Chapter 777 The Blackened Emperor

"Alex… you know that I am still your ally. But for this time, please let me be free for now. This might worsen my image to you, but come on, we are friends. Surely you will forgive me too, right?"

The temptation for her freedom defeated Professor Frances' self-preservation tactics, thus she did not hesitate to unleash her arrow on Alex.

"Swoos.h.!.+"

The arrow flew unimpeded through the emptiness of s.p.a.ce, and straight towards Alex, who only bared his teeth in anger as the object drew closer to his mangled torso.

"Thunk!"

With his body unable to move due to his heavy injuries, Alex could only watch in rage as the projectile gouged his remaining body parts, which took pieces of his flesh and soul into the oblivion.

"Argh!" Alex on his own was already mad enough, but the additional injury that he just incurred has spurned his madness further.

"You b**ch! You dare attack me like this? Did you even forget who I am? Argh! You are –̶̹̀̌̇̎d̷͉̼̦̜̑̽k̷̲͇̟̾͂̉͝f̵̬͙̕ d̸̤͝l̵͚̮͖̍̅ k̵̞̱̬̣͋̕j̶͕̻̳͊̍a to me!" More tentacles and eyes sprouted from behind Alex at this point, as if his rage was fueling their malignant growth.

"Argh!!!! You are dead to me! I will 2̶̲̩͐́ô̶̞͉̙̏̒ i̵͖̤̋3̵̙̓̓̈́̂ 2̸̗͍́̃͂o̵̢̘̟͌̊͋i̶͉̝̯̅͒̀ and w̴̠̻̉́ọ̸̋̋͊̚ ȩ̴̳̰̉̒͠ǐ̸͍̙̥̃ů̷̝͙̯̎̾̓ͅ r̴̪͌͌͗̇o̶̘͆̈̈́̍į̵̫͖̘̒ě̸̥̃̑̉ r̷̞̤͒̈́͠you!"

Pus and blackened blood flowed freely from these new appendages, which then mixed together as they made contact with his mangled body.

"k̵͕͖̞̥̊j̶̢̺͙̥̔̊̚d̵̮̋̐̋ f̵̟̩̀̉l̴̢̤̰͉͝k̷̫͆͂̀́ ḍ̵̘͛̒s̴̙̝̯͔̔f̶̧͓̗̖̍ l̵͇̃̈́͒k̷͚͇̉s̶̜̘̉̾̕ d̶͍̄̑̌̆j̷̬͇̒̈́͜l̶̞̈͗̚ !̸̦̀̀!̵̤͙̮̿͘͝!̸̩̮̜̩̃"

Holes and golden blood poured from this mixture, with pollen-like rocks shooting out of Alex's wound and skin.

"k̵͕͖̞̥̊j̶̢̺͙̥̔̊̚d̵̮̋̐̋ f̵̟̩̀̉l̴̢̤̰͉͝k̷̫͆͂̀́ ḍ̵̘͛̒s̴̙̝̯͔̔f̶̧͓̗̖̍ l̵͇̃̈́͒k̷͚͇̉s̶̜̘̉̾̕ d̶͍̄̑̌̆j̷̬͇̒̈́͜l̶̞̈͗̚ !̸̦̀̀!̵̤͙̮̿͘͝!̸̩̮̜̩̃"

These changes created an imagery of a rotten beehive, one that appeared to be melting under Alex's raging temper.

"k̵͕͖̞̥̊j̶̢̺͙̥̔̊̚d̵̮̋̐̋ f̵̟̩̀̉l̴̢̤̰͉͝k̷̫͆͂̀́ ḍ̵̘͛̒s̴̙̝̯͔̔f̶̧͓̗̖̍ l̵͇̃̈́͒k̷͚͇̉s̶̜̘̉̾̕ d̶͍̄̑̌̆j̷̬͇̒̈́͜l̶̞̈͗̚ !̸̦̀̀!̵̤͙̮̿͘͝!̸̩̮̜̩̃"

This mixture is already horrifying on its own, but the way that they dripped like mola.s.ses on his skin made them appear unrealistic and full of danger.

