Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1123: Unneeded Devotion



The Null Terror, the Full Deck BoneTender, was an unusual existence.

Null Terrors were odd creatures feared by all and almost always placed in the top five spots on the Universal Purge Banner in the Null Verse. They usually possessed powers and intelligence that allowed them to cheat higher level existences, corrupting or manipulating them in

treacherous ways.

They were something akin to calamitous phenomena, but with high enough keenness of mind to act autonomously.

One such Null Terror was responsible for corrupting the Canon Men, turning them from do- gooders who helped the Four Authorities maintain balance in the Null Verse to maniacs who opposed the very balance of Serenity's treasure.

The BoneTender had been far removed from such treachery, however.

He was a devoted, loyal believer who spread the goodness of Serenity to all he saw, using his powers - which allowed him to grant the wildest desires of any creature he met - in service of Serenity within the Null Verse. His exploits had been so grand that Serenity had, at one point, decided that the BoneTender deserved a post higher than that of the Four Authorities.

Given that she had never spread the influence of Null Life outside the Null Verse, she thought the BoneTender would do. He had shown more than enough devotion.

She thought that for her mission against Emmae and Void, he would serve well... until she suddenly changed her mind.

The BoneTender was devastated and enraged.

He had been discarded. He had been abandoned.

Even when he turned billions of Null Lifeforms to believe in Serenity, something that was uncommon because of how Serenity herself never desired to be a known, worshipped figure, the BoneTender's work was rendered moot.

Thus, burdened with glorious purpose, he looked for ways to serve Serenity anyway. Somehow, he had to find a way to leave the Null Verse and serve Serenity's cause still.

Unfortunately, there had been no way to do that. He had found no loopholes to exploit. No worthwhile channels. He had even searched for other Null Terrors, asking for advice, yet nothing useful cropped up.

But, as chance would have it, the Null Devil King made a deal with the BoneTender after learning of his desire to leave the Null Verse. He had the same goal.

The powerful Authority said there was a method they could attempt, but it would take at least a million years to complete.

The BoneTender had been left with no choice but to agree and wait.

...But Direction seemed to have other plans.

Ferex, Replicus' Apostle, had a Flaw that tied the BoneTender to him. When it activated, the Apostle, sadly, was hijacked by the BoneTender, who was delighted at the unexpected bout of fortune.

Since he no longer had to wait for the Null Devil King, the BoneTender advanced with his own plans and used his unusual abilities to call the Authority outside the Null Verse. He then pleaded for the Null Devil King to commit to his end of the bargain, even though the plan had deviated somewhat.

Said bargain was: The Null Devil King had promised his vessel to the Bone Tender should they manage to leave the Null Verse. After having lived for nearly ten million years, the Null Devil King, for reasons he never disclosed, wanted to end his existence outside the Null Verse, and he assured the BoneTender he wanted nothing more than that.

As it appeared now, that didn't seem to be have been the case. Not entirely.

...

"Relax. I mean you no harm. In fact, I'm rather elated. So much so," the true Null Devil King said with a dignified smile.

It wasn't just his presence that was boundlessly richer and more frightening than that which the BoneTender had exuded while in his body. Even his appearance seemed to have changed.

His damaged and bleeding skin was suddenly healed after a ferocious amount of Null Life Essence washed over it, and the same was true for his dark armour which featured a golden, choking mist, its entirety faintly expanding and contracting as though it were alive. It seemed to carry a bit more heft to it now.

His long, creamy hair that might as well have been trails of light, looked a lot more beautiful, as did the silver crown growing from his temple.

The BoneTender cowered by the true Null Devil King's side.

He didn't dare voice his concerns.

The Null Devil King was kind enough to address them, though.

"I did not mean to deceive you. I truly wished to meet my end outside that wretched bubble. I truly did, until I decided that I could perhaps see a bit more of the world outside through your eyes as you went over your obsessions. Hmm. I was both disappointed and intrigued," he said before looking at the four-armed creature piercing him with a sharp gaze for the first time. "This was worth suspending my extinction."

Replicus felt the attention of the Null Devil King so vibrantly. Those dark eyes that might as well be hollow, dark sockets expelled something more potent than just a regal form of Null Life Essence!

'Yeah. The opponent is vastly different alright. This is real deal,' Replicus thought, recalling Yuyui's narration of the events where she met the BoneTender. Now it all made so much more

sense.

At that moment, a great blue flame sprang out of Replicus and floated beside him.

The Null Devil King and even the depressed BoneTender turned to it.

"LADY SERENITY!!!" he screeched, his long arms attempting to reach for her from afar.

Serenity did not show any reaction. This wasn't her first time seeing the BoneTender on Aigas, after all. She had seen him when she was in Skullius' body during the attack on Genhuis City, but back then, she didn't have the means to freely manifest herself since Skullius had only been at the Second Tier, in addition to the fact he had been in his Hybrid Luman form. Her true thoughts on the BoneTender remained hidden behind her faceless figure. Only Direction knew how much she teetered between wanting the creatures she made in the Null Verse to remain stagnant, and desiring for them to keep growing. The latter led to things like this happening, and she didn't have the ability to stop it, as much of the authority laid

with Wyrrim.

She sighed.

"I should have given you a reason as to why I no longer desired for you to stand as my bearer, she said to the visibly shaking BoneTender. "I should have spoken to you. Yet I didn't. However, I hope your ambitions will be put to rest here. What you desire for me, isn't what I

want."

The BoneTender trembled, his flaming orb of a head flaring furiously.

"WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME? I HAVE SERVED YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE YOU KNOW! WHO BUT ME WAS EVER WORTHY OF STANDING BY YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES?! EVEN NOW, I WISH TO GIVE THIS WORLD TO YOU!" he roared.

Serenity floated upward.

"I never asked for your service. I never asked even the Four Authorities to kneel to me. You could have offered your reverence on your own, and not made it a cultish desire. That was your own wrong. At first, I thought it would be worth it to reward you for it still, but no," she said, knowing full well that the BoneTender would not accept it.

And truly, he did not.

He emitted a sound akin to sparks of lightning from his head. He bellowed.

The BoneTender wanted to speak out some more, but the Null Devil King spoke over him.

"As uncaring as always, Serenity," he said as he languidly took steps forward. "I don't truly care for what you intend to do. I believe I relinquished my powers as one of the Four Authorities when I left the Null Verse, right? That should earn me a bit more indifference from you."

Serenity was unsettled.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

The Null Devil King cackled and turned to Replicus.

"That. I truly hope you will allow me to interact with it before I finally pass on."