Chapter 1273 (2/2)
The Grim Chimera tilted his head at Decklan. “Don’t 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 Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe shot upward as more and denser Nether fueled the Skill’s activation.
Congratulations! Your Skill Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe (L) 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. Let’s 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 thing’s mouth was wide enough to drive a bus through. Yet the Grim Chimera simply waited while his opponent gathered its strength, continuing to let Reaper’s 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 couldn’t. 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 Chimera’s feet as Straud’s Skill activated. The shadows in the huge blood idol’s eyes seemed to slowly spin, releasing a mist of maroon blood into the surrounding space that began to press up against the Grim Chimera’s 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 wasn’t just an image, the Grim Chimera thought awkwardly. His Reaper’s 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 Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe (L) 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 wasn’t a bad choice. But it did display a rather poor understanding of the main body’s abilities.
Straud’s 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 Serpent’s 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 Straud’s 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 won’t 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 didn’t possess. But just like the Grim Chimera had expected, the Nether suppressed the Skill to the point that its influence was negligible.
If you’d 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 weren’t worthy of even a sliver of my attention. Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality.
The Grim Chimera stepped and the powerful muscles of his legs propelled him to a spot right next to Straud.
“You-”
The Grim Chimera impaled Straud’s 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 Straud’s head. He felt Straud continuing to persist by hiding his consciousness in his blood, but the Grim Chimera stretched out his left hand.
Nether’s Caress.
Congratulations! Your Skill Nether’s Caress (M) has grown to Level 126!
As black flames covered the Grim Chimera’s talons, he smothered the existence known as Straud before the other could understand what had happened.