Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Braxten Shannazah, a man dressed in rather flashy, colorful and silly clothing, wiped the blood from his hands as he watched the gaping portal before him close shut behind the corpse of the one who had created it. It was one of the Emeradis Summoners. 

'Gave me a bit of a run for my money,' he thought. He had killed six of them so far, and he estimated that Kudobtu and her group had killed a similar number, but the rest had fled. He had sensed it. They had caught on to their fellows being killed off and retreated.

Thankfully, while this wasn't a typical victory, it did mean that the number of those summoned creatures there was now, wouldn't be increasing. At least not for now.

Braxten lazily sighed as he shot out of the way right when several of the seahorse wannabes rushed him, intent on sucking on his pure mana for a yet unknown reason. 

He grabbed the staff of the dead Summoner and held it out before chanting a rather ridiculous sentence.

"Extra staffy staff of callidifying embering embers of the feverishly feverish fever!"

Instantly, the smooth staff shook and a visibly incalescent orange wave of energy expanded out of it to form a dome around Shannazah spanning up to thirty meters in radius. After expanding, the dome remained, retaining a solid, consistent shape.

The summoned creatures that were within range of this bubble suddenly began to release faint bursts of steam from their bodies, and then their shells began to sizzle, bits of hot blood and oils bubbling from them. In the next moment, they all fell to the ground, dead.

Braxten nodded in delight and began to go on his way. His destination was the glowing tree in the distance. His intuition directed him towards it. Perhaps when he got there, he could figure out how to end this mess King Royan had sent him to help with.

On his way, more of the summoned creatures rushed towards him only to succumb to the bizarre properties of the glowing dome and die without grace.

They couldn't have known, of course, that their opponent, was a master of fiendishly magical ridiculous speech.

*

"Should we go there? Most of the enemies aren't even moving anymore," Maxim said to Vali as they hid underneath the great, lilac tent.

They had been moving from Aurora to Aurora since Skullius had given them upgrades to their powers. In total, they had taken down roughly 43 Maqian soldiers; 42 Masters and 1 Incandescent Stager whom they had, quite frankly, cheap-shotted after he came off a brutal battle against three others of his level from the Sif's side.

When the rain of summoned creatures appeared, Vali had managed to conjure this tent with her discount Imagining Technique. She was able to give it stealth properties that disallowed her and Maxim from being sensed. Unfortunately, it only worked to a certain extent.

Suffice it to say, this was the sixteenth tent she had made since the attack began.

"If that swarm above us leaves, then yes," Vali replied, her keen eyes looking out the tent. "I suppose Festos cut off some of his powers from us for a reason. Hopefully it's a good one. We should find out."

*

Sevill and Viccil woke up with a start and found that they were in a cramped space. Their souls had snapped back into their original bodies just now, and they discovered with surprise that Skullius had stashed their bodies somewhere deep underneath the mansion in the Wonderfall Torrents. 

The constant race against the pursuing summoned creatures which they had had to endure before this, almost felt like a dream now.

As Skullius had said, while they were body-swapped with [Order-Soul Projection], it would take a while for them to gain the knowledge of their vessels. With time, this had started to come to pass, but unfortunately, the memory of how to perform the secret technique other Maqians were using to ward away the greedy summons, had yet to surface, thus they only had the option of fleeing while watching their kin be saved as seeds.

The two weren't included in the seedification by the Deathly Ruse as a circumstance of being body-swapped. Only a body with a soul was considered alive. Now, however, as their souls had returned...

Before either of the two could speak, they two were reduced to seeds and drawn to the Ruse.

***

"I believe I'm your rightful opponent," Skullius said with the graceful luminosity of his face making his declaration all the more aggravating for the trio he had rudely appeared amidst.

The Queen was especially revolted.

She had had to endure the doubtful looks on her subjects' faces when she confronted the Ode, but at least that doubt was supported by love.

Even if his form had changed, Embrell still recognized that arrogant face and tone. To think this so-called Luminant had dashed in to save her as though she had begged for a hero to come to her rescue.

