Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1350: Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz!



On top of the heavy shroud of a sinister Undeath presence, a queer 'factor' rushed out, mapping the entirety of Aigas in less than a millisecond. To mortal experts, it might have felt like the slightest increase in the gravity of Aigas, but to Divine beings like Skullius and

Uyuniya, it was far, far worse.

It felt like being drowned in the deepest parts of an endless ocean; one with a ton of 'impurities'. An unseen pressure sought to crush them from the inside and exerted a dough- like texture over them from the outside - sticky, smooth and irresistible.

But what was more of an enigma was not the origin of this 'factor'. Skullius and Uyuniya could at once tell that it was the Doom Knight's Broader Existence.

But for what purpose was it being used?

"It's marking Aigas," Serenity answered Skullius' unspoken question.

'Marking?' the Hybrid Warmoth asked.

"Deities are Divine beings who have refined their Broader Existence to the point where it becomes tough or malleable as they wish. It ceases to be excessively vulnerable to any decent Divine phenomena and can even be divided and left behind in distant locations for various purposes. In this case, the Doom Knight has split a portion of his Broader Existence to mark Aigas. In other words, he's staking his claim on it."

Skullius was stumped.

He had been right after all!

The Doom Knight had not immediately gone on the offensive because it was considering the two Deities on Aigas at the moment. But now, it appeared it wasn't too bothered by them at all. It was even challenging them.

Skullius turned to Kenno who was by his side. Just the look of his little frown told the Hybrid Warmoth that the Unlimited Star couldn't sense the true extent of the imminent danger, but he was more concerned with something else.

"Where exactly did you encounter this thing?" he asked.

"In Edagon," was Kenno's succinct reply. He seemed to know that this would mean something to his master. He was right.

'Of course! This thing was after the souls of the Eternal Drakkens - the purest expressions of Quintess, Suzamete and Listafelle on Aigas - the anchor for this world's existence. If it was denied the chance to simply walk over to Edagon and take them without opposition, it will take them by an arrogant show of force!' Skullius thought.

For a moment, he wished Kenno was feeling the suppressive might of the Doom Knight's Broader Existence. Araeyn and Elita also seemed to be free of its overwhelming effect. Thankfully, Uyuniya was suffering, just like him. She could hardly move.

Looking at the alien woman prompted a certain thought in Skullius' mind.

'So, what she was doing earlier with her Broader Existence... Is that the discount version of what the Doom Knight is doing?'

It appeared so.

"Gather your wits, Skullius. I believe without using your War Body, you still have a variety of options. Quality options," Serenity told him with a suspicious inflection to her voice. "I know you're wary of the initial drawbacks of that body, especially when using it to fight an enemy of this calibre. I don't necessarily disagree, but if worse comes to worst, you will have no choice. Do not die here.'

Skullius nodded. Of course, he didn't want to die here.

But he had no intention of rushing in with his War Body yet, not when he had just awakened something that almost got him killed by Void. It had to have some crazy utility.

As Serenity had said, in the name of making the War Body as powerful as possible, certain trade-offs had to be made; time-related trade-offs that increased risk for greater reward. In a battle like this, that wouldn't do.

'Show me this latest Exotic Parlous Nature,' he told the guidance field, and at once, it sprung into view.

[Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz - Prayer of Void and Vain]

+Pseudo-Void+

Formed through the prime collection of Null Life abilities known as the 'Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus' which successfully analysed certain depths to Void's qualities, this Exotic Parlous Nature has most unusual properties.

+The 'Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus' had great ambitions while forging this Exotic Parlous Nature+

If used in <Void>, it can be paired with Andori and other Exotic Parlous Natures to find the boundary of a target's Broader Existence through continuous attacks over their body or soul. The number of attacks required depends on the scale of an enemy. Once the boundary is determined, the Parlous Nature severs the connection between a target and their Broader Existence for a hundredth of a Consternal.

If used in <Vain> - which is preferably done after the Broader Existence of a target has been determined - it will siphon a portion of the foreign Broader Existence, usually up to 10%, and attach it to the user's own.

Each of the siphoned pieces of Broader Existence, on top of contributing to the creation of the |Greater Cosmic Law will be used to accomplish the following:

+Unorthodoxly augment the calibre of Andori

+Encroach upon Deity-exclusive prospects

+Add or create separate reserves of Amras

+Create powerful shields than can be sacrificed in the event that the user's Broader Existence has been attacked.

+Caution+

Because of the unstable and contradictory nature of this Andori, a limited reserve of it can be produced at a time using exorbitant volumes of Amras.

Additionally, there is a 45% chance that the user's body, Broader Existence and all its components may be unable to handle the influence of Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz. Thus, it is advisable to be cautious with each use.

Upon taking in all this information, Skullius, immediately allowed his phantoms a voice. As expected - or perhaps contrary to Skullius' expectations - they had a very visceral reaction. "NO WAY! HOW ON AIGAS DID THIS EVEN GET CREATED?! JUST WHAT DID THE NIMBUS GLEAN TO MANAGE THIS?!" one cried.

"I... I genuinely thought the highest tier of Parlous Nature the nimbus could create was Second Divine Sinew! But this...? Did we underestimate our own capabilities?"

"No wonder Void wants to kill us! Did you all get this? This oddly named Parlous Nature derived the same principle Uyuniya used to make us lose touch with our Broader Existence! The means to do this... I'm pretty sure are heavily tied to Void's powers, which is why it's also dangerous for us to use!"

"How did this even happen? We made some serious alterations and sacrifices to make the nimbus powerful but... does the Nimbus have a mind of its own? Does this Greater Cosmic Law happen to be one of its ambitions? Does any one of you have an idea at all?"

Skullius let the phantoms spout all the amazement and shock he had. He had a lot of it.

Of course, their ravings convinced him that they had nothing to do with the ridiculous accomplishments of the nimbus, which made him automatically identify the next, most likely

suspect.

But he didn't dwell on that.

He instead raised one of his free hands and made to conjure the properties of Maximum

Jaqquezjaqqz.

A steady mix of puce and turquoise rose from his flesh and played a game with his fingers. As

it streamed out in shockingly thin strings, Skullius felt it.

He felt a fury that burrowed through from everywhere. The great void was everywhere, after

all.

Void was rather upset. Aigas was too, it appeared.

There was something about this Parlous Nature, Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz, that made Skullius feel as though Aigas was about to fold in on him and kill him before it was too late.

It wasn't only Aigas that regarded him with this odd intent, however.

Elita and Uyuniya had stung him with sharp looks as soon as Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz poured

from his body.

And also...

<WHAT ABOMINATION IS THIS?>Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The Doom Knight spoke, his voice heavy and no different to the sound of rusted metals

scraping against each other. His burning sockets honed in on Skullius, and suddenly, it was as

though Aigas was a canvas of squiggles and doodles; it was distorted by the might of the

Doom Knight!

<MASTER SOUMEI WILL BE EQUALLY DELIGHTED IN YOU AS A PRIZE, OR PERHAPS MORE THAN HE REGARDS THIS RICH WORLD.>