Chapter 189: Bought Time

[Neraxis's POV] He still shook from what he had just done. But if he hadn't done it, then she would've been killed. Someone like Raines was no joke, even for him. Back in the past, he was the only being who was as strong as Neraxis. In the end, Raines died by Neraxis's hand, but in the process, Neraxis suffered nearly fatal injuries. Now? Raines was likely S-rank or above. Of course, the only reason he was so strong was simply because of his main skill, Puppetry. "Why did you let her get away?" Raines asked, before pointing toward the Monster Warper. "Elijah here has already decided she should die, so who do you think you are to stop it from happening?" "I'm not into your fanatical bullshit." Neraxis scoffed. "What do you want from me?" "Getting to the point, are you?" Raines said, tilting his head. "You were the reason we invaded this city—a conflict. We didn't expect the Eternal Night to approach you first." "That's what you get for being slow." Elijah commented flatly. Neraxis wasn't convinced. "I doubt you'd destroy the city simply because of me. So, what are you really after?" A smile appeared on Raines's porcelain face. "After we merged with the Monarchs, information regarding you came out. Turns out you're very important, and if we could turn you over to our side, we'd have an atomic weapon on standby." "And how does telling me about this go into your plan?" Neraxis asked, scoffing. "I'm not joining you, I've already got a ton of bullshit on my plate." "I understand, however, you being alive or joining us doesn't play into the scenario here," Raines stated, before reaching into his dimensional ring and pulling out something peculiar. "Do you always carry around a tiger's head?" Neraxis asked with disgust. It was quite literally a tiger's head, but at the neck area, he could see some kind of magic formation, perhaps an enchantment. But instead of replying, Raines merely put the tiger's head on himself, and in the very next moment, a large amount of mana shot outwards. It was vicious and aggressive, exactly what he could expect from a tiger. Yet what was even more surprising was the fact that on Raines's hands, claws were growing, and through the little eyeholes of the tiger head, he could see Raines's eyes, which turned orange, resembling the eye of a tiger. What the...? Neraxis was shocked at the sight. [It's almost like he's possessing the tiger's abilities...? Somehow?] Evangeline commented, equally as confused. The transformation ended when, finally, Raines let out a low growl. "You didn't go feral on me, did you?" Elijah asked, patting the tiger head. "Of course not, you fool," Raines shot back, his voice echoing as he turned toward Neraxis "We've developed some interesting technology. By slaying a powerful boss monster, we can harness its power. Frankly, this alone increased my strength by at least 1.2 times, and it's a mere B ranked boss monster." Neraxis was quite curious at this revelation. "What's the catch?" "What good is there in knowing when your head is what I want?" Raines replied with a chuckle. What a creepy invention. Neraxis thought with disgust. But it does seem a little too good to be true. Just as he thought that, he saw Raines's eyes begin twitching, growing more tiger-like. That was when Raines took off the tiger's mask, acting as though nothing had happened as he tossed it inside his storage ring. "In exchange for power, you have to constantly fight against the tiger's consciousness..." Neraxis deduced. "Why not purge the consciousness?" Raines stared at him speechlessly, before letting out an annoyed sigh. "You're smart. But that consciousness is what gives us power in the first place. If we take that away, then the power disappears with it." "Seems like a problem for someone stupid," Neraxis shrugged and pointed his sword toward Raines. "But we should probably start now, don't you think?" "Precisely." Raines nodded and took out a black cube from his dimensional ring before throwing it on the ground. Immediately, a bright light spread out, enveloping everyone present. As it did, a system message appeared before Neraxis's eyes. [Pandora's Box has been opened!] [Usage Of Skills Blocked!] Hmm... Neraxis's brows furrowed. Skills weren't allowed, but he could still use what he learned without the help of the system. And that was, Aura, footwork, and of course, his affinity as well as perks. