Bro, I'm not an Undead!

What was with this guy all of a sudden? Skullius was puzzled and confused.

This didn't last long though, as right when he was looking to understand what had ticked Dezrael off...

[The Doom Factor has caught up]

[You have failed t—

"Oh come on!" Skullius completely threw all his previous thoughts aside and rushed towards Dezrael!

He started sucking off... the mana that came from his body and armour!

Just the little bit of time he had spent away from the concentrated mana source that was Dezrael had already warranted the Doom Factor to catch up!

He had ignored the wrathful face of Dezrael along with the intimidating presence as he had to be ali- not be erased above anything else.

Skullius didn't look at Dezrael's face as he continued to use [Basic Mana Manipulation] to absorb mana.

The influence of Dezrael on his body hadn't ceased. His act of rushing towards Dezrael hadn't gone against the orders that he had been given thus it was excused.

"I was not captured," Dezrael breathed out deeply as he calmed down, voicing with a soft tone.

"Gotcha," said Skullius as he wore a limp smile, his hands rising to strike against the yoke again.

And again.

TAK! TAK! TAK!

This was the sound that pervaded the surroundings for a long time as no one spoke for a while.

[Basic Mana Manipulation has levelled up!]

'Oh,' Skullius thought. It was something that he should have expected, but somehow it had gone over his head because of the tense situation. 'I wonder how much I can level this skill up. Maybe I can try other stuff to level it up as well.'

Time passed.

The Discount Human continued to work while also throwing some hateful insults in hopes that [Pseudo Evil Veneration] would work.

Split open!

Explode!

Disarm yourself!

Nothing worked!

After trying for a while, Skullius gave up on trying this art for now as he saw Dezrael's face becoming uglier with each phrase he threw.

He didn't know how much time passed but it certainly wasn't as long as his mind made it seem. [Flesh It Like You Mean It] hadn't been dispelled after all.

This whole thing made him feel like he was back in Deadmanland again. The monotony. The bore.

Doing something over and over again without the sense of it growing unbearable, only slightly annoying was a tragic experience.

Somanda sentenced him and everyone to this fate without remorse, enjoying the invisible pain that was reflected on him and his fellow Moronic Undead in passing.

It wasn't fleeting. It was prevalent, making Somanda enjoy it as a form of leisure for his aged existence that barely felt a thing aside from a twisted sense of pleasure.

How would divine beings experience any form of stimulation?

Through aspects that mortals would consider unruly, immoral or evil.

That was the point of Divinity. Not being bound by the norm.

Skullius gnashed his teeth as he remembered Somanda's words.

They ignited a sense of agitation and irritation that spurred him to grasp the mana from Dezrael with an even more intense grip.

A wave of cool energy would alleviate his pain and allow him to furiously continue his task without much of a problem and Skullius got used to it.

He also got used to receiving the numerous notifications about [Basic Mana Manipulation] levelling up.

With each subsequent notification and enhancement to the skill, Skullius felt the range and clarity of mana become detailed, his control also becoming better.

Each level of the skill caused a significant change to his mana control abilities and he kept at it.

Skullius had switched from slashing against a new spot to cutting at the deeper part that was left behind by the last challenger who ventured here.

After who knew how long, Skullius was already three quarters deep into the yoke.

The more he kept manipulating the darkness, the better he got at it.

Even Dezrael who had expected for Skullius to take longer as he was weaker than the past challenger, was surprised.

Skullius seemed to have a vastly greater appreciation of the [Evil Darkness] than that challenger.

"Why did you foolishly come here despite being so weak?" Dezrael asked with a deep voice.

'This guy...' Skullius grumbled within. Now he wanted to talk?

"I didn't have a choice," Skullius replied.

"There's always a choice."

"Says the sockethole who's trapped in a prison. Why don't you CHOOSE to escape?"

"..."

Dezrael was surprised by Skullius' response.

"How bold. Hmm. I made a choice. Which is why I'm here," he said.

"You just said there's always a choice. Meaning that you can continue to choose. Why don't you CHOOSE to—"

"I SAID I MADE A CHOICE! A SACRIFICE! CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES!" Dezrael barked fiercely, looming over Skullius who shrunk.

"Gotcha."

This felt familiar to Skullius somehow.

Dezrael relaxed, taking another breath to calm himself.

"You have yourself to blame for being here. I don't give any excuses for my current state. I accept it because I wholeheartedly took on what came with my choice. But when I look at you, I see a mixture of anger, hatred and regret. All are ingredients for a foolish journey where you blame others for where you are now, instead of taking the reins to your future."

Skullius took all of this in with a blank face.

"...Ouch bro."

