LoRG 3

When the ball was snapped every player exploded into motion The defensive and offensive lines smashed into each other with enough force to rip deep divets into the soft turf beneath their feet Meanwhile the wide receivers sprinted forward with breathtaking speed while the cornerbacks used their agility to hang like shadows across their backs

As had been the case for most of the game the defensive line won the initial conflict one of the dominant defensive players shoved down a blocker and surged forward to tackle Jake Tuck and end the play

In that tight press of bodies the reason that Jake Tuck had been one of the most talented football prospects in years shone like a beacon Rather than panic and force a throw into tight coverage he utilized his patented Tuck and runÆ He executed several short steps quickly moving fast enough past the people reaching to pull him down that even Valor was impressed

Finally Jake Tuck spun to avoid a tackle and stepped forward seeming to have a clear field in front of him Yet just as a flash of triumph could be seen on TuckÆs face a figure shot in from the side and smashed him to the ground Howling and flexing Donovan Sikes leapt up after the tackle soaked in the cheers of the crowd with arms spread wide

Turnover on downs The referee announced to further cheers Although this had originally been a relatively neutral crowd because neither team had much time to build up a fan base repeatedly seeing the Stallions offense crushed by the Vipers defense had pushed the majority of the crowd toward the Vipers Everyone liked to cheer for the winners

Hey Clark youÆre in

Valor Rend jumped to his feet and turned to look at the stoic offensive coordinator for the Vipers who had glanced over toward him while barking out his order Valor immediately flushed red Half because he was annoyingly excited to play and half because of the pseudonym that Naffur had picked for him Kent Clark Ah Now

Valor had been kept on the bench for the entirety of the game to this point The team had decent field position so they would try and secure points to bolster their lead before halftime So why were they suddenly sending him in

The offensive coordinator snorted with all of the authoritative derision that Helen possessed while training the Order Ducis with none of the power to back it up Relax youÆll just be playing slot receiver DonÆt overthink it Just run your routes and be where you are supposed to be Got it

Got it Valor nodded sharply and then jogged out onto the field to join the rest of the offense in its loose huddle

The quarterback for the Vipers was named Robb Tutt a tall man with a thick beard and even thicker arms Unlike the quick Jake Tuck Tutt generally stayed inside the pocket protected by his offensive line and tossed the football quickly out to the Vipers star running back Or just handed it directly off to the man But this time as the group stood in the huddle Tutt called a passing play

LetÆs score another touchdown before halftime Tutt said lightly The team clapped in agreement and agreement A sense of unified purpose seemed to suffuse every player as they spread outward from the huddle Everyone moved to their positions ValorÆs heart was pounding After witnessing it from the sidelines it was another thing entirely to be on the field in the game The crowd was cheering Everyone was on the same page prepared to execute so as not to disappoint everyone who watched their actions None of these people possessed image but the raw desire oozing from each of them was certainly impressive Valor knew that with a little refinement that desire could easily become an image

The ball was snapped Valor briefly held himself in check Then everyone exploded into motion The heavy breathing of the linemen nearby filled ValorÆs ears as he rushed forward directly toward the defender assigned to him He was only moving at about three fourths his normal speed but that put him decidedly middle of the pack in terms of physical gifts But he didnÆt bother to make similar restrictions on his Agility

As he approached the defender he leaned slightly to the right Immediately the defender reacted and shifted to follow ValorÆs broadcasted movement but Valor had already planted his right foot and shot off to the left For a split second Valor created almost a meter of separation from the defender as he twisted around to look back toward his quarterback

His eyes bulged when he realized that football had basically arrived at his hands before he had even realized it was coming Reflexively his hands tightened around the ball His grip was firm and immediate The feeling of the leather slapping against his hands was oddly satisfying

I have the ball The realization hit Valor only two steps later as a defender rushed up from the side and leapt at him He planted his foot again and dashed several meters upfield in an instant avoiding the defender easily However with the speed limit he had set for himself Valor quickly got surrounded and tackled at the exact middle of the field the fifty yard line

It was extremely aggravating to allow himself to get tackled but Valor supposed that there wasnÆt any way to force his way forward without getting violent Eventually the press of bodies on top of him was removed and a teammate helped Valor to his feet

As he tossed the ball away to the game staff several teammates walked up to Valor and slapped his back Tutt came over and gave Valor an encouraging headbutt

The referee waved his hands announcing the two minute warning The two teams trooped over to their benches to speak with the coaches The head coach and offensive coordinator were brimming with smiles as they beckoned Tutt over And then to his surprise the coach raised his head and said Hey Clark get over here too

Curious and still buzzing with his successful catch Valor walked over

The coach had a heavy gaze as he looked at Tutt and Valor IÆll be brief I suspected this was the case but this opponent isnÆt well coached itÆs time we stop playing so defensively Clark youÆll be playing every play you can from now on ItÆs time we make use of the best player on the field

The best player on the field Valor blinked and suppressed the rising tide of excitement in his chest He was in the Order Ducis this acknowledgment shouldnÆt give him so much joy Maybe he hadnÆt hidden his physical abilities well enough The coachÆs compliment shouldnÆt be making him flush me IÆm the best player

The coach looked at him like he was an idiot You How You are barely fast enough to make the field No the best player we have is the ball

Chapter 1266

Seeming not to care about ValorÆs disappointment the coach continued to speak with his hands on his hips Look a lot of football has to change now that we have the System Players are faster and stronger than ever and itÆs easy for one side to have a dominant advantage if the league isnÆt careful Because the cruel truth is that the superior players became even more superior with the System

Rubbing his chin the coach looked at his clipboard and then shook his head Hell who knows if football can even be played with such uneven talent There might need to be an enforced Skill or Stat parity between teams in the future But Because the fastest players got even faster itÆs the mechanics of throwing that have really changed Sure a defender can sprint the length of the field in less than twenty seconds but can they run faster than someone can throw the ball No They never could The System didnÆt change that

As things stand Tutt here can throw the ball fast enough that basically no time passes between when he throws the ball and when it reaches the receiverÆs hands In the future cornerbacks will need to study the typical catching postures of receivers in order to guard them effectively And the reason that you Clark are gonna play most snaps is that you have the most reliable catching posture of all our players

Tutt nodded and crossed his arms Noticed it in practice There are some variations in timing with other people in the way they turn but you are always very precise Makes it easy to know where to throw the ball

When the referee blew his whistle the teams went back onto the field Of the following five plays before halftime three were running plays for only a handful of yards each and one was a pass play to Valor for twelve yards The Vipers contentedly kicked a field goal for three points and raised their lead to 13 to 3 before halftime

How can I be the face of football when I canÆt even win a single game

Shit Shit Jake Tuck smashed the wooden bench in the locker room to smithereens with his fist and then looked around with red eyes for something else to break Right now he needed to get rid of some of the heat that filled his chest He was incensed even further to see his team looking at him with pity and derision in their eyes Raising his head he pointed around at the team and guffawed loudly You think this is my fault You think this would have happened if you hadnÆt all been holding me back

The coach walked over toward Jake with a stormy expression Tensions are running high but you need to calm the fuck down We have half a game still to play and there is no reason to torpedo our chances of coming back by saying something you will regret Close your mouth and take a shower Jake

The only thing I will ever regret is joining this shitty Jake began but before he could continue further the coachÆs fist flashed forward and slammed into JakeÆs diaphragm For a split second shock crossed Jake TuckÆs face Somehow the deadly danger of the System had faded from his mind recently It was only football that had consumed him And when it came to football Jake Tuck was used to being king

This blow dethroned him in a lot of ways right in front of the rest of his team

Jake stumbled and fell backward The coach looked down at him with a heavy glance Calm down We are still in this game We just need to change up the offense Throw a few more screens rely on spreading out the field horizontally to weaken their defense This isnÆt over DonÆt have a meltdown

Slowly Jake recovered the ability to breathe as his diaphragm stopped spasming His first instinct was to retaliate but his better sense quickly eradicated that desire He was still angry but he let that anger recede somewhat Yes WhatÆs really important is winning As long as we win

Seeing that the dangerous fire was slowly vacating JakeÆs eyes the coach turned to survey the rest of the players We already have the plays itÆs my responsibility that we kept getting stuffed by their defense IÆve already worked out a few that should work They are on the large board in the meeting room In the meantime as this is an inaugural game remember that there will be an extra long half time almost an hour and a half You can do what you want for most of the half but for the last fifteen minutes I want you back here warming up Understood

You are really willing to take the responsibility for this Jake thought bitterly When I canÆt

Got it coach The players nodded

Before he left the coach spared Jake Tuck another glance Then he walked back to his office Most of the other players left too leaving Jake Tuck alone with the splintered wood of the bench

Shit He muttered to himself Then he rubbed his eyes He sat that way for a few minutes until the drifting notes of music wound their way through the heavy stone walls of the stadium to reach the locker room Grumbling Jake Tuck heaved himself to his feet He didnÆt know anything about the pop star coming to perform at the half time show but it might clear his head a little

And the coach was right They werenÆt out of this game yet

So Jake Tuck walked up through the passages available to the players in order to arrive at a viewing box to watch the halftime show But halfway there Jake Tuck walked around the corner and stopped dead in horror

The hallway was lit by a line of fluorescent lights but the grey walls still made the tight space seem dark There was a body sitting slumped against the wall A pool of blood was slowly spreading outward from the body A familiar man in a crimson cloak was crouching in front of the body slowly bringing his hands to his lips

E ezekiel Jake said aloud Then instantly his hand jumped to his mouth as the otherÆs head snapped sharply upward and considered Jake Similar to the earlier confrontation with the coach Jake suddenly found himself completely out of his depth His focus had been so long on football that to suddenly be reminded that most people concerned them with killing was extremely disturbing

As the bodyguard assigned to him by the Order Valorem stood Jake couldnÆt help taking a step back Someone just died here Jake retreated another step The bodyguard just stared toward him for several seconds before speaking

It seems like a terrorist organization really plans to do something during the game Ezekiel spoke with a surprisingly cool and calm voice considering his bloody hands Although his robe was probably stained with the blood it was impossible to notice due to the color of the cloth Luckily I found one of their agents and was able to subdue him in time

You but he Although JakeÆs emotional imbalance from being crushed from the football game had caused him to panic more easily he was still someone who had survived this long in the System Very quickly his expression firmed as he looked warily over at Ezekiel and then down at the crest on the dead bodyÆs chest You are both from the Order Valorem are you not So

Are you suspicious of me Ezekiel smiled Then he reached down and lifted the bodyÆs arm Pushing down the sleeve Ezekiel revealed a strange crimson symbol that had seemed to be branded onto the bodyÆs skin As Jake looked on the bright color slowly began to fade This is the mark of those who believe in the Red Revival Does that help alleviate your suspicions

Of course Jake walked forward with more confidence now crouching next to the body It seemed that Ezekiel had killed the man by slitting his throat His blood still dripped unwillingly out of the wound We should report this to the head of the Order Valorem I know where his box is

I agree but we must be careful If there is at least one mole of the Red Revival here there are probably more Ezekiel reached up and wiped some of the blood off of his face That made Jake frown a little Why was there so much blood on EzekielÆs face Perhaps the fight had been more difficult than he originally thought

Still its a good thing that my bodyguard is powerful Jake looked down at the gruesome wound on the corpseÆs neck

Perhaps because of the dangerous situation the two rapidly came to an agreement Jake Tuck led the way through the playerÆs passageways to quickly reach the box of the Order Valorem They passed several other Order Valorem guards but after EzekielÆs warning Jake Tuck agreed and didnÆt mention anything about the body they had left behind or the threat it represented He simply awkwardly nodded as the guardÆs clearly recognized him and looked at him with pity in their eyes

Dammit thereÆs an even bigger threat than losing a game right now Jake Tuck clenched his fists If the Red Revival succeeds here and kills a large number of people Football on New Earth could be set back years This cannot be allowed to happen

Even if itÆs not me that leads the Zone as long as we give an outlet for the violence in humanity

Right as they were about to climb the stairs to the box level they were met by two figures standing in front of the exit to the stairwell JakeÆs expression slowly twisted as he noticed that their eyes were dyed completely red

Drinking the blood to prevent me from controlling them The left man said

The right man grinned Clever But it is not clever to work against me

Who what are you Jake asked The two men with red eyes ignored him Ezekiel ignored the men with red eyes continuing to walk forward up the stairs

The two men shook their heads and flicked their wrists Blades of blood blossomed into their hands and then they rushed down the stairs toward Ezekiel

Touch of Corruption EzekielÆs hands were quickly covered in a bubbling purple liquid He accelerated forward and easily dodged the strikes from the blades of blood When his hands made contact with the skin of the two men black lines quickly began to snake outward spreading the corruption to every portion of their body

Understanding that this fight was beyond him Jake could only grit his teeth and wait behind his capable bodyguard

But the two men laughed even as the black lines of corruption crisscrossed their bodies and began to swim through the crimson blood covering on their eyes Do you think poison will work Even if the hosts die the drop of blood I gave them can manipulate the deceased bodies to continue fighting Heh still thirsty for more blood Because otherwise

Cleansing Fire Ezekiel said softly Instantly the purple liquid on his hands was eradicated by white fire that sprung to life from his fingertips And just as quickly the white fire leapt from EzekielÆs hands and ripped its way through the bodies of the two men to consume the black lines on their bodies But the fire didnÆt care what it had to burn in order to eradicate corruption

The two men began to scream but that point they were already human torches

Rolling his shoulders Ezekiel continued to walk forward As the two men were reduced to charred husks and collapsed he turned around and looked at Jake Tuck You coming I donÆt know how to get there on my own

Chapter 1267

A man and a woman walked slowly down the deserted road to the stadium Cheers wafted outward from the heavy building in front of them hinting at the reverie occurring only a short distance away The woman carried a clipboard and her hand was constantly scribbling short phrases onto her thick pad of paper as they moved forward The man was carrying a heavy crystal ball It was faceted like a gem all sleek edges and flat planes There was a misty light in the core of the crystal that pulsed every few seconds

Because the flow of people already went into the interior of the stadium the outside area was completely deserted Flags waved lazily above the wide gates There wasnÆt another living soul in sight although several thousand were only a few concrete walls away

As the two individuals neared the entrance to the stadium the woman glanced down at the clipboard Then she looked at the man with an uncertain expression Straud is starting to activate his blood seals If you really are going to do this you need to get in there now But I hope you know we donÆt have to do it this way Because even if you succeed

Both sides will do their best to kill me I know The manÆs smile stretched wide and he patted the crystal in his arms fondly This baby will protect me though As long as I have a little time to get my bearings I know IÆll be unbeatable

If anything that seemed to only make the woman more anxious

Leaving the woman behind the man walked up to the ticketing gates The one staff member still remaining at his post was surprised at the late arrival but quickly scanned the manÆs ticket and waved him through After taking two steps forward the man paused and glanced back through the gates to the woman Her brow was furrowed in thought Hmm You still have something to say

Why did you choose this path The womanÆs voice was raw Her eyes were red

If anything the manÆs smile only grew crazier He shrugged Then he flicked his arm and produced an all black motorcycle helmet from an interspatial ring This Path is what the world needs right now All these Nemesai arenÆt they too polite The people of this world just donÆt understand the danger that is coming Someone needs to show them what the wrong sort of person can accomplish with the System

But Straud The woman interjected

The man silenced her with a disapproving look Straud is an extremist Sure he is willing to pay any price for his fucked up utopia but he is a zealot that ultimately believes that his cause is just That he is saving us through his actions How can that sort of man be a true villain Feared perhaps But never hated

No what the Earth needs now is someone Dauntless

During the entire half time show NathanÆs fingers were in a vice grip around the armrests of his seat he couldnÆt tear his eyes away from Mariah Jane for the entire performance To the point that his eyes probably looked bloodshot Although she was only a few short years older than Nathan she seemed as though she had been born with the maturity and poise to take the stage Every gestured glittered in NathanÆs eyes

The concert started slow with a moving power ballad about searching for someone lost due to the System Obviously none of the crowd had heard the song before but MariahÆs vocal talents and honed Skills quickly pulled people to lean in closer and listen Nathan could practically see the spectators around him being planted with seeds of interest

And the sense of loss in the song resonated with so many people No one made it through the early days of the System without scars

After the ballad ended a line of fireworks blasted off from the equipment behind the stage and Mariah instantly launched into the catchy dance beat that had earned her the popularity she had in Franksburg and Donnyton Despite the fact that she was wearing three inch heels Mariah twisted and shimmied her way across the stage to the cadence of the music while glittering explosives illuminated the field behind her As she sang she seemed to be squeezing every breath with all of her effort to create a perfect note it was immediately obvious that this young girl was pouring her whole heart into every line The stoic crowd gradually was pulled along with her passion

SheÆs so brilliant Nathan thought thinking not about her creative chops but how she shined with all the constant and nurturing guidance of the North star To him she was infinitely close to a celestial body that he admired from afar

Part of Nathan felt a vast inferiority to Mariah seeing her up on the stage with thousands of people cheering her name True they had exchanged some words after the Donnyton challenge and she had seemed relatively interested in speaking with him after he had mentioned that he could help her change her Class

But Should someone like him really talk to someone who could transform a crowd into a mass of fans like this

Very quickly Nathan shook his head Even if she becomes more popular that bright smile wonÆt change SheÆs not the type to be swayed by fame And we I knew her before all this happened so

Besides itÆs not like I donÆt have some stuff going for me too IÆm just a bit more low key

For her third song Mariah changed her style again to a pop anthem And then she finished her performance with an extended version of one of the other songs that Nathan had heard of hers previously For the last song even Tykes and Dinesh were on their feet and bobbing their head along with the beat It was only the dour fun sucker Kiersty who managed to stay seated during the entire performance

As a waving Mariah walked off the stage Nathan ignored his purposefully disinterested sister and looked at Tykes and Dinesh IÆm going to to go back and try and find Mariah while the rest of the festivities goes on Just to tell her how well the show went

The two men rolled their eyes but nodded and Nathan hurried away back up the stairs and into the concrete interior of the stadium He immediately felt a stab of panic as he wavered at the prospect of sending Mariah a message right now but they had already added each other as friends within the System so it should be fine Since they knew each other it wouldnÆt be weird to just congratulate her on the performance right

With great care Nathan took his time typing out the perfect message that was just a little funny but also slyly hinted that he would meet her right now if that was cool Upon a second read through the message seemed terrible It reeked of desperation and did an abysmal job of conveying the true message So he carefully rewrote the whole thing

The next attempt was worse Nathan kept making bad jokes and puns and it made the messages completely impossible to read without groaning Yet as he considered the prospect of trying to write something different he immediately feared that his corrections would be similarly disastrous Gritting his teeth Nathan decisively pressed the send message button before he could try again and return to his seat in tears

Several seconds passed Slowly NathanÆs skin began to tingle He looked at the empty message portion of his menu with rapidly increasing dread Because she had just exhausted herself from a concert Mariah might easily miss his message in the chaos afterward And once she returned she would likely rest and her messages would be the last thing on her mind

