The Final Desperation

Diafthora was the General of Assimilation, a title she earned by breeding the body-snatching parasites used across the battlefield. Under the Parasite King's orders, she was to hunt down the killer of Prosarmozo, the former General of Mutation.

They had waited until now because they weren't sure about his connection with Panolis, a colleague who had gone missing during their planet-conquering phase. But with a second inheritance marking, there was no doubt anymore. He was their killer.

So she took her mount and chased after him, carrying the energy her faction prepared beforehand. Due to the untimely manner of their retreat, the king and Aposynthesi had to stay behind to ensure their comeback. Otherwise, they would have to give up a lot of resources once the 10-year redistribution mark came around. 

Naturally, they were confident in succeeding, which was why they dared give up their territory in the first place. Still, that didn't mean they would underestimate their enemy.

After all, he had brought down one of their peers, even if he used some tricks. They had made enough preparations for Diafthora to stall out even an empress, giving her plenty of time to find an opening if he tried to hide within a swarm like last time. 

As she pursued Genji, she flew over a field of dead Zergs. Remnants of battle could be seen among the shriveled bodies, testifying to the onesided massacre that happened prior. Diafthora ignored all this and continued, sensing that she would soon be upon her target.

Twenty minutes later, she spotted a small dot in the distance, moving away from her. Diafthora pressed her hand against the pterosaur's leathery back and poured her powers into its body, boosting its speed. A gust of air agitated the dust below, propelling the pterosaur higher into the air.

Diafthora raised her armguard and channeled its energy, conjuring a massive portal below her. A rain of parasitized creatures fell, piling on top of each other with no regard for injuries.

These creatures were unlike anything Genji had seen before, possessing six arms, small curvy horns, and dark green tufts of fur sporadically scattered around their bodies.

They were the Nakras, a race subdued by Diafthora for her legion. Despite their muscular appearances, their specialty wasn't in combat but in assisting the summoner with their spells. They were the foundation for Diafthora following summons.

The Nakras clasped their six arms together, releasing some of Diafthora's burden, and allowing her to expand the portal. The energy stored in her armor rapidly drained, supporting the passage of countless creatures.

"Everything has to come at once, huh?" Genji dismounted and drew his saber.

[Special stat surpasses target by a large margin. No interference detected. Obtained 100% of target's information.]

 

[General of Assimilation, Diafthora]

Health: 26,600/26,600

Energy: 780/780

Con: 46

Str: 47

Dex: 42

Int: 39

Spc: 38

Skills:

- Boss (Passive): +20,000 HP

- Parasitic Evolution (Passive): Consume other creatures to permanently strengthen your stats.

- Body of Adaptability (Passive): +2,000 HP; your body can contain different types of power without breaking down.

- Copy Assimilation (Passive): Your energy takes on the traits of the energy around you. Currently, it has six traits: Assimilate, Colorless, Infection, Mutation, Decay, and Baleful Harm. Only one trait can be used at a given moment except for Assimilate, which is passive.

- Portal Opening (Active): Consume energy to open a portal between two locations. The bigger the distance and the longer the duration, the higher the energy cost.

- Colorless (Active): Your energy loses all traits except for Colorless and Adaptability. For each trait lost, +15% energy strength. Cooldown of 18 hours.

- Infection (Active/Passive): Your energy affects opponents in unforeseen ways, causing them to fall ill and experience various debuffs.

- Mutation (Active/Passive): Your energy causes you or a target to mutate wildly. Mutations may be unexpected and have strange side effects.

- Decay (Active/Passive): Your energy causes life and organic matter to wither away.

- Baleful Harm (Active/Passive): Injuries caused by your energy will resist normal healing effects.

- Memory Awakening (Active): Regain a lost energy trait by consuming an item with that characteristic.

- Ultimate: Chaotic Fluctuation (Active): Your energy goes wild, taking on an uncountable number of energy traits. New traits will also be created by fusing current traits. Effects of traits vary and may be harmful to the user. Cooldown of 3 days.

- Ultimate: Forceful Assimilation (Active): Forcibly mold your energy into a copy of a target. Copied energy may have dangerous reactions with existing traits. Cooldown of 7 days.

- Ultimate: Full Release (Active): Unleash all your energy traits at once. Cooldown of 2 - 30 days, depending on how many traits are unleashed. The more, the longer.

 

All of Diafthora's abilities could be summarized as energy traits. From her passives to her ultimates, they all revolved around copying the abilities of others for herself. It was a versatile combat system, but a risky one, with many of her skills carrying warnings.

