Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 988. The Plight of A Fallen Beholder

Fallen Beholder Arata

< The Hasteful Departer >

GIFT FROM A STAR: Aching Departure

< Gone before we knew it. The weight of responsibility hangs high. That price will be paid in full >

LEVEL : 250ORIGIN : HumanHP : 35,000,000

ATT : 230,000MAG ATT : 120,000ATT DEF : 100,000MAG DEF : 100,000MP : 500,000

RESIST : 600AGI : 20 (+430)

Cer considered herself lucky.

The foe she was up against was no Corrupted, nor a Star or a fellow Moon.

It was a Beholder; one that retained a semblance of their Beholder Skills. Had this been a fully powered Beholder of the Nexus, then she doubted that she’d still be alive after the first engagement.

But would she have still run up to protect one of Frost’s beloved Moons?

“Heh. As the Fang of the Head, I can chomp at any Beholder’s ass because that’s my DUTY!”

Her fingers dug into the gaps between the Fallen Beholder’s ribs as she bolted through the desert. An electric pulse propelled her forward.

The moment the Beholder attempted to divert their direction, the pulse would counter it, like how one would allow the other team to pull in a game of tug of war to lose their footing.

“Speed… Nearing… Serum… S’… level… Preposterous…”

“Better speak faster! You’re on track to die before you can finish up!”

Cer wasn’t immune to these attacks. 230,000 ATT and 120,000 MAG ATT was no small feat to fend off.

She also had ten times less HP compared to the Beholder.

LIGHT : 7TEMPERED : Third StateFang of The Head

Cer

< Electric Certus >

AWAKENED Soul Rank: Glimmer | Affiliation: The Head

LEVEL : 245ORIGIN : Demi-Human (Wolf)

HP : 3,200,000ATT : 35,000MAG ATT : 35,000ATT DEF : 12,000 (+5,000)MAG DEF : 12,000 (+5,000)

MP : 600,000

RESIST : 2,100AGI : 165

Thus, a prolonged battle was disadvantageous to her.

Her base speed was not enough to match the Fallen Beholder’s impressive 450 AGI. Despite this discrepancy, she was able to exceed her speed and land potent electric bites.

These bites were Absolution-empowered [Electric Fangs]. Second State Absolution brought her damage up to an incredible 420,000 ATT and MAG ATT respectively. The electrical aberrations gnawed at the exposed ribs of the Fallen Beholder as Cer kept her close.

< [OO] Fang of The Electric Moon [OO] >

< EFFECT: Absolution version of the Electric Fang. Your maw produces electrical aberrations. Deal 12x base ATT and MAG ATT. MAG ATT damage is converted into pure ATT damage. Multiplier varies depending on your Emotional State. Extremely effective against Qliphoth Fields >

The fact that the woman’s bones did not shatter, and that her HP was going down suspiciously slowly confirmed to her that she possessed a Qliphoth Field of some capacity. It was stronger than Raoul’s.

But that did not matter here.

Not when Cer was an Awakened with enough Light to effortlessly pierce through Qliphoth Fields. Each attack she dealt had interacted with a faint membrane that attempted to repel her attacks. It created a kaleidoscope of colors, as though they were malfunctioning in the presence of her Light.

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“Would you look at that! My hands go right through!” She laughed, dragging the Beholder across the desert floor.

Were it not for the Qliphoth Field and the Beholder’s DEF stats, then her bones would have been sanded off.

“Power… From… A… Mere… Moon…?”

“Not just any Moon! You’re up against the real deal! Never a Moon move this fast!? Heh.”

< [OOO] Enigmatic Current [OOO] >

< EFFECT: Absolution III version of Galvanic Current. Increases current total AGI by 175% >

This brought her AGI up to 453, hence why she was faster than the Beholder. The 23 AGI difference determined the hare from the tortoise, and Cer exploited this by striking the same spot repeatedly with each passing clash.

“Not… Going… To… Remain… Close…?”

