Chapter 1067: The Logic-Defying Clash Across Null Remnants! (8)
Chapter 1067: The Logic-Defying Clash Across Null Remnants! (8)
The absolute ferocity of the dragon shocked everyone. Even the Null Devil King was impressed.
Aurolio showed signs of apprehension as he looked up at the beast through his cracked Bare Guise.
What monstrous power!
What strength!
However, the one to gleam the most from the Herald's sword slash just now, was the amalgam. He knew a thing or two about swordsmanship. Besides the fact that he had seen Alaris' skill, he also knew the extent of what a Swordmaster was capable of because of Pherdanta.
While the Unlimited was not exactly a Swordmaster yet, from her skill, he was able to estimate just how much power a true Swordmaster could wield.
Quite frankly, Jerthrax wasn't exactly at that level of skill either, but his weapon plus his raw physical strength was capable of bridging the gap somewhat. His display just now...
'How... how many classes does this thing have?' Vohnvolt thought in horror.
It was hard enough to constantly be bombarded by the dragon's strength, expelled as a ferocious wind by his molten shadows, but being forced to swallow the fact that the bastard was somehow able to use Mind Casting and Swordsmanship simultaneously was insane!
'The scale of this battle is quickly spiralling out of control...'
The first indicator of this, was, of course, the absolute demolition of the masked man. Half his body fell to the ground and splattered blood on the arena floor from his ripped robes.
It was no surprise that while the dragon's spear couldn't brute force its way past his shell of Divine energy, his double-sided sword was able to. Besides, both attacks were carried out at almost the same time. It wasn't unreasonable to consider that the masked man simply couldn't react in time, by perhaps strengthening his defences.
However... was he dead?
Could the ambitious necromancer have just perished so suddenly?
The answer acted as a turning point for the battle.
Before the amalgam knew it, the clash turned cataclysmic.
The masked man rose as though he hadn't been cut up from the leg to the shoulder just now, and in an instant, greenish-black flames of Undeath bellowed from the severed side to weave new flesh for him. They also erupted in vast quantities, condensed and formed a better robe and boots for him don when he suddenly leapt into the sky, hurtling towards the dragon fearlessly!
Aurolio sprang forth as well, as did the Null Devil King who kicked off the sky as though it were his sovereign platform.
"YOU ARE YET TO LEARN, ANTS."
The dragon declared with a haughty tone, and his spear smote down at the masked man and Aurolio!
The former extended his hand forward to receive the attack and another deafening impact resounded as the spear met his hand which was infused with Divine energy.
Swiftly, using Brunt Divide - whose applications were as broad as Yuyui's Eye of Moving - the masked man stripped the spear from the dragon's hand, and cast it away, but Jerthrax's sword blurred, cutting the world several times within finely divided instances!
All of a sudden, large, straight trails from the large sword filled the arena, hunting for targets to split!
The masked man used Brunt Divide on himself, dividing himself into three forms that juggled themselves in between the rapid slashes of the dragon's sword!
His body became a separate, autonomous entity, as did his strangely-coloured soul, as did a silhouette made from the purest of his greenish-black flames!
The soul and faint silhouette prevented the body from being hacked again!
Other fine traces of Jerthrax's sword assaulted the Null Devil King as well, but unlike the masked man, he didn't dodge. Instead, Null Life Essence hardened around him, rendering the immense carving power of the dragon moot! It simply slid off the hardened, smooth barrier of essence!
The Null Devil King then grinned and extended his hand forth before calling out: "Null Extraction."
...!!!
The smoking body of the dragon lurched forth, drawn towards the royal Null Lifeform!
The amalgam sockets nearly burst from surprise.
'How is that possible?! [Null Extraction] is for extracting the Null Life Essence from dead targets! How is...?!' he thought. Then excitement filled his heart.
Right then, his body sank into a cupboard-like space, disappearing from view.
The Null Devil King's feat was extraordinary, but the dragon was stubborn. He growled and pulled himself back, resisting the forceful pull.
"CRASS!" he shouted, and from behind his smoking back, a vast serpent as broad as he was, as thickly protected by scales as he was, as well as the melting shadow, emerged and zoomed through the air towards the Null Devil King!
