Capítulo 68: C68: Jura and the Rudra Familia, False Evilus
C68: Jura and the Rudra Familia, False Evilus
2 for 1 chapter as thanks to everyone for regularly getting me to around 70-80 powerstones a week. I only asked of this single week and it became a regular occurrence.
So I appreciate it.
Overall Word count = 5046 on 4/17/2024. This is officially the new longest chapter of this story, In fact it might be the longest of both my stories so far. Not sure how i'm going to ever beat this word count until when I maybe try my hand at an original story and my schedule is different.
I am setting this chapter as a two part so it would be c68 and c68.5, but all in this chapter. The first part is 1.8k words
P2 word count = 3.1k words.
Enjoy
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The group quickly double checked their equipment with Welf while they rested on the 28th floor. Due to a lack of high leveled adventurers, there are no buildings set up on this floor like there is on the 17th with Rivira. Axel himself is exploring the floor, gathering materials for a small campfire for the group as they destress a bit. Well, except Welf who is working. Axel offered to help since they already have a technique exchange so he could help out even if he lacks the blacksmithing development skill.
Welf reassures him by saying, "I can handle this, our equipment is already fairly high grade which makes it harder to break apart or be damaged. Especially with us starting to figure out how to coat our weapons in Nen"
"Oh? You're all figuring out how to use Shu (enfold)?" Axel is pleasantly surprised as they have discovered the advanced application of Ten already.
"Shu?" Welf asks and with their conversation not being hidden. Others quickly learn the official name of this technique and how it works while the few who did not participate in close combat like Chigusa, Haruhime and Lily. They instead learn the technique in the first place.
Chigusa says that it's better for her not to learn as she would waste a ton of her nen if she did Shu on her arrows but is willing to learn since it does slightly enhance her bow since it won't break if she pulls harder or the ambient nen energy touching her arrows would enhance them a tiny bit.
Haruhime wields no weapon or tool so she is less in a hurry to learn this technique. She is instead meditating a bit in hopes of learning what could be her own nen ability as well as refining her control over the first 3 basic methods (ten, ren, zetsu).
As for Lily, she is the same as Chigusa but she also wields daggers or other short weapons. but with her carrying the backpack, if she can enhance its defense, then she can use it as an improvised shield since she regularly stays in the back of the group.
The ones who learned this by themselves such as: Mikoto, Aisha, Ouka, Welf and Bell. They instead take this moment to polish their control of this technique since After Axel explained, they do learn that it enhances the items defense AND offense. With such benefits for a simple nen manipulation (at least to them it's simple). Bell achieves some strange results as his Hestia Knife seems to be very compatible with nen/life force. It's a great magic conduit but it sucks at storing magic which is the opposite but better case with nen since it both conducts well as well as stays in the knife.
This ensures that Bell only has to use Shu every once in a while instead of constantly like the others as with a single usage of Shu, the knife enhances itself for the next few minutes which is great in battle as his attention is not diverted to his weapon unlike the others.
Welf himself goes into a sort of episode as he begins to theorize whether Shu could delay the destruction of Magic Swords, even if it's a single use. that would still be of great assistance to his team. With the work he has been doing alongside Axel, he has made a few breakthroughs in his attempt to create an indestructible magic sword. Mithril is a great material for it but it more so enhances the power of the magic sword and less so its durability. He theorized that making a magic sword out of Adamantium would work but he could only ever make a dagger or smaller with how little amount there is available. He prioritized Axel's project instead since he would prefer to make a sword for himself when he gets a chance.
Overall the rest of the day passes by with Axel keeping track through a pocket watch he keeps on himself. A gift from Raikou so that he can return home on time. Everyone puts their gear back on and they all finally proceed to the 29th floor. The Great Forest Ravine.
