A Goddess Calls Me Cutie

After a lot of trial and error, I finally understood my stigma.

Well, trial and error accompanied by crippling headaches and being unable to swing a stick for hours.

One thing I learned is that I don't necessarily have to execute the skills I copy immediately after observing my target. I can use them about ten or fifteen minutes after gaining them.

This way, I can accumulate skills and execute them within that window. And even after using the skills, I can copy them again.

Unfortunately, the penalty of being skillless increases with the time I keep them. It was so bad that I couldn't even properly swing a stick.

Oh, and the headaches are absolutely atrocious.

The second thing I learned is that I could actually store copied skills for much longer periods.

For example, I could observe Carlo's skills and store them in my mind for months, using them when needed.

However, the skills I store for the long term can only be used once and can't be copied again. The penalty extends to a complete loss of motor function, making it impossible to even move my pinky.

Thankfully, the immobilization lasts only as long as I use the skills, not the duration I store them.

But with the worst headache imaginable and intense body pain, I literally forget how to move.

Yeah, Talent Echo is a brutal stigma.

And the number of skills I can store is very limited, only able to store skills from two people at a time.

Currently, I have the skills of two powerful individuals in my head: Kay and Vanis.

The third thing I learned is that, theoretically, I could combine the skills of these two powerhouses.

Emphasis on 'theoretical'.

Using two skills simultaneously would be disastrous.

My mind would shatter, my brain would fry, and my muscles would tear themselves apart.

A whole plethora of nasty side effects would destroy my very being unless I do something even more ambitious.

Remove my limiter.

Every living being in this universe has a limiter. The only ones without one are the X-ranked beings like the Crowns and the Incarni.

However, there's a way to remove one's limiter temporarily, especially for Haema users.

I looked at Vanis. "Keep him busy for me."

The Saintslayer narrowed her eyes. "You sure about this?"

I smiled. "Pretty sure."

Vanis sighed. "Fine."

She levitated above the ground and vanished in a flash of light.

A powerful shockwave ripped through the ground as she locked her sword with Asphodel's roots. Numerous swords of light appeared above them and rained down on the Abnormal.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of black roots erupted from Asphodel's body, intercepting the swords and dissipating them into particles of light.

But Vanis wasn't the only one attacking the Abnormal. Projectiles and long-range attacks rained down on the battling duo as they moved around the Tear in a deadly dance of death.

Vanis's blood appendages countered Asphodel's black roots while her bright sword wings unleashed a constant barrage of light swords.

She maintained her distance, unleashing powerful attacks of Lux and Haema in tandem, each impact releasing powerful shockwaves.

Asphodel moved like a flitting shadow, skillfully avoiding projectiles and attacking Vanis with its infinite black roots.

Its attacks, previously chaotic, were now purposeful, like a hunter chasing difficult prey.

Is this thing really a daemon?

"Artemis. How long until the Commander arrives?" I asked into my earbuds.

"Seven minutes," she replied.

I gritted my teeth. We won't last that long!

Suddenly, massive black spikes made of roots appeared above Asphodel and shot toward the Shield.

Screams and explosions followed as the spikes hit our ardor rail guns with terrifying precision.

"What in the name of the Incarni was that?!" Artemis exclaimed into my ear.

"Looks like Asphodel is getting serious," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the battle.

"When are you going to join us, little prince?" Asphodel's distorted voice taunted as a huge black root erupted from its chest, forcing Vanis to shift to avoid being impaled.

"Just wait, you creep," I muttered, lifting my sword and aiming the pointy end at my stomach. Taking a deep breath, I coated the white blade with ardor and plunged it into my body.

I gasped as pain exploded through my torso, but I gritted my teeth, pushed the sword deeper, and began to chant.

"Incarnus of Haema, Goddess of Madness, Lady of Blood. I call upon you to free me from the shackles that bind my being. Pour your madness upon me so that I may become an incarnation of your madness."

Blood flowed from the wound, and I could feel my strand scrambling to heal the damage. But I suppressed the healing, gritting my teeth.

This is a huge gamble. The Haema Incarnus rarely interferes with Asteris and has no current faction.

The chant I used is from an ancient faction of the Incarnus that is now extinct. Vanis learned it from the Order of Lux archives and taught it to me as a fellow Haema user.

There's a high chance I ran my sword through my body for nothing, but I have no other options left.

Please hear me, you maniacal being.

"May your madness take the world!" I continued, pushing the sword deeper.

"MAY MADNESS TAKE THE WORLD!"

My shout echoed across the valley, silencing everything.

Nothing.

My vision blurred, and blood pooled around my boots.

Damnit.

I'm going to die from a self-inflicted stab. The healers won't reach me in time, and my strand can't heal this wound fast enough.

Even in this world, the divine has abandoned me.

Shit.

