Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The Bashful Abomination had never felt more attractive to Skullius. It had been a great asset, of course, but it was always an option. Before this, it wouldn\'t have been a stretch to say Skullius held Demion\'s Dance in higher regard than the Bashful Abomination, especially after its awakening during the Premium Age Royale which pretty much saved his, Tallo\'s and Maxim\'s lives against Baddan. This was not to even mention the fact that it hadn\'t finished evolving to its greatest height, as it had held itself back because of the rules of the Premium Age Royale.

And there was also the mystery of Irisa.

In the battle against Rias, when he was given the title of Game Master, Skullius had seen her; after the EverSword heir had conjured the Cluster General and killed him and several other contenders. The Hybrid Luman was certain that Demion\'s Dance\'s awakening, was tied to this somehow.

(Refer to CH.7670.

In any case, the fact was, at the moment, Skullius was riding the high of the Bashful Abomination\'s upgrade, and that was all owed to Vali.

"It\'s pretty neat. I\'ve been able to cheat my way against stronger opponents," Skullius said.

Vali wore a cheeky smile.

"Well, if that was indeed an Incandescent Stager after your ass, and you are here now, I imagine only trickery got you the win," she said, referencing the brief glimpse of Skullius and the bald man she had seen when they fell through the mansion.

"Perhaps."

"Enough with the flirting. You were about to explain what these are?" Maxim butted in while gesturing towards the glow on her neck.

Skullius scratched his chin with a finger. "Hmmm. That\'s right," he said before turning to Viccil who remained dank in her own blood. At once, a golden white glow bathed her whole, and in an instant, her body was healed!

"Wow…" Maxim commented with a brow raised.

Viccil gasped as she shed the bark armor she wore, and frisked herself.

"My wounds… They were quite fatal!" she said in shock.

"Nothing [Gradius Order Halo] can\'t fix," Skullius said. He was amused to see the looks on the four ladies\' faces. Well, he had to sense the surprise from Viccil and Sevill.

"Festos. You mean to tell me…" Vali was the first to voice her inference on the purpose of the golden marks with narrow eyes, but she didn\'t get to finish.

"Yes. It\'s pretty obvious isn\'t it? Whoever is marked is under my protection, plus other benefits," Skullius said with an unrealistic smile.

As he said this, it struck Maxim.

Putting her astonishment about Viccil getting healed aside, she looked up at the girthy, ginormous tree in the distance, above it, an arc of runes, like a crown, and at the end of its branches, scary figures of skulls.

"That… that\'s yours, isn\'t it?" she said with a slight quake in her voice. "I should have realized it before, since the timing couldn\'t have been a coincidence, but we got attacked right after."

Everyone else turned to look at the Graceful Monolith of the Eminent.

Viccil and Sevill had realized that it had to with Skullius when it first bloomed, as had Darwel.

"What is that?" Vali asked as the golden white was reflected in her eyes. She had assumed it had to do with the Sif\'s defense... until she remembered that Skullius had used something like this in the Premium Age Royale!

"Something divine," Skullius explained simply. "What\'s more important, is what it is capable of. I wouldn\'t want you all to be rendered useless just because the caliber of our enemies is quite high. That\'s why I have chosen to give you access to some of my abilities. As long you have that mark, you can use my powers."

…!!!

Only Sevill and Viccil grew excited at the prospect.

Vali and Maxim weren\'t quite sure that was as appealing as it sounded. After all, they had both fought with Skullius before. Maxim was more inclined to believe that what she had just seen Skullius do to opponents that she herself couldn\'t beat earlier, was a product of his soul growing stronger, his stats getting inflated as a result.

What else could he do besides that? What arsenal of skills and abilities could he possibly have acquired while stuck in bed for three days?

"No offense, but… what kind of powers do you have that can make us capable of fighting those monsters on equal grounds? Don\'t get me wrong, I think being able to… share your abilities – like healing – is great but…" Maxim said with a strained face.

Skullius saw that her earlier failure to even land an impactful punch on the bulky Maqian woman had shattered her confidence, and worse, her hope.

He smiled.

"I have several. And minor correction. This isn\'t just a healing skill," Skullius said and the four women immediately felt an explosion of energy bursting through their bodies!

It was like having a stream of cool energy running through your body, just under the skin.

All four women sucked in a deep breath, and… and…

Maxim felt her muscles scream, burning, or rather fuming with zeal. It was as though profound cells had suddenly been born within her, urging her original cells to work better by vomiting onto them what she could only describe as liquid vigour.

"Festos! WHAT IS THIS?!" she was so dumbfounded that she screamed what should have been a calm inquisition.

Vali felt the effects best…or was it worst?

Because of the nature of her technique, Cellular Supremacy, she quite literally felt all her abundant, vivacious cells vibrate with an excess of power, and they multiplied continuously.

Sevill and Viccil had more tame reactions, even if the nature of what was happening to them was the same. They simply looked thrilled. Viccil who had felt the uniqueness of the healing properties that had just bathed her, could understand that it was the same skill causing her to feel such an overflow of power.

What was this skill?

Could it actually be a skill above Special? How was Lord Luminant Festos able to use it when he had a blue mana core? How could she know?

At the same time, the four women felt the influx of knowledge on abilities that weren\'t theirs.

[Graceless Hunter]

[Instant Blaze Charge]

[Bombardier Bangster Fist Art]

[Primal Caution]

[Undaunted Calamity]

[Greatest Mana Manipulation]

[Swordmaster\'s Quiescence]

…

It went on and on.

\'Too bad I can\'t grant them access to my Insurgent Magnus abilities. They\'d need the Fruit of World Myths for that…\' Skullius thought.

As the women guzzled the information in awe, he gathered his plans for them. He wanted to bolster them… to use them in different ways (however lewd that sounded).

He turned to the two Sif who were still visibly stunned.

While sending his intent to the Preeminent Attegoth for the activation of a certain, newly evolved Super skill, he asked them:

"Tell me. What do you know about incarnating?"