"k̵͕͖̞̥̊j̶̢̺͙̥̔̊̚d̵̮̋̐̋ f̵̟̩̀̉l̴̢̤̰͉͝k̷̫͆͂̀́ ḍ̵̘͛̒s̴̙̝̯͔̔f̶̧͓̗̖̍ l̵͇̃̈́͒k̷͚͇̉s̶̜̘̉̾̕ d̶͍̄̑̌̆j̷̬͇̒̈́͜l̶̞̈͗̚ !̸̦̀̀!̵̤͙̮̿͘͝!̸̩̮̜̩̃! Come here and let me touch you! I will make you experience real pain!"

"W̷̢̓͗̇͋ͅ*̵̻̫̞̠̀̽̿(̴̬̪͈͋̃̐̈́ #̴͇͐̓͗̂@̶̼̦̳̠̉̀͌͊ u0026̷̹͎̤͈͋̆̈́@̷͇͓̎͌̈(̶̝̒͛͒̊ *̷̢̪͂́͝#̶͍̐̑̔͐~̶̨͖̠̩̔͗͒"

"W̷̢̓͗̇͋ͅ*̵̻̫̞̠̀̽̿(̴̬̪͈͋̃̐̈́ #̴͇͐̓͗̂@̶̼̦̳̠̉̀͌͊ u0026̷̹͎̤͈͋̆̈́ @̷͇͓̎͌̈(̶̝̒͛͒̊ *̷̢̪͂́͝#̶͍̐̑̔͐~̶̨͖̠̩̔͗͒"

"W̷̢̓͗̇͋ͅ*̵̻̫̞̠̀̽̿(̴̬̪͈͋̃̐̈́ #̴͇͐̓͗̂@̶̼̦̳̠̉̀͌͊ u0026̷̹͎̤͈͋̆̈́@̷͇͓̎͌̈(̶̝̒͛͒̊ *̷̢̪͂́͝#̶͍̐̑̔͐~̶̨͖̠̩̔͗͒"

While most of Alex's malignant growth focused on excreting these disgusting fluids, which Professor Frances found a little too interesting, others went a different but still frightening way.

"l̷̥͖͈͑̓̌k̸͙̲̗̈j̷̢̯͚̆͌́̈́s̸͙͆̋̚ d̷̮̊̐̑f̸̥̙̳͆͂ḽ̷̣̔͜͝ķ̴͕̪̃d̵̯͚̺̥̒͛ j̷̡͙́̈́̉ş̸̭̍͌͂͝f̶̨͎̃͝l̷̤̘̻͊ k̴̦̉́s̵͕͙̑́j̶̬͗́ d̷̨̻͗l̷̞̻̼̄k̸̬̲̆̔̕ f̶̨͖̌j̸̠͌̉d̸̖̤̦͈͘s̸͇̼͗̄̈́l!!!!"

Some of the rotten appendages curled themselves above Alex's head, creating a ma.s.sive crown that reached the height of a planet. Blackened stars rotated around the crown, with gray comets and asteroids materializing as the crown's 'jewels'.

Below the crown, a ring made up of dead s.p.a.ce creatures could be seen, which Alex wore on his forehead like a royal bandana.

Blood could be seen flowing out from these dead beings, which Alex drank greedily through his mangled mouth.

"3̵͙̺̰̻̆̋ǒ̵͎͖̈́͌̈́i̶̞͚̓́ u̵̳̽͒̉͆4̸̱̭̗̏̋̽͐ ớ̶̳̓į̴̬͕͊̚͜ 3̸̹̞̯͆̿͝͝2̵͇͒̂͝u̷͔͌ 4̶͖̌̃ỡ̵̳̾î̵̢̠̞̥2̷̫͗̽͜ͅ u̶̝̟͚͒̈́͛͜o̷̧͖̎͆̾3̶͕̻͐ í̷͙͒̚u̵͙̕̚4̶̗͓̲͊!!!!"

This appearance change is more than enough to exemplify Alex's already tyrannical form, which the man himself appeared to enjoy, even in his pained state.

"Hahaha! This s**t hurts a lot, but I am still an Emperor! So don't expect that this will affect me for long! I will recover, and once that happens, I will make you suffer the most!"

