Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1352: Joining Hands (2)



Eofel.

"Do you think it's a coincidence?" Rias asked. He paid keen attention to the fluctuations of the dreadful Undeath energy blasting from the far distance. To him, it was soothing and

warm.

Fulgardt laughed.

"Not a chance. I didn't realise it before my encounter with that brat, but that thing is here because of me," he said, grinning and tinkering with what appeared to be the open air above Rias. "It was me who gutted Aigas and exposed its precious past. Boron served his role only after I opened the path. It's all delicate Direction."

"I like your optimism." Rias took a deep breath. Fulina and Cyne standing by his side looked awfully shaken. No doubt, they didn't find as much comfort in the great pressure of Undeath streaming down from beyond as they did his, which was much more familiar.

He wished he could have told them not to worry, that everything would be fine if they placed their trust in him. He couldn't. He was merely a ghost of the man they had loved.

Fulgardt chuckled.

"Perfection," he said. "Your brand of optimism proved to be sweeter than mine. If that Undead Deity had made known its presence before, I might have never doubted you to begin with."

"I had my doubts too. Previous errors don't mean much now," Rias said, and he looked at Fulgardt's hands. "Is that requirement met yet or do we still need to venture into your Labyrinth somehow?"

Fulgardt seemed terribly pleased by the question.

"Who knows? Perhaps this is the perfect chance for Direction to show who it favours more."

***

After trapping the seven enemies in the prison of condensed Undeath essence, the great Doom Knight planted its sword into the ground.

Its directive echoed through its mind every ten seconds. Soumei was a very impatient Lich. Even with the guarantee that his minions would, without a shadow of a doubt, do as he bid, he felt the need to invoke in them all a spell that constantly reminded them what he wanted done.

As most of them barely had any sense of individualism, they could hardly get annoyed, but this particular Doom Knight felt the slightest twitch deep within his altered soul.

<HMMM.>

He gazed north, where he had been driven away by that mortal and Null Lifeform. There was no need to go there anymore since he had decided to claim this whole world for his master.

His gaze shifted upwards. The blaze in his sockets condensed and his vision pierced through the many layers hiding the domain of one of the Deities here. He saw her and the many mortals bowing before her, barely moving.

But curiously, not all of them were hunched in praise.

There were two other mortals there, standing before the Deity. Oddly enough, they were dressed in a similar manner to the mortal who had played a part in driving him away from his directive up north; they were dressed in stars.

It was curious indeed. The Deity before the two turned to stare deeply at the Doom Knight. They locked eyes.

The Doom Knight found it strange that this Deity was not hurrying to make a move against him. He vaguely remembered that that was the natural course for any Deity facing a threat to their world. The second Deity on this world behaved the same.

Why were they so nonchalant?

Did they not realise how great of a threat he was, how great of a threat his master was?

"HERESY! HERESY! THIS IS NOT YOUR DWELLING, FOUL UNDEAD DEMON! UNDER THE MIGHT OF THE NEW ORDER, WE WILL PURGE YOU FROM THIS BLESSED LAND! WE ARE ITS ORDAINED DEFENDERS!"

A cacophony of nine voices screeched from the distance. They belonged to nine men and women bonded together in an unsightly pillar of flesh. However far they were, they managed to see the Doom Knight, and it saw them.

It also spotted their emissary, a bloody skeleton decked in a silver armour. It was Divine... somewhat, and it was walking towards him.

How insulting.

Since when could the prowess of Liches be challenged by mere Divine husks?

The Doom Knight was enraged.

His wrath would have fallen on Mercella's walking corpse, obliterating it with zero difficulty, but something else stole his attention.

His prison up in the sky shattered and his enemies sprang out, zooming in different directions.

This was not unexpected. The Undead minion had hoped to capture the anomalies - and their pets - in the least harmful way. He had wished to preserve them, but perhaps anomalies couldn't understand goodwill.

...

Skullius had paired with Kenno and Araeyn for the strategy.

Again, he hoped this wouldn't take long, but it probably would.

He sensed Elita, Aurolio and Uyuniya move to their own positions around the Doom Knight.

'They are cooperating well. Thank goodness. It took a while, but we got there.' "HERESY!!!" The cry drew Skullius' attention. He saw the nine shriek and Mercella hurtling towards the Doom Knight.

How tragic.

He gave Elita a knowing look. Even with her mask on, he knew she could feel his accusing gaze. But that was for another time.

Without a nano-moment more wasted, Skullius let loose twenty-five [Elusive Meta Carvers] and twenty-five [Ruining Cutters] charged to the greatest output at the Doom Knight. The former were invisible, but the latter whistled against the air while drawing thin, sharp lines towards their target.

They met the Doom Knights armour... and barely made sparks fly from its exterior.

Skullius scoffed.

'If his armour is this powerful, I can't imagine how strong his Immortal Physique is,' Skullius thought. The damned thing, unlike most of the Cavern and Uyuniya must have had one. 'Oh

well.'

With that established...

Kenno appeared right in front of the Doom Knight - courtesy of Skullius' spatial prowess.

The Unlimited Star wore a bold grin.

'Thirty-third time's a charm,' he thought and then chanted:

"Majestic Territory Expulsion, Bandit King's Boundless Collection!"

And the Territory splashed out rapidly.

Because of the properties of Kenno's Territory, he designed it to be extremely large, as it had appeared when he rushed here with Araeyn. However, for the current plan, he made it as small

as possible.

It barely covered a fifty-meter radius from him and he only dragged within it, the Doom Knight, Skullius and Araeyn.

The Territory's Imaginary GeoScape formed for the 33rd time in front of the Undead creature, but it disregarded it. It instead focused on Skullius who immediately summoned all three of

his Phantasmic Retainers.

The Noboboyama, Spirit of Blind Drowning.

The Ororoborou, Mantle of Smiting.

And the strongest one, Gajjkav, Baleful Remembrance.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

With all three formed, he immediately applied all the Seeds of the Fruit of World Myths he

had never used; those that hadn't been seen on Aigas in over four millennia!