“You’re unarmed! Staying too close for too long means you’ve got some close quarters shenanigans up your sleeves! Straight away I can tell that you use your body as a battering ram! But what good is that when your target is just as:!”

“Silence foolish Moon!”

The Fallen Beholder threw themselves forward, attempting to slam into Cer. This attack was guaranteed to Stagger anyone with lower AGI than them.

Furthermore, their AGI temporarily rose to 600. This was right after a blue flash glowed within their chest cavity.

It had also allowed the Beholder to speak at a normal tempo.

But this attack was perfectly parried by Cer.

The halo above her head glowed with an incandescent light.

“Lesser Serum S…? Did not work. That is 560 AGI…”

“You should’ve let me finish!”

A series of Absolution-empowered Electric Fangs assailed the Fallen Beholder as she grabbed them by their rib cage again. Sparks of electricity were channeled through that arm as well to deal further damage.

HP : 28,349,000

In the meantime, she dragged the Beholder off across the sands. The purpose was no more than to humiliate them. After all, how often did Cer get to fight a Beholder like this? Let alone showcase superiority in precisely what that Beholder specialized in?

Never.

“560 AGI? How cute. Try 600!”

What Cer had used was an Awakened Skill: [Warp Speed]. This allowed her to move at Warp-speed levels at the cost of 1 Light.

This speed was indistinguishable from teleportation.

“Not bad, huh? 600 AGI’s pretty fast!”

A vile emotion brewed within the recesses of the Fallen Beholder.

“A mere Moon… Able to manifest a speed that I spent hundreds of years searching for in that Library!”

Cer smirked, only further enraging the Fallen Beholder.

“I REFUSE TO BELIVE IT!”

The color within chest glowed brighter again.

“You can’t begin to comprehend speed. Never without knowing what it means to abandon all burdens!”

This time, her AGI reached an astounding 970. Being struck by an object moving this fast would guarantee over a million damage. And that was Cer being generous. In the split second that Cer recognized what was happening, her halo emitted an even brighter glow.

The Fallen Beholder, who expected to watch the Moon’s head tear right off their torso upon impact, was rendered speechless when she found that they had not only managed to evade their attack–

“970 isn’t a bad number. I know for a fact that the real deal is much faster than that.”

–Cer was behind her.

The Beholder glanced back, her featureless face demanding: “How long have you been following me for!?”

“But you’re a washed up Fallen Beholder.” She spoke bluntly and grabbed her ankles.

Then, she crushed her lower limbs.

“No chance of redemption for you. The Amalgam will never see any light besides the dull glow in that skull of yours! Hey, when the Nexus sent you down here, that was the memo to die!”

The electric fangs severed through the ethereal veins that ran through the Fallen Beholder’s bone marrow. It gushed like a loose flame flickering out of a gun barrel, and she followed up with a brand-new attack.

An electric fang hung overhead, attached to her halo. Rows of electric teeth gnashed at the air as sparks exploded from the maw, like the saliva of a salivating wolf.

“Now you’ve crawled your way back like a cockroach!”

She then sent a devastating overhead slash. Unlike how [Electric Fang] was traditionally used as a close to medium ranged attack, this was used like a physical weapon.

< [OOO] The Maw of the Electric Moon [OOO] >

< EFFECT: Absolution III version of the Electric Fang. Your maw produces an electric aberration that will remain fixed above you. You may use it as a physical weapon. Tear out a piece of the target. Deal 20x base ATT and MAG ATT. MAG ATT is converted into pure ATT damage. Multiplier varies depending on your Emotional State. Significantly effective against Qliphoth Fields >

< ATT : 1,400,000 >

Cer unleashed a Skill equivalent to that of a low-level Beholder Skill. It sent the Fallen Beholder plummeting into the ground with a dull thud. A crater spanning one hundred meters formed as Cer unleashed an electric field, mostly because of the catharsis she felt for managing to hurl a Beholder around like a ball.

“Heh. Nah. Not a ball. You’re a roach.”

