My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon
Chapter 173: Battle

Chapter 173: Battle

Deeper shrugged and retorted, "This part of you surely isn’t from us. Ironwood Treants are known for being discerning and cautious."

"I don’t really give a crap about all that," Elian countered. "My only concern is if you have the will to come with me."

The former tyrant paused; he then looked at his own arm before continuing, "Such a misuse of our abilities. In exchange for harder skin, you force all the mana into the shell and keep the insides void of it. Pitiful."

Bianca pouted at his comment. As the creator of Forged and the Weapons, she defended herself by explaining, "You fail to see the benefit, bastard. By imbuing all available mana to the skin, it becomes highly resistant, even immune to magic attacks."

"I can see just fine, Psychomancer; it also means that as he does not have any mana inside his body, he is susceptible to mental attacks, which Psychomancers are known for. You designed him to be a puppet, didn’t you?"

The Witch flinched at Deeper’s accusation, but Elian squeezed her hand to reassure her. Finding strength in the intimate gesture, Bianca cleared her throat and agreed.

"Yes, that was my intention initially. But it proved to be unnecessary. So long as I am present, no one will be able to take control of Elian."

Deeper scoffed and faced Bianca with a sharp glare, "I suppose you did not know that the core you used for your potion was Karnathian in nature. Otherwise, you would not have made such a stupid decision."

"..."

"Let me tell you of your folly, Psychomancer. An inherent trait of anyone from Karnathi is to multiply by sowing seeds with our mana. Your trick with binding souls to metallic vessels? You would not need any of that if you just allowed them to germinate mana inwardly."

Elian felt Bianca’s hand tighten on his. The surrounding temperature also dropped by several degrees. It seemed that his lover understood what Deeper was trying to say and grew disheartened.

Be still, my love.

Repeating Bianca’s own words to her, Elian chimed in.

"A sword doesn’t need the ability to grow fruit, you condescending bastard. A sword only needs the edge to cut an enemy and the strength to not fall apart after an attack. I am that sword and Bianca’s decisions carried me here."

"Right, what was I expecting from a pair of—"

At that point, Elian lost his patience. Commanding the Living Metal that made up Deeper’s new body, he gave it a single command.

Kneel.

Without his consent, the former Tyrant’s body creaked and shrieked as he tried to fight off Elian’s directive. Annoyed, Elian instructed even the Dominator variants making up Deeper’s brain to punish him.

"Kuaark!"

"Father!" Blooms tried to come to her father’s aid only to be stopped by chainsaw serpents that kept her from approaching.

Deeper violently coughed, but as he did not have a mouth, there was no relief. His eyes began to shed tears of burning metal as his skin began to fracture and break. Molten ore poured out of every wound, burning the grass he knelt on.

Elian stepped forward and stomped on Deeper’s back, slamming him into the dirt.

"Make no mistake, you arrogant piece of crap. I already killed you. I am giving you a chance to fulfill your regrets, but know that I owe you nothing."

With his palm, Elian grabbed Deeper’s head and pulled it up. His body groaned in protest, but the Patriarch of the Weapons could not care any less.

"Get this through your skull: Depth Deeper than the Center, I am a Tyrant. Turning my kindness down has consequences; earning my ire has retributions. You are no longer a king but a servant. Insult my wife again and I will shatter your core. Do you understand?"

Helpless, Deeper could only nod awkwardly as Elian was close to ripping his head off from his neck.

"I apologize for my disrespect, Lady Bianca."

Satisfied with his subservience, Elian released his head and canceled the orders he gave to Deeper’s body. The former Tyrant wobbled to stand up as his limbs still bled profusely.

"I will ask again. I intend to fight the crucible and win it. That means one way or another, I will fight the world that took your Anchor. I know that the road will be hard, but I will be going through it regardless. Deeper, do you wish to join me?"

"What do you wish to attain after all this?"

Elian smiled and slipped his hand around Bianca’s waist and hugged her.

"To live my years in peace with her."

Deeper gazed at Elian and Bianca in silence. As if he were waiting for something more, after a few moments, he remarked in confusion.

