Chapter 1555 (2/2)

When he had confirmed with Edraine that she would be paying attention to his position, even she had warned him not to go too deep down the spine. The power there was a threat to even her. Hopefully, Randidly’s unique advantages would allow him to survive at the depth required to warn off Velio.

As Randidly shot downward, the presence of Nether in the air rapidly increased. In addition, thick geysers of dangerous emotions smashed against the sides of the hollow spine as they ran their violent course. Velio must truly have been caught by surprise because Randidly opened up quite a bit of distance before he began to move.

Randidly even used Man is Proud, but the Chimera Takes to explode downward with a little extra intensity. From the location where Randidly originally had been floating, the Nether content in the air increased from 5% to 5.5%. Then it shot up to 6% and then 7%. The air whooshed past his skin, leaving him tingling.

But then Velio was there, right in front of Randidly, with a vicious expression on his face. “Fucking kid. If you are just going to be suicidal, let me help you along.”

Velio Dunn’s hand on his sword twitched. At the same time, Randidly was mobilizing every bit of strength that he possessed. Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold. Chimeric Impunity. All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth.

Congratulations! Your Skill All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth (M) has grown to Level 245!

As he did in the practice, Randidly didn’t search for a version of himself that could survive. Or at least, Randidly didn’t reach for specifics. With Revelation energy sharpening his vision and giving him a predictive edge, Randidly joined the collective sea of parallel Randidlys and rapidly gathered more and more versions of himself in the same hanging moment. To him, they were all data.

They were alternatives.

He observed them die in droves through their resonance, experiencing a horrible backlash from the extinctions in the process. It was mental strain on a tier that he had never experienced before. Each death was like a small emotional bomb that sought to infect and destabilize his images. Yet he couldn’t spare the attention to deal with that now.

After observing one thousand six hundred and three varying methods of moving through the present and feeling one thousand five hundred and eighty-two end in his death, Randidly slammed every ounce of himself into Chimeric Impunity. He slid to the side, seeking to dodge through one of those narrow possibilities.

1.4% survive rate from only the first blow...Randidly barred his teeth. And he calls this a fair duel? What a hypocrite.

But that was not all the preparations he needed to make to survive. Aside from the recently formed, still small grey bubble in his Nether Nebula, Randidly pulled all four of his other grey bubbles into his right hand. He didn’t attempt to meet the blow, simply struck at the space between them in an attempt to screen the attack. Time turned sluggish as the sheer mass condensed in his hand warped the surrounding space. Radiating waves of gravity rippled through the distance between them.

Velio’s eyes narrowed in mild surprise.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Impunity (M) has grown to Level 338!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Impunity (M) has grown to Level 340!

Randidly felt the bones of his wrist and forearm shatter. The entirety of his hand was simply numb, when made it seem likely the nerve endings in the appendage had just been annihilated before he could feel. The next thing he knew, he had slammed into the side of the Web, skidding and tumbling deeper down toward the mass of significance waiting below.

Randidly blinked several times as Yggdrasil wrapped its warm branches around his Soulspace and began to rapidly heal the mental and physical damage he had taken. The speed of his descent was quick, almost as quick as he had been going previously, just smashed downward this time by the force of Velio’s attack. His rattled mind gradually calmed down and Randidly immediately forced his gaze back upward, toward the figure of Velio Dunn.

The man’s wild smile had returned; his eye was filled with a manic gleam. “Hey, you’re pretty tenacious, you know that? It’s probably been a hundred years since I’ve faced a seed like you. But if you think this is enough…”

Perhaps the most horrifying detail of the picture was that the last blow was struck with Velio’s sword still in its sheath. Now, Velio gripped the leather piece of equipment and pulled it off, revealing his massive blade in all its glory. The gleaming cruelty in Velio’s eyes brightened.

He was playing with his food. It seemed that Velio’s enjoyment of this process wasn’t faked, at least.

Of course, Randidly didn’t have much spare attention to study the sword; everything about him hurt. The Nether content in the air around continued to steadily rise as he fell, nearing 15%. Some of the more powerful emotions surging through the air had enough potency to sizzle and blister against Randidly’s skin. Yet after Velio finished speaking, he vanished.

Feeling a sick sensation, Randidly twisted midair. Velio waited below, the blue runes on his sword glowing so brightly that it was almost blinding. “This is where you die, Mr. Ghosthound. Truly, it’s been a pleasure.”

Randidly looked down at his hand; the skin of his right hand flopped around like the slimy remnants of a popped water balloon. A bitter smile covered his face. I suppose it’s too much for this foe to look at me and have some deep realization about himself, leading to a mental breakdown, huh…?