Recklessness - (1)

In the midst of laughter, I made a sudden request, "But before that, I want you to teach me how to make a 'Death Stare'!!"

"... Huh? Death what now?!", Kriassilis attempted in a daze. I repeated, "Death Stare!"

"I don't know what you're saying!", he commented. I interpreted, "Death Stare in the sense, a kind of facial expression where you make your foe despair in a cycle of fear!"

He responded, "Uh-huh!!"

I made a tranquil expression and asked, "When I make this kind of face, what do you sense from me? Tell me from the perspective of a lesser being!"

"Hmm… lesser being… negative thoughts seeping out of my head? Something akin to a warning!", he answered. I recalled, "Only warning?!"

He exclaimed, "Yep, nothing more than that!!"

I suggested, ""HOW ABOUT WE MAKE THAT WARNING INTO A DEATH WARNING?!""

"!!!", he jolted at my words. I kept staring at him. At once, he chuckled, ""HEH, YOU'RE INDIRECTLY ASKING ME TO TEACH YOU MY STYLE OF INTIMIDATION, KID!!""

I corrected him, ""NAH, I'M ASKING YOU TO TEACH ME THE BASIC PRINCIPLES BEHIND IT. I WANNA EVOLVE MY PRESSURE TO THE LEVEL WHERE EVEN A DEATH WARNING WOULDN'T SUFFICE THE INTIMIDATION EXUDED FROM IT!!""

He stated, "But that's not possible for now!"

I asked, "... Why?!"

He replied, "The level of pressure that's beyond death can only be unleashed with supreme sovereignty. And you, for one, are yet to manifest half of your power that is 'far-far-far' from requirement!"

I became shut, "...!"

[You could have said 'far' only once. Why the repetition?]

"Now then, since you get what I'm saying, tell me your decision!", he emphasized. I responded, "Excuse me, you forgot to mention the choices to decide!"

He realized, "... Oh, yeah. Sorry for asking you so early!"

I said, "Please continue!"

He stated, "First choice is that you train inside an isolated dimension where time rains only one second in the real cosmos no matter how long you stay in there. You must be secluded until you reach the level of your supreme sovereignty, must I say!!"

I attempted, "Then the second choice is?!"

He chuckled again, ""COMPREHEND THE BOOK THAT I GAVE YOU. BUILD YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND MANIFEST YOUR PERKS TO FURTHER HEIGHTS!""

"...!", with a dumbfounded look, I stared at the thick book he gave a moment ago. My staring shifted towards that chuckling death sovereign.

[The best course of action would be training in the isolation dimension where all time spent gets cut to one second in real timeline. However, manifesting powers without a thorough experience is no different from a soldier carrying a dozen explosives in his arms.

Therefore, I'll go with comprehension.]

By lifting the book, I declared, "I'll go with the second option!!"

He appreciated, "Well-well, that's the spirit I want to see. Unlike my disciple!!"

I became puzzled, "Wait, your grand law used the isolated time domain?!"

He announced, "Four hundred and eighty-six. That's the number of times he isolated himself!!"

My curiosity overtook me, "Is he stronger than me?!"

He elaborated, "Well, I can't say that 'cause you created your own authorities and developed them into singularities, henceforth outsmarting your master. Not to mention, you've reached your third stage within a month. On the other hand, my boy kept repeating isolation training whenever he wanted to grow!!"

I commented, "No wonder you're telling me to pummel him to near-death. You want me to give him some kind of experience, don't you?!"

His lips formed a grin, ""EXACTLY!!""

I sighed, "Sure, no way in hell am I gonna reject that!!"

He got rid of the pad in his arms and began walking away, "Let's go. We're done here!"

I asked, "What about my artifact you threw?!"

He emphasized, "I told you. It will keep rolling across the space of the realm of living beings until it hits a certain planet by luck!!"

I shouted, "That masterpiece is a total gimmick. Aren't you afraid of the consequences? Godmother might kill you!!!"

He chuckled as usual, "These kinds of incidents happened countless times. You don't have to worry!!"

[Seriously, this oldman is even more free-spirited than me.]

He chuckled again, "Heh, oldman? Look who's talking!!"

I stayed shut, "...!"

…

Moments passed by. I was flexing my muscles at the swimming pool, on the leaning chair. Whilst chilling out, I commented, "Man, this never gets boring!!"

Someone from the right side, responded, "Agreed!"

I looked at that side with a dumbfounded expression 'cause it was none other than my celestial mount, Kendor. She was in her birdy appearance and was on a leaning chair in a daze. I asked, "You seem to have gotten fatter, Kendor!!"

