Chapter 1712 (1/2)
Still, Velio was slowly adjusting to Randidly’s increased speed. Randidly’s attack cracked the ambient energy of his foe’s defensive image, but the tan and muscular man twisted sideways and earned only a tear in his armor.
Then Velio retreated, rings of cobalt fire forming around his person that blocked all of Randidly’s avenues of attack. He raised his sword and looked at Randidly with a baleful expression.
For his part, Randidly was willing to give Velio space. The feeling of his speed was intoxicating, but he was still deeply exhausted. Every extra second helped. His Nether Core stabilized further and the discomfort from absorbing Tellus continued to decrease. Even if he was feeling slightly ‘overstuffed’, he had already swallowed the planet. The worst was now over. The Alpha Cosmos begrudgingly expanded, accepting the flow of significance that had now joined it.
Influence +9!
Influence +8!
Influence +6!
…
The accumulation of significance and Influence was slowly stabilizing, coasting back down to normal levels just above forty-four thousand. Randidly’s image physicalizations were also buoyed by the return of Nether to his body and became stronger. The natural armor of the Grim Chimera covered him. His veins gleamed with a luminous golden light. The graceful tail that had forcefully supported the Nether Ritual had now become armored and deadly as it undulated behind him.
“You…” Velio spoke quietly. “You insist on repeating those same mistakes of the past. I suppose I should compliment you for resembling that figure so closely… But all I feel when I look at you is disgust. Do you know how hard we had to fight not to be dragged along with that madman to our doom? And yet. AND YET YOU-!”
Randidly raised his spear and regarded Velio Dunn calmly as his shoulders shook with obvious rage. The bald and muscular man seemed completely lost in his memories as he continued to mutter. “And yet here you are… the spitting image of that hollow man…! If it’s to kill you… I will even break my oath…”
A ripple of Aether spread outward from Velio Dunn’s body. Randidly’s skin prickled as the cobalt runes across his bastard sword dimmed and then disappeared. Even though Randidly’s senses didn’t rely on light to see his enemy, the abrupt darkness left him briefly nonplussed. And then suddenly, Grim Intuition screamed that Randidly should retreat. And perhaps he would have even attempted that, but his senses also warned him that Velio Dunn had not exactly been idle while he was ‘waiting’ for Randidly to finish absorbing Tellus.
A complex cage of Aether surrounding them, forcing Randidly to keep his word that he would duel Velio for ten minutes.
The one silver lining was that the mechanism was tied to his word; Randidly could sense that somehow Velio had utilized Nether principles so that for the first ten minutes, the defenses of the Aether construct were vastly improved by his oath. But after that, Randidly should be able to force the issue and escape…
...but for now, Randidly licked his lips as he watched a dead-eyed Velio heft his sword. In so many ways, the change made him nervous. Across the skin of Velio’s arms and face, small crystals were forming. They were small and fragile, but they made Randidly’s heartbeat flutter. That… is that… crystalized Aether forming naturally on him…?
“I’ll ask you nicely one more time,” Velio rumbled. “Die for me.”
Randidly didn’t bother to point out that what Velio said wasn’t a question. His images spun together, supporting and settling into one another. Yggdrasil, the Stillborn Phoenix, and the strangely luminous Grim Chimera all surged with his Willpower, releasing ripples of power that pressed against the Nexus’ framework of Aether. With the base of his Nether Core linking the three images even more tightly than before, the multiplicative effect of utilizing all three at once had increased. Randidly felt massively powerful.
Not in terms of image detail, but simply in terms of clout. His weapons were blunt… but they were powerful.
Congratulations! Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 440!
Then, on top of that boost, Randidly conjured the spectral flames of Weight and forced his power even higher. Against this Velio Dunn that gave him the chills, he held nothing back; he didn’t bother to withhold any secrets before the watching Claudette. Velio observed the changes in Randidly with narrowed eyes and then snorted. Both blurred into motion.
Randidly pressed his lips together. Even as he danced through the air, Velio was suddenly much more capable of adjusting to his sharp bursts of acceleration. So you still can go a little faster, huh…?
Randidly still had the advantage in speed, but whatever transformation his opponent was experiencing brought theme near enough that he wasn’t as intoxicatingly dominant as before. As he advanced, Velio Dunn’s image radiated out from him. His body seemed to become the core of a dying star, a white pinprick surrounded by cobalt flames. And from within that collapsing star, the suddenly dead metal of Velio’s sword swung forward.
Acri screamed out to meet the bastard sword. The tip of Randidly’s weapon glowed cherry red. Pernicious Fang of the Shade. Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil. Cosmic Necessity.
CLLLLAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!
Congratulations! Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 291!
Congratulations! Your Skill Pernicious Fang of the Shade (L) has grown to Level 309!