Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2439: Begin

Slithering Madness looked like something that should have been dying, large sections of its body still opened from whatever Two had done to it while torn scales hung loosely around wounds deep enough to expose flesh beneath.

Yet... none of that seemed to matter to the enormous serpent as Gluttony Will rolled outward, its presence expanding until even the space occupied by those injuries seemed heavier than it had moments before.

Sylas recognized the effect immediately because he had relied on the same principle in the past. Gluttony Will forced one’s Will to occupy more space and carry greater weight, which was why his telekinesis had once been capable of moving far beyond what its ordinary limits should have allowed. When folded into Telekinetic Martial Arts, that same principle made every physical blow disproportionately heavier.

Slithering Madness moved first, its injured body whipping through Hell with enough force that the air collapsed ahead of its tail before the strike even reached Two. Red Will condensed above the Professor in response, forming an enormous palm that met the attack head-on and redirected the serpent aside rather than attempting to stop all of that accumulated weight directly.

Sylas moved Scurrying Madness at almost the same instant, using the connection between the Omnimous, the cyborg’s technological systems, and the Scorpion heart to drive its metallic frame forward. He couldn’t seize Scurrying’s Will itself, but the machine had been designed to translate that Will into function, which meant controlling the machinery gave him access to enough of Greed’s effects to make the distinction far less important.

A metallic claw tore toward Two from below while Greed stripped Aether and residual Will from the surrounding Hell and fed what it took back into Scurrying’s body.

Two shifted one hand as another construct of red Will appeared, an enormous forearm and palm catching the Rat by the wrist while the first remained occupied with Slithering Madness.

Sylas understood Two’s combat style after only a few exchanges, though understanding it didn’t make dealing with it any easier. There were no complex Rune formations or elaborate technological tricks, only red Will compressed into telekinetic arms, hands, fingers, and palms with enough density to contest beings Sylas suspected stood above S-tier.

Slithering attacked from above while Scurrying twisted its trapped wrist and struck from the side, forcing several more red arms into existence around Two. One locked around Scurrying’s throat while two crossed overhead to catch Slithering beneath its jaw, and for the first time the ground beneath the Professor fractured deeply enough that entire slabs of obsidian rose into the air.

Fanelei’s hand pressed more firmly against Sylas’ back as A-tier Aether continued flooding through him, while Cheri supplied the far stranger pressure of her God Realm foundation from the other side. Sylas accepted both without hesitation and ran that power through his Runes, his Will, and the technological connection with Scurrying until his body felt like a narrow vat forcing an ocean through it.

Pain spread through him as that pressure continued accumulating, but it hadn’t reached the point where it affected his judgment yet. What concerned him more was duration, because no matter how well his body had been reconstructed, continuously carrying power from two existences above his current Tier would eventually leave consequences.

Sylas folded Space around Scurrying’s next charge and reduced the distance to Two almost to nothing while Time caught Slithering’s previous missed strike and dragged its consequence forward into the present. Gluttony Will increased the weight behind both attacks as they converged, forcing Two to layer several red palms together before the combined pressure finally pushed him backward.

He slid several meters across Hell without showing anything resembling concern. Two was being forced backward by the combination of two Arcane Madnesses, Fanelei’s Aether, Cheri’s foundation, and Sylas’ Spacetime Rune Creation, yet he had made no serious attempt to change the pace of the battle.

Every red construct was just strong enough to answer whatever reached him, while he ignored several obvious opportunities to attack Fanelei or Cheri and cut off Sylas’ borrowed power at its source.

He wasn’t fighting like someone who needed to win quickly, which meant either Sylas had misunderstood his position or Two was waiting for something of his own.

Scurrying roared as Sylas forced its body through another assault, Greed draining the region around it before concentrating the stolen strength into the cyborg’s limbs. Slithering followed almost naturally, Gluttony Will expanding around that stolen power and making every portion of it occupy more space and carry greater weight before the two forces crashed into Two’s defenses again.

The combination was annoyingly effective once Sylas understood how to coordinate it. Greed took whatever the world could spare, Gluttony made what remained feel disproportionately larger, and Sylas used Space and Time to ensure every strike arrived where and when it would create the greatest pressure.

Two answered by producing more red arms until dozens surrounded him, some locking around Scurrying’s limbs while others wrapped around Slithering’s body or battered aside its head before its jaws could close. Sylas continuously changed the angles between them, repeated impacts through Time, and shortened distances through Space until Two was driven farther across Hell without ever once appearing genuinely threatened.

That was when Sylas understood the real problem with the exchange... this could continue for months.

The two Madnesses possessed enough raw power and endurance that neither showed any meaningful decline, while Two’s Will hadn’t weakened enough for Sylas to confidently say he was even spending more than he recovered.

Sylas himself was the weak point in that equation.

Before he could decide whether Two was deliberately waiting for that failure, another Will entered the region.

The sound arrived shortly afterward, metal striking obsidian in a cadence too precise to belong to a natural creature as eight enormous mechanical limbs emerged from another layer of Hell. Each resembled the leg of a spider and ended in a narrow point that pierced the ground without resistance, followed moments later by a mechanical body large enough to make the source of the Will obvious.

Weaving Madness.

Black machinery formed almost the entire spider-like frame while pale strips of flesh remained stretched between several joints and clusters of living eyes sat embedded within a metallic head.

Wires and articulated plates covered its abdomen, and Sylas only needed a few moments with his Runeweaver Eyes to recognize the same basic technological philosophy he had already found within Scurrying Madness.

But there was one difference. Scurrying had fought against its restraints from the moment Sylas saw it, its Will pressing against every piece of machinery attempting to control it. Unfortunately, Sylas sensed no such conflict inside Weaving Madness at all, the mechanical systems and the Will beneath them moving with a unity that made the conclusion unavoidable.

Two finally smiled as Weaving Madness lowered its enormous body toward the battlefield, eight mechanical legs adjusting until all of them pointed toward the heavily injured serpent. His red telekinetic arms continued holding back Scurrying and Slithering while he turned his attention toward the latter, and for the first time Sylas understood what the Professor had been waiting for.

"Now the games can really begin."

Two raised one hand toward Slithering Madness as Weaving Madness’ mechanical body tightened in response. His smile remained as his order carried across Hell.

"Kill it."