Soul Venerable (Re-written)

 

 

“A mental battle? Are you serious?” Sumire noticed the familiar environment she was in. This imaginary world is her sea of consciousness; she often cultivates her enslavement-path tactics here.

At this instant, an army of countless undead creatures consisting of zombies, skeletons, bonelings, liches, and other bone beast led by an elder lich riding on top of a bone dragon appeared behind her. Since this is an imaginary world, she could use her telepathic thoughts to summon anything she’d like as long as she could keep up the expenditure.

Of course, she couldn’t just think of summoning the Devil King. The more complete her understanding upon a certain creature, the closer their power that she could produce. So this was quite literally, a battle of minds.

Although this is merely an imaginary world; their physical condition served as the foundation. Since Sumire’s brain, or in this case, her sea of consciousness is already wounded, the world is semi-crumbling. Volcanic eruption, meteor shower, typhoon, thunder storms, even dimensional cracks appeared everywhere in this imaginary world. It was like a post-apocalyptic world where merely surviving is an achievement. 

Since her brain was wounded, she shouldn’t be capable of summoning this large amount of units but she possessed a secret that nobody knows.

A new wave of undead creatures appeared within her sea of consciousness, signifying another arrival of her army.

“Malicious thoughts?” Nyx mused as he recognized the telepathic thoughts that made up the army.

“You fell into a trap.” Sumire grinned, not denying nor confirming Nyx’s guess. She isn’t that retarded to tell her enemies about her so that he could gain advantage, but Nyx isn’t an idiot either. He was originally a spectral soul produced from Mordred’s true soul, altered for a special task that would take a very long time to accomplish.

Even so, it would be hard for Nyx to get an advantage.

At this moment, the two of them knew that Nyx’s body in the physical world was destroyed, cutting off any path of retreat. Nyx became a cornered beast; it was only a matter of time before his inevitable defeat.

“That brat… tsk.” Nyx complained. “Well then, as your senior, let me teach you despair. Rank 3 necro-path magic spell, [Death by Virulent Corpse Plague]!”

Nyx instant-casted a large AoE spell, ignoring the expenditure. Even though undead are immune to plague and disease, the group of undead closest to him explode in a pestilent plague mist, any who got hit explodes into plague mist themselves, creating a chain explosion that completely obliterates Sumire’s army.

Once again, because this is an imaginary world, the spell resources Nyx needed can be constructed by refining telepathic thoughts. However, the more complex and high-ranking the spell materials are, the more telepathic thoughts it costs.

If Sumire uses her telepathic resources to summon cannon fodders, then Nyx uses his for spell resources. The difference is, Sumire is a living human supported by a relatively healthy body, unlike Nyx who’s not only dead, but also has his ‘physical’ body destroyed by Shion. In other words, Sumire might have a lower upper limit in terms of telepathic resources, but she could recover them unlike Nyx who can only watch his telepathic thoughts dwindle with each passing second.

As a new undead army arrived, Nyx felt the increasing pressure of his impending doom.

“Rank 3 necro-path killer move, [Death by Illimitable Bone Forest]!”

This time, countless bones of various sizes sprouted from the very ground they stepped on. Every colossal bone grew bone branches, which grew even more branches as if they were trees. Any who got impaled have their bones turned into another ‘bone tree’, creating an endless scene of pale white carnage. For boneless creatures like Flesh Abominations, they couldn’t resist the death energy as their flesh petrified into bones. It was a horrible sight as the undead army screamed in pain.

Still, Sumire can freely summon more cannon fodder by using a near-limitless amount of malicious thoughts and her flying units can evade the ground-based attack. Nyx’s two legendary spells might be capable of destroying cities and obliterating armies but in this situation, it wasn’t effective against her.

As for using lowered ranked spells, it would have cost him far more telepathic thoughts to achieve the same result because casting spells not only uses resources, but also mana and spiritual force which, in this imaginary world, equals to telepathic thoughts. In fact, the action of thinking also expends telepathic thoughts, Nyx simply lack the killing technique in order to subdue Sumire’s sea of consciousness due to her near-limitless amount of malicious thoughts.

Of course, it was also the same for Sumire. Despite her undead dragon spewing death dragon breath at Nyx, he was protected by a rank 3 defensive force field. Although it looks cool, the undead dragon and the elder lich that rode it were fakes! It doesn’t even have 0.001% the power of the original! Her effort was like trying to break a diamond with spit, it wasn’t effective in the slightest.

“I think we can make a deal now.” Nyx said calmly.

“You’re going to die sooner or later, I don’t need to have your permission to get your memory.” Sumire answered coldly.

