Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1185: Deadline

He had thought the Supreme potions would work, but was greatly disappointed when he discovered that they could only heal the user basing on what was considered their full health from the point immediately preceding their use of the potion. Essentially, a Supreme potion couldn\'t heal the damage to Skullius\' soul which was done a thousand years ago. Its current state registered as whole to the potion, likely because he functioned quite well despite his condition.

Replicus had also thought about the viability of solving his soul problem by becoming a Looming Soft Spawn - one of the evolutions he was presented before.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.1101).

Of course, this had only been a passing thought, but his phantoms agreed that if he became a Looming Soft Spawn, he would probably be able to get rid of Doom Factor 2 by growing his soul fully, naturally.

But that hadn\'t floated well with Replicus.

There was no satisfaction in that.

There was no...FULFILMENT.

It pleased the Colossus Warmoth\'s Progeny to see Skullius\' determined face turn sour at his words at his stance.

He had asserted his reasoning and it was clear that he would not change it.

He indeed was disgusted with what Skullius had become.

The influence of Fulgardt went beyond far, far beyond the Immoral\'s powers, it seemed.

It was clear that Skullius and Fulgardt had come together to create a new being - a product of those damned WILLS that Skullius hadn\'t given enough thought ever since they began popping up in the Temple of Unlusted Tears.

Yet...

\'I think it is possible. If we merge together, I think I can drive those WILLS away. In terms of will, I believe I stand on equal footing with this new Skullius...Festos. Somewhere deep within, perhaps the remnants of my true self are struggling against this too. When we merge, thoughts and all, we can regain complete control,\' Replicus thought.

That was easier said than done though.

Besides the fact that Replicus only had barely an hour and a half to beat Skullius, there was another issue he had to deal with.

Skullius also seemed to know this even though he hadn\'t brought it up.

Despite his displeasure with Replicus\' retort, he didn\'t rage on about his new ideals any further.

"A pity. I really thought I could convince you. I thought, unlike the masses of Aigas I tried to save back then, you of all people would understand; connect with me. But you\'ve decided instead to let the little tricks you have learned - guided by that glorified bonfire, no doubt - to get to your head. You are delusional, and I must kill you," he said, and unmistakable bloodlust poured out of him.

"Master, please wait!" Yuyui suddenly cried.

She looked deeply into Skullius\' eyes. She had seen no shift or twitch within them as he and Replicus were arguing.

It pained her to think about it, but there was likely no way to resolve this with words.

Twelve days ago, Replicus asking for her help with Skullius had driven her to work towards earning the Eye of Moving and arriving on the battlefield north of Aigas to save him when he had been about to die to Jerthrax.

Yuyui was thoroughly convinced that she couldn\'t replicate a miracle like that with Skullius on her own, but she had kept up hope. That was why she had begged Replicus to bring her along even though she hadn\'t finished her training, just like everyone else they left behind in the Warmoth\'s Treasury.

"Master, the past gives us strength and, in more ways than one," she said with desperation livid in her voice. Her eyes kept staring into Skullius\', hoping for a reaction. "It worked for me. I was something like an undead too when you found me. And it was only through you that I became something I didn\'t even imagine I could become. I don\'t have a great story behind me or anything. In fact, remembering where I came from didn\'t give me much happiness or any sense of accomplishment. But it completed me still. It granted me new abilities and a different perspective. Is it a bad thing to want that? You can still move forward even after taking a moment to look back. It\'s worth it."

Skullius gave Yuyui a look that nearly made her dive behind Replicus.

The Hybrid Luman then grinned, completely ignored her and swiftly turned back to Replicus. Yuyui\'s heart sank.

Her words hadn\'t reached Skullius at all.

"You have an unreal amount of confidence, fake. I wonder, say you beat me. Say you crush my resolve and my powers. How exactly do you intend to make me agree to merge back with you? The way I see it" - Skullius appraised Replicus with the guidance field - "you don\'t have the [Brisk Storm Avatar] skill anymore."

And there it was.

The greatest problem of all.

Replicus lost most of the Penetrator series powers by evolving into the Warmoth\'s Progeny. If he had retained [Brisk Storm Avatar], he would have only needed to use it himself after beating Skullius, but now...

