I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 180: Crimson Spirit, Infernal Spirit

While Shirohana and Nix were in the Divine Triad Pagoda reporting the Demon’s Mark to the Immortal Verdict Wielders, a goddess had changed her mind in a certain part of the Celestial Plane.

“A Primordial Sin…” This goddess could not help but mutter as she looked at the orb floating in front of her, going over the new memories that had entered her mind as her clone was currently in the Divine Triad Pagoda.

Indeed, this goddess was none other than Kurohana. She was currently thinking about what she could change in Aurus’s fate after finding out this new information.

“We only fought against a Unified Sin back then, and that alone was enough to destroy a huge part of the Celestial Plane where the Lesser Gods resided. If the sin leading this time is a Primordial Sin, then…”

As she continued to think about it deeper, she could not help but bite on her lips as she continued to watch what was happening on the orb. Currently, the image on the orb was of Aurus and the other Inanimates around him being trapped inside a secluded hall. A few seconds later, Aurus had shown strength that far surpassed his existence level while a unique and tyrannical aura surrounded his body.

Surprisingly, this move Aurus had done gave her a new choice to take in her mind, which seemed to be the best course of action for her with the information she had received as of late. A few seconds later, Kurohana formulated a plan in her mind that would enhance Aurus’ strength in the future, which in turn would increase her strength in the future as well.

After solidifying this plan, she then hastily asked the gods and goddesses that controlled over the laws she needed for the plan to allow her to control a small portion of it for a certain amount of time. Fortunately, it did not take long for the other gods and goddesses to accede to her request, with Kurohana gesturing with her hands a few seconds later as strands of energy with various colors started to manifest around her body. Unsurprisingly, the laws she temporarily gained access to all revolved around fate.

“Let’s see…back then, I was pursuing the pinnacle of speed,” Kurohana muttered as she started to fuse some of the energy strands into condensed strands, with the laws inside them fusing as one. “Since the Celestial Plane is up against a Primordial Sin this time, it would be better for the weapon to be great in all areas, possibly pursuing the pinnacle of everything. Speed, destruction, defense, and flexibility…yeah, that could work.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Not long after, she sent a few condensed strands of energy towards the orb in front of her, changing the atmosphere inside the orb quite a bit. Kurohana watched what happened on the orb for a while, letting out a smile after she saw that Aurus used a portal spell to let them escape the secluded hall they were in before going ahead and controlling his clone to destroy the barrier to inflict psychological pressure on the enemy they were fighting up against.

“I’ll just delay it for a bit more time. I’ll have him win this war for now.” Kurohana then sent out a few more condensed strands of energy, all of which were silver in color. After being absorbed by the orb, she then used her temporary control over the Law of Destiny to check the fate Aurus would meet along the line, content with the fact that she was able to pull in a living being from another world. She was also content with the fact that the being she had summoned was not too powerful considering the strongest entity in the war.

She then manifested a few more strands of energy, placing a finger under her chin as she pondered over what kind of fate Aurus would have to face for him to become the strongest evolving weapon at the lowest grade possible. She brought the orb closer to her, gesturing with her hands here and there as she scrolled over the world of Erudinia, looking for the perfect situation that would do just that.

Fortunately for her, she noticed that an aura of multiple waves clashing against each other was radiating from a certain kingdom not far away from where Aurus was, making Kurohana lightly smile as she muttered, “Although it would be better if that certain kingdom would capture Aurus, it’s still a kingdom from another continent. I’ll choose this kingdom for convenience’s sake. Then again, I could just refine him once he becomes a weapon, it’s not really a problem for me. I just have to exert a bit more effort, is all.”

“Then again, a war for the throne…oh? It seems that there’s another being that has a Perfect System in the kingdom?”

At this moment, Kurohana could not help but lick her lips before saying, “Interesting.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

And with that, she then sent out all of the strands that hovered around her towards the orb, changing quite a lot of things in the world of Erudinia, all of the elements having something to do with Aurus. Using her temporary control over the Law of Destiny once more to see Aurus’s fate, she nodded in contentment and lightly grinned after finding out that the change she brought to Aurus’s system would happen along the line as well.

Even though Kurohana knew that this change would make Aurus weaker in the short-term, in the long-term, this would allow Aurus…well rather, his clone, to become incredibly strong amongst same-leveled beings before reaching the existence level of Godhood.

Letting out a sigh of relief after making sure that all of her manipulations were correct, she then relaxed her body on the chair she was sitting on, panning the image on the orb back to the Tempest Cliff, with the image on the orb being Aurus breaking the barrier that secluded them a while ago with his clone. With that, Kurohana could not help but smile as she muttered, “Affinity, system, and production.”

“Those changes are surely more than enough to bring a great boost in strength to Aurus,” she added not long after before pondering over something. It did not take long for her to finish pondering, with her muttering once more, “Once Shirohana comes back, I’ll probably go pay a visit to Misha.” 

“I should add the power of purification on Aurus. Combine it with that skill and he’ll truly be considered as my magnum opus!”