“Indeed, but you’ve underestimated a legend. Don’t you think it’s strange that I could be talking normally despite my physical body having been shattered?”

Sumire paused her assault, her fake hostility against this legendary necromancer was seen through. She pondered for a moment before saying, “[Death by Misplaced Trust] seems like a possession-type spell, isn’t it? The parameter of success must be the total subjugation of the target’s sea of consciousness through a mental battle. Unfortunately for you, I am a master of enslavement-path with a strong wisdom-path foundation, thus, you cannot possess my body while I can only fight against your soul through a long battle of attrition. Am I correct?”

Nyx nodded. “As expected of someone who has received the Devil King’s inheritance. It’ll be easier for us to communicate. Yes, it is. Although I cannot possess you right now, it doesn't mean you can continuously keep up with the thought expenditure. Even though your wisdom-path methods can support your telepathic thought generation, you must be tired from all this battle. At some point, you will have to sleep and I could just break through your mental defenses, it isn’t a big deal for me.”  

“Your plans to negotiate might work against other people but… as I said earlier, you are trapped.” Sumire was confident.

The army of undead creatures stopped attacking Nyx’s turtle shell-like shield as they constructed a grand formation centered around him. Various dark runes of dubious function were engraved on the wasteland-like earth.

“What are you doing?” Nyx asks casually. He was confident that there was nothing Sumire could do. Even if she could grind his legend-rank defensive spell without stopping, it would take years for it to collapse.

“While most people cultivate orthodox path while gaining concrete power, I have sacrificed countless hours studying the Devil King’s Death Command True Inheritance. Although I cannot use them to grant me an obvious rise in combat power, I have never stopped gaining necro-path attainment from it. Therefore, you are truly foolish to have come into my sea of consciousness with your soul alone.” Sumire grinned.

The grand formation was activated without interruption, which put another layer of protection for Nyx.

“The activation of that grand formation means your end has come. There was nothing else you could do to change the outcome.” Sumire actually chuckled.   

“Was there something funny?” Nyx frowned.

“My inheritance actually forbids me to explain my plans to my enemy, yet I can’t stop myself from enjoying your last moments. Hahah. Now I understand why villains in knight fantasy books are addicted to elaborating their evil plans before the heroes. Right, this will be my first and last time doing this.” Sumire took a deep breath.

“Death Command True Inheritance is not a pure necro-path inheritance. In fact, it was never about the depth of one particular path, but it includes the most pragmatic methods of various paths combined together to form a certain set of combat styles and…” Her words trailed off as her army of the dead reverted back into a conflagration of malicious thoughts.     

Nyx’s eyes went wide as he realized the seriousness of the situation. Yet, before he could activate any method, Sumire continued. “Although it pains me to use this, I can’t have you living in my sea of consciousness rent free. Rank 1 necro-path killer move, [Malicious Soul Prison]!” Sumire’s apparition in this world exploded into thousands of soul shards.

Her soul shards combined with the innumerable malicious thoughts, completing the last component of the grand formation. Then, the countless malicious thoughts turned into a soul cage that trapped Nyx in Sumire’s sea of consciousness. The soul cage then dragged into the ground by tendrils of shadow. Soon, Nyx can only see an eternal darkness outside of the cage.  

“Have fun staying here forever.” The darkness subsided, revealing a cold, underground prison cell. Sumire’s apparition reappeared outside of his cell, her expression pale. It was evident that using the rank 1 killer move cost a lot from her.

“This is your trump card?” Nyx said unamused. “You know I can always break free with any random legendary spell, right?”

Sumire merely smiled, letting Nyx do as he pleases. Yet, the moment he started refining a spell resource out of his telepathic thought, from the ground, wall, and the air, soul chains pierced his soul, binding him and dispelling the telepathic resources he conjured.

“What the fuck?” Nyx’s soul coughed black blood, it was the representation of receiving soul damage.

“Heheh.” Sumire grinned, “So you’re about to cast a legendary necro-path magic spell, [Death by Death Scythe]? Let’s see… It should be capable of granting instant-death effect to any who got hit, even the undead would be difficult in resisting it. As expected of a legendary spell, its effect is over-the-top.”

Nyx gritted his teeth when he noticed the soul chain not only stopping him from casting any spell by stealing his telepathic thoughts, it also slowly siphons his soul essence slowly. “Bastard!”

“Give up. Although I am merely a rank 0, I am not that helpless. I have undergone a wisdom-path life-alteration surgery, [Harboring Malicious Heart], which grants me a second heart that could produce copious amounts of malicious thought. You are now trapped within my Malicious Heart, even if you manage to break free from this prison, I’ve put a special rune formation that’ll detonate my heart, destroying this imaginary space with you in it.”