Beginning their walk through the area, they find that it is very similar to the Large Forest Labyrinth except far more densely packed with various wild flowers and trees. With the knowledge bestowed by Kaoruko, Axel knows that having trees be so heavily packed should deprive them of all nutrients and water but with it all likely being provided through the dungeons mana there is no harm. In fact the place could be completely filled with plants until there is no space and it would still all survive.
It takes the group a little while before they finally encounter their first monster here, a Bloodsaurus which is a type of red dinosaur style monster that reaches 5 meters tall (roughly 15-16 ft). The spikes along its body serve as deadly weapons but that is only due to its sharpness, when it is struck by a blunt object like Axel's fist or the back-side of the spikes with a bladed weapon then they snap off to be collected. The monster is overall handled pretty easily due to its slow speed. Welf informs them all that the spikes themselves are a form of bone so they can be reforged but he would need the forge at his home to do it without making it worse. As such, one end of them is wrapped in some spare cloth and given to Haruhime to use as knives or emergency daggers for self protection. A true last resort for the harmless fox girl.
The group continues forth and it is commented by Aisha who says that there is a massive lack of plant style monsters. Axel nods as he doesnt see any Giant Hornets or other style monsters that are typical to the Large Tree Labyrinth though this is primarily the home of the Bloodsaurus so he isn't fully perturbed. he is more weary of any ambush that Evilus or whatever that quasi undead group was from.
They have killed a few more of the dinosaur monsters before they halt as Axel hears a voice in the distance. He tells his group to quiet down as he begins to sneak forward thanks to his jelly-like body thanks to the parasyte powers he has. He soon ends up behind a giant tree and when he peaks out he spots a Cat man with one ear and arm talking to the half decomposed Dis sisters…or at least one of them who has Blonde hair. He believes it was the sibling called Dina who primarily used magic amongst the two.
Looking closer, he spots a sort of base with a few cloaked sentries amongst the ramparts of the structure. Dina seems to be pondering something as the cat man keeps talking about something
"Come on, you have to remember, I may have been a minor member back then but I was still part of the Rudra familia. We were all part of the same gang."
"Rudra, Rudra, Rudra. Hmmm. and what was your name again"
"It's Jura!" The cat man seems a bit annoyed at this point. It's almost as if he had already explained this part three times by now.
"Ah right, I remember now. The Rudra familia was a bunch of sniveling shit-stains who failed to actually kill a single member of the Astraea familia. Practically being wiped out themselves after some beast killed them for you. And all by one cute little elf." Dina seems to openly mock the Rudra familia as she bursts into maniacal laughter. The cat man named Jura seems to be aggravated by this as he grabs the whip at his belt and says.
"Take back your words. While I may be the last of my familia, we were not weak or sniveling. What killed everyone was a thing of beauty, a perfect creation. The Epitome of Greatness, and I Jura, shall tame it. I was originally planning to do this in another month or so as I was not fully ready but I can make it." His words seem to counter the aggravated tone he showcases. As if the very thought of the thing that killed his familia as well as the Astraea familia overrides his mind to create an expression of heinous glee.
He snaps his whip on the group and a pair of Lambton show up. Otherwise known as Well Worms, they are giant worm-like creatures that are able to burrow through the dungeon. Typically they stay around the 37th floor which is the first amongst the deep floor levels but they are relatively rare to find since they are always burrowed.
Dina seems to frown as she questions, "and what do you plan to do with those ugly snakes. If you attempt to destroy the base of our new lord then I shall show no mercy." She crouches down but Jura backs off as he snaps his whip again and the 2 lambton begin to dig in and out of the falls.
"I don't care about joining you all anymore, I can tell that you all are fakes anyways. You do a great job at impersonating the Dis sisters but they would have never deigned to meet up with someone like me. They barely give their own original familia the time of day. Craving murder, and torment upon anyone who bothers them about anything that doesnt include those two things."
"You have taken the name of Evilus in vain, as such, I Jura, the last of the Rudra Familia, shall exact vengeance, the same way that the Astraea familia was destroyed. KA-HAHAHAHAHA" He proclaims in an insane style only for a hand to pierce through his chest.