This was expected due to potential conflicts between energy properties. If these conflicts surpassed the body's limits, this power would become the deadliest of poisons, destroying the vessel from the inside out. That was what happened with 7156, almost killing him.

However, Diafthora's Colorless skill perfectly resolved this issue. When paired with Chaotic Fluctuation, she could gain unfathomable power, potentially surpassing even Terror Unleashed, Genji's strongest trump card.

Genji wasn't deterred by this, as her stats weren't overwhelmingly powerful. As long as he could close the distance, he had a good chance of winning the fight. What worried Genji more was the endless tsunami of parasitized creatures flooding from the skies.

If he couldn't resolve this, he would be ground down through a battle of attrition. The worst part was that Genji couldn't escape this battle since he was marked. If he tried, he would only be delaying the inevitable and wasting his energy.

"What a large army. It would be a shame if something happened to it," Genji chuckled to himself, retrieving a large empty gel sphere and multiple colorful vials, which he poured into the container. After sealing it up tightly, Genji hurled it at the downpour of troops, releasing a suspicious green gas that blanketed the area.

"Alright, now we wait. Just be careful with the blood when you're purifying it, and you should be fine," Genji reminded Bruce before diving into the horde.

His saber cut through the air, leaving streaks of cutting intent around him. Unlike previous firings of cutting intent, these strips of light hovered in their initial position, defending Genji against being swarmed.

This was a side application of Cocoon that Genji had developed in his previous battle. It wasn't particularly useful in a normal battle, but it could give Genji some breathing room in situations where there were more enemies than ants.

As Genji cut down the enemy troops, the blood drained from their bodies and darted around, attacking nearby units. Once the blood volume reached a sufficient level, it flowed past their legs and targeted the units at the rear.

Bruce's primary targets were those capable of casting spells, applying binding effects, and utilizing other supporting skills. By focusing on these individuals, Bruce aimed to cover all the troublesome points Genji would encounter, ultimately making the battle much easier for his master.

Diafthora observed this from above and transferred her portal channeling duties to the Nakras, shifting her energy to infection mode. A similar green gas coated the area. Genji sensed the additional gas rushing against his skin, attempting to penetrate his body and spread its influence.

However, this gas quickly proved ineffective against Genji. The moment it entered his lungs, the existing poison fought back and swiftly neutralized it. Both gases were infectious, but Genji's was stronger. After all, it was the result of merging two parasite inheritances, whereas Diafthora was utilizing only one.

Diafthora frowned as she felt her energy dissipate without causing any significant impact. How could the General of Infection's ability be countered so effortlessly? Moments later, Diafthora got her answer upon noticing the similarities between the gas affecting her troops.

'He managed to artificially simulate Panolis's traits? How troublesome.' 

Switching to mutation mode, Diafthora slammed her palms together, releasing a ripple that expanded downward. In response to this signal, the troops' bodies began to distort, twitching and protruding in peculiar ways. Many lost their balance due to their unfamiliarity with their changing bodies. 

Genji seized this opportunity, attacking swiftly but limiting himself to a certain range, conserving his stamina for the foe above. Genji dared do this because he trusted that Bruce could cover him and exploit this weakness in his stead.

The scent of blood intensified as Bruce rampaged from a distance, creating multiple tornadoes that tore through the crowd. Within moments, the troops stopped twitching and assumed altered forms. Many sprouted jagged spikes around their bodies, appearing randomly.

While some soldiers were hindered in combat, others were enhanced, but all gained increased resistance to Genji's poison. Diafthora anticipated the troubles posed by the infection, taking action before it exploded and rendered her army useless.

Suddenly, a circular curtain of blood rose around Genji, forming a barricade of knives that separated the reinforcements from nearby units. The walls began to spin, accelerating with each moment, eventually collapsing inward. All enemies within the area turned into minced meat, crushed inward to form a gruesome mass.

Genji carved open a path and darted toward the wall, leaping into it. As he approached, the spinning blood solidified, creating a foothold that allowed Genji to propel himself upward.

The next second, Genji appeared beside Diafthora and cleaved down with a massive cutting wave. Diafthora quickly reacted and disappeared from her position, manifesting tens of meters away.

At this moment, Genji noticed the portal below decrease in diameter, indicating its decrease in energy. Diafthora had siphoned some of its maintenance energy for herself, opening a portal a split second before Genji's attack landed.

'So portals can be used like this.'

