Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1316: Spectrum (2)



The Malefic Gold Hand clanked as it was united with Skullius' arm. Its thousands of parts shifted continuously, narrowing its shape until it fit the Hybrid Warmoth's hand perfectly. A solemn, white energy hissed from its pointed, protruding knuckles, mirroring its readiness for battle. Like many Treasures, Skullius could sense its will. It had long submitted to him before this point, like a majority of the Treasures in the Warmoth's Treasury.

Both Uyuniya and Elita readied themselves as well.

Skullius wiggled his fingers hidden within the gauntlet.

'We're really doing this, huh?' he thought as he focused on Elita. He could tell that she hadn't been lying before she was forced to contradict herself almost immediately. She didn't mean to fight him. Something between her and Uyuniya forced her hand. Skullius didn't know what that could possibly be until Serenity shed some light on it.

"I'm afraid there are some things you will find hard to understand when you have no have no chance of experiencing them at the moment," she said to him. "You haven't had allies in other Null Lifeforms asides from your Apostles and the creatures you've created through the Ungodly Flames of Debauchery."

She hadn't reacted as vibrantly to Elita's betrayal. Quite honestly, that fact soothed Skullius.

'Hmm. I suppose if I was in her shoes, I wouldn't hesitate to defend my kin either,' Skullius thought.

However...

"Elita," he said, "I won't be holding back on you."

The former Paladin Champion didn't answer. She merely corrected her stance and issued large volumes of Voided Death Essence from her body.

"ELITA!" the nine cried to her in that very instant, and their grating voices acted as the marker for the conflict to begin.

Revia watched as Elita, Skullius and Uyuniya suddenly vanished, leaving behind the atrocious effects of light and sound exploding everywhere. She guarded herself with Perfect Aura until the ringing and superheating air calmed and cooled. When she searched around her, she found that she couldn't see or sense Elita, Skullius or Uyuniya anymore.

"REVIA! LIVING REVIA!" the nine now called to her.

Revia looked down at them from the torn floor. Their pillar of combined flesh was swaying, their faces distorting; their eyes looked straight at her with no small amount of rage.

"Look! Look! LOOK AT WHAT YOUR BELOVED SISTER HAS DONE TO US! SHE CONFESSED HER TREACHERY! SHE DISHONOURS THE KNIGHTS AND PURITY! DON'T YOU SEE?" they cried in crooked voices. "YOU CAME SLAUGHTERING AND SPILLING BLOOD FOR HER SAKE, AND LOOK AT WHAT SHE HAS BECOME! THIS IS WHY WE STAMPED HER DOWN, WHY YOU SHOULD HELP US DO IT AGAIN!"

Revia scowled and chewed on her teeth.

How shameless.

She had expressed her intent for coming here earlier and the nine had responded to her with insults, proclaiming the new path they had chosen to take the Purity through. They had sent out the Purity Knights and Paladin Champions to kill her, but now, they were appealing to her, trying to turn her against Elita.

That was not possible, of course, but not because Elita had done no wrong.

No.

It was because Revia herself had just lost a sense of what was right and wrong.

Her reason for coming here to get answers and avenge Elita - was dashed against a rock. She had been prepared to be punished for it after, but now...

Revia wasn't sure if the Elita she had been fighting for was the same anymore. Elita looked different, talked different and even felt different.

On top of all this, the life energy thrumming within her confused her by several pegs as well. Revia wasn't sure what to make of it. It had been a while since she actually felt like she was living.

All this contributed to making sure she didn't give a remark against the nine. This, of course, angered them. Their fury was evident even with their ugly form.

"WORTHLESS GIRL! STAND THERE AND PERISH THEN! WE WILL MAKE THIS NEW ORDER, THIS NEW POWER OUR OWN STILL! WE WILL SHARPEN IT AGAINST YOU FIRST!" they shrieked and at once, Revia noticed something twitching from the corner of her eye.

She looked and immediately, her senses flared.

The corpse, rather, the skeleton, in the bulbous flesh bag from which Uyuniya had sprouted, staggered out and landed on what remained of the floor on this level. It was a blood messy, glistening and pungent, yet its armour was intact.

Even though its sockets were hollow, Revia could tell it was glaring at her, ready to pounce.

"EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS CHEATED OF HER FULL STRENGTH, HER CORPSE REMAINS DIVINE AND UNDER OUR CONTROL!" the nine screamed. "YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE, REVIA!"

Boils that were too familiar to Revia started growing over the skeleton and some semblance of flesh was layered over it, pale, and green. It was the most unhealthy-looking skin Revia had ever seen, and worse yet, it seemed to possess some kind of festering virus.

Revia wouldn't have minded before, but now that she had a living body intolerant to disease and mortal weakness, she had to be careful.

'That's got to have been Mercella, the Second-ranked Champion. I wonder, since she can use Blessing even in this state - where she's likely dead already - does that mean her body learned to use the properties of her Blessing even if she doesn't have it anymore, like I did?' came the passing thought, but Revia didn't dwell on it.

She instantly began forming her Genuine Incarnation while wondering how Elita was doing.

*

Elita was barely able to keep up with Uyuniya and Skullius. They were moving and clashing in instances that she could hardly follow; she only managed to confirm where they were once she heard the booming of the walls as they weathered their blows or Uyuniya's thrilled battle cry. They were scaling the levels to the Purity Headquarters, obliterating them with ease, though Elita could tell neither of them was going all out. This was a great comfort.

Elita knew full well what Uyuniya was capable of. She came from a richer, wider world than Aigas, which had produced hundreds of Divine beings and she had been using Voided Death Essence for more than sixty years. Uyuniya's definition of going all out, especially now with how she had transcended mortality, would be catastrophic.

But this didn't mean she would be able to beat Skullius, Elita knew, not with that hidden power he had teased against Fulgardt. She could only hope Skullius wouldn't think it necessary to draw that out.