Chapter 460 (2/2)

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Do it, the order came, and Tziech looked up from the grim task of defending the Thief as she poisoned this land. After a time, mechanical crows the size of a Spriggit youth, about half a meter long, came and began harrying them. They were weak, however, but they approached exponentially. By now, millions seemed to be flying towards them, their wing beats shaking the sky.

He approached the pouch on the ground and unwrapped it. Then he remembered the warning from the Progenitor’s mouth and grabbed the Thief.

He said, “Wait a few seconds and come back through. Grab the lights.” Then he shoved her into the pillar of crimson light, receiving a yelp in return.

Then, cool as a cucumber, he drew a match and dropped it on the packet of powder, the crystals sparkling up at him. As the match fell, he remembered the words when it was given to him.

The Progenitor has worked tirelessly these past few days to reach enough strength to bless you with a single gram of this. She had said. Treat it carefully. It is called Tellumurite, and to the Creature, it should be poison.

The match hit the powder and flame, sparking it. The heat caught on the ambient energy in the air, and all of his world became fire and pain.

****

After the Creature had disappeared, Randidly wasted no time in turning to Cyndra, who seemed stunned. The gambit took time and relied upon the denizens of his Soul Skill, but it was the only way that Randidly and Lucretia could figure out to strike a blow that would actually stick. The portal between the Soul Skills was the first time they could actually find a part of the Creature, and they intended to mine it for as much information as possible.

It might have been safer to immediately ignite the Tellumurite when the people were inside of the Creature’s Soul Skill, but Randidly also wanted to know if meaning from the spear would be an effective weapon. And if they had time, they should test it. Randidly doubted that this would be a permanent setback, but he intended to make it one that hurt.

Lastly, Randidly knew what would happen to the person who activated the Tellumurite. For that reason, for the life of one of his little soul children, he wanted to exhaust the other avenues before utilizing it.

As Randidly raised his spear, however, her eyes sharpened, and she took a fighting stance, glaring at him. What made him wince, however, was that she now exuded a killing intent that was a hundred times sharper than before. No longer was he facing an overpowered puppet, he was facing Cyndra, a woman who had kept her people safe for generations, and Randidly wasn’t sure he would normally be able to face her down.

But, alas, she still possessed the body of a puppet and all the weaknesses that entailed.

“Although I can no longer feel its presence, I will still kill you. My people owe it a great debt. With your death, that debt will be paid,” Cyndra informed him shortly, her eyes narrowed. Below them, there was a dull rumble in the ground, and both of them paused, wondering what this new development was. But then it faded, and their attention turned back to each other.

When she moved, however, Randidly spoke, and she stopped dead.

“Erode Meaning.”

Randidly had come to one conclusion based on his use of the Breath of the Spear Phantom; based on how well it worked, his Willpower must be much, much higher than hers. It also explained where all the extra Stats Cyndra had in Strength came from. Resistance was her only mental defense.

However, as long as the Creature was there, Randidly wasn’t willing to attempt it. If he ran up against her Willpower… well, Randidly had no delusions about how that would end.

Plus, it made sense, as one under the control of the Creature, it would keep Cyndra’s Willpower low.

When Cyndra struggled to straighten, her eyes foggy, Randidly hit her with Erode Meaning again, gritting his teeth. He was nowhere near his top form, weakened from producing so much Aether and the earlier backlash from Breath of the Spear Phantom. So this time, he followed it up with old-fashioned violence.

His roots brought his spear back to him, and be began lopping off her limbs, hitting her with Erode Meaning when her struggles were too effective, until she stilled underneath him, her blood pooling.

Randidly had gained a Level, he noticed, but he just felt tired.

Do we have-

Someone went in to see what they can find, Lucretia replied. Randidly nodded warily.

Then he swore, as the rumbling from below came back, louder this time, dust falling from the roof of the arena. “What the fuck is that?!?”

Lucretia was silent for a few seconds and then said, I have a bad feeling.

What?

Well… Lucretia continued. That we are about to discover what most of the Creature’s attention was on during our fight.

Then the floor exploded upwards underneath Randidly.