And when she finally finds it in several hours or even tomorrow Nathan pressed his hands against his face and shook his head His hands were starting to sweat Yet just as his mind was preparing to run through the slew of horrifying possible reactions that Mariah Jane could have for NathanÆs idiotically timed message in exacting detail a notification popped up

IÆm so glad you made it If you want IÆm just hanging around the VIP booth you can come join me

Nathan blinked Nathan replied that he would be over shortly Mariah replied back that she told the guards at the door to let him through

In a daze Nathan managed to put his feet in front of each other in a pattern that led him around to the main stairwell and managed to ascend him to the box level Despite the fact that the journey was actually quite the distance in the vast stadium NathanÆs steps seemed to propel him forward a few meters each time his foot touched the ground He was practically gliding forward in his hurry to meet Mariah

Suddenly Nathan stiffened Then he frowned as the long years of drills with Tykes jumped to the forefront of his mind This feeling violence and the scent of blood

His speed in the next few strides shot up even further He whipped himself around the corner and cracked the ground beneath him as he shot forward down the long hall It only took him ten seconds from the moment that familiar scent hit him before he arrived at the door that Mariah had told him about but in that time a womanÆs scream cut through the air

Mariah NathanÆs body was on fire This was every twisted dream and nightmare that he had suddenly made horrifyingly real

Seeing there were no longer any guards watching the door Nathan smashed it open and walked through to the interior It appeared that there had once been tables covered with a lavish spread of foods that had been knocked to the floor Broken wine bottles littered the ground But NathanÆs eyes went to the corner of the room where the people were

Four figures stood in the corner of the room Two stood with their backs to Nathan their bodies fragrant with the scent of blood They gripped long blades of blood with their hands and advanced slowly toward the two other figures One of those other figures was a man that Nathan recognized as the head of the Order Valorem His shirt was ripped exposing a gash that spurted blood down onto the soft grey carpet on the ground

And behind the Leader of the Order Valorem was Mariah Jane collapsed and unconscious against the wall A trickle of blood ran down from her scalp to her jaw

The leader of the Order Valorem seemed to be twisting but he froze as he saw Nathan His eyes were filled with confusion as he considered him But the deceptively soft sound of the two figures stepping forward yanked NathanÆs attention away from the Order Valorem man Nathan felt his extremely hot emotions abruptly become extremely cold The sweating of his palms grew more exaggerated

Almost mechanically Nathan raised his right hand and performed a Soul Shatter on the two figures that seemed to be the aggressors The powerful offensive Skill blasted forward and sunk into the back of the twoÆs skulls

Yet nothing happened The Skill caused no response The lack of effect caused Nathan to blink in shock When he went to strike at their spirits there wasnÆt anything to

A tremor ran through the whole of the stadium clearing emerging from within the building Through the windows at the far end of the box that overlooked the field Nathan could see a pillar of crimson energy surging upward from the center of the turf toward the sky But Nathan quickly disregarded that as a matter for later Even if the Red Revival was here Dinesh and Tykes were down there Kiersty wouldnÆt be in any danger

No what he needed to focus on now was saving Mariah And since these two didnÆt possess any real consciousness to damage

This time Nathan utilized Psychic Surgery His sharp touch easily penetrated the bodies of the two figures who were taking slow steps forward toward the man from the Order Valorem and Mariah They didnÆt seem to notice the danger at all as his Skill gathered at several key points in their musculoskeletal structure

They arenÆt even conscious something is controlling them Nathan felt a flash of hesitation but quickly pushed that impulse to be merciful down Still itÆs hard to believe that those marks would appear on their arms if they didnÆt agree to it

Nathan made a cutting motion with his sweaty hand His psychic touch severed their spines at the base of the skull and ripped through the ventricles of the heart The two men collapsed like paper dolls blown over like a gust of wind

Congratulations Your Skill Psychic Surgery has grown to Level 154

Congratulations Your Skill Psychic Surgery has grown to Level 155

Chapter 1268

Derek stiffened while the crowd applauded the new president of the NFL PlayerÆs Association His Survival Instincts warned him that this was suddenly a very bad place to be A glance around confirmed that there werenÆt any large movements amongst the crowd behind them In addition the guards from the Order Valorem were in place

But my instincts havenÆt let me down before Derek thought grimly Surreptitiously he looked over at his son who was obviously bored with the speeches about the future of the sport Hey Tim you need to go to the bathroom This is a good chance

But Derek fell immediately silent as one of the men behind him put his hand on his shoulder Then the man leaned forward with a serious face and whispered Running now wonÆt help TheyÆve sealed off the exits to the stadium ItÆs best for you and your son to wait and see how they make their move Then the man twisted in his seat and Derek could still hear him talking in a low voice to his companions Kiersty and Tykes stay here IÆll go find Nathan

Good The man named Tykes said with obvious relish I was worried that the Red Revival would chicken out Time to see if Decklan really flipped sides or not

Quietly the man who had spoken to Derek slipped away He took a step away from his seat and it was like his presence faded into a note so feeble it could be easily missed in the packed stadium The crowd chattered excitedly around them about what had been just announced for the football season but DerekÆs blood was ice cold

Muscle by muscle he began flexing his body to prepare for the worst The edge of anxiety that was present because of Tim being here with him remained present in his mind but those years of fighting in the dark places around Zone 1 quickly stabilized his emotions If worrying to save someone it would be the kind who ruled the Earth not the strong

With a casual flick of the wrist Derek produced three Mana Bombs from his interspatial watch and began to steadily allow his volatile Mana to flow into the tools They wouldnÆt be all that powerful if there was only the bare minimum amount of Mana but if Derek had some time they would become a real threat to anyone who didnÆt have a powerful Fate The familiar sensation of the cool metal of the bombs rolled across his palm in an even motion

Gradually the crowdÆs excitement calmed down as there was a strange lull in the halftime show Yet just as soon as the crowd seemed to notice the absence the emcee of the halftime show walked back to the podium with long strides and wide smile Although it seemed strange the crowd probably thought nothing about the pause after the representatives from the PlayerÆs Association had left But Derek did miss how the emceeÆs eyes were dyed completely red as he grinned out toward the waiting people

Derek turned to look at Tim with a strange twist at the corner of his mouth Adrenaline pumped through his veins The man behind him had been right if they controlled the emcee it was too late to run away Hey buddy you have the Hide Skill right How high is your Skill Level

Tim rolled his eyes and crossed his arms Dad hide and seek is a game they make kids play These days I

Buddy Derek said gently Faster and faster his fingers rotated the three fully charged Mana Bombs across the palm of his right hand The skin tingled as though it was charged with electricity His Mana continued to flow into a tight coil at the center of the three bombs in preparation for their use

It seemed like he had revealed some of the seriousness of the situation in his voice because Tim looked up at him with sudden confusion and worry in his eyes Derek did his best to keep his voice calm People began to mutter as the emcee just stared silently out at the crowd without saying anything Movement could be seen in the backstage area Somethings going to happen today Here Our world itÆs not an easy place any longer People might die So when things start I need you to hide alright

The emcee finally reached forward and gripped the podium with gusto Sorry to keep you waiting To finish off our time here today we have a special surprise guest to finish off the halftime presentation during this the inaugural game of American football Please join me in welcoming the leaders of the Red Revival Straud and Decklan Hyde

Even as the emcee continued to clap enthusiastically the rest of the stadium froze A few people who were completely not paying attention clapped along with the emcee but soon solemn faced neighbors silenced them EveryoneÆs gazes turned to the backstage area

Two men strode confidently forward to the stage their crimson cloaks billowing around them Behind them followed an eclectic group of bloodbeasts and strange monsters that Derek recognized from a description he had read A woman twirled a hammer in her hands and was followed by a flaming undead bear the size of a bus A large serpent floated forward with a few light flaps from its undersized wings A man with golden teeth sauntered forward while chatting quietly with a man whose body was covered in flowing liquid obsidian Finally a corpse releasing grey ash with every step sedately brought up the rear of the process

Nemesai Derek gritted his teeth but continued to speak softly to Tim As soon as the representatives from the Red Revival appeared DerekÆs Survival Instincts informed him that the danger around them abruptly grew to the point where he might die The other side was beginning to move and they didnÆt have much more time No matter what run when someone comes for you IÆll try to protect you but

Dad TimÆs eyes shouted that he didnÆt understand what was going on He had been too young during the early days of the System During those brutal few months before Villages were founded and humanity ran from monsters to stay alive He hadnÆt known fear then like he saw in his dadÆs face now

Behind them the teenage girl and the remaining man were talking as well Tykes how many can you handle

Heh all of them

now is really not the time to joke How many

Eh I can overpower them in quick succession if I only need to worry about protecting myself but if IÆm defending you probably only two

ThatÆs better Seed of Arbor Seed of Arbor Calm Before the Mana Storm excuse me What Derek had been about to try and say to Tim was interrupted as the teenage girl poked him in the back She smiled shyly at Derek and then looked at Tim She held out her hand toward Tim and in her palm was a tiny ruby that glittered as though it was alive I hate to ask but I really hope you will take this and hide it somewhere safe ItÆs really important that they donÆt find out that this is here Can you protect it

TimÆs eyes glazed over and he nodded confidently as he took the tiny ruby Derek could only shake his head but then cast a gratitude filled look at the teenage girl She smiled at him again And then as Derek watched aghast she hopped up onto the back of his seat and then leapt forward out onto the football field

The group from the Red Revival and the Nemesai accompaniment immediately noticed her movement Derek couldnÆt understand what she was trying to do She

Is starting things the man said coolly He cracked his knuckles Better not let the other side set the tempo of the engagement especially when we are already surrounded by bloodbeasts And still we need to figure out what trick they have to survive the blowback

Trick Derek asked But almost immediately he understood Even if the Red Revival group was powerful and had bloodbeasts squirreled away within the stadium the government of Zone 1 had known that this might be coming The immediate area around the stadium was clear but they had troops waiting for the slightest sign of trouble just a little way beyond that Whole swarms of drones were kept in warehouses ready to blow to pieces any bloodbeast with enough gall to show themselves

Either this group had a way of escaping that threat or whatever they were about to do would take no time at all They would act and be smacked down otherwise

But sheÆs just Derek said unwillingly The Red Revival group had ascended the stage and stood before the podium The leader in a crimson robe reached for the microphone while looking over toward the teenage girl She swung her arm as she traveled midair and a ray of red light shot forward into the ground in front of her The turf in the area surrounding the impact point began to tremble

SheÆs the Priestess of Arbor Tykes grunted

The man who called himself Straud spoke into the microphone IÆll keep this brief all of you here will die so

The ground where the teenage girl had thrown the object exploded In a split second a tree with burning leaves erupted from the ground with its branches twisting and writhing as it rapidly grew to a height of five meters The teenage girl landed on top of the tree and jabbed her finger forward toward Straud Divine Branch of Arbor

StraudÆs mouth twisted upward so you might as well struggle

One of the branches swelled to double its original size and slithered forward like a snake The man next to Straud produced a dagger and leapt forward in the air to meet the sudden attack A terrible aura of blood and killing started to swirl around the man as he rushed to intercept the powerful branch Yet right as the two attacks met an oppressive phantom of a vast flaming tree appeared in the sky above the stadium

Rather than a true tree the phantom was a treant on its trunk was a face The eyes of that face were twisted with malice as it stared down at the group who had taken the stage

Cursing the man with the dagger was smashed to the side and the attack rushed forward to Straud But rather than being intimidated StraudÆs smile slowly widened Heh Your enthusiasm is admirable but thanks for flushing yourself out so early You were one of the ones we were worried about hiding and making trouble later

The branch continued to shoot forward Straud raised his fist and smashed it directly into the attack Again the huge treant with the baleful expression appeared over the field but this time it was joined by a vast monster of blood and pain that stared at the treant with empty eyes

The wood of the podium was smashed to splinters by the intensity of the clash The stage beneath Straud cracked and groaned The Nemesai leapt backward off of the stage avoiding the reverberations from the attack But Derek knew that although the conflict looked like a draw the girl had been on the losing end

With a sharp palm Straud deflected the branch as it twisted around to strike for a second time With his robe billowing around him he raised both of his hands Worry not ye sinful masses This place will be the altar where God may descend and then he can lead us to paradise

Chapter 1269

Kiersty narrowed her eyes when she felt the obvious power of the creator of the bloodbeasts She couldnÆt exactly tell what Skill he used in his punch and palm but they were certainly potent And that image of the empty eyed monster made her wary But she snorted and gathered herself for another attack As a Priestess of Arbor she had a responsibility to step forward despite the danger She pulled back the first Divine branched and raised her left hand in preparation to make a second one

But before she could move Straud continued to speak From his pocket he pulled two objects One was a drop of blood and the other was a coin First letÆs clear the way for our Lord to descend With the formation God has given me With this Coin of Territory in my right hand I claim this area in thy name

There was a strange ripple of the air A breeze wandered through the stadium touching upon the exposed skin of everyone gathered Shivering Kiersty was filled with a strange sense of deja vu from the sudden gust of air She sensed an extremely familiar feeling that somehow felt dangerously foreign as it pressed down over the stadium It wasnÆt truly an image but it was something close The sense of strangeness seemed to reach out and grip the entirety of the structure

Kiersty pressed her mouth into a thin line she could sense that a strange barrier surrounded the stadium now that would prevent people from leaving

Realizing that she couldnÆt keep giving Straud more time to follow through with his plan Kiersty raised her hands Yet the opponent moved faster Straud smirked over at her and said And as the new liege of this place that beingÆs influence is banished

Kiersty yelped as the scion of Arbor beneath her rapidly began to wither The blow struck her just as firmly as it struck ArborÆs incarnation She tumbled to the ground and rolled for a few rotations before popping back up to her feet Her expression twisted as she saw the Bandit King had bounded gleefully toward her to strike while she was down And to her horror when she reached for the power of Arbor she felt that same strangeness in the air blocking her from reaching her Priestess Skills Yet even as KierstyÆs heart began to pound at the danger a voice cut in from the side

Do you really think the people of Earth are just gonna let you get away with this

The Bandit King cursed and rolled clumsily to the side as a huge spiked sphere of iron smashed into the place where he had been about to step Tykes hopped out of the stands and landed next to Kiersty He beckoned and the huge metal sphere flew back to smack into his hand His eyes were grim as he looked at the assembled Nemesai The air became heavy as TykeÆs image spread out to fill the surrounding air Just come all at once That will make things quicker

Yet Straud continued to seem serene as he looked down at the two people who had jumped onto the field And in my left hand a drop of blood from a true God With it shatter the shackles and free our images

His left hand tightened into a fist There was a strange rumbling and the air seemed to press down on them in an entirely different manner than the strange feeling from before Kiersty only frowned from the weight but she could feel that the individuals who hadnÆt ever encountered an image before directly passed out beneath its pressure

It was a ripple of boneless bodies collapsing in the stands The crowd which had been largely dumbstruck by the conflict on the field began to scream and panic as its weaker members fell onto those fortunate enough to endure the attack Chaos ensued as different groups began to try and help the unconscious while other people just fled The Order Valorem guards surged into motion but that was also the very moment that bloodbeasts began to pour forward out of the interior of the stadium and strike at their backs

Before they could respond to the new threat Kiersty could sense that almost a dozen of the guards had been killed As their blood splattered on the ground more bloodbeasts poured out of the bowels of the stadium

As the crowdÆs screams grew even louder Kiersty looked grimly up at a towering figure that appeared in the sky along with the vast pressure Because that figure was a weapon bared but not wielded The pressure they felt was simply the existence of the image

The figure was a man He was hairless and disdainful sneering down at the world His eyes swept across the stadium without seeing anything more of a recording than a true intelligent entity Which would help them survive it but it still didnÆt give Kiersty any good ideas of how to deal with its power

Yet just as Kiersty began to fear how the image would attack the image quickly faded away

At the same time Kiersty twisted to look in shock at the Nemesai as images far more powerful than any she had seen from them in the past erupted from their bodies Straud glanced over toward the Winged Serpent There it is done You are freed from your shackles by the grace of my God Now do your part

As it was agreed so it shall be The eyes of the Winged Serpent began to glow A huge stone wheel appeared in the sky constructed by a series of consecutively larger circles of stone that moved independently of each other Each circle was covered in carefully spaced runes with rigid designs It was a thing of constant motion filling the surrounding space with the noise of stone rubbing against stone

And gradually the different circles shuddered to a stop The light in the Winged SerpentÆs eyes increased The screams grew even louder as the bloodbeasts finally managed to escape around the guards and cut into the vulnerable crowd After a series of grinding clicks each portion of the huge wheel aligned

A line of runes spreading from the interior to the edge began to glow

The Bandit King grinned over at Tykes as his image blasted outward and pushed away TykesÆ image Still want to act cool Then how about

Ow Fuck Again the Bandit King stumbled backward while cursing But Kiersty saw how his suddenly more powerful image had dispersed most of the force of the bullet After using only a second to recover the Bandit King turned and glared over to the side Out of the tunnel to the Vipers’ locker room walked Hank Howard He idly spun his repeater in his left hand and his revolver in his right

Behind him the hunched form of the Dragon Broodmother Wivyana cantered forward with Alana upon her back Alana shared a glance with Hank and frowned They broke the image shackle on Earth all in one go Well then I suppose there is no more reason to carefully suppress our own power

Chuckling Hank Howard nodded And immediately the image pressure rolling off both of them increased Yet Kiersty couldnÆt help but worry although the twoÆs strength did jump upward a fair amount it was only a small increase compared to how much the Nemesai improved They perhaps now possessed half the strength of the NemesaiÆs image

The situation in the stands was becoming increasingly chaotic People rushed toward the exits but they skidded to a stop as bloodbeasts began to pour out and start to kill everyone in sight Hundreds of people were helplessly cut to pieces before the crowd pushing behind them realized the danger Some of the audience had enough strength to resist but they were a minority

Very few people seemed to have brought their weapons to the inaugural football game Or if they did they were content to protect themselves and their family while avoiding the bloodbeasts that sought out easier prey

The Order Valorem guards quickly moved to help but as they finally made a counter attack half of them were possessed by Straud and attacked their fellows in the back The new ambush wounded the guards from the Order Valorem even further but it wasnÆt enough to stop the Order from acting That situation gradually stabilized because those who were possessed were basically just physical puppets but the guards couldnÆt get through the crowds to stem the tied of bloodbeasts rushing out into the stands

Again and again Kiersty used her will to hammer at the strange otherness in the air that prevented her from wielding ArborÆs power But it seemed the other side really had been prepared for her She could only bite her lip and produce a javelin from her interspatial ring

Still plan on hiding Everyone should come out to play Straud glanced coolly over toward the StallionÆs locker room After a few seconds passed there was movement from within that area too

A heavy iron square of a vehicle rolled slowly out of the tunnel Standing on top of the vehicle with his arms crossed was someone who looked like a teenager but wore a crown of jade And that teenager was perhaps the owner the most potent image that Kiersty had felt today aside from Straud himself and that figure that was conjured from the drop of blood