Like a Feather

Genji dived at the falling bisected pterosaur halves, activated his weight reduction skill, and kicked off in Diafthora's direction. Genji glided through the air and slashed down, forcing Diafthora to 'teleport' again.

But before she could react, she felt a chain wrap around her ankle. Tracing its origin, she saw the other end wrapped around Genji's hand. Genji had condensed this chain with his energy when he sensed the familiar fluctuation of the portal opening.

'Get over here!'

Genji activated Berserk and yanked hard, giving Diafthora no chance to resist. In the blink of an eye, Diafthora appeared below Genji's falling saber, threatening to bisect her as it did with her mount.

Sensing the crisis, Diafthora activated Full Release, the ultimate that allowed multiple energy traits to be used simultaneously. A black and red energy halberd condensed in her hands, just in time to barely parry Genji's attack.

Her hands went numb as the weapon threatened to slip from her grasp, unable to endure the impact. Then all the force came rushing at her, propelling her downward at an insane rate.

Genji also got dragged along, causing his cheeks to flutter wildly. As they approached the ground, Genji prepared for another yank. But before he could succeed, two large wings burst out of Diafthora's back, flapping greatly to dispel the downward momentum.

Diafthora knew she couldn't endure this game of ping-pong, so she needed to break out, even at a high cost to her portal. These wings allowed Diafthora to stabilize herself, giving her time to sever the chain. The halberd was strong enough to dispel Genji's cutting intent, so it was no surprise it could destroy an energy chain.

Without the chain dragging him down, Genji spread his cloak and slowed down to a drift. While this was happening, Diafthora familiarized herself with her newly grown wings and swooped at Genji. Now that their positions had been reversed, it was time to give Genji a taste of his own medicine.

But before she could carry out her attack, a large ball of curses exploded against her left wing. Genji had fired nearly point-blank, sending both of them backward. As Genji glided away, Diafthora spiraled downward due to the loss of balance caused by her injured wing.

A crash sounded below, kicking up a dust storm as the ground caved away to form a crater. Suddenly, copious amounts of blood bombarded her. Bruce wasn't planning on letting her rest.

A heavy swing of the halberd collided against this stream, unleashing enough force to scatter the liquid. Then the blood started to rot, turning brown before Bruce lost control of it.

"Pesky creature," she growled, her bright red eyes shining through her helmet.

"That's why I keep him around," Genji answered, landing across from her and intercepting her glare.

The next moment, he flashstepped, striking with a saber covered in shadow flames and compressed cutting intent. Diafthora made a long swing, using her reach to build up more force. The two clashed, their strikes evenly matched. The ground around them shattered, but neither fighter paid attention to it and wound up their next attack.

Flashes of silver-black collided with red-black, unleashing a forceful torrent that pushed back all nearby units, creating an open perimeter dedicated only to them.

After a few more clashes, Diafthora retreated and examined her halberd, noticing the many nicks along the shaft. Although the weapon was powerful, blocking Genji's doubled sharpness boost wasn't easy.

"Hphm." The halberd emitted a black glow and shrank in length, shifting the excess materials to repair the damage. Then, she charged at Genji again, confronting his saber and defending flawlessly against his speed.

'Something's not right. She knows her weapon can't keep up like this, but she's not changing her attacks. What is she planning?'

After a few more collisions, Genji's suspicion reached a point that made him retreat. But as he flashstepped away, he burst into a coughing fit, spraying decayed blood everywhere and interrupting his movement.

As if expecting this, Diafthora instantly teleported beside him and unleashed a forceful strike. Genji parried, but the halberd head morphed around his saber, transforming into a scythe blade that gouged his abdomen.

Genji jumped back before he could sustain any more damage and readied himself to block the following strike. However, his motion was interrupted by another coughing fit, forcing his usage of Quantum Shield. Immediately after, his wounds started to rot, racking his nerves with harsh pain.

A small crack appeared on the blue translucent barrier, but it brought Genji enough time to inspect his body and find the source of his unexpected coughs.

When he looked inward, he sensed his poison losing against another energy, one with four different traits. This was the upgraded infection unleashed by Diafthora after her ultimate.

'She was stalling?' Genji realized and chugged another bottle of poison, hoping the new addition would buy him enough time to finish this battle. Next, he splashed a mutation potion on his wounds before dashing back into battle.

Using the remainder of the barrier's durability, Genji condensed more cutting intent into his saber and intensified his flames. As the barrier shattered, Genji lunged at Diafthora, swiping with all his strength. In one fell swoop, the halberd broke apart. Diafthora's eyes narrowed, and she prepared to teleport away.

