CHAPTER 1348: A CLASH OF [DESIRES] AND [DISGUST]

The moment Lyona’s feet sunk into the ground, the lioness almost immediately began to panic.

Thankfully, she had someone in her head, and technically in her hands, to act like a guiding voice on how she should adapt.

...

’Shit! I’m about to sink in. I need to move before I get taken out like how—’

[Don’t panic,] Nepherage interrupted. [Think about how you can leverage this situation and reverse it to your advantage.]

’How can me getting my feet stuck in the ground be a good thing?!’

[Remember what I said about needing to swing me while keeping your feet as sturdy as possible, focusing on your hips?]

’What about it?!’

[You don’t have to think about your feet if they’re already stable.]

’...oh.’

...

[Drown in despair!]

When Gumba did this muddy floor trick on previous opponents, the first reaction many of them would have would be to panic and attempt to fly away from the situation as fast as possible.

This was due to the fact that the [Chaos] used to soften the ground and sink his opponents had the not-so-subtle effect of filling their souls with a feeling of [Despair].

Unfortunately, that didn’t work this time.

Instead of panicking and running, Lyona opted to actually double down on where she was standing.

Stomping downwards, Lyona purposely locked her feet into the muddy ground until both of them were locked into place. Once they were in, she focused her efforts on the great kanobo in her hands and swung for the fences.

More specifically, Gumba had overextended himself when he attempted to attack Lyona, banking on the fact that his aura normally caused mortals to panic and run.

As such, he was less than prepared for Lyona’s club swinging in from his left and smashing him in the face.

The force of the blow was strong enough to not only cause audible bone cracking to occur but also send Gumba flying off of the palanquin.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t flying into a wall.

The fat bastard of a catfish was too heavy to be sent flying, so he was simply sent falling over the edge and on top of a pair of fighting rebels and Kaijin.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry!"

...

’Holy shit! I actually knocked him off?! Damn, he was heavy!’

[Oh, I’m aware. I felt all of that flab against myself,] Nepherage retorted. [By the way, your next opponent is coming in hot, and he appears to understand that you have a home run-hitting arm. Looks he’s aiming to pepper you with a million little ranged attacks like rain against a stone.]

’I can use my anima to defend against the feathers, but I don’t have that many ranged abilities except for my roar. Do I just do that again?’

[No, but you can probably figure out what to do once you free yourself from the ground. Swing me down like a hammer.]

’Why would I...oh!’

...

[Dumbass fat ass!] Delicitum mocked Gumba as he took to the air. [You should’ve noticed that that stone lion bitch was too heavy for your stupidly straightforward tactics.]

Once he rose several dozen feet into the air, Delictum unfurled his wings and began to circulate [Chaos] through them.

[For a fighting statue like her, you’ve got to chip away their defenses!]

With a flap of their wings, Delictum unleashed a flurry of feather-arrows that screamed through the air.

Well, some of them did anyways.

Delictum’s brand of [Chaos] was focused on the idea of [Ignorance]. As such, some of the feather arrows he fired were outright imperceptible to certain senses or overwhelmed them entirely.

Some of the feathers had a scent akin to rotten fish, fresh flowers, or absolutely nothing at all.

Some of the feathers were as black as the darkest night, others were bright white and nearly blinding, while the rest were a mixture of colors and patterns that made people dizzy just by staring at them for longer than what was considered healthy or necessary.

Some of the feathers were screaming, whistling, or dead silent as they flew through the air and punctured the palanquin while they trailed up to Lyona’s position.

[Ignorance] isn’t just the rejection of knowledge but the consumption of incorrect knowledge.

[You’re about to become a giant pincushion!] Delictum cried with glee as his feathers were about to make contact with Lyona’s [Regalia].

Only that giant club in her hand was made of [Chaos], not the armor protecting her. As such, this attack should’ve easily penetrated it, especially since Lyona was stuck in the ground after dealing with Gumba.

Unfortunately, Delictum didn’t account for one crucial possibility.

[Break for me!]

BOOM!

