Chapter 1548 (1/2)

“Are you sure you’ve managed to completely heal? I haven’t given you much time to rest,” Vualla said with a grin. Randidly just rolled his eyes and raised his massive left arm. He hadn’t remade his metal limb yet, but Sulfur’s transformation had been supercharged by an enthusiastic thumping by Vualla over the past three days. His left arm wasn’t physically present, which would drastically lower the offensive power of his left arm, but the armor would be able to handle the defensive actions even without physical support.

It was a handicap, but not a large one.

They were standing in the massive ditch in the Southern portion of Randidly’s training area. Considering both of their strength, they needed a space at least this big in order to spar safely. Plus, he had an ulterior motive for sparring with Vualla out in the open; the recruits were busy being put through another sadistic round of training by Helen, but they would hopefully be able to sense his images.

Randidly had detected in the Nether that the recruits had been uneasy, knowing that a powerful figure had attacked their Head Drill Sergeant and eliminated over a dozen other Drill Sergeants in the process. Their hesitance noticeably slowed their rate of improvement, according to Helen’s reports. So Randidly wanted to send a message. Hopefully, feeling his movements would get them back on track.

Vualla shrugged and waved the massive gauntlets that she wore on both bands. Then her azure eyes blazed as she released her image. The details of her person seemed to dim as a thin metal exoskeleton spread to cover her entire body. The dark blue metal seemed to blur the details of her features, aside from her cascade of azure hair and her glowing eyes.

She became a navy shade with azure accents.

Vualla planted her foot into the ground and accelerated forward without even waiting for Randidly to deploy his own image; Vualla was nothing if not direct.

And she was more than willing to punish him for not taking this spar seriously.

Randidly moved his Nether Nebula first, feeling his sense of time slowing down as he savored the possibilities within his own physical form. The vortex of darkness began to churn in his chest. To be honest, he had spent the last few days truly recovering. He had cooked meals with Vualla and walked through the bamboo forest. To his relief, his difficulty in using the Philosopher’s Key had noticeably dropped, although Vualla pointed out to him that repeatedly using the Fatepiece was probably hindering the healing process. But at this rate, he should be healed before he went to the frontlines.

Randidly’s right hand flexed.

Military High Command appeared to be busy with something, referenced by Lady Iellaya’s most recent report, but Randidly didn’t concern himself with that. His own capabilities were his primary concern. He needed to grow stronger.

Vualla’s presence meant that he hadn’t pushed himself much in regards to his recent discovery of the alternate ways that Nether could flow, but just being aware of this face opened his eyes to several possibilities. As his Nether Nebula began to spin more quickly and his four grey bubbles stirred in the core region, he could alternate between flows through his body to spread out some of the accumulated Nether significance. Some of the suffocating feeling in his Nether was eased, leaving him with only the potency.

Vualla had crossed almost half the distance to Randidly, blurring forward as she somehow continued to accelerate even though she hadn’t touched the ground a second time. Randidly’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. There is something about that metal covering her body… it’s able to reverse the influence of inertia? What a monster…

Of course, Randidly wasn’t going to stop back from a direct physical confrontation.

His three images surged to the forefront of his mind. The Grim Chimera became the physical form, Yggdrasil became the heart and veins, and the Stillborn Phoenix was his left eye and his very real desire to overturn the established order of this world. Sulfur hummed with pleasure as the three images flared to life, adding some passive pressure to the armor.

Randidly’s muscles bulged with force. He thrust Acri forward, all his power focused into the tip of that spear to meet Vualla.

Grit of an Ascendant Bane. Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil. Cosmic Necessity.

Congratulations! Your Skill Grit of an Ascendant Bane (T) has grown to Level 378!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ground beneath Randidly’s planted feet shattered and cracked. But Vualla’s glowing eyes widened; when the two of their bodies smashed into each other, she was knocked slightly backward. Still, there wasn’t even the slightest hesitation as her physical power was overmatched by Randidly. She lightly touched the ground with a foot and spun behind him with a graceful pivot.

Randidly followed with just as much poise and with barred deadly intent.

Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes. The Tug of Tragic Silence. The Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil.

Randidly spun around and raised Acri on a new line. As the Tug of Tragic Silence came from behind Vualla and pressed her lightly from the back to restrict her movements, Randidly exploded forward with Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes. Due to how close they were to each other, the impact was almost immediate. The holy and purifying light of Yggdrasil spread outward, sizzling against her exoskeleton.

Vualla’s azure eyes narrowed.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Congratulations! Your Skill The Tug of Tragic Silence (A) has grown to Level 238!

A ripple ran through Vualla’s metal form and the force from Randidly’s attack was somehow shunted off to the left. The muddy ground ruptured and blasted upward in a ten-meter area, but somehow Vualla had escaped harm. Fistfuls of heavy mud were thrown back toward where they were standing, but both of them had leapt apart from each other.