It bared its golden fangs at the armoured King without fear and the two got entangled in a fierce fight.
Such a thing was possible for the Herald because he had six Classes: Spearman, Swordsman, Mind Caster, Diviner, Warrior and Summoner!
The dragon hardly focused on some of his Classes, which was why they weren't so potent, like the Mind Casting and Warrior Classes, but still, his race made him formidable even with the basic knowledge of each. His meagre use of Mind Casting earlier would have eliminated an entire town, or worse, after all, but sadly he couldn't use it again.
Mind Casting at a basic level tended to be easier to avoid when the target was prepared.
...
The masked man had thrown himself towards the spear which he had separated from the dragon just as everything else happened.
He touched it and muttered:
"Cast Undead."
At once greenish-black flames bathed the weapon, turning it from its brilliance and grace to a darker, macabre affiliation.
Any weapon with a consciousness, and even those without, could be diluted by Undeath. This one, which fit the criteria for a Mythical + grade was no exception.
The necromancer then sent the large spear hurtling at treacherous speed towards the spot on Jerthrax that wasn't protected by both shadows and scales!
Unfortunately for him, the dragon was aware.
As the spear approached, Jerthrax smote it with his free hand and it zoomed back towards the masked man who sent it flying back again at the dragon, aiming true with a powerful kick!
Right as it pierced forth once more, another great serpent emerged from Jerthrax's shoulder and caught the spear in its mouth!
At the same time, the floor to the arena rumbled as though something had detonated on it!
The other serpent the dragon released had been smacked with an atrocious force by the Null Devil King's sword. The creature hissed angrily and attempted to raise its head again, but the Null Lifeform fell on it like a comet and sent his fist flying into its head with cruel, crushing
might!
On another portion of the battlefield, another figure approached the dragon. It was Aurolio. The chaotic mess that was unfolding before him had him feeling as though he had found his
rightful home.
'This is it! This is what I really needed!' he thought with immeasurable glee.
Right then, a massive, single-edged blade stormed towards him, intending to cleave him
half, just like before, with the masked man.
Aurolio himself found it very hard to even perceive the speed of the attack, much less dodge
it, but thankfully, because of his Void Gate's powers, he managed to stop it from killing him!
As Aurolio interpreted strength so broadly, he could manifest these individual examples of strength using himself as a base.
Two of these examples of strength could be superimposed on him at one time.
For instance, Aurolio could match the physical properties of an opponent with his body if he
wished, though the extent depended on how far his mastery of the Void Gate had progressed. At the same time, with this same body, he could grant himself adaptability that rendered skills below a certain calibre meaningless. Such was what he was doing right now.
The Voided Deathform could also increase his 'numbers' by creating doubles, and grant them
two aspects of strength as well, though, because these doubles were him, they were imbued with the two aspects Aurolio himself had also, meaning they possessed four at one time.
This was why he was able to sent forth clones that travelled through an unfamiliar version of reality which the amalgam hadn't been able to recognise, and deal blows that left him torn. The Voided Deathform did the same in this moment, after having one of his unseen clones reduce the momentum of Jerthrax's blade so that he could dodge.
He sent another clone hurtling towards the spot where the dragon's scales had been removed
to deal a fierce physical blow.
...!!!
Unfortunately, as soon as the hidden clone touched the rising shadows of the Herald, he was erased from existence despite not even existing in this plane!
Aurolio was shocked by this just as much as he was thrilled by the fact that it was even
possible.
"Incredible!" he thought before racing along the blade of Jerthrax's sword which began to
rise sharply, intent on hurtling towards another opponent.
'Let's see. Will this grab your attention?' he thought as he expelled something from his
spatial storage.
At once, Jerthrax's vast blue eyes snapped in his direction.
"That's right! Look at me!" the Voided Deathform cried joyfully.
[Author's Note]
Aurolio's powers allow him to define strength broadly.
Basically, if he thinks strength is numbers, he can make clones of himself.
If he thinks strength is stealth, he can become invisible to his enemies and so on.
He can, however, only adopt two of these definitions of strength at a time. For instance, stealth and adaptability. But, his clones will also carry these definitions innately once he summons them, meaning he can give them two more definitions each. This is pretty much a
cheat.