"That’s it? You have no other desires? Conquest? Honor, prestige, dominion, wealth? Do none of that matter to you?"

Elian shook his head resolutely, "No. The only reason I aim to deal with this crap is because they wouldn’t let me live in peace otherwise."

The former Tyrant lowered his head to contemplate, and after a few seconds, agreed.

"Indeed. Until you win the Crucible, you will always be challenged by those aiming to get stronger. More like the system is designed to always encourage aggression, conquest, and retaliation. But how do you aim to resolve this?"

Elian grinned in response to the question.

"How? I will just get strong enough that no one will even think about messing with me. A lion no longer cares what anyone else in the jungle thinks. I aim to be something similar."

Deeper looked up at the sky and asked solemnly.

"Then until you reach that point..."

"I will butcher, kill, and conquer anyone who stands in my way," the Weapon declared curtly.

The former Tyrant’s eyes furrowed only to close them a moment later. Seemingly at peace, Deeper then expressed his agreement, his voice emotional.

"It seems that being reborn has already changed me. I find myself more impulsive and less prudent. Tyrant, I accept your offer. If you truly intend to help me reclaim my Anchor’s core, my race and I will tie our fate to yours."

"Good. Then welcome aboard."

"Please give me a new name, Tyrant."

"Huh? Why?"

"My old name was given by Karnathi. I am no longer an Ironwood Wartreant. As you have said that part of me is dead. So, I wish to be bestowed a new one."

Before, Elian could reply; Bianca interjected, "Woody."

"..."

Both Elian and Deeper looked at her in disbelief. Yet her eyes showed no contempt, malice, nor condescension. Bianca truly believed naming a former treant, Woody, was apt.

Even Blooms bit her lip, unable to say anything, but her eyes begged Elian to reconsider.

But, as the ultimate Bianca simp, Elian just nodded. "From today on, you shall be called Woody."

"Ugh!"

"NOO!!!!"

***

In the middle of a beautiful meadow, Elian, Blooms and the now renamed Woody sat in a circle. Bianca was lying on Elian’s lap like a spoiled cat while he carefully brushed her hair.

There were hundreds of beings walking about, both Weapons and Karnathians. While the former paid no mind to Elians’ group, the latter, especially the dryads gossiped about them.

"Are you certain, Tyrant? While I do not mind, given your goals, wouldn’t using a more powerful race as your axis world be better?"

"No, that is fine. Fralhame, Averignis, and Karnathi would be the worlds I will personally protect. Even if I subordinate stronger worlds, I will not betray the ones who climbed with me. Although I still have issues with my own species."

"Oh? What seems to be the problem?" Woody probed.

"The other Earth Tyrant candidates are running from me. They all seem to be hesitant to fight for the official position. The bastards are using all sorts of ways to indirectly delay or assassinate me rather than battle with me themselves."

Bianca, who was resting on Elian’s lap, added, "Elian, with Char, Katri, and Aunt Sunny managing the guild and cities, I think they will have results for us soon. Taking control of the Big Three’s land and destroying their influence will no longer be impossible."

Brushing her hair tenderly, Elian nodded, "It would be good if that were the case."

Woody tilted his head but shook his head, "I don’t think you should worry about any of that, Tyrant. The Crucible has and always had encouraged bloodshed. Your clash is already set in stone."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Once you gain your fifth mark, the crucible will force all available candidates to fight you in an isolated arena. This is regardless of their will. You may influence the battle to a degree, but it will happen regardless. By the time it ends, only one will remain."

"Ho? Then doesn’t that mean they’re running out of options?"

"I am uncertain if the other candidates know. But the announcements are the Crucible’s way of informing everyone to make preparations. I only became the Tyrant of Karnathi by succession, so I wasn’t the one who unified our planet; but I have heard stories."

Elian’s mood grew brighter on top of gaining a powerful subordinate; Woody had insider information all the way up the platinum ranks. What Elian gained made the incredibly long battle worth it.

If Woody’s information is correct, the battle for Earth would begin the moment he clears his next dungeon.

"I can hardly wait."