Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

826. Violence On Violence Star Action

4 and a half hours had already elapsed since Frost manifested the Crowned. The sheer heat of her strikes glassed the desert expanse. By now there was more glass than there was sand. The impact of their attacks caused it to instantly fragment, revealing another layer of sand that was instantly superheated into a molten state.

Every 30 minutes only further strengthened Frost’s defenses by 10% thanks to [What Doesn’t Kill You…]. This Passive Corrupted Skill belonged to the Crowned, and it allowed her DEF stats to increase cumutively by 10% each 30 minutes.

Furthermore, this Skill increased the heat she generated, further multiplying her ATT by an additional 25%. This was not mentioned in the original Skill description, and Frost would not have noticed this gradual increase were it not for Nav.

Her robotic buddy constantly monitored the situation, crunching numbers that Frost otherwise couldn’t under such stressful conditions. She was grateful for Nav’s assistance but couldn’t offer a single word of thanks. There was simply no room breathe for either Frost or Iscario.

Frost | HP: 25,650,000

Iscario | HP: 44,440,000

The two most problematic weapons in Iscario’s arsenal were the Price of Paradise and the False Lances of Annihilation. By now over a dozen rods had pierced Frost’s back. She appeared like a human pincushion, and each broad movement caused them to churn her innards.

Arcs of pale light clashed with Frost’s wrathful flame. She depended heavily on [Violence on Violence] action to whittle Iscario’s HP down as she dominated the battlefield with [A Million Wicks and One Light] and [World Ablaze], keeping Iscario’s HP on the constant decline.

Flaming hailstones descended from the skies as Frost wiped the world clean with another use of [A Million Wicks and One Light]. A spectacular pillar of flames erupted from her body, dealing an impressive 500,000 ATT and MAG ATT damage to everything within her immediate vicinity.

Iscario’s Qliphoth Field defended him from the flames as he dove straight for Frost, caring little of the attack.

“Apocalypse Corrupted could never bring me down in the first place! It was my Kingdom that tamed the Punishing Bird! The likes of ImpulseWorks could never dream of containing a Corrupted greater than Eternal Night! And humans – with no name or Gift – held a Corrupted of unimaginable power in their hands!”

He lifted his blade and sent a downwards slash. The beam of light it created split the flaming pillar in half. Frost swiftly dodged the attack and moved towards one of the various nebulas. It was here where she feasted on the Little Frosts. So long as they were devoured here, then they could not perish, giving her access to a source of unlimited Mana.

[Prejudice] surprisingly satisfied the devouring condition required to regain MP, although it did not carry the characteristics of her all-devouring maw.

“Everything beyond Puritas’ reach was judged equally by the wrath of a Corrupted! You know best that Corrupted – ARE NOT DRIVEN BY WHAT MAKES US SECEPTIBLE TO SELFISH WANTS!”

The 100-meter beam of light that shone from the tip of the Price of Paradise swept across the desert floor. Frost was forced into the air, exposing herself to a barrage of [Justica Arms – Execution], but her use of [Thermal Propagation] allowed her to narrowly dodge them.

“If those wants became needs, then all can be justified! There is nothing that can be done to stop the inevitable! Your minor boosts are formidable, but time does not favor you!”

She briskly returned to the forefront of the battle, allowing her fists to batter Iscario. She didn’t have a signature weapon like him, nor did she rely on a weapon to begin with. There was nothing more powerful than the one Skill she had once ridiculed.

Her movements were almost too fast for Iscario to react to. It was like a dance. Pale rods assailed Frost, but she managed to sidestep them, some landing between her legs and arms.

“Shut up and die quietly already. Stop squealing like a pig. You’re already on the brink of death. Ilya will happily see you off!” Frost wove [Amplified] versions of her standard [Punch] into her combos.

This activated her Severe Combo Passive Skill, which increased her damage output slightly with each consecutive punch. This combined with [Violence on Violence Action] which already multiplied fist-based attacks by 3x allowed her to deal significant blows.

|| Hand of the Black Dove ||

< EFFECT: The thrust of your fist. Deal damage in accordance to base ATT and MAG ATT. Ignores defense. Instantly recover 30% of total MP. Instantly recover 15% of total HP >

562,500 ATT and MAG ATT respectively. This totaled over a million damage per strike. Frost riddled Iscario with punches so powerful that they could topple mountains. She did not even need to put all her strength behind her punches. Merely tapping any part of Iscario resulted in a violent exchange of kinetic energy.

NEX: 13,451,000

I’m running low on Nex as well. The 4th State doesn’t generate nearly enough passively. But Iscario’s on his last legs. Still, I have no way of getting through his Qliphoth Field.

Frost followed Iscario’s flying body, avoiding his entire arsenal of attacks that ruptured the world. She quickly checked his HP, and immediately, a perplexed look washed over her.

Iscario | HP: 41,000,000

Iscario’s HP did not decrease as she anticipated, even after stringing 6 consecutive [Hand of the Black Dove].

“The math doesn’t add up. Iscario… you still have 2 rings that you have yet to use!”

Frost closed in again, landing consecutive, flaming strikes. Only that this time her attacks were met with a violent, explosive repulsion.

“Damage negation?”

“Damage repulsion!” Iscario quickly corrected, standing his ground as he skidded back over tens of meters. “I’m surprised that you hadn’t caught on, but I’m not thrilled that I’ve been beaten down to the point where I’d be relying on Marduk’s power!”

He raised a hand towards his right eye – the eye that had been taken by Infusion S – and a red ring on his left hand began to glow. His bright-blue iris burst like a sack of bloody puss. The fluids swashed within his eye, turning it a deep shade of crimson.

“Take a look, Amalgam. At what I sacrificed so that I could put you into that Black Forest. It was all in vain. You… an evil like you… born from the blood of the Advent of Amalgamation… an Archetype…”

Frost was not going to allow him to continue his monologue unprovoked. The brambles of withered trees emerged from the sand to ensnare Iscario. [Biased Verdict] was combined with another round of [World Ablaze], which she used the moment she closed the distance with Iscario.

“I had to bring the incomplete together, so that we could preserve our own microcosms. To aspire and reach greater heights. That way, I was able to become so bright that I still shine even without the light of the Nexus behind me!”

The effect was the equivalent of detonating a bomb beneath him. However, through the twister of flames Frost saw Iscario’s right eye emit a faint glow. His pupil became slitted. It no longer resembled anything belonging to a human.

Then, as Frost’s fist attempted to strike him again, a bloody explosion blocked her attack. The fleshy, wet crunch of bones being broken reverberated through the air.

“Because I had that light to begin with!”

Iscario emerged wearing a half-suit of crimson armor. It was reminiscent of the Red Baron’s Corrupted form, save that it seemed to be fused with half of Iscario’s body. They jutted out like crystal shards along the right side of his body.

|| Adaptive Symbiosis ||

< EFFECT: Increases resistance to consecutive types of attacks, elements, statuses and Stacks by 75% >

“A birthright of my half-Angelic blood. It accounts for my compatibility with the Gifts. I will not corrode like them, nor like you!”

Frost pushed in again, only for the same fleshy explosion to block her. Though she described it to be fleshy, it was more like an exploding crystal. The red waves that were emitted from the repulsion were a condensed stream of red mist.

|| Reactive Armorlysis||

< EFFECT: Sacrifice 1% of total current HP to negate 90% of incoming damage >

Of all the previous Skills Iscario had used from other Ateliers, this was the first time the System had recognized it as a genuine Beholder Skill. This was denoted by the number of ‘||’, before and after the Skill name, which fell in line with the Skills she had seen Beholders use in the past.