Divine Chosen’s Return: A New Ability Tested

5/2/0

Devoid of pain, Yodel Finn felt his soul detach from reality, sinking ever deeper until it settled into a soft embrace.

He sensed his head resting upon something cool and yielding.

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, he had no desire to move, closing his eyes to savor the delightful sensation.

“Is this a lap pillow?”

“It is indeed a lap pillow.”

Yodel Finn opened his eyes, only to find half the ceiling in his field of vision.

Thanatos leaned down, her head emerging into view, allowing Yodel Finn to glimpse her eyes past the peaks of her chest.

“You’ve worked hard,” she murmured. “Fighting for so long must have exhausted you. The flow of time in the spirit realm differs from reality, so you can rest without worry.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

Truth be told, Yodel Finn desperately yearned for sleep; his condition mirrored Yelica Cooper’s, utterly spent after such an intense battle.

Yet, the thought of his friends outside still trembling in fear, and the unkillable king still running rampant, extinguished any desire for rest, making him wish he could rush back instantly.

“Heh heh, if you’re truly worried about your friends but also wish to rest, I do have an excellent solution.”

A crimson glow flickered in Thanatos’s eyes, a sight last seen when she had nearly slain Yelica Cooper.

“Hm?”

“Allow me to control your body… Any ant daring to harm my chosen, I would be delighted to crush it with my own hands.”

Question: If Yelica Cooper nearly died just by viewing a memory, what fate awaited Balin for harming Yodel Finn?

The answer was obvious, yet Yodel Finn still wished to personally slay the monster that had caused his death, an eye for an eye, a life for a life.

“I’ll handle it myself; I can’t trouble you any further…”

A rare look of displeasure crossed Thanatos’s face:

“Truly, there’s no need for this. Even for minor difficulties, you can come to me. It’s not as if I only respond during life-or-death crises, and should you die, I would grieve.”

Yet, after a moment of intense scrutiny, Thanatos knew he wouldn’t heed her words.

“Very well. Liking to stand on your own isn’t a bad thing, but remember, no matter how dire the situation, seeking my help is always an option.”

“Understood. I will.”

Gazing at Thanatos’s earnest expression, Yodel Finn nodded vigorously, his resolve to grow stronger swiftly solidifying within his heart.

Seeing Yodel Finn’s compliance, Thanatos finally offered a smile:

“That’s more like it. Nevertheless, with your current strength, even exerting your full power, defeating that monster is an impossibility.”

…

Yodel Finn couldn’t deny it; he simply nodded. He had pushed his two existing abilities to their absolute limit, yet his power ceiling remained fixed.

“Don’t worry. Forcing Balin to commit suicide, your mission is already accomplished… As promised, I shall grant you a new ability.”

Thanatos built a little suspense, immediately piquing Yodel Finn’s curiosity to its fullest.

“I’ve been observing your fighting style, and I’ve designed a unique ability just for you.

As for its effects, let us test it upon that monster.”

With a crisp snap of her fingers, Yodel Finn’s soul was sent back to reality.

Upon the cracked, scarred plaza, Yelica Cooper watched Yodel Finn aim his revolver at himself. A gunshot echoed, and though his body did not fall, it disintegrated into ash in an instant.

Yelica Cooper sat bewildered and helpless on the ground, fresh tear tracks still wet on her face, staring blankly as the ash slowly descended from the air.

Balin’s tentacles thrashed wildly, whipping up shards of stone from the ground. Yodel Finn had deliberately destroyed his own body, turning the plump prey at his grasp into ash before his very eyes. How could Balin not be enraged?

However, he swiftly turned his gaze toward the defenseless Yelica Cooper.

“Though I cannot devour the Divine Favored, assimilating a Bishop is not an unacceptable alternative.”

“Dare to kill me twice, and I shall entertain you thoroughly!”