"Lovely story bud but I have some business with them. So take a backseat here" Axel who had snuck up on them had stuck his own hand through Jura Halmer's chest. Blood fills his lungs as it was the right part of his chest that was torn apart, not his left. His heart remains, continuing to pump blood until he finally dies of shock or blood loss. In the meantime tho, he falls over onto his side as Axel gazes at the amused Dina before him.
"Well, he gets what he deserves, what now what to do with you. Fake Evilus? What puppetry have you been sewing up? All those monstrosities that we fought. How does that work? And for what?" He questions only for vines to gather together into a lance-like shape and knock him back
.
Part 1-End.
Part 2: C68.5 : Demi-spirit, Juggernaut, Mr. Sandman Bring Me a Dream
Music rec = Headstrong by Trapt (chorus slaps)
"Hehehehe" a shrill voice is heard as Axel is knocked back. He lands steadily on his feet but when he looks at the Dis sister before him, he finds that the vines accumulate into a feminine flower like being. The main body is quite dull green with a smell of death on them. Axel who has read the monster guide ahead of time recognizes this creature as a Viscum. A flower type monster similar to the Violas they encountered before. Viscum are found in the deep floors along with Violas but are far less colorful and the signature scent is enough to deter most adventurers. They also possess large bodies which can technically be considered an amalgamation of compost or dead and decomposing organic matter
"Who are you?
"Hehehehe" The creature offers no response except their continued laughter. Vena, the other Dis sister, instead arrives to stand beside her sister. Their own flower parts seem to react to the voice and they nod as if they can understand what is being said.
BOOM RUMBLE RUMBLE
Off to the side, the two dungeon worms or Lambton are still wrecking havoc around the area as with their master dead, they would continuously follow the last command they were given due to the corrupting tool around their 'necks'
The laughter from the strange Viscum stops as it looks at the two worms with it's beady jewel-like eyes. It raises it's hand which causes various vines to go after the worms. The Initial assault is destroyed by the worm's movement and hard shells but after a few moments they are constricted. The flower woman moves at a fast speed with its roots to arrive before one of the worms. It jams it's soft feminine hand into the worm, breaking past the outer shell. The worms shakes a bit, attempting to thrash off the attack but it rapidly weakens until it turns into a husk of it's former self and falls over.
Just as the flower lady is about to move to the 2nd worm, Axel reaches there first. Setting his own hand upon the worm, he begins to drain it of strength. At an even faster pace, the worm dries up and turns to dust.
SCREEECH
The flower woman yells out an aberrant screech that hurts Axel's ears but nothing he cant handle. The Dis sisters move forward, the spell caster-Dina, floats upward and forward while the other takes out their Stiletto to try stabbing Axel.
"DIavel Dis, Diavel Otua" / "Diavel Stiga" The elf casts her two spells, one summoning flaming pillars hovering at and around Axel while the other summons giant fireballs around the elf herself, ready to be shot forward at Axel. The Dark Elf on the other hand activates her curse, she grabs Axel to drain him of his strength and speed but with the nen barrier, she only absorbs energy until her hand comes into contact with his arm.
"KYAAAA" But just that absorbed energy is too much for the dark elf as the foreign life force instigates the flowers on her body to grow further until her corpse half body is overridden with dense flowers that start to break apart her own body to be free. A flaw in their creation from what Axel can see. The situation is only worsened by the contact she has with Axel's bare arm. She drains his strength and agility but has to give up her own endurance and magic. That is why she is so compatible with her sister. One grows stronger in magic while the other becomes better physically. Yet this very lack of endurance is the cause of her agony now.
