Chapter 1644 (1/2)

The ground groaned as it attempted to contain the powerful and admittedly rough-edged Nether that Randidly fueled through the array. Luckily, the material didn’t collapse and the Nether Ritual successfully activated.

Congratulations! Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual (L) has grown to Level 234!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual (L) has grown to Level 240!

Visually, it looked like the space around Techetadore was squeezed by an invisible fist, warping the features of his face and body into a cartoonish leer. The Aether reverberations were alarming; even the aftershocks of that image being struck by its own power made Randidly grit his teeth. He had to desperately stabilize his Nether Core for a full second in the face of that blast.

Then, before Randidly’s eyes, Techetadore’s flesh turned grey and flaked away from him. In a split second, only a skeleton was left. In the next moment, even that skeleton crumbles to dust and was buffeted away by the shockwaves from nearby battles.

“He… is dead…?” Raymund was trembling as he pushed himself up in a sitting position and looked at the spot where his brother had been standing.

Randidly frowned and turned back toward the Engraving Guild. Purple-black Revelation energy flared in his eyes. “...no, but I suspect he wanted us to think that. I can sense… something. That same image that was within Techetadore’s body reforming within the Engraving Guild headquarters. With… significance that makes me believe that he took your brother’s body with him. But…”

Pressing his lips together, Randidly shook his head. Raymund seemed at least relieved by that answer and then leaned his head back against the ground. His subordinate’s eyes fluttered shut. As Randidly activated Yggdrasil and aided the recovery of the Foxman, he tried to unravel the problem of Techetadore’s body. How had the body collapsed and then reformed in another place…?

He wasn’t just trying to comfort Raymund, his Grim Intuition and Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold agreed this is what happened. But there were a few problems with this.

As far as Randidly concerned, there were two possibilities. One was that the Techetadore they had seen was just a projection. They hadn’t even been fighting the main body and both Raymund and Helen had been treated like toddlers. The second possibility was that, after being seriously wounded by the Nether Array, Techetadore had somehow managed to tunnel through space and escape back to somewhere safe.

The only problem was that Randidly had not been able to sense evidence of either of these possibilities. Which meant that whatever was living within Techetadore’s body was incredibly strong.

Well, it should be enough to have forced him back for now… but this also means that’s another foe I’ll need to look out for after this is done… Randidly glanced at Vulpine on the ground in front of him, lying with closed eyes and desperately gulping at the air. It truly seems like the Swacc Family considers Raymund a strategic level threat, due to his image stealing capabilities.

Randidly rolled his shoulders and sucked in a deep breath of his own. Yggdrasil’s image wasn’t just helpful for those around him. And break time was over. He might not be at peak mental strength, but he had recovered enough to assist with the attacks from the Engraving Guild.

But as Randidly turned to walk purposefully toward the battlefield, he saw Claudette hurrying toward him, holding up a wounded Helen. Randidly grimaced and spread out his Yggdrasil image. The invigorating energy sank into Helen’s body and immediately he could see her expression ease somewhat. She pushed away Claudette’s arm and sat on the ground.

“You alright?” Randidly asked after propelling himself over to the two women with a powerful step. He had seen Helen being knocked to the side, but he had his hands full stabilizing the space and preparing the trap. Plus, he had trusted that she would be able to endure that blow.

Helen offered him a lopsided smile as she pressed one hand into the ground and held the other to her chest. “I’ll live. That fucker was strong, though.”

“But congratulations, Mister Ghosthound,” Claudette said with a dazzling smile. “We’ve made it.”

Randidly tilted his head to the side and pursed his lips. “What do you mean?”

Claudette gestured, but not to the ongoing conflict between the Engraving Guild and the Pinnacle Seekers. Her finger pointed away from the intermittent clashes in the opposite direction, toward the battlefield where Military High Command was assaulting a Nether Spire. “Looks like they are about to finish up over there.”

As Randidly’s gaze followed her gesture, he saw a man raise an enormous bow that was wreathed in silver fire. He began firing off arrows that were so visually overwhelming that even Randidly had to avoid looking at them directly. The Nether Heralds were forced backward, allowing the bow-wielding man to reach the Nether Spire. He pulled back on his flaming bow and held that position for several seconds, gathering power. Even though Randidly was stabilizing the space and providing visibility, heat distortions around the man drew surreal waves that lapped outward into his surroundings.

Then the man fired the arrow and a massive roar echoed across the entire crater. The blazing arrow zipped forward and began to rapidly eat away at the Nether Spire. Within a few seconds, those careful Nether Rituals carved into the structure were completely invalidated. The material of the base was annihilated.

With a rumbling crash, the third Nether Spire fell. Significance began to pool wildly, leading to a widespread heaviness in the air.