Bro, I'm not an Undead!

998  Unusual Monsters! (1)

Perhaps it was because everything happened in rapid succession, causing the Ode to almost miss the whole scope of every detail…

As it turned out, it wasn't just the air that had been destroyed, causing his flames to die out so instantaneously.

No. That would have been too regular for the Infinite Sword God. Ambient mana, gravity and space had been cut apart, leaving an odd dark patch of existence that looked more like the remnant of a fallen dream than anything else.

Within this patch, was where Skullius' Heart of Revelation shone vibrantly as the only source of light, its unusual properties revealing what was hidden within the body of the Ode.

Within this patch, was where Skullius raised his third hand which held Demion's Dance and swung down with cruel intent, his motion wholly unhindered.

The green sword couldn't have appeared any stronger than it was at this moment.

The [Infinite Sword God] skill had several passive effects; which included the instantaneous slashes that reacted to anything that attempted to touch the Hybrid Luman, and a granted critical damage efficiency of 500% to any sword Skullius held – this boost applying to both the sword's basic special effects as well as its skills.

The latter of these two was in play, and as Skullius brought his sword down, the Ode grinned.

'Well, this was unexpected. I took this a little too lightly,' he thought while watching even this presumed patch of nothing around him crumble, be pulled in by the incoming attack. 'To think I'd lose a life. How long has it been?'

The single slash that came for the Ode was terribly devastating.

Before he knew it, every aspect of him was minced into oblivion. His flesh.

His mana core.

His soul.

A flash of deep red came with the Hybrid Luman's slash… and the Ode was no more.

Not a speck of his existence remained in this dark patch, which, in the next moment, vanished to be replaced by a full sky where mana, gravity and space thrived once more, as though nothing had happened just now; as though it had not all been torn down.

'This is quite handy,' Skullius thought as he descended a notch, his blank gaze falling to his swords. The odd third arm to appear on him faded as though it were ghost.

Many things were possible with this astounding power of his. Not only did he have a skill called [Infinite Sword God]. He was the Infinite Sword God himself.

As a result of that title, Skullius could use conjure sword slashes with any part of his body, and each one was strong enough to even shatter the concepts that were produced by the Rules of this world, though, only temporarily. In theory, anything he wanted to cut could be cut as long as he used the right amount of heft. However, a Super skill could not permanently influence the Rules that kept a world stable, especially when said Rules were made by powerful Deities; they would instantly reform.

Speaking of permanence…. Skullius looked down below. The nature several hundred meters below him painted him the full image of what was happening.

'You wouldn't die so easily, would you?' the Hybrid Luman thought.

It would be foolish to assume otherwise. Perhaps, if it were the untainted Skullius, he would have grown quite hopeful, but the current Skullius knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this fight – a fight with Maqian royalty – would never end so easily.

The First Horn and his Ode, in every era, were monstrous powerhouses that stood far above the Maqian standard.

'There it is…' Skullius thought.

Down in the Aurora he and the Ode had flattened with just the sheer force of their battle, a green flame could be spotted.

It had been left behind by the Ode right before the battle turned cataclysmic.

The green flame burning on the ground suddenly grew vicious and bellowed, turning from an ordinary camp fire, into a bon fire.

It rose, and from its mostly consistent tone, a detailed figure exploded out and let out a might screech!

A great phoenix unfurled its wings and proudly wagged its marvelous tail – a wondrous bundle of tassel-like feathers had a rich white to their various shades of green. A crown of feathers could be seen over the creature's relatively small head which spotted starkly white, sharp eyes and a hooked beak.

SCREECH! nove(l)bi(n.)com

The phoenix called once again before soaring a decent distance over the bulking flame below which began to part, revealing from within it… the young man who had just perished in the night sky.

The Ode walked out rather confidently, and looked up at the sky.

With the way he almost looked like someone coming from a short nap, one would think he hadn't just died moments ago.

The Ode wore a thrilled grin, and without a word, he reached into his full head of crimson hair and pulled out a long strand that he held oddly between his fingers.

The strand was then suddenly ignited by a red flame and it was transfigured into a large red bow with black, glossy additions – like pretty wax bumps – where it curved inward. There was a glow within its build that pushed forth the idea that the item was indeed magical. Terribly so.

The Ode pulled the orange, sizzling string to the bow, and a furious arrow of red fire that looked as though it was crafted meticulously for decades appeared, was nocked on it.

Skullius narrowed his eyes at the sight. Even though there was a great distance between himself and the Ode, he felt immensely uneasy.

'There's something really off about that arrow. I better counter rather than find out if it can pierce through my defenses…' he thought.

Right as he planned, the Ode said something in an heavy, commanding voice.

"Sleep."

When the young man spoke, his voice echoed throughout the region.

Skullius felt his voice travel like a tremor even through the sky, making sure its command was heeded.

It was not loud, yet, evidently, every living thing heard it and obeyed.

Skullius, unfortunately, was no exception… and neither were his swords.

Before he felt an effective sense of drowsiness fall upon him, he vividly sensed the lively voices of both Demion's Dance and the Bashful Abomination grow silent, their presences turning dim.

'This… again…?' Skullius struggled to think, but he couldn't resist.

His eyes closed shut and he began to fall from the sky.

The Ode's grin grew wider.

"Let's see if you too can live after you die," he said, and let lose his arrow.