…

XXXX Continent, Tempest Cliff, slightly far away from the base of the Tempest Branch Alliance.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Omg.” Aurus could not believe what was happening to Herellia. Even Chonk, who was on the opposing army, was not expecting this to happen as well, with his mouth agape at Herellia’s transformation. Then again, almost everyone in the opposing army could not help but have auras of shock radiating around them…except for Horell.

“Phew.” Horell could not help but let out an inward sigh of relief after seeing that Herellia’s will to fight was still at its peak. Not only that, Aurus, who came before Herellia, also radiated an intense will to fight, making him feel more at ease. Nevertheless, he could not help but be in awe while looking at Herellia activate [Forbidden Sanguine Arts: Crimson Spirit Incarnation], reminiscing about the previous time she had activated this skill, which established her place as the leader of the Tempest Branch Alliance.

“Back then, she only had a few skills fired at her, and that was enough for her to send all of the Pillar level members flying with a single move.” While Horell was watching Herellia transform, he could not help but compare the aura of the current Herellia and the past Herellia. “How many skills were fired at her before the transformation? I’m pretty sure she would be on an equal level with me…no. She could even be on a level higher than me!”

“Oi.” Just as Horell was about to go down a rabbit hole of power levels, a familiar voice resounded in his mind, prompting him to look at the glowing wooden sculpture near Chonk.

“What is it, Aurus?” As he replied to Aurus’s call, Horell could not help but give him a look of gratitude as he asked.

“I have a strong feeling that Herellia’s transformation would wipe out all of the Inanimates in your army, leaving you and Chonk as the remaining survivors of her onslaught,” Aurus replied to his words, with Horell becoming inwardly shocked.

Just as he was about to ask further, Aurus continued to talk through their connection, saying, “In other words, that would make Herellia a target of Chonk’s rage. Now, we don’t want that to happen, do we?”

“And with that, I’ll be transforming as well.”

“…” Hearing Aurus’s statement, Horell was left at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. Aurus revealing the fact that he could transform like Herellia was a big shock to him, with the only syllable he could utter out in reply being, “Eh?”

Ignoring Horell’s state of being dumbfounded, Aurus continued to disseminate his plans to Horell, telling him, “Before I transform, I’ll tell Herellia to only attack half of the army while she leaves another half to me, leaving Chonk with no choice but to target us at the same time. I’ll also tell Herellia about the second phase of this plan after I finish transforming. In other words, prepare to be attacked by either me or Herellia. We don’t want to give away the idea that you’re actually on our side, right?”

Although Horell was at a loss of words, he was eventually able to process Aurus’s words, replying with, “Ah. Gotcha. Does that mean I have to attack you two as well?”

“Of course!” Aurus said in a slightly excited tone. “Don’t worry about us being injured from your attacks. Herellia has her unique ways to survive such an attack, while I have my unique ways as well. Just focus on continuing the illusion that you’re Chonk’s loyal servant that will fight to the bitter end.”

“Okay.” With Horell’s last reply, Herellia had finally finished transforming, taking on the appearance of a female humanoid that was made up of crimson-red energy. In actuality, such a being could only exist in places that had an intense concentration of blood energy. These beings were only known as Crimson Spirits.

“Raaaa!” Herellia let out a cry in her Crimson Spirit form, instilling greater fear into the Inanimates of Chonk’s army while Chonk felt intimidated from the cry. She then started to walk closer towards Chonk’s army, with the intent of absorbing the vitality of all the Inanimates in the opposing army, which would allow her to have a greater chance of winning against Chonk.

Unfortunately for her, just as she was about to continue walking, a voice resounded in her mind, prompting her to stop in her tracks, leaving Chonk with a confused expression.

“Herellia, can you hear me?” This voice was none other than Aurus’s, wondering if Herellia had lost her mind after transforming.

Fortunately for him, Herellia replied without a hint of going berserk, saying, “Mhm. I’m just keeping up a facade that I’ve gone berserk. You’ve kind of broken it though.”

In response, Aurus let out an awkward chuckle as he pondered as to how he was going to phrase what was on his mind. A few seconds later, he said, “Err…I apologize for that then. Anyways, can I oblige you to just attack around half of the Inanimates in Chonk’s army? Also, please move while we’re talking.”

“Ah, right.” After hearing Aurus’s timely reminder, Herellia started to move closer to the opposing army in an imposing manner, giving the Inanimates a feeling that they couldn’t escape her clutches. While this was happening, she pondered over Aurus’s words and replied, “Although the amount of power I could obtain would be less, I guess I can do that. Anyways, what for?”

“I’ll attack the remaining half so that Chonk would have no choice but to target both of us at the same time,” Aurus responded to her question before adding, “Before you ask me that I wouldn’t have enough defense to withstand his attacks, I’ll use a fusion attack to take on the same form as you.”

“You can do that?” Herellia was slightly bewildered, pondering over the possible things that could happen along the line as she waved one of her arms up in the air, manifesting a few thick blood-red tendrils that headed towards a few Inanimates. Of course, due to the fear that she had instilled in them, the Inanimates were too afraid to move that it looked like they had no choice but to be hit by the blood-red tendrils, with the tendrils siphoning all of their power, slightly increasing the intensity of Herellia’s aura in the process.

