Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1231: Extra Hands

"They really aren\'t enemies, master. I was watching your fight with them. The blondie is a Herald," she explained.

Erlton grunted as though constipated, but he appreciated Yuyui\'s intervention. Because of it, he sensed the suspicion in Replicus wane. The same was true for Elita.

"I must have really gotten rusty with the basic powers of Aigas then," Elita said with a disappointed look on her face. She scratched her neck. "I can hardly detect any Divine energy from you."

"I can," Replicus said. "I should have guessed you were a Herald. My first guess was that you were a Priest."

Priest was the only Class on Aigas that came with free control and generation of Divine energy, though for the most part, practitioners would only start with the ability to handle the lowest form of Divine energy, Primus.

"I don\'t have the luxury of fully expressing my powers like Jerthrax or Aingor. I\'m usually travelling among the commonfolk of Feinheath, after all, and thus I have to keep my energies in check. I\'ve grown used to this practise, perhaps a little too much so," he said with a small smile. "But I am indeed a Herald. Least among those that remain."

Erlton then turned to Elita. A complicated look appeared in his eyes.

"I didn\'t think I would see you again, Champion Elita. I had plans to scold the Purity for what they decided, but before I knew it, you had left. Now you have returned as a-"

"Indeed. I have returned. There are matters I have come back to deal with," Elita cut him off sharply.

Erlton became silent.

"And who are you?" Replicus asked the man next to Erlton.

Soidon looked to the Herald as though for help, and when he didn\'t receive any, he stuttered.

"I... I don\'t think I can recount my story a second time without proper context. I\'m not sure if it would even benefit you," he said.

"Oh, it would," said Erlton suddenly, his face looking pale. He was looking from Replicus to Skullius continuously, and his face grew increasingly grave. "I couldn\'t tell before as I was merely looking through a screen, but now that I am up close..."

"You are the same...person?"

Elita turned and looked at the Hybrid Luman body, her expression unreadable.

Replicus raised a brow.

Because of Yuyui \'vouching\' for Erlton, he had assumed that the Herald was up to speed on what was going on, but it seemed he wasn\'t. All he and Yuyui had shared was apparently that he (Erlton) was a Herald, and that Yuyui was allied with Replicus, the tall, four-armed monstrosity.

In Erlton\'s defence, he hadn\'t gotten much of a chance to ask Yuyui too many questions especially with how absurd Replicus and Skullius\' battle became with time.

How was he supposed to ask Yuyui Replicus\' identity when he was watching Skullius rip through time with his sword and later with his finger?

How was he even to assume that the two powerhouses were the same being when they seemed to hate each so much?

The \'wrong idea\' that Erlton had referenced was how he and the others (Azila, Dellan and Soidon) had mistaken Replicus\' role. After seeing how he actively made it so he attacks didn\'t harm anyone but Skullius, they had slowly started to revise and recontextualise the nature of the battle they had been watching. Perhaps Replicus wasn\'t the bad guy.

"I... I see," Erlton said and he took a deep, ragged breath.

"What exactly are you here for?" Replicus asked.

The Herald spared one short glance at Skullius and then spoke:

"It has been a long time since I\'ve heard directly from Suzamete. The last time she gave me a direct message - and it was a vague one indeed - was before the incident that occurred in Eofel," he said and gave Elita a knowing look.

She would know. That was when she, Red Rage and Skullius were forced to endure Fulina\'s Faithful Message Undeath.

Of course, because of the circumstances, Erlton wasn\'t sure if Replicus was there or not. He wasn\'t sure if Festos was real or not.

"But I received a command from Suzamete mere moments ago. I assume Aingor did too. I know of the coming chaos," he said and looked at the fixed drapes of time. "I know of the Carven and the enemies from the past. I had been trying to enlist the help of guardian beasts from various Sacred Forests, but doing so alone wouldn\'t do. So, I asked a guardian of the Tremur Forest, Karima, to act as a medium. I felt that the beasts would be more inclined to listen to other beasts. In light of the state that Aigas is in now, Karima agreed to help me. He will travel across Feinheath and enlist powerful beasts to assist in fighting the Carven. But this isn\'t enough."

Replicus nodded.

"Yeah, it\'s not. But it\'s a start," he said.

The strategy was solid.

As limited as beasts were, their help would be indispensable in the coming fight. Replicus knew there were deep, monstrous powers hiding all over Aigas, in its forests and in its seas. (That weren\'t Cluster beasts.)

Now was the best time to utilise them.

"I assume Suzamete instructed you to help me," the Progeny said.

Erlton nodded.

"And I also assume this Aingor you keep referencing is the Herald tied to the Severed Union."

"That\'s right."

"The Severed Union?" Elita asked, surprised that there was more she didn\'t know.

"I\'ll explain later," Replicus said to her. He then contemplated for a few minutes and turned

to Erlton. "So this means we have the power of the beasts and that of the Severed Union at our disposal for this."

"It would seem so," the Herald confirmed, somewhat uneasily.

Yuyui\'s hand suddenly shot upward.

"I wouldn\'t mind joining a team with the beasts! Bubbles wouldn\'t either!" she said.

"I know, but we need to plan this out thoroughly," Replicus said while Elita shook her head,

confused.

Who was Bubbles?

"I appreciate the help. For now - and I hope we have that much time - I wish to recuperate for

a little while and then I\'ll return with my forces to clear this whole mess. In the meantime, I hope you can handle everything with the beasts and this other Herald. I\'ll address them all

when I return."

Erlton was a bit stunned.

He was surprised by the fact that Replicus appreciated his help.

Was he and Festos really the same person?

The latter was too arrogant and haughty. He would have never said thank you, at least with as much meaningfulness as that which Erlton felt in Replicus\' words.

Beyond that, he was still processing why Suzamete was entrusting Aigas\' fate to this creature. Where did the trust come from? Was it even trust?

"Right. Hopefully that goes as smoothly as I hope," Erlton said, and then slapped Soidon onn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

the back. "Please take this man with you, though. The information he has... I feel YOU will take

it to heart and find it extremely useful."

Soidon sighed.

He couldn\'t help but feel betrayed.

Was he really going to have to introduce himself as a Repented Lich again?!

[Author\'s Note]

Just so you know, the EXTRA CHAPTER PROMOTION is still on for this month. You can check

the specifics in the announcement, and if you wish to participate, you can hit me up!