Chapter 47 - Strength and Strategy (Patreon)

Rose smiled as she approached the two monsters who were akin to the flesh-eating ghouls she used to spend fine evenings alongside. They were covered in viscera and dripping gore as they ripped hearts apart and shared the grisly feast.

“I was not expecting to face an army of Tiberius’ monsters. I thought he would spread them out.”

Echo and Fumi either didn’t notice or didn’t care as they continued to gorge themselves on the hearts of the fallen.

She turned to the pile of flesh and scanned the corpses.

Thank you for making this convenient.

Raising her scepter, she uttered an incantation with glee. “Improve upon my form, Siphon Strength.”

The bodies withered into dust, and Rose felt vitality rush through her.

Looking back at the two monsters she grinned.

Coming along with these two has proven quite useful.

Tiberius cackled. “Perfectly according to plan.”

They would grow massively from their feast. Empowered to even greater heights. The thought sent chills down Tiberius’ spine as he knew they were approaching the point where they could pose a risk to him.

But that, too, was part of his plan. He had reached the limits of his potential in this lifetime. The only way to gain more power was to become a monster like them – and that was out of the question.

He had no Ability to keep his form and mind. Despite searching for hundreds of years for a way to do it. Only sheer luck or being reincarnated provided for those unique Abilities.

Those two haven’t even come close to reaching their limits.

He grinned as he returned to his lair, ensuring that their next meal was going to be even more filling.

After all, they had only eaten half of the Soju Great Clan.

And the others had even more time to feel the effects of the Mimic Cube.

Echo and Fumi finished their meal. The thousands of hearts they had jointly consumed as pain slowly grew as if a splinter being driven further and further into them. It was not until now, though, that the full effect took hold.

He screamed and collapsed to the ground as his body underwent the pain and trauma of not only his evolution but that of Fumi’s as well. His skin burst and ripped, muscles bulging and attempting to grow but being forced back into shape by his Eternal Youth.

His body erupted in boils and sores that quickly healed themselves as his Regeneration and Regrowth Abilities churned to keep him alive. His head felt as if it was going to burst. A roiling tempest of agony and excruciating suffering coursed through every vein, every nerve, every part of his being. He heard thousands of voices in his head; people begging, pleading, for release from their torment. The revulsion ripped through him as his chest cavity caved in and warped, spasming before regenerating.

He could feel every organ crushed and broken, smeared into a paste. Disgusting, vile, putrid ichor oozed from his mouth and nose.

Then, finally, blessed silence as the roaring in his ears ceased, and he felt Fumi’s warm hand on his face. Her tears had returned, and she wept over him.

He put his hand along her chin and met her eyes, lifting his other arm to wipe away the ichor that had crusted his face. He sighed in relief. “That sucked.”

Fumi shook her head, “…I attacked you.”

Echo shook his head, “It’s my fault. I should have known that amplifying Evolution Instinct would have affected you as well as these monsters.”

“…I couldn’t control myself.”

“I lo-”

Pain coursed through Echo once more, obliterating all thought. He felt tingling sensations in his fingertips that shot up to his hands and through to the shoulder. His arms spasmed uncontrollably as his muscles contorted, locking and unlocking. Electricity arced from his fingertips and shot past Fumi into the sky. A seeming eternity of agony.

Then, the deepest torment. He felt his whole body locked up. He could feel every single nerve in his body light up with the electrical energy, a sudden, searing pain as he was fried from the inside.

Moments later, his body recovered from evolution, and he was able to control his body once more.

“The hell was that?” He asked as he caught his breath.

Fumi shook her head, “No clue.”

Echo stood up with Fumi’s help and stared across the battlefield. Blood was splattered across every surface within a hundred meters. There were craters where boulders, ballistae, and icy meteors had impacted.

“All done?” Rose asked, drawing the two monsters’ attention.

Echo nodded, “Thanks for the save. That ice spell saved us. You weren’t kidding earlier – it’s an army killer.”

The former Lich Queen nodded, “A shame you didn’t figure out that Ability to get their focus earlier. I could have ended this sooner.”

“You definitely pulled your weight,” Fumi commented as she wiped a few streaks of tears from her face.

Movement caught Echo’s eyes and he focused his vision. In the forest line, there was a single pair of yellow eyes that were watching intently. “Someone is watching us.”

