CHAPTER 457: UNDYING

The raging storm arrived over Antarctica, just as Henry predicted. Well, it was more of a future knowledge, but for Lucy it didn’t matter either way.

She flew deep within the storm clouds. Rain, lightning and thunder were her constant companions throughout this massive battle.

Roars of enormous beasts. Explosions, which shook the very foundation of reality. Flashing lights, which blinded even the Transcended momentarily. The clash of weapons and inexplicable powers.

The myriad of different noises mixed together, creating a symphony of war. A music to which every Stellar and stronger Transcended danced to inside the storm.

Lucy floated in the middle, her body covered by a black veil, her surroundings consumed by a dark green fog. Behind her back, a pair of dark, smoke-like wings kept her afloat.

The rain slowly washed away the blood from her black scythe, while the corpses of enemy Transcended fell around her.

Her dark eyes gazed through the storm, searching for another foe. However, in the constant flow of sounds, determining a single noise’s source was impossible.

The Stellars also moved too fast. In a single moment, they might travel ten or even hundreds of kilometers. Lucy could fight against Stellars, but finding them wasn’t easy.

"I hope the others are alright."

Her whisper disappeared in the thundering storm. She couldn’t even hear her own words, and the constant explosions sent shakes throughout her entire body, leaving Lucy questioning whether she had even said anything.

Another lightning illuminated the surrounding clouds, and she finally saw shapes moving through the storm. About a dozen different creatures with wings flew through the storm, seemingly in search of prey.

A terrifying smile spread across Lucy’s face as she floated above the group of Transcended Asians. They believed themselves to be the hunters, and yet each fell into the web of their prey!

The twelve transformed humans moved below Lucy, unsuspecting of their death floating right above their heads.

The smoke-like wings disappeared behind Lucy, and gravity took hold of her thin body. The wind and rain hit her body, yet her fall path remained straight.

The dark green gas condensed around Lucy, and as she twirled her scythe in excitement, a creepy chuckle escaped her lips.

The Transcended, still unsuspecting, moved along. However, they felt something wrong, and some glanced up into the storm... They were the first ones to die...

The lightning illuminated Lucy’s falling form, but before any Transcended could’ve cried out, she fell in their midst.

Lucy used the Essence of Life and Death to make a pair of dark green smoke-like wings. It slowed her fall significantly and gave her maneuverability in the sky.

She turned her body, and with a pirouette, her scythe moved around her body. Its black blade turned bloody as four different creatures’ heads fell into the darkness below.

The other Transcended reacted quickly, but not fast enough. Lucy’s scythe claimed two more lives before the last six regained their structure.

They surrounded Lucy, who simply chuckled at their desperate attempt.

The Reaper took a deep breath as her Slaughter passive ability consumed the six Transcended’s souls. They invigorated her body, giving much-needed energy to continue fighting.

A pale smile stretched across her face as she twirled her scythe, letting the rain wash away the blood from its blade.

The thunder echoed around the Transcended, drowning out any coherent commands or words they shouted. Six against one meant little when the group had little to no coordination.

After a few seconds, the tension became palpable, and the first Transcended attacked. Lucy was standing with her back to the beast, but the creature’s wingbeat sent a powerful wave of wind towards her.

The enemy’s transformation was a strange furry dragon, with four piercing yellow eyes and covered in bright orange fur. It was quite large too, about hundred meter long. Four massive wings kept it afloat.

His enormous mouth opened, revealing multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth. Deep within his throat, a light flickered on, as flames condensed into a high-pressure beam of pure plasma.

The lightning seemed dark compared to the bright beam of energy leaving the dragon’s mouth. The other five Transcended covered their eyes as the plasma crashed into Lucy.

The dragon kept vomiting molten plasma for a few seconds. No Transcended could’ve survived a direct hit from such power, yet as the light disappeared, the dark smoke revealed a pale girl, covered in a black dress, wearing a dark veil.

She absentmindedly twirled the scythe in her hand as the dark green smoke condensed into wings again.

The Essence of Life and Death was a powerful tool to control. As a Transcended, it can kill not just living beings, but physical attacks thrown at her body.

Throughout all her Evolutions, Heritage unlocks and even Items, Lucy never gained any armor sets. This Essence was her sole line of defense against attacks.

