Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Familiars?

Cosmic tier Andori?

The mocking lightness in the enemy's voice stank of honesty.

Skullius drew a deep breath and twirled Rafnuung around while contemplating. Stealthily – unseen by any eyes – he channeled Litte to his mind, accelerating his thoughts. It helped him process everything without scrounging for additional information. The enemy had got one over on him, after all.

In an instant, it became clear to Skullius, as he settled Rafnuung's head on his shoulder, that the enemies he had just fought… were somehow not real.

'Not quite that,' Skullius contradicted the thought with another. 'They were real, but perhaps only temporary – impermanent, but authentic Deities. That's absurd. Is that the power of Cosmic tier Andori then?'

Searching the corpses of the Deities he had killed, Skullius found that they were all still there, armour and all, which made the ordeal even more baffling.

'Do they last forever? No. That shouldn't be the case…'

Already, the absence of the guidance field was proving critical. Had Skullius still had access to its functions, perhaps he would have found out about the enemy's powers earlier.

'If this Andori can replicate even Deific beings that perfectly th—' Skullius paused mid-thought.

A realization clicked in his head, and suddenly, bloodlust poured out of him like a torrent. The switch was so abrupt that even his enemy was forced into a battle stance.

…But by then, Skullius had already brandished Rafnuung and lunged.

…!

'I have to kill him right here!' was Skullius' only thought.

In this realm, space was many times denser and gravity more ruthless, making it impossible to warp with ordinary means, but Skullius still moved so fast that it almost seemed like he had indeed warped, all so that he could slay the foe in one strike.

The Hybrid had come to a haunting conclusion. If his opponent had crafted the Deity familiars, then he was able to control them, and if he was able to control them, then that meant he probably saw, felt, and understood what happened to each familiar.

He knew things Skullius wanted to remain secret, especially the inverted properties of Numinous Ichor!

In and Mu were summoned, but hidden in darkness. Skullius would not pull his punches.

…His opponent was the same. To the Hybrid's mild surprise, he went from heaving his warhammer to swinging it upwards in the infinitesimal decimal of time that existed between Skullius lunging and him (Skullius) launching a lateral strike to the armoured figure's neck.

Sheer speed?

Another Andori?

Skullius didn't know, nor did he care.

The black battle axe and the golden warhammer met, both furious and lusting for blood.

"Stand down."

The hammer stopped less than a millimeter away from the axe. As it happened, Rafnuung didn't take advantage of that.

Both the armoured figure and Skullius stopped in their tracks, compelled by the sudden command. They looked above them at the same time, at the source of the voice. The armoured figure gave an annoyed sigh and dropped his hammer to the ground. Skullius kept Rafnuung brandished, however.

Sensing his unease, the new arrival spoke again:

"You don't need to be wary of me, Serenity's Chosen. Unlike Subossais, I know to welcome esteemed, fated guests, even if they arrive unannounced."

From floating in the sky, weightless, the speaker descended to stand in front of Skullius.

Despite how he towered more than a head's worth over both fighters, his neck-length dirty blonde hair dancing lightly in the breeze, his skin emitting flakes of light, as though he were a cousin of the sun, Skullius was unfazed.

…At least he made himself appear so.

There was something under the surface. More than the handsome face before him, the bare torso proudly exhibiting a godly, chiseled figure, the single spaulder on its shoulder made from a kind of transparent metal sculpted into a regal shape, Skullius could sense a magnitude of power so deep that, at that moment… he couldn't define it.

'…Damn.'

A Deity? This man didn't feel like one.

Skullius couldn't fathom him. He was astronomically powerful. Was that why Skullius completely gave up on flaring his hostility?

Sighing, the Hybrid Warmoth dispelled the Magnus Mantle.

Fighting right now would yield no merit.

The handsome arrival gave a soft, almost non-existent smile. There was a name for that kind of smile.

Confidence.

That must have also been why the man had had his eyes closed the entire time.

"With all due respect, Grand General, you had no right to interfere," said the armoured enemy, Subossais. "You have no jurisdiction over my actions, especially in the Quadrosphere."

The new arrival turned to Subossais, smile unchanged.

"I'll own up to breaching that rule, certainly," he said, "but I suspect Navvy will forgive it, seeing as I just saved your life. That exchange wasn't going to end the way you thought it was."

Subossais' silence was loud. His helmet turned. He was looking at Skullius, seething.

The Hybrid was unconcerned; he wasn't flattered either.

'This is getting dangerous. Am I an open book to him? I hid what I intended to be the decisive blow for the very last moment of the exchange.' He secretly dispelled In and Mu.

Eyes still closed, the blonde arrival, a Grand General, turned back to him.

"Now, pardon me. I should give a proper introduction," he said, extending a hand decorated with five gleaming rings to Skullius. "I am Gylliard, so named by the Sovereign General Momem Thyrgga the Sheathed himself. I also happen to be his Right Hand."

Skullius hesitated for a moment, mulling over the words. 'Thyrgga the Sheathed?'

A moment later, he shook the General's hand cautiously.

"I don't suppose I need to introduce myself," he said, unsure if his words would translate well as intent.

"Indeed. Everyone with a good eye knows you. I happen to be a big fan, matter of fact."

"…Hmm." Full of doubt about the claim, Skullius glanced at the lantern-like thing hanging from Gylliard's waist. It was like the one Subossais had, only larger and brighter.

Subossais cursed audibly behind the two. Gylliard turned to him. His smile grew ever so slightly more pronounced before he swiveled back to Skullius, his head jerking a little as though he'd suddenly remembered something important.

"Pleasantries aside, I should warn you. Murder within any of the Spheres is expressly forbidden. I will forgive it once because your victims were constructs, and because your ignorance was no fault of yours. There won't be a second time."

Everything seemed to stop with Gylliard's warning – the cold ash falling from the sky, time, space, wind. The unassuming smile Gylliard had on as he spoke didn't dampen the lethality and guarantee in his words at all.

Skullius believed him.

"I will keep that in mind," he said and eyed Subossais for a moment.

Gylliard seemed taken aback, but not because Skullius was unintimidated.

"For someone who proved even more capable than a tyrant hellbent on releasing the Absolute Sun, you are rather reasonable," he said. "How charming. My favour was not misplaced. You and I are surely going to get along very well."

Skullius shrugged. "…We'll see."

Gylliard acknowledged with a nod and unhooked the lantern-like object on his waist.

"Might want to seize your flying vessel. I would like to leave the Quadrosphere before Navvy blasts it frozen."

Skullius had just done as the Grand General advised when the lantern-like object in Gylliard's grasp flashed with that dull, bluish light and embraced all three of them. Only then did the Grand General utter a single word:

"TORS."

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