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Neraxis asked, twirling his sword around comfortably. "Of course." Raines replied confidently. "From what our intel has gathered, you overly rely on skills." Neraxis shrugged, not denying it. Then, in the next moment, he kicked off the ground, appearing in front of Raines. "But do you think you will be okay? Without that puppetry skill of yours, you are useless." Raines's brows twitched, as he pulled out several poison-laced needles from his dimensional ring and threw them directly at Neraxis. He dodged, even redirected a few which got too close, as he used the momentum to reflect a needle back toward Raines. He's way too weak... Why is he using this thing in the first place? Neraxis thought. This entire situation felt off. Therefore, Neraxis slowed his speed down, catching a grin on Elijah's face. "I think he found out," Elijah said flatly. "It's about time." Raines chuckled, then, all of a sudden, extended his arm forward. It was at a speed which Neraxis was barely able to react to, making Raines's sharp fingers narrowly miss his vitals as Neraxis was sent flying off into a nearby tree, toppling it on impact. "You see, I don't actually need your head, though it makes for an interesting story, right?" Raines stated, walking closer. "What I want is for you to die here, Eternal Sin." Neraxis's brows twitched, and he was prepared to attack. However, he felt his hands being held by someone. Turning toward the ones responsible, he saw two white-robed Evangelists holding him down. Immediately, he used {Aura of the Abyss}, killing them in an instant. [2x (B- Ranked Modified-Human) Slain! Reward: Stigmata 96.49% → 96.69%] [Neraxis.] Evangeline's urgent voice rang out. [There's something in the sky.] He looked up and noticed some kind of round thing falling down, and as he finally focused his ears, he heard the nuclear siren going off. Shit. His eyes widened as he glanced toward Raines. "You plan to drop a nuke on me?" "Yep." Raines nodded. "I can't take any chances with you escaping, though a nuke did set us back a few favors." "Hahaha..." Elijah let out a laugh, walking closer to Neraxis. "No hard feelings, kid. I don't approve of a newbie becoming a captain immediately. Since Valthor hasn't made an official announcement, killing you here and now won't bring me any problems." "I couldn't give less of a shit about either of you." Neraxis scoffed, before standing up and drawing his sword again. This time, he covered it with Aura, and from the many uses of his skills, he replicated the {Simple Stab} without activating the skill. It shot out like a beam, piercing straight through Raines's head, making him plop down to the ground. Yet a familiar sight happened. Raines stood back up and dusted himself off like nothing had happened. The regeneration skill. If I could use Mark of Decay, then maybe... Neraxis pondered, but as he glanced toward the sky, he noticed there wasn't much time left. But for some reason, these two weren't leaving. "We have all the time in the world." Raines said with an ominous smile. Evangeline, turn me into a vampire. [I can't... that cube is blocking my skills as well.] Evangeline replied, her voice growing lower. [Even if vampires are immortal... They can't survive a nuke.] Furrowing his brows, Neraxis sent out one more {Simple Stab} and then another, both of which were covered in either Frost or Decay. Yet aside from momentarily halting them, it didn't do much. But that was enough, as with the moment he bought for himself, Neraxis kicked off the ground and appeared on top of a tree branch. He was high enough to escape the Pandora's Box, and his skills came into effect once again. However, as he dashed through the leaves and appeared in the sky, he noticed an unbelievable sight. Instead of a single nuke, there were five in total, all of which scattered in a way that wouldn't give him time to escape. "How is it?" Raines appeared before him. "This truly is art. The greatest being of the past, dying to present-day weapons... pfft..." Neraxis narrowed his eyes and used {Eve of Ruin: Mark of Destruction}. Immediately after, he used {Stellar Dominion: Cosmic Cascade}, followed by {Vampiric Dominion: Blood Rend}. Both skills flew out and hit Raines squarely on the head. They even managed to turn off his healing, which seemed to make him panic for a moment. Neraxis attempted to use one more skill that could potentially save his life, however... [Stellar Dominion: Enter The Astral Plane - Unavailable] [Reason: Unstable