To have another fighter who could stand against the Nemesai brought a surge of joy to KierstyÆs chest It seemed that Zone 1 really had prepared everything for this day The Jade Prince clenched his fists and looked coldly out at the assembled Nemesai Did you think I would allow you to simply run rampant in my Zone

There was the sound of engines engaging and the Jade Prince hopped down off of the heavy vehicle There was a sound of locks disengaging and steam vented out through the breaks in the paneling along the iron square Metal screeched against metal and the vehicle slowly unfolded on itself The unfolding portions twisted and opened revealing metallic hands The treads that had carried the vehicle into the stadium bent and split to become legs A hatch opened and a head slid upwards

A humanoid mecha that was wreathed in venting steam slowly pressed its large steel hands into the ground and slowly straightened Its limbs were covered with dense Engravings that pulsed with power A portion of its back popped off and a large metal sword fell into its waiting hand The sword was even more densely filled with Engravings than the mech itself to the point that the sword seemed to constantly glow

GhostÆs voice boomed out over the stadium LetÆs see then which of our sides made better preparations then

The shoulders of GhostÆs mech opened and a dozen small and sleek drones shot outward into the sky They rapidly twisted midair and shot out beams of energy toward the concentrating Winged Serpent who stood beneath its image of the stone wheel But before the beams could land Straud waved his hand and conjured a large crimson dome that protected the Winged Serpent The beams shot by the drones caused the dome to flicker but it quickly recovered its bright color after that attacks ran their course

Across the stadium the screams slowly transformed into sobbing and whimpers as more and more people were butchered by the bloodbeasts without the chance to resist The Order Valorem guards were being slowly hemmed in by the bloodbeasts but luckily almost a hundred of the ape variety of drone loped out of the locker room behind Ghost and leapt up to the stands People noticed the reinforcements and hurried down to the lower portions of the stands The bloodbeasts finally began to be beaten back

On the ground the individuals who possessed images powerful enough to near the image of Straud all lowered their heads and charged forward at the same moment The light emanating from the grinding stone wheel that floated above the Winged SerpentÆs head was growing larger every second

And with the increase in the brightness the scent of blood in the air grew positively stifling Kiersty didnÆt need a Skill to tell her that they needed to get to the Winged Serpent before it finished whatever it was doing

Ah God will certainly love your passion Straud flexed his hands The Nemesai moved to engage the group from Earth

Tykes gave Kiersty a questioning look Kiersty shook her head and gestured Tykes forward With gleaming eyes Tykes charged forward toward the Bandit King

Chapter 1270

Theodora Greyman President of Zone 1 and Chairwoman of the World Council looked fixedly at her desk Although she had plotted and bluffed her way into the position that she had thought would make her the most powerful woman in the world she had still been forced to this point She rubbed the bridge of her nose Then she sighed If we do nothing we seem inept This attack was practically announced a week in advance And our people trusted that we would handle it responsibly

Douglas just stood in front of the communication terminal and looked over to his boss The technicians at the facility were waiting on her answer

On the other hand Theodora continued Her voice was low and rough If we were to take this action now we would be firing our greatest weapon at a location that is filled with civilians it might be our only chance of breaking through that strange barrier that has appeared but the fallout will be disastrous either way If it shatters the barrier and kills some of the people within Suddenly we are beyond cold blooded we are accessory to murder It will seem like we offered the fans at the game as bait to lure out the Red Revival

You need to make the call Madam President Douglas said as he rubbed at his eyes There were deep bruise colored bags underneath both of them Every second that goes by is another second that they are trapped in that stadium with the bloodbeasts

I suppose this is what power is Being the one who has to make the bad decisions Being the one who will endure all the criticism as others speak about the incident as though this had been your plan all along Theodora breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth Is this why you walked away Randidly Ghosthound

Then President Greyman met DouglasÆ gaze Pull the trigger on Mjolnir IÆd rather be cold blooded than inept

What kept Dere from moving too suddenly was the flow of Mana into the metallic casings that he held Every second was another bit of damage that he could inflict on an unsuspecting target The coil of power Derek prepared became tighter and tighter within the Mana BombsÆ cores Almost there

Derek spun the three bombs in his hands faster and faster Around him people were rapidly fleeing to gather in his tier of the stands while the ape drones rushed out to block the pursuing bloodbeasts The fighting between the two sides was brutal neither seemed to feel pain as their bodies smashed into each other Derek had already shaken a dazed Tim awake then urged him to hop over the wall to the field and hide in a small referee alcove right below their location

The kid hesitated but quickly listened to him Seeing his son was safe Derek moved to the front of the rapidly growing group of people and stared intensely out at the action occurring on the field

The giant mecha body of Ghost orchestrated its drones to unleash a barrage of attacks against the dome around the Winged Serpent The light from that strange wheel was no longer growing any brighter but the aura it now released still made Derek feel extremely strange Underneath the array of lasers from the drones Straud walked forward with a grin and spread his arms Do you need a playmate Bloodbeast rise and serve our God

Crimson energy flowed from StraudÆs fingers to form into an orb the size of a chickenÆs egg that grew to be the size of a kitchen table within a second Then the large crimson egg popped and a rapidly growing werewolf composed entirely of blood straightened up into a standing position The liquid wetness of its claws gleamed as it twisted and stretched When it finished growing it was still smaller than GhostÆs mecha but only by a small amount

The two tall figures sized each other up Then the bloodbeast werewolf leapt forward to meet its metal opponent while howling its hatred of the living

The mecha Ghost did not wait for the large bloodbeast to attack it With an elegant twist it brought its heavily engraved sword around and slashed it at the new foe The werewolf responded quickly and both the sounds of screeching metal and burnt flesh could be heard as the werewolfÆs claws met the mechaÆs sword GhostÆs servos groaned and the arm of the werewolf bloodbeast bulged strangely

But just as quickly action elsewhere drew DerekÆs attention away Everything was happening at once

The woman who could be no one but Alana Donal riding the Dragon Broodmother that had once terrified the surrounding Zones raised her spear and charged forward Thea Glasshammer the human woman turned Nemesai hopped up onto her monstrously large undead bear and urged it to dash directly at her foe as though the two were engaging in a strange joust

The man with the large iron ball rushed forward to meet the Bandit King With burning eyes the Bandit King whipped out a wickedly serrated blade and guffawed at the man Still confident with that shit image IÆll chop you to pieces and feed you to my dogs

As they were the closest combatants Derek could feel the difference between these twoÆs images most starkly And the Bandit King was right The manÆs image was a dense one that only touched the area immediately around him but even that area was being steadily encroached by the Bandit KingÆs greedy image

Damnit my piss poor attempts at images are nowhere near enough to help in a fight like this If I hadnÆt hesitated to risk getting Level 50 Derek shook his head helplessly and looked to other areas of the field He was running low on Mana but had to wait for an opening before he was willing to step out and intervene in a battle of this tier His Survival Instincts made him incredibly aware of the hovering presence of the Grim Reaper

Images were running rampant Even the strange aura they released applied pressure to the surrounding people And Derek

Derek pressed his eyes closed I canÆt die I couldnÆt risk condensing a Fate Tim needs me Without me he but really have I been protecting him even from the normal dangers of life Am I really just afraid

Before he could fall down that mental rabbit hole Derek focused himself The bloodbeasts that had followed out the Nemesai contingent surged toward Hank Howard The man quickly spun his revolver one last time and put it away Then he raised his repeater and unleashed a slew of quick shots that hit the heads and joints of the bloodbeasts that surged toward him

One by one they dropped to the ground but they quickly seemed to recover and stand back up to stagger forward Hank frowned His image sharpened as he fluidly reached to his waist drew another clip and reloaded his repeater in a split second But as he brought the pistol to bear on his next target a sinister shadow leapt toward his back

Without panicking Hank drew his revolver and used the ivory handle to catch the knife of the assailant The two strained there for a second before Hank threw the shadow backward

Hank bared his teeth Ya really switched sides eh Decklan

Decklan Hyde didnÆt answer simply using his spare hand to whip up his crimson robe to hit HankÆs face Hank rolled backward unleashing another dozen shots to incapacitate the surrounding bloodbeasts as he hopped to his feet But when he looked around Hank frowned

Decklan had disappeared once more

The stadium shook as the largest clash of the fights on the field occurred While the Nemesai and heroes of Earth had been carefully selecting their foes the Obsidian Duke and the Jade Prince ran directly across the turf at each other The Obsidian DukeÆs image was heavy and persistent while the Jade Prince was pure and radiant Those two images seemed to physically pummel each other as the ownerÆs bodies hurried to recover from the collision

The Obsidian DukeÆs body morphed into strangely shaped weapons as he fought more like a wild animal than a human Meanwhile the Jade Prince countered every wild strike of his foe with a sharp stab that hit the weakness of the otherÆs attack In terms of image power the Jade Prince began to forcefully press the Obsidian Duke back with only a few blows

The terrible overseer of blood Straud laughed as he watched the fights develop LetÆs not let things get out of hand Beam of Lost Life

Straud raised his hand and unleashed a powerful crimson blast that shot outward at the Jade Prince The Champion tried to dodge sniping shot but the Obsidian Duke accepted a powerful blow to his chest in order to keep the Jade Prince immobile So when the beam from Straud arrived the Jade Prince had to throw every bit of his image into deflecting the Skill rather than avoiding it

Ignoring the wound inflicted on his chest the Obsidian Duke pressed both arms together and created a giant ax that he smashed into the distracted Jade PrinceÆs waist The Jade Prince was smashed backward ripping up a long strip of turf as he skidded across the ground He quickly got back to his feet but his face was pale as the Obsidian Duke rushed forward to meet him for a second round

Above them all the stone wheel of the Winged Serpent continued to spin The scent of blood in the air grew stronger

Alana and Thea crossed blows violently and they were not even although the Dragon Broodmother and the undead bear appeared to possess equal strength AlanaÆs image smashed TheaÆs to pieces Thea was knocked off of her mountÆs back and Alana was about to leap off her own to follow up when Straud turned quickly and unleashed a beam at Alana

Snorting Alana raised her spear and an almost holy radiance suffused her body The wings on her helmet grew and became as sparkling and pure as pearls She burned like the sun with all the righteous fury of an angel Her spear stabbed forward and impacted StraudÆs Beam of Lost Life directly

Alana shook and rocked backward on top of Wivanya but she endured the blow For the first time since the fights started Straud frowned You

Spread the Brilliant Word Alana said simply Golden light blasted outward from her body and touched everyone in the stadium Some of the struggling guards of the Order Valorem were bolstered with strength and began to push back the bloodbeasts in the stands The wounded Jade Prince seemed to find his footing after being touched by that light even as the Obsidian Duke released a bestial series of attacks With the assistance the Jade PrinceÆs defense slowly came together

The man with the large iron ball finally stopped being pushed back by the Bandit King with the support of that light His image grew even denser But the flickering movements of the serrated blade continued to suppress the man

When the light of AlanaÆs Skill hit him Hank Howard finally drew his revolver and pointed it out through the dozen or so bloodbeasts that rushed toward him A sneering voice could be heard from amongst there midst seeming to come from nowhere Do you really think you can hit me with that

A golden bullet zipped across the battlefield slamming into the crimson barrier around the Winged Serpent The barrier wavered then shattered to a thousand pieces Even Straud seemed shocked and he was forced to immediately jump right in front of the bullet and smashed the golden projectile with his fist

At the same time the stone wheel above the Winged Serpent seemed to activate Derek noticed that the blood around him that was dripping down the stadium stairs seemed to twitch

With the target exposed the man with the iron ball exploded into motion his image suddenly smashing past the Bandit King AlanaÆs eyes sparked as she ignored Thea and did the same Most everyone had the same thought stop the Winged Serpent

Chapter 1271

Yet DerekÆs real focus was rooted to a spot directly in front of him even as the action of the fights grew more intense While everyone else had moved to fight each other the Grey Lich had simply drifted forward its eyes always locked onto the growing crowd in the area around Derek And now it was nearing them only five meters away from him and the rest of the crowd

And as its corrosive aura became apparent people noticed the threat and began to scream

With a curl of its lip the Grey Lich raised its hand to make an attack

Before Derek could even think his way through what he should do he was midair He finally opened his right hand and spun out the three Mana bombs that he had been preparing The distance was short so they almost immediately arrived in a triangle pattern in front of the Grey LichÆs chest There was no space in DerekÆs chest for fear he needed to push that aside in order to act Because if he had not the people around him would have been killed

Sorry buddy I need to give these people a little extra time

The explosion felt just as powerful as the others that rocked the stadium in the last few minutes but Derek knew that was only because he was only a few meters away from it He stumbled backward as he landed barely able to keep his feet As the smoke cleared the Grey LichÆs surprised face was revealed

Other than the emotion displayed on its dried skull it was basically unharmed

Even as the gaze of the Lich plunged Derek into a frozen swimming pool two other figures wearing the symbol of the Order Valorem landed next to Derek It seemed that he wasnÆt the only one who had noticed the threat They gave Derek a nod of acknowledgment and then raised their Mana Rifles and unleashed a barrage of projectiles on the Nemesai

Snorting the Grey Lich waved its arm

Derek felt like a rhinoceros had lowered its horn and charged directly into his chest Before he could even grunt he was sent flying backward and smashed into the low wall at the edge of the stands He felt the stone of the wall shatter and cracks Two thumps indicated that the people from the Order Valorem suffered the same fate

Releasing a ragged breath Derek checked his situation wounded but nothing that would kill him But he had been knocked backward with enough force that his vision was swimming Still it could be worse

Of course that sentiment was ignoring the floating form of the Grey Lich that continued forward without changing its speed ItÆs fuzzy form slowly resolved itself to clarity as DerekÆs vision recovered and it neared him To bar my path Insolence

Further villain trash talking was stopped as almost everyone in the stadium looked upward to a bright surge of light that filled the sky above them A pillar of energy rushed downward to impact the stadium with all the combined force of one thousand Raid Bosses

Above him Derek heard someone shriek in horror They are shooting Mjolnir at us

Then the beam of energy landed with a sound like several beachesÆ worth of waves crashing at once There was a rumbling around the barrier that blocked the stadium off from the outside world but it was a surprisingly sedate experience The vast energy with no focus pressed against the stadium until it had run its course Then it slowly dissipated

No one could find anything to say as the greatest weapon of Zone 1 was spent without having affected the situation at all Derek pressed his eyes closed as he felt his System empowered body begin to slowly heal the damage he had sustained from the wave of the Grey LichÆs arm ThatÆs why images are so important In the System it takes a lot of energy to overcome a firm image

The Grey Lich had paused to look up curiously at the blast of energy from Mjolnir but soon continued to float forward as the attack didnÆt hold the lichÆs interest Alana had rushed past the struggling Thea toward the Winged Serpent but had been intercepted by Straud Although AlanaÆs image wasnÆt as powerful as the Jade PrinceÆs it possessed a strange sense of resilience that let her fight toe to toe with Straud with her strength burning at its brightest

But she could not pass him Her spear met his fists and could proceed no further

The man with the iron ball earned a horrible gash on his back from the Bandit King but managed to push past his opponent and arrive to help Alana But even with two of them they couldnÆt break past Straud and his powerful fists in those few short seconds And soon Thea and the Bandit King came at them from behind Under the combined assault of the three AlanaÆs brilliant image began to flag even with the manÆs assistance

The Jade Prince hadnÆt yet recovered enough to overcome the Obsidian Duke GhostÆs mecha couldnÆt quickly beat the giant blood werewolf Decklan had given up hiding and was now using two daggers to unleash a flurry of blows on Hank As such Hank didnÆt have time to fire another powerful revolver bullet

The stone wheel had begun to pulse with power In DerekÆs clearing vision he could see that drops of blood were floating in the air slowly being drawn toward the giant wheel

Derek had thought that he couldnÆt be in a sorrier state than he currently was He was wrong His whole body spasmed as he heard TimÆs voice He turned to look and saw that his son had walked out of the referee booth and was now glaring at the Grey Lich with the sort of all consuming hatred that could only be planted in a childÆs heart

Adrenaline Rush Second Wind Derek heaved himself to his feet and grabbed one of the dropped Mana Rifles from the Order Valorem guards The model was new but Derek still remembered how to use his Mana to burn through the sensor that would detect whether the holder was the true owner of the gun After all the security measure had been designed to stop petty theft not a trained professional on a chaotic battlefield

The Grey LichÆs skull turned to look at Tim Derek raised the rifle and pushed all of his remaining Mana into the chamber rather than relying on the battery He might not have much Mana remaining after the bombs but he sure as hell could condense his Mana to a denser form than the standard issue battery packs could manage

And for his son

Hey fucker take this Derek roared A bolt of cobalt energy shot forward out of the barrel The Grey Lich didnÆt even turn it simply reached up and flicked at the bullet and dissipated it instantly The lichÆs eyes were on Tim Yet as Derek frantically considered charging toward the Grey Lich in order to keep its attention away from his son another party intervened

Labyrinth of Mirrors

Strange folding panels of glass shot down from above surrounding the Grey Lich and Tim Suddenly TimÆs worried face splintered and fractured into dozens of duplicates as it was reflected by the panels Space bent and warped around the Grey Lich as though the user of the Skill was trying to bind the Nemesai

The Grey Lich shook its head in disgust A Domain with barely any image weight Did you truly think this could stop me Let me show you the unending horror of eternal life Fall to your knees worm

And as the Grey Lich spoke Derek felt it Its image blossomed like a pale lotus He felt what it would be like to live without meaning or hope of an end Eternity was a heavy weight It was a dark expanse of misery that pressed against his forehead with enough weight that he could feel his skull creaking Shivering Derek struggled to stay conscious underneath the weight of the image produced by the Grey Lich But for Tim

The reflections warped but they somehow withstood the pressure The reproduced sight of TimÆs face became somehow horrifying warped by rage despair and an alien hatred Yet it was clear that the Labyrinth of Mirrors had managed to contain the spread of the opposing sideÆs image The Grey Lich frowned How resilient But your desire to protect this child only means I will try that much harder to

This time the stadium didnÆt rumble but the strange noise carried clearly even through the sound of fighting Once more the entire populace looked upward to the sky There was no bright beam of energy this time just a silhouette Despite the distance increased Perception gave most anyone who turned their head toward the sound a perfect view of a dark figure who had impacted the dome

Cracks silently shuddered and spread from the spot where the shadowy figure had driven his right arm which was just a long spear of bone directly through the protective dome around the area The coloration of the figureÆs skin was strange it seemed to be corroded at the exterior of his body to a black grey but skin lightened along his arms to a pale white on his torso A tail flicked both at his waist and at the base of his head He was currently raising his heavy left hand his long talons stretching out awkwardly from his balled fist

Derek felt extremely strange as he looked up at the figure Because almost everyone would recognize the face No one could live in New Earth without hearing legends about Randidly Ghosthound Whether it was being as the leader of the Order Ducis the creator of Kharon the wandering city or as the individual that every powerful fighter said was the strongest on Earth Randidly Ghosthound had left a trail for others to follow and admire

