Chapter 128 - Why Won't You Just Die?

"Isn't she beyond magnificent? I mean really, look at her. Talent, beauty, grace, wits, ahh…the whole package right there," Harun marveled at Jiyan, unaware that Mukri, the System, and even Birandar, stared at him with disdainful looks. 

"Master…" "Boss…" "Son…" 

"You are simping so hard," the three rebuked the Plague Overlord, who, as if oblivious to their words and looks, kept his eyes fixed on Jiyan—not without merit. Though both improved substantially, as they followed distinct roads, Harun and Jiyan's breakthroughs brought them vastly different boons. Harun's Soul Strength, Kinesis Abilities, Attachment Venom, Essence Control and Mystery Comprehension improved by leaps and bounds. At the same time, he could use an ability similar to Birandar's grief manipulation. On the other hand, thanks to the three Yin Cores powering her, Jiyan's raw abilities had not only received a terrifying boost, but her sensory and attunement skills had grown exponentially as well.

From now on, the speed at which she comprehended Mysteries would leave most top talents in the dust. Harun didn't doubt that both the setting and the quality of Jiyan's Toxic Beast Souls played a crucial role in this result. But at the same time, he couldn't discount the skills that made the refinement and breakthrough possible.

Crossing a Space Portal, Jiyan appeared before Harun. One shouldn't confuse Birandar's Truth Alteration with Jiyan and the Landgraves' Space Portals. Though they achieved the same nigh-instantaneous movement, the former messed with reality while the latter created invisible rifts—opening lightning-fast dimensional roads only Space Controllers could tread. Well, Space Controllers and Heavenly Gods…or any God above that level, really. 

Top tier Mysteries often overlapped with lower-ranked ones—some more than others. Just like the Mystery of Magma could accomplish much of Fire and Earth, the Mystery of Truth could display many of Space and Time's feats. Still, the fundamental principles differed, and many skills required the weaker Mysteries.

"It's rude to stare. But on account of my awesomeness, I will forgive you—keep going," Jiyan ran one hand through her hair and said in a natural tone. Seeing this, Harun lost all adoration, evaded eye contact, and grimaced like a grade-schooler before a tedious math exam. "Give them an inch…shame on you. That said…" The grimace made way for seriousness, and the silver-blue moon on Harun's forehead glittered. 

"Time to cleanup the Landgrave Assembly and seize the genuine loot. I must feast by tomorrow midnight," a resplendent full moon appeared at the Plague Overlord's back, and his size shrank as he went from a strapping young man to an inoffensive-looking baby boss. Crossing his arms behind his back, baby Harun activated his Eye of Luminous Treasures, looking past the mine's artifices to spot its greatest treasure: the Abyssal River. But as the boss's focus peaked, Birandar's eyes squinted at the oversized sleeves and tiny frame, "Master, why are you so small?" the youth blurted out.

Smacked by Harun's left sleeve an absurd strength, Birandar crashed into a cavern wall and directly fainted. At first, knowing the rules of the Birusk clan, Mukri wanted to close his mouth. But too slow to save the day, the bull couldn't prevent young Birandar from committing this fatal mistake.

Initially, Harun believed that he'd vanquished the Art of the Decaying Flower's curse. And on the surface he did. Not only did he possess a normal appearance and height, but he could use the Mystery of Life to modify his looks as he pleased. However, each time he summoned a full moon, he'd drop right back to baby boss mode. Too lazy to fix himself every goddamn time, Harun opted to just smack the shit out of all inconsiderate mouths. 

Though, in this case, he also sent Birandar a mental message. 

"Hm, hm, Mukri, put the boy on your back. Jiyan dearest, can you teleport us to the Landgraves' headquarters?"

"I can't carry people across my portals yet. And are you sure you shouldn't check on Mehran? If they can't have their way with the Dark Stone City, the Landgraves might take drastic measures." No one doubted that, sooner or later, the Landgraves would sense the Dark Stone City's peace and attempt to shatter it. Jiyan didn't believe that Mehran alone could handle the situation. But thanks to the Karmic Link now uniting them, Harun thought otherwise. 