“Sumire you fucking bitch!” Nyx screamed in anguish as his telepathic thought and soul essence were being siphoned once again.

“Please, retaliate. As long as you think, I will benefit.” Sumire chuckled, her apparition vanished as she lost consciousness.

 

…

 

“What was that move?” After making sure Sumire’s condition had stabilized, Sakuya asked Shion while highly on guard for her sudden action. Now that Nyx is dead, they must deal with Shion somehow.

Shion merely rolled her eyes, not elaborating further. How can she tell her cultivation technique so easily? She wouldn’t be that retarded, “Antimagic ninjutsu, duh.” She ignored Sakuya’s questioning glare as she collected the fragment of what Misaka Mikoto was. As soon as she desires it, the searing hot weapon parts revert into liquid metal that gathered on her feet before covering her body into a proper, skin-tight black clothes worn by ninja clan in a secluded mountain range.   

At this moment, invisible wasps broke in through the premise led by a large, armored wasp.

“Giant Lanian Wasp?” Sakuya gasped, “Lord Mage Mitsubachi is here?”

Giant Lanian Wasps are the defense specialist of the Wasp Legion. They were hatched as voracious giant larvae as large as a human toddler, which could ultimately grow into a powerful rank 2 beast. The fact that an adult one arrived here meant Nyx’s appearance took his attention.

The 3-meter-tall wasp is covered by thick black carapace, slowing down its flight speed. Despite being a defense specialist, Giant Lanian Wasp have powerful spear-like appendages for offense. The venom in its stinger might not be as powerful as the offense specialist in the Wasp Legion, but it could paralyze common rank 1 martial artists, therefore it shouldn’t be underestimated.       

The presence of such a majestic beast put an invisible pressure towards Shion, yet she was acting as if she wasn’t bothered by the beast.     

From the Giant Lanian Wasp’s belly, a human head-sized wasp appeared, “Identity match: first year student, Akane Sakuya. Report!” it said with a perfect human voice. This was a wasp that could voice Mitsubachi’s will through long distance, the communication unit of Wasp Legion, the Transmission Wasp.

Sakuya nodded as she briefly explained about the team's circumstances as the invisible wasps uncloaked and smeared the wounded with their rejuvenating honey. While Sakuya explains, the Transmission Wasp quietly scans the room with its compound eye.

“You said you had help from this... Shion person? Can you provide proof.” the Transmission Wasp asked?

Sakuya frowned, “She’s here.” She pointed at Shion who kept poking at the Giant Lanian Wasp’s hard carapace. “My lord is unable to sense her?”

The Transmission Wasp’s compound eyes followed the finger before speaking. “I see. Shion, was it? Please remove yourself from the Giant Lanian Wasp and explain yourself how you’ve escaped from my detection.”

Shion rolled her eyes, “Passive anti detection ninjutsu, duh.” She kept poking the Giant Lanian Wasp, but she couldn’t reach a certain spot where she wanted to touch so she leaped at the poor wasp. However, this simple action tilted the Giant Lanian Wasp as if the poor wasp was hit by a castle wall-mounted catapult.

“Oops, I forgot.” She casually removed herself from the wasp as if her hundreds of kilogram body weight was something insignificant. She touched several spots before the Giant Lanian Wasp recovered its posture. She stopped her antics when another figure entered the room.

“Lord Knight Tatsuya?” Sakuya was shocked. He was known as a no-bullshit type of person, any event that could attract his attention means it was something important. At this moment, Sakuya realized the gravity of the situation.

“Akane Sakuya, your team actually survived a battle with a rank 1 necromancer. Commendable performance.” he praised.

Sakuya accepts the compliment wordlessly as she watches Tatsuya strike a conversation with Shion. “Ninjutsu, you say? Are you a member of the hidden ninja clan of Yukikaze in the Fuyuhiro mountain range?”

Shion nodded. “Yes, my lord. My name is Yukikaze Shion.” She responded with respect. No matter what, any rank 2 cultivators deserve respect from the lower ranked, “I’ve been tasked to dispatch a rank 1 high elf necromancer that dares to trespass my homeland. Never in my wildest dream would he be a legendary necromancer, capturing me before escaping through a spatial magic spell. Thankfully, our dimensional anchor traps sprung in action, destroying his physical body in the process. And so, my Soul Armament successfully protected my body, soul and sea of consciousness from harm, allowing me to stay alive under his malicious hand.” she briefly explains.

