Gaining the ability to be able to erase, no, to KILL mana-based phenomena of his choosing within a wide range, had been a very grand surprise for Skullius who had only expected a boost to his swordsmanship. Technically it was, but such a thing had shocked him almost as much as it shocked Baddan.
And the look on the Sky Watcher's face was what made the Hybrid Luman's day. The look of horror, the firm, religious conscience he held onto wavering.... it gave Skullius a swollen sense of confidence which he hurriedly suppressed.
What added to Skullius' feeling of triumph was knowing that Demion's Dance had suppressed its reawakening to only Legendary grade for his sake, and there was more to its abilities and strength.
Perhaps when it furiously ignited its potential, once this was all over, he wouldn't be limited to being to able to KILL phenomena once a day, and with such an outrageous requirement of mana – as the one which he had paid just now, nearly cleaning out his reserve in the Temporary Storage because of it.
Still, what he got right now, was perfect.
[Courting Death].
[Impermanence].
[Irisa You Whore].
The last skill had been altered to fit his needs better. Instead of being another full recovery skill, the skill had turned to replenishing his mana... and stamina, which Skullius had yet to experience in a while.
This body of his actually grew tired – unlike the Penetrator – but he usually finished battles before they could drag on. And with that, one would assume [Irisa You Whore] was facing a downgrade, but Skullius wasn't too sure.
He looked at Baddan who had a ghostly pale look on his face, his dark eyes looking to be close to adapting a brighter hue. He held his fingerless hands as his sight quaked, the wounds over his chest aching terribly.
He was shaken. He was beyond shaken.
A mix of dreadful fright, rage, and doubt were swimming in his head, and through [Greatest Mana Crafter], Skullius could sense his mana erratically bubble up and down, mirroring his emotions.
This, along with the severe wounds on the creature's body, led him to several conclusions.
'While this guy really is powerful, he is not as efficient at using his mana outside of his techniques. Its quantity and quality is usually enough for him to be viewed with respect. Typical of a Cluster world. Very few are different...' he thought.
'Then again, he has a decent level of mana reinforcement, and that, coupled with his natural physique, gives him an extremely resilient body.'
Indeed.
While Skullius was dominating Baddan right now, there was a consistent problem, along with certain factors that Skullius had taken this one second to consider before piling on attacks.
In that brief pause however...
Something flashed from the distance, hurtling towards Baddan with incredible speed.
It made way in a straight, uncompromising streak before nabbing Baddan out of sight, and retreating with him to a safe distance.
Skullius narrowed his eyes.
He recalled the shape of this figure, and its controlled cloak of mana that extended to its numerous tails.
A large Beckoned Retriever, dark-furred like the rest, but with white stripes impeding on the black whole, stood with Baddan, who was taking deep breaths at its side.
What was this now?
Baddan's trembling, bloody hand fell on the creatures furry body, and to Skullius' surprise, a thick shot of strangely soothing mana flowed into the Sky Watcher, mixing in with his own. The tussling mana of the Sky Watcher suddenly started to calm down, and on the hand that wasn't hiding in the Retriever's fur, Skullius saw fingers regrowing rapidly!
The Hybrid Luman was spurred to voice out:
"What is all this? Is this an unspoken rule? You can just welcome another fighter on your side against us?"
Baddan took several moments, his shaken emotion finally settling.
"Rules...? A rider, and his beast are one. We are bonded by flesh, mana and life force. It is natural instinct for him to rush to my side when I'm injured," Baddan answered, the 'him' in his sentence referring to the striped Retriever.
Skullius didn't know if this true or not. It didn't matter actually.
Two figures bolted to his side. Close enough.
"Is it safe to approach? This could be the perfect instance of friendly fire," Maxim said with a deadpan face. She was referring to [Courting Death], which she thought would likely slice her up if it was still active.
"It's fine," Skullius replied, and the two drew closer.
Both Maxim and Tallo looked a little worse for wear, but they were breathing, with sparks of curiosity brimming in their eyes.
"So, in light of this new... whatever it is, are we still going forward with the original plan?" Tallo asked while swiping dust off his robe's sleeve.
"Yeah. THIS doesn't change anything. It can't. I've been striking with all the power I can muster, but..."
Skullius felt his muscles spasm violently, almost pulling him in different directions from the powerful jerks.
'Right.'
This was the effect of [True Memory] from Demion's Dance, which had formerly been [Epic Memory]. Unlike before, the skill allowed Skullius to replicate fully how Demion had danced with the sword in the past, and in addition, it granted him a quarter of the original wielder's power from back then.