\'I need to make him submit, wait until he reverts into the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator form and force him to use [Brisk Storm Avatar] to merge us back together. With how much stronger he appears to be now, that doesn\'t seem to be as easy as I initially thought it would be,\'

Replicus thought.

He appraised Skullius with the guidance field.

Oddly enough, the only thing he could see from it, besides the superficial details of name, race and all, was the [Greatest Celestial Counterfeit] skill and its details. No other skills

showed.

\'He\'s capable of manipulating the guidance field against me?\' Replicus thought with chilling dread. He recalled now what Serenity had said about other beings with the power to tweak the guidance field. No doubt, it was Fulgardt\'s expertise making this possible.

The Warmoth\'s Progeny clicked his tongue.

\'And here I promised everyone this wouldn\'t take too long.\'

Indeed, Replicus had reassured Pherdanta, Grim, Baddan and the others that this was a minor problem he was going to deal with on his own. He had even jested about how they didn\'t even need to so much as spectate as it would be over in a jiffy.

\'Damn it.\'

Replicus patted Yuyui\'s shoulder. Being completely ignored by Skullius was a blow she had

taken unguarded.

"It\'s alright, Yuyui. You did what you could. It\'s enough that you are here supporting me. Now stand back. I\'ll handle this the way I knew I would have to," he said to her.

The lime-haired girl looked up at him, gathered her emotions, and gave him a firm nod.

"I know you will, master," she said and then flashed away to a safe, distant spot.

Skullius chuckled.

"How touching. I would have thought she\'d offer her condolences," he mocked.

Replicus shook his head.

He spread three of his arms wide, and within his palms, an outrageous amount of Null Life Essence burst out in thick, bulbous torrents that rose into the sky violently!

The details of the charred land and cleared sky became blurry as a result of the dramatic

volume of power.

Replicus\' point was made in the next second. It showed in Skullius\' vision.

[The effect of the \'Rune of the FIRST\' has been applied on you who has been struck by the first

blow in your clash against the Warmoth\'s Progeny, \'Skullius\']

[Due to the effect of the \'Rune of the FIRST\', the Warmoth\'s Progeny, \'Skullius\' has all his

abilities increased and accelerated by 620%]

[A timer has begun]

[Due to the effect of the \'Rune of the FIRST\', if you cannot defeat the Warmoth\'s Progeny,

\'Skullius\' in thirty minutes, you will lose half of all your abilities and stats permanently]

(A/N: Refer to Master Index Ch.1173 for details).

...!

Skullius\' face contorted in shock.

"You thought I was the only one with a deadline? I\'m afraid you do too. Trust me, I don\'t much care if we lose most of the Insurgent Magnus\' powers at this point. I am strong enough for the both of us," Replicus declared.

While he had indeed thought the combination of [Maximum Reach], Reversion and the soul

arrow earlier was enough to incapacitate Skullius, that hadn\'t stopped him from making

backup plans.

He had made it a point to strike first so as to use the [Rune of FIRST] to his advantage as

Caxellac had taught him.

Abundant strength bubbled through him ferociously.

His mana.

His Null Life Essence.

His physical stats.

His skills.

Everything was amped by the collective 620% boost!

The Warmoth\'s Progeny glared at the dazed Skullius.

"I\'ll show you courtesy this once. You may strike first," he said, his arms still spread wide.

...

Skullius said nothing.

His expression of surprise vanished, replaced by eerie mirth once again.

He laughed.

"Colour me stricken aghast. I didn\'t see that one coming, Tricks upon tricks upon tricks," he

said, smacking his lips and, a nasty grin grew on his face. "But you don\'t really expect me to come and face you head on, do you? No, no. I know you are vastly superior in physicality. A simple look at you makes that all too clear. Brawling ceased to be my forte long ago. However..."

Skullius cackled and then muttered in a voice so soft that it might not have reached Replicus:

"DHYIESMYK BLACK, |Eminence]."

Suddenly, space seemed to fold outward as a great, lopsided shape of darkness bubbled

madly, forcing its way into Aigas!

This darkness then cracked and shattered like black glass, revealing something it had been

hiding in its tight, vast mass.

Something humanoid and bulky, in a brawler sort of way, now stood beside its dark-robed master. It was shiny, tall and frightening. It was nothing to take lightly.

Replicus reeled. He appraised it at once.

[Name: Stolen Angel (Preeminent Attegoth)]

[Tier: 1,000]

...