“Yeah,” Aurus replied to her words before sending out a message to both Fenrir and Charisa, who were behind him all this time. It did not take long for the two to position themselves on both sides of Aurus, with Aurus taking a glance at Chonk while this was happening. He felt a slightly malicious energy coming from Chonk, prompting him to say to Herellia, “Also, watch out for Chonk. I’m pretty sure he still has tricks up his sleeve.”

“Got it.” After Herellia replied to Aurus’s words, the connection between the two had been cut, with Herellia’s speed going up a notch as she waved both of her arms at the same time, allowing her to attack more Inanimates at once. Surprisingly, even though Chonk was seeing his men die in front of him, he did not retaliate at all. Noticing this, Aurus had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to him and Herellia sooner or later.

Nevertheless, this did not stop him from continuing with his plan, sending messages to both Fenrir and Charisa at the same time as he told them, “Chant for the fifth skill! Charisa, you start!”

Rather than respond to her master’s commands, Charisa hastily started chanting the incantation of the fifth skill, saying, “As the origin of the Ignis, I shall become the body that wields unending destruction, razing everything to the ground with the flames of the infernal realm as the great being.”

Not long after, Fenrir followed up on Charisa’s words, saying, “As the origin of the Zephyr, I shall become the limbs of the body of the infernal realm, allowing the great being to show the intrepid strength and agility of the infernal realm.”

And finally, Aurus started his part of the chant while looking at Chonk, who still had not made a move after having a quarter of his army killed by Herellia. Although the ominous feeling he felt from Chonk had intensified, he continued with his chant, saying, “As the origin of the Anima, I shall become the driving force of the body of the infernal realm, letting the great being exert the superb power of chaos with every movement.”

“We sacrifice our bodies to the infernal realm. Let chaos and destruction originating from the infernal realm tarnish this very world we live in!” At the instant the three of them had said this statement at the same time, the three of them had instantly transformed into blobs of energy, fusing as one as they took on a humanoid shape. A few seconds later, this humanoid-shaped energy had solidified, radiating the energy of flames, winds, and the void at the same time.

“[Ignis Zephyr Anima Form].”

“[5th Divine Art].”

“[Infernal Spirit Manifestation]!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Aurus, who controlled the majority of the Infernal Spirit they had transformed into, ran towards the other side of the opposing army, raising his right arm as he manifested multiple orange flames covered in green swirls around him. Not long after, he waved his right arm, sending the orange flames towards the Inanimates as it incinerated their bodies in a matter of an instant.

And with that, two Pseudo-Animates, a Crimson Spirit and an Infernal Spirit, started wreaking havoc on Chonk’s army, killing off the Inanimates that were a part of Chonk’s army one by one as they gradually grew stronger with time. Meanwhile, Chonk was looking at how much members of his army were remaining, muttering to himself, “Just a little bit more…”

At this moment, he had discarded the idea of proceeding with the third phase of Code Omega since the third phase ultimately relied on the number of Inanimate members he had. But since the two Pseudo-Animates, who were just Inanimates a while ago, were wreaking havoc on his army, he decided to fight with his full power…after weakening them, of course.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Eventually, all of the Inanimates in his army had been destroyed by either the Crimson Spirit or the Infernal Spirit, with the remaining members in his army being him, Horell, and Chungus. Normally, a commander of such an army would surrender to the opposing army as they knew that it was nigh impossible for them to make a comeback.

But since Chonk was a Rank 1 Animate, he still had a feeling that he could do the impossible.

The Crimson Spirit and the Infernal Spirit looked at Chonk with expressions of immense arrogance and pride, with the Infernal Spirit saying in a hoarse voice, “You only have two members left, Chonk. We have won this war. Give up your dreams of ruling over Tempest Cliff.”

“Heheheh…” In response, Chonk started to chuckle, which gradually intensified to a laugh, before turning into a maniacal cackle. He then looked at the two Pseudo-Animates in front of him with an expression of arrogance of his own, saying, “Are you really sure that your alliance has won the war?”

“What do you mean by that?” This time, it was the Crimson Spirit who talked. It then added, “Don’t delude yourself, Chonk. You’ve lost almost all of your combat power. Just give up.”

“You wish!” Chonk shouted in response to the Crimson Spirit’s words before adding, “Chungus, activate the magic circle!”

Whoosh!

In an instant, a large area that enveloped Chonk, Horell, Aurus, and Herellia had been created, with both Aurus and Herellia feeling that their combat power had grown considerably weaker. Noticing this, the Infernal Spirit could not help but look at Chonk with anger as it shouted, “Chonk! What did you do to our bodies?!”

“[Code Beta: Grand Restriction],” Chonk replied to the Infernal Spirit’s words, letting out a chuckle before he added, “Quite a perfect situation, don’t you think? Two beings from the alliance, and two beings from my army. 2v2.”

“Since you two have shown your full power to me, let us show our full power as well then!”

“[Zephyr Lupus Overdrive]!”