1635 My Enemy
The sky of purgatory was red since anyone could remember. But today, it cracked like a mirror and glowed with various lights.
Klynster and his divine peers looked up at the sky with a trembling gaze. Their dead eyes reflected the vibrant colors and for a moment, they all found themselves at a loss for words.
The might of purgatory was challenged today.
"Urgh."
A pained groan left Varian's throat as the sheer pressure eminating from the five beings put pressure on him.
They were confronting each other and weren't trying to hurt him. But it struck him as odd that his wives, who usually carefully controlled their aura to not affect him in such situations, let it flow.
That alone didn't amount to a substantial thought. But the bubbling emotions he could feel from the link and the common word in their minds 'Sugar Mommy' worried Varian.
"…Sarah?" Varian called out, hoping he's just overthinking it.
The blonde queen clenched her sword tighter and gave him that look which told him she was not in a great mood. "We'll talk."
"…" Varian nodded with a depressed expression.
Once she turned around, his expression changed into one of vengeance and he slapped his chest.
'Logos, you bastard! You brought that topic, provoked me, raised my emotions and guided them here!'
[That I did to save you. You're welcome.]
'You dug a grave of misunderstanding!'
[For achieving a big goal, small sacrifices are necessary.]
Varian shook his hand and yelled. "I'll take them out. See you out soon."
The flames of red and green spread out from Varian's hand as if they were trying to spread throughout the land.
Forming strings of flames, they enveloped the Undead and formed a boundary around them, seperating them from purgatory.
"I'll take them out first. Be safe!" Varian yelled before engulfing the entire region with his space-time powers.
"My child, don't go!"
Ignoring the crazy woman's desperate pleading, the space around Varian's group distorted.
"Noo!"
A flash of red blinded everyone and the next moment, they were pulled away from the location, appearing at the other end of the purgatory, just a few miles away from the barrier.
Since he had come this far in such a short period of time, he had some time before the parasites could think of catching up.
What's more, with the harem holding down the parasite queen, he might even get a few precious seconds extra.
'Once I get outta here, they can leave without worries. Even if they can't defeat the Parasite Quene, they can escape when they want. Now I just need t—'
"Cough!"
Varian spat out blood and his face paled. Only then did he notice a small spark of red glowing inside his chest.
When they were teleporting, the attack of the queen was intended to bury them all. It was blocked but a part of the attack still ended up striking him.
Varian turned to the Undead in the solid space castle with an apologetic smile. "I'll need a few seconds to recharge and get you out, don't worry about the parasite queen."
Closing his eyes, he sank his mind deep inside and entered a hyper meditative state.
As he quickly recovered aura and repaired his injuries to pull off a major sliver manipulation feat, a message rang from the synergy link. It was Sia's voice that greeted him.
Perhaps because they were close, he could 'see' her condition.
With a pale face, blood splattered face and bloodshot eyes, she was controlling the souls of parasites to fight against each other other, keeping them from helping the parasite queen.
Sarah, Enigma and Isadora were in a fierce confrontation with the Parasite Queen.
Each move in the battle ended resulted in explosions that would've blown away entire kingdoms.
Thankfully, Purgatory was incredibly resilient. Even their tremendous battle only ended up creating broken land and cracked spaces.
'Varian, we can barely hold her together. Have you left the place?'
'Not yet. I'll be taking these Undead out with me.'
'Are you crazy?! Why?'
Isadora's voice rang and the other two also joined the conversation.
Varian shared the memory with them. 'Maybe the hostility of Undead with living would vanish thanks to them. A more robust alliance gives me a better stage for growth.'
Sia nodded with a reluctant expression. 'Equilius wants to kill you. So having a few divine helpers outside this place won't be too bad, I guess? They weren't hostile to you from the start anyway.'
'Parasite Queen admitted it herself. Equilius wanted her to kill me.'
Varian slowly opened his eyes. The flames of green and red engulfed his arms. With a clench of his fists, he briefly severed the link between the Undead and Purgatory.
Almost at the same time, Enigma's voice rang.
'If I was Equilius, I would never hire just one tea—'
Boom!
Varian looked down at the ash-colored hand passing through his chest in disbelief.
"You…"
Klynster looked at him with an emotionless, no, with a dead expression.
"How dare a filthy living creature have those slivers? Unacceptable!"
Klynster's leg flashed and a powerful force struck Varian in the back, tearing his body into two.
As blood rained and organs ruptured, Varian used the power of life in a drop of blood that was blown away to draw distance from Klynster.
The power of death that drilled into his body from the Undead began to wreck havoc, attempting to devour him violently.
And unlike the usual parasite's infesting energy, this one seemed to understand his aura style very well.
Despite his best attempts, Varian was losing.
A light flashed and hundreds of Undead—elders, middle-aged, young and even children—surrounded him.
Klynster stood in the middle, looking at him with a plain expression.
Varian's eyes widened and he shook with anger at the betrayal.
Once the link between them and Purgatory was severed, he could feel their souls with accuracy.
Not a single one in front of him, neither the child undead nor Klynster himself had an announce of proper emotion.
Toward him, all they held was instinctive hatred.
"I was skeptical when that old man warned me not to try kill you right away." Klynster walked in the air, approaching him with absolute confidence.
It was as if a lightning flashed in his mind and illuminated the darkness. Varian grasped that Equilius bribed both of them to kill him.
"Now I get it. It wouldn't have worked on you. Those females would've been disastrous if I attempted to kill you without that stupid bug's intervention." With a flick of his wrist, beams of aura from one Undead reached another and formed a complex geometric shape.
"Give away the slivers. You're not qualified to control them."
The beams of aura that went through every Undead shot at Klynster and he trembled slightly.
The alarm in Varian's head went off, warning him of the enemy's increased strength.
Klynster's aura was thicker, darker and viscious. He was still weaker than the parasite queen but not by much.
Looking at the dead eyes of the man, Varian asked through gritted teeth. "So everything you told me, the dream of these people, their regrets…it's all a lie?"