He was in DerekÆs opinion also a visionary by encouraging the widespread adoption of images as part of combat training No matter how todayÆs terrorist attack ended up one thing Derek was sure of is that even Zone 1 wouldnÆt dare slacken its pursuit of images any longer Their power had been laid bare to the world

This man probably never feared condensing a Fate

The form of his body was monstrous but everyone recognized the only person who could show up now and immediately change the situation The people of Donnyton smiled The Nemesai glared Straud frowned upward While everyone watched Randidly brought down his fist and smashed it against the barrier

The stadium buzzed for several seconds from the force of the blow The cracks doubled in size in an instant as Randidly Ghosthound struck the barrier Then as everyone below watched the Ghosthound reached down and ripped several large chunks of the barrier that had completely stopped Mjolnir out of his way A path had opened for him to enter into the stadium

Even though Derek knew nothing of images he felt the change in the air almost immediately It happened in his chest and it happened to the people above him in the stands who had managed to escape from the bloodbeasts for the moment The people of Earth saw Randidly Ghosthound and felt hope It filled the air with power that lessened the furious oppression of blood that Straud had maintained thus far

Yet as Derek looked upward he frowned Yes that giant wheel is definitely pulling all the spilled blood over to it

Straud licked his teeth and then began to laugh as he looked up at the Ghosthound You Do you think you can still interfere here You are banished from this place Randidly Ghosthound Wait quietly for the portal to be opened My God has requested your body for experiments

Instantly energy flooded upward and created a vortex around the flaw in the barrier Straud unleashed another beam of energy that shot up toward the Ghosthound However this one was such a dark shade of maroon that it was almost black Derek stared upward He could feel the hope of the people here flickering like electric lights in a ghost movie as StraudÆs confidence hadnÆt been shaken at all

Yet he watched as Randidly GhosthoundÆs figure abruptly intensified Every line of his being seemed to become impossibly saturated with its color and shade His eyes burned emerald even from the almost fifty meter distance between them Every shadow on his face seemed vast and mysterious Strange black motes of energy wafted outward from his silhouette

Randidly Ghosthound floated downward and seemed to melt the barrier And when StraudÆs attack neared him he simply reached out with his huge claw and ripped it to shreds Then the Ghosthound laughed and it was a cold noise A Coin of Territory doesnÆt make you all powerful it simply gives you a home field advantage with your image And that is not enough for you to tell me what I can and canÆt do

Congratulations Straud You have surprised me with your fucking idiocy And for that you have an undivided third of my attention I hope you appreciate how much of an honor this is

Chapter 1272

As the fighting had intensified outside of the box Nathan had rushed to MariahÆs side and used his Rejuvenation Circle to address the head trauma that she had clearly suffered in whatever altercation knocked her out Luckily the wound was minor It only took three seconds underneath the careful flow of his Mana for MariahÆs eyes to flutter and open

She has such pretty eyes Nathan thought as he suddenly became too aware of how close he was to her side

For a second she was shocked and sat straight up to peer around Then she winced and brought a hand to touch the rapidly healing wound along her scalp Her eyes quickly scanned the figures of Nathan the head of the Order Valorem the two remaining men from the Order Valorem and then the chaotic mess of bodies and food that littered the ground in the suite

I are you healing me Mariah asked surprised She smiled at Nathan and his body jolted like someone had pressed a taser against his spine Thank you Nathan Ha it really was lucky that you happened to be here huh I had no idea you were a healer

I err IÆm just

Nathan was saved from having to reply further by the door being once more kicked down Two individuals rushed into the room the first one wearing a robe with the sigil of the Order Valorem and the second one Nathan recognized as the Quarterback for the Stallions that had gotten summarily crushed in the first half of the game

The first figure carefully scanned the bodies and then his gaze alighted on Nathan His eyes narrowed The quarterback seemed to freeze up as he saw all the bleeding bodies on the ground NathanÆs own attention focused as he looked at the vaguely familiar first figure who had entered the room

IÆm not sure who he is but This man is strong

But again another distraction kept the interaction from continuing just as Nathan was hesitating Mariah jumped backward and pointed to the two bodies that Nathan had earlier subdued with Psychic Surgery Shit How are they still alive

And honestly Nathan also believed their continued movement was quite bizarre The two figures who now had severed spines but still managed to struggle back to their feet Blood dripped from their hands and formed long crimson daggers Their eyes were dull and covered with a thin film of rotting blood

The head of the Order Valorem acted decisively He stepped back and offered Mariah a hand quickly causing Nathan to dislike the man even if he agreed with him in principle Quick there is a secret exit to this suite If we cannot incapacitate them itÆs best

NathanÆs fists clenched as he activated Psychic Surgery for the second time Once more he easily bypassed their nonexistent spiritual defenses and entered into the bodies of the two He could immediately feel how the bodies werenÆt relying on human anatomy to move but rather were being propped up by their very blood to keep themselves standing

Nathan found the source of the blood manipulation and blasted the mental connection to smithereens Once more the two figures twitched and slumped to the ground With an officious sneer Nathan glanced sideways at the leader of the Order Valorem No need to panic they should be finished for good now

Oh wow Mariah said as she looked at Nathan with round and admiring eyes

The leader of the Order Valorem looked nervously around as the stadium shook once again due to the combat happening out on the field even if the immediate threat is dealt with we should still leave via the passage As long as the fighting continues we will be in danger

The powerful man wearing the Order Valorem symbol walked up to the leader and whispered in his ear Suddenly the manÆs focus completely switched from escape to the point that he started glaring at the man What How can you

The two stepped off to the side and entered into a quiet conversation that they pitched low enough that not even Nathan could hear what they were saying The quarterback of the Stallions who had entered the room slowly walked to the window and looked down toward the field with a solemn expression There was a strange cracking noise outside but Nathan turned to check on MariahÆs condition once again

When she really seemed none the worse for wear Nathan released a sigh of relief He was about to strike up a conversation with her when the man looking out the window spoke in a low voice drawing the attention of everyone in the room

Is that Randidly Ghosthound

The Grim Chimera scanned the chaotic field below measuring the strength of the different sides The Nemesai were strong but the people of Earth were no slouch either He paused for a brief instant as he noticed drops of blood drifting through the air gradually gathering in front of the giant stone wheel that the Winged Serpent produced with its image

It was curious but the Grim Chimera didnÆt pursue the matter further Because he remembered the orders of the main body just kill the duplicate

The Grim ChimeraÆs frown deepened as he considered the relatively mediocre images of the Nemesai His eyes landed on Straud Better go wild while I have the chance though

You dare StraudÆs face was slowly being suffused with an embarrassed flush Even his image trembled with rage as he stared upward at the Grim Chimera You you know not who you offend

ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 105

An aura that was a thick mixture of ash desperation and small flecks of Nether spiraled in the area around the Grim ChimeraÆs body He became the center of a destructive nebula that had a powerful suppression effect on images around him Then he exploded into motion directly down at the field piercing toward Straud

At the same time the Grim Chimera felt the Nether gathering formation that the main body had empowered after finishing the most recent Path was suddenly whirring at a higher intensity than previously To the main body and therefore to his images Earth mattered It seemed that it responded to the significance of the moment quickly feeding on the expectations and emotions of the people who watched him shatter the barrier

The Grim Chimera held the reigns to this moment that would matter and it did feel good His Nether density climbed slowly but more importantly the Grim Chimera sensed that a change was coming His Nether Gatekeeper core was close to being saturated But the rising significance of the current moment seemed to make that limit seem fragile

The Grim ChimeraÆs excitement increased as he ripped through the air Just like the old days time to fight until my mind goes blank

With a self righteous scowl Straud grabbed his robe and ripped it off of him He threw the long crimson cloak to the ground revealing the sculpted physique of a bodybuilder Then he raised his bare fist and met the Grim ChimeraÆs rapid descent head on with a vicious haymaker of a punch

Which was definitely a brave decision but a foolish one The Grim ChimeraÆs bone spear hit the fist of Straud and ripped a large gash in StraudÆs knuckles In addition the momentum that the Grim Chimera had built up smashed Straud backward The ash and Nether swirling around the Grim Chimera scoured StraudÆs body in the brief instant their blows crossed

Still Straud was indeed a powerful individual He transformed the momentum into a backflip and landed lightly on the turf But the clash didnÆt slow the Grim Chimera and he impacted the ground only a split second later Straud scrambled backward and avoided the shattered area of ground Shaking himself off the Grim Chimera stepped out of the crater and walked calmly toward his target The rest of the fights were transfixed staring at the confrontation between the two most powerful individuals present

You piece of shit Straud roared A mixture of black maroon and crimson blood was gushing out of the wound on his hand at a speed and volume that seemed physically impossible for a normal human There was something at work here and it made the Grim Chimera frown From that first strike he could tell that Straud was weaker than he should be considering the weight of his image

As more and more blood left his body the Grim ChimeraÆs lip curled in derision as he understood the reason for the weakness this Straud was artificially boosting the strength of his body with his image Very quickly the muscular Straud began to appear withered and frail without the blood image pumping through him It was like a water balloon that had sprung a leak

Pretty soon he would be all rubber and flab

Worst of all the clash had been such a let down after he had just finished getting excited to run wild The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and commented spitefully What a waste of a powerful image You truly just wanted to appear strong

Hemoglobin Blitz Straud raised his hands and crossed them with his fingers twisting into rigid shapes The veritable gallons of blood that he had already splattered across the turf in the few seconds of him being wounded rose up to form strange miniature specters that rushed forward at the Grim Chimera

Activating Chimeric Avoidance the Grim Chimera didnÆt slow in the least as he walked forward

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level236

His movements were mostly small sidesteps and sharp dips of the head But with the extra 14 or so percent that the Grim Chimera could avoid the limits of the world the blood specters didnÆt have a chance to lay a finger on him As though he were the true ghost he flitted forward amongst them without ever being hit with the attack

After he passed unscathed through the swarm of specters the Grim Chimera glanced behind him in contempt IÆd love to feed you to the Implacable Price of Exodus but since Yggdrasil isnÆt here donÆt mind if I do Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 275

The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and breathed deeply of the images and energies of Earth In his chest the significance of this moment steadily grew as small slivers of everything became a part of him There was a shuddering tremor through his Nether Gatekeeper core but the Grim Chimera ignored it for now

The surrounding images shivered and then slowly waned as the Grim ChimeraÆs reach seized a little bit of strength from each of them But as the nearest source of energy the blood specters screeched and died almost instantly when the pull of the Grim ChimeraÆs breath hit them becoming small wisps of energy that were dragged into his mouth

Such was the power of the pull that even the crimson flows of blood that were being dragged through the air stilled as the Grim Chimera breathed in The flush on StraudÆs face slowly faded to paleness as some of his potency was pulled away too All that energy flooded through the Grim ChimeraÆs veins solidifying this moment even further And yet

The Grim ChimeraÆs mouth twisted He had taken from enemies and allies of Earth alike and while there were some potent energies the result was disappointing Is this all these people have I suppose this is why the main body is willing to risk their lives to force them to grow stronger

Chapter 1273

Fine then As an empowered Grim Chimera continued to walk forward a wizened and barely able to stand Straud gnashed his teeth Sheets of skin seemed to be hanging off tent poles of bone in his body If truly wish to die IÆll fulfill your wish Tragedy Titan

The last of StraudÆs image stopped propping up his physically weak body and he fell to his knees Sprawled on the ground he looked like such a pitiful creature But in the sky above the stadium a huge mass of blood with deep empty eyes flickered into existence Unlike HelenÆs Tides of Blood this creature seemed slightly more solid It was as if someone took handfuls of congealing blood and packed them on top of each other until they had created a primitive sort of sculpture

Yet despite its simple shape it was not a simple thing to gather enough blood to slowly build such a creature With every passing second the strange blood idol’s strength grew more and more oppressive as Straud brought the full weight of his image to bear on the stadium

Make this moment meaningful The Grim ChimeraÆs long tongue flicked out and ran along his teeth

With Nether swirling to new heights within his body the Grim Chimera didnÆt slow as he proceeded toward the blood idol But a quick mental calculation once more left the Grim Chimera disappointed he would reach Straud before the weakened man managed to manifest his full image Which made the Grim Chimera shake his head regretfully what was the point of a powerful image if you locked it away within yourself in order to appear healthy And unpacking it seemed like a process

Yet a figure did rush at the Grim ChimeraÆs back to buy Straud a sliver of time The Grim Chimera willingly let himself be distracted

Decklan Hyde raised his daggers and shot forward with all the broadcast intentions of an arrow And he managed to produce a rather significant amount of bloodlust that functioned quite like an image in protecting him from ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe at the periphery The Grim Chimera regarded the attacker thoughtfully From the main bodyÆs memories the Grim Chimera was distantly aware of this figureÆs history

Very quickly the Grim ChimeraÆs face twisted in disgust As an image built on the concept of survival the Grim Chimera felt very little empathy for DecklanÆs clear emotional turmoil As he approached very quickly his bloodlust began to tremble and splinter Decklan Hyde had no true resolve And the Grim Chimera felt not a little fury that after all the chances that the main body extended to this man Decklan had still let despair devour him

Snorting the Grim Chimera decided to punish Decklan for his weakness At least this would be a method to fully enjoy this freedom while he had it Plus this was a good chance to address the lackluster Skill Level of the ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Skill When he had activated it earlier he had been genuinely shocked by how low it was in comparison to his other Grim Chimera Skills

The Grim Chimera pressed with his will A new wave of energy gushed outward and suddenly a thick aura of ash and ruin spun around the Grim ChimeraÆs body He turned and coldly glared at the form of Decklan who from his immediate shock must have believed he was being relatively circumspect in his attack Yet how could such a haphazard mass of bloodlust be concealed from someone like the Grim Chimera

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 106

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 107

The grey particles in the air rapidly thickened and swirled in a vortex around the Grim ChimeraÆs body Despite the fact that he had been spotted Decklan didnÆt try to change his method of attack In fact he managed to press his bloodlust into a form dagger like form that ripped him an opening in the exterior of the Skill With several quick steps Decklan was now within ten meters of the Grim Chimera

Yet the Grim ChimeraÆs eyes were extremely cold as he watched the proceedings The suppressive effect of Nether on images became increasingly apparent as Decklan approached resulting in his bloodlust slowly wilting to nothing ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe continued to grind away

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 108

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 119

DecklanÆs foot hit the ground right at the ten meter mark and it was clear from the scowl on his face that he felt the increased pressure coming from the Grim ChimeraÆs Skill Yet he didnÆt falter After planting his foot he pressed on forward This at least made the Grim ChimeraÆs expression somewhat soften

Emotionally conflicted but willing to pay for the ticket he has already bought A broken creature Like I was

With each rotation of Nether in his body the Grim Chimera felt a strange sensation of inviolability fill him The connections and links being made as so many people watched the Grim Chimera was applying pressure to the limits of his core Cracks formed in the Nether Gatekeeper core which was alarming but almost immediately they healed back stronger than they had been before Yet the pressure internally simply kept growing

Nether surrounded him like a cloak Balanced by the main bodyÆs Aether particles began to drift outward in the surrounding area But rather than eating at the substance of space mostly the particles simply expanded the pressure on images that the Grim Chimera was releasing And witnessing the way the NetherÆs influence changed with each change in his Nether core the Grim Chimera recognized what was happening

The two energies really are so closely connected yet separate the Grim Chimera thought as he mobilized his Mantle to activate with even more intensity Aether says I am free to impress my will on the world Nether says I am free from the whims of this world

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 127

Decklan continued to rush forward through the screen of grey radiation his bloodlust being slowly ripped away by the aura of the Grim ChimeraÆs Skill By the time he finally was within armÆs reach of the Grim Chimera basically his image had been completely confined to his body Otherwise it was completely suppressed by the presence of Nether around the Grim Chimera His skin began to dry and flake from exposure to energies beyond his Endurance

And suddenly the Grim Chimera saw this figure as sad He could see how his soul had been crippled by weakness Perhaps not sensing the Grim ChimeraÆs attention Decklan swung his dagger With all the ease of an adult taking a toy block away from a toddler the Grim Chimera used his claws to knock away the weapon

The Grim Chimera tilted his head at Decklan DonÆt tarnish the memory of those who died for you by throwing your life away The greatest pride of life is that I have no yet given in to death

You Decklan began but the Grim Chimera was done with this man Abruptly the pressure from ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe shot upward as more and denser Nether fueled the SkillÆs activation

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 141

Decklan was blasted backward The Grim Chimera turned forward and considered the straightening image above the crumpled form of Straud About damn time LetÆs finish this

The empty eyed blood idol image raised its vast limbs and roared loud enough for the Grim Chimera to feel the vibration in his chest The ugly thingÆs mouth was wide enough to drive a bus through Yet the Grim Chimera simply waited while his opponent gathered its strength continuing to let ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe swirl protectively around him The blood idol raised one of its arms and pointed at the Grim Chimera

I was chosen to kill you Randidly Ghosthound Straud hissed through his yellowed teeth Truly without his image somehow supporting his health he now looked like a shriveled prune of a man with twisted arms I was created to lead us to a world that you couldnÆt Even if your image is more powerful than me your body is your weakness As long as blood runs through your veins I have dominance over you Stigmata of the Fallen Blood

A strange rune burned itself into the turf beneath the Grim ChimeraÆs feet as StraudÆs Skill activated The shadows in the huge blood idolÆs eyes seemed to slowly spin releasing a mist of maroon blood into the surrounding space that began to press up against the Grim ChimeraÆs Mantle of Catastrophe The drops of blood floating in the air between the two auras wriggled and then were smashed into nothing The pressure from the image was significant enough that the Grim Chimera frowned as he looked down at the sigil beneath his feet

The Skill was reaching up to seize the blood in his body and it found nothing

perhaps this would have been a better Skill to use if I wasnÆt just an image the Grim Chimera thought awkwardly His ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe swirled outward and pressed away the little bit of the effect that reached him as an image Again the Grim Chimera was rather uncomfortable with the outcome after how much he was looking forward to a serious clash with his life on the line like he had experienced on the frontlines To be shown this

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 153

The Grim Chimera gritted his teeth and walked icily forward pushing forcefully through the image Idly he wondered what would have happened even if the main body had been here to be hit with the Skill Most likely the main body would have relied on the presence of Nether in his body to forcefully suppress the Skill and the image behind it

Or even let his Nether laced blood be stolen by Straud then watched as the potent blood of Randidly Ghosthound corrupted and destroyed any bloodbeast that it touched The Grim Chimera supposed that if one was making a weapon to reliably suppress the main body targeting his blood wasnÆt a bad choice But it did display a rather poor understanding of the main bodyÆs abilities

StraudÆs face was blank as he realized that his Skill had no effect on the Grim Chimera You what hmph do you think this is it

With a wave of his hand Straud conjured a hunched bloodbeast that picked up his frail body The bloodbeast quickly dashed about twenty meters backward and arrived before the glowing light of the Winged SerpentÆs stone wheel Raising his hand Straud used his image to empower the process of whatever the wheel was trying to accomplish The drops of blood that had been drifting from the bloodsoaked stands became streams that rapidly wound together in front of the wheel

