Chapter 52: Beyond Flesh and Bone

The stone chamber roared with the thunder of battle. Or rather, with the impacts of Cerys being driven into its walls.

The titan, apparently growing somewhat tired of the girl's persistence, raised his arm, and the black mist gathered into a ball of energy.

It shot forward, aiming to vaporize his enemy, but Cerys managed to dodge it, losing only a few red locks in the process.

The dark energy exploded against the rock, opening a hole so large it almost looked like a new adjoining cavern.

"I thought I was lucky the Godscript had given me choices that looked like attacks..."

[Soul Rend]

[There is more beyond flesh and bone]

"But what is this...? A direct attack on the soul? Will that cause damage, or is it more like a debuff?"

Nerez crossed his arms thoughtfully while Cerys flew over his head and crashed once more into the stone wall.

"Well, no matter how I look at it, there's no way to build a strategy around something so unknown... I suppose there's no choice but to test it in actual combat."

Nerez raised his hand toward Erebion.

" Soul Rend ."

Either way, I don't think this can be a bad thing for us.

Just as the titan was about to strike Cerys again, his movements faltered, allowing her to carve a massive gash into his arm with her scythe.

The black mist making up his body split apart and failed to close again. It was clearly an enormous wound.

"..."

Erebion leapt backward, dodging Cerys's powerful follow-up strike, then unleashed his black mist against her again and hurled her through the air.

[Proficiency UP!]

[Soul Rend]

[Proficiency E -> D]

"Even if you tell me that..."

The Godscript window clearly showed an active debuff on Erebion. But its specific effects remained a mystery.

[Soul Rend: 10%]

At least, it looked like a debuff.

The titan's movements had clearly grown sluggish, and Cerys was no longer being sent flying quite as far each time she was struck.

"Well, since it works... Soul Rend ."

[Soul Rend]

[Proficiency D -> C]

" Soul Rend ."

[Soul Rend]

[Proficiency C -> B]

" Soul Rend ."

[Soul Rend]

[Proficiency B -> A]

Erebion now moved nothing like he had only moments earlier.

[Soul Rend: 50%]

The titan's eyes locked onto Nerez again and flashed, perhaps with fury or perhaps with pain. It was impossible to tell on that shadowed face.

"This must end at once," Erebion declared. "The fact that you exist is not permitted... it must not be permitted."

"I don't know who gets to decide that my existence isn't allowed, but if it's just your opinion against mine, that makes it a technical tie..."

As if responding to Nerez's comment, Erebion stretched out his hand, and black mist poured from it in a controlled vortex, shaping itself into a spear as dark as the titan himself.

"Don't think I don't know the weakness of spears!" Cerys exclaimed, closing the distance between herself and the titan to slip inside his guard.

But what attacked her instead was the black mist, sending her rolling across the ground with one powerful lash.

"Gah!"

Cerys finally crashed into a rock near Nerez, and he could see that his servant was covered in wounds and blood.

"Why did you assume that, just because he has a weapon now, he couldn't still attack you the same way as before?"

"Ugh..."

"You've had enough fun. If it weren't for those clothes you're wearing, you would have been torn to pieces by now."

"I can still... don't think I'm going to be beaten... that easily!"

Nerez knelt beside Cerys and raised his arm.

Chop.

The blow was so soft that, rather than a chop to the head, it looked more like a light pat.

"What... was that for?"

"For being stubborn. It may not look like it, but I'm rather possessive. You're my soulwarden, aren't you?" Nerez explained as he stood up again. "I don't like anyone damaging what's mine."

Cerys looked at him for a few moments while a drop of blood ran down the corner of her lips.

"Reaper..."

"...Stay here until I can take you to Avelle."

"Tch... just when things were getting interesting."

Nerez could not help smiling faintly as he began walking toward the titan.

"I didn't think you'd wait for us this long. Is there honor among titans?"

The glowing eyes set in the darkness of Erebion's face flashed brighter than ever.

"Whether it is now or a few moments later makes no difference. Your end has already been decided."

Near Nerez, skeletal hands rose from the earth, and soon a skeletal soldier stood beside him. It only handed him its rusty sword before vanishing again.

"Well, I suppose even gods have an end," Nerez remarked, gripping the sword's hilt with his right hand and the Book of Death with his left. "But as for me, I've already experienced far too many, so I think I'm good for now, thanks."

The titan definitely had not understood Nerez's sarcastic comment, nor did he care to. He simply gripped his spear and prepared to attack.

Meanwhile, a dark, shadowy hue began to emerge from Nerez's rusty sword, sliding along the edge.

The titan instinctively took a step back, but quickly recovered.

His expression could not be seen within the dark mist, but Nerez's instinct, trained through thousands of battles, told him for some reason that the titan was trying to muster his courage.

!!

Finally, Erebion lunged at him, delivering a powerful thrust that stirred the air around them.

Nerez met it with a sword strike of his own, which exploded with dark energy as it crashed against the spear and shattered it to pieces.

The titan's glowing eyes widened like beacons within the darkness.

But the surprise lasted only an instant.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five sword strikes severed the titan at five different points, and his remains fell scattered across the ground.

"Surely, without 'Soul Rend', the story would have been different (and not to sound like Cerys), but I really expected more..."

Death's Touch.

"I already tested this with you once, Cerys. But apparently, I can imbue something I'm touching directly with 'Death's Touch', especially if it's part of my own Eidolon."

Nerez explained as he let the sword fall. A skeletal hand emerged from the earth, caught it, and quickly drew it down beneath the ground.

"I need my own sword..."

Of course, he was referring to the battle to the death they had fought during the gods' battle royale.

"Don't... experiment... on me!" the redhead complained from the ground, raising one hand in protest, her eyes vacant as she stared at the chamber's stone ceiling.

"... Anyway, it wasn't an instant death, but I confirmed that if I charge the skill with much more spiritual energy than it normally consumes, I can finish off something like a god by using it as a weapon."

!!

But at that moment, the mist that made up the titan's body had begun to fade.

"Ah! You're not getting away! There are quite a few things you'll have to explain to me!"

With that, Nerez pulled from his pocket the netherite stone he had been carrying for quite some time already.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.