[What the fuck?!]

He didn’t account for Lyona to just smash her club into the ground to not only free herself but produce a fuckton of rubble that intercepted the feathers. Granted, it probably helped that Lyona made sure to coat these stones and herself with a bit of anima to defend against the torrent of feathers.

[An anima wielder?!]

[Yeah, and don’t think just because you’re in the air, doesn’t mean I can’t bring you down!]

Once the rubble was airborne, Lyona proceeded to smash the stones with her club and sent them flying towards Delictum in the form of shrapnel.

[Shit!]

Before the stones could rip apart his wings, Delictum dropped from the air while folding his wings onto himself like a cloak. While this made sure he wasn’t injured, it did also remove Delictum out of the fight long enough for someone else to take over.

...

[Hey, remember that trick I taught you when it came to breaking out of your bindings?]

’Yeah?’

[Get ready to put that into practice in three...]

...

[Nice trick, little lioness. But stones have a tendency to break under my roots!]

Slavina had taken down tough bastards and bitches like Lyona, a thousand times before.

Whipping her arms forward, Slavina launched a long whip made of roots and thorny vines in Lyona’s direction.

However, this wasn’t a simple whiplash attack.

[Burst and Bloom!]

Half way through the swing, the whip exploded into a straitjacket of poisonous flowers and thorns that entangle Lyona and dug into the stone-like exterior of her [Regalia].

[Listen to Madam Slavina, dear,] the plant kaijin crooned, tightening the whip with a tug of her arms, since it was connected to her body.

In a few moments, the poison of [Oppression] would seep into her skin and bring Lyona down to her knees.

After that, Slavina could take her time dismantling them piece by piece.

However, the thing about heroes is that they hated the concept of [Oppression] and would come up with a myriad of ways to break whatever chains would bring them low.

[Why am I feeling hot and—YEOOOW!]

The moment the bindings entangled Lyona’s form, she began to channel [Chaos] from Nepherage’s club form into her body and through her [Regalia].

This little trick caused her entire body to glow like molten lava.

Needless to say, dried vines and roots made for excellent kindling.

[Alright, enough playing around!] Lyona roared as she finally went on the offensive.

[Time to actually throw some fucking hands!]

[Shit!]

Lyona’s charge gave the Demon Knights a chance to regroup and charge towards her instead... unfortunately, it turned out Lyona’s main speciality was close-quarters combat.

...Perspective shift...

^Interesting...very interesting,^ Dante muttered as he watched Lyona fight his Demon Knights in close quarters combat.

More specifically, his eyes were locked on to the strange [Taboo] she had summoned.

No...not summoned.

[Molded.]

^Interesting...say, Curator. Do you think I can...huh?^

At this moment, Dante had finally discovered that the curator who had been his greatest reminder of his ultimate had suddenly disappeared without warning.

Or maybe it wasn’t...

^Well then...guess I’ll have to just wing it.^

Turning his attention back to the ongoing combat, Dante began to walk up behind the only Demon Knight who has yet to go to war.

[This is absurd, how are my so-called kin losing against such a weak little girl?!] Obsidious hissed with obvious distate in their voice. [I might as well get in there myself and—]

[Just one moment, Obsidious,] Dante said before placing a hand on the shoulder of his first kaijin. [I think there is an opportunity here that we have yet to explore.]

[What do you mean?]

[Follow my lead.]

After giving Obsidious this absolutely pointless warning, Dante began to inject his [Chaos] into the hateful warrior’s [Core].

As he did, they both got to feel the internal [Hate] that they shared in regards to the world.

[T-this feeling!]

[Fascinating. Truly, fascinating!]

As the power flowed between them, a single phrase appeared in their shared minds.

[Expose, Taboo!]

After saying these words, dark smoke began to pour out of Obsidious and engulf the two of them in a cocoon of [Chaos].

Needless to say, this cloud felt as ominous as a nightmare.

...Meanwhile...

’Okay, that rubble dump was enough for me to escape and...what the fuck am I sensing now?!’