The hazel gleam of Actuass' eyes settled on the millions of souls enjoying themselves past the hostile group that was beyond Rearren, Millisa and Revia, who was ready to fight them all.
The masked man couldn't feel the intimidating pressure from those who looked at him with absolute hatred, no doubt having some idea of who he was.
Whether it be the Bloodless Steel Phantom who glared at him cautiously, or the third ranked Paladin Champion Ruhrees boiling with a torrent of emotion; none could disturb Actuass' mental state at this moment.
This was what all his careful planning, and patience had been building up to all this time. After centuries of waiting, he could possibly ruin all the processes completed prior, if he paid attention to anything else but the goal.
...
Actuass, like Guissepo, had replaced the previous leader of the Green Neolists, who, like one would expect judging by the sheer lack of accomplishments under the Neolists' belt, had prioritized the wrong objectives, instead focusing on causing superficial terror. That seemed to have been the trend built up for centuries with the band of necromancers, as even the Purity didn't take them too seriously. The same was true for the Capital Service from back then.
However, Actuass changed that, following the few years after he joined – roughly 400 years ago.
He taught the necromancers – rather those that accepted his takeover – how to harness the power of Undeath properly, giving them access to advanced classes, and to higher comprehensions of utility that lead them to develop Undeath Concepts.
So as to stimulate rapid growth, Actuass forbade any large movements from any of them, and had them focus all their time and effort on sharpening their skills, and learning crucial fundamentals about the world.
andasnovel.com At the same time, Actuass crafted his elaborate plan that would take place centuries later, and in the period in-between this stretch, he found a willing sponsor.
The EverSword House.
They had their reasons for submitting to him, and assisting him in his plan, much of said reasons having to do with how he educated them on the history of Aigas, and Feinheath. The true, unaltered history.
The masked man was a history fanatic, unusually interested in events that took place millennia ago. He searched for, dug up, and reanimated the corpses of ancient scholars, and powerful combatants whose remains dated far into the histories he desired, and had them narrate olden tales – those thought to be false, and those considered objectively true.
Actuass gathered so many records from so many reanimated corpses, that by the time half a century passed, with him focusing solely on this subject, he held in his hands a copy of the truth of it all; the Grand Wars, the named battles, and finally... the Ashing of Time.
Decades later, in the same spirit of causing as little waves of possible with his group, Actuass travelled to many places to find the positions of all the pieces he required. Due to the enormous distance he had to traverse each time though, he had an Arch-Mage he had reanimated create for him objects he and his subordinates could use for both travel and offense, if need be.
The Arcane Teleportation Scrolls.
They surely made his tasks a lot easier, as their elemental variety worked in various situations.
Soon, the pieces Actuass needed were in place, however, said pieces were only alternatives he had intricately planned to use... because the best option he could hope for, was extremely elusive.
The single most convenient piece he needed to set a course for his objectives, couldn't be attained.
For him to acquire it, he needed something else.
Something extremely rare.
He needed a Spirit Warden.
Actuass decided against reaching his fangs outside of Feinheath in his search, quelling his ambition. Just because he couldn't find one in Feinheath, or more specifically Pelian, didn't mean he would broaden his horizon immediately in the search.
He wouldn't even dare to go through borders of Maqi, or Emeradis with how many unique, and powerful forces they had. Not yet, anyway.
Thus, Actuass turned to the alternatives he already had the keys to.
The very best among them, laid within the Labyrinth of the Yoke, the resting place of Fulgardt the Immoral, and his legacy.
With the help of his now trained, and careful subordinates, Actuass found Universal Gate Keys, objects that could open any, and all closed doors, IF they were meant to be opened, to use for entry into the Labyrinth.
The only assured way to acquire Universal Gate Keys, was to bargain with a certain faction Actuass believed to hail from the Severed Union. These individuals had their organisation base set outside of Feinheath, and hidden away almost as perfectly as the Severed Union itself, on a small island they called the Saint's Chamber.
After the Keys were acquired, Actuass had his subordinates recruit many people into their fold. The recruits who would go through the initiation – being killed and then resurrected, a part of their souls missing – and then be sent out to join various organisations, so that they could gather moderately powerful people, and use them to try and get to the legacy of Fulgardt.
Actuass forbade his high brass from participating, same as himself, because acquiring a legacy, would mean their Undeath powers had a high chance of being stripped away by the force of a Hidden Class. And Actuass needed his powers.
