Bro, I'm not an Undead!



The released weapon quivered slightly while floating under the palm of the Nullmancer, every moment of spontaneous brightness it took inspiring fear and awe!

Grim grinned from the distance.

He gave Allora a knowing look that she quickly understood.

'So that's one of the boss' heavy-hitters he mentioned...' she thought.

By looks alone, it didn't disappoint. Its length and shape didn't allow room for long-lived delusions about escaping from it alive.

Nedalia certainly felt so.

Her face was drained of blood, her reflective eyes fixated on the crooked, gleaming menace.

She knew she had to defend with everything she got.

Before her mind even thought to be wary, to be afraid and to guard, her arms had already burst into motion, beckoning the mirror shards around her to form a spherical cage that couldn't be broken through; a fortress that would lead what smote in another direction while burying her figure protectively in its determined mass.

At the same time, Nedalia greedily absorbed the ghosts she had called forth, making sure the physical benefit she gained strained her capacity to the limit of the limit!

She even withdrew the energy from the Secondary assault, Rage of Truths, since it had proven ineffective, and used it to further refine the Primary functions of the Cryptic Axiom Chasm!

'I can't afford to waste any more Creeds! That thing can't be strong enough to completely break through this shield! I'll strike right after it hits!' she thought as her body screamed from the enhancement she had acquired.

In the darkness she was stowed away in, she looked like a crazy bodybuilder made from revolting mirrors – save for face – her balled up hand billowing with unfathomable physical might!

One hit from this fist clad with her most refined Lambent Phosphor would knock the ghost right out of the pretentious Bright Storm!

Yes!

That's what was going to happen!

However...

She couldn't have been more wrong.

There was a reason why the nine meter long crooked beam with a singular edge was called a Lancet instead of a Lance.

Much like [Epiphany] which was a skill born from another skill taken from the Galemonger's Elimparidis Stone Staff, and [Nullmancer's Royal Raiment of Acclimation], which was born from the Grand Flame Bringer's Cross Pyre sword, the [Nullmancer's Unforgiving Lancet] was a skill Replicus acquired after using [Wealth of Spoils] – another Nullmancer exclusive skill – on the Mythical grade spear of a treacherous Tier 19 Cluster General.

These four Nullmancer skills – with the exception of [Wealth of Spoils], which Replicus had from the very beginning of his journey in the Tremur – were tailor made for the Nullmancer to be able to burn through concepts, whether they belonged to a man or to an artefact.

[Wealth of Spoils] to extract skills from godly artefacts.

[Epiphany] to master varying degrees of concepts and enhance the Nullmancer's own abilities.

[Nullmancer's Royal Raiment of Acclimation] to render the Nullmancer invincible to all mastered concepts.

...And [Nullmancer's Unforgiving Lancet] to strike with the greatest efficiency when dealing with said mastered concepts; creating perfect, albeit not so grand weaknesses in any defence and any counter any enemy had!

Thus... Replicus pointed at the unshapely, mirror mass of hubris and naiveté before him.

The Lancet shook vibrantly at the assigned prey, only awaiting the command.

The Penetrator gave it.

"Strike."

...

What happened next was a spectacle of otherworldly proportions.

The Unlimited, Baddan and even Araeyn were reined in by the momentary display and surge of thousands of bolts of Levin darting out from under Replicus' palm silently, and knocking everything that stood in their way!

It was hard to see anything in that moment, but Grim and Allora wore ecstatic visages while braving the brightness, the former even cheering!

However...

By the time this lightshow appeared, the Lancet, which had hurtled forward with a velocity that surpassed anything that had been achieved by anything and anyone on the voyage so far... was already hundreds of miles in the sky... in the Aigas sky.

Everything settled only a moment later, bringing to view from the glare just now, the amassment of mirrors Nedalia had made to protect herself.

Was it intact?

Yes it was, save for a small, diamond-shaped hole in it, that started a trend of terrible cracks all over the mass in the next second, quickly stripping all the mirrors away in order to reveal the pseudo redhead inside.

When her figure came to view, she looked to be frozen, and it was hard to tell whether it was merely because of shock, or whether she had died while standing in the dark space of her Territory.

A disgusting wet cough that featured a ghastly spray of dark blood from the gruesome hole that spanned from her neck to her chest confirmed that she was still alive... though barely.

To an Incandescent Stager, this wouldn't have been a fatal wound by any means, but the [Nullmancer's Unforgiving Lancet] was hardly that unspiteful.

At once, the Territory fittingly released a cracking noise as it broke apart, applying back the rules of the world to those that had been trapped in it.

Soon, the clear sky spotting the light of day began to show as Nedalia fell down towards the sea.

Right before she could sink into the depth, however, Replicus caught and carried her as though she was his betrothed while walking over the ocean surface.

The remnants of glass over his armour, the Hollow Dusk's Prison, disappeared and he looked whole and impressive once again, with the ethereal robe he wore adding a sense of majesty.

He looked at Nedalia's face.

She was as pale as a ghost, trembling while attempting to move her arms and legs.

Unfortunately, she couldn't.

Her body was quickly turning numb.

"I'm sure you realise that from the moment you showed me that you could see snippets of my life, and spy – I suppose to some degree – what I was, I couldn't let you live. In fact..." he said, his sockets turning as bright as suns, "...when you showed me you even knew about Camilla, I wanted to hurt you very badly. You see, I may not have a deep connection with that part of myself yet, but that only serves to make a bit more upset when people to try to use it against me. That was some nasty foul play. But I suppose this isn't honest work now is it?"

Nedalia's eyes depicted an amalgam of emotion.

It was an apparent mix of hatred, fury and dire fear.

She would have called Bright Storm insolent if he was monologuing over a hole in her chest and neck, but there was something far more sinister running around in her body... ever since that crooked bolt smote her.

That was probably the reason for his confidence that she was indeed done for.

Replicus seemed to see through her as he said:

"Ah, don't worry. Your fate is much worse than you think. I would have wanted your cumulative mana experience, but oh well..."

And indeed it was.

For the thing she had dreaded being hit by returned from the sky – where it had hurtled to after boring through Nedalia and breaking through her Territory – and struck her right in the heart!

Nedalia spat out blood and looked at the lancet in horror.

Scarier than the pain she felt, was the heavy pull she sensed as soon as she felt the glowing bolt within her.

The hurt that followed was excruciating, agonising ... and it didn't end.

It only grew worse as her soul was drawn from her body and devoured by the lancet as she screamed bitterly.

Her call of indescribable pain was so loud that far into the distance, even a certain masked man heard it, and felt the tiniest bit of pity.

...

---

[Author's Note]

~~~

[Nullmancer's Unforgiving Lancet | Lv.4]

A majestic tool built from various kinds of Null Life Essence in order to maximise its response to the Nullmancer's command for retaliation. It is easily the best and fastest tool a Nullmancer can attain, and is irreplaceable, even when considering the benefit of Racial benefits, and the loyalty of Fond Calamities.

-

-Effects-

• When applied after opposing concepts have been acclimated to, the lancet gains added striking power depending on the grade of the acclimated concept, with the current upper limit being 500% at S grade affinity and 100% less per each lower grade.

• When applied after opposing concepts have been acclimated to, the lancet is able to inject Livening Pulpous Venom into living targets which turns them numb and swells up their mana channels, blocking mana flow.

• When the lancet hits a target incapable of defending themselves, it devours their souls and increases its efficiency at harming ethereal forms of existence. <Current efficiency – 5%>

---

Mana Requirements : None.

Duration : ---

Cooldown : None

~~~