**************

Overall, these changes in Alex's appearance made it apparent that he has lost any semblance of hospitality to the professor, a fact that the latter quickly realized, much to her relief and panic.

"That attack is enough to destroy the soul of a Fifth Stage Being, yet Alex was only hurt by it. Which is good, but it just made him apoplectic with rage. Which is then bad for me…." The professor uttered morosely as she moved backwards, with her hands drenched in blood. "I even used some of my life force for that attack, and Alex still tanked it…"

The professor was extremely close to unleas.h.i.+ng another attack after seeing Alex's enraged state, but she kept a tight hold on her body, knowing that she could not just make any sudden moves at this point.

What more can she do towards an Alex who was obviously beyond any sense of reason at this time? Another attack is just an invitation towards a quick death…

"Sigh, I just tried this 'backstabbing' thing now, and I still failed on it? What a shame for a crazy woman like me…."

**************

Professor Frances sounded and looked disappointed at this point, but there was an expression of interest in her face, as if she saw something more interesting than her dangerous situation.

"I really want to touch those limbs that gave Alex that crown, but I don't think Alex will be happy to have me close."

"Tsk, I am sure he will try killing me once I am within his range…"

"…"

"Ugh, just one touch will be enough, yet there is no way I can do that now…"

With her life in the line, Professor Frances tried to not ogle at the monstrous limbs that decorated Alex's body. She also tried to ignore how good they appeared, and she did her best to not marvel at their perfect form.

This proved to be a monumental task for her, as her twisted mind wanted nothing more right now but to touch those monstrous constructs.

"…Tsk, I would love to have a feel for those new limbs, but I think it is time for me to already skadoodle today. Ugh, I should have brought my mobile lab with me here!"

Professor Frances knew those things could lead to her next bodily upgrades, but she valued her life more right now. And the fact that she and Alina still had a lot of things to do in this place made her less willing to mess with Alex right now.

"Alex is already beyond rationality, and I am sure it will only take him one swipe to kill me…."

One attack by Professor Frances was surprisingly enough to hurt Alex, but she was not willing to tempt fate by making more attacks.

Sure, there is a high chance that she could give Alex more injuries if she continues attacking, which could allow her to obtain a sample of his limbs, but both of them could actually die if she escalates the situation….

"Er… Sprites… whatever you are doing, just keep on doing it. I don't care why you want to hurt your owner now, but I want you to keep on doing it, ok? Just take as much time as you want while I run the f**k away from here…"

Without waiting for the reply that she's not too willing to hear, Professor Frances once more spun on the spot, this time with her body 100% prepared to shoot away.

**************

FROM AN UNKNOWN SPOT IN THE ANCESTRAL TOMB.

While Professor Frances was busy dealing with the fallout from the Abyss Sprites' rebellion, a certain existence noticed the commotion, which prompted 'It' to stare at the event with interest.

[[Interesting…..]] The existence, whose location could not be discerned for some kind of reason, was observing the fight between Alex and the professor with rapt attention.

[[So the intruders of this land had already started infighting? And the ones who started it are actually allies? How crude of them….]]The creature's voice rumbled like a ma.s.sive explosion as it talked, which generated countless waves of destruction that crumbled the planets that surrounded it.

The dust from this crumbling also disappeared, as if their existence was also wiped by the creature's voice too.

[[Hm? And one of the perpetrators are about to run away after that attack? What a despicable way to face your actions!]]

s.p.a.ce and time were also included in the ravage, creating floating potholes that could easily kill someone at the Fifth Stage.

[[Tsk, and here I thought this woman can be a suitable mate for me…]]

Energy was also out of sync at this point, resulting in explosions that managed to be even worse that the destroyed s.p.a.ce-Time fabric.

[[…Oh, and there are more of them fighting with each other at the West and East Sections? What is wrong with them? Don't they even know that their task here is to prevent the apocalypse from happening? Seriously, this batch has managed to be even worse than the last one….]]

The damage that the creature created was extensive enough, that someone like Alex or the other Travelers should have detected it.

But the creature's stirrings alerted n.o.body at all, as if its existence was hidden even from the fabric of the Ancestral Tomb.