Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"Parents... I don't know why that question made me feel that way," Skullius said while approaching the gate to the city.

His interaction with Darwel had left him with quite a lot to sort through. Well, this was the norm anyway. The Hybrid Luman could never catch a breather.

Beyond his strange emotions though, Skullius considered what it could all possibly mean?

That was pretty damn good fortune for him to be able to score like this.

He had to thank the ever-convenient, [Evil Veneration] for allowing him to kill Dezrael back then. The boons he got from that man, no, Arch-Luminant, were still showing even until now.

That said...

'I wonder how this relationship with the princess will develop though. If she's serious about randomly dropping in on me unannounced, I might get people paying more attention to me. In that way, this might not be as good of a thing as I may have thought,' Skullius began dissecting the effects of this development.

He then shook his head.

'No. I can't afford to think that way! This is a good thing. If anything, it encourages me to grow much quicker so that all the attention doesn't weigh me down.'

Yes.

That was more like it.

This was a boon.

He had to take it as such.

This was in complete contrast to how his talk with Vali had gone last night though. That woman seemed to have her mind set on sinking her fangs into him and for what?

People really did have different outlooks.

No.

Rather, some people saw value in hidden valuable things while others just didn't have the ability to do so.

Vali was like Silrat, now that he thought about it.

She didn't know much about him but could sense his value through other subtle means.

'Actually, if I think of it like that, I can't remove the possibility that Darwel has other motives as well. Wait! Of course she does! I have motives for her too! What's so shocking about it?!' Skullius ridiculed himself.

As he passed through the streets of Genhuis on this lovely day, he concluded his thoughts on these matters after seeing the distance to the gate shorten some more.

He sighed for the umpteenth time.

A little while after getting out of the Governor's Manor, he had felt a mental link prick his mind.

Red Rage was back, along with Stylla and the rest.

However, since he had told the Apostle to not enter the city and to wait for him outside, Red Rage had obliged and now it was time to figure this out.

After several minutes, Skullius found Red Rage standing on a small hill a distance from the city gates.

The Apostle just stood there, his freakishly long cape billowing in the serenely flowing winds while a glaring light obscured his image but also gave him an epic silhouette.

It was beautiful.

Red Rage said nothing but for some odd reason, it seemed like he was saying the most comforting words ever.

His figure was so... dependable.

Sadly, this was only for those who could actually see him.

"What are you doing?" Skullius asked.

The Apostle slowly turned, even this mundane movement turning out extravagant as his white armour obtained a certain piercing halo for a brief moment.

"Ah, Master," Red Rage said before looking at himself. "I'm not doing this of my own accord. It's a skill I have. A passive one. When I'm not engaging in any complex activity for long stretches of time, my body automatically starts forming these... poses. The longer I can hold them, the longer I can charge its effect called Hero's Charm."

"Hero's charm?"

"Yes. Depending on how pure someone is, I can affect them positively through speech, gaze or touch for my benefit and theirs."

"...Riiiiight."

Skullius decided to re-check this damn Apostle's status.

It seemed Red Rage had even more surprises than he had imagined. The price of brushing over this was too big!

~~~

[ Name : Red Rage ]

[ Tier : 2 ]

[ Apostle Trait : None ]

[ Rank : None ]

[ Level : 4 ]

[ EXP : 510/1800 ]

[ Core : Blue ]

[ Class : Tempered Skull Hegemon ]

[ Race : Juvenile Pelvic Arbiter ]

[ Inv. Status : Feeling heroically melancholic ]

-------

[ Stats ]

[ STRENGTH (I) : 1,016 ]

[ AGILITY (I) : 789 ]

[ INTELLIGENCE (I) : 1,560 ]

[ ENDURANCE (I) : Infinite ]

[ LUCK : 90 ]

-----

[ HEALTH (I) : 5,896/5,896 ]

------

[ MANA (I) : 14,670/14,670 ]

-------

[ Null Life Essence : 3,000/6,000 ]

-------

[ Skills ]

[ Advanced Null Life Aura | Lv. 14 ]

[ Bull Charge | Lv. 45 ]

[ Serious Dead End | Lv. 56 ]

[ Quick Flick | Lv. 37 ]

[ Penetrate | Lv. 23 ]

[ Super Dash (Special) | Lv. 12 ]

[ Scale (Special) | Lv. 47 ]

[ Greater Bow Mastery | Lv.15 ]

[ River Dance Technique | Lv.5 ]

[ Solid Punch | Lv. 8 ]

[ Weaver | Lv. 6 ]

[ Guard Light | Lv. 14 ]

[ Advanced Mana Manipulation | Lv. 17 ]

[ Blessing of Serenity ]

<Racial>

[ Arbiting Warp (Special) | Lv.3 ]

[ Impregnable Balance Buckler | Lv.4 ]

[ Hero's Counter Sequence (Special) | Lv.9 ]

[ Executive Arbitration (Special) | Lv.5 ]

[ Arbiter's Stance (Special) | Lv. 7 ]

<Fusions>

[ Berserk Guardian of Golden Legends (Special) | Lv.1 ]

<Class>

[ Tempered Ascension | Lv.5 ]

[ Forged Steel Bones | Lv.2 ]