Her boots crushed the boney hands that reached towards the red portal.

The Desolate Stars, the Vermilion Moons, and the Rogue Moons stared in utter disbelief.

They knew Cer was a Moon. She had even called herself that. But they were second guessing themselves now. Was it a ruse to get the Fallen Beholder to lower their guard?

How could have a Moon defeated a Fallen Beholder?

They were still a Beholder despite how weak they had become.

HP : 11,200,000

“Running away from your own problems isn’t going to fix anything. Try running at me again.” Cer laughed.

She realized that her attack had shattered the Qliphoth Field entirely. Now, she was able to remove the arms and legs from the Fallen Beholder, leaving them to bake in the starless world.

“Why… Have… you… not… finished… me… off?” The Fallen Beholder sought to understand her intentions.

Her chest glowed blue as Cer opened her mouth.

“Nope.”

Cer stomped her foot into the Beholder’s chest, cracking through her ribs. The Fallen Beholder had attempted to flee the moment she sensed Cer had tried to answer her. But unbeknownst to the Beholder was that Cer was a master at being grimy.

In part because she was grimy herself.

But the other…

“Wow. You can tell who lived a good life by the way they think they still have the upper hand. Slight of hands, distractions, all this jester shit. You think a wolf who grew up in the backwaters of Grandis wouldn’t know a thing or two about it?”

Cer crouched beside her, sighing:

“Can’t blame you. You don’t know me. But I sure as hell know what you are. I was wondering what Serum S was about. Speed. But for what? Looking at the flavor text, how you tried to run away, and your privileged life reeks of cowardice.”

“… Cowardice… Is… Not… The… Same… As… Comfort…”

“Believe what you want.” Cer shrugged. “You’re running away at the end of the day.”

“Why… Am… I…”

“Because you were not my prey to begin with.”

Cer became impatient. Having to hear this Beholder talk like they couldn’t walk two steps without hyperventilating irritated her to no end. Ironically, it dealt more damage to her than any of the Beholder’s attacks.

“I was prepping you. Prepping. As in seasoning you with grains of sand. Cooking you up and carving you to the right proportions.” She then glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the Vermilion Moons. “Oh, and save them. Can’t forget about that.”

“Preparing…? Could it be…?”

Terror. The Beholder immediately knew what Cer was referring to.

Her body rocked. The ribs gnawed at Cer’s ankles, but she began plucking them away like petals with fingers surrounded by Light.

“Well, the Amalgam’s gonna want you. What, you thought you wouldn’t get eaten? Good joke~”

Cer bared her fangs.

Her tone suddenly deepened as her eyes glimmered with a faint speckle of gold.

Her fingers cracked into the Beholder’s skull.

“It’d be funny if you didn’t try to kill a Moon. Hey. Moons. From the other side. Rogue Moons.”

“U-Us…?” The ten Rogue Moons shuffled forward, unsure of what their fate was in the hands of Cer.

“Yes. The lot of you. Start rounding up those Stars.” She commanded. “Hello? You gonna move or what?”

The Rogue Moons looked at the Stars.

The Stars’ faces twisted with hatred, and they promised severe punishment. It caused them to hesitate, and their breaths to hitch. But when they looked at the spent Vermilion Moons, and then, at each other, they came to a silent agreement and began dragging the injured Stars aside.

“… You… traitors…” A Star croaked.

“We’re choosing the path that leads to the least amount of pain.”

Was all the Rogue Moons could reply with.

“I didn’t get to go all out. Maybe next time I can show you what 2,400 AGI looks like.” Cer grinned smugly. “Just realizing it now? You never stood a chance. Not sure how traitor Stars and Fallen Beholders are a threat to the Nexus when you’re this weak. I guess the real value comes from your Gift.”

The Beholder and the Stars had never suffered such humiliation before. Even when they were sent off on Iron Coffins, it was done under a sermon. This wolfwoman ensured that they knew where they stood.

And that place was beneath her boot, splattered like a squashed bug.

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