She replied, "Can't do anything about that. I've been under this li'l form ever since entering this dimension!!"

I said, "Sure, have it your way!"

Both of us became silent. That's when she called out, "But Master, you were close to unlocking your next sovereignty before coming here. Now, you seem even closer.

I fear the moment you stop maintaining the flow of your power will be the instant your body explodes an excess lump of aura!!"

I ordered, "Shut it. You think I'm not aware of that fact?!"

She flinched, "Ah, apologies. I'm saying this because of the overdone time skip in our infinite void. Not to mention Gremoria telling me about your rampant aura that devoured an entire planetary system even though it was of the second lowest stage!!"

I responded, "... I'll keep that in mind!"

[She's not wrong. I can't keep being reckless. That's Zarene's speciality……]

Suddenly, my instincts made me realize something.

[Huh, what the heck am I saying? She's now reincarnated as Zulova... I wonder how she's doing.]

My eyes stared upwards in a daze.

…

{Somewhere within the new quashi-zodium realm, inside a seemingly violet planet}

---fwoosh---

A vast forest composed of purple-leafed trees and blue grass echoed its corners with craters, burns and rubble. In the centre of such massive chaos were two women, one standing on the ground and the other levitating a few metres above the ground. Both of them were in a face-off.

The person standing on the ground panted while trying to stand firm. She wore a black hooded coat glowing yellow on the edges on top of a plain white bodysuit.

On the other hand, the levitating person held a tranquil expression, looking down at the person in front of her. She had a silver attire and a white cape on her back.

What seemed common were their enticing feminine bodies. The woman in the air started, "Oh my, what am I looking at? Are you really the woman rumoured to be on par with me…, Cold-faced Shadow Angel Mihu?!"

The woman standing on the ground glared upwards, "Huh, don't get cocky, Roaring Goddess Zulova. Although my stamina is down, I can replenish it by unsummoning one of my shadow spirits!!"

As addressed, the two girls grew into women and finally met.

Zulova looked around. There were a dozen black figures covered in black armours exuding black smoke. Aside from them, there were two more dark figures, one giant draconic snake and one wolf-headed lion with bat wings. All of them were Mihu shadow spirits. Zulova exclaimed, "Huh, now that I think about it, I don't see your 'doggish dragon-head berserker' which people kept talking about. Not to mention your telling me about replenishing your energy by unsummoning one of your underlings!"

---fwoosh---

The next instant, Mihu's body exuded a pile of black flames with a bright yellow shade on the edges. Zulova blinked her eyes.

Mihu's teeth developed fangs. Her arms got enwrapped by her aura which then reshaped to clawed gauntlets. The back of her abdomen manifested a spiky tail. The pupils of her eyes turned beastly. Her face seemed expressionless.

Zulova stated, "I won't call it unsummoning. You replenish your energy by merging your spirits with your body. But is this the count of your spirits? I heard you can summon a thousand of them!!"

Mihu opened her mouth, ""Those thousand spirits were made from the corpses of those that I killed. Therefore, I had no interest in them and transmitted all their essence into these thirteen spirits who were my late companions. But the three beast spirits were created by merging the spirits of the creatures that I killed!""

Zulova responded, "Auch, my ears hurt. Can't you talk normally? Why the pressure?!"

By getting into a battle stance, Mihu exclaimed, ""Enough talking!""

---flick------smack---

Immediately, she spawned right before Zulova's face. Zulova widened her eyes in shock. Mihu's right fist charged at Zulova, thereby punching her stomach.

---crash---

The punch forced Zulova to crash into the nearby woods. Mihu remained in mid-air. She was looking at the woods.

---boom---

At once, a bright yellow aura with black shade on its edges burst open. The crushed woods shattered in different directions. Zulova, who was the centre of that power, gazed upwards. The part of the cloth on her abdomen tore into a hundred pieces, henceforth exposing her bare skin alongside the belly button. In frustration, she emphasized, ""Damn you, my clothes are ruined!!""

---rip---

Without a second thought, she ripped off her shirt and cape, only being left with a female wife beater that extended only until her upper abs and silver pants. She ponytailed her hair, ""Now then, let's get serious!!""

The brightness of her aura befell upon the shadow spirits. They began shaking. Mihu gritted her teeth, ""Yeah!!""

---fwoosh---

All the remaining spirits materialized into aura and paved their way through Mihu's body. At once, her cheeks developed scales, hair strands extended like whips and her forehead grew two horns. The shoulder part of her black coat manifested two thorns, one on each side. Two bat wings popped out of her back.

Zulova attempted, ""Wow, is that the form of a demon or a beast? Guess, I should find it out myself!!""