Chapter 252: Battle in the Void

William Oh once retrieved lumber for the god of the forge, but just any lumber wouldn’t do. The god of the forge would only accept lumber from the undead flame-ent that harkened back to the age of the gods, Vargos.

Vargos was surprisingly fast for a dead tree, soaring through the night sky on lances of flame, but William Oh was able to use his magic axe as a hook and drag it out of the sky before he chopped it down to size.

• Jason Salazar

“I feel like a lumberjack.” Will used some of his precious air to speak. He wasn’t sure if it made it to Void or not. The air was very thin.

Or perhaps there was none? There was a constant force tugging on the air on his lungs, like someone had tied a string to it and was trying to yank it out of him.

Between the environmental resistances granted by Aspect, and his unusually high Resistance…Will was fine. He could hold his breath for more than half an hour.

Void was also fine, his undead flesh immune to the harsh environment, which made this even more awkward.

‘Me axe-forest person.’ Will signed in between chops to Void’s face and neck. There was no Climber sign that Will knew of for lumberjack, but Will improvised.

Void met Will’s awkward joke and his axe-to-the-face with a flat stare. The axe buried itself a hair’s width into the man’s face before recoiling away.

Will could use Coiled strike to really get the axe in there, but he didn’t think that was the play just yet.

Once he was absolutely sure that Void’s undead were taken care of, then Will would use Coiled strike…but even that wasn’t enough.

What Will was really interested was Psychic Venom. Of all the offensive options he had, this was the one Will believed could penetrate Void’s outrageous defenses.

*Psychic Venom applies psychic damage over time and incremental stat penalties until the target is dead or the effect is cured. Scales with Acuity

Did he cure the Psychic Venom I applied earlier somehow or just offload the effect to a different undead?

As a necromancer, Void’s Focus was his highest stat, which meant he would be among the most highly resistant to the effects.

Psychic Venom’s incremental stat penalties should decrease his focus and allow the damage to accelerate over time…as long Void wasn’t resisting 100% of the effect, or somehow curing himself in an instant.

I need to make sure he doesn’t have any Charge left. But how the heck do I do that? Are we in a simple Focus battle? I’m not sure I’d win that.

Void stared back at him with his arms crossed as they tumbled through the empty black air, the world a green sphere below them.

Isn’t there supposed to be a snake holding it up? Will thought, glancing at the Floor below them. At this distance, he should be able to see Ouroboros’s coils supporting the Floor.

I guess it was just a myth. Not Ouroboros, just the idea that he’s holding everything up.

Motion brought Will’s attention back to Void as the necromancer un-crossed his arms.

‘I yield.’ Void signed.

‘One chance, gone already.’ Will signed back. Void had thought he could win, so he’d decided to fight them. Now that he’d made that decision, Will wasn’t going to let him take it back when it was convenient. To the Abyss with that.

While doing his duties as the Lord of the Burned Stronghold, Will had long since learned to only give people one freebie. And even that one free pass made him one of the most lenient Lords, by anyone’s standards.

It was Will’s iron-clad reputation for not giving a second chance that kept people from exploiting his kindness and prompted them to take the first free pass.

Void nodded with a scowl, re-crossing his arms as Will hit him with the axe again, inflicting zero damage.

They stayed like that for a couple minutes, Will chopping away at Void to test his damage offload while Void seemed to be deep in thought.

Will was about to land another strike when Void’s expression flickered. It was the only thing that allowed Will to keep his head on.

Void exploded forward at the speed of sound.

He tore himself out of Phantom hand’s grip, his fist cutting through the empty space where Will’s head had been an instant earlier

Void’s shoulder caught Will’s chest and drove the air out of his lungs, aided by the incessant tug of the empty air.

Great. less air.

Will grabbed Void with Ring and Middle and shoved him back, aiming to go back down and grab another lungful of air while the Phantom Snakes kept him company.

He didn’t have the corrosive fire anymore, so he didn’t pose a threat to Will’s eidolons.

Instead of politely getting captured, Void exploded to the side, jets of fire erupting from holes in his arms and legs as he whipped his body around, flinging the phantom snakes away from himself through inhuman speed that would have ripped anyone else apart.

That crazy son of a bitch. He’s exploding pieces of himself as propulsion!

He can probably afford it, too, with that regeneration.

I see.

Will realized that he had committed the cardinal sin of allowing his enemy time to think, which allowed him to come up with this bullshit.

This book’s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Come to think of it, there’s no atmosphere out here…Which would be great for Hammer of God if it hadn’t only been half an hour or so since we started fighting.

Even with the cooldown reduced by the Wristband of the Lookout, it was still hours to go for the Relic slot to become available again.

Will moved himself out of the way of Void’s attacks. Void wasn’t even using Strength to attack anymore, he was using his own body as a projectile, and trusting that his Resistance would allow his body to cut through Will’s like butter.

Which was fairly close to what would happen if Void rammed into him at those speeds.

Taking advantage of Will’s dodge, a huge eruption of fire exploded out of Void’s back, and the necromancer juked past him and began shooting towards the land below them.

DAMNIT!

Will shot forward, propelling himself with two snakes while the other three aimed for Void.

Coiled Strike

75 Charges Remaining.

Will appeared in front of Void and whipped the axe forward.

Void blocked with his wrist, the axe burying itself in the bone due to Coiled Strike’s damage boost.

Void’s other hand whipped out and grabbed Will’s left hand.

For a brief instant, Will felt a burst of ominous Miasmatic Structures flowing through his unprotected left hand, the invasive miasma crawling up his arm and setting up camp.

Will felt his left hand twitch, unbidden.

Nope, nope, nope!

Will coalesced miasma and drove it down his left arm, making it spikey and swirling it like a man trying to unclog a chimney with nothing but a stiff brush, elbow grease, and lots of desperation.

Will’s unstructured Ability caught Void’s, and the two crashed against each other, violently struggling for supremacy in the battleground that was his unprotected hand.

Void’s eyes widened as Will’s crude brush began to force the Control Undead Ability out of his hand.

BOOM!

Will’s left hand exploded.

Same shit, different day.

Will ignored the familiar pain and yanked Void’s other hand aside with the axe buried in his arm.

He shot forward and slammed his head against Void’s. Normally this would crush Will’s skull, but with Coiled Strike’s damage boost staying in place for six seconds, it was more than enough time.