a little more!' he thought.
While he was drawing the string to the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow, causing a glowing, soul
arrow to be nocked on it, his other arm was using [Maximum Reach] to grab as many of the CREATURES as it could, bringing them into his Territory and then teleporting them away!
But he was too slow.
Wielding the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow required two arms and since Replicus always needed to be wielding the Warmoth's Spine with one hand, he had only one arm available for
everything else.
But no. He didn't.
The Soul-Burdened Warmoth manifested multiple arms of Null Life Essence and channelled [Maximum Reach] through them. The effect of his External Primary function multiplied even further, grabbing multiple victims at once!
But alas!
VWOOOOOOOSH!!!
The silver flame smothered the rest of Skullius' Territory before Replicus could save everyone
else! The remaining CREATURES were burned to something more pathetic than ash!
'Damn it!' Replicus thought.
He hadn't managed to confirm if he saved Theurien and Silrat or not!
His heart sank, but that was too great of a luxury!
BOOOOOOM!
The silver flame bashed against Replicus' Purified Cadaver's Impartial Felicity.
The Warmoth gritted his teeth.
He opened the cage within which Skullius' soul was trapped.
He drew the soul out, luminous and incomplete as it looked, despite being functional.
With the proficiency with souls that the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow granted him, he carefully brought the soul into the soul arrow he had nocked. The soul was seamlessly absorbed by the arrow and it turned several shades brighter!
'All or nothing...' Replicus thought and pulled the string to his bow spear even further.
...But he wasn't done.
He layered the arrow with a massive amount of Ju`wtte which was then inverted, losing its merigold hue for a black-ish quality!
The arrow changed hue, drastically shifting its grace from what it had been earlier; from something divine to some fell, dreadful chaos imbibed in a mortal, pointed vessel. 'Come, Beyrmir!' Replicus commanded and the Apostle's mercurian body forged a great armour around him with thick, hot, silver scales. The Warmoth then activated [Neutral Maximum] and [Maximum Constant], and a purple-gold covering belched over him at full force, empowered by his Territory.
It was over fifty meters thick in radius around him, working in overdrive!
The silver flame beyond surged and lurched attempting to break into Replicus' Territory.
He wished he could see it.
Perhaps it would be the last thing he ever saw.
But alas...
The silver flame was suddenly parted viciously, cast left and right with haste!
In the path it left behind, Skullius, donning the same ugly grin Replicus had seen in Riba's
Divination, cackled, middle finger propped forth, and...
"ALL OR FUCKING NOTHING!!!" he shrieked and something quicker than Replicus' [Neutral
Acumen] burst forth.
It was more than fifty times the speed of light.
It was so thin it was barely visible to the naked eye.
It had no colour... but it had every colour.
It was so violent it ripped everything apart, blasting even at its master when it was fired.
It was... an abominable, straight ray with the power to destroy Aigas completely.
Replicus' blind eyes widened.
His attack didn't have that much power. It didn't need it.
The ray came before he loosened his arrow, but that was no issue at all.
The task to loosen the arrow... was left to his Territory.
Another one of its Primary functions enabled him to carry out any action through the Territory itself with a few instructions. This extended even to actions involving weapons that belonged to Replicus. Thus, he had trusted this Primary function to loosen his soul arrow as
soon Skullius' precise position was in view.
As such, the soul arrow dipped with Inverted Ju`wtte was released, but that was not all.
Another arrow was formed and released in a blink, sent the same way as its twin.
Yet these arrows hadn't even left Purified Cadaver's Impartial Felicity by the time the world- rending ray reached Replicus, who had propped before him the Warmoth's Spine with one of
his hands.
And then there was only destruction.