There was a glint of greed from Tatsuya’s eyes for a brief second, but it disappeared instantly as he recalled the clan of which Shion is a part of.

Yukikaze clan is a secluded family that lived in the permafrost Fuyuhiro mountain range, they practiced powerful martial arts that were far more advanced compared to the martial arts in the Hartina Kingdom.

In fact, Hartina Royals even suspected that the inheritance of the Yukikaze clan might be even more powerful than what the Central Continent’s Sacred Alliance could offer. Therefore, they were highly respected by martial artists of the kingdom.

That being said, Yukikaze clan reciprocated the Hartina Royal’s respect by sending some of their female members as royal ‘maids’. It was an open secret in the kingdom’s military that Yukikaze clan members in the kingdom are all royal guards or secret service agents, performing VVIP guard duty or special tasks that could not be seen in the light of day.

Therefore, Tatsuya’s greed was instantly suppressed even after knowing the price of a Soul Armament this seemingly weak youth possessed. That was because despite the female members being sent into Hartina Kingdom serving as ‘maids’, not a single royal family member dared to mess around with them. How can Tatsuya dare to touch those that even the royalty he served wouldn’t dare to touch?

The best proof of their might was the fact that Yukikaze clan dares to send a rank 0 to dispatch a rank 1 necromancer. It was common sense that mages are far more powerful compared to martial artists of the same rank. Although the existence of Soul Armament does matter a lot, it was still an investment that even the Hartina Royals wouldn’t dare to pay.

“I see. Then, do you mind if I ask Miss Shion to accompany me for further questioning?” His words turned respectful immediately, hoping that she did not catch up with his rude desire.

Although it was an open secret in the military that Yukikaze clan members are ninja acting as royal guards or secret service, only the true erudite knows of their capability. Tatsuya have reached his power level through his own effort, it was proof that he wasn’t an idiotic muscle brain. Therefore, he actually knows a fragment of the martial arts used by Yukikaze clan members.

‘I’ve almost forgotten that their Jin Kuji-in (knowledge seal) ninjutsu allows them to read the thoughts of others… I have to be mindful of my thoughts…’ He thought inwardly as he led Shion away, giving the rest to Mitsubachi’s Wasp Legion to clean up.

Needless to say, Shion was too distracted to read his thoughts. Not only was there two ranks of power difference which renders most of his weaker techniques ineffective, he was too busy synchronizing her backstory with Nyx’s through the information she gained from Kasumi.

“Sure.” She answered while unbothered, while her crystal processor was overclocking.

‘My rank 6 killer move [Faux Soul Configuration] should be impenetrable from the futile effort of these rank 2s. Through Kasumi’s continuous OS update, I have successfully hid any incongruences from my battle with Nyx. At this stage, my hardware configuration and soul synchronization allows me to use two of the nine ninjutsu seals but it’ll do. For now, I have to focus on reading Nyx’s fake memory to fit with my background story…’                           

From the beginning, Nyx or in this case, Kasumi has planned for Nyx to be captured through some sort of soul-sealing technique. Shion, er, “Devil King” Mordred has spread countless necro-path inheritances in his previous life to promote its growth. With that being said, there was always one or two soul-path methods disguised as necro-path methods in those inheritances as ultimate killer moves, and it just happened that the one Sumire received was specialized in capturing souls and refining them into spectral units.  

In fact, Shion wouldn’t be surprised if Sumire was capable of devouring Nyx’s truesoul. That would be a faster way to convert her into her slave as Shion’s split souls would contaminate any soul who devours them. Well, that was just wishful thinking. Soul Devouring methods wouldn’t be included in rank 3 inheritances and below. Only his rank 4 and rank 5 inheritances would include that powerful yet dangerous soul-path method.  

< Combat operation has ended. Exiting combat mode. Running backup power. Warning, backup power duration: 167-hours 12-minute left >

Just as Shion was thinking that everything had turned better than expected, Kasumi pinged her. Now that she regains a ‘living’ body, she needs to find ways to recover energy. While she has siphoned a few tempered mana crystals as a power source, the internal battery system was made in a rush with limited resources; it can only store up to 10 days' worth of energy. And since combat uses far more power than normal mode, her energy reserve decreases by 3 days in that short amount of time.    

“We will meet again, Akane Sakuya.” Shion whispered to Sakuya as she left the underground room.

Nevertheless, despite their performance against the unexpected threat, Violet Sword Blaze have lost multiple members including their captain. They were quickly disqualified from the 2nd and 3rd stage of the hunting festival, yet they were also awarded by the academy for surviving an encounter with a rank 1 necromancer.