Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1177: Meeting An Old Friend (3)

...!

Dellan was taken by surprise.

Something was strange about his vision.

Why was half of it dark?

Why could he feel blood spilling from the side of his face?

Why...

Why was it that Skullius, who was standing before him, was holding in his right hand a large, bloody eyeball with an iris that still shimmered orange!

Everything finally caught up with the Grinning Jester Fox, all the sensations and the dread. He let out a howl of agony and backed away rapidly, pain throbbing in his empty eye socket. "What... what did you do?!" Dellan cried, his sharp teeth bared, but he did not pounce. Skullius' expression as he looked blankly at the quivering beast was cold. He massaged the squishy base of the eye that was in his hand and sighed.

"Four thousand years ago, the greatest hurdle to my campaign was Rayne, the man blessed by the Deities with a body that could hold even the strongest among them. I admit, he was quite the challenge, but I quite enjoyed battling him. He was everything I loathed. A vessel for the hypocrites. Crushing him meant quashing the very ideology of the beyond-Divines who made Aigas," he said in a bitter-sweet reminiscent tone. "I wasn't even a match for him and all the other vessels that joined him in battle, but after reaching Divinity, we became somewhat even. I could hold my own very well."

A cold chuckle then left Skullius' lips.

"This time, things are different. One must improvise against rather... treacherous unknowns," he said, and he stowed away the eye and sat down on the ground, looking into the thick of the forest. While he saw nothing, Skullius sensed the presence of five individuals approaching behind the agonizing Dellan.

Ashema sensed them too,

"Company," he said, and he floated up and towards Skullius, settling in front of the great, dark tower the Luman had made.

All five individuals shadowed in the distance, walking as though they hadn't just journeyed here together, stopped right where the plateau began and looked at Skullius.

"We meet again, Erlton," Skullius said with a smile and a wave.

Erlton sighed but returned the greeting.

"Indeed," he said. "I didn't think I'd see you here. I almost feel... stalked."

"Oh no. It is just a mere coincidence," Skullius said airily before setting his gaze on Azila, the Great Mane Mountain Ape. The beast gawked at him. Skullius grinned. "I suppose it's no secret to you now who I am, is it? Emperor Bonet sends his regards."

Azila didn't know what to think.

Several minutes ago, he had just been told of the identity of the 'HE' Erlton had referred to and the depth of the revelation had left him astounded.

To think that little skeleton he had nearly killed in his Territory months ago, whom he had allowed to slip because of the tale he had shared about being the emissary of some individual known as Emperor Bonet... was here, donning flesh and wielding the powers of the Immoral!

To think that all it took to piece together all the pieces Azila, Karima and the Aqua Ripper had been attempting to fit together months ago, was this individual whom they had been curious about in the first place...

(A/N: Refer to Ch.386).

Skullius then turned to the man with long, dark hair.

Soidon held a great deal of apprehension at meeting Skullius. He had made sure to steer clear of him back in Opungale after realising that something about him had changed. Even now, he still felt that he oughtn't be here.

Skullius seemed to appraise him with interest as well, but he didn't address Soidon. Instead...

"What brings you all here?" Skullius asked in the same way a host would ask his guests. "You dare disregard me even as I stand here?" Karima, who stood at the forefront of the lineup of five, boomed. His size might have been underwhelming compared to Azila's, but the power that bubbled out of him, like distorted winds feeding into and crippling the surroundings space, was far more formidable than that which Dellan had expelled earlier.

Speaking of the fox...

Karima pointed at Dellan.

"I will not tolerate sacred blood spilled in my presence," Karima said chillingly, and Dellan vanished from where he was, appearing behind the bat-faced beast, where the mound of corpses Ashema had mutilated could be seen.

Skullius didn't move or speak for a few seconds. Instead, he placed his elbow on his thigh and supported his chin with a fist.

"Seeing as you are not rushing to exert your authority, my dear bat, you must be hoping I will quietly vacate myself," he said, much to Karima's annoyance. "I'm afraid that won't do." Karima started towards Skullius at once, but Erlton gestured for him to stop with a small bow. "Please, don't. We require you for something a lot more important than this, remember?" the Herald said in a small voice.

Karima contemplated him sharply and then he acquiesced. He snorted and turned back to the sight of the corpses. They were all instantly burnt to ash as he walked through them and disappeared into the thick of the forest. Dellan followed after him, but not before glaring at Skullius for a moment.

The Aqua Ripper also gave the Hybrid Luman a sharp look before turning and following the

two.

Soon, only Azila, Erlton and Soidon remained, looking at the Hybrid Luman.

"I'm sure your goal wasn't to welcome me here, of course. What do you seek from me?" Skullius asked the Herald and Soidon in particular.

Erlton's face hardened.

He didn't quite like Skullius' sudden appearance.

It was costing him Karima's cooperation.

While heavily accomplished in Divining, Erlton wasn't able to see small future events. He was normally privy to the greater, larger events - disasters.

He had seen several in the past few months, some of which had already happened, some which hadn't. But when felt Skullius reappear earlier, he had imagined that he had probably seen another devastating disaster involving this man.

Not all of the things he saw were clear, however, and at times he wasn't able to tell just who was behind the events he saw.

A part of him drew him to this place.

One of his Divinations must have shown him something about this. He was sure of it. That was the only reason to explain the increased sense of dread he felt at seeing Skullius here, despite being - all things considered - not being particularly bothered by him just a few days ago on

Opungale.

His mission for now, was to persuade Skullius to leave the Tremur Forest, capturing his interest with something else and quelling it until he had solved the ordeal he was trying to

deal with at the moment. For that...

Erlton urged Soidon with a pat on the shoulder.

Soidon stiffened and sighed before looking at Skullius.

He couldn't believe he was going to have to reveal himself in this way and to this version of

the man.

"The stench on you has lessened considerably since I last saw your body," he said. "You must have gotten rid of some of the miasmic presence of the Arch-Lich who cursed you, right?"

...!

Skullius' blank eyes narrowed.

"What?" he asked.

Soidon steadied himself.

"Ever since Azila told me about you and that ludicrous story you told him, I had wondered. I

followed the stench of potent Undeath on you from city to city. It wasn't until I analysed your unconscious body that I realised that the smell came from your soul. Erlton then clarified what you were," Soidon said sombrely. "I remember being somewhat pleased to meet

someone whom I could relate to."

Skullius' brows furrowed even further.

"What are you saying?" he asked sharply.

Everyone felt the switch at once.

Soidon straightened.

"I am a Lich. A former Lich."

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