Fumi glanced where he pointed, “Xulatar scout probably.”

She pulled her identification out, which prompted the other two to do the same.

Name   (Race / Rank): Echo Asheron (Monster / SS)

Strength: 50,710

Agility: 50,710

Fortitude: 50,710

Defense: 50,710

Offense: 50,710

Magic   Resistance: 50,710

Magic   Potency: 50,710

Equipment: Brightsteel-Kevlar Armored Clothing,   Titansteel Shield, Skysteel Bastard Sword, Pocket Dimension Ring, Short-Range   Teleport Bracelet

Active Abilities: Alacrity [Overcharge], Animus Aura,   Bulwark, Enhanced Regeneration, Gori Rage, Guardian's Embrace

Innate Abilities: The Blessing of the Artificer, The   Dragon God's Blessing, Damage Immunity (Cold, Electricity, Sonic),   Damage Resistance (All), Darkvision, Detect Abilities, Detect Magic, Disease   Immunity, Eternal Youth, Evolution Instinct, Far Sight, Feral Senses,   Immovable Object, Perfect Casting, Perfect Defense, Poison / Toxin Immunity,   Regeneration [Regrowth], Tideborn, Wallwalk

Affinities: Electricity, Fire, Poison, Protection, Shadow,   Sound, Transmutation, Water

Name   (Race / Rank): Fumi Medrana Soju (Monster / SS)

Strength: 49,710

Agility: 51,710

Fortitude: 50,710

Defense: 49,710

Offense: 54,710

Magic Resistance: 49,710

Magic Potency: 49,710

Equipment: Skysteel Katana, Brightsteel-Kevlar   Armored Clothing, Short-Range Teleport Bracelet

Active Abilities: Alacrity [Overcharge], Enhanced   Regeneration, Gori Rage, Resonating Thrust, Rift Strike, Spatial Sever   Unseen Predator, Voltaic Slash, Waveblade

Innate Abilities: The Blessing of the Flames, The Dragon   God's Blessing, Damage Immunity (Cold, Electricity, Fire, Sonic),   Damage Resistance (All), Darkvision, Deathless, Detect Abilities, Detect   Magic, Disease Immunity, Eternal Youth, Evolution Instinct, Far Sight, Feral   Senses, Immovable Object, Perfect Casting, Perfect Offense, Poison / Toxin   Immunity, Regeneration [Regrowth], Tideborn, Wallwalk

Affinities: Air, Fire, Space

Name   (Race / Rank): White Rose (Undead / SS)

Strength: 15,000

Agility: 15,000

Fortitude: 100,000

Defense: 10,000

Offense: 10,000

Magic Resistance: 100,000

Magic Potency: 100,000

Equipment: Whitestone Scepter, Ring of Veiled   Undeath, Short-Range Teleport Bracelet

Active Abilities: Control Undead (Mindless, Intelligent),   Touch of The Void

Innate Abilities: Damage Immunity (Cold), Darkvision,   Detect Corruption, Detect Life, Detect Magic, Detect Undeath, Disease   Immunity, Mental Immunity, Paralysis Immunity, Phylactery, Poison/Toxin   Immunity, Sated, Vulnerability (Light, Life, Fire)

Affinities: Death, Ice, Reanimation, Spirit

Echo chuckled as he felt his Quintessence roil inside of him, and he willed a small stream of power to his palms as he saw – with immense giddiness – sparks arcing between his fingers. He looked over at Fumi’s identification. “Looks like we both can do that Gori Rage thing that the guy on the wall did.”

Fumi nodded, “A reason Gori are so strong.”

Rose smirked, “I’m very quickly approaching the height of the power I once held when I was alive.”

Echo glanced over at her, “You were that strong?”

She nodded, “If I were to approximate these modern-day stats to the level of power I had back then, I would say that I was at five hundred thousand cumulatively.” She held up the identification, “I’m at three hundred fifty thousand as it stands now.” To provide an example of scale, the Void Commander they had fought was estimated at being around one million cumulatively. “If not for that Blessing, you would have perished against it. So, I hope you prayed to him and gave thanks.”

“Rested enough?” Fumi asked as her leadership persona took over.

She explained the route they would take. The fastest way to get to the Soju Great Clan stronghold was to stay on the main roads built by The Empire when they had conquered the region. This would mean they would pass through the Xulatar Forest, near the Warbringer Cliffs, and then turn South across the Eternal Battlefield.