Yet no matter how much blood flowed to that spot the gleaming item at the core of the formation was still only a single wet drop of blood But the power building up in that drop began to grow much more quickly with StraudÆs assistance

This Lifeblood Accumulation was supposed to open a door for God but it is also His will that you die There will always be more people we can bleed to create a bridge to Him but I wonÆt let this chance to end you pass Now die Stigmata of the Fallen Blood

This time the Grim Chimera swayed when he was hit as the unleashed image and Skill combo was much more potent with the assistance of this Lifeblood Accumulation the Skill was able to target the image of his blood and not just the physical blood that he didnÆt possess But just like the Grim Chimera had expected the Nether suppressed the Skill to the point that its influence was negligible

If youÆd just used your image to fight against mine rather than empowering a Skill that is not effective against me perhaps this would have been interesting You werenÆt worthy of even a sliver of my attention MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality

The Grim Chimera stepped and the powerful muscles of his legs propelled him to a spot right next to Straud

The Grim Chimera impaled StraudÆs tongue with his bone spear and forced the tip out of the back of his skull Then he flicked his wrist and ripped open the side of StraudÆs head He felt Straud continuing to persist by hiding his consciousness in his blood but the Grim Chimera stretched out his left hand

NetherÆs Caress

Congratulations Your Skill NetherÆs Caress has grown to Level 126

As black flames covered the Grim ChimeraÆs talons he smothered the existence known as Straud before the other could understand what had happened

Chapter 1274

DecklanÆs eyes were wide as he watched this monstrous version of Randidly Ghosthound swipe his black flame covered claws and scythe through the remnants of StraudÆs body Instantly he felt the connection in blood that signaled the oath between himself and Straud disappear That heart wrenching decision he had made to abandon the Earth after being convinced that Straud had a way to return to a Pre System Earth suddenly became pointless as his benefactor bled out on the ground

For several seconds Decklan stared blankly at the collapsed body Rather ironically the Winged SerpentÆs ritual done at StraudÆs behest continued unabated resulting in a vast quantity of blood that had been within StraudÆs body being pulled up into the lifeblood accumulation

Even his blood became fuel for whatever the ritual was creating

As one the bloodbeasts that had been harrying the people in the stands simply collapsed into splashes of blood That liquid was seized too all flowing in thick streams toward the ritual Yet Decklan felt a small bit of satisfaction seeing clearly from the NemesaiÆs expressions that their mood was not good as they watched their ally slaughtered

Yet as soon as he noticed it Decklan couldnÆt help but want to collapse and cry What did it matter if others shared his misery Is this has everything really been for nothing My hesitations my decision just wiped away by a single claw

With the largest antagonist that was trying to harm the people of Earth defeated there was almost a full minute of silence as people glanced around and waited for someone to step forward and take charge in the aftermath Those who were weak knew it wasnÆt their place Those who were strong All of them refrained from moving hastily as they looked out at Randidly Ghosthound who was simply standing there and looking down at the crumpled form of the Straud

It seemed unlikely that anyone would forget the thirty seconds it had taken Randidly Ghosthound to slay the foe who had tormented the Earth for so long

Clenching his fists Decklan pressed his eyes closed Without even bothering to understand the situation to understand why this is really the best for anyone you just came through and crushed everything

are you Randidly Finally Alana Donal stepped forward and broke the strained silence Her expression was puzzled as she considered the glowing core at the heart of RandidlyÆs body I obviously recognize the features of your image but your skin And how do you maintain such a pristine avatar form

Randidly Ghosthound twisted and looked at Alana as though noticing her for the first time Interest flashed in his eyes but mostly Decklan noticed that the color of his eyes was darker than he remembered The green there was the color of growth in the deep forest wild and slightly feral

Randidly waved his extremely dangerous looking clawed hand Some of StaudÆs blood trickled off his talons and was pulled upward by the ritual IÆm not the main body IÆm just the image of the Grim Chimera sent here to clean things up a bit And as for the strength of the image

Scratching his chin the Ghosthound seemed rather genuinely stumped Practice I guess

Practice Decklan hissed bitterly through his teeth After being smashed backward by the force of the GhosthoundÆs aura his wounds had finally recovered He reclaimed his dagger and looked enviously over at the powerful figures of Randidly Ghosthound and Alana Donal who both had the potent whiff of images around him Would the world really be this fucked up if all it takes to overcome these trials was practice

Just an image Her voice was surprised and Alana seemed to consider that revelation carefully Her eyes flashed with intensity as she scanned the Ghosthound once more this time with a more discerning look I suppose that means that Randidly has other such images within him that are just as powerful as you

Yup but IÆm probably the strongest when acting alone IÆm the Grim Chimera image

Meanwhile DecklanÆs blood had simultaneously frozen and turned to acid His hand gripping his dagger spasmed tightening his grip on the blade to the point that it was painful to maintain

If this was just a single image how powerful had Randidly Ghosthound become And did he really believe that the reason they hadnÆt become as powerful as he had was just because they werenÆt trying hard enough Some of the deep regret that Decklan had carried since being swayed by Straud fell away

You truly donÆt understand the struggles of those who are not blessed Randidly Ghosthound Decklan began spinning his dagger across his still trembling fingers You donÆt understand the lengths we need to go to in order to survive You donÆt understand what itÆs like to be constantly at the mercy of anotherÆs whims

Alana continued to study the image in front of her as though looking would allow her to understand the trick to separating an image from her body The Grim Chimera responded to AlanaÆs searching look with a vicious grin of invitation Want a quick spar

AlanaÆs mouth twitched IÆll pass for now Besides we still have the Nemesai to fight Even with the barrier down it will take some time for reinforcements from Zone 1 to arrive

IÆll pass the main bodyÆs orders were unfortunately clear These Nemesai should be problems that the people of Earth should resolve without our assistance Then this image that was so arrogant with its words cracked his neck and looked around as though bored If thatÆs it IÆll be heading out You take care of the rest

The people of Earth felt their hearts flutter Decklan could see many people staring at Randidly GhosthoundÆs image with a deep yearning in their lives After only having heard stories about the man in the past finally seeing his power it left a deep impression on the hearts of all of the witnesses

Decklan hated Randidly like he had rarely hated in the past What You interfere to stop the Red Revival yet you abandon these people to fight against the Nemesai on their own Is what you really care about just making sure no one chooses a different path than you Randidly

Meanwhile the Nemesai looked at Randidly GhosthoundÆs image with solemn expressions of caution Alana was the one who took the news the best Upon hearing what the Ghosthound said she simply nodded No worries we can take it from here Thanks for the assist

The GhosthoundÆs image shook his head and muttered quietly to himself CanÆt believe I had to leave in the middle of the ogre fight for this Then his body simply began to dissipate fading slowly out of existence

To arrive quickly was one thing but to leave just as fast after killing someone was quite another Riding on the same wave of helpless fury that seemed to be drowning him for the last two years Decklan raised his dagger and whipped it forward After his early attack it was clear that he wouldnÆt accomplish anything with such a strike Yet Decklan refused to simply allow this image to intervene and then escape without having to face the truth of what he had done

Perhaps he had expected that the blow would be harmless but Decklan hadnÆt expected the dagger to simply pass through the imageÆs fading body But as a shadow still hanging in the air the image turned to Decklan and raised an eyebrow You again What

The dismissiveness in the Grim ChimeraÆs voice vicious

You Decklan was so angry his mouth failed to find the words to describe how sociopathic Randidly Ghosthound was For several seconds his jaw worked soundlessly then all the hatred and self pity and anguish he had felt since TerraÆs death came gushing out This was our chance DonÆt you get that Straud had made contact with a powerful being that could change things Free us from the System And you

Decklan clenched his jaw so hard that the bone popped You are so threatened by anyone else but yourself possessing power that you cut us off from every other person in the Nexus If you hadnÆt have tried to maintain your complete dominion over this Earth the sky is the limit for what we could accomplish The things Straud showed me he was born on a different Earth With that power we could have solved the violence We could have saved so many lives If you

The shadowy image shook his head sadly He waved his hand and black particles of energy that had once created the illusion that it was anything more than an image spiraled up to form an oval in the air The air within that opal slowly darkened and then buzzed like a television set with a slightly wrong reception

But as that buzzing cleared the oval became something like a window through which everyone on the field could see There was a figure clearly visible through the oval sitting quietly with lifeless eyes But what was most immediately attention grabbing about the figure was the fact that the manÆs own hands were blacked and corrupted tight around his own throat

Perhaps no one else recognized that man immediately but how could Decklan who had thrown his lot in with Straud in search of an escape not recognize the face of the man within the oval of darkness

That is that the same figure that appeared earlier to destroy the limits on the NemesaiÆs images Alana asked in confusion RandidlyÆs image simply nodded

Meanwhile Decklan threw himself at the disappearing image Because he didnÆt have his daggers he simply slashed with his fingernails like they were claws WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO HE COULD HAVE SAVED US HE COULD HAVE TAKEN US BACK TO A WORLD WHERE

Decklan passed through the fading image and hit the ripped up turf while breathing heavily A second later the image dissipated The oval that showed the face of StraudÆs god hung there for several more seconds before also fading to nothing

Terra Decklan whispered

Gradually the stadium once more woke back up to the situation The remaining guards from the Order Valorem had a short discussion and then left a few to guard the surviving populace while the rest trooped down onto the torn up field

But Decklan just stared blankly at the ground Once again everything had come to nothing

Dauntless sat up in the announcerÆs box and looked down over the assembled forces of both sides as RandidlyÆs image departed The box was empty likely deserted by the people originally in here during the worst of the bloodbeast attack So now it gave him the perfect vantage point to look over the stadium and consider his next move

Almost helplessly he shook his head I know the Nemesai still have one more surprise ready but it wonÆt be enough Do I have to intervene on their side But that would mean I would be lumped in with them And as long as it is clear that I am a separate evil the Nemesai will continue to be a distraction especially after their actions today

Dauntless glanced down over the bleak looking stands The last of the blood was being sucked away now by the Winged SerpentÆs ritual leaving the stands oddly clean despite the earlier chaos But broken and near mummified bodies were strewn everywhere Probably ten thousand people had been butchered in the chaos of the initial attack and due to the blood seal on some of the people from the Order Valorem that turned them traitor Although populations continued to sharply grow with the emergence of Bubble Cities this would sharply grab the attention of the Zones

It was the largest loss of life on New Earth to date

Then Dauntless glanced over toward the Nemesai They will be forced to retreat but wonÆt suffer many losses beyond that perhaps

Then Dauntless glanced upwards Underneath his helmet his face split into a wide grin Theodora Greyman you are a saint hahahaha

Chapter 1275

Perhaps the other Nemesai were relieved to see Randidly GhosthoundÆs image leave but the Winged Serpent felt sweat trickling down its scales as activity slowly resumed in the powerful manÆs absence The forces that would kill the Nemesai took the chance to take a breath and gather themselves

But the Nemesai needed every extra second they could get

Randidly Ghosthound had kept everyone enthralled as the Winged Serpent was rather helplessly continuing to maintain the ritual that he had gotten from Straud When the Ghosthound had arrived the Winged Serpent had largely continued to operate the ritual just to maintain the status quo and not draw unnecessary attention And it continued to do so during the GhosthoundÆs pursuit of Straud it became clear that this image hadnÆt been concerned with them at all and the Winged Serpent had been content with watching

But now The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked out nervously Its image had been so tightly wound through the powerful ritual that extracting it quickly was impossible Which mattered not so much when Randidly was present because the Ritual would finish quite soon but now became important as seconds ticked by and the Winged Serpent could only watch and flap its wings

It would still finish soon but not soon enough

It glanced to the right and met TheaÆs gaze it seemed their minds were on the same page It was time to play their last card It probably wouldnÆt completely even the scales but it would buy them the time they needed

Bringing her fingers to her lips Thea released a loud whistle that was so loud and piercing that everyone looked over toward her Then she reached into her pocket and pressed the switch while the other Nemesai rapidly gathered around her in a loose circle As they did so the Winged Serpent examined the individual fighting capabilities of the Nemesai The Bandit King and the Grey Lich were largely unharmed after the initial scuffle although it seemed that finally seeing Randidly Ghosthound and finally understanding why the Nemesai on Earth were so cautious had been something of a shock to the Bandit King His face was pale and he kept shaking his head

Thea looked slightly scorched and scratched but would be fine The girl was hardy Meanwhile the Obsidian Duke was clearly nursing his right leg as he hobbled back over to join his allies The Jade Prince watched him with an intense gaze the entire time As the guards from the Order Valorem flooded onto the field it seemed like the Jade Prince was preparing to make his move

The Winged Serpent let the lids of its eyes slide to half closed About thirty more seconds if we can just hold out until the wheel of destiny aligns and this damn ritual

The secret platform beneath the turf behind the stage exploded upward along with another wave of shimmering fireworks as the Nemesai had planned But rather than the teeming flood of Raid Bosses that the Winged Serpent had expected to be released perhaps only a dozen hopped out of the lowered platform and looked cautiously around

More monsters soon followed but it was nowhere near the number that it should have been There were some lesser monsters and some lieutenants that accompanied the Raid Bosses but these monsters didnÆt possess a very high Level they were chosen for their ability to reproduce A handful wouldnÆt make much difference

With the shuddering sound of mechanical servos engaging the platform the Nemesai had prepared was lifted up to the level of the stage And as it did so everyone saw that two wounded men were facing off against three powerful monsters surrounded by the corpses of Raid Bosses

As the platform shuddered to a stop the central monster spun forward and brought its brass saber crashing down at the two men

Twenty seconds The Winged Serpent recognized at least one of the figures although the symbol on their shoulders made his intestines twist These were representatives from the Order Ducis and the man standing in front with his fists raised was Naffur

NaffurÆs fist blasted outward and met the RakshasiÆs strike directly The Level 86 monster was actually on the losing end of the contest of Strength and took several steps backward In his offhand Naffur brought up a long knife and slashed forward cutting a deep gash into the RakshasiÆs side Naffur settled back into a defensive stance and slowly surveyed the situation on the field

The Rakshasi that the Nemesai had struggled for months to find and convince to join them was covered in wounds They were less serious than the wounds on the two men from the Order Ducis but the bodies of the raid bosses around them was a testament to the high cost that had to be paid in order to wound them to this degree At this point it seemed like the special present the Nemesai had prepared had been completely neutralized by the Order Ducis

Our destiny on this day is not auspicious Fifteen seconds

Alana hopped of the Dragon BroodmotherÆs back and the beast loped forward to assist against the Rakshasi The fanged monster screeched again and raised its two heavy brass sabers to ward off the new threat But Wivanya didnÆt slow down at all While the two began to fight in a series of lightning quick clashes between saber and wing Alana spun her spear and began walking directly toward the Winged Serpent

Despite the fact that they were on opposite sides the Winged Serpent had a deep respect for Alana Donal She was not a foe that could be distracted from the truly important points in a fight

Thea raised her hammer as fast as she could but Alana stomped her foot and accelerated faster than Thea could adjust The Bandit King was there in AlanaÆs path but he seemed to still be a little numb from seeing the capability of Randidly Ghosthound when AlanaÆs Sunstrike smashed into his jagged blade his attack was held at bay and she slipped past

Ten seconds

There was no one between Alana and the Winged Serpent AlanaÆs eyes were a burning orange as she adjusted the shaft of her spear so that the tip was pointed to lance through the Winged SerpentÆs scaled torso The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked outward lightning fast and tasted the air It would likely survive the experience of AlanaÆs brutal attack but him being wounded would make their escape that much more

A burning light appeared in the sky above the stadium From a soft yellow illumination became a harsh white The shadows quickly lengthened and darkened Just as AlanaÆs foot touched the ground to launch her the last ten or so meters and strike at the Winged Serpent a giant beam of energy shot downward like a judgment from a furious deity The Winged Serpent was struck dumb for almost a full second and then hummed in pleasure

The time from shooting Mjolnir and the beam arriving at this location is likely about two minutes That foolish President likely fired before the Ghosthound even arrived to finish off Straud and based on the different brightness she paid a dear cost to up the power in the hopes that this version of Mjolnir would be able to break the barrier Heh humans always your own worst enemy

The Winged Serpent lowered its gaze and met the eyes of Alana That orange fire raged furiously in her eyes with an intensity that made the Winged Serpent slightly nervous she would be swayed by emotion But she twisted her foot and dispersed her forward momentum The moment hung their as the Winged Serpent even took the chance to smile slyly at Alana Her returned gaze was cold despite the flames

Her leg flexed and she threw herself up into the air her image rapidly gathering around her body The wings growing from her ValkyrieÆs helmet stretched wide into the air

ThatÆs why I always wanted to be a Nemesis not a Champion The Winged Serpent thought contentedly as he looked up at Alana preparing to meet the blast of energy that was heading toward the Stadium DonÆt need to worry about protecting civilians

Five seconds

Hank Howard spun the cylinder of his revolver and then flicked it into place When he fired his pistol a blast of energy ripped upward and smashed into the side of MjolnirÆs descent To the Winged SerpentÆs surprise the bullet and image had impacted the attack in the right position to shift MjolnirÆs descent very slightly to head directly toward AlanaÆs position

That took a lot of control Hank Howard is also dangerous the people of this planet are growing quickly

One of the men who had been fighting the Grey Lich waved his hands and several twisted mirrors spun upward to hem in the radiant energy spreading along the periphery of the attack The mirrors seemed to strain to contain it but no blast of force smashed outward as the hammer descended to the area right above the stadium As long as the main beam could be contained there likely wouldnÆt be any ancillary damage

Of course if the beam were to smash into the turf and collapse the many sub basements beneath the stadium several of the surrounding blocks were likely to also collapse from the aftershocks This area would become a swamp of melted concrete and molten steel Setting aside the people in the stadium as the whole thing came tumbling down there would likely be casualties in the surrounding area

Of course that was assuming that Alana was unable to block this empowered version of Mjolnir

Her image was pure and strong but it wasnÆt at the tier of the Grim Chimera or Straud Without their clarity or detail the power would become relevant And with the obvious difference in MjolnirÆs light

For the second time in the last minute Thea and the Winged Serpent looked at each other Yet this time there was a hard set to TheaÆs jaw that let the Winged Serpent know that she was not willing to indulge its idea this time The Winged Serpent could see why she was unwilling Although it was a good chance to weaken the forces of Earth if they went too far so many people would die from Mjolnir fallout

The Winged SerpentÆs gaze flickered in something between exasperation and amusement Yet you already let so many die today Thea Ten thousand lives ended to create a single drop of lifeblood and you let it happen How is this different than that

She obviously couldnÆt hear the Winged SerpentÆs thoughts but it was clear from her glare that she understood the implications of its heavy glance And then she sighed and whistled again

Instantly all the Nemesai straightened and came together in a tight formation It seemed that everyone understood what was about to happen although this hadnÆt been in any of the contingency plans they had prepared But no one survived to their level of experience fighting without being able to recognize a chance when it was presented