Mana Field Detected!] By now, the round and menacing nukes were only a few seconds away from hitting, and it seemed like Raines and Elijah knew that. Elijah grabbed the aggressively bleeding Raines and threw him inside a portal, before flashing Neraxis a thumbs-up. "Good luck, lad. You'll need it. Heard being melted alive stings." With that, Elijah went through the portal, leaving Neraxis all alone, staring into the nuke-filled sky. Was there something he could do? All of the skills that could save him were on cooldown or not working. There was one skill he was thinking of using, one which would definitely save him. {Eve of Ruin: Dawn of Ruin}. As much as he didn't want to activate it, that was the only choice he had— Or so he thought, when suddenly, his dimensional ring vibrated, and as he peeked inside, he noticed it was the Obscura phone. Checking the messages, he saw that Amara had sent one a few minutes ago. <Amara: Do you want to live?> Scoffing and typing as fast as he could, he replied. <Neraxis: What do you think? Of course I do.> He was expecting to be teleported out. However, what he got instead was a message that made him furrow his brows. <Amara: I will save you if you agree to one thing: Stay low for a while, preferably a few months or even a year. Neraxis Valen is dead until proven otherwise.> But— His conflicted thoughts were interrupted when all of a sudden, the ground shook, and as he turned toward the side, he noticed a mushroom cloud rising from the farthest part of the city. "Fuck..." Neraxis narrowed his eyes. Who knew his enemies were so adamant on killing him that they would nuke an entire city? Being alive while other people think you had died was not something he wanted anyone to go through, but since there was no other choice... <Neraxis: I agree.> The moment that message was sent, he felt his body being pulled forward, and soon, he found himself back in the Obscura headquarters, the throne right in front of him. He noticed Delta sitting on top of it, absentmindedly swinging her feet. "Greetings, Fifth Veil," she said with a wave. "Delta...?" Neraxis tilted his head. "Where's the First Veil?" "She's busy at the moment dealing with other serious matters. I am the one who you were talking to," Delta said plainly. "...So of all the times I receive a message, how many times am I talking to you instead of the First Veil?" he asked skeptically. "Pretty much all the time," Delta said with a shrug and jumped off the throne before suddenly growing bigger, her height nearly matching his. "Follow me, I'll show you where you will be staying." Neraxis nodded, following after her through the neat hallways, until eventually, they arrived in front of a particular room. It was the same room he was in when he first arrived at this place. "Fifth Veil," Delta got his attention. "While you are off the radar, your name is no longer Neraxis Valen. Instead, you will be going by the codename, Eclipse." Neraxis let out a sigh. "I suppose I won't be able to return to my world at all?" "Not exactly," Delta corrected. "In fact, most of the missions you receive now will be in your world due to the chaos that is unfolding." [That's good... You can still sneak glances at your friends and family from time to time.] Evangeline said gently. [I'll always be with you, so don't worry.] I know, Evangeline. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked into Delta's clear, crystal-green eyes. "I'm ready." "You are not," Delta shook her head, giving him a serious look. "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin your training. We can't have Eclipse fighting like Neraxis Valen." Before he could protest, she put her finger on his lips. "No objections, Fifth Veil. I don't train just anyone, though I believe you have potential," Delta said, before suddenly looking off into the wall and letting out a sigh. "I have work to do, Fifth Veil. Get accustomed to your room and rest well." With those words, she vanished, leaving him in front of the place where he would be staying for the next year or so. Therefore, he went inside and settled down with the heaps of clothing he had in his dimensional ring. Most of which weren't even his, and were instead for Seraphina, who he gave clothes to as tribute every single week. Nonetheless, he lay down on the bed, feeling oddly tired. Yet he couldn't fall asleep, merely staring at the ceiling as his thoughts raced. "A year, huh?" *** End of Volume 2: Echoes of the Obscure