Suddenly, a large mental impact crashed into her, dulling her mind and delaying her movements. Genji had activated Dominance Aura to create a brief window where his attack could deliver the finishing blow.

Unfortunately, the Nakras in the distance realized their master's danger and created a portal in her stead. The portal manifested around her head, protecting this vital point and forcing Genji to divert his strike downward. Due to the Nakra's lack of proficiency and distance, the portal was slower in transporting Diafthora, resulting in a large gash down her chest.

Diafthora appeared on the other side of the battlefield and recovered from her daze. Her glowing red eyes intensified when she realized how dangerous the situation had been.

'As expected of someone who killed two generals. We prepared a decade's worth of energy, but he managed to drain most of it in the short period we fought. It's time to use everything. Now that I have some distance, don't even think about surviving. And to be safe, I'll preserve some energy.'

With that thought, the large portal in the sky disappeared, having lost its source of power. Diafthora's mixed aura also retracted inward, returning to her normal form. She had canceled her ultimate, opting for another one. More specifically, a combination of the other three.

First, her energy surged chaotically, generating numerous unexplainable traits and destabilizing the integrity of her energy bonds. When she reached her limit, she activated Colorless, cleansing all her problems and gaining a massive boost in power. To top it off, she activated her final ultimate, designating Genji as the target.

From his position, Genji sensed a massive spike in Diafthora's power before she emitted a familiar energy, one that had become the basis for his powers.

'You have got to be kidding me! She can use her skills like that?!?!'

The energy Genji sensed from Diafthora was Shadow Energy, his very own. Everything down to the last detail was the same, a perfect copy, at least in Genji's view.

'Fuck. I might need to use a liberation for this,' Genji thought, sensing an energy intensity that greatly surpassed his own.

As the shadows cloaked her, Diafthora raised her hand and pointed at him. The following instant, Genji felt an overwhelming sense of crisis and dived aside. In his previous position, a black beam of laser pierced through the ground, leaving a smooth hole that chilled the surrounding air. It was a familiar feeling, but Genji never expected to be on the receiving end.

'Not even I can do that. Why can she unleash more power than the original?'

Genji scrambled to dodge the barrage of attacks, making every possible movement to slip through the nonexistent gaps. Stones and pebbles dug into his flesh, bouncing off after leaving their marks. Amidst this tension, a blood tentacle grabbed Genji and flung him aside, giving him some breathing room.

'She's just spamming energy attacks, not using its full potential. I might have a chance.'

Genji flashstepped consecutively, erratically changing directions to narrow the distance. Bruce also cooperated with him, clearing the way and creating distractions to obstruct Diafthora's view.

For every step Genji took, the danger he faced increased proportionally, slowly reaching a tipping point as he entered Diafthora's perception. However, Genji danced between the fine line of life and death with the utmost experience, retreating and approaching at proper moments.

Despite this, his injuries accumulated to a dangerous level, with many of his organs shattered by the rays piercing through him. Genji managed to preserve his mobility during this scuffle, but his vision was getting blurry.

Applying one last potion to himself, Genji activated Untraceable Movement and flashstepped, tearing open his wounds to appear next to Diafthora. His saber came down, clashing against a black sickle manifested by energy. Diafthora's other hand conjured an identical piece and swiped at Genji's throat.

As Genji leaned back, his armguard pulsed with a dark red glow, fueling the built-up resentment inside its cursed spirit. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared below Diafthora, breaking the ground as large fleshy tentacles erupted around her.

These appendages flung inward, seeking to bind Diafthora with all their strength. Diafthora's eyes shined with dark light, and her body exploded with sharp waves of energy, dicing the limbs before they could touch her.

Genji pushed forward, unleashing his strongest streak of cutting intent. The sickles in Diafthora's hands disappeared, merging to form the halberd she was familiar with. Her aura flared up, coating the halberd head with a faint resemblance of shadow flames before smashing the streak of light. A soft crack came from the point of impact, but she easily repaired the damage with more energy.

Genji brought his saber down again, determined to break past his limit to discharge a stronger attack. Diafthora's shadow flames got darker and stronger as she stabbed out, parrying the strike and knocking Genji's saber upward. This time, the head shattered, but Diafthora paid no head to it, letting the halberd dissipate.

