Chapter 1372: Bitter and Sweet
Chapter 1372: Bitter and Sweet
Chapter 1372: Bitter and Sweet
'I'm finally getting used to it, I guess. I don't feel so devastated anymore after each incident of this,' the Hybrid Warmoth told himself. He believed it, for the most part. Sudden bursts of misfortune had been his staple food for a long time, and he got used to expecting them. Even when he didn't, however, Skullius grew to know that as long as he survived, he hadn't truly lost. 'In any case, I can't be a hypocrite. I talked all big about facing great challenges head-on in that speech for mine to the Troops. I suppose this is my first real test after touching upon Divinity.'
(A/N: Refer to Ch.1265.)
As stalwart as Skullius' hope and resolve had become since coming to Aigas though, it couldn't shield him from the bitter taste of defeat. He hid it well within the very recesses of his being, but he was also screaming silently, roiling with hate and fury.
He dug into his Broader Existence. Quite like how Skullius could feel the innards of his mana core with [Depths of the Core] before, he could see the dark, abstract space of his Broader Existence. The Amras well was in the centre. It was supposed to light up everything around it, but it instead, it was a darkness itself. Well exhausted. A flicker of silvery-blue swiped out, and then another, but that was all there was.
The image gave Skullius no comfort. It only exacerbated his fury - his fury at Fulgardt and at the Primeval Deities.
[Who are you to keep us waiting?]
That line now lived rent free in Skullius' ego - wherever it nestled within him. He returned to the flesh.
He sighed. He opted to remain sprawled on the ground for a little while longer, right where Fulgardt's Corrupted Deity had dropped him.
It was only after he heard the approach of several sets of footsteps that he rose and massaged his brow.
Kenno crouched beside him, Araeyn and Sila approaching. The Unlimited Star whistled.
"I'd rather die several hundreds of times than suffer through that humiliation, boss," he said.
Skullius grabbed him by the face with one of his hands and flung him seven kilometres away. The Unlimited Star was back in a flash, however.
"And I thought me saving you this time would result in another victory, tomato flinger," Sila said. Skullius turned to him. The two locked eyes for a few moments and several knowing exchanges went unspoken between them. Sila grin.
"Yeah, well..." Skullius said, shrugging. "I'm glad you came out of your cocoon just in time to catch the battle's finale, you demented general. Just like last time."
Elita stood beside Skullius. She gave him a half sympathetic, half cautious look.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Emotionally? No." The Hybrid Warmoth stood and for the second time since Fulgardt left, he looked at the tattoo around his wrist. "Not at all."
Uyuniya was standing on his other side in the next instant. She took his hand and inspected the tattoo. Taken aback, Skullius created a mana network between his and her mind.
'Then again, she did mock me for being cautious of Deities.'
"You're awfully liberal with information now. I assumed your cooperation was limited to after we defeated the Doom Knight," Skullius said to her.
Uyuniya narrowed her eyes.
"Was all that talk about you being kin to Voided Deathforms a lie then?" she asked sharply.
Skullius shook his head. 'Right.'
"No. It wasn't. I just didn't think you'd buy into it for long," he said. "Void certainly doesn't."
"After seeing that new Parlous Nature of yours in action, I can only buy into the idea. Whatever that power is, applies the void in a manner very similar to mine, and in some aspects, it's even better," Uyuniya said. "You're Voided Deathform to me."
"Hmmm. So you really were just racist."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing when Existential Parallels are matched against each other from the start, and then shunned by most Deific beings. Besides," Uyuniya's face softened a little, "you're still fresh from one world. You'll soon discover the staggering magnitude of factions formed across reality, constantly assaulting the other for good and not-so-good
reasons."
Skullius' gaze lingered on the woman. She only just now started to feel like a person to him.
His gaze then swept over to Elita.
He could tell she was prepared to guard against him on their pending matter, but Skullius wasn't ready to indulge in his gnawing fury over Elita decisions just yet.
He had two other pending matters: the nine contracts waiting for his response, and the
portion of the Doom Knight's Broader Existence that was almost finished condensing in his
own Broader Existence.
Since the latter wasn't quite ready, Skullius decided to deal with the matter of the contracts
first.
It was going to be torture, but it needed to be done.
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