Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Drip, drip.r

Blood dropped as Darwel stood with her eyes wide open, staring back at the figure behind her who had just swung an axe to her neck with nigh palpable murderous intent.r

Darwel's eyes slowly rolled down as she panted, perspiration running down her face and back ominously. A foreign arm had been the only form of defence she had against the ugly axe, the only thing standing between her and sudden death. A slender, familiar arm.r

The axe's jagged head had bitten into Viccil's arm which was wrapped around Darwel's neck. The guard had come to the El Sif's rescue just in time, which, while no one was thinking about it right now, vindicated her confident declaration moments ago.r

The veiled guard pulled Darwel back, creating distance between the duo and the assailant. Even blood though was leaking from the narrow and shallow wound on her limb, Viccil barely showed a reaction, as if unfazed.r

In truth, she was a bit concerned, for several reasons.r

All she paid attention to right now though, was appraising the assailant in front of the shattered wind.r

'An assassin?' she thought. 'That was too close. If I was even a little bit late in my response, Lady Darwel would have lost her head.'r

Standing with a weird tilt of her torso was a tall woman of approximately 2,4 meters in height. She had long, wildly ruffled up leather black hair with natural strips of silver that reached her waist and downturned eyes spotting different colours – black and silver as well.r

The woman's gaze was striking and one would find meeting it earnestly, with its unblinking intensity, a truly tall task without exposing the same amount of bloodthirsty vigour that was silently burning within it.r

Thick white, furry hides made shockingly revealing covers for this woman's chest and waist, exposing her shredded torso and tantalising legs – part of her generous hills too. A tight leash could be spotted around her neck, but she didn't seem to mind its abusive grip.r

Not at all.r

Viccil moved Darwel who had recovered from the initial shock behind her and faced the enemy.r

The tall woman titled her head.r

"A Deity sent opportunity just fell from the sky and I fucked it up. Hahaha... He might really have my head now," the woman said with a semi-bestial voice that resounded powerfully across the spacious room.r

Viccil and Darwel frowned at the woman's words. r

"Who are you? Who sent you here?" Viccil asked.r

The tall woman titled her head the other way and grinned.r

But she gave no answer.r

She merely pointed at Darwel with the grotesque axe in her hand, seemingly fashioned using a dried, relatively small human skull from which the triangular axe head spawned as well as a withered human heart attached to the where shaft and head of the weapon met.r

This weapon emitted a horrid energy and putrid stink but that wasn't enough to faze Viccil.r

"Have it your way then," the guard said.r

The tall woman tensed, but while her tough muscles riddled with lengthy scars hardened before movement, Viccil was already upon her.r

Darwel's body shivered at the sound she heard...when Viccil landed an overhead punch straight into the tall woman's head!r

She heard the sound of breaking bones in the splits of time the attack connected and watched as she the tall woman shot with shocking speed headfirst into the floor!r

However...r

...!r

The tall woman bounced off the floor as if it was made of some extremely animated rubber, her body rising just as quickly as it had fallen. A mad look was scribbled on her face as she returned the favour that Viccil had given!r

The female guard was smashed square in the face, which made her... stagger back a bit.r

"Hahaha! You really went for the kill!" the tall woman screamed in joy while throwing her axe from one hand to another. She then struck at Viccil who looked a bit distracted with the ghastly weapon only for her opponent to sidestep and take a few paces back.r

Viccil frowned.r

Something was terribly wrong.r

'How on earth is she still alive?' she asked herself.r

Looking at the tall woman now, one couldn't help but shiver.r

The left side of her forehead was a bloody mess, her hair stuck to the skin and soaked in blood as well as flesh. Her skull was fractured horribly from Viccil's punch but she didn't seem to care at all.r

But therein lied the problem.r

This woman was a Master Stage expert.r

Nomatter how powerful she was in that stage – even at its peak – even when accounting for the fact that she had a purple mana core glowing in her body, that shouldn't have saved her from Viccil's attack.r

After all, Viccil was a peak Incandescent Stage expert.r

She could afford to shrug off a blow from anyone not in the same stage as her but the opposite couldn't be true, especially when she hadn't sensed any complex applications of energy coming from the tall woman.r

That had been the basis of her confidence in this fight but it was rendered moot for some reason. r

Also...r

Viccil looked at her arm and saw streaks of dull green rapidly flowing under her skin from the axe wound, searching for her blood vessels.r

The axe... it had a deadly poisonous effect.r

"I get it now..." Viccil said as she stared down the assassin who seemed to have paid attention to her arm as well, a mocking chuckle coming from her.r

Viccil scoffed.r

A flood of Perfect Aura concentrated around her right hand and she used it to slice off her infected arm!r

"Viccil..." Darwel called in surprise.r

The guard maiden's arm hit the floor and in the next moment, it was consumed by the green infection, turning from its ivory hue to a nasty metallic grey that bordered on black.r

"You weren't aiming for Lady Darwel, were you? You were counting on my timely intervention. To eliminate me first," Viccil exposed.r

The tall woman's declaration about her failure was a lie. r

She wanted to mislead Viccil into disregarding hidden details. Like the poison for example. If Viccil believed that the assassin had failed at chopping off Darwel's head, she would probably dismiss the fact that she was the target all along.r

The tall woman offered no objection or confirmation.r

Her grin grew wider though.r

As a deific light suddenly spawned from outside, bathing everything in pristine white, the tall woman stood in a strange combat stance, her figure casting a tall, dark shadow in the room. She hunched while her long arms, one of which was gripping onto her axe, feigned limpness.r

A neon, dark blue glow rose from her body and then hurriedly sunk back in. r

Slowly, the woman grew taller but thinner, her skin turning darker. An extra set of arms and legs rupturing her body to free themselves, creating an utterly unappealing image.r

Worse yet, her four arms each spawned the same ghastly axe, holding it firmly in their grip while her legs bent to better steady her body, like a spider.r

This woman...r

She was a Peak Master Stage expert, capable of fusing her real body with her Genuine Incarnation!r

"Viccil. Be careful..." Darwel said as she made gestures with her hands, preparing her own means to fight.r

"Relax, Lady Darwel. I'm not so fickle that I would falter and fall by simply losing an arm," the guard reassured while getting into a simple stance of her own.r

Could a Master Stage expert truly tank her raw physical might?r

Well, if it was so, then she would see how she fared against her skill instead.r