Chapter 150 - World System Skills

The clash of fists between the father and son reverberated throughout the sky. Even with the addition of new enemies for Zegion and the others, his focus remained on the Insectar King.

No, it was not that he wanted to ignore Zelanus for better prey. It was because Zelanus himself seemed to have experienced a boost in power, like the other cryptids who began to obtain an anthropomorphic humanoid form.

Zegion found himself in a slugfest with Zelanus, fists slamming onto their exoskeletal bodies, flashy magic used to distract each other, and the occasional use of their Ultimate Skills to deal the final blow.

Zelanus, with two pairs of arms, concentrated as dark cells began swirling once again. "Devastator Virus, Cyclone!"

A massive black mist swirled into a tornado, large enough to encroach upon and consume the nearby beings. Both enemies and allies alike were taken and devoured without any differentiation. The swarm under Zelanus' orders, the bird and mollusk cryptids of his siblings, were eaten in the same way as the angels and demons caught in the tornado.

Zegion, in the very center of the dark mist of dark cells, concentrated his energy outwards, covering his entire body akin to his regular barriers to protect himself from the dangers. With both hands glowing a brighter shade of gold, he clapped his hands, and the echo of the sound collapsed the cyclone of dark cells.

Each one of the cells was taken and purified.

Zelanus dashed forward and slammed his fist into Zegion's face while his son swung at his chest. The duo continued their battle for a long time, a battle of attrition, just waiting for the first one to break.

"Ten Pillars!" Black beams of energy fired at Zegion's body, each one puncturing a vital part of his form. Even his barriers and exoskeleton could do nothing about it.

As Zelanus was about to absorb him, Zegion's body dissipated into a mist that covered the area. Zelanus quickly attempted to flee; with his speed, he should have escaped the mist within seconds.

Yet, even after flying for minutes, which should have shown him the sight of the Long Wall on the horizon, he was still in the mist.

"I do not believe I said that I only have one type of ability," Zegion's voice echoed in his head. From the mist, a massive form of the familiar Insectar stood with his arms crossed.

"Fantasy World."

As if to snap him out of the illusion, Zelanus' body jerked as he returned to the real world. His body felt immense pain as he found himself limbless, with his son, the one he gave away, about to finish his life.

Zelanus observed as Zegion gripped his throat tightly. The life essence in his own body was being absorbed by his child. His power, his life, his strength, were all being drained in barely a minute.

"This is..." Zelanus found his Ultimate Skill being transferred as well, the skill finding someone who was a better host for its abilities.
"I concede...."

As the light from his eyes grew dark, Zegion threw his body to Peliod, who had a shocked expression. The body passed in front of the Insectar Queen, causing her to freeze.

The split-second error in judgment cost her life, as she was impaled by Apito. As she caught her, the vibration of the insectar bee's wings slashed through her body.

The Insectar Queen quickly maneuvered away from further damage as she screamed at the death of Zelanus. Worse, she did not inherit any strength from the death of the original sentient Insectar that had reigned over the swarm for thousands of years.

Peliod let out dust-like particles from her mist to confuse Apito from her trail. As the Queen Bee halted midair, turning around looking for her, she quickly disappeared using transport magic.

With the swordsmanship skill and weapon, she inherited from one of her dead children, she appeared behind Apito with an arc. "Disrupting Swing."

Apito turned to find her mother prepared to end her life. With a readied skill, she deflected the attack. "Distortion Field."

Distorting the space around her body, Apito resisted, and with her own usage of transport magic, appeared behind her. With a sharp stinger appearing on her right arm, she punctured it into Peliod's body, passing through the barriers protecting her.
"Osiris Rapier!"

"Ghakk!" Peliod screamed as she resisted the venom in the stinger. Turning to Apito, she flapped her wings and fired countless slashes at the bee.

As Apito took the blows, injuring her body, she created another stinger on her left hand. "Queen's Needle!"

With a final blow, the stinger pierced right through Peliod's very core.

A bright light left Peliod's body, which was then absorbed by Apito. Her body was covered in a cocoon-like energy, causing her evolution.

Diablo found it the right time to make his move.

