Yet even as Randidly realized the weak state that Ileot was in, his face tightened into a scowl. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but Ileot had minutely adjusted his position as though he had known Randidly would attack from below previously. The blast from Randidly’s Skill currently had him careening back toward the edge of the Great Rift and the world of Aether beyond that.

As Randidly reached out and touched a branch of Yggdrasil that grew outward to give him a connection, Ileot expertly fired a dozen blasts of white lightning toward the roots and branches that were only a few meters away from his current position. Although the roots and branches swayed and repositioned themselves, it bought Ileot enough time to continue toward Aether.

Without much choice, Randidly allowed his body to flow through the connection and appear slightly farther away than he would have liked. About eight meters separated himself and Ileot.

Seeing Randidly’s new position, Ileot conjured around twenty more tongues of white flame to float around his shoulders. Yet he did not unleash attacks. The two individuals simply stared at one another as Ileot moved closer and closer toward Aether to replenish his stores. After all, Ileot was perfectly fine to maintain the status quo now that he had some momentum.

Chuckling, Randidly gathered the image of the Grim Chimera to himself. Did you think that I can’t do anything to you just if you keep some distance? And I don’t need to step into a trap in order to make you waste Mana. Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.

Randidly breathed in and pulled at the energies in the surrounding area. Nether stirred around him, but Randidly was already filled to bursting with Nether. His Nether Gatekeeper bubble was robust and unblemished. No, when Randidly pulled at the energies, he rather directly attacked the small amount of Aether that he could sense within Ileot’s chest.

Immediately, Ileot’s face tightened in fury as a sizable portion of his remaining energy slipped out of his grasp. Yet before Randidly could even target that weakness, Ileot’s face closed like a nighttime children’s story. It was only by an obvious effort of will that Ileot was able to keep himself awake. The flames around him dimmed.

Ileot had conjured those twenty flames thinking he had a certain amount of Aether remaining, and suddenly he only had three-fourths as much. Both men did mental calculations and realized that even at the new pace, Ileot would still make it if Randidly maintained his distance. Barely.

Randidly pulled again with Cursed Appetite of a Wraith, but Ileot had already seen that trick and had a tight grip on his remaining Aether. Deciding it was better to take a risk now than letting him get back to Aether, Randidly manipulated the surrounding Nether to shoot himself downward toward Ileot. As he expected, Ileot’s eyes narrowed to slits and he barred his teeth as Randidly neared him. They had crossed perhaps half the distance between the battlefield and the boundary between Aether and Nether. White lightning blasted forward to intercept Randidly’s path. With a small smile, he reached out toward a leafy branch of the World Tree.

Already Ileot’s eyes scanned the surrounding area for attack angles that his foe could take… which was why his expression turned blank as Randidly didn’t activate the Nether Ritual he had woven through the World Tree after touching it. Two of Ileot’s lightning blasts hit him, immediately stealing a bit of Randidly’s energy and spinning around behind him to strike again.

Those lightning blasts hurt like a bitch, but the expression on his face is worth it...

Before Ileot could recover enough to defend himself, Randidly’s blurred body rippled and the large claw of the Grim Chimera tightened and dug its talons into the flex of Ileot’s right shoulder.

“People aren’t toys to play with,” Randidly whispered. Then he took another deep breath and activated Cursed Appetite of a Wraith. This time, when Randidly pulled, his physical proximity to Ileot allowed him to forcibly rip away another large chunk of Aether, leaving Ileot with only a breath of energy. In addition, he yanked his energy out of the two lightning blasts, having them dissipate harmlessly.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 271!

Immediately, Ileot’s eyes closed. His remaining Aether in his chest bottomed out. His body relaxed. Randidly could see the Aether constructs at Ileot’s core swy dangerously. Yet just as fast, Grim Intuition screamed that Randidly needed to open up some distance.

Even with Chimeric Avoidance, Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality, and Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil working in concert, Randidly couldn’t move as quickly as Ileot. Suddenly, his eyes shot open. Randidly witnessed in detached fascination as he forcibly ripped apart a Skill in his chest and ‘recycled’ its Aether to buy himself a few more seconds of activity.

Randidly’s pupils narrowed to points as a hand wreathed in white lightning surged toward his head. But he was able to catch the flicker of movement behind Ileot’s back that gave him some hope.

I suppose this is what I get for pushing Ileot into a desperate situation…!

Nether was memory and connection. So when Randidly mobilized his thick bubble that he had received with his new Nether Gatekeeper style core, it came together instantly into a thick, rubbery rind in front of Ileot’s hand. The two forces clashed. Rather predictably, Randidly’s hastily erected shield could only last for a brief moment; of course Ileot could destroy Nether Gatekeepers as easy as breathing.

But it bought enough time. Before Ileot could rip off Randidly’s head, he was smashed in the small of his back by a powerful fist.

