Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1445: Skullius’ Conclusion (2)

Elita looked as though she was about to draw her sword again. How could it be Skullius saying these words?

But… was it unfair for him to think this way after what just happened with Somanda?

Sila wore a constipated face. Honestly, he couldn't blame Skullius if that was the path he chose. Indeed, there were too many enemies, and indeed, unless he became Fulgardt, it might just be impossible to win a game of chess against all of them.

So… would Skullius really tread the same path as Festos, the one he had rejected and defeated some hours ago in the name of defending his friends, his past, and his future?

"Is this really what you're choosing to become?" Serenity asked him. She hid her trembling emotions. She didn't see Fulgardt in Skullius right then… She sensed TITEMIUS instead. Why did they have to be so similar?

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Uyuniya fixed the Hybrid Warmoth with a look too, waiting for his response. Elita turned away and cursed.

…But Skullius simply smiled. He regarded Serenity's question with a bright visage.

"Do you really think I'm that shallow?" he said.

"…What?"

Elita whipped her head back, donning a question mark over her head.

Uyuniya's eyes narrowed.

Skullius used Maximum Catalyst's Reversion and restored Gauurdfell to what it had been before Somanda destroyed it. He sat on the large fountain and looked at his friends, beaming.

"I don't have the heart to become Fulgardt again. I was him for a while. I'm not going to burn everything down for my goals – for a future that's uncertain. I already have an Order of friends and allies burning themselves away for my sake. I won't destroy anything else…. Unless I'm left with no choice."

Kintar tilted her head. She floated closer to her master.

"So let me get this straight. You're not going to become a psychopath that's going to kill everything in sight and demand that the world bow down to you?" she asked.

Skullius snapped his fingers at her.

"That's right."

Serenity shook her head, as did Elita and Uyuniya.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" the former cried. "I wouldn't have the right to stop you, now that I know just how much you have on your plate, but…"

"You mean Somanda?" Skullius laughed. "You'd have a right to stop me, actually. Somanda is a problem that remains because of my selfishness. If I really wanted to, I could have gotten rid of Somanda's influence in me for good."

"I could have chosen an alternate path of evolution that could allow me to shed away that other portion of my soul he holds for good, and grow a new one seamlessly. Somanda remains my direct enemy because I want to settle the score with him and keep my soul as it is."

Uyuniya jerked and folded her arms.

"Your pride is that strong, is it? You'd dare challenge that thing and go into its very lair just to retrieve a piece of your soul? Are you even sure you can accomplish that? Apparently, you don't have much time before you succumb, Skullius."

Skullius nodded.

"I won't pretend that my chances there are very high. It's going to be hard to deal with that part. Somanda could just pop out and take over my body. That is a scary thought. But I promised myself this victory, not some half-assed escape from the same sockethole who took everything from me."

"I also told the version of me I fought hours ago that I would bring Somanda to his knees and take my soul back to prove him wrong. Fulgardt knows about that declaration. I can't have him think it was all just hot sass."

Serenity would have loved to smile. She saw the ghost TITEMIUS fade from her vision of Skullius. Words could not explain her relief.

Elita found it in herself to smile.

"You're stronger than I thought. Everything that's happened hasn't shaken you one bit, has it?" she said. There was a bit of pride in her eyes. Skullius might have been her son.

The Hybrid Warmoth shook his head.

"No. I wasn't bluffing when I said Festos wasn't wrong. At least not entirely. I have been shaken, and I am changing. There are lines I have to cross now. There are morals I have to question and destroy, even when memories of Allora and the masked man haunt me endlessly. You showed me that, Elita. I'll be borrowing your ideology for now. Some sacrifices are inevitable for someone of a Divine stature, but it doesn't mean I can't be remorseful towards them. I have to carry that burden of despicable things I will have to do."

"The burden can be pretty heavy, you know?" Elita said to him. Tears were swimming in his eyes.

"I know. If you're going to be around, I won't be so scared to carry them."

Elita nodded and turned her head away with a sniffle.

Skullius turned to Kintar. She was beaming.

"There are things that are beneath me like you said. Like it or not, I am a Divine and there are requirements and conditions that come with that kind of power. I have to accept them. I'm not a mortal anymore," he said to her and she beamed all the more. "This is my conclusion. Will you accept it?"

The diminutive Unlimited Star's little eyes turned into crescents.

"Yes, master. I can live with that."

Skullius nodded.

"How touching."

The Fruit Bearer was the one to speak.

Everyone turned to them, puzzled. They hadn't contributed anything at all till now. Why were they even here?

"What are you doing here?" Skullius asked.

"I was sent to extract information and dispense some of my own on Suzamete's behalf," they said with a calm smile. It didn't appear organic.

"What information?"

The Fruit Bearer smiled.

"How nice of you to ask. The timing is also impeccable. It would have been awkward if I had to divulge this information a few minutes ago. The wait would have made it less dramatic," they said before pointing at the sky. "Help has arrived. Much-needed help."

Everyone looked up, curious.

Help? What help?

Something tore through the clouds right then. It might have been a shooting star, thick and radiating Divine power. It was frighteningly quick.

As it descended, leaving behind a sound akin to a thousand thunders, it brightened the entirety of Opungale right before crashing only thirty kilometers away from Gauurdfell.

There was a great boom and a shockwave rolled across the world.

Skullius frowned.

'Why do I sense a… vaguely familiar presence?' he asked himself. He warped everyone to where the 'shooting star' had fallen.

A great crater had been created. Fire was raging in and around it, almost obscuring the strange contraption… or perhaps Treasure, that had created it. It was hard to define. It looked like a large, argent sea urchin with small, flat plates hovering over each of its protruding spikes.

"What am I looking at here?" Kintar said, squinting.

"Beats me," said Kenno.

"Uh…" Skullius had been about to ask the Fruit Bearer what the deal was with this unusual Treasure, when it suddenly opened up. It might have been blossoming, like a flower. It revealed a hollow space inside it from which someone stepped out.

The individual whipped away the dust and fire without lifting a finger. They then flashed out of the crater to stand before the group, revealing themselves.

…!!!!

Everyone without exception gaped. Even Serenity was beyond shocked. She manifested a mouth for the first time.

Skullius pointed at the individual with a shaking finger while the Fruit Bearer grinned. He didn't know which facial expression to make.

"What… what… You?!" he cried aloud.

The figure scoffed and slotted its many hands into the pockets of its thick, stylish nimbus jacket.

"You'd already forgotten all about me, huh, sockethole?"