Unfortunately, Skullius, even with how much he had grown, couldn't handle that quarter. He could move well, dance well, but his body, apparently couldn't take the specified fraction of Demion's might. It was trying, but a great deal was missing.
It wasn't just about his body's inadequacy.
In fact, the description for [Swindling Death's Dance] which he had yearned for so long – now showing on his guidance field since Demion's Dance's awakening – hinted at many things he needed.
~~~
[Swindling Death's Dance | Lv. None]
Death is pure, and several have tried to interpret it in their own ways. Some have succeeded. Some have failed. Some have learned. But those who are born from it, fondled by it, and dance within its embrace can send forth Death's emissaries, and ward off its whole from themselves, donning an ever-evolving aegis afforded by Death's mercy.
~~~
That was it.
Quite vague, Skullius could say, but he thought on it for a bit still.
Tallo pretended not to notice the strange micro movements from Skullius' muscles.
"You can't inflict fatal wounds on him, right? Well, with that partner of his, I assume this isn't going to get any easier if you continued trying," he said instead.
"So... With the plan from before, are you ready?" Maxim asked.
"Not yet," Skullius frowned. "I need two more attacks from him. Just two. And then we'll need to immobilise him for a short time."
As Skullius had been led to believe with his epiphany from before, swordsmanship alone wasn't the only thing he could grow in. It opened the way, but he was still on track to enlightening growth. Giving his all to awaken facets of ability from all aspects, some never touched on before....
Yes, that was the goal.
Tallo rolled his eyes.
"You make some absurd demands. We just barely managed to survive that cluster of attacks from the sky. I honestly thought I was done for," he said before looking up. "And we might just be in line for another swarm of techniques."
Maxim looked up too.
Skullius had already sensed it.
The clouds above were returning, covering the sky again. He hadn't thought they'd stay gone forever anyway. They weren't parts of Baddan.
"You can't get rid of them a second time, can you?" Tallo asked.
Skullius didn't respond, which affirmed Tallo's suspicion.
"Well, whatever. We've managed to afford ourselves a breather, though I'm not sure if it's going to help much," Maxim said while whirling her arm.
Baddan seemed to fully recover.
The Retriever beside him stepped back as soon as he wore his cool once again, and it handed him the black spear which it had collected after nabbing him away, following his loss of the ability to hold it in his grasp.
The golden one had been knocked too far by Skullius.
"You have pushed me quite well... You have even managed to instil in me doubt... Distant kin..." Baddan said as he spread his furry arms. "...but as you can see, the All-Guiding Appairitoni prevails even over death, and against natural powers."
Tallo had a sparkly glint shine in his eyes mysteriously.
"Who is this Appairitoni you keep mentioning?" he asked, a strange look on his face. Something like a desperate attempt for knowledge that was backed by a bellow of his mana flashing out.
Baddan seemed to be pleased with this.
"You have no need to know... to fathom who I worship. All you need to do... is lose," he said with a deep voice, his fingers speeding, tangling and locking into themselves several times over for the most complicated seal he had done yet.
Skullius frowned. As did Maxim.
The clouds above screeched, but unlike the previous times, they didn't show something large moving within them.
Instead, in one spot, which was between Baddan and the group, a large black dot emerged.
The trio noticed a fearsome volume of mana gathering into it, and for a brief moment, they all directed much of their focus.
What was that?
Baddan untangled his hands in that time, held his black spear vertically, with its point directed against the ground, and then dropped it.
The spear descended the short distance, but then stopped a mere inch away from the dirt. It was floating.
As this occurred...
...!
Skullius, Maxim... and then Tallo a moment later than the two, rose from the ground involuntarily!
"Huh?" Skullius thought, surprised. A similar sound came from Maxim's mouth, and Tallo's, but the trio didn't have enough time to marvel at this sudden shift.
The instant they were lifted from the ground, the large black dot in the clouds drooped down like a water droplet, and fell. Then another dropped from the same point, and another, and after a second, a thick black liquid was pouring from the skies!
The liquid didn't make a sound as it fell to the ground. It drowned the entirety of these grounds in its pooling dark, rapidly!
Skullius and crew were lifted a little higher into the sky again, as they watched the building lake of darkness that roiled, whooshed and whirled, covering everything they could see!
Then, the black tide, unceremoniously blasted towards them like compressed water from a pipe, before taking shape as it approached.
Three humongous jaguar-like heads with their maws wide open, a shrill scream coming from each of these maws, smashed unforgivingly into Skullius, Maxim and Tallo, a wrathful onslaught of mana punishing them along with the fatal force.
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