Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The roar of four giant balls of reddish orange fire that had about as much intensity as the sun was jarringly shocking.

It had happened so fast and without warning. The heat produced was staggering, and it ate away at the mansion greedily. 

The four experts to leap for Skullius were completely submerged within the conflagration. Whether they were screaming in pain or not was unknown, because the grumble of the fire was louder.

And as though to ensure that the victims would cook past medium rare at the very least, the giant balls… exploded with even more fierce heat, doubling in size!

The radiance cast in the Wonderfall Torrents was too brilliant for the average eye, and it went without saying that so was the heat.

However, the Hybrid Luman moved among the four stationary globes comfortably.

The Preeminent Attegoth had cast [Ungodly Flames of Debauchery] on those that had been marked, and since the skill, which was merely Special, was cast using quality of mana far beyond that which that which was necessary, its effects were augmented tremendously.

Cosycn, among everyone else witnessing the scene between squinted eyelids, was amazed. 

'So easily…' he thought. 

He saw that the skill which Skullius used was struggling to end the four foes quickly, but because it seemingly wasn't going to stop – as though powered by an infinite fuel source – it dealt more and more damage over time.

The Sif saw Skullius look down at everyone, an unsettling grin on his face and…

VWOOSH! VWOOSH! VWOOSH!

All of the remaining clones were set ablaze too, including the one he had been battling, which had the nasty axe. He hurriedly backed away.

Skullius scoffed at the burning enemies.

'If only they had their Auras active, they wouldn't have been subjected to this,' he thought. That was the punishment for arrogance… or maybe madness too.

The red half a skull marks to appear on the enemies' foreheads were different from the regular golden marks. After the Preeminent Attegoth experienced rebirth to become to become a Graceful Monolith, coupled with the rise in [Just Light's] rise in affinity to S, it had attained a distinction in its marks.

These red marks could be attached to unguarded targets, which made sure that all attacks Skullius threw… never missed.

Also…

Several Masters flew from the sky, heading for Skullius.

With the Hybrid Luman's will, they were all branded with the red mark in an instant, and as Skullius gave them a dismissive gaze, they were suddenly stalled in the air.

They paused, as though space had frozen around them, keeping them still within its embrace.

If one overcame the reddish glare from the twelve balls of fire, they would find that the victims had lost their skin colour, adopting a bluish tone.

[You have activated the skill 'Static Limbo'. The targets have been afflicted by Serenity. Due to the difference in the prowess, effect lasts for 1 minute]

What had stricken the six Masters stuck in midair, was indeed [Static Limbo]!

The evolution of the Preeminent Attegoth to developing the red mark, created a circumstance where, like the Null Devil King, Skullius could use [Static Limbo] on multiple targets by forcefully giving the skill many targets to attack, something he hadn't been sure how to do after seeing the higher Null Lifeform do it. 

Such a thing would normally be dictated by the skill in question, but the Preeminent Attegoth extended the dimension of the skill, and this wasn't the only instance.

Skullius raised his hand, and a green blade with a golden hilt appeared in his hand.

He didn't need to swing it.

The sword, much like the Preeminent Attegoth heeded his will, and expressed its intent; its will to cut its master's enemies.

The frozen six were hacked to bits by an unseen force, yet, since the time of their stasis had yet to elapse, they remained intact, featuring precise, brutal cuts all over their bodies.

Skullius vanished from where he stood right when the balls of fire finally fizzled out, only to release blackened corpses that coughed up soot and char.

With unreasonable speed, the effect of a newly upgraded skill, he used the suspended bodies as stairs and rose to meet the new enemies, some of whom grew wary enough to ignite their Auras.

"It won't matter still…" Skullius sneered.

He flung Demion's Dance into the air, and in the fraction of time before it disappeared from sight, a golden half a skull mark appeared on it.

Then suddenly, one of the Masters was decapitated by something he didn't see, his blood oozing a moment after what killed him had already hurled itself at another target who managed, after following berserk instinct, to avoid being killed.

Their arm was cleaved from the elbow, however.

As the unseen threat assailed, Skullius also exploded into motion, heading for a man who had been eyeing him with caution from the start.

The man conjured a massive Genuine Incarnation, a bull's skull, lit in turquoise to defend himself immediately.

To Skullius, this didn't matter.

He cocked back his fist, and with a demented grin that drained the confidence from his opponent, he flung a cruel fist straight into the Genuine Incarnation. The force and weight were just too great.

Skullius watched the Incarnation explode even before his punch connected. He also watched as his opponent's crossed arms splatter like into a bloody, fleshy mess that flew everywhere as he wailed bitterly.

The man's torso followed suit, getting borne through with a vigorous blast of pressure exiting behind him in a massive typhoon-like force!

..!!!

Right as the experience for the kill registered in Skullius' dark sight, [Primal Caution] – a cautionary skill he had – warned him of danger.

In an instant, Skullius disappeared from the air and appeared on the roof to the mansion which was crumbling nonstop. 

He then raised his hand and Demion's Dance rushed into his open grip after killing one more Maqian.

"What am I up against now?" Skullius said with a smile.

Something fast and heavy landed a few meters from him. 

It was a bald man with a face painted in green.

His bloodshot eyes honed in on Skullius and the Hybrid Luman felt a pressure so palpable that it pushed him back two steps.

"Finally! Someone who knows how to have a good time!" the man barked in the Known Language, spit fleeing his mouth which had rotten yet whole teeth.

An Incandescent Stager…

Skullius beamed.

The man before him didn't look at him with careless malice. He looked eager, expectant.

Skullius could relate.

He grinned viciously.

The true test for his powers began here!

He aimed to lunge with Demion's Dance in his hand when…

"Festos!" 

Several torn floors below, Vali called the Hybrid Luman's name.

A moment later, a long, sheathed zhanmadao flew out from where the roof was missing.

The grin Skullius wore threatened to split his face in two when it widened.

Immediately, a golden mark appeared on the scabbard of the sword and it was flung into Skullius' grip under the questioning gaze of the opponent before him.

"I didn't think it'd be ready at the sweetest moment…" Skullius said, his face turning darkly pleased.

He felt a giddiness from the Bashful Abomination that spelled in an instant… that Vali had not just been successful.

"Heh..."

Skullius didn't waste any time.

Yet, instead of stating what the Bashful Abomination expected, he vivaciously declared:

"This is my Creed…"