Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 710: Enjoy your last moments

Chapter 710: Enjoy your last moments

It started as a crisp crack, allowing Cybele to snap out of the trance she was in, one induced by the mere presence of the Beast, a being that had long since disappeared.

Shaking her head in a bid to get her wits about her, she heard the crack yet again and then, she understood what it meant.

To utilize the power of the Hexad, a deity stuck in a different dimension, a conduit was utilized and that conduit, the divine weapon of the Berserk God, Zyagi, was on its last legs, no longer able to handle the pressure exerted on it by the different dimensions.

Once it broke, Cybele would lose her connection to the Hexad, causing her Apostolic strength to leave her, which though regretful, was for the best.

In a bid to ensure that what was left wasn’t wasted, she utilized the Authority of the Hexad one last time, using a thought to manipulate the domain of Arithmetics.

One moment, she was on a hill close to the edge of Henos, and the next, she was within a cave, one that was mere meters away from the entrance to the Unending Carnival.

Now, she would wait, wait until the appointed time.

***

A tense atmosphere persisted between Alex and his pneuma, a being he dubbed the Dark Spirit Body.

This shadowed entity with hollow eyes and a barely humanoid physique, regarded him coldly, leaving Alex uneasy.

Unfortunate as it was, Alex understood that what he was about to do was necessary, and so he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, after which he uttered his first words.

"Hello there."

The Dark Spirit Body twitched, then it moved, rising to its feet, perhaps preparing to engage Alex in another battle.

The last time they clashed, Alex had emerged victorious, an outcome that would not have occurred if not for the meticulous arrangements carried out before the clash.

Now, however, those arrangements were nowhere to be found, which meant that the outcome this time would surely be different.

As it took its first step forward, Alex immediately raised his hands in surrender, expressing his unwillingness to fight, not only because he truly didn’t wish to fight but also because even if he did, he would lose.

"I am not here to fight," Alex remarked. "I’m here to offer up a proposition."

The Dark Spirit Body stilled, its hollow eyes still trained on Alex’s form.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change that. So I’m here to make an offering."

After saying that, Alex conjured a mental image of the Broken Saintess.

Watching as the Dark Spirit Body glanced at the mental image, Alex continued. "It’s been established that my Soma is not strong enough to contain a pneuma as great as you, so I propose you split, that way, you won’t feel as constrained."

The Dark Spirit Body glanced back at Alex, its hollow eyes scrutinizing him.

Alex wasn’t sure if it would accept, but based on the fact that Vessina had asked for a piece of his pneuma, he understood that it was possible to take out a piece of someone’s pneuma without causing significant damage to them, especially when their pneuma was greater than their Soma could contain.

Since he was unaware of the process, his only other option was to... ask nicely.

He figured, what’s the worst that could happen anyway?

The answer to that question didn’t take too long to arrive as the Dark Spirit Body let out a terrifying screech before charging at Alex, intending to devour him.

Alex closed his eyes, swiftly returning to the real world where Victoria and the Fixer were waiting.

His forehead peppered with perspiration, Alex remarked. "Well, that was a total failure."

"If it’s a pneuma you seek, I think we can get it from another source." The Fixer intoned, causing Alex to glare at him.

"And you couldn’t say that before now?"

"I had no idea what your plan was!" The Fixer shot back, leaving Alex unable to argue.

Letting out a sigh, he said. "Fine then, what’s the source?"

"Henos is a continent crawling with ancestral spirits worshipped by the people. With the right items, we can draw an evil spirit over and trap it within the Saintess."

"That... makes sense," Alex remarked, but then recalling something, glanced at Victoria.

"Cut it off." He said with Victoria immediately doing as instructed.

A moment later, she dropped to the ground, gasping for air.

Providing vitality to the corpse of a deity was not an easy task in the slightest, even while drawing from her latent potential.

Alex snapped, utilizing Blessings of the Dark Moon to help her recover while he shifted his attention back to the Fixer.

"So how do we get started?"

***

Ulysses blanked out multiple times in his battle against the Everlasting, barely managing to hold on to the memories Ana’s amulet had returned to him.

But it was clear that with things as they were, it wouldn’t be long before he lost as the Everlasting was not just another identity, it was one backed by the sheer might of the Lord of Flesh and Blood, the First Class Otherworldly that ruled over distorted death.

Realizing belatedly that he would never be able to win against the Everlasting, Ulysses accepted that there was only one way to end the current battle.

He had to accept the Everlasting as another facet of his being.

That way, there would be no reason to fight.

Of course, the downside to that was that, sooner or later, he would end up succumbing to the desires of the Everlasting, turning into a mindless entity that singlemindedly moved to fulfill the dreams of the Lord of Flesh and Blood.

Gritting his teeth, Ulysses, instead of fighting, embraced the Everlasting, catching the entity off guard.

Surprised as it was, it didn’t fight against the merger and instead, accepted it, leaving behind some parting words.

"Enjoy your last moments."