…Then again, Skullius' appearance, did spark a bit of deep thought in her.

If Embrell took Darwel's desperate declarations that this man was in fact a Luminant, and applied them to his current appearance…

'It certainly does seem…' her thoughts began, only to be disturbed by the sneer of the Ode.

"Quite flashy. I didn't think the Sif had such an ally," the crimson-haired young man spoke, and then he turned back to Umbett. "Is this the tool behind that golden tree you've been fussing about?"

"It is," Umbett said with a sigh, her sharp, aged eyes narrowing at Skullius' features.

She didn't look quite as composed as before, but that wasn't because she was afraid. Instead, it was because she was torn inside as a result of what she knew.

"I see," the Ode smiled and appraised Skullius. "I'd call you human, but you have a glow about you that makes me doubt it. This is quite a brilliant skill you have, albeit a little showy. Is this what makes you think you qualify to stand before me?"

The Hybrid Luman chuckled and cracked his neck with his right hand.

"You've got it backwards. You're going to have to prove your worth before me," he said. "And on top of that, I'm pretty much bound by what I told my mother-in-law here. I alone will end this war. A man should live up to his words, don't you think?"

The Queen recoiled lightly at the second mention of this absurd idea while the Ode's face became splintered with shadow as a messy grin issued from his face.

"The value of my royal blood seems to fall every minute I spend here. First, common long ears, and now… you. Hahaha. I will have your head for that," the Ode said. "Very well. I'll take you on with the same conditions I had agreed upon with her Majesty. If you manage to beat me, we'll leave peacefully. If not, well…"

The crimson-haired young man extended his hand towards Skullius. There was no need to state the consequences of the Hybrid Luman's loss. Both knew what the rough outcome would be.

The Ode felt the need to explain the mechanics of the battle rite of Maqi though.

"As you are obviously unaware of how Kuthmuk works, allow me to—"

"Don't insult me," Skullius cut off the young man.

To the two Maqians' surprise, the Hybrid Luman pressed his index finger on his forehead and then pointed it to the ground.

Right then, a complex weave of mana shot out boundlessly, disappearing in a blink in an expanding arc.

"I'm aware of the battle rite. No need to half ass it. I'll state my own terms as well," he said. "Let's limit this battle to this region alone. And if I win, on top of you leaving Opungale peacefully, I want you to grant me safe passage into Maqi."

…!!!

Shock smote all three individuals around Skullius like lightning.

The Ode, Embrell and Umbett wore dark looks.

What in the world… what were these terms? Wait, how did this man even know how to invoke Kuthmuk in the traditional fashion?!

Worse yet, why would this man want to go to Maqi as a reward for victory?

Skullius extended his right hand to the Ode, a cunning smile on his face.

The crimson-haired young man wore a look of suspicion. He glanced at Umbett, and after seeing that she didn't speak out, he too extended his hand to meet Skullius'.

"You're a strange man. You've reined in my curiosity a bit. But, I suppose I could always extract the answers I want after I tear apart your arms and legs," he said.

Skullius grinned.

Before the two's hands could meet, however, Skullius' left hand suddenly shot out and gripped the wrist to his right, pulling it back!

…!

Skullius was a little alarmed. A dire bit of strain showed on his face, but it quickly vanished.

'So, you're still in there after all, huh?' he thought.

'SNAP OUT OF IT, TOMATO FLINGER! DON'T LOSE YOURSELF!' a raging voice came from deep within, threatening to blast the top of Skullius' head off.

Skullius remained composed though. As much as he could at least.

"Is there a problem?" the Ode asked, glancing at how violently Skullius was strangling his own hand, keeping it from touching his. "Regretting this already?"

"No," the Hybrid Luman replied simply and he pried off his left hand's grip before shaking the Ode's hand.

"Let us begin then."

The declaration was set.

The Kuthmuk had been invoked.

Skullius was ready, but his mind couldn't have been more distracted. Forcefully, he was made to remember that momentous interaction within the Reflection of his Soul.