Luckily, it was stronger than most armor and a lot more useful. What Lucy loved the most was its offensive capabilities!

Her smile widened and turned into a wide grin. The four yellow eyes widened as the wings behind Lucy exploded outward.

The expanding green smoke hit all six Transcended. Their bodies instantly felt weak, and their thinking slowed down.

The fog-like substance also covered their vision, while they felt like something was sucking their souls out. They all went pale and began withering. Their Essence decreased rapidly until only husks remained of their bodies.

That’s when Lucy attacked each, her scythe delivering the coup de grâce to every soldier, ending their suffering.

Six more transformed human heads and bodies fell into the darkness below.

Lucy floated amidst the storm. Blood droplets fell into the wind, while the water washed away the gore from her dark scythe.

She took a deep breath, letting the invigorating feeling of the six newly reaped souls wash over her body.

The rejuvenation soon ended, though. Lucy realized recently that the closer she came to the next Evolution, the less invigoration she felt after killing people of the same Rank.

Her soul was at the precipice of the Stellar Rank, so mere Transcended couldn’t satisfy her. She wanted to kill a Stellar!

Life seemed to hear her thoughts, as her request got answered sooner than she had prepared for...

The strong winds assaulted her body. The rain soaked her black dress and veil, making it harder to see her surroundings.

The dress wasn’t a special Item. Its only attribute was a neat self-repair ability, but otherwise it was normal clothing.

Through the thunder, she didn’t hear someone flying towards faster than she could react. The lightning struck nearby, illuminating Lucy’s body, making her the perfect target.

She blinked the rain out of her eyes, and the next moment, she saw her body tumbling separate from her head.

An annoyed sigh escaped Lucy’s lips. The pain was almost nonexistent as she watched her body fall further towards the darkness below.

Her head kept up with ease, and from her bleeding neck, dark green smoke-like tendrils grew out towards her falling headless corpse. They grasped her shoulders and pulled the separated head back to her neck.

Lucy chuckled as her spine, nerves, throat, skin, muscles and veins reattached themselves. It’s been a few months since she died. She forgot how awful and painful it’s.

"I still can’t believe Sera went through something similar daily. That’s just ridiculous!"

She whispered to herself while trying out her body’s regained motor functions. The pair of dark green smoke-like wings stopped her fall before she could have left the storm clouds.

The dark green smoke also condensed around her palm as she began summoning her black scythe.

While the weapon grew into existence, she remembered her new passive ability’s description, which she gained after reaching Transcended.

’Undying: The Essence of Life and Death provides many powers to its user. With enough affinity, one can turn themselves undying. The damage they suffer still hurts and destroys their bodies, but using the Essence of Life and Death, they can repair any injuries, except soul destruction. The ability lasts an hour and has a cooldown of ten hours.’

It definitely wasn’t as good as Sera’s Deathless ability, since she doesn’t receive a power-up. However, for the next hour she’s immortal against any damage that doesn’t attack her soul.

Another small laugh escaped her mouth as her wings began pushing her up through the storm. She had a new prey to hunt after all!

Previously, she had let her guard down, so the Stellar could attack without repercussion. Now it was her time to sneak attack!

Her smoke-like wings raised Lucy into the sky. The thunder and lightning revealed everything in the surrounding storm clouds.

About a kilometer further up in the sky, she saw a humanoid figure floating. She couldn’t determine much through so many clouds, but she felt the Stellar’s unbridled, suffocating aura.

A Stellars aura was a weapon itself, but only if they could focus it on the attacking individual. Otherwise, it’ll just make the attacker uncomfortable.

Lucy sneaked below the Stellar and moved with all her speed. She brandished her scythe and slashed with all her might, straight through the clouds and the Stellar woman.

However, the scythe didn’t meet flesh, or any substance whatsoever. As if the Stellar was part of the clouds, her blade passed right through her body.

The woman’s angry, stormy eyes gazed at Lucy with all their might. The Stellar’s aura weighed heavily on the Reaper’s shoulders, making movement futile.

The wind became stronger around Lucy, and the nearby clouds turned into blades behind the Stellar.

The Reaper rolled her eyes and prepared to put herself back together once more, but just before the blades flew towards her, a clear feminine voice echoed through the storm, saying a single word...

"Lullaby..."