Was it true?

Yes.

Skullius blamed Somanda and his grudge was true. He blamed Eobald, Benzard, Irlen, Denille and Reon for leading him into this situation.

But... wasn't he taking his own destiny by the reins?

There was literary no other option for him but the cessation of his existence if he didn't do so.

The Discount Human's resolve was once again fortified.

'I am not weak anymore.'

If he hadn't made the choice to stray from practicing [Boneman of Steel], taking up the option to focus on mana, he wouldn't have been able to draw the books that contained [Lifeless Evolution] and [Flesh It Like You Mean It] to him back then.

If he hadn't struggled, taking risks to level up, he wouldn't have survived this long, gaining powerful skills that saved him against the Darewolves, the orcs and goblins.

There were moments where luck and opportunity met to create a miracle, but the point still stood, he had made the choice to go forward.

"I made a choice too," he said, "What choice did you make?"

Dezrael saw the flicker in Skullius' eyes and scoffed.

"That fiend, Fulgardt raided my world. He was overwhelmingly powerful, bullying the severely outmatched opponent that was my entire race. I was the strongest warrior, so in the last moment, my friends and family gave their lives to inscribe their power and life energy into this ancient armour which was passed down only through the royal family."

"I see," Skullius said.

That explained the immense power that was radiating from the armour. Just how many people sacrificed themselves to make it last for thousands of years?

'So this guy is being kept alive by all that power huh? That makes him thousands of years old though. It's a miracle he's still alive.'

"The royals had already died and I was the next best option, so the armour was given to me. I used it to battle Fulgardt. Our battle was epic, rocking the entire world and bringing it to the brink of collapse. The power I had received kept flowing in and I felt that I could beat him, but at what cost. He didn't back away either and the world was about to erased, alongside the remnants of my people. So..."

"I surrendered. I asked for Fulgardt to take me in exchange for letting my people live. That fiend was so happy, spouting nonsense about adding me to his collection. He accepted my deal but didn't fulfill to my full request completely. He only saved a handful of my people, placing them on Aigas to live among the other races, while the rest, he used for his own evil purpose."

'Sounds like Somanda to me,' Skullius thought, showing no empathy at all.

He continued to hack at the yoke until it was almost fully carved up enough to free Dezrael's right hand.

The Arch-Luminant looked at Skullius who remained indifferent towards his story and scowled.

"It's beings like you that are so nonchalant to life that deserve to die in place of those like me! Your poor choice has led you into my hands! You shall be next in the line of humans that I kill as I get my vengeance for what that cruel fiend did to me! To my people!"

The yoke finally broke, Dezrael's hand becoming free as a thick chunk of the yoke dropped to the ground.

The Arch-Luminant's hand suddenly grasped onto Skullius neck and pulled him closer!

The sword from Skullius' hand dropped to the ground as he had finished his task, his body remaining docile.

"I will enjoy taking away your choice along with your life since you clearly don't need it!"

Even though Dezrael's other hand and head were still bound, he still felt a massive chunk of his strength return to his body, his legs rising from his previous kneeling position!

A ferocious golden red tint flared, consuming Skullius but failing to overpower the darkness beyond the two.

It came with a powerful wave of energy that radiated with an even more intensity as Dezrael wore a content smile.

Skullius' body began to burn up from being exposed to the energy!

His skin started to burn away, his regalia also beginning to fragment as it couldn't handle the power of an existence such as Dezrael!

As Skullius was almost lit on fire, he couldn't help but curse at his own luck.

'Really?! This is how it ends?! After all that?! Why am I in this position? Because this guy thinks I haven't made some tough decisions too?! He's only alive because many people helped him! How is he any different from me!' Skullius thought as rage consumed him.

Was it his atrocious luck that was acting up to deliver him to Somanda's hands so suddenly?!

Even though he couldn't feel the pain from his cosmetic flesh being destroyed, the frustration was torment enough.

Dezrael's expression as he made sure that Skullius didn't burn away immediately, struck a cord with Skullius.

For a moment, Skullius saw the overlapping, illusory image of a dark green skeleton with vibrant red flames over Dezrael. It cackled as it drew closer, making Skullius being shiver.

Rage, disgust, hatred, malevolence and a brutal desire welled up in Skullius.

It rose up from the deepest parts of him, his mind flickering as it reproduced the image he had seen in that cold place, of the girl trapped in the block of ice!

All that he felt intensified at this moment as even though he knew it was over, he couldn't help but spew from his mouth the most evil he could ever intend to befall another being, even if it wouldn't make sense to anyone not from his crew of Moronic Undead!

"|GET, FLESHED|!"