Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest Chapter 2022: Mark

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"Even after turning myself into an armor, I still am lacking..." Norman sighed heavily, staring down at his cracked and heavily damaged armor-like form. Large fractures ran across his skeletal structure, and pieces of his protective plating hung loosely. "I need to repair myself quickly or... huh?"

The brief stillness of their hard-won victory proved short-lived.

Norman’s gleaming eye sockets locked onto the lower half of the Hollow. The mass of dark flesh began to twitch and shift. Slowly, it pushed itself upright once more. Black tendrils tipped with blinking eyes burst outward from its body in every direction, pulsing rapidly as they twisted and merged. Within moments they formed a massive arm ending in a giant hand. A single enormous eye opened in the center of the palm and fixed its gaze on the two exhausted fighters.

The giant hand began to move, lifting high into the air and aiming directly toward them.

"It’s not dead?! Sailor! Sailor, wake up!" Norman’s voice rose in panic. In his current state he could barely move at all. "Sailor!!!"

Sailor gave no response. Completely drained of energy, he had already passed out where he lay. With his reserves so thoroughly emptied, there was little chance he would wake anytime soon.

A wide, creepy grin formed across the Hollow’s upper body, shaped from writhing flesh tendrils that twisted into the shape of a hand.

The creature was laughing.

Despair flooded through Norman as he struggled to move. His bones rattled loudly against one another. His soul surged and strained, desperately trying to force his body to act like a living being once more. Yet he could not. He still lacked the practice and the experience needed to control this form under such pressure.

"No...! No...! Please...! Please don’t!"

As he begged, the Hollow’s laughter only grew louder and more mocking. A massive jaw split open across the palm of its giant hand, stretching all the way down its arm and into its lower body. Thousands of sharp, glistening fangs lined the interior of the maw.

"Sailor...! I’m sorry...!"

Norman cried out, the weight of failure pressing down on him as he felt himself on the verge of giving up.

The giant jaws closed in. Sharp fangs sank into Norman’s bones and into Sailor’s flesh. Agonizing pain overwhelmed them both as their souls were bitten and their entire beings were dragged toward the waiting darkness inside the creature’s mouth. The warm, wet interior and the crushing pressure of those closing fangs became the last things they experienced before eternal darkness claimed them.

The almighty cry of a phoenix tore through the void.

A massive explosion of light and heat shattered the darkness. Brilliant flames erupted in every direction and washed over the battlefield.

"?!"

"!!!"

Sailor and Norman snapped awake in pure disbelief. They found themselves flying backward through the air. Ahead of them stood a giant skeleton clad in fiery red armor, its dual blades raised high. With one powerful motion the undead warrior had split the Hollow cleanly in half.

They recognized him instantly.

"Mark!!!"

The skeleton turned his blazing eye sockets toward them in silence. Both of his swords glowed intensely with roaring Soul Flames.

"Well done hanging in there! I’ll take it from here!"

Mark’s voice thundered across the area. His aura exploded outward and took the form of a massive phoenix. Fiery wings sprouted from his back and flapped with tremendous force, launching him forward at blinding speed. In a single second he swung both swords downward with overwhelming strength, unleashing dozens of rapid, precise cuts.

Mark’s Unique Skill, gained after he became an Undead, was known as Soul of Eternal Flames. This ability allowed his flames to absorb energy from anything they burned, whether living or dead, and rapidly convert that energy into explosive, blazing power within his soul.

The Hollow hissed in pain as it was carved into countless pieces. Those pieces quickly fused back together and began absorbing Mark’s flames on their own, transforming the creature into an aberrant, humanoid form wreathed in fire.

"Persistent, aren’t you?"

Mark remained completely unfazed. He swung both blades once more and channeled Soul of Eternal Flames. The skill had already grown to Tier 4 since he first obtained it. At this level the flames that formed his soul and powers had evolved far beyond their original state. They were transforming Mark into something closer to a pure spirit of flames, a divine flame spirit.

The burning power within his soul now resembled an endless inferno, far larger and more intense than before. Those flames compressed tightly into a single core deep inside him.

This was the next evolution of his power.

A massive Nucleus formed entirely of Soul Flame Plasma, glowing like a miniature sun. Mark poured every ounce of his strength into his blades. As he swung them downward with the full force of his undead might, a descending phoenix of pure fire erupted from the swords.

Both blades struck true. Flames exploded outward in a brilliant pillar of light that stretched high into the heavens and beyond.

The flames expanded with breathtaking beauty, transforming into thousands of fiery birds that swarmed the monster and bombarded it without mercy. The relentless heat burned through the Hollow’s regeneration, its adaptability, and even its copy abilities. None of them could keep up.

The monstrous Hollow released an agonizing final cry as its entire body was vaporized. The countless souls sealed inside it were released in rapid succession, fading away one after another the moment the creature finally dropped dead.

"Haaa... I did it," Mark sighed in deep relief as he walked toward his companions. "It’s gone now, completely. You two are in a terrible state. Stay right there..."

Mark’s powers had evolved tremendously since he became an Undead. His new skill, combined with Elayne’s help and the Spirit Heart resting within his chest, allowed him to draw upon his former abilities once more. As Gardenia had explained, his soul had mixed with everything he once possessed. His shattered spirit heart, his spirits, his skills, and even the souls of his equipment had all merged together, creating a unique and powerful combination.

Drawing on that mixture, Mark channeled the healing properties hidden within his flames. Deep inside him still remained traces of the Phoenix Nature from the Phoenix Spirit he had once summoned and contracted. That spirit had become a permanent part of him.

When mixed with Nether energy, the flames took on a soft blueish glow. In this form they could heal even the undead instead of reducing them to ashes.

"M-Mark, you saved us, man..." Sailor muttered weakly.

"Really, thanks," Norman added, his voice filled with gratitude.

"You’re still going to stay as armor?!" Sailor asked in shock, staring at his companion’s current form.

"Looks like Norman turned into your armor," Mark observed with clear interest. "That’s amazing. I had no idea you could do that, Norman. Well done on protecting him."

"Thank you, Mark. I did all I could," Norman replied. "But you are the real amazing one here. You did something incredible. I am eternally grateful."

"Haha, no need," Mark answered with a kind laugh. "Unfortunately, my healing magic cannot return you to your former self. Can’t you do it yourself?"

"That Hollow ate a piece of my core, so I lack the strength to return," Norman sighed. "For the time being I will be stuck like this. I hope you aren’t too bothered, Sailor."

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