Zero

The ritual finally finished and the precious Lifeblood Accumulation that Straud had arranged all this to make fell to the turf As it was a clearly powerful material that the Winged Serpent didnÆt understand it didnÆt rush to pick it up right now Instead it memorized the spot it had dropped and joined the other Nemesai as they exploded into motion

The stadium shook once more as Alana used her image to impact the blast from Mjolnir A split second later the people of Earth shouted in fear as they noticed that the Nemesai came to wound Alana Donal while she was distracted

Chapter 1276

The Winged Serpent led the charge forward moving immediately to meet the quick response of Naffur The highest ranking individual in the Order Ducis only below Randidly Ghosthound was certainly powerful and decisive as soon as the Nemesai moved he was already in motion to stop them With fists raised Naffur leapt lightly upward to block off their path But the Winged SerpentÆs eyes narrowed in amusement

Did you mistake me for the type that likes to fight head on

The situation on the field became increasingly chaotic as the dense cluster of Nemesai rushed forward AlanaÆs image billowed outward all heat and radiant holiness and light that was of a different shade of MjolnirÆs chilling energy Most people were suppressed by the combined density of images meaning that the Nemesai only had to contend with a few key individuals to reach Alana

The light touched AlanaÆs body and the group of Nemesai accelerated even further

As the blinding light of Mjolnir began to lash out to destroy the image of Alana above them the Winged Serpent quickly conjured a formation in front of its body NaffurÆs fist smashed into the formation and all of the force of his attack was rebounded directly back at him Which only stopped him dead and made him grimace but gave the Grey Lich time to unleash a cloud of locusts that blasted him backward

Roaring the Obsidian DukeÆs body bulged as he ignored the probing thrusts of the Jade PrinceÆs rapier and simply smashed his body against his destined opponent The Bandit King slashed outward with his jagged blade and forced the man with the large iron back backward

Thea and the Winged Serpent rushed forward in the opening The other member of the Order Ducis materialized at the NemesaiÆs side but Thea was able to overpower him with just two heavy blows of her hammer Flicking out its tongue the Winged Serpent sensed the attacks coming in from the side It paused in its rush upward and created a barrier that blocks the three shots Hank snapped off from his revolver

The Winged Serpent swayed from the strain because Hank limited his ammunition to six shots a battle each one of Hank HowardÆs revolver bullets packed a punch that was vastly more dangerous than his growing image would suggest For the moment the Winged Serpent had been stopped AlanaÆs pearly white wings spread wide accepting the vicious energy of Mjolnir without complaint Wind howled around the group swirling in a vortex of destiny

We cannot miss this chance the Winged Serpent thought as it glanced upward

Something was happening at the point where Mjolnir met AlanaÆs Willpower that was ominous enough that the Winged Serpent sensed it After being exposed to the image form of Randidly Ghosthound and now being shown an attack of pure energy something was beginning to click for Alana Donal

Such a reliably strong enemy The Winged Serpent hissed in pleasure as he looked upward into the light Then while maintaining the barrier against further interference from Hank HowardÆs last bullet it created a platform for Thea to use to ascend

AlanaÆs silhouette could be barely seen due to the blinding light of Mjolnir Her wings were easier to see spreading larger than her body by quite a bit And it was the perfect reference to know where to strike

Riding on the back of a giant flaming bear Thea raised her hammer above her head and spun the weapon in preparation But before she could attack the metal frame of Ghost interposed itself and swung its runic sword Eyes flashing Thea hopped up from a sitting position and stood on her flaming bearÆs back Chrysanthemum

Rooaarr Chrysanthemum enthusiastically rushed forward ducking under the slash and smashing into the metal body of the larger foe

The Winged Serpent had also been surprised by the noise so it didnÆt miss the split second of hesitation that Thea had after her companion roared But then she leapt upward raising her flaming hammer

The last bullet of Hank Howard slipped almost quietly out of his revolver but the Winged Serpent had been waiting for it It threw everything it could manage into its defensive image and even then barely managed to withstand the piercing strike Yet the bullet had been successfully deflected The tendons along TheaÆs arm stood out as she raised her hammer over her head

The Jade Prince tried to shove the weaker Obsidian Duke away but the Nemesis accepted the wounds in order to keep pinning the Jade Prince down Naffur and his fellow member from the Order Ducis recovered but they were standing too far away and the Winged Serpent blocked off their avenue to assist Alana

The man with the huge iron ball and the other powerful guards from the Order Valorem were helpless before a cackling Bandit King

The light of Mjolnir began to fade right as the Thea swung her vengeful image at AlanaÆs back with all of her strength

Divine Branch of Arbor

A tree branch ripped upward faster than the Winged Serpent could respond and smashed into TheaÆs side Cursing she couldnÆt help but be thrown away from her arc toward AlanaÆs exposed back The other Nemesai immediately noticed the switch and disengaged from their individual battles to retreat some distance away

The light above them completely faded and suddenly the tables were turned The Winged Serpent rapidly created a formation that would explode and cause a milder version of the collapse that would have resulted from Mjolnir descended but a blast of orange fire forced it back before the formation had settled into the ground

Her wings and eyes smoking with fury Alana Donal floated down and touched the ground She breathed out through her nose and two long plumes of smoke curled outward

When the Ogre Lord woke up after the fight against Randidly he had indeed had a change of heart about his attitude toward Randidly which was a relief But he did wake up and immediately voice a demand I am willing to be your subordinate however I demand the right to challenge Obyrn one year from today to determine which of us is the superior ogre If he is defeated I will take his place as leader of the ogres on Earth

Randidly lips twitched Certainly a demanding loser even if a bit more respectful than he was previously

The group was still on the Ogre World side of the portal as they had been waiting next to the spot where the Ogre Lord had collapsed for him to recover The thousands of soldier ogres ringed them in a wide circle waiting for their wounded lord to recover before making even a peep In addition to staying away from Randidly and his three companions the ogres also seemed to possess a vast fear of RandidlyÆs island itself Every time the strange dark lightning twisted around the ogre soldiers took several nervous steps backward

But to RandidlyÆs surprise Obyrn stepped forward and nodded his agreement I would also like the chance to determine which of us is stronger

Which meant for the most part that the issue of the Ogre Gorge world was settled There was now a duel planned for a year from now but Randidly believed that whoever won would still consider themselves beneath him When the Ogre Lord had recovered enough to move Randidly led the group back to the base of his island and turned to look at the ogre lord Tell your army to follow but to stay on this side of the portal for now There is a lot to arrange

Despite the fact that he was covered in blood the Ogre Lord lifted his chin in an officious posture with his hands behind his back as though he were some mid level bureaucrat Me giving them an order would not be appropriate I am no longer their leader You are

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted With the distraction of the fight that was just now finishing at the stadium in Zone 1 still on his mind he was in no mood for this ogre to start being mouthy And I gave you an order Are you disobeying me

The Ogre LordÆs eyes didnÆt even flicker as he bowed his head Of course not IÆll take care of it

Very quickly a few terse words from the Ogre Lord had the whole column of ogre soldiers formed up in sharp lines There was some confusion as to whether the giant throne would be brought along but the Ogre Lord stopped it from being brought without Randidly even having to intervene A troublesome subordinate Randidly reflected but one who knows what lines he can and cannot cross

If anything that just made Randidly warier But he at least knew that until the Ogre Lord grew more powerful he would be loyal to Randidly as the victor in their confrontation Especially until he fought against Obyrn

And then again until he believed himself powerful enough to challenge Randidly

With the addition of the Ogre Lord the group got on RandidlyÆs island and flew back through the portal to Earth Randidly released a small sigh as he finally closed the portal he had created with the Philosopher’s Key the strain of maintaining the portal lifted from his psyche After glancing once to the South toward the scene of the battle today Randidly steeled his expression and returned to Kharon

When they landed Randidly didnÆt head directly to KharonÆs town hall instead he led the Ogre Lord through the bustling streets of Kharon Even if Randidly had traveled here to make sure the Ogre Gorge wouldnÆt become a problem for Earth most of KharonÆs population was only distantly aware of that Business continued as usual And the increasingly opportunistic population of Kharon used this opportunity to create a huge exchange of goods as Kharon unloaded its wares and picked everything that the ogre settlement had to offer

With platforms of their wares held aloft by moss spirits above their heads ogre and human merchants created a cacophony of haggling in the streets Both sides glanced up and nodded toward Randidly when he walked past but the people of Earth didnÆt give the three headed ogre a second glance

The ogres did give the three headed Ogre Lord a profound look perhaps having more context to understand who he likely was but such was the spirit of Kharon that they were quickly dragged away from dwelling on the issue of a three headed ogre and back to business

It was in the middle of the walk back to town hall that the Grim Chimera finally returned to RandidlyÆs body after wandering about the surrounding area a bit and killing some monsters to sate his thirst for blood Randidly shook his head but didnÆt say anything As the umbrella personality over his images he could understand the Grim ChimeraÆs disappointment Staying on Earth for too long would be difficult There werenÆt any foes that were truly challenging in a direct confrontation Randidly might lose his edge if he remained for an extended period of time

Plus now that Straud had been taken care of the only foe that made Randidly truly wary was the Creature Which he would begin preparing to deal with as soon as he handed off the problem of the ogre group but he somehow doubted that the confrontation with the Creature would end in a satisfying fight That just wasnÆt her M O

Randidly shook his head ThatÆs all for tomorrow For today thereÆs a lot to deal with Including

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted as he once more glanced to the South Then he shook himself and continued the tour through Kharon

Chapter 1277

As they walked into TatianaÆs office Tatiana didnÆt even bother to glance up from the maze of paperwork that covered her desk Her hand continued to rapidly shuffle through papers locate places for signatures and gracefully scrawl her approval of the plans contained on the page Randidly is it possible for you to create a Skill for me that will allow me to be in two places at once

Taken somewhat aback Randidly thought about it Perhaps if they trained TatianaÆs image up somewhat Literally Hm No I think

Then why Tatiana said as she finally looked up from her documents and rolled her eyes Does it seem like you are here to give me more work

I assure you Madam that we would not trouble you unnecessarily To RandidlyÆs abject shock the Ogre Lord gave Tatiana a deep bow with his hands spread Then with a flourish he produced a diamond the size of an apple and set it delicately on the only empty space that Tatiana had on her desk A token of my appreciation for giving us some of your time

Huh Tatiana looked at the apple sized diamond ItÆs sharply hewn edges twinkled in the light filtering through the windows She looked up at the three headed ogre and then looked at Randidly with her eyebrows raised

Randidly coughed lightly This is the leader of the ogres in the Ogre Gorge world IÆd like you to help with the relocation efforts

Of course you would Tatiana said tiredly She picked up the diamond and tossed it lightly from hand to hand then set it back down on the table She pulled out a drawer of the desk removed a small hammer and tapped the diamond lightly on each of its sides Each time made the stone release a clear chime If anything TatianaÆs frown deepened It certainly is very nice but its unnecessary I cannot accept this

Then how about this The Ogre Lord produced a smaller opal the size of a chestnut TatianaÆs eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at the Ogre Lord and tried to figure out what he didnÆt get

such a gift is unnecessary

The Ogre Lord managed to keep his face bland If we will be working together in the future wouldnÆt it be good to establish some goodwill by the exchange of gifts These are just trifles I have many more

What sort of goodwill can be established when you tell me that you have many more Tatiana said wryly

His message delivered Randidly turned and snuck out of the room with Sam Dozer and Obyrn When they had left the building Randidly stretched and turned to Obyrn Do you have any idea what was going on there

Obyrn rubbed his chin thoughtfully I donÆt know for sure but legend has it that on my world in the time before the System the countries were ruled by vast clans led by Matrons However when the different areas were scrambled into Zones the matrons were often separated from the bulk of the clanÆs power

Due to the extreme rivalry and blood feuds between the clans after generations of fighting and backstabbing before the System even arrived the rival matrons were attacked on sight in most instances And when my world came back together again my people were horrified to find that basically all of the matrons had been killed off in the initial chaos So perhaps as one who was alive before the System arrived the Ogre Lord finds Tatiana’s presence at the heart of your organization reassuring

Randidly shook his head The ways cultures interacted were somewhat hard to predict But hopefully this situation was just as harmless as Obyrn described And if this was going to happen for each Danger Zone that had been cleared

He seemed to treat her much more respectfully than he did you Sam added unhelpfully

After a few more words the group dispersed Randidly returned to his island floating above Kharon while the gates and guard posts in front of the Ogre Gorge were unlocked and opened for the flood of new bodies that would soon come to Earth

Luckily the mountain ranges to the North of Zones 1 and 32 between 7 and 11 are pretty much empty of anything except monsters

But again Randidly turned his attention to the South After biting and lip and hesitating he raised the PhilosopherÆs Key and thrust it into the air A portal opened Taking a deep breath Randidly stepped through to the other side

Suddenly Randidly was in a deserted plain tall golden grass waving softly all around him If not for the dirt track that was right in front of Randidly it would be quickly easy to lose your sense of bearings in the vast shifting field On the dirt track was Ezekiel Ghosthound walking briskly forward with his head bowed From the familiar frown on his face Randidly knew that his father was thinking of other things and likely had very little attention on his surroundings

More than anything though Randidly was uncomfortably aware of the scent of blood on EzekielÆs body But since most of the blood scent was tainted with StraudÆs strange magic Randidly gave his father the benefit of the doubt It had seemed from RandidlyÆs attention on the battle at the stadium that Ezekiel had mostly killed the minions of Straud

As RandidlyÆs eyes fell on his father a notification popped up

Congratulations You have found the holder of the second piece of your Fateset the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Warning The holder is unaware that he currently possesses the piece of your Fate In order to obtain the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night please have the holder freely give you any gift More details will be available after receiving the gift

Randidly swore quietly to himself Have Ezekiel freely give him a gift On the one hand it wasnÆt like that task was that difficult on the other hand his father was always one who was extremely forgetful when it came to things like birthdays

Randidly blinked A very bad idea occurred to him But it only took him a short amount of time to realize some unintended benefits of such an idea After casting his mind around he realized that he actually was quite lucky based on the calendar that the World Council had adopted the actual date that he had in mind was only two weeks away

Releasing a breath Randidly stepped forward He tried to keep the movement relatively quiet and unobtrusive but he knew as soon as he moved that he wasnÆt quite used to the juice that Nether Brawn provided his movements He passed through the air at a speed that caused it to hum and appeared ten meters in front of Ezekiel like he had ripped off a cloak of invisibility

Ezekiel immediately froze Before taking the time to figure out who had appeared in front of him a purple energy surrounded EzekielÆs finger and he took several quick steps backward to open up space The scent of blood intensified

Randidly simply watched the rise and fall of EzekielÆs chest Wind rustled the tall grass around the lonely road Hey dad I assume youÆve heard that IÆm back

If anything this induced an even more violent reaction in Ezekiel Every limb seemed to tremble and the purple energy around his fingertip disappeared Randidly You you came looking for me Look son I know we talked before and I

I really donÆt want to talk about that right now RandidlyÆs face twisted Ezekiel was referring to the requirement of his Class that he kill a conscious being each day in order to continue to exist If he took days off he would slowly lose stats until he wasted away No today I just I wanted to give you an invitation To a birthday party IÆm throwing for myself

While those words hung in the air RandidlyÆs emerald eyes went to EzekielÆs chest Because he actually was quite curious about how a Class with such requirements was constructed It was obviously a special existence but that meant that Randidly could probably learn a little about Classes by examining it

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 188

Several seconds passed while Randidly looked intently into EzekielÆs Soulspace When the complex series of rotating glyphs of EzekielÆs Class left him stumped even after several seconds of wracking his brain Randidly reached through the Soulbound and prodded Neveah Almost instantly her Perception overlapped with his so she could see what Randidly was looking at

Fascinating But hard with your senses to feel how the depth of the four rotating glyphs manages to fuel the cycle Can you grab him and bring him to me

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted while Ezekiel looked solemnly at him HeÆs my dad I canÆt just grab him

IsnÆt he killing people to live Neveah asked RandidlyÆs chest tightened

I you want me to come to your birthday party Ezekiel asked He sounded bewildered Which Randidly could somewhat understand as a child Randidly had always insisted on low key birthday parties Basically he had invited one or two friends from school and celebrated their shared birthday with Sydney and that was it

But this time

RandidlyÆs small smile in response was chilly Yes But you donÆt have to worry Since IÆm doing this I plan on sweeping in everyone I can at once IÆll send invitations to the leaders of each of the Zone and the Orders Everyone talks about how IÆm constantly absent well for this party I wonÆt be ItÆs time that the EarthÆs leaders and I have a frank conversation

His smile widened and became even more frigid as his gaze refocused on Ezekiel I think IÆll also extend invitations to the remaining Nemesai at large Or even other independent factions And IÆll guarantee that there will be no fighting at the event

What If anything this confused Ezekiel further Why ItÆs not like the two sides have anything to talk about

Really But I think it will be good Because ultimately we should never forget that this isnÆt personal to the Nemesai They are simply dancing to the tune of the Nexus Randidly said lightly He tried not to blink as he looked at Ezekiel

The idea to invite everyone was something of a whim but Randidly thought it might be a useful opportunity to start revealing the truth about the System to more people But at its core this sudden birthday party was only meant to cause Ezekiel to give Randidly a gift Randidly cast his mind around for other ideas to try and ensure that he would get a gift for other reasons but he hesitated from doing anything too drastic or dishonest

This was still his father although he had been broken down by the System Before seeing evidence to the contrary Randidly decided to have faith that his father would get him a gift whether he attended the party or not

IÆll think about it Ezekiel finally answered He lowered his gaze and walked past Randidly without looking back

Dad Randidly turned around and looked at EzekielÆs back His father paused Even now under the thick scent of blood Randidly could detect the energy of the Creature RandidlyÆs hands clenched If there is anyone threatening you or trying to control you just tell me I can help

Ezekiel just nodded Then he continued to walk away

Chapter 1278

Although he had his perfectly sinister island in the sky floating only a short distance away out of habit Randidly returned to the roof of town hall and looked up through the drifting clumps of moss spirits to the stars above Perhaps it was because of the star arrival of the cold to New Earth but the light from the stars was especially bright tonight

No matter what atrocities occurred during the day the passage of time would continue to generate brief spans of beauty that could break a watcherÆs heart

As the pale light filtered down around him Randidly idly wondered if there was still a space to explore around New Earth or whether what he was looking up toward was an entirely different space in the universe He made a mental note to ask someone more familiar with astronomy whether the skies had changed since the System arrived He tried looking for the big dipper but wasnÆt exactly sure what to make of the fact that he couldnÆt find it

Randidly raised his right hand and attempted to seize the unassuming beauty of the sky His three images spread outward and pressed down against the surrounding space His Nether flooded outward like a swarm of locusts and devoured everything but those strands of starlight Yet just as soon as his fingers were about to brush against the captive light it faded