The accumulation of knowledge and power couldn't be wasted.
An insignificant pawn could afford their progress for another, however.
The Green Neolists targeted the strong among Advancement Stage experts to ensure that when they acquired their powers, Actuass could still control them, as he would still be vastly stronger than them before they got a handle on their new, profound powers.
If one of these pawns acquired Fulgardt's legacy, he would finally be ready.
Unfortunately for Actuass, none of those he sent were ever able to come back.
None succeeded.
None of them could be reanimated through Actuass' Outworld Attic without parts of their bodies.
Many sacrifices were made in the Tremur over decades, and in that same stretch, Actuass still couldn't find a Spirit Warden as was his main concern.
It was only when three and a half centuries passed, that Actuass' luck began to turn around. A certain man reached out to him, the leader of a group Actuass knew. The Evenfall.
The man proposed that they collude, as for his goals, he found that he lacked the numbers that the Green Neolists could produce.
The Evenfall intended to capture a few Paladin Champions from the Purity, extract their Divine Blessings, and free their favoured Deity, Boron of the Under. Sadly, Paladin Champions were not that easy for them to capture, and the lower ranked ones wouldn't normally travel alone unless in special cases.
To increase their chances, the Evenfall needed the vast numbers of undead when attacking weaker Champions, and in return, they offered something they thought Actuass needed, since, according to them, the Green Neolists' power seemed to be declining, evidenced by their sudden lack of activity.
Thus, they offered Divine power.
Primus, which they readily had access to.
Naturally, Actuass wasn't in need of this, but he agreed anyway, only after stalling for a bit, as if deliberating.
While insisting that he needed something else more specific, he revealed a little of what he truly wanted, characterising a Spirit Warden to the leader of the Evenfall.
'If you should find anyone with these characteristics, even in their relatives, let me know,' he had addressed.
The Evenfall agreed to help.
Surprisingly, Actuass' right hand woman, Fulina, had great use for the Primus supplied to them, which she applied with her Undeath Concept, and her rather morbid hobby.
While enduring the hellish wait for any result at all, Actuass arranged with the EverSword House a large event that he would need to harvest a massive amount of power, IF, he was successful in finding a Spirit Warden. They had wealth enough to enact it, and should it be crafted with enough elements, it would surely make his goal thrive, at least the hardest part of it.
As Direction would have it, the stars seemed to align not much later.
An informant from the Evenfall who paid attention to all things that had to do with the Purity, was sent to give Actuass crucial information which benefited both parties.
A new, young Paladin Champion who was grafted into the Purity, designated the fifth rank, matched Actuass' description. Her background, thoroughly researched, led Actuass to believe that he truly had what he needed, and to ensure that he kept the young lady in the intended shape he desired, the masked man volunteered to capture her himself.
After acquiring this young Paladin Champion, who was indeed Revia, the fruitless effort to retrieve Fulgardt's power became irrelevant to Actuass, and he gave up on it altogether, besides tying some loose ends related to it; Eobald, and a certain young man whom he had given his crest.
Eobald was still in his grasp, but the latter, Actuass was still curious about even now.
Following this, it just so happened that the Evenfall acquired new leadership in Guissepo who claimed to have been enlightened by Boron, the Traitorous Deity himself, and the terms of Actuass' agreement with the Evenfall changed.
Now, the event he had planned with the EverSword House needed to cater for both his, and Guissepo's needs since he volunteered to heave the burden of being a Game Master, and what it entailed. Accepting the change wasn't difficult for the masked man, since what he and Guissepo got was different, but he swore he wouldn't collude with a madman of that calibre again after this.
And this, was that time.
...
Vaguely, Actuass saw the maniacal stare of Guissepo who had been freed from his presiding restraints, urging him on earnestly with just his extravagant eyes.
'I know, you fool,' Actuass thought.
The masked man, after meditating enough in preparation for using his Undeath Concept on such an enormous scale, while at the same time distributing half of all the Undeath energy he had saved up in the past few centuries, sighed.
He pushed his palms so tight together that he almost felt them become one, and screamed at the top of his lungs, letting out every bit of his mana to morph it all into Aura, and then Nitros.
The brand of Actuass' Undeath Concept carved into his body exploded immediately, livid with the vibrant Nitros that saturated it!
Its intended effect then flared, linking to every Control Seal in sight!
...And Reverent Soul Undeath... began to overwhelm everything alive.
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