Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1424  The Impossible Conduit! (2)

Before Grim left the Permanent Haven…

The Unlimited Star kept nodding furiously with a thoughtful expression after Asthon had explained his reasoning – his theory for how all beasts could transcend their limits. During the explanation, he kept finding chances to scold Hauza and Azila who were still dumbfounded by some of the things the old bird said were possible.

But as excellent as the old bird's reasoning was, there was one snag. He explained it to Grim who couldn't find a way around it either.

There was indeed a problem. The Deities, as Grim now came to understand after being given dense insight, were actually hard on beasts not because they favoured humans more. Beasts had less restrictions over what they could achieve – at least in terms of raw power. Theoretically, they could get insanely powerful simply by increasing their Tiers. They didn't have limitations like Tasks and Trials, after all.

To be sure, Divinity was something that might have seemed out of their reach, but the Deities had actually hidden clever clues in their power sets for reaching levels of power they wouldn't have imagined; perhaps they only meant to limit the number of beasts who reached Divinity.

This was why Asthon attached himself to the humans – to find these clues. Indeed, they were hidden in the way humans thought and progressed.

The problem he had run into, however, was that it was difficult for a single vessel to hold the fullness of human properties and beast properties at the same time – the very thing Asthon figured was the key for a beast to transcend.

Both properties…

Both properties!

It came to Grim right then. He snapped his fingers and looked up at the colourful sky. There were roughly four hundred creatures floating about: giant golden dragonflies and human-sized blue creatures with wings like those of fairies. They were bathed in tendrils of greenish-blue energy, and their powers kept soaring.

The strongest among them was already at Tier 200.

These were the creatures extracted from Hauza and Azila's Territories.

"Wait. Maybe both these properties don't need to be infused in a singular body or your own body for that matter!" Grim cried excitedly.

"I've already thought about that, Grim. Even while using a third party or several third parties as guiding mechanisms to transmit the unique method I explained, it's impossible. Those third party also have limits. We can't create something beyond our own potential. In the case of multiple third parties – be it living or non-living conduits – the more of them there are, the harder it is to control them and guide the effects back to your body," Asthon said disappointedly.

"No, no!" Grim waved his hands as though thinking the old bird couldn't see him from wherever he was. "The boss did it once! Well, his evil self did. He created this thing – it was actually a living thing, I think – that held all his skills and powers. He could use it develop and activate even his strongest abilities effortlessly. Yuyui told me it was very strong. The Stolen Angel, I think he called it. It was a Tier 1000 or something, she said."

"Tier what?" Asthon's excitement was sparked. "But that's impossible! Even I only reached Tier 789. Doesn't this… boss of yours have a Hidden Class though? We are talking about Fulgardt levels of potential here."

Grim grinned.

"Oh, come on," he said, brimming with excitement. "The boss is on the same level, and he'd be disappointed if I didn't aim for the same kind of power he has." He rubbed his hands. "And after all this time, are you really going to complain about attempting something impossible?"

The sky in the Permanent Haven trembled, but it wasn't because some blow had attacked it from the outside.

"You have a sharp tongue, human!" Asthon said, but he wasn't angry or offended. "Whatever you hoped to lance into me, it worked. You've succeeded in igniting the fire in me for sure! I knew you were the one I was meant to meet! Let's attempt the impossible then!"

***

It was a large leopard, black as tar and fierce of face. Its spots were the shining stars that were the default design for the Granted Star Armament. Its claws, teeth and eyes gleamed with the same radiant sky-blue hue. It was a triple threat.

The creature's pulse of Null Life Essence was astonishing. Grim was still surprised that Asthon had managed to create an array that would perfectly infuse the properties of the Skullius' Granted Star Armament with Paradon Parody. The complicated matrix had been branded onto his body before he left the Haven. It would activate after he willed the Paradon Parody into existence as a separate being; that part required severing a part of himself.

Of course, this didn't mean that Asthon could perceive or even manipulate Null Life Essence. It just meant he managed to keep the networks in the Granted Star Armament functional within the pseudo-living being he and Grim had made.

And indeed, Paradon Parody had been separated from Grim's Hidden Class. It was the key to everything, after all!

Jiggorrhax was astonished by what had happened. He couldn't believe that the leopard had managed to tear a chunk of the Impermanence Fiend and without incurring any damage at all to boot!

But… what was it?

It wasn't a fully living being. It had no soul and… there were a lot of complicated arrays and runes running within it. Even he had trouble following what they were accomplishing, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

The Impermanence Fiends were a little dazed by the harm that came to one of them. Grim took advantage of that small window.

His Nitros flared and he wore the biggest grin he could. He looked at the Paradon Parody and snapped his fingers.

The leopard suddenly spun in place before pulling its paws together and hugging itself. It became a leopard-shaped statue, still and firm.

…And then a modest pressure of death began billowing from it!

…And then a modest pressure of death began billowing from Grim!

…!!!

The Impermanence Fiends hissed in fury. @@novelbin@@

What was this?

The human and the strange creature beside him were exuding a pressure like theirs! How?

It was several leagues weaker, but still… how was that possible?

'I can't maintain it for long. Haha. Of course I can't. Who knew that if you tried to harness raw death, you'd die?' Grim thought as the presence of extinction flared from his limbs. The fact that he recalled Yuyui saying she was able to use the power of death once using Demion's Dance, one of the swords Skullius had passed to Pherdanta, gave him confidence. 'But death is in my arsenal now. On my own, this will still be a challenge, but…'

He sent a message to Jiggorrhax through the mana network.

"I've got something for you, big guy. Try not to panic," he said and before the Herald could ask, the Paradon Parody shone brilliantly. Jiggorrhax did too.

His immense form released a staggering pressure into the great void… and then it began to shrink.

In less than a fraction of an instant, his outline, still glowing bright, had assumed a humanoid shape a mere three times as large as Grim's.

When the light died away from him, a new figure emerged.

It was a burly man covered in old, majestic green scales. They were part of his ridiculously thick, impractical, but imposing armour. His head was fire trowelled into an immaculate shape, burning with bluish-red hue; his eyes were flickering torrents of dark blue flame, same as his short, wild hair.

Steam and flame sprayed forth from numerous orifices in his armour, emphasising the overflow of his power.

But Jiggorrhax – initially – wasn't sure why he was suddenly feeling nearly three times as powerful as before… until he sensed it.

Something about him had changed, something fundamental.

As a dragon, Jiggorrhax cultivated power the same way as humans, Sif and Giants. He was not a beast.

But now, on top of a Stage, nine Classes, countless Skills, and mana cores… he had a Tier. If he had a guidance field, it would have shown him a staggering figure of 1,000 in front of that Tier!

The same was true for Grim who grinned at the dragon's new form!

The Impermanence Fiends were agitated by the thriving changes in their opponents.

The dragon had shrunken down, increasing its strength somehow.

Well… why couldn't they?

They screeched and their bodies were coated in morbid flares of dark red. An instant later, they were no larger than the new Jiggorrhax, with humanoid shapes that resembled some of the creatures they had devoured from other worlds.

Right when this happened, there a great crash above, and the Fruit Bearers came flying down like bolts of lightning, broken like dolls.

The Chronocle Fiend roared. It had had enough. Its roar was the match that ignited one of the shortest and fiercest battles this region of the wider reality would ever know!

---

[Author's Note]

A lot of setup, I know. But it will worth it in the next few chapters. I hope.