"Well, that is just rude," a female voice spoke in my ear.

I blinked, trying to register what just happened, while a soft chuckle echoed in my mind.

"You are an interesting child. It has been a long time since someone used that incantation to call me."

Before I could respond, she spoke again.

"Very well. I shall bestow my madness upon you, and since you are a cutie, I'll ensure the damage isn't too severe or permanent."

Crimson runes appeared around the hilt of my sword, and a large circle of runes formed on my stomach around the blade.

A searing pain emanated from the blade, and whispers echoed in my head, growing louder with each passing second.

I collapsed to my knees, pressing my hands over my ears, trying to drown out the voices.

Maniacal laughter, screams of terror, and cries of despair echoed in my head as the searing pain spread through my body.

My breathing became ragged, and when I opened my mouth to scream out in pain, no sound came out.

My vision filled with red, and the voices deafened me.

Among them, the Haema Incarnus's amused voice was the loudest.

"Now you will experience true freedom, my child. I look forward to the madness you will become."

*******

"Mordred!"

Vanis yelled as her eyes fell on the young man collapsed on his knees with his sword through his body.

Crimson runes circled around the hilt of the sword and on his torso as if something was being sealed within him.

Her heart lurched, but there was no time to react emotionally; Asphodel's fist nearly took her head off.

With a powerful gust of wind, she quickly flew back, launching another volley of light swords at the daemon.

As the swords reached within an inch of Asphodel's body, the daemon vanished, leaving only a wisp of dark energy in its wake.

Instinctively, Vanis raised her sword just in time. That act saved her life as Asphodel suddenly appeared in front of her, aiming a body-obliterating punch at her torso.

She blocked the powerful attack and was blown away by the sheer force of the punch.

Curling into a fetal position, she crashed into the frozen ground, her wing of swords shattering on impact and her blood appendages flailing around.

"Ow," she groaned, quickly using Haema and Lux to heal her injuries. She got up to see Asphodel approaching her.

"Is this all you got, Paladin?" the daemon's distorted voice sounded disappointed.

It extended its right arm. Black roots writhed and converged to form a sharp black blade fused to its arm.

"You seem awfully chatty," she remarked, readying her sword. A Blood Loop formed above her head as she activated her second strand.

{Lux: Purification Blades}

Particles of light converged to form three huge longswords, their deadly tips turned toward Asphodel.

Vanis took a deep breath and lunged forward, her boots cracking the ground beneath her.

"Artemis! Fire!" she yelled as she dashed forward.

The sky filled with hundreds of projectiles fired from the remaining rail guns.

Without a backward glance, Asphodel lazily swung its black blade. A wave of black energy swept across the sky, annihilating all the projectiles.

In the blink of an eye, Vanis appeared before Asphodel and swung her sword in a wide arc, aiming for the neck.

The daemon leaned backward, but before it could react further, Vanis ducked forward and one of the Purification Blades shot toward its chest at point-blank range.

The sword plunged into Asphodel's chest, forcing the daemon back.

Asphodel looked down at the sword of light sticking out of its chest and effortlessly pulled it out, crushing the weapon into particles of light.

Without wasting a second, it lunged forward, launching a relentless assault on Vanis, its black blade ready to slice her apart.

Vanis gritted her teeth, skillfully dodging and deflecting most of the attacks. Numerous wounds appeared on her body from the sheer force of the deflected attacks.

Asphodel's unrelenting strength threatened to overwhelm her; only her experience and razor-sharp reflexes kept her alive.

"I'm not going to have any kind of foothold here," Vanis muttered, ducking low to avoid having her head chopped off.

In that second, she rapidly spun her second Purification Blade and fired it at Asphodel. With a flick of the black blade, the daemon shattered the longsword.

But Vanis wasn't aiming for an attack. Two huge wings of light formed behind her and she flew away from the daemon.

Catching her breath, she asked Artemis, "How long till the Commander arrives?"

"Four minutes."

"Fuck!" she cursed, looking down at Asphodel, its faceless head raised toward her.

Just as she readied her third Purification Blade for another shot, maniacal laughter echoed across the valley.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I REALLY DID THAT!" Mordred's voice echoed all around her.

Suddenly, her wings shattered, and she saw a blood tentacle wrap tightly around her ankle. The next thing she knew, she was viciously yanked down into the ground.

Pain flared all over her body as she struggled to get up. Between her rapid breaths, she rasped, "What are you doing, Mordred?"

Why is he suddenly attacking her out of nowhere?

Mordred Pendragon came into focus in her blurred vision. He sat on his haunches to meet her and looked down at her.

His snowy white hair swayed as a frigid wind blew across the valley, and his crimson eyes glowed with a mad light.

His lips curled into a maniacal smile as he spoke.

"You looked quite dumb floating in the air with those silly wings. So I clipped them."