Fleshy thorns surged towards Yelica Cooper, poised to transform her into a part of the living corpse giant. Yet, in that critical moment, the thorns halted merely two inches from her eyes.

Ripples spread through the space around her, as an invisible, immense power tore through the barrier of the real world, descending upon the battlefield.

The mere tremors of its arrival shattered the fleshy thorns instantly, snapping multiple tentacles simultaneously, the excruciating pain forcing Balin to shriek and retreat.

At the same moment, the already unstable space ripped open into a pitch-black fissure, through which endless starlight glittered. A young man with black hair and blue eyes stepped forth, his pure black trench coat swaying with his stride, while pale bone butterflies, embroidered in silver thread, danced upon its hem.

Yodel Finn, fully revived.

Ignoring the menacing Balin, he walked directly to Yelica Cooper’s side and gently wiped away her tears.

Seeing Yelica Cooper’s reddened eyes, Yodel Finn felt a mix of tenderness and amusement:

“This is the first time I’ve seen you cry like this. You haven’t forgotten whose Divine Chosen I am, have you?”

“Ah? You’re not dead! No, you’re revived? I… you… I completely forgot just now.”

Now, not only were her eyes red, but her entire face had flushed to the color of a ripe apple.

He was the Divine Chosen of the God of Death; everyone else present could die before it was his turn. Why was she crying? Didn’t that make it seem as though she cared deeply for Yodel Finn? And to be caught sniffling by him in person, the shame was overwhelming.

A scream echoed from a distance; Yodel Finn knew without looking that it was Yali Miller, uncertain if it was from surprise or fright, but her feelings were likely similar to Yelica Cooper’s.

“Go rest on the side for now; I’ll handle it.”

Having reassured those nearby, Yodel Finn leisurely turned his attention to Balin.

By this time, Balin had already retreated fifty meters, nervously on guard, his thirty pairs of ears clearly having heard Yodel Finn’s recent words.

“Wait, you said you weren’t Divine Favored, but Divine Chosen?”

“You’ve realized too late…” Yodel Finn drawled, pulling two silver revolvers from his trench coat and casually spinning them in his hands.

This nonchalant attitude infuriated Balin, filling him with shame. What did it matter if he was Divine Chosen? Had he not just been killed once already?

If he could kill him once, he could do it again!

“Flesh Jungle!”

In a flash, countless fleshy tentacles erupted from the ground and from Balin’s body, forming man-wide pillars of flesh that towered around Yodel Finn, obscuring the sky.

Yodel Finn’s figure vanished amidst the colossal mass of flesh, sending shivers of dread through everyone present.

Yet Yodel Finn, engulfed in peril and on the verge of being crushed by the flesh, did not evade as he had before.

The time had come to test his new ability.

A silver light flashed in his pupils, and the world transformed into shades of grey and white. Everything around him, save for Yodel Finn himself, decelerated to an extreme crawl.

Within the grey-white walls of flesh, several areas glowed with a vibrant red. Yodel Finn, dual-wielding his revolvers, locked onto each of these highlighted zones. Every red area he selected was marked with a white bone butterfly.

He squeezed the triggers.

The six-shot revolvers fired dozens of times within a single second, the gunshots exploding like a string of firecrackers.

Every bullet faithfully struck Yodel Finn’s chosen targets. The impenetrable Flesh Jungle was instantly blown apart, scattering shredded flesh and bone fragments across the ground, as sunlight once again bathed him.

No one could discern his movements. Yelica Cooper and the others only witnessed Yodel Finn standing motionless, surrounded… but in a mere second, the tentacles ensnaring him exploded into fragments, and Yodel Finn remained in place, spinning his revolvers.

Only Balin, the one who had launched the attack, could barely grasp what had transpired through his dozens of eyes. Had he not already transformed into a living corpse, he would undoubtedly have been drenched in sweat.

His thirty brains whirred into overdrive; Balin now knew precisely what he ought to do.

“Hmph, can we… can we reconcile?”