blueteamnovel 797. Countdown
797. Countdown
797. Countdown
//////// < ALERT > ////////
< Minor Resonance Detected >
< You are resonating with the Genesis Stone >
< But not to influence it directly like Ilya. I think Aspirating Aspirations has opened the eyes of the Blue Dahlia >
< But she knows that there’s little she can do >
“The Dirge... it’s changing!?” Iscario ignored Frost – an attempt that he quickly failed at.
“You weren’t favored by the Nexus, were you? Nothing seems to be going your way. You’re a fucking disgrace Iscario. Not even the Nexus could give you something worthwhile to make up for your faults. So you had to steal Skills. Ask yourself this: without your Skills and Ilya, what do you have left?”
“You’ve barely taken charge of the Nexus and you’re speaking like you govern it. There are two halves of the same –!”
“I am. It’s irrefutable. Make no mistake, I’m not perfect. But was there anyone else who was able to bring the Ateliers together before me? Iscario... The Nexus doesn’t need you.”
Frost stared intently at him, her wrath infinite, but her demeanor far calmer than just moments ago. Though Iscario was clad in pure white, the amalgamation of colors made Frost appear otherworldly; like she should not even be standing at this meager level where Iscario was.
But she did. Frost had always been a hands-on person.
The same could not be said about Iscario.
< Revoking the Blessing of the Nexus from Iscario >
“You turned your back to the Nexus. I hold the Ateliers in the palm of my hands. What do you have, Iscario? An Angel? Qliphoth? The Impuritas? The Nexus gave you everything you could have ever wanted. I could have made your wish come true.”
< ... Lailah is sending an announcement to the Blessed >
< She’ll be meeting with the uninvited guests shortly >
“Iscario. You just led whoever you sent up there to their deaths.”
“We’ll see in time. Shall we find out how many more lances you take before you keel over? But I’m surprised. They may fake, but they’re replicas of the Lance of Longinus...”
Iscario summoned another lance in his left hand.
“Perhaps I should personally stab your heart. Did you know that in the past they used to skewer beasts like you? They did it to ensure they were dead. I’ll leave plenty of holes in your body.”
“They did worse back in my world, and I’ve dealt with worse than being filled with holes. Iscario... have you ever experienced having your heart being wrenched out for days on end? Held a blade that felt like your soul was cast into hellfire? Hacked off a limb and turn it into a weapon?”
Frost threw De Jure away into her Dimensional Storage. [World Ablaze] had left it completely unusable now. The barrel was flared and cracked, revealing grooves and textures that couldn’t be found in metal.
“A thief like you wouldn’t know the first thing about sacrifice. Iscario. I feel like you’re going to weasel your way out of this. So –”
Frost’s fists were coated in flames as she smashed them together.
This drew Iscario’s full attention and locked him in combat.
< ACTIVE: Violence on Violence Action >
< We shall settle our differences the same way it was always supposed to be done >
< EFFECT: Declare a duel that will lock you with only a single target. That target will also be locked in combat with you until the end of the Skill’s duration, one of you perishes, or one flees. Damage of all hand-to-hand combat Skills are multiplied by 3x >
< COST: 100,000 MP >
< DURATION: 1 hour >
“– I’ll make it so you can’t escape!”