Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Great sparks exploded when Cogent Stark Order met the halberd. It sank deeper into the ocean of darkness, disappearing from sight.

"You wench!" Ashema cried, but he didn't dare rush into the Territory. Not yet.

He couldn't believe it. What kind of magical construct was this? How could it almost overwhelm the entirety of the Under?

While his face contorted in rage, his thoughts spinning, the four Divine beings he had sent to deal with Pherdanta felt the same while within the Territory.

Contrary to Ashema's beliefs, Pherdanta hadn't engaged them yet. Shortly after they entered her Territory, she had dissolved into it and gone into hiding. But it wasn't a note of cowardice on her part, after all, she had made sure the Divine beings couldn't leave.

They had dared to enter her Territory, and thus, it was only courteous for them to stay while she finished her preparations. Said preparations were also a part of why the Divine beings couldn't warp or fly out of Cogent Stark Order, as it were.

This was only possible because Pherdanta was changing.

Her powers were changing.

Her Territory was changing.

The beautiful but inverted theme on the buildings in her Territory with plaques over each, was also changing. Some of the buildings had gotten a burst of colour. One turned into azure right then, with a glossy sheen. Another did also, and then another and another.

Cogent Stark Order was a Territory for a leader like Pherdanta. She implemented functions that took advantage of the fact that she would lead groups of people – varying kinds, from weak to strong – in future (when she created it).

When Pherdanta expelled her Territory earlier, enveloping all the experts she brought to the Under, she had marked them all. The houses that took on their names were like their lifelines. If an expert died outside Cogent Stark Order – or inside – they would be immediately revived within the house with their name. That was why those that perished at the hands of the Divine Cavern simply vanished, no matter how brutal their death was.

But in exchange for this service, Pherdanta made it so that she extracted two benefits. Both were part of the Primary function of this Territory.

The first was that she earned a Creed for each individual she revived. Notably, this was not easily accomplished. Pherdanta had sacrificed over 400 Creeds to implement this benefit as part of her Territory's function; that, and the fact that each revival she managed expended a huge amount of her mana. Currently, she had already exhausted a third of her total mana reserves. But it was worth it.

The second benefit she earned in exchange for reviving those that met her Territory was that each revival boosted her Territory's individual properties five times over.

Indeed, these were hefty benefits.

From the darkness, Pherdanta watched was happening below.

When she expanded her Territory to encompass more of the Under just now, she had separated the Imaginary GeoScape from everything else; in other words, she and the four Divine beings were in the tiled area with the houses and the sculpture of the Stark Constellation, while everyone else was below, fighting in an inverted version of the Under lathered by the rest of her Territory. Their circumstances hadn't really changed except for a different colour scheme.

The experts on Pherdanta's side had used the temporary shock the abrupt change brought upon the Cavern enemies to their advantage.

'I suppose I'll see if I can really stop that halberd from being moved with Territory soon enough. For now…' Pherdanta thought and took a deep breath.

She'd accomplished something phenomenal just now. In truth, she didn't really understand it, but nevertheless, she was striving for something greater.

While completely undetectable by the four Divine Cavern, she whispered, "Impossible Splicer, Vein."

A slash whipped towards one of the Divine Cavern.

The creature's head immediately snapped in the direction of the slash, mobilised Exora Amras, and attempted to catch it. It didn't work. There was a rough impact and a very shallow cut appeared in its extended palm. The creature defended itself well, but it looked at its cut palm and snarled.

In the next second, it shuttled towards where it judged the slash to have come from and grasped at the inverted surroundings with an Amras-filled hand. It caught nothing.

Pherdanta had already moved away. Even now, with the empowerment of the Territory, she was inferior to the four creatures in terms of physical attributes, but she was wise enough to know when they would attack. This was her Territory, after all. She could sense most of everything – including intent.

'That energy they use… It's a standard above Genuine Divine energy. I can't cut it with a simple Vein,' she thought.

Vein was the most basic attack in her Impossible Splicer series. It was a slash that wasn't limited by a need for mana to cast, and hence could exceed the attack potential of a Supreme skill – the highest standard for skills in Aigas before the Divine caliber of power.

But Vein still fell short of even the Divine Cavern.

Pherdanta had already deduced this, however. That was why she didn't attack the four Cavern immediately after they entered her Territory.

'Very well. Let's move forward,' she thought.

Cogent Stark Order thrummed once more, vibrating at a vicious frequency. Something changed about it… again.

Pherdanta smiled, and then she appeared before the Cavern, shedding herself from obscurity.

The instant she made her position known, one of the Cavern was already upon her. It submerged itself in energy and went for her head with its six claws, each laced with World Affluent Exora Amras.

But its movements might have been the slowest thing in the world to Pherdanta.

The look in her eyes changed. There was nothing admirable, honourable, kind, beautiful or bright about them in that moment.

They were laced in vile bloodlust, the sort that didn't care for friend or foe.

Pherdanta had just touched upon a stage of the Infinite Sword God that even Festos, empowered by Fulgardt had failed to. After all, neither Fulgardt nor Skullius were true swordsman.

Pherdanta was just that, however.

No. She was beyond it.

Even the name of her skill, and Class had changed.

'Impossible Splicer, Great Vein.'

The thought came after she decided to release the attack from the single blade on her waist.

It must have been a phenomenon like no other.

The slash let loose a wild, vicious light when Pherdanta decided to cast it, yet no one but her was able to see this light – not even the Divine Cavern that attacked her.

It didn't even notice it when its Amras reinforcement was breached, its arm and neck severed by an attack thinner than paper.

The Cavern realised only a micro moment later that it was in danger.

Pherdanta had somehow moved around it and was walking slowly towards the other three Cavern that had been confident their peer could easily kill the mortal and be done with it.

'Still not enough? I suppose the Territory is required to complete the technique,' Pherdanta thought. She barely acknowledged the threat the four Cavern could pose anymore. They might have already been corpses to her.

The Cavern she had cut clutched its neck as it began to bleed.

Pherdanta had successfully cut its flesh, but not its soul.

…That changed in the next instant, however.

The inverted colour scheme of the Territory changed drastically, become significantly darker. The houses within grew five times bigger, and more architecturally pleasing; the tiling grew wider and more organised; the statue in the centre of the Territory stole all the attention with its sudden burst of size. It dwarfed everything else, the clouds twisting around it growing bright.

The shadow it cast blanketed Pherdanta alone, masking her figure in a matted black.

Everything seemed to come to a halt for a moment, until the Unlimited Star whispered:

"Impossible Splicer, Great Sempiternal Vein."

It was a mere test.

The Cavern that had been slashed in the neck felt the warning signs bursting within too late.

From deep within it, starting from the atoms, to the cells in its blood, to the blood vessels, to the muscles, to the organs, to the bones, to the skin, it… bloomed.

Its body almost seemed to expand slightly before erupting outward, slowly, yet serenely. Pieces of it large and tiny sprayed out, minced by an attack that would suffer no enemies… eternally.

Great Sempiternal Vein did not stop.

It would not stop as long as Pherdanta drew breath.

It would not stop even when the enemies were gone.

And as such, it did not stop after the Cavern's flesh was disintegrated by fine cuts.

It did not stop when the poor bastard's soul was exposed. It sliced that up too, with grace.

The Commander of the Stark Troops had slain her first Divine opponent.

…And that was just the beginning.