Chapter 860 Ater's Game Plan
In chess, there are pieces that exist on the board.
To Ater, his Undead followed a similar concept: he had a Knight, a Rook, and a Bishop.
These were his Knight, Archer, and Mage respectively.
He could use them in a myriad of ways—though limited, based on their specialty. He already had a game plan in his head, and he also knew of the board he would be playing on.
His only challenge… was the opponent.
When playing chess, both sides had equal and identical pieces, with the only thing separating them being skill. However, this game that Ater was involved in greatly differed from the strategic one that offered balance above all else.
There was no such thing as balance here.
Fairness was a foreign concept.
His opponent was neither a Knight, Rook, nor Bishop.
She was a Queen.
No… perhaps even more powerful than one.
As a result of this, he also couldn't be limited by the restrictions placed on his pieces. He had to consider a way to attribute additional characteristics to his three prime pieces—and do so in an unexpected manner.
And what better way to do so than to demote them to the lowest of ranks?
… Mere pawns.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
Ater smiled as he watched everything before him go up in dark purple flames, his crimson eyes enamored by the devastation that faced him.
His three Undead had self-destructed, releasing all the pent-up energy within them at once.
This meant their bodies would never recover, and they were lost to him for good. But, at the same time, it meant the output they sacrificed their lives for would far outscale whatever power they could utilize in their false lifetime.
The joint combustion of the three wasn't Ater's initial plan—at least, not so soon—but it was his last resort.
Even when the other strategies he adopted failed, he was glad that this one at least worked.
And the result was splendid.
"ARRRGHHHHHHH!!!"
Fae screamed as she experienced intense pain. Her body was severely damaged as a result of the contained, but intense explosion.
In order to ensure it dealt as much damage as possible, Ater made sure the blast didn't escape the crater's bounds. And since Fae was floating right above said crater, all that destruction was sent to her directly.
"Kof… Kahh… Argh…" She struggled to breathe as she rushed out of the black smoke that ascended to the sky, her body zig-zagging in the air like a fly that had just been hit with a heavy dose of insecticide.
She was clearly in a very terrible spot.
Most of her body was blackened as a result of the radiation from the purplish black explosion, and one of her two wings had been clipped in half while the second was also lightly damaged.
Her hair was nearly gone, and only one of her eyes was functional.
The armor she had on was also gone, leaving her bare and defenseless as she tried to maintain flight and keep breathing.
The severe burn marks on her body kept eating at her skin, forcing her to scream even louder, even as she kept trying to gulp in fresh air.
"Heal… why can't I heal? Why won't I heal? A-ahh… I can't… I'm not within the border." She muttered, her body shivering as she felt her organs failing.
It was clear to her that she was dying.
Fairies were immortal as long as they were within the barrier of the Fairy Kingdom. If they were ever to take damage outside its borders, the effects of their world wouldn't apply to them.
Still, Fairies hardly left their domain, so there was hardly anything to fear.
Also, because of their dependence on the Kingdom's rejuvenating properties, Fairies never developed any Regeneration or Healing Skills.
The same applied to Fae.
Despite her incredible power and durability, she had no Healing Skills, which meant she had to seek out an external source of regeneration or she would die.
"Must… return! I… need to… arghh…"
As she floated in the direction of the Wall of Trees, she suddenly felt a certain hand grip one of her damaged legs.
"Gaahhh!!" Her injuries stung even more thanks to the applied pressure, forcing the desperate Fae to yelp out in pain.
She turned to glare at the cause of her delay… only to find Ater smiling.
"Looks like you're in a bit of a bind." He spoke, straightening the black tie he now had on.
Compared to her disheveled state, he seemed to be completely fine. He had his signature black suit on, with his hair perfectly combed and his face clear as ever.
He radiated pure handsomeness, while she contrasted this with miserable ugliness.
"Y-YOU…" Her voice wavered as she growled, but he pressed even harder on her leg, forcing her to stop speaking and instead wince in pain.
"Now, now… this isn't the time for blame. I also suffered quite a lot as a result of your actions, you know? Why don't we call it even?" "...."
"What do you say? I'll even apologize for insulting your King." He added. "Honestly, I believe we got off on the wrong foot… wouldn't you say?"
Fae could tell that he was being insincere, and he wasn't even hiding that fact.
He simply wanted to waste even more of her time.
Why?
"I mean, it's just like you imagined…" He grinned, giving her another condescending look.
It shook Fae to the core.
"... We have all the time in the world."
As soon as she heard this, her eyes bulged and she gritted her teeth. At the start of the fight, she had thought he was at a disadvantage since she wasn't pressed for time, and now he had turned the whole thing against her.
But… there was something he hadn't factored in.
"You're right." Despite how painful it was to speak, she responded to him and even gave him a spiteful smile.
"Let's have even more fun…" As she muttered those words, bright sparks of energy danced around her, and she uttered the words that would completely alter the tides of the battle.
"... [FairyLand]."