Seeing the clash of swords between Dino and Habataki, he said, "Activate, Despair Time."

An empty world was the sight both Dino and Habataki found themselves in. Yet, they did not stop fighting as their bodies became covered in cuts and slash marks.

Dino blocked a swing of Habataki's feathered blade while thrusting his other sword into its wing. The two-headed bird quickly disappeared before it reached.

"Hey, why did you bring me here too?" Dino called out, as only the two of them were in the virtual world Diablo created.

"Kufufufufu. You can finish it here with all that you have got. No need to fear destroying the world."

Diablo's voice echoed loudly in Dino's mind. The words made Dino irk, as he realized he was being used to defeat the enemy all on his own.

With a sigh, Dino glowed brightly, his aura bursting into the surroundings. "Apotheosis."

In that instant, the limits placed on Dino's body were released. His divine authority was forced to dwell within his physical form, reshaping it into a higher state optimized for combat.

As Habataki appeared behind him to sever his head, the bird found itself missing an arm as Dino turned. With speed even Habataki could not perceive, one of the eagle heads on its shoulders was decapitated.

"This sucks, having to be forced to fight with everything I've got," Dino muttered, scratching his head. Wearing a black garb with all pairs of his wings visible, the virtual world began to crack from his mere presence.

"Let's end this before the world collapses. Fallen Strike!"

Dino, with his two mythical swords, Excalibur and Calibur, glowed brightly. Habataki could not even block the blow. Its torso was separated from its upper half.

With a screeching sound, it forced itself to revert to its bird-like body, yet it turned into something more ominous and deformed.

Its size grew larger. It shrieked at Dino, who only looked at the cryptid with an annoyed expression as he covered his ears.

"Quiet."

With those words, the cryptid vanished. Dino's attack was not even noticed or sensed, as only his words served as a sign that he had done something.

He turned to a crack in the dimension, where Diablo waited outside with a hand on his chin.

"Apotheosis and the usage of your new Ultimate Skill. That is an interesting combination."

Dino sighed, not feeling comfortable with Diablo observing him.

Ultima and Carrera noticed the swift changes in battle and decided to finally show their own abilities, not wanting to be outdone by Diablo, especially his attitude after the battle.

The two demonesses made their move on their respective prey.

Carrera smirked as she turned to the two original angels fighting the humanoid chimera. Having fought for hours now, the trio's coordination was highly proficient. It could even be said that they worked perfectly well together, with Carrera being the main attacker who dealt lasting damage.

Obera and Zaloria acted as distractions, leaving behind small feints and minor wounds to gain the attention of Kakeashi. Though the beast remained unspoken, like its old form, it continued to roar.

Carrera cracked her knuckles as she stretched out her hands.

"Keep it busy for a few seconds. Keep it stationary."

Zaloria and Obera nodded as they activated their Ultimate Skills.

"Disintegration Temple."

With a unified incantation, several disintegration spells encircled Kakeashi's body like pillars, forming a glowing cage. The sky above was veiled by a massive magic circle, ready to fire at any sign of movement or flight.

Carrera held her hands together, right hovering over the left, palms facing each other, fingers slightly curved to form a small cage-like shape.

As she was about to activate her skill, the parasitic scales returned to protect their sibling.

Without any sign of acknowledgment, Carrera continued her spell without care.

The scales rained down on her, but none reached her. Each one turned a deep shade of purple mid-flight, corrupted by the potent aura surrounding her. The parasites, once controlled by Suiemu, felt the venom seeping into their forms, disrupting their cores and dissolving them completely.

"You're facing me, you know?"

Ultima placed a finger on her chin. With a snap of her fingers, the world around Suiemu shifted into a haze of deep violet.

Carrera slowly began twisting her hands in opposite directions as she drew them inward. Her fingers closed tighter until her palms met with a sharp clap.

"Give me strength, Abaddon. Dimensional Rupture!"

Kakeashi screamed as reality began to split around it. Like a glitch in the very space around it, Kakeashi felt its body twist like a piece of cloth being squeezed dry. But unlike the cloth, its body was being twisted until its limit.

The chimera cryptid's durability did nothing but prolong its pain until its entire body burst a fountain of blood. Carrera unclasp her hand and then with a casual motion clapped once.