Her agony is not over yet as by coming in contact with Axel, his gluttony coated body begins to absorb her original stats as well as the cursed stats that originally belonged to Axel. Axel quickly learns that what she stole is his unsealed stats. With the lack of endurance, just twitching makes her body start to break apart. Since Axel's stats technically do not get reduced due to the seal which already put a cap on his stats. The stolen stats are considered foreign strength thanks to the seal. As such he absorbs his own uncapped power while Vena is enhancing his gluttony by providing him with her own magic stats.
Quickly enough her body shatters into chunks as the new found flowers attempt to go after Axel but he simply summons his incomplete firestorm spell. With the dense plant life around them, a massive forest fire is created. The new bundle of flowers turned to ash as a result. Possessing no monster core to keep themselves from dying.
With the curse canceled, he gets back his original stats which are now overlaid onto the re-absorbed stats. Pushing him to the max easily. Axel was almost unhappy that the dark elf is dead as she could have easily propelled him to the absolute peak. Unfortunately that can not happen.
On the other side of the battlefield, After Axel showed himself, his team moved forward to assist him but by the time they arrived, Axel had already moved away to drain the worm. Shortly after, the Evilus members inside the base rushed forward defenselessly to attack the group. They are heavily outnumbered 6 to 1 but with their nen they can keep fighting for a longer period of time. The dungeon seems to feed these undead plants greatly which allows them to be stronger than their original selves or even whatever strength they showcased during the Ishtar raid.
"Vena…Vena…no. No. no. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Dina who was up in the air shrieks in agony as she witnesses her sister die in a reverse fashion to how Vena reacted when Dina died first last time around at Hogni and Hedins hands. (reverse b/c vena threw dina's decapitated head away when she caught it)
Axel suddenly bursts into fire as well with a black flame on him caused by Dina's 'unnamed spell' but with his gluttony, he extinguishes the flames only to be met with a facefull of vines attempting to tear through his face if not for his Ten barrier. He is smacked into a wall high up that the rocks fragment and are about to come out. Axel is quite distracted as with the full absorption of the dungeon worm, his mind has finally accepted the memories of the major fragment he awakened a few days ago.
His hair turns partially white and his eyes red, taking on the characteristics of the aberration he accepted into his soul. A chimera of its horrific creation. An expert puppet master of life and death. From the same world as Killua Zoldyck, Neferpitou.
Axel's back suddenly bends or folds depending on how it's looked at as he dodges the next series of plant lances thrusted at him, he flips out of the way as his mind partially returns to the scene. His nen deactivated as it was turbulent due to accepting the nen abilities of Pitou. Of course one of these abilities is subsumed by an unknown one. Terpsichora , gone forever.
Axel has to manually dodge the attacks as he quickly learns that even a brush against the various leaves can actually leave a scratch on him. A viscum is already a powerful monster that can resist a level 5 Bete Loga. Yet this current monstrosity goes even further beyond. The intelligence it showcases along with the support of the various evilus puppets at its disposal enhances the threat. To Axel, Dina is no threat but more of an annoyance as he zigs and zags around until he sends a Bolt LIghtning at her.
BOOM
A fireball from Dina meets the fireball head on as the first spell 'Diavel Dis' had already missed the moment Axel moved. It's a spell that works best when the target can easily escape the range of the flame pillars. This means she can only use Diavel Otua to assist the demi spirit-Tirranis. In her actions of trying to kill Axel. Fireballs fly past his head as he sends out his own firebolts or bolt lightning to block the magic coming at him.
"Uchide no Kozuchi"
On the other side, the group is having an easier time once Bell had kicked a corpse puppet into the rampant Fire storm spell area. The flowers and vines on them burst into flames which caused them to fall over and die. The others saw this and had begun to kick or bash them away into the spreading fires. The origin where Axel was had been extinguished but burning Vena and the surrounding grass and wildlife had caused it to spread greatly. The group has to retreat from the floor to not be affected by the flames.
Part of the reason for their ease was Haruhime finally being able to cast her signature spell Uchide-no-kozuchi which effectively levels up a chosen adventurer by one. She can only do a set number as anymore causes her mind down. But the chosen targets were Aisha, Bell, Welf and finally Axel.
