THE ZOMBIE SYSTEM-Chapter 72 - 71: Rejected Vessel

"Leon!"

Elise’s voice anchored him as the commander’s consciousness invaded his mind like ice water flooding his skull. Their bond through shared struggle became a lifeline against corruption that threatened to drown his humanity in alien purpose.

Leon fought the commander’s possession from within his own consciousness. His mental landscape became a battlefield where human memories clashed against dimensional knowledge. The entity’s presence felt like molten metal poured directly into his brain.

"You cannot resist," the commander’s voice echoed inside his thoughts. "Your vessel nature makes resistance futile."

"My vessel nature was a lie," Leon replied. "You built it into me. That means I can reject it."

His system interface became the focal point of their struggle. Error messages cascaded across his vision as human programming fought abyssal influence. Lines of code rewrote themselves in real time while conflicting authorities battled for control.

[Vessel Integration: 89%]

[Human Consciousness: 23%]

[Warning: Identity Fragmentation Detected]

[Countermeasures: Activating]

But something unexpected happened. Elise’s healing magic reached into his mind, supporting his resistance with power that bridged life and death. Her evolved abilities could touch consciousness itself, strengthening human memories against dimensional corruption.

"I’m here," Elise whispered directly into his thoughts. "You’re not alone."

Her presence felt like sunlight cutting through winter darkness. The commander’s influence recoiled from areas where her healing magic touched Leon’s consciousness. Life force actively opposed dimensional corruption in ways the entity hadn’t anticipated.

Leon’s undead servants’ loyalty helped ground his identity against the transformation.

The commander’s possession met unexpected resistance from every direction. Instead of claiming a willing vessel, it faced active rebellion supported by bonds the entity couldn’t understand or counter.

Damian’s friendship memories strengthened Leon’s resolve against transformation. Shared experiences from childhood flooded back with crystalline clarity. Racing through Armathor’s streets. Planning their future as legendary hunting partners. The underground tournament where honor had mattered more than victory.

"You’re my friend," Damian’s voice cut through dimensional interference. "That means something."

Leon realized relationships made him stronger, not weaker as the commander had claimed. Every connection to other people became an anchor point for his humanity. Love, friendship, loyalty - these weren’t tactical weaknesses but sources of power that dimensional entities couldn’t replicate.

"You understand nothing about strength," Leon told the invading consciousness. "Power without connection is just destruction."

The commander’s possession began backfiring as Leon’s resistance exceeded all calculations. The entity had prepared for vessel submission or gradual corruption. It hadn’t planned for active rejection supported by genuine human bonds.

Leon could see the commander’s true desperate nature through their mental connection. The entity wasn’t invincible. It was weakening and afraid of failure. This invasion represented a last desperate attempt to establish foothold in their reality.

"Your dimension is dying," Leon realized. "That’s why you need ours."

"Silence!" the commander’s rage shook the mental landscape. "You will serve our purpose!" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

But Leon’s rejection of possession disrupted the commander’s connection to its home dimension. The entity had invested too much of itself in the vessel transformation attempt. Failure would leave it stranded in a reality that actively opposed its existence.

The ancient altar’s power began flowing into Leon instead of the commander. Defensive systems built by forgotten civilizations recognized legitimate need over invasion attempt. Power meant to strengthen dimensional barriers flowed through Leon’s consciousness.

His system interface stabilized as altar energy supported human programming against abyssal corruption:

[Vessel Integration: 34% and Falling]

[Human Consciousness: 78% and Rising]

[Altar Connection: Established]

[Dimensional Anchor: Reversing Polarity]

Leon felt strength flowing through him that belonged to neither life nor death but the balance between them. The altar had been built to maintain dimensional stability, and it recognized him as a defender rather than invader.

"Impossible," the commander hissed as its hold on Leon’s consciousness weakened. "The binding circles were consecrated for our use."

"You built your circles on someone else’s foundation," Leon replied. "And foundations remember their original purpose."

The chamber shook as dimensional energy destabilized around the failing possession attempt. The commander’s true form began manifesting physically as its psychic attack collapsed.

Reality bent around the entity’s emergence like heated metal accepting unwanted shape. Its presence made gravity fluctuate while natural laws struggled to accommodate something that didn’t belong in their universe.

But the manifestation was uncontrolled. Instead of the measured appearance of a confident conqueror, this was panic reaction to unexpected failure. The commander was burning through power reserves it couldn’t afford to lose.

Elise maintained her healing magic despite the strain threatening to kill her. Her evolved abilities supported Leon’s resistance while the altar’s power flowed through both of them. They had become conduits for dimensional defense systems that predated human civilization.

"Leon, can you hear me?" Elise asked as his eyes flickered between human warmth and alien calculation.

"I hear you," Leon replied. "And I choose you. All of you."

His declaration sent shockwaves through the commander’s manifestation. The entity staggered as psychic feedback from the failed possession attempt disrupted its physical form.

Damian and the other hunters pressed their attack while the commander was vulnerable. Weapons that had been ineffective against its stable form now carved deep wounds in dimensional flesh that flickered between states of existence.

The altar’s power reached full activation as Leon’s rejection of vessel transformation completed the reversal process. Instead of facilitating invasion, the chamber now actively repelled dimensional intrusion.

Portal after portal began closing as the altar’s influence spread throughout the city. The commander’s carefully placed binding circles lost their connection to abyssal energy, becoming dead stone once more.

"You have doomed both our realms," the commander said as its form began destabilizing. "Without the bridge, both dimensions will collapse into void."

"Then we’ll find another way," Leon replied. "One that doesn’t require enslavement."

The entity’s manifestation flickered like a dying flame as it prepared for retreat. But instead of withdrawal, desperation drove it toward one final gambit.

Lightning split the sky above Armathor as Chairman Ethella arrived in blazing form. His S-rank storm magic announced his presence to every consciousness in the city. Power that had shaped continental politics for decades focused on the dimensional threat.

"Abyssal entity," Ethella’s voice carried authority that made reality itself listen. "You will withdraw from this dimension immediately."

The Chairman descended like divine judgment. Storm magic crackled around his form while wind currents compressed into visible streams of force. Lightning danced between his fingers as he prepared to engage the commander directly.

But the entity had one card left to play. If it couldn’t claim Leon as vessel, it would demonstrate the consequences of defiance.

The commander’s psychic call reached every monster in the city simultaneously. Crystalline golems abandoned their methodical destruction to converge on the chamber. Aerial demons dove from the sky in coordinated assault. Every creature that had emerged from dimensional portals received a single imperative.

"Destroy the vessel. If I cannot have him, no one will."

The final push for Leon began as every abyssal entity in Armathor moved toward their location with killing intent.

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