Rose went back into the pocket dimension, and the two monsters began running into the forest.

Rickard flew above his charges. The paladins he had trained, who could act upon Heimfold without breaching any treatise between the various Gods, would be under his supervision. He could not physically interact with them or anything else.

Such were the terms Lux laid upon him.

And he dare not break her directive.

The holy warriors had been transported from The Sun directly to Heimfold, arriving in the town of Makhir, home to the Minor Clan of the same name.

Their arrival drew attention – it was not every day that a pillar of divine white and gold light flashed down from the heavens – and a force of Gori warriors rode out, covered with various vials, flasks, and a unique weapon that acted like a powerful slingshot. The Clan was known for their use of potions and elixirs, and those devices could launch as far as a bow’s range.

And who knew what concoctions they had for combat.

“Ignore them,” Rickard instructed the holy warriors who had begun to unsheathe weapons and prepare for combat. “We go South. To Soju. The source of these monsters who dare stain the land Lux loves.”

The paladins ran South, their feet ablaze with holy glory, and even the pursuing riders stood no chance of catching them as they sprinted towards glory and bloodshed in her name.

Lux’s will be done.

The forest was dense. Trees were packed in close, and the green tunnel they traversed through was almost claustrophobic. Not even light from The Sun wound its way down through the canopy, only the deep green glow of distorted light.

Thankfully, the main road was free of trees and undergrowth, and the group’s pace was quick for being on foot. And they were quiet in their travel, as Echo had cast Sound Suppression and tethered the effect to himself, rather than to a location.

Echo and Fumi used the opportunity to train in the canopy overhead.

Using a combination of Wallwalk, Immovable Object, and their own strength, the two were jumping back and forth across the path – propelling themselves through the air and alighting on the foliage before dashing off once more.

They both drew weapons and practiced fighting in these rapid bursts. Separating, engaging, throwing one another into the trees which would splinter and buckle under the impact. An unorthodox way of fighting, coming at each other from odd angles and suddenly stopping mid-leap to unleash a flurry of blows while stationary in space. It was a good workout, and both monsters were sweating with exertion.

Immovable Object was turning out to be a powerful Ability. Being able to fix themselves to a singular point in space was a boon that – effectively – allowed for a rudimentary form of flight. Not as smooth as true flight would be, but the jerky motion of it made for unpredictability in combat.

It was little surprise, then, that both Echo and Fumi suffered numerous wounds throughout their eclectic training.

Of course, due to Bulwark, Echo suffered the full impact of those injuries.

Hours passed in such a fashion until night fell. The forest grew dark – incredibly so – and the two made camp. Echo used Transmute Substance to turn several of the trees into a large, open space off to the side of the road. Effectively, a living house inside the trees. He retrieved their supplies from the pocket dimension ring and set about making a meal, helping Rose out as well.

“These puzzle pictures are fascinating,” she said as she brought a box out with her.

“Did you not have them in your time?” Echo asked.

“No. Our entertainment was much simpler.” She set the box down on the table and began to assemble a ludicrous, bead-based puzzle that used colors instead of jagged edges. Her speed was astonishing as her wondrous intelligence cracked patterns and utilized some unknown formula as she assembled a mountainous landscape.

Echo glanced at the quest slip they had. Thankfully, over three-fourths of the monsters sighted were crossed off. Some spell imbued into their identification was able to communicate the death of the targeted creatures with the slip. He pocketed it as he started to plate up the food.

He didn’t feel any urges towards Fumi this evening. He attributed that to their large meal earlier.

The three ate in silence. Rose offered to keep watch as she usually did, and the two monsters tucked themselves into their cot.

They continued traveling North through the forest. The night had brought with it a tumultuous storm – off in the distance they could hear thunder and lightning which frightened the local wildlife into hiding.

The rapid ‘tip-tap’ of rain beating upon the canopy above was a wonderful accompaniment to the dull thuds and solid whomps of Echo and Fumi’s airborne sparring. They continued their training from the day prior, growing more and more accustomed to the unique form of aerial combat they were developing.

Fumi and Echo stopped their sparring, locked in space as they both cast their gaze into the forest to their right. They both could smell some people over there. The scent of sweat was distinguishable from the cool, rain-soaked forest.