Axel pauses as he is confused by the sudden golden glow upon his body but when he feels his power increase, he grins but his grin turns almost maniacal as he begins to hear a strange hum. Axel is blasted away due to the delay in his thoughts. The humming or rather low pitch screeching encompasses the whole floor and the one's around it as well.
The dungeon worms had created tons of damage to the dungeon and the Demi spirits' relentless and carefree attacks further broke down the walls. The guardian comes. The Juggernaut appears once more. (now it will have cannon strength and abilities)
A wall far away begins to crack and shoot out a ton of water which can only be assumed to be runoff from the previous water city floors. Long claws and a pair of red eyes shine through the hole. It's figure is showcased by the raging fire that is spread on the moss covered walls from the Axel firestorm.
SWISH… BOOM. The first casualty is Dina Dis who looked at the juggernaut in confusion before her head rolled off. Her body ripped apart into at least 4-5 parts due to the beast's multiple long claws. The demi spirit and Juggernaut face off against each other before another large boom is heard.
Rapidly approaching the Juggernaut with fist clenched is Axel who has a wide grin on his face. His fist meets the incoming flickering tail as they are evenly matched this time around. The demi spirit does not appreciate being ignored and sends out multiple lances to both the juggernaut and Axel.
Both sides dodge and the three way continues. Juggernaut claws and tail against vines and plant lances or against Axel's fist. Axel and his shades tear up the demi spirit's lances and body which only regrows rapidly whilst dealing reduced damage against the juggernaut due to it's new mana mane that counters magic as well as reduces all magic inflicted upon it.
"Do you like it? I got it remade recently. Do you feel joy at being reunited with your brother? Oh i'm sorry it was your sister" Axel's chimera mental state does not make him stable as he mocks the Juggernaut by showcasing the skull helmet he is wearing.
ROOOAAARR. The juggernaut roars upon being taunted that it focuses more on Axel, the spirit notices this and concentrates its attacks on Axel as well.
SWISH "MOTHERFU" Axel curses as after blocking an attack from the spirit, his arm is cut off by the juggernauts sharp claws. A second round of lances from the spirit sends him flying but not before he grabs his loose arm.
BOOM
Axel collides into the wall, chunks from higher up fall down all around him. Leaving all but just a small spot near the top open. But as the nen around Axel is riled up two figures appear.
A golden brown figure in tattered clothing, akin to a dementor from Harry Potter. This golden brown figure extends one of it's leather covered hands to take one of the bottles on its belt, opening it to sprinkle dust upon Axel's injured body. As the dust settles upon his body, the nen activates once more to allow a strange looking pale puppet with red hair reaching to its shoulders appears afterwards. Its body is pale yellow with small spines along its back, the lower half of its body is wrinkled and soggy as it ends with a rope that connects to Axel. This second figure moves its puppet-like hands split into pieces to recreate various medical instruments to begin surgery to reattach Axel's arm back into place.
(Doctor Blythe and the Sandman here)
With Axel seemingly dead or out of commission, the Juggernaut and Corrupted Spirit face off again. The Sandman watches over the situation until the good doctor finishes their work and then disappears. The sandmans arms then move as the golden dust floats up from Axel, arranging themselves into quasi strings.
Axel is soon lifted up. Two sets of arms manifest on his body while the supposedly sealed Asura also shows up. What happens is that the sand man makes dreams reality by converting excess nen into mind to meet the minimum requirements of the asura shade showing up. Now with two asuras.The stones around them are blasted away as The Sandman manipulates Axel's semi-conscious body[1] and Asura rushes forward to the fighting duo.
Axel goes to the Juggernaut, His body coated in gluttony as the shades are overlaid on him. A fist strikes the juggernaut on the chin where a crack appears as it's head is knocked up. It roars weakly before it's mouth is grabbed by Axel. His hands move to each part of its jaw before it's forced open to break it's lower jaw snapped off to prevent it from biting. It claws out at Axel only to be met with a foot to the face that sends it back, making it's claws miss.