"Nah, my little bro got that covered. It will be an opportunity for him to stretch his limbs," Harun replied, and as Mukri tossed Birandar onto his back, the Plague Overlord stepped forward. "That aside, I guess we can only do this the old-fashioned way. With me, fellas." A spine-chilling, dark-blue aura erupted from Harun's tiny form, and by the time Mukri had completed his assignment, Harun and Jiyan were already several kilometers away. With a shrill cry, the bull raced after them. But even his Devil Essence didn't allow him to keep up with their ludicrous speed. At the end of the day, poor Mukri was only Celestial-Guard-level in cultivation. He was already trying his best. 

…

Meanwhile, the Landgrave Assembly watched two projections: the Dark Stone City and Harun's group. Initially, believing that similar results awaited at either side, they evenly split their attention between the two. Soon, though, it became clear that one deserved a lot more attention. Never once would the Sanguine Dolls consider assisting their fellows. Nevertheless, they couldn't let them drag their unholy names through the mud, either. But by the time they realized they needed to step in, skulls had been crushed already. 

"They've killed…two of us?" The 15th and 16th Landgrave asked one another, as if seeking confirmation in the other's gaze. They weren't the only ones finding the scene hard to swallow. From the 13th to the 24th, all Landgraves clenched their throne's arms. The 25th and 26th turned to the 27th, whose twisting face spoke tales of his annoyance. "How troublesome. Why won't you just die?" He inwardly said.

As his closest kin, the 25th and 26th knew something amiss. "If his existence bothers you that much, why not just kill him?" They probed. "Because I'm not stupid. She'll never forgive me." He directly replied. The two instantly thought of their mother. Yet, something in their brother's tone made them feel that he spoke of someone else. 

"I don't like him either. If you want we…"

BANG!

A ringing blast cut the 25th Landgrave mid-talk. The ceiling collapsed, and to the Assembly's horror, Harun's group—which they still saw on their screen—dropped from high above.

Many of the Landgraves' eyes shifted between the screen, which just played their two brothers' deaths, and baby Harun, who led a berserk charge into their headquarters. Even Weeping Soul who, trapped in a blood bubble, hovered above the Abyssal River, seemed dumbstruck—not knowing what to believe. Harun made the choice simple. 

Laced with paradoxical auras where Life and Death intertwined, pitch-black, elastic conifers sprouted from the ground, and wrapped around the 13th, 15th and 16th Landgraves. Immediately, they felt their life-force and destructive abilities drop at a distressing pace. As if the conifers not only robbed their energies, but eroded their stainless bodies as well.

Faster than their siblings, the 18th and above escaped the blossoming trees, but slower than the rest, the 18th still fell for the formless, odorless pollen gas emitted from the trees' cone-shaped leaves. Unable to evaluate the gas, his golden lightning bolts didn't kick in, leaving the 18th defenseless to its debilitating effects. Losing control of his body, the 18th Landgrave sank right back into the conifers' grasp. 

Harun appeared above him, multicolored-flames gushed out, and the Plague Overlord rammed his fist through the 18th Landgrave's skull—pulverizing it in a single blow.

As if he'd never been unconscious to begin with, Birandar leaped off Mukri's back, landed before the crippled 13th Landgrave, and blasted open his head with a direct palm strike.

Jiyan shot at the 16th, stabbed through his crystal, teleported to the 15th—and slew him as well. 

One entrance, four dead dolls. Team Birusk thus arrived at the Landgrave Assembly's headquarters—drawing the insufferable Sanguine Dolls' full attention. Realizing that it played tricks, the 27th Landgrave glanced at Birandar's third eye. Indeed, even as he smacked the boy, Harun gave him clear directives—making him use his third eye to delay their enemies' perception of the events by several seconds. 

"Snakes will be snakes. Now, now, what should I do?" The 27th whispered, and flashed Harun an odd, forced smile.