Chapter 1546 (2/2)
“Oh! What an interesting array.” Velio announced. The muscles along his arm bulged; instead of attacking the array, he forcefully pushed forward directly through it. Successfully. Which meant that Velio Dunn also had broken through the physical limitation of the System-
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
An explosion even more massive than the first rocked the Rally Station as the small amount of sympathy between Velio Dunn’s body and the entire floating military base saw the military base shuddering and rupturing like it had been cursed with a calamitous earthquake. The stone tunnel around them collapsed, burying Randidly in a veritable sea of boulders.
Randidly ignored the rather harmless debris, using Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to seize Heiffal, Helen, and the recruits and then carry them out of the underground. They would probably be fine, but they were his subordinates, even the recruits. He wanted to get them as far away from this monster as possible.
Then Randidly pulled out his Philosopher’s Key and opened a portal to the sky above the Rally Station, even as he felt a second overwhelming attack eating through the stone to annihilate him. With the addition of the sword, his images seemed to freeze and shrivel in a way that severely limited his mobility. Randidly had to resist the effect directly with his powerful body.
He stepped through the portal and into the air above the Rally Station just in time, but not before he felt something glance off of the fabric of his Fatepiece.
For a brief moment, the flash of soul-rending pain had Randidly hunched over and clutching his head. He began to tumble down through the air toward the crack riddled surface of the Rally Station. But with gritted teeth and his image’s assistance, Randidly forced his head up and opened his eyes. He couldn’t afford to lose focus, even for a second.
He sent a quick message to Edraine and raised his Philosopher’s Key. Immediately, his heart sank. His ability to sense locations and opened portals was slightly off, as though his senses were fuzzier than they had been in the past-
Velio Dunn burst out of the ground. He looked up at Randidly and wagged his finger at him. “Running away, Mr. Ghosthound? How disappointing. Where is your sense of challenge? I asked you for a fight!”
Randidly barred his teeth at the self-righteous individual in front of him. Even now, the most horrifying thing was that Randidly couldn’t even sense any pressure from him when he wasn’t attacking. His image was perfectly contained. “Velio Dunn, you’ve been alive for thousands of years, right? I’ve experienced the System for less than a decade. Give me five more years, and I promise I’ll give you the fight you are hoping for.”
A change came over Velio Dunn’s face. His features began to stiffen. “Fate brought us together, now, Mr. Ghosthound. Who are we to argue with the arrangements of Fate? Either you were destined to survive this encounter… or you will die.”
Randidly’s heart turned to ice. Yet suddenly, there was a flicker of movement.
“No one further will die today, Velio.” A new voice said. Randidly released an explosive sigh. The cavalry had arrived. The speaker was a giant praying mantis standing to Velio Dunn’s right. To Velio’s left there was a humanoid with a completely featureless face. Both were wearing uniforms that indicated they were Commandants. Military High Command had come out in force.
Velio Dunn’s smile shrank as he glanced back and forth. “What, two individuals can’t even have a fight anymore? What is the Nexus coming to…”
“You’ve destroyed military property, Velio. And slaughtered almost a dozen of our Drill Sergeants” The praying mantis said evenly. It waved one of its scythe arms at the broken ground. “I’m sure you are aware that the Nexus Council has you on administrative suspension. This is grounds for you to be brought in and imprisoned for your deferred sentence of 100 years.”
Velio Dunn chuckled, some of his earlier cheer creeping back into his expression. “Do you really think you have the votes to do that?”
And to Randidly’s shock, the praying mantis fell silent. But neither of the Commandants moved from their positions. Their images billowed outward from their bodies and formed a cage around Velio, protecting Randidly.
Ultimately, Velio Dunn released an aggrieved sigh. For the slightest moment, a horribly destructive image spread outward, so much so that Randidly gritted his teeth, despite the protection of the two Commandant’s “Bah, fine, fine. Another day that officious control-freaks stomp out the last bit of fun in the Nexus.” Then Velio looked toward Randidly. “Is this really how you want to live, Mr. Ghosthound? Babysat for your entire life?”
...you fucking asshole. Randidly cursed internally. All three of his images glared hatefully over at Velio Dunn. You have the fucking nerve to ridicule me for not walking forward and allowing you to slaughter me? Just you fucking wait… I won’t even need the five years. I’ll bury you in two.
Seeing that his words had no effect, Velio Dunn snorted and turned around. “Hey, Lamel… wait, where did Lamel go? Bah… what a hassle…”
The featureless humanoid vibrated out his speech through his skin. “I’ll gladly escort you back to your home, Mr. Dunn.”
After those two had left, the praying mantis looked over at Randidly. Its faintly golden eyes swiveled independently of one another, both landing on Randidly. “...hmmm. You survived a casual greeting from Velio. No wonder Wick has given you his support.”
Then the Commandant chittered and turned away. “I will be staying on the Rally Station in the future, as a precautionary measure to prevent Velio from returning. You may call me Commandant Keckle. Such a talented seedling… cannot be left for the elements to uproot.”