The juggernaut auto repairs it's jaws to ROAR out. Meanwhile A golden thread attaches to Asura which causes him to burst into flames similar to Axel's flames bolts or any fire spell Axel has as the 6 burning fists collide with the demi spirit's plant-like body. It bursts into flames which forces it to shed part of it's body to prevent the flame from spreading and hurting it more. It's intellect allows it to notice how the golden brown puppet is causing all this. Shields are made to temporarily block Asura while lances are shot into the sandman.
RAAAAAAAGH.
Unfortunately, the attacks seem to do nothing as it sand-like body disperses around the attacks only to reform but it keeps going until the sandman's body starts turning red due Axel's nen reaching a lower limit. The sandmans overdrive state has been activated which turns Axel's body red as well. The nen is further burned as Asura disappears. Only to be replaced with Radahn who manifests his swords from the start.
Welf and the others had come back as the fires had dispersed from the firestorm finally. They witness the golden sandman turn red and the Radahn shade appear to fight off the Demi spirit. Axel's body on the other hand, had constantly collided with the juggernaut at high speeds that Aisha can barely tell what is happening even with Haruhimes buff. Granted that is slowly dissipating but as it does, Axel manifests a ton of gluttony into a dragon which chomps down upon the juggernauts body. The magic coat on it's body resists the devouring force but it is a losing battle as the stolen essence fuels Haruhimes enhancement under the sandman's control.
This prolongs it even when the trio of Aisha, Bell and Welf lose the buff. The golden glow on Axel's body remains and he keeps beating down the claws and tail of the juggernaut before finally starting his onslaught upon the juggernaut's head. His gluttony coated fists hit once, twice, thrice, 4, 5, time after time as more cracks appear on the juggernauts face. Shockwaves spread upon it's body, as it rapidly cracks, The magic coat snapping off from all the physical impacts struck upon its body. The juggernaut gets a lucky strike against Axel's helmet which breaks the previous juggernaut's skull to inflict a cut upon Axel's cheek before the claw falls down, weakened and close to dying.
It soon bursts into dust and with it, Axel falls over. Welf and the other rush forward to catch Axel. The red sandman moves to control Radahn to finish off the Demi spirit.
Radahn who initially summoned his swords begins to cut various lances and plant-like tendrils before it soon gets overwhelmed by number but since it is the manifestation of Axel gravity knowledge. Any techniques Axel learns or makes, Radahn would know as well. Thus it causes a judgment cut to shred all the plants, revealing the demi spirit. It attempts to escape only to be cut in half by the giant blades. Even with half its body, the upper half, which is the female part, begins to crawl away before a gluttony coated radahn sword pierces it. Sticking it to the floor as Radahn absorbs the essence of the Corrupted spirit.
The sandman's last act is to transfer the stolen stats and energy back into Axel to assist his awakening. It soon breaks apart into dust which causes radahn to also disappear but with the spirit drained and dead, there are no more threats.
Welf sets Axel down gently but he quickly wakes up.
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[1] Look at the p2 title and you can tell that the sandman put Axel unconscious. Axel was still fine, injured but conscious and fine. His endurance prevents him from outright bleeding out but the sandman is a counteractive construct that shows up when certain requirements are met. Thanks to Terpsichora the sandman can provide a 1.5x multiplier to Axel's body but only if it manipulates them itself. Since the sandman had this ability as well the final multiplier became 2.5x. And by putting Axel to sleep, there is less damage to his body unlike Terpsichora who damages the owner's body since Pitou was fully conscious. In the state of sleep, his body is more relaxed and malleable, reducing the cost that Migi does.
On the other hand, now that the sandman is known, I have to update the nen page to include all his nen abilities, this includes killuas' since i forgor to do that before
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