Without much hope of success Randidly continually attempted the impossible Failing didnÆt dissuade him he was simply trying to find his place in this world

As he had long expected Tatiana eventually came up to the roof to find him around midnight His hands fell to his sides and his images faded away as he heard her approach She was carrying a stack of paper that was covered with hastily written handwriting clearly the day had not been a restive one Randidly decided that he would wait another day or two before talking to Tatiana about his idea to host a birthday party on Kharon only 15 days from now

I couldnÆt do this without her I should find some way to thank her Randidly reflected In the past Mrs Hamilton also fulfilled the role of enabler to make sure that RandidlyÆs activities in Donnyton wouldnÆt cause unnecessary ripples But ultimately there was something extremely parental about the way that Mrs Hamilton had assisted him Meanwhile Tatiana was here because she believed in his vision And having her support behind him had made quite a bit of difference in his ability to affect the wider Earth

Are you prepared for the report Tatiana asked lightly In her tone Randidly heard the slightly exasperated expectation that he might say no

Inwardly Randidly sighed He needed to be better at not seeming annoyed during the briefings Even if he didnÆt know how long he would remain on Earth while he was here he should not dismiss the importance of these sessions Only by understanding the situation could he better adjust his strategies to prepare Earth for the Calamities that were coming Of course

Randidly rubbed his right thumb against the smooth metal knuckles of his left hand These hands despite everything were still the hands of a human He could no more grab starlight than anyone else on Earth As hard as it is to stick to this the reason I am doing these things is to prepare the Earth Even if the cost

The initial reports put the death toll at thirteen thousand one hundred and three Tatiana said as she looked down at her paper We expect that number will be updated to something close to fourteen thousand as they begin to excavate the buildings that collapsed during the final portion of the fighting as the Nemesai made their escape

Randidly released a breath With a single thought he could still see the bloodsoaked stands in the Grim ChimeraÆs memory These are deaths I could have prevented But it is not my responsibility to save humanity from everything that is why they have governments and Orders outside of me And this will prove that those organizations are currently failing Maybe this will be the wakeup call that the Earth needs

But itÆs still so hard to know I could have prevented this and chose not to

The Order Valorem is coming under heavy fire due to the widespread reports of Straud controlling almost half of their number during the worst of the fighting The leader of the Order Valorem Mark Rowel has admitted that he recently had a very lax open recruitment into his Order so that he had additional manpower to promise Zone 1 for the game Needless to say calls for the Order Valorem to replace the Order Ducis as head of the Orders have ceased Especially after Naffur and Valor were seen subduing the Rakshasi

Randidly forced out a chuckle They take interesting vacations

As she looked at Randidly Tatiana pursed her lips Seems to me that they take after the leader of their Order in that respect

When Randidly couldnÆt figure out how to respond to her veiled accusation Tatiana flipped to the next page of her notes and continued to speak Theodora Greyman has voluntarily stepped down as chairperson of the World Council In addition sheÆs been widely criticized for forcing Alana Donal who is widely regarded as the hero of the day by everyone involved to endure attacks to defend against the second attack of Mjolnir

Other Zones have stepped forward and pointed out that Mjolnir is of very little use against monsters and basically only operates at a threat against entities with fixed bases in this case the other Zones There are calls for the weapon to be dismantled as a show of sincerity on the part of Zone 1 to work with the rest of the world

Randidly nodded lightly It was never going to be possible to say that these lessons were worth the price in lives that the world paid but it was good to see that people had learned from the experience Although Randidly understood that some of it was political posturing on the part of the other Zones for more leverage And from our allies at the scene any serious injuries

He had asked almost reflexively because he knew first hand of the strength of everyone involved But almost immediately TatianaÆs mouth twisted

during the last stretch of fighting Kiersty was heavily injured TatianaÆs voice sounded tired RandidlyÆs emerald gaze sharpened She was defending civilians Luckily Nathan was there to stabilize her almost immediately but the only reason she survived was that someone else threw their body in front of her at the last second One of the football players Jake Tuck He did not survive

Who struck the blow against Kiersty Randidly very purposefully suppressed his rage and tried to keep his voice even But the Grim Chimera image was already seeping steadily outward The shadows on the roof grew dark and dangerous Its form flickered behind Randidly its huge claw curled maliciously

Even if these hands couldnÆt catch moonlight they could rip almost anything to pieces

Decklan Hyde But he died shortly afterward Tatiana replied

He what Suddenly Randidly was bewildered From the Grim ChimeraÆs memories he had known that Decklan had been there But the man had seemed to be completely broken by his emotions Why would he suddenly attack Kiersty of all people

From what we can tell he was practically deranged right before his death Tatiana said He just as Alana was leading everyone to fight against the Nemesai he moved and picked up the item that was created by StraudÆs ritual what they are calling the Lifeblood Accumulation When he did so according to evidence provided by Nathan his Class mutated resulting in a severe amount of psychic damage He just lashed out attacking everything in sight

Most of the structural damage at the end was done by Decklan himself and Alana trying to confine him The Nemesai hung around still trying to injure Alana It was only because Kiersty stepped up and incurred his ire that Hank was finally able to put a bullet into his temple

Randidly pressed his lips together After the Grim Chimera had dealt with Straud he had kept a little bit of his attention on the stadium but it was enough that he only felt a small amount of life lost after he had intervened He hadnÆt been closely paying attention to the destruction of property at all so he had missed this entire portion of the fight And after he died that item

Came back out of his body And when it reappeared the Nemesai made a break to seize it and then escape but they were prevented from doing so by Ace taking the item

Randidly considered that Did Ace use it

Thankfully no but itÆs hard to believe that man wonÆt try to figure out a way to control it His erraticism is quite well documented Tatiana shook her head

Better than the Nemesai getting it back Randidly sighed and released most of his anger in the long exhale All he felt was a strange bitterness in his chest Anything else

The Ogres are beginning their migration although IÆm slightly concerned that the area we originally envisioned for them wonÆt be enough Wolfram has been extremely helpful in that regard due to his extremely meticulous notes but

Wolfram RandidlyÆs eyebrow quirked up in amusement

ThatÆs the Ogre LordÆs name Tatiana said primly ignoring the teasing look in RandidlyÆs eyes BUT his records also keeps track of the larger population So we will soon have almost six million ogres settling in the mountain range Which is a bit more than expected

Six million That number earned RandidlyÆs shock Of course that was a small number compared to the population of old Earth but after so many years of culling due to the System the number seemed enormous Do we do we know what the current population of New Earth is

Tatiana nodded in sympathy Perhaps only eight million And almost half of that was only added recently though the bubble cities that were relatively politically united returning back to the fold of New Earth Still there are a lot of migratory groups of some size outside of the established Zones so it is entirely possible that we are missing the mark on the population estimate

It is foolish to expect such a large group to not participate in world politics but because of how monolithic the ogres seem to be introducing such an entity to Earth Randidly rubbed his brow and grimaced

Tatiana just laughed We have our work cut out for us Even if there is no one to fight there will always be messes to clean up The System hasnÆt changed that

Randidly sighed loudly I would much prefer the fights

You are going to need to engage more socially with the world if you want things to develop as you wish Tatiana used her stack of papers to prod RandidlyÆs side Otherwise you will be more of a foreign idea that a real person to people Already

Then Tatiana fell silent and twisted her mouth RandidlyÆs eyes practically glowed in the darkness as he turned to regard her I suppose thatÆs a question that I didnÆt ask After the fight at the stadium what are people saying about me There is no way that people didnÆt realize I could have helped further and didnÆt

For all that Tatiana had clearly intended to avoid the subject altogether she did not flinch now that they were talking about it She lifted her chin and spoke clearly They say that you arenÆt even human anymore That your Level has gotten so high that youÆve become something like a Champion or Nemesai or Village Spirit YouÆve reached the next stage of the System That even though you could have clearly saved those people why would you bother You have bigger fish to fry You are preparing for the Calamity

Most people arenÆt attacking you for it but people are afraid They suddenly think that the fact that you havenÆt appeared means you donÆt care about the Earth any longer That in your eyes weakness means that they donÆt deserve protection

Even if he had somewhat been expecting such a reaction it hurt to hear Randidly could only laugh bitterly honestly they arenÆt that far off the mark But I donÆt refuse to help because they are weak I refuse to help because they chose this path I will not defend them from their own choices

For several seconds Tatiana was silent Then she shook her head I know how hard this is for you IÆm so sorry you have to bear all this pain

Then after bowing Tatiana left the roof Randidly was once more alone with only the illusive starlight And the light slanting so casually over the shadowy roof was more beautiful than he could bear

Chapter 1279

Feeling extremely exhausted Derek pulled up the worn cotton covers and tucked Tim into bed His son squirmed uncomfortably to loosen the wrapping of blankets Dad IÆm not tired My Vitality is so high I donÆt even need to sleep anymore

Well I need to sleep buddy Derek said with a small smile He believed he could hide it well enough that his son hadnÆt noticed but he was currently nursing a pounding headache from completely exhausting his Mana pool several times during the fight at the stadium In the aftermath he was all too happy to be sent home after being interviewed by a representative of the Zone 1 military

But Tim would hear none of it not after watching the teenage girl he had a crush on have her stomach blown to pieces in a spray of gore It was all Derek could do to endure while Tim had insisted following the Priestess of Arbor girl to the hospital and staying there until sundown

Only after darkness had fallen had Derek been able to gently pull Tim away and take the hour train ride home And at this point all he wanted was to sweet oblivion of sleep to wash away all his stress and pain

For whatever reason it reminded Derek of the day where he realized TimÆs mother had died He was so numb that he couldnÆt even tremble of shiver The muscles of his body slowly slid toward apathy even while he was walking around

Unfortunately that apathy didnÆt affect his mind in the least Which left him with several haunting thoughts that made Derek expect that even after he lied down to rest sleep would be a long time coming Abruptly he was forced to face the fact that his son wasnÆt safe here Derek could no longer protect him on his own Both in the wider world and in his schools And because of that Derek felt

Useless

As Derek was closing the door to his sonÆs room Tim spoke up again from underneath his blankets Dad how strong is Randidly Ghosthound

DerekÆs head pounded The question was almost too much to bear Derek had never thought he was a jealous man but to hear the yearning in TimÆs voice as he asked that question Strong son Really strong The strongest in the world

Stronger than you

In the dark Derek winced Yea stronger than me

Then why didnÆt he save those people Why did he let Kiersty get hurt

In fact that was a question that Derek had wondered himself From what he understood Randidly Ghosthound had created Arbor which was the creature from which Kiersty derived her Class and power Yet after the Ghosthound had stopped Straud he had simply left Even if you are the most powerful person in the world you canÆt do everything

But couldnÆt he have done this TimÆs voice was somewhat resentful ShouldnÆt they be friends

Wanting to collapse on the spot Derek could only shake his head His body creaked like a house scheduled for demolition ItÆs itÆs kinda like the reason I send you to school buddy even if I already know the stuff you are learning ItÆs not enough for just one of us to do it you should learn too

But she almost died Tim whispered

So many people die every day So many that we donÆt know about If something had gone wrong if Randidly Ghosthound had taken only a little more time too we would have died just like that Every bright light of your eyes snuffed out immediately And I

It isnÆt easy being the strongest Tim Derek sighed and rubbed his jaw as he tried to calm his whirling thoughts He definitely needed to shave but there was no way in hell he was getting up early enough before work tomorrow to do it He would need every second of sleep he could grasp Having power changes you Makes you colder Never forget that everything has a cost nothing in life comes freely Even power Especially power

With those words Derek left TimÆs room and stomped slowly through the house to return to his own Every step was a struggle against the inevitable collapse of his muscles His brain spasmed painfully with each jarring step But just as Derek crossed through the hallway and put his hand on his doorknob there was a soft knock against the front door of the Moss household

Derek grimaced Because of the higher Perception that everyone possessed a single knock was usually enough to capture the attention of the people within the house But this person ended up knocking three times

If this is another fucking reporter With a dark expression Derek turned his slow gait toward the front of his house But his glower quickly vanished as he pulled open the door and found a lovely young woman with her dark brown hair cut to frame her face Her expression was determined and forceful She hit him in the face like a figurative bucket of water

God you are pretty Derek thought in a daze

Does Tim Moss live here The woman asked Her voice was low and her expression didnÆt waver as she calmly returned DerekÆs gaze as his expression shifted from furious to confused to guarded It was clear that she was on a mission

who are you Derek asked warily Despite the womanÆs serious expression Derek was somewhat alarmed by the fact that she was looking for his son If anything his antagonism returned more strongly than the sleep fury of a semi roused bear with which he opened the door

Somehow the woman seemed reassured by DerekÆs expression And then she did something that completely caught Derek by surprise She bowed to him at the waist her dark hair swinging quickly forward to cover her face I am I am so sorry Your son shouldnÆt have to endure all of this

What Please Derek trailed off somewhat unsure of what he wanted to ask her to do Stand up straight His heart was pounding strangely

Luckily she quickly straightened Her hair settled perfectly around her face once more IÆm Gertrude Collins I am I used to be one of your sonÆs teachers And because I let the principal intimidate me your son

Oh Miss Collins In a split second the situation with Lucy Rowel came flooding back to DerekÆs mind Although the principal had named two teachers that had spoken up for Lucy there had been one teacher who had apparently seen everything and but been suppressed from speaking in TimÆs defense This must be her Yet still Derek was confused by the situation And he suddenly felt very bad about his sudden attraction to the younger woman But what are you doing here at this time of night

IÆve decided to leave Zone 1 I want to become accepted into Kharon It seems like that is the only place that is willing to teach children what is necessary to live in our world and as a teacher nothing is more important than me than preparing our children for the world we live in Despite the low light of DerekÆs porch he abruptly realized how blue Gertrude CollinsÆ eyes were But before I left I wanted to tell you about your son I wanted to come here and stand up for him because I didnÆt in the past

Maybe it wouldnÆt have mattered five years ago but Tim the most magical green thumb that IÆve ever seen in anyone Over the course of the two years that I arranged for him to be on garden duty the schoolÆs produce output has been transformed Our vegetables were always large and tasty but your son has the ability to guide their growth in a way that even the System has difficulty explaining Our peppers are tart and fresh The tomatoes are juicy and rich The carrots are slowly developing red stripes and they are the best thing IÆve ever had

He is really talented Truly blessed I expect he has a rare Skill related to plant cultivation that he is too shy to share with a teacher And and IÆm the reason that he began to be bullied GertrudeÆs mouth twitched I I was the first person to notice TimÆs talent and gave him some free time after lunch to work in the garden Lucy started to complain that she wanted to have free time as well but I told her that free time was something she needed to earn She threw a tantrum but IÆm used to that sort of behavior But I didnÆt realize that she was cruel enough to start bullying Tim in revenge

ThatÆs Derek blinked It had already been such a long day so he was feeling a little lightheaded as Gertrude Collins began explaining the circumstances of his son Tim liked to garden I canÆt believe you know TimÆs mother before she passed loved to garden And Tim asked to plant some flowers for her but I never thought

GertrudeÆs eyebrow quirked upward She took a step backward onto the porch and gestured sideways to the neat line of flowers on the front lawn Did you think that flowers like this were normal

Well Derek hesitated then stepped out onto the porch next to Gertrude Collins The air was extremely cool on his skin Now that he looked forward he supposed the fact that the roses grew to a height of a meter and bloomed with buds the size of softballs was a little strange the System affected the growth of a lot of plants

Gertrude laughed and DerekÆs lips quirked upward naturally It seemed his earlier exhaustion disappeared as he said in a low voice Hell who cares My son the genius gardener huh And thank you so much for coming to tell me If you hadnÆt I

But suddenly GertrudeÆs expression turned bitter ItÆs the least I could do considering I caused this

Derek reached out and touched GertrudeÆs arm Her skin was very warm No this isnÆt your fault You were just trying to give Tim the opportunity to grow

I failed as a teacher For a second GertrudeÆs blue eyes were clouded But then she rolled her shoulders and her eyes cleared So before I left I needed to rectify it Your son is so talented donÆt let a corrupt school ruin that DonÆt let them waste his time like theyÆve made me waste mine

Thank you again DerekÆs expression softened as he felt GertrudeÆs words hit the complex emotions that had been clouding his mind and leave a deep crack in them Without thinking about the movement he stepped forward and hugged Gertrude Collins one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist She stood up on her tiptoes and squeezed rather firmly back both people pulled together by their care for Tim

After the hug had stretched for a few seconds Derek abruptly thought that perhaps he should have chosen a more chaste hug Miss CollinÆs body was pressed very tightly against him And it seemed that she had a similar thought at the same time because the two hastily disentangled themselves from each other

Gertrude Collins wouldnÆt look at Derek at all just staring at the ground with a flushed face Her dark hair once more swung downward and screened her eyes I well I guess IÆve said what I wanted to so ItÆs been so nice talking with you so

Yea we should do it again Derek managed to force out slightly shocked by what his mouth was saying And Gertrude Collins responded by nodding

After Tatiana had left Randidly continued looking up at the sky for a long time Then he flexed his fingers and began writing a letter to Vualla

Hey Vualla ItÆs been only a week since weÆve spoken but I miss your presence next to me I can still feel you obviously but ItÆs different when you arenÆt here

I let a lot of people die so that the people of my planet would realize the flaws in the way they have been trying to cope with the System Fourteen thousand people It was the largest single loss of life that occurred since my world first became a part of the Nexus I could have prevented it

I canÆt stop thinking about that I could have prevented it

The worst part is I can feel my Nether changing because of it Growing more powerful Because I am putting so much emphasis on this decision the Nether is responding I am being rewarded even further for letting people die

Good luck with your Xyrt Brigade training If itÆs you I have no doubt that you will crush everything in your Path

Then Randidly released a long breath But even if it made him slightly uncomfortable the foes he planned on facing were too powerful to let such a benefit simply lay fallow So Randidly turned his focus inward and began to examine his changing Nether core

Chapter 1280

RandidlyÆs Nether Gatekeeper core had resembled a nebula when he left the frontlines and returned to Earth There was a dense core at the center of the nebula surrounded by a disk of more sparsely populated energy that spread out over RandidlyÆs Soulspace Slowly that energy was brought inward a strange gravity transforming the outer portion into the dense core portion while additional Nether energy was pulled out of his Nether Wells to replace the outer portion at a rapid pace In this way the Nether nebula gradually expanded while also becoming increasingly heavy

With the assistance of the formation that gathered Nether and made it simpler to increase NetherÆs density the area covered by the outer portion of the nebula had shot rapidly upward in the last few days Especially so after Randidly used the principles he had seen at the frontlines to improve the function of the formation

Since then Randidly made a few small tweaks that further streamlined the process of Nether gathering Around the swirling core RandidlyÆs Soulspace became a sea of Nether currents that helped bolster his already significant Strength

Congratulations your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 113

Of course the really important changes were what was occurring at the core of that sea of Nether Because that core had begun to rapidly condense even further than it had been previously And as the core condensed the pull that it exerted in the surrounding area became immense

