Chapter 1643 (2/2)

The image he had chosen was a powerful bronze suit of armor which condensed immediately around his body. The original shape was slightly wrong, but Raymund’s mastery of his Skill had reached the point where he could massage the edges of the stolen images in order to utilize them more effectively.

It only took a second for him to transform into a bronze god of war, looking resignedly at Techetadore’s oncoming strike. He crossed his arms and braced himself. “You cannot kill me, little brother!”

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The image shattered and the bones of Raymund’s arms fractured. He fell unconscious for a brief moment and was awakened by the sensation of the back of his skull slamming into the shattered floor of the crater. The bronze light that had suffused him quickly faded and left him breathing heavily on the stone ground.

Even over the sounds of battle, Raymund could hear Techetadore’s laugh. “Ha! Amusing. But as delightful as this melodrama is… goodbye.”

Yet even as Techetadore crossed the distance between them in an instant and raised his hand above the helpless Raymund with obvious intent to end his life, Raymund smiled up at his brother’s body. Because he had successfully fulfilled his superior’s orders.

Techetadore seemed to sense something at the last second. The Vulpine’s eyes widened and he twisted around. “You-”

“I suppose it’s my turn for a dramatic ambush,” A tired-looking Randidly Ghosthound said, his voice carrying easily across the thirty meters of distance between them. Techetadore frowned over at the Ghosthound, just as the ground beneath him began to glow.

His expression twisted into a look of genuine fear just as the Nether Array beneath his feet activated.

*****

Truly, Randidly was exhausted. Manipulating so many flows of Nether, arranging a grand working, and stabilizing everything with an image overlay were three tasks that he believed himself to be very capable of doing. However, doing all three at once, while also enduring the mental pressure of standing in this chaotic and being surrounded by some of the most powerful individuals in the Nexus had left him completely drained.

His fingers tingled unpleasantly and he felt quite light-headed.

Currently, his Nether Core was spinning so quickly as it struggled to keep up with his Nether demands that it was showing signs of instability. Maintaining the Nether Ritual that dealt with the spatial walls remained a constant drain on his psyche, so recovery was extremely slow.

However, Randidly had paid close attention to Raymund’s story of Techetadore’s overwhelming physical prowess. He felt quite a bit of stress about his meeting with Shal, but Randidly’s mind was also carefully turning over the problem of Techetadore as they had proceeded deeper through the spatial islands. How could a young man, who was admittedly talented, completely overwhelm Raymund Ballast after vanishing for only a few months, when Raymund had experienced five years in Randidly’s Alpha Cosmos?

This Techetadore might have access to a source of Aether to allow him to experience a similar amount of time dilation, but Randidly smelled a rat. But it was only after he observed Shal’s heartbreaking act of throwing aside his own image to use an Armament that he had an inkling of the ‘how’ of Techetadore’s improvement.

So Randidly had set a trap, just in case. After all, as he maintained the wild and barely controllable Nether Ritual to counter the spatial walls and melt the Nether Spire, few individuals would be capable enough to observe some of the more minor movements of Nether. So he had borrowed a lesson from Engraving Guild and made some emergency preparations.

It was a modified version of the trap they had attempted to spring on Randidly and Seeker Thunder Wing in the isolated marsh space. Luckily, Randidly had noticed in time and killed the creator of the array, meaning they hadn’t had to face the Nether Ritual directly.

Because this was the type of Nether Ritual that couldn’t actually be overpowered if it took you by surprise. The easiest way to describe the array would be to compare it to physically tripping someone, only it targeted an image.

The Nether Ritual forcefully made an image aware of its own size, weight, and complexity. The method was esoteric, but it wasn’t possible to dodge or block. An image’s own size and potency would be turned against it.

The more powerful the image was, the more brutal the shock would be.

Time to see how powerful you truly are, Techetadore. Randidly grinned over at his foe as he activated the Nether Ritual.