Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 67: Simulation(III)

Uriel’s assumption had been logical, relatively so, of course.

The corpse creature had hidden underground, in the depths of a darkness littered with thick vines that protected it.

It wielded a seemingly endless amount of vines it could control, using them to pour out waves of poison. Its body was a withered, broken mess, with no mobility and only its overgrown core to offset that disadvantage.

Because of all this, Uriel had assumed the creature was absolutely at its weakest in close quarters, its main abilities resting in its gigantic core and vast aether pool, as well as its network of vines.

Nature often worked in schemes of balance. He was a perfect example of this. His body was a crippled mess, yet his talent in the arcane arts made up for it, a bit.

As long as he could get close, what he believed to be its weak body would collapse in a single instant from one of his punches.

Then, he’d be able to go help Ayah, whom he’d pushed into a precarious situation by destroying all footing around them. He hadn’t been paying attention, but from the corner of his vision, he could see her struggling.

’...!?’

What happened next shocked him.

"Fool."

The corpse stood up, pushed upright by the wiggling mass of vines around it. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Uriel’s eyes widened.

The corpse stood straight, vines slithering around its frame to form a layered exoskeleton atop it, reeking of power.

From the ground, also made of vines, a long spear emerged, its pole a dark green steel and its blade a light purple, reeking of poison.

The corpse took it in its grasp, and as if Uriel wasn’t shocked enough, runes began to light up across its body, one after another.

Around the core bulging from its stomach... mage circles took shape.

Uriel counted.

’...two... four... nine...’

His eyes and heart shook in tandem, and he involuntarily took a step back.

Eleventh Circle Mage.

The corpse smiled, pointing its sharp spear at him. "Fool."

WHOOOOSH!

The surroundings shook and rippled, the holed walls of the spherical space they were in rapidly filling with writhing vines.

In a moment, Uriel was trapped and enclosed within the sphere, all that surrounded him being vines, poison, thorns, and an enemy he had no right facing.

’I got lured into a trap.’ He sighed deeply, his face twisting into a bitter scowl.

He’d been lured, and on the way, massively weakened, losing his arm and burning far more aether than he should have.

It was the perfect trap, truly.

’All I can do now is fight.’ His ivory eyes burned with determination, ignoring the roaring waves of pain coming from his torn shoulder.

He vanished, teleporting forward and reappearing in perfect motion to throw a punch aimed at the corpse’s jaw.

The corpse giggled, and a vine surged from the ground, tearing into his outstretched arm and severing it from the elbow down.

Weakness slammed into Uriel, followed by shock and sharp tinges of fear.

Blood gushed from the handless stump his arm had become, splattering across the corpse. A long, thick, reptilian tongue slithered out of its mouth, tasting his blood.

"This. My domain." Its monstrous voice stank of pride.

In a blink, a spell circle manifested in front of the shocked and stunned Uriel, solidifying and instantly generating a powerful, crushing gust of force that sent him flying back, the wind knocked out of him.

As he flew, he realised the corpse was no longer where it had been. His eyes darted, searching, but he got his answer far faster than planned.

An elbow tore into his back, cancelling his momentum and catching him midair. For a moment, he remained suspended, a perfect target for the corpse’s falling axe kick.

BANG!

His bones shattered as he was driven deep into the ground, dozens of thorns piercing his flesh upon impact.

But as if the ground were elastic, the moment he made contact and was impaled, he was bounced back up, the thorns claiming chunks of flesh as they tore free from him.

He screamed, but the sound was snuffed out by a kick that tore into his ribs and sent him tumbling.

Spell circles formed around his rolling body—fire, lightning, ice, and all elements summoned to hammer into his weakened form.

BANG!

A storm of elemental aether engulfed him, and a baptism of fire began.

...

BANG!

A tendril of darkness shot toward Ayah, slamming against her heavy metal shield and sending her flying back, her outstretched wings rapidly stabilising her.

Her body was littered with wounds, her boulder armour shattered in many places, her sword nearly broken, and her core rapidly approaching its limit in terms of aether.

The tiger was in no better shape. Across its shadowy body, open wounds leaked golden light that served as its blood.

One of its paws was broken, and both of its eyes had been gouged out. Worse still, Uriel’s formation continued to loom in the skies, weakening it more and more with every passing second.

All the while, Ayah only grew more and more empowered by Uriel’s formation, the boost scaling alongside the injuries she suffered.

Without it, she’d have died already.

’I can’t kill it.’ The realization filled her with untold rage and shame.

She wasn’t used to flying using only her wings, without footing or ground, nor was she accustomed to fighting in this abyss of darkness, a haven of shadows that worked entirely in the tiger’s favour.

But she made no excuses for herself. She was simply too weak, and that enraged her.

Her newly formed class seemed to rage alongside her. She could feel its fabric deep within her body, screaming a mad cry, a cry that sought to tame and subdue all things.

A cry that sought to subdue this tiger.

It overwhelmed her, echoing in her head so loudly she could no longer hear her own thoughts. Her breaths quickened in rage, her face flushing, her lengthened bestial teeth hissing in unrest.

She listened to the call of her class. Of her path.

SHAH!

A crown of gold appeared atop her head.