Kakeashi's remains exploded into nothingness, the massive eruption alerted and gained the attention of everyone. Both ally and enemies found the sight excessive.

Meanwhile, Ultima was having the time of her life as Suiemu, the anthropomorphic mollusk-squid, found itself 'swimming' through the poison world conjured by the purple primordial.

"What do you think?" Ultima asked with a gleeful smile.

Suiemu flailed in the thick, corrosive liquid that burned its body, not enough to kill it outright, but just enough to disrupt its regenerative abilities and keep it in constant agony.

"I've been using this place as my personal playground," Ultima said as she raised a large blob of poison. Solidifying it into a throne-like seat, she casually sat down, watching the mollusk cryptid struggle as if lost in a vast, toxic ocean.

"You can't come out can you?" She giggled, observing as the remains of her old 'toys' float around the vastness of the poison world. The oldest remains sat in the very bottom of the 'ocean' waiting for more companions to suffer together with.

"Rest assured, I don't kill my toys." With chilling words, Suiemu found its body began to feel numb. Its struggle to maintain afloat waning as it began to sink down.

With its senses, it found the sight below enough to regain the embers of struggle. It move with haste, but to no avail, it found itself together with what appears to be a mixture of horrific abomination of 'flesh' of the primordial's old toys.

The poison had affected the remnants so deeply that they began to merge, forming a grotesque, pulsing mass, an abomination so vile it instilled fear into the heart of the cryptid. Even one shaped by Ivarage's hatred trembled at the sight.

At that moment, all it wanted was to escape the nightmarish world it had been trapped in.

Its cries went unanswered, echoing into the void as the malformed creature reached out with twisted limbs. One by one, they wrapped around the mollusk cryptid, dragging it down, never to be seen again.

Ultima calmly observed the entire scene before rising from her seat and leaving the corrupted realm, her personal world, crafted through the power of her Ultimate Skill.

With the death of all Ruling-class cryptids, the frenzied invasion by their offspring had become nothing more than a minor nuisance to the remaining defenders.

Moss felt a chill run down his spine as he shouted to all within range, demons and angels alike.

"Everyone, leave the area if you want to live!"

Esprit and Veyron understood the meaning behind Moss's warning and quickly used transport magic to escape. Seeing the demons panic, Dhalis and Oma immediately ordered the others to follow their lead, questions left for later.

As the others began retreating, Diablo turned to the remaining Primordials, specifically, to the white-haired demoness.

"Kufufufu... Testarossa, if you will."

At his words, the white Primordial gave an irked sigh, then snapped her fingers.

A sudden wave of dread swept over the battlefield. The angels, sensing imminent danger, instinctively activated their Administrative Authority to counter whatever was being unleashed.

The world shifted into a shade of pale, suffused with an eerie whiteness. A domain where everything, matter, energy, and even spirit, could experience the purest form of death.

"Nihilistic World."

With those soft words, the ever-growing swarm of cryptids halted in eerie unison. Whether soaring through the skies or rampaging across the battlefield, they suddenly moved with confusion and hesitation, sensing something deeply wrong within their forms.

A cruel smile curled across Testarossa's face as she watched them begin to fall, one after another, like raindrops succumbing to gravity. The kin of Suiemu and Habataki crashed from the skies. Kakeashi's own spawns collapsed where they stood, their bodies seizing in unnatural spasms.

Cracks formed across their flesh, radiant white lines glowing through the gaps. As if drawn by instinct, their eyes, if they still possessed them, turned toward a single figure. One face they would remember... if they had the chance.

But no afterlife awaited them.

Their very souls were unraveled, erased not just in body, but in concept. There would be no resurrection. No reincarnation. No trace.

"Nihilistic End."

With a whispered farewell, every last cryptid vanished into oblivion. No dust. No remains. Not even ash to scatter across the barren lands they had once sought to conquer.

And with that, the Primordial Demons and the Original Seraphim had successfully protected the Cardinal World from the Cryptid Invasion.

A/N: Ultima's World System was banned by Rimuru before it got to shine. This is my personal creative take on it. It feels very nightmarish and scary.