Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1423  The Impossible Conduit! (1)

"Keep your focus!" Asthon's voice came to Grim.

'I know dammit!' the Unlimited Star snapped in his own private mind space. Indeed, he knew.

That was why he had cast away his Nitros and was drifting upwards stiff as a board without making the slightest movement. He feared that even the twitch of his finger would ruin everything before he was ready. The conditions of the great void assaulted him mercilessly, but they were the least of his worries.

Jiggorrhax, who was momentarily stunned by Grim's physical appearance was forced to snap out of his daze when the Impermanence Fiends vanished from his sight, deciding finally that they didn't have to respect the immense presence of life energy now that their target was separated from it.

They aimed for Grim at once, appearing around him.

The Unlimited Star gritted his teeth and activated Tranquil Instance with his Granted Star Armament. He was immediately flushed in a bold, blue outline that sent tendrils outward; it was operating at full capacity.

The Impermanence Fiends would have had him if it wasn't activated. They didn't draw too close after the boundary of Null Life Essence was established, but they didn't give up either.

'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' Grim thought when the creatures encircled him. A cord of reddish black, like a ribbon, connected them together, and an ominous presence that felt distinctly like a warm, dusty breeze swept over everything in the vicinity. It was bad, Grim and Jiggorrhax knew.

The Herald's eyes shone with urgency.

Asthon capitalised on that. He informed the dragon of what he needed to do immediately.

Jiggorrhax was up to the task.

'Very well. I hope your hypothesis is sound,' he thought, and he turned his whole body to Grim and the Fiends as best as he could, flames leaking from his teeth.

He considered the whole situation and reconciled it with what the old bird had told him.

Would that young human really be…?

From the look of him, it certainly looked like he could.

Grim's white hair was now a silvery-blue and so much more voluminous than before. It danced for three meters past his skull. But it could it even be called hair anymore? It was alive. Parts of it formed serpentine shapes, some of it wolven or even great predatory fish. The shapes seemed eager to race away from Grim and his scalp.

His face was littered with what might have been illusory worms of gold and blue, crawling beneath his skin. They made him look both scary and complex as a living organism. Some of them – much fewer – traced the surface of Granted Star Armament. Some energy unknown was throbbing from the Unlimited Star.

Asthon told Jiggorrhax to preserve Grim's life until that energy was given a proper shape.

"BURN."

The Herald drew in a deep breath of his Nitros and his chest grew to twice its original size, the green scales over it flushed with a glowing bluish-red.

The instant Jiggorrhax's attention was stolen away, though, the Chronocle Fiend made a swift decision, like its travelling companions. It would also join the fray. If the Impermanence Fiends were becoming this active, it wouldn't need to expend too much energy. Perhaps it would only need a few uses of that.

The Fruit Bearers responded to its sudden movement. They extracted more Treasures. This time, one of them produced a Realm rank Prime Treasure. It looked like a large, ivory pot with a wide mouth spotting jagged teeth on its face.

Indeed, Treasures were hard for mortals to handle. Elita's Broodweiler had been subdued for her by Void herself and when Skullius had left the World rank Treasure for the First Horn of Maqi earlier, he had noted that it was a special kind without a will of its own: a Charged Mantle.

The Fruit Bearers could effortlessly use Treasures because they were more puppet than human. They had no souls. They had no real will. They were special vessels, powerless on their own, but especially receptive to magical tools and Suzamete's will. They imbibed the powers of the tools they wielded and were perfect short-term vessels for the Deitess of the skies.

The Realm rank pot one of them produced caused the Chronocle Fiend to hesitate for a split moment. Treasures outscaled every other aspect of the Common Reality Leagues of the same level, after all.

'If this works…' he thought, gulping.

Jiggorrhax's breath fizzled out right then.

The Impermanence Fiends didn't waste time before warping towards Grim again. They were determined not to lose another moment without him in their clutch.

But the Unlimited Star was hoping for it. That was why he had left the Permanent Haven before finishing the process of creating the thing, the conduit, Asthon and him had planned.

One of the Impermanence Fiends morphed its jellyfish-like body to create a strange, tentacle-like to grab Grim, completely disregarding the twitching arm beside him.

That was a mistake.

A grave one. @@novelbin@@

Grim's severed limb suddenly exploded, tendrils of ugly, white, veiny flesh flying in all directions, devouring the portion of the Granted Star Armament around it and integrating the worms visible on its surface.

In less than a fraction of a micro-second, it adopted a familiar yet unfamiliar shape, and its large canine head whipped forth, its large fangs biting at the tentacle of the Impermanence Fiend!

By the time the Fiend decided to draw back its tentacle, it was too late. A chunk of it had been torn off and was being swallowed by the thing beside Grim.

The other Impermanence Fiends were disturbed.

How was this possible?

Any living creature that touched them was fated to succumb to death!

The answer flared in their senses right then.

The creature beside Grim, who was grinning and geeking out, was flushed with Null Life Essence!

The creature he had made… was Paradon Parody, an aspect of his Hidden Class, but with several unfathomably powerful augments that wouldn't affect him alone.

One of them was undoubtedly its Tier; it was something no beast on Aigas had or would ever be able to achieve.

It was an Impossible Tier reminiscent of the Stolen Angel's: 2,500!