~~~

"Ridiculous as always," Skullius said with a fake smile and a nod. "Good job, bro."

"I did do a good job, didn't I, Master?" Red Rage said while sneakily patting Skullius' shoulder.

Skullius realised what he was trying to do immediately.

"That won't work on me," he said as he swiped away Red Rage's hand. "Besides, I don't think I qualify as pure."

Red Rage muttered parentally guided curses.

"So, what are we going to do about you getting into the city?" Skullius asked while scratching his chin.

"As I said before, Master. I don't think it's a problem at all. Null Life is 100% able to void Divination."

"You said it was a theory last time!"

"I... calculated and figured it might as well be true on my way here."

"It might as well?!"

"That was joke, Master. Seriously, I have confirmed it.... somewhat."

A vein throbbed on Skullius' forehead and Red Rage took a few steps back while asking his master to calm down.

"I have generally been watching and listening to everything you've been doing ever since you got here, Master and if there are seven Diviners in the city tasked with keeping it safe, I don't believe they would leave you be after knowing of your existence," Red Rage explained.

"That's too shallow of a reason. I've heard that those Diviners give divinations for assistance on a whim. Besides, they are powerful individuals, their divination should be the same," Skullius countered.

"That may be true, but do you remember when you were divined by Damilla, that Diviner from Inhone City?"

"What about her?"

"She couldn't see much to do with your Penetrator form or anything related to Null Life powers. The same was true for your other powers as well. If you manage to learn to use Null Life Essence to cover your body constantly, you will be able to hide your secrets. As will I."

Skullius took a moment to think it through.

The thing with Damilla was true. That hateful Diviner...

She truly hadn't been able to ascertain what Skullius' true form was like. Perhaps she was just weaker but this was proof enough still.

"Are you capable of teaching me?" Skullius asked with furrowed brows.

"Probably."

"Probably?!"

"I was just joking, Master. I am... quite sure."

"You've developed a sense of humour, huh?" Skullius said while shaking his head.

Well, everything aside, he did need someone to teach him how to properly use Null Life Essence in general and keeping Red Rage outside the city would be problematic for consistent learning. Not to mention when the fiasco with Darwel started and people started paying more attention to him, he would be scrutinised because of this 'Knight in white'.

Tsk.

It seemed there were only three options.

Send Red Rage to Replicus or keep him close within the city.

In all honesty, Skullius would prefer having Red Rage by his hide. He somewhat missed having eccentric characters by his side all the time.

Reliable, eccentric characters.

Ferex and Yuyui played those parts well but they were gone now.

The Hybrid Luman sighed.

"Fine, you can stay with me. Hopefully we can fool that second sun too. If your plan doesn't work though, you're flying us out of Genhuis City a—"

"At godspeed!" Red Rage finished Skullius' sentence while shooting his hands to his hips and standing aloof, his cape fluttering without the need of any convenient wind.

"..."

"Whatever. Let's get going," Skullius said. "And by the way, can you lose the cape? It's a bit much."

Skullius knew the dangers that awaited at the gate. If Red Rage wore his cape, they would definitely be stopped and stripped bare for all their secrets.

With enough luck, which Red Rage had a lot of now, maybe, just maybe, they could both pass without a hard time.