Wincing, Randidly twisted away as Ileot was knocked off of his previous path and back into the Great Rift. His right hand went up to his right eye, which burned painfully. Ileot’s fingernail had been so close to seizing Randidly’s face that its passage had left a small papercut on the surface of Randidly’s eye. Some remnant of Ileot’s image was there too, which caused the wound to be extremely painful.

But Randidly ignored the pain and turned to face the figure that helped him. Even as a thin trail of blood dripped down his cheek, his grin was beaming. “Good timing.”

Vualla shook her head in faux-sorrow. “This is why so many people hold grudges against you, Randidly Ghosthound. You are supposed to be weaker when fighting in the Great Rift. Not stronger. Can’t you just behave normally for once?”

Lowering his hand and wiping away the blood coming from his eye, Randidly shrugged. The pain ceased as he used raw Aether to smother Ileot’s image. “Sorry, nope. I’m an unrepentant weirdo.”

“Well, it’s certainly illuminating. I learned a lot from watching you.” Vualla floated easily into Randidly’s Nether Gatekeeper bubble and kissed him. Then she pulled back and said seriously. “In the same way that you learn lessons by watching a deranged mental patient dance at the edge of a ten-story building’s roof.”

As he laughed helplessly, Randidly felt warmth pass between them. More than enough to be a fair trade for the Aether that he provided to her. Then his expression turned serious as he scanned the extremely complicated Aether around Vualla. “Are you… alright…?”

“It’s just been a long day.” Vualla sighed and looked down at her hands. “I’ve got some pretty bad burns… but I can move for now. I avoided the worse of his attack against the Nether King.”

Then both turned to regard Ileot, who had stabilized himself and was glaring hatefully at Vualla and Randidly. Randidly didn’t miss the way that Ileot decisively sacrificed several more of his minor Skills and reaped the Aether from them.

“I didn’t see what happened with the Nether King… is it out of commission? That noise…” Randidly gestured over toward the continually rumbling cloud surrounded by black and white lightning.

Vualla hesitated. “Ileot Swacc definitely hit it hard. He wouldn’t be so exhausted otherwise. So at the very least, its wounded. For now… Ileot is probably the main threat. Especially if he is willing to just ambush you out of the blue. Also, saying something like ‘none will leave this place alive’...? I sincerely doubt that he didn’t notice that I was still here.”

Nodding, Randidly kept his emerald eyes fixed on Ileot. It was clear that he was carefully using the Aether he had harvested to restore some of his lucidity. “And Lady Iellaya? Lord Miln?”

“Lord Miln was right next to the Nether King when Ileot attacked; I think he’s dead. As for Lady Iellaya…” Vualla’s face knitted into a frown. Randidly was surprised to notice that for a brief moment, an expression of guilt flashed across her face. “...it seems like she is having some internal troubles controlling part of her image…”

Randidly’s eyes flashed. So that’s why that darkness in the sky was gone when I woke up… did it invade Lady Iellaya’s body…?

Vualla leaned forward and spoke pleadingly to him before his musings could continue any further. “Randidly, I don’t mean to be paranoid, but… if there is a voice in your head that talks about how important karma is, I want you to tell me right now.”

Randidly opened his mouth to deny that such a voice existed, then hesitated. Well, it’s not exactly a voice in my head, but otherwise Lucretia probably fits that description… It’s just that she’s not just a voice any longer! But I wonder how the acclimation to Nether is going in the Alpha Cosmos…?

Witnessing Randidly’s hesitation, Vualla gripped his arm. “Karma doesn’t mean anything. No matter what that voice tells you, it’s just bullshit.”

But Lucretia isn’t telling me to do anything at all…? Randidly wanted to roll his eyes, but he suppressed that impulse. After all, he was confused by Vualla’s words. “Bullshit? Karma is a pretty legitimate force. It’s just one that only works if you give power to it by believing in it. After all, it’s the patterns that make sense to you that end up affecting you. Of course, you don’t have the leisure to choose it in the moment; your karma is the thing you’ve been slowly choosing your entire life.”

Almost subconsciously, Randidly’s hand fell to the key at his waist. “That’s why… every decision you make is important. Every step you have taken forms your Path.”

“What…?” Vualla said.

But before the discussion could continue, Ileot surged forward, his entire body covered in white lightning. His chest was heaving. And for the first time since his ominous words earlier, he spoke. This time his voice was heavy with emotion. “Karma… I’ll destroy all your bullshit karma…!”

Rather deadpan, Randidly pointed out toward Ileot’s approaching figure. “Should I be worried that you share an opinion on karma with this psychopathic monster…?”

“Only if I should be worried that you handle Nether just as well as that obnoxious noise machine.” Vualla cracked a smile and pointed toward the Nether King’s cloud.

Then both their faces turned serious.

“I have one big attack. Big enough… that I think it could stop Ileot,” Randidly said shortly.

Vualla nodded and took a step forward. “Then I’ll open up a path.”