Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"Mmh? You are not vying for my crown? How come?" asked the restless king.

"I am general of the vanguard within the undead empire, a nation of death beyond this world, our territories spanning wider than both your and the living's plane combined" spoke Loimos, his words inciting reactions from the other restless present.

"General?" but not from their king, who seemed to be the only one that had any grasp on the sort of being Loimos actually was, being the only one that could see past the living disguise he wore.

"General, you say? Is that not a rank for soldiers?"

"I am a soldier"

"How curious! I hardly believe such a claim, you say that the being I wholeheartedly believed to have come to snatch my authority is but a mere soldier? Who do you serve, Soldier Loimos?" the king's empty sockets ignited with golden flames, so fierce that they even seemed they even coiled and reached into his jaw.

"King Nitok, The Prince Of Death"

"A king, huh? What sort of creature might this king be to command one who speaks the tongue of lords?" Xacobus floated away and suddenly turned back again "Ah, no matter… What are you here for, if not to challenge my rule?"

"I wish for your assistance in the extermination of the livings" not seeking to be subtle, Loimos clearly announced his intentions, which seemed to stun all of the restless, including Irlanx, who tapped one of his bony fingers against the side of his crown, as though deep in though and consulting with his royal status itself.

"The killing… Of all the livings?" he said, asking for confirmation.

"Indeed, that is one of the main purposes of the vanguard that I lead, we conquer lands and expel all influence of life, killing all and converting them to undeath" given a more precise explanation, the golden restless fell silent again.

"I see, so your 'general' status means a bit more than I initially assumed, ahah!"

"And you require my help to accomplish this feat? That is a very tempting offer that you give me, the power I sense within you gives me reassurance as to how we might be capable of cutting off the hydra's heads, put an end to the unnaturally long lives of their ancients, and slaughter all others without resistance-"

"-However… May I enquire about our fate? Us, the restless? What will be of us once your undead empire achieves its goal? No conqueror wouldn't want to tour the lands they had just brought under their rule, and no conqueror would tolerate another kingdom so close…"

"The restless and empire belong to undeath both, you shall keep your crown" the way Loimos phrased his answer did not seem to make Xacobus relieved in any form or manner.

"I might keep my throne, but will I keep my authority?"

"You may become a regional lord, but I believe that your strength is enough for you to transcend that position" spoke Loimos.

"Flattery and deception is all I hear, enough discussion! You want my help? Then come, and earn it" with a flicking of his arm, his index finger seemed to tear a hole into the fabric of space itself, giving sight into an empty plain of the dust desert.

"Follow me" said the king, floating in first, the surrounding restless were appearing true to their moniker, thrown in a turboil and uncertain what they should do, Loimos just walked in right after, and the tear in space disappeared, leaving Loimos and Irlanx Xacobus all by themselves within a large, empty expanse, in which barely any bones that generally filled the horizon could be spotted.

"A crown is warranted with strength, my fellow- You wish to make use of the authority granted by my crown? Then best me in combat, and I shall comply, aid you in the slaughter of the loathsome livings… Pillagers, who ransack my kingdom and attack my subjects for to fulfill their need for a long lifespan"

"If they wish to be eternal, should they not seek to become restless instead? I do not understand what is so attractive about being a lump of flesh that grows old, weak and feeble, what is there that life offers that the otherside does not?"

"There is nothing like this, they are merely driven by the life within them itself"

"Is that so? Then I pity them! Naught is worse than to be a puppet on strings"

The two undeads faced one another, Irlanx holding out his right arm to the side, in the blink of an eye, dozens of golden chains manifested themselves seemingly his sleeves, but in the next instant, only a few remained, whilst the rest had apparently morphed into a golden greatsword, the design of its guard reminiscent of that of the king's crown, an eye that seemed to peer straight ahead, uncaring for the obstacles.

The few chains that remained seemed to crawl up his arm beneath his robe, linked to something unseen or perhaps wrapped around him directly, using the chains left to his advantage, he swung his blade, extending its typical reach by many meters.

Loimos did not hold back and channeled all of the power that he had basically usurped through using his specificities to cheat his way through rapid progress in all of the ways of power possible.

When it came to binding an object and beast, Loimos simply bound himself in both cases, his nature as the pure undead possessing the primeval rot wasn't exactly clear, and his mastery of Lord Vespertillo's and Lord Atsalinopalo's abilities had rendered him awfully close to all manners of creatures and materials, binding himself as an object and beast to himself had been trivially easy.

As for manifestation, although he had yet to unfurl the secrets of Soul Depth Manifestation just yet, he had done so for the object and beast variants as well, naturally, the item and creature conjured up from Loimos's dead soul had no clear shape or form, deeply influenced by both his ever-changing nature brought by the rot and his related creation of Harbinger's Harvest, which was all about mastering all to become unpredictable.

The essence of his battle style was a little bit more complicated than that, but the basics were enough to get the gist.

He blocked the sword by manifesting a blade of his own, but quickly leapt away as the greatsword emitted the sound of grinding, each small portion of it were ground against one another, turning the whole thing to golden dust within instant, creating large cloud that hang around the area and did not seem willing to fall down any time soon.

At the same time, a worm-like creature sweating black blood from its every pores emerged from the dust behind the king, skewered from all sides just before reaching its mark by small blades attached on the end of chains, each of them moving like fully autonomous limbs without regards to gravity.

Only bound to their master.

The creature vanished after being struck, golden particles falling down as it vanished, seemingly placed there when stabbed.

Loimos could be nearly certain of it, not only could Xacobus manifest golden chains and then morph them into weapons of all kinds, his creations could also emit or be destroyed to spread that dust, which most certainly had an effect of some sort.

"My, usually, when I open with an easily blockable attack, my opponents get caught" he commented, hinting that that first strike had been weak by his standards, which seemed obvious, Loimos did not need to see him in action to know that Irlanx was powerful.

In fact, Loimos would say that even counting his weaknesses as a restless, that he was already well on the strength level required to become a minor lord.

"Show me what you've got, Mister General"