Fumi took the lead, and the two took off into the trees, leaping from branch to branch, trunk to trunk, and across air itself as they activated and deactivated Immovable Object with simple thought, their practice paying off.

The two monsters stood, fixed in place, above a patrol of Gori with the same tree symbol as those at the gates. The group had not noticed them but were heading slowly towards the road.

Fumi descended into their midst and cleared her throat. “Ahem!”

The patrol immediately pointed glaives at her.

“Who are you?”

“How did she get behind us?”

“Why are outsiders here?”

All the voices overlapped in Gori/Japanese.

Fumi grinned and released her Quintessence, letting it seep through her as the green aura surrounded her and red sparks flared. “I am Fumi Medrana Soju, the Maven of the Blade.”

There were mutters from the gathered warriors, and one slightly lowered his glaive. “We received reports of one calling themselves that atop Gateway.”

“That would be me,” Fumi said with confidence brimming from her every syllable. “Founder of the Soju Great Clan. I demand an audience with your Overlord.”

The surrounding troops looked at each other with uncertainty before lowering their weapons. “Very well. Is it just you?

Fumi shook her head, “My bed-servant is above you.”

The group looked up and saw Echo there – suspended horizontally above them – as he took in the whole situation and watched, with joy, as Fumi took the initiative.

The warriors muttered amongst themselves before forming a column – as best they could in the forest environment – and went to the main road. Echo and Fumi both dashed through the air back ahead of them. Once they reached it, the two monsters alighted on the road, and went at their escort’s pace.

Rickard was pleased.

They will succeed.

The warriors made their way to the Soju stronghold. His paladins were seemingly tireless as they bounded through the night and across the broken land. Destroyed by the endless conflicts.

For the Eternal Battlefield was where every Sanctioned Clan War was fought. Tradition in this region dictated that those who fell there would remain. The lush plains were scarred in places, and skeletons were overgrown along with their fallen weapons and armor.

But Rickard had no care in the world for the history of the place he was flying through.

His eyes were fixated on the stronghold in the mountains to the South.

They would reach it soon.

Tiberius was panicking.

Not because he was in any danger, but rather because someone was coming. And not the people he wanted to come.

He was strong – he knew he could handle all manner of obstacles.

But, as he looked down from the walls of the Soju stronghold, he felt a twinge of fear race down his spine.

An angel was approaching. Flying over the landscape at speeds akin to an eagle hunting its prey.

The angel cannot harm me without violating pacts.

More than that, there were holy warriors leaving a blazing trail of light behind them.

And, they had a Sunburst Lantern.

That will be a problem.

He didn’t want his monsters to die defeating these divine fighters. He wanted them to feed Echo and Fumi.

It can’t be helped. He raised his hand and pointed it at the charging group of paladins.

“Destroy.”

Rickard’s paladins were set upon from all sides. The ground itself rose up as enormous amalgamations of flesh – twisted and joined together – began to assault the holy warriors.

They screamed, extolling the virtues of Lux, and let loose with a mighty battle cry as they charged to meet these large monsters. Their hammers and blades flashed with divine energy as they carved through the monsters, the titanic ones falling as their legs were crushed or lopped off.

Explosions of holy radiance burned the battlefield and seared the sinners as the crusade against this monstrous stronghold began in earnest. The pouring rain splashed and sizzled against the divine rage exerted by these executioners of Lux’s will. They were an unstoppable force fighting against an inexorable tide of monstrous forms.

For these were not just the stitched monsters formed by an evil will; they were bound to the environment themselves, becoming one with the roots, the earth, the trees – part of the land. Monsters born from some mad, psychotic mind.

But Rickard’s gaze was drawn to something else. A deep, dull, brown light emanating from the walls above the battlefield.

What is that?

Tiberius raised the Aether Shard. Ripped from the corpse of a New God so many years ago. A fight that almost cost him everything.

But now he had the power of a God in his hand. Not constrained like the Mimic Cube’s effects to only create and alter monsters. He could do whatever he set his mind to. Provided he had the power.

He channeled his sickly energy into the object, and the shard resonated with the color of his power, growing deep, dull brown like mud stirred in the pouring rain.

“And now, to think my intent.”

A peal of thunder sounded in the distance, as the Heat – the power of the Gods – was generated by the shard.

And it enacted Tiberius’ will.

A miracle.

You are mine!

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