Bro, I'm not an Undead!-Chapter 1677: Stone Hub of Taboos (5)
"Ko Aggrante!"
Kenno went flying as the massive blast chugged forth and crashed into the stunned Doom Knight, sending it barreling a kilometer away and bouncing off the gravel thrice. The Aggrante might have been stronger than the average Triplefold Ko Aggrante. Weaver kept supplying Null Life Essence to Kenno’s Granted Star Armament, and judging by the latest Aggrante blast’s freakish output, the Apostle didn’t fill the armour with regular Null Life Essence.
The Doom Knight was sturdier than Souran was, but it still received some degree of damage from the attack.
That hadn’t been Kenno’s goal, though. He’d aimed to push the creature further away from its disembodied essence – both the Undeath energy and the Fated Reef – which thwarted Souran’s plan. Now, to get the energy the Doom Knight had lost back into its body, she’d have to work harder.
But even that wasn’t the Unlimited Star’s ultimate goal.
He didn’t know that Araeyn was (briefly) in possession of enough power to eliminate Souran, and he had been readying something that could obliterate the Arch-Lich once and for all. From his perspective, Araeyn’s sudden intervention was to spare him and Ferex from the Arch-Lich’s unrelenting persistence temporarily.
It was the charging of his new attack that brought Araeyn and Souran to pause.
There was something unnerving about it, even before it was actualized.
’He’s doing it?’ Souran thought, socket flames blazing. She momentarily discarded the danger from Araeyn – not that Authority of Dimensions managed to snap out of his stupor and attack the Arch-Lich. He was just as stunned.
’Here goes!’
Kenno might have been developing the technique for months now because of his Unlimited Conception.
The word space could have been his middle name by now. He’d been thinking about it incessantly, with every fiber of his being, his every cell, his every Territory. What more could he do with the essence of space refined within his Territories?
An idea had blossomed.
He had fashioned Fallout Lag, an ability that allowed him to delay attacks from reaching him by considering Broader Existences. It wasn’t the same, but Kenno had modelled something akin to that for himself.
But what else?
Ah. Of course. He couldn’t help but think of Kintar, the monstrous monster he aimed to catch up to. He remembered that the insufferable woman had obtained a unique physical attribute after Skullius used [Unbound] on her Strength stat. She could land physical attacks from a distance, simply by looking at an opponent.
The idea was similar to what he could with Impel, but a gnawing sensation kept telling Kenno he could expound upon the idea and make something unfathomable, something vicious.
What could stop him now?
Skullius’ Amras was building on his potential.
Though he didn’t know it, Fundamental Barter had been applied directly to his body, which increased the potency of the processes he carried out with his cells (the Territories) exponentially.
...And then there was Ferex’s [Soul Talisman]. Kenno had three chances to tweak certain things within his soul and bring the result to his physical body. For an Incandescent Stager like him, the results would be permanent.
That was why Kenno went wild.
’What if I build each individual unit of my physical strength from one cell? I then channel that unit of strength to another cell, then another, and another, refining my physical strength continuously before it is defined – before it is expelled from my body as an attack? With each cell that it passes, it becomes stronger – exponentially stronger. It cycles through me trillions of times, and then I release it!’ Kenno thought, almost going mad with excitement.
’But I don’t release that power with a punch or a kick, or a headbutt! No. That might blow my body the fuck up! No. I will channel all that strength through the space between me and the opponent. Yes! That will be faster, safer, and even more lethal. After all, I can sense and control the space near me as though it were part of my body! If I play my cards right, I might even bypass conventional forms of durability and techniques and strike more vulnerable points in my opponent!’
Kenno was doing it right then. He regarded the boundaries of his Majestic Territories as his blood cell walls and everything within those walls as a kind of refinery.
One cell, two cells, three cells. He channeled a fragment of strength so small, it couldn’t even be defined through three cells, and by the end, it was the equivalent of a thwack from an ant’s antenna.
Fifty cells.
A thousand cells.
A million cells.
A billion cells.
Kenno performed the act in less than a nanosecond, but he felt his body cry out in warning.
This was risky! This was fatal!
But he was confident. He would release all the built-up power into the space between himself and Souran, offsetting the immense burden that would have otherwise been borne by his body.
A trillion cells.
Blood sprayed from his nose, but by that point, the cycle was complete. All 45 trillion of his cells were lit up, having expended every iota of strength they could spare in a brief span!
...!!!
Souran’s excitement turned into dread right then. For a moment, she could have taken her chances with Araeyn’s Null Life Ota infused punch rather than whatever Kenno was aiming at her. The Unlimited Star looked like someone on their deathbed, but the look in his eyes, like that of an eagle focused singularly on prey it knew couldn’t escape, was a guarantee – a guarantee that surely, Souran would perish in one hit!
...
But that was only if Kenno could release his attack.
He’d even given it a name: Negative Margin Buster. But unfortunately, it wouldn’t get its chance to shine.
...Because Kenno blew the fuck up.
There wasn’t even an atom left from the explosion, but it wasn’t a conventional detonation either – no fire, no shockwaves. It did, however, send everyone hurtling in all directions. The Stone Hub of Taboos groaned, but not because it had taken damage. No.
It was expanding. It grew by at least 1.5 times following Kenno’s abrupt death, which left the Apostles and Souran baffled.
What had they just witnessed? Just like that, Kenno had snuffed himself out?
...
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...
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...
<Now, why would you go and do something so predictably stupid?> a voice echoed. <Even among those who touch upon Eklhesh miraculously, like you, I’ve never seen anyone senselessly apply it for offense like that? You really must have thought you’d sat with Eklhesh for long enough, huh?> There was a sigh. <What now? This wasn’t my original intent. I only wanted to probe, but the others... Well, they have way more sinister plans for you and your master now that COLMUUN has backed off. What to do, what to do, what to do? Ah, might as well. Lucky for you, there’s a lot of leeway here, rather than in the wider reality. Less restrictions. This will be a favour for your master to repay, though.>
Kenno could hear the voice, but he couldn’t speak, see, or feel. He might have been an idea, a thought rather than a man.
But still, even while distilled down to a concept...
[A Primeval Deity has expressed interest in your abilities]
[A LIMITED CONTRACT has arrived. Would you like to open the CONTRACT?]