Feeling the unusual impact, Genji felt another sense of crisis. Without hesitation, he broke down the stored energy in his blade, unleashing three shadow figures that darted out from his body. Then he swapped locations, disregarding how wasteful it was to move only half a meter.

However, this proved to be the correct choice as beside him, the silhouette had been impaled by a spear. Diafthora had conjured another weapon in her other hand as her first one dissipated, allowing for a lightning-fast follow-up.

Genji stepped forward, hacking down with all his strength and throwing Diafthora off balance. Diafthora's eyes widened in realization, but before she could react, Genji swapped positions again, manifesting on her right for a harsh punch to the stomach. Diafthora curled forward from the impact, but Genji had already disappeared from the corner of her eye.

Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in front of her chest and shot upward at her neck. Grey blood splattered into the air, but Diafthora had disappeared from her position, having teleported away before the strike could finish her.

However, this came at a heavy cost, with a large laceration severing half her neck. Diafthora fell onto one knee, too weakened to stand, but propping herself up with her weapon.

"Give up. It's over for you," Genji said, turning around, but making no indication of approaching.

"You wish, but I still have plenty of strength," she replied, rising and pulling out her weapon. "Enough to kill you."

"You don't get it, do you?" Genji asked after a short pause.

"Get what?" Diafthora didn't mind the chatter since she could take this time to recover. The longer this talk went on, the more beneficial the situation was for her.

"Panolis's specialty is infecting others. No matter how they defend against it, he will always find a way. The only problem is that he never had time to prepare when he fought me, leading to his demise."

"So? What are you trying to say?" The wound on her neck sealed itself, slowly regenerating as they talked.

"Using his inheritance, I developed many poisons," Genji continued, looking up at the sky with reminiscence. "Many of which allowed me to survive difficulties that should have killed me many times over."

"Get to the point already." Diafthora further familiarized herself with her copied energy and reviewed Genji's usage of shadow flames.

'This weapon...It's made from his essence."

Diafthora wondered what he was trying to say when a flash of realization hit her. 'Poison? Infecting? No, it can't be!'

But before she could voice her suspicions, her body went numb and stopped responding to her, causing her to collapse.

"Sorry, but you weren't the only one stalling for time." Then Genji waved to Bruce, asking him to bombard Diafthora from a distance, cautious of any suicidal attacks.

"Arrrrr. The King won't let you off for this!" Those were her final words before countless spears buried themselves in her body, draining the last of her life force.

[You have slain General of Assimilation, Diafthora]

[Your maximum energy has increased by 42 points. You have reached your bearing capacity.]

[You have gained: 125,498 contribution points, Diafthora's Corruption]

 

[Diafthora's Corruption]

Rating: Legendary

Type: Knowledge item

Effect: Upon use, obtain all of Diafthora's knowledge on simulation and corruption.

Note: A third inheritance. Nothing needs to be said about the impacts of using it, right?

 

With the source of the infection dead, the energy inside his body also lost its strength and was quickly devoured by his poison. Genji chugged a series of potions to neutralize it before tending to his wounds.

"Thank you. You did well," Genji praised Bruce as the nightbane returned to his side.

Bruce neighed with contentment before focusing on purifying the blood. A lot of poison had festered in their bodies so he needed to be careful.

Although ingesting poison wouldn't kill him, it would interfere with his blood control, drastically weakening his combat effectiveness. Bruce couldn't allow that since this battle was only the beginning. After all, who would help his master if he fell ill?

Half an hour later, Bruce finished processing and pushed the unsalvageable blood into vials Genji had laid out. These vials could be reused for later battles, albeit at a weaker level. Genji didn't mind since it was essentially free.

After corking the last vial, Genji approached Diafthora's mangled body and examined it. After a moment of silence, Genji smiled and said, "What a powerful opponent. It would be a waste to leave her body like that. Bruce, grab it. I think it's time we meet an old friend."

Bruce obeyed but cast a doubtful look at Genji, wondering how he could have any friends. And would they even be helpful given their current enemies?

"Alright, don't ask any more questions. You'll see soon enough. I think you will like her." Genji patted Bruce's head and brought out his stalker compass.

"That way," Genji said, showing Bruce the compass. Bruce gave Genji one last questioning look before galloping into the distance, still doubting the validity of Genji's statement.

A few minutes later, Benya, the reaper who interrupted Genji's meal appeared in the vicinity. He examined the battlefield for some time, before scratching his head in confusion.

"Weird. I clearly sensed Dance of Death but there's no Deathly Energy. Did another reaper fight here or am I imagining it? Also, where did all the blood go?"