The final result was an abrupt contraction of his Nether sea as the core and the nebula grew smaller and more dense very rapidly Continually cracking and recovering most of the impurities and extra space of the core were eliminated all that was left was weight That weight pulled on the other portions of the core gradually cracking flaws and slowly reinforcing itself

The cause of the abrupt change was the same thing that the Grim Chimera had noticed while it had gone to the stadium As Randidly and others interacted even if just slightly connections were formed If those connections were important all that added weight of meaning would slowly gather in his Nether core transforming it

While the Grim Chimera had experienced this to a lesser degree what really accelerated the change was RandidlyÆs ongoing struggle to accept even his own justifications for letting so many people die He spent quite a bit of time thinking about it over the last few hours From what he had heard from Tatiana others were also considering what RandidlyÆs actions meant for New Earth

The result was that the connections and events of the past day were becoming more and more meaningful to the world and to Randidly And although he didnÆt quite understand the details of how it happened RandidlyÆs ability to utilize Nether was jumping upward as a result

He was still within the spectrum of the Nether Gatekeeper tier but he was starting to understand that the semi intelligent beasts of Nether Gatekeepers he had encountered in the past had not been even close to the pinnacle of their strength

Randidly stretched his jaw as he looked up at the star filled sky I suppose that Aether needs to affix itself in space creating a detailed and coherent image to grow more powerful Meanwhile Nether is mainly concerned with the passage of time as time passes these connections and moments of importance become more plentiful and the Nether density naturally increases Without how extreme my recent circumstances were there would be no way that I could have reached the density of a Nether Gatekeeper so quickly

For several hours Randidly carefully rotated the Nether in his body The faster he moved the energy the more quickly Nether could be pulled inward and collapse slight flaws in his Nether core The heart of his energy grew heavier and heavier as those flaws were healed Yet as the speed of rotation increased Randidly endured a strange pain It seemed like all the tumultuous emotions he had endured on this night were highlighted even further

As he forcefully evolved the power of his Nether he could not escape the pain that had brought him here The importance became all consuming Doubt and fear pulled at RandidlyÆs emotions In the eyes of the world the image of Randidly Ghosthound had been forever altered Randidly bitterly wondered if he would be forced to make this decision again in the future

Yet he continued to whirl his Nether almost ambivalent to the tempering of emotions that he experienced

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 114

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 129

When the sun finally rose Randidly stopped the strange emotional torture His Nether slowly settled into his chest He could feel that the progress forward was becoming more difficult but he could still improve further before reaching his limit

It seemed he had a habit of creating especially meaningful connections with people Lucretia would tell him that he created Karma far too haphazardly with people Yet that had never been his intention

A few small noises below drew RandidlyÆs attention KharonÆs activities had never really calmed since its arrival at the Ogre Gorge but as morning arrived the bustle exploded to new heights Bodies and crates of supplied wormed through each other’s way with seemingly no logic to them To equip the flow of ogres to Earth for survival in the mountain ranges Kharon was operating at full capacity to produce hoes shovels hand axes and pickaxes made with superior metal To make a new home the rugged mountain range would need to be shaped into something a bit more hospitable

The merchants of Kharon were salivating They met with individual families and provided as many tools as they needed in exchange for a portion of the mineral rights for the area that the family would claim Randidly was slightly worried about whether the practices were predatory but he knew that Tatiana would have thought of that issue and addressed it

Besides the ogres were not an easy people to bully

Yet Randidly could only watch for so long before he was pulled away from the mesmerizing flow of people It was an uncomfortable thing but Randidly wanted to make a few visits today There were a few entities on Earth that deserved his attention before he started profoundly focusing on his two current goals figuring out what the Creature was up to and preparing for his own birthday party

So Randidly removed his PhilosopherÆs Key from his belt and slid it into the air The tightly wound strings of karma thrummed lightly as he searched for several minutes before finally finding his desired target Then he pressed the key forward and opened up a door to cross the distance to his first visit

When Randidly stepped through the portal he was greeted by the sound of waves The smell of salt and dead fish was thick in the air as Randidly glanced up and down the rather deserted beach on which he found himself Froth pooled on the sand as waves pulled themselves back and crashed down once more There was an elderly couple quite a bit of distance down the beach next to a salt soaked pier but after waving casually without much worry toward the suddenly present Randidly they returned to the task of hauling their nets up onto the dock

As another wave splashed against the shore the ground began to rumble The shaking was currently low enough that it was hidden by the noise of the sea but every second that passed meant that Randidly could feel the reverberations more strongly through the bottoms of his bare feet

Before the couple detected the change Randidly rolled his eyes and stomped his foot once with enough force to send a tremor back down DonÆt worry just let me come to you I feel like you will cause a scene otherwise

Immediately the rumbling stopped Then while the couple turned and watched him in bemusement Randidly stripped himself to a pair of loose pants and waded out into the salty ocean water until it rose to cover his head Then he twisted his body and dove forward savoring the sensation of the cool water running across his bare torso When he was satisfied he unleashed a few weak strokes to drive him deeper along the bottom of the sea Kelp and curious fish watched him pass while they drifted along with the current

Once Randidly had created some distance from the shore and surface of the water he became much more serious about his swimming As his arms pumped huge volumes of water were used as springboards to shoot himself forward like a torpedo The water in his wake trembled from the force of his strokes Fish in the surrounding area quickly scattered

Seems like Nether Brawn packs some serious punch Randidly noticed as he left a trail of flattened seaweed in his wake while zipping along the descending slope of the sea The further he went the higher the water pressure became However it would still be quite a bit before RandidlyÆs Nether infused body would feel any strain from this sort of pressure

Such a presence was practically reassuring All of the flecks of Nether induced strength and aura that Randidly generally kept bottled up for otherÆs safety finally started reasserting themselves To the point that Randidly found the pressure he released more than overpowered the weight of the water above him His speed began to increase as he experimented with how to use that pressure

Even with the rapid pace Randidly kept up it still took him almost fifteen minutes to reach his destination And as he swam closer he could help but release a mouthful of bubbles into the surrounding water as he laughed Sensing its creatorÆs approach a veritable onslaught of seaweed blasted out of the ground as Thorn excitedly went in for a hug

Randidly continued to laugh freely as the slimy tendrils of seaweed that were simply drifting around ThornÆs main body quickly wrapped him up and reeled him in like a foolish fish Although it seemed most of ThornÆs body had been converted to seaweed Randidly didnÆt miss that beneath the floating green exterior each plant protrusion was lined with sharp spines

Thorn was still just as deadly as previous incarnations Just this one also could exist in the near infinite sea

ThornÆs main body hadnÆt changed much since apparently developing gills aside from its size The shuddering green and pink flesh core was now almost as large as a house as it floated here near the edge of the sea Several strange muscles pulsed and twisted as Thorn manipulated both the ropes of seaweed as thick as tree trunks shooting off into the distance and also the roots that spread out from its floating position and dug into the ground nearby

It hung there like a slimy ominous heart with the thick veins stretching out in every direction

As Randidly looked further around his smile widened Nearby there was a deep tunnel in the ground that had been obviously excavated quite recently Randidly once again laughed Did you really intend to just dig yourself up to see me

A strand of mental communication blossomed between the two as Thorn happily agreed with RandidlyÆs assessment Feeling helpless Randidly could only shake his head at the plantÆs enthusiasm

Then Thorn through a confusing slew of images and sensations began to joyously explain how it had been spending its time since it had seen Randidly last It talked about working on the coast preventing people from the Toad World from landing It talked about painfully shifting itself to live in the sea after drinking copious amounts of blood in order to be more proactive in its task

Of course NeveahÆs direct intervention into the Toad World rapidly lowered the need for Thorn to assist so it had turned its attention to exploring the largest Zone currently on Earth the sea Zone Especially since every day recently saw the ocean rapidly expanding ThornÆs seaweed could spread even farther afield Generally it avoided killing the monsters it encountered so Thorn conveyed how it had become an almost seawide entity It bragged about some fish made use of its seaweed strands to hunt other fish

ThatÆs honestly amazing Randidly communicated back as he parsed apart the image Thorn likely couldnÆt hear the words Randidly spoke into the deep water but it likely could understand the emotions he conveyed And then shyly Thorn asked Randidly to play

He considered saying no but in the end he couldnÆt deny Thorn Although what Thorn had accomplished was amazing Randidly had peered through the memories that Thorn had shared he knew how lonely his Soulseed had been since Decklan had left And since that was one of the reasons he came

So Randidly played with Thorn for almost six hours After Thorn created a more convenient algae body that could travel with him the duo shot across the ocean floor with enough speed that Level 50 Raid Bosses were knocked senseless just by the slipstream they left in their wake Thorn was an endless source of enthusiasm conveying to its creator all that it had learned while exploring the mysterious bottom of the sea He took Randidly to deep trenches and to see strange glowing types of monsters that didnÆt come anywhere near the surface And such was the depth there that even Randidly felt a little pressure in his chest from the intense weight of the water around him

Thorn even took Randidly to a crack in the EarthÆs crust were gouts of silver flame roared upward even at the frigid floor of the ocean sending a cascading rush of bubbles toward the sky The sight was oddly beautiful and alien like the pressure from the water had completely pressed against the concept of space until it had created its own miniature Domain

Randidly made a mental note to investigate the phenomenon further when he had time

With their powerful bodies they crisscrossed the ocean floor without a care for now sharing the joy of this strange exploration with each other was enough

But eventually Randidly turned to Thorn After wavering for a moment he reached out and pressed the warm skin of his human hand against ThornÆs avatar This has really been amazing But I think itÆs time to talk about something You could you sense it when Decklan died

Chapter 1281

You could you sense it when Decklan died

As Randidly asked the question the sharp strand of nettle that formed the core of ThornÆs algae body twitched and froze Another long strand of Thorn that was nearby also trembled Randidly just waited They floated there for several seconds in silence Randidly reaching out and touching his plant while the other did not communicate any emotion through their connection

Part of the reason that he had been so hesitant to come out and see Thorn was that he knew this conversation would be difficult As he prepared the Earth to handle the Calamity Randidly needed to start taking responsibility for the ways he affected Earth And in a lot of ways Randidly had left his Soulseeds to their own devices since he had created them and felt deeply guilty about his lack of follow through That guilt was one of the main reasons that he hadnÆt made more despite the SoulseedsÆ obvious power

Especially now feeling the internal turmoil of ThornÆs hidden emotions Randidly felt devasted by his own thoughtless actions in the past He had left Thorn and Arbor on Earth to find their own way and although both had succeeded there were consequences The path that Thorn had chosen was a brotherhood with Decklan And after seeing what DecklanÆs unstability had led to

Not that Randidly believed there would be any permanent adverse effects from associating with Decklan His involvement in the Red Revival had come as a surprise to Randidly but it didnÆt seem like Decklan had tried to convert Thorn or anything It just seemed that the temptations of Ileot had broken something within Decklan

Something inside of Decklan had died along with Terra

But now Thorn had to deal with the sad truth that his most meaningful relationship outside of Randidly had ended It needed to deal with fact and the method was important After all a bad choice here meant Thorn could be damaged in a way that would lead to unpredictable results down the line

Pain Thorn eventually replied with an exhausted bleakness to his earlier question And that was really all the answer that it could manage Randidly sighed

Along with the word came an image of a section of ocean that Thorn hadnÆt been completely peaceful with It seemed like Thorn had sensed DecklanÆs passing and had been briefly overwhelmed with rage All of the aquatic monsters in that area had been torn into thick pieces of flesh that floated in the murky water Bloody water hung there like mist on a cold morning on land There were no monsters at all in the surrounding several miles because some instinctive fear drove all the sea creatures away from that place

It would likely take quite a bit of time for that area to recover Gore and algae mixed in thick clumps that hung unnaturally still in the water As Randidly removed his focus from the memory and used Grim Intuition to speedily ascertain the actual location where the slaughter had occurred he was shocked to discover that the images in the area had been marked by what had taken place there ThornÆs rage had been strong

RandidlyÆs eyes softened further as he looked at Thorn I know how much it can hurt to lose someone Especially when Decklan was one of your few close friends

For I lost my best friends again and again RandidlyÆs heart ached as he thought about the strange distance between him Sydney and Ace He truly hadnÆt lost them but for the longest time he thought he had He had been devastated

Especially because of the way things ended between them with Ace never understanding why his girlfriend was so intimate with his best friend Never knowing that Sydney had hidden her illness from him and entrusted the secret to Randidly

This time emotions flooded out from Thorn Its thoughts and impressions were mashed together in an overwhelming tide that threatened to sweep Randidly away Luckily the negation effect of Nether rapidly reduced the powerful and emotional images into still frame pictures that were quite manageable to handle Yet as Randidly quickly scanned ThornÆs emotions he gritted his teeth

Overall Thorn had one thought that was expressed in dozens of ways through the memories he passed to Randidly Why did this happen This shouldnÆt have happened He didnÆt deserve this What do I do now

Randidly consciously stopped himself from pointing out that Decklan had chosen this path himself That wouldnÆt be helpful He knew that when it came to such a painful situation the real question Thorn was asking wasnÆt the details of why something happened It was just the first time Thorn had felt such pain in its existence And it didnÆt know what to do with the hole that Decklan left in its heart

Decklan had lost someone very important to him in the past just as you are feeling the wound of losing Decklan now And he bottled up those emotions for a long time until he couldnÆt stand it anymore He looked for ways to run from the pain to fix the pain to cover up the pain to blame someone else for the pain Randidly shook his head But the truth is the pain doesnÆt go away if you donÆt face it Sometimes you just need to cry Let it hurt you Because that is the only way to eventually live with that pain

RandidlyÆs mind wandered a little If I had a Level for every night in that first Dungeon after being trained by Shal during the day that I cried while thinking about them

Thorn was confused Cry

Unwilling to share his actual thoughts Randidly provided a few memories of him crying alone in his room from his younger days while his mother was spending time with one of her many boyfriends Even now Randidly felt his stomach dropping as he remembered those long nights The Grim Chimera who still had a strand of that emotion Randidly had put into his Spear Phantom image shivered in sympathy

Immediately Randidly could tell that something had gone wrong with the communication because Thorn immediately brightened So I just need to secrete liquids like humans do I do not have eyes but I watched Decklan secret fluids in several interesting ways

No thatÆs not quite right Randidly winced He had come here to talk with Thorn about death not sex Who would have thought that the System would transform him into a parental figure to a giant thorny monsters

Then Randidly waved his hand in the cool water There there might not be any easy answer for this But the important thing isnÆt the liquid but that you follow your bodyÆs natural instincts for how to grieve When you face the pain some weird things might happen But you need to just let the pain affect you alright

Thorn was still confused but it assent Randidly felt it withdrawing most of its focus along the thin trail of algae between this avatar form and its main body so Randidly quickly began to swim back toward the beating heart of Thorn Through their mental connection Randidly could feel Thorn begin to face the emotion

It wasnÆt an easy thing to face the things youÆve been hiding from in your own heart You couldnÆt just will it to happen But you could move the distractions out of the way and wait for your heart to be honest And that was exactly what Thorn did For several minutes it sat in silence as it tried to grasp the place that the pain waited Then everything started to happen at once

Rage and loss howled upward like wild monsters in ThornÆs mind It was so powerful that its mental connection to Randidly rapidly began to dim There were suddenly too many emotions to spare any attention At the moment Thorn was completely consumed by the emotions

And most clearly of every feeling it had the urge to destroy rose in ThornÆs chest It was so sudden and instinctive that all of the many extensions of Thorn that ran along the bottom of the sea abruptly tightened as it prepared to unleash its pent up violence on those unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to it With a grim expression Randidly vastly increased his swimming speed by condensing an image of Yggdrasil around and spinning several roots like a propeller

Through the exploration with Thorn today Randidly had gotten a better sense of ThornÆs body His core was very near the base of the continental shelf while large ropes of thorny algae as thick as the tunnels that people used to blast through mountains spread out in different directions to distant corners of the sea

These larger bundles reached specific points and broke down into strands as thick as tree trunks that spread out in a smaller radius In this way Thorn became a net that was present in most parts of the sea Which was why Randidly felt genuine fear as the entirety of ThornÆs massive body strained and tightened

Thorn could do some serious damage if it went wild

Randidly reached out mentally once more but ThornÆs emotions seemed to muffle RandidlyÆs attempts to calm his Soulseed down And although Randidly could probably cut quickly through the emotions and reach Thorn he was hesitant to do so when Thorn was so obviously poised to take action It was likely that using his image to forcefully connect with Thorn would come across as an attack and cause a violent response And while Randidly didnÆt care overmuch if the oceanic monsters died he knew that starting such a cycle would not help Thorn

So he accelerated further Yggdrasil doing its best to manifest physically under the water

Yet as seconds ticked past Thorn didnÆt lash out It sat in the pain It teetered on the bubbling powder keg of emotions but did not act And gradually Thorn forced its massive body to relax And as the taut strands of algae relaxed

Hyunngg

A strange thrumming echoed across the bottom of the ocean Surprised RandidlyÆs concentration slipped and his speed slowed somewhat The noise was somewhere between a violin and whale song and seemed to bounce off the seaÆs floor so Randidly heard several strange echoes His eyes narrowed as he realized the thrum was produced as the strands of ThornÆs massive body relaxed

As the relaxation of the strand above Randidly ceased the noises slowly faded Then from all across the sea the noises arrived as they traveled persistently through the water Because it was not just this strand that had relaxed The lone note became an echoing symphony

Hyungg Hyyungg Hyunngg

It got to the point that there was a constant low level of vibration to the water around Randidly The notes bounced off each other and spun together in complex harmonies But soon the tension rapidly had been drained out of Thorn The constant buzz around Randidly ceased and the ocean returned to silence

The silence didnÆt last long This time Randidly felt Thorn consciously tightened its body

HYUnngg

Whereas the previous noises had clearly been accidental Thorn finally understood what it wanted to accomplish It strained its body to the point of vibrating and unleashed a noise that was full of grief In a way even more precisely than when Thorn tried to share its emotions Randidly understood its deep pain It would never forget Decklan Hyde until the day that it died

You helped my Soulseed when I was negligent for that I can never repay you Decklan Randidly sighed as he proceeded back toward ThornÆs heart at a slower pace The entire sea had come alive with mournful music around him mirroring his rather sour mood For your sake I am here to find out if there is any way to repay what you have done for me

Randidly eventually arrived back at Thorn but he didnÆt attempt to break Thorn out of the all consuming exertion of expressing his pain Randidly waited patiently for the grief to run its course The ocean became a vast concert hall with a young composer just figuring out how to manipulate its band

Another hour later Thorn finally began to still And at that point Randidly went over to the large pink and green black heart and hugged his Soulseed Then he asked Thorn where Decklan had been staying while he had lived in the area

The location Thorn directed Randidly to was a small shack on the edges of the port town It would be easy to confuse such a location with a hastily assembled shanty but RandidlyÆs Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil could detect how deceptively solid the foundation of the building was Without standing on ceremony he walked inside and found a rather nicely arranged living room and an austere kitchen A rotten apple sat on the counter