Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Sevill had seen it. When the Hybrid Luman had risen from his 'slumber' while decked in an unfamiliar air, she had seen, deep within the chasm of his soul, two fresh, gorgeous lights, ethereal gems really, swimming within it. Creeds.

She had hardly believed it, but they were there despite Skullius avoiding her inquisition.

Now, as the Hybrid Luman wore a chilling grin and said words that were beyond the scale of the current state of his body, his bald enemy was alarmed.

"This is my Creed…"

WHOOOSH!

At once, Skullius felt the air whistle as the green-faced Maqian Incandescent Stager rocketed towards him in several folds of a blink and hurled what seemed like a desperate punch at his chest, intent on knocking the wind, not to mention the life out of him.

The blow was atrocious and beyond brisk, but Skullius responded in time. In fractions of an instant, he applied the <WEIGHT> property of his mana within his body…

BOOOOOOM!

When the horrendous noise of the result came, two things happened in rapid succession.

A mix of blunt and shredding forces blew in all directions… but they only told that Skullius had withstood the dangerous blow despite erecting no visible guard, and this shocked the Incandescent Stager.

However, because of the immense weight, Skullius immediately sank through the roof, falling into the mansion in a straight, undisturbed line.

He bore through several floors before catching a glimpse – with his extraordinary senses – of Vali and Maxim as he fell past them.

"What kind of Advancer can use Creeds?! Clever ruse!" a booming voice came from above, its owner rushing down with twice as much speed as Skullius.

The Hybrid Luman didn't give him an answer. 

The bald man rammed into him and they plummeted down to the first floor so fast that their crash resounded inside and outside the great mansion. The busted floor they landed in sank inward as though it were rubber, shivering and crumbling, and as it did so, the two monsters who had fallen in bolted out, each dashing in a different direction.

Skullius, with two swords in his hands, stomped onto the floor cocking up several large blocks. His mana sifted into them just when they rose to reach his knees, and he kicked them all in the direction of the Incandescent Stager with surprising speed.

The target recipient saw the attack coming and his eyes widened in both surprise and wariness. He attempted to block the first of the incoming debris but…

…!!!

The arm he raised to guard, thinking the mana-reinforced blocks were probably more of a diversion than anything, was met with a vicious weight and force that had him grunt in pain before making the decision to flash out of the way of all the incoming blocks.

'Neat trick…Just like when I hit him earlier. Is he conjuring mass as he pleases?' the bald man thought while focusing on Skullius who remained still several meters from-

…!!!

The Incandescent Stager promptly turned, his hand whipping into the air like a spear for an attack.

Behind him, a grinning Skullius dodged his piercing blow at the last second, and flicked the Bashful Abomination out of its sheath with his finger. The long zhanmadao sped into the air, its long, chipped blade revealed as rose up and up.

The Incandescent Stager spared a moment to glance at it.

That proved to be a mistake.

A vicious slash cracked down on the bald man from the left side of his face to his right side in a mere blink!

No one could look at the sword's blade, bashful as it was, and remain unharmed. No one but the user.

The slash hardly possessed enough power to greatly harm an Incandescent Stager, but it did have great shock value, and that value worked especially well for Skullius who wore a grin on top of a grin.

"Weren't you prepared to have a good time?!" he called before dishing a hard blow to the man's sternum… using [Bombardier Bangster Fist Art].

The explosive rage of the shockwave that came, not to mention the impact, finally caused the mansion to lose stability and crumble while sending the Incandescent Stager piercing through its walls, past the veil of white falls, past the lateral land behind it and emerging in the next scope of land beyond it.

The bald man let out a groan before hurrying to stand up, his hand on his bare chest where dark bruise could be seen.

He didn't pay the injury much focus though. His eyes were on the Hybrid Luman who appeared from the thin air as though it was the most natural thing, both Demion's Dance and the Bashful Abomination in his hands. 

"I've never been forced to keep up with a mere Master... or worse," he said with a hoarse cough that had him spewing out blood from between his rotten teeth. "I had a feeling you were like the Ode. A monster among monsters, capable of fighting several opponents beyond their own rank…"

Skullius sneered.

"The Ode, huh? Must be quite the guy. Did he beat you senseless too back in the day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe…" the bald man said as solid white covered his frame. "…though, that was only when I was going easy on him."

Skullius chortled.

Without warning, he threw Demion's Dance into the air, and as soon as it was branded with a golden mark, it vanished.

Sensing the Incandescent Stager turn tense, Skullius put him at ease.

"Don't worry. It's gone elsewhere… Maybe to your precious Ode…" 

The Incandescent Stager scoffed, but it was evident that he was a bit rattled.

He hunched slightly and with a low voice, he began to chant something in an unfamiliar language.

Skullius immediately understood. He was invoking the power of his blessing.

Incandescent Stagers were gifted the ability to use the blessing they were given when they reached the Foundation Stage, which existed only as dormant for others unless they conquered too many Clusters to count.

At once, the ground rippled, and what seemed like dirty tendrils, much too pink and fleshly to be roots or vines, dug into the man's feet and climbed through his skin, their elongated bulges showing from him.

As this occurred, a cubical piece of dirt rose from the ground, then another and another, all about the size of a toddler.

They were dunked in the Incandescent Stager's Nitros as they floated around him, promising an especially unique type of suffering for the enemy.

Skullius looked on with interest. He then turned to the Bashful Abomination, which had insurmountable yearning vibrating from it, and sensed around.

'Well… no one is watching. Might as well…'