My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon-Chapter 126: Show

To most beings, death was the end point.

When life ceased, so too did everything else.

Although many might argue that even the dead contributed to nature—decomposing into soil, becoming memories, feeding legacies—none could deny the simple truth:

Death ended action. Ended growth. Ended will.

Even Ascendants, for all their power, were not exempt. Some lasted longer. Some tried to run from time. But in the end, everything alive must die.

That was the order of this world.

Which is why what happened in Crestfall City set into motion things that no one in the galaxy could have expected.

On this obscure, overlooked planet, a race that would make whole worlds tremble had finally stepped into the Crucible.

***

"Uhm. I’m not going crazy, right? The corpses all stood up?"

"Dear viewers... it seems that Lord Reed has stepped into the realm of deities."

"Our scans that these new being are part of the species Weapons of Valestra..."

"Dude. There are humans among them..."

"What? Really? Holy crap, it’s the assassins from earlier!"

"Chat, I am cutting the stream early! I want to go home! What? Of course, I am scared, you dipstick!"

Elian couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The humans who were either insulting or cheering for him were unsettled. Why wouldn’t they be? There were hundreds of dead corpses from the short battle. And now, they all returned—as Weapons.

The Tyrant looked toward the ghost above. This plan was only made possible because she was there. While he could enslave a few live targets, an entire army was possible. But if they were all dead? Then it was far simpler.

Bianca. Are you alright?

Even from below, Elian’s eyes checked the color of Bianca’s face and her breathing. The ceremony they performed was the mass application of the Psychomancer’s soul bind.

It was the same process as the Weaponizations they did to the wolves, only Bianca no longer took the burden for the souls. Meaning they either figured out the pain themselves or had their souls shatter in the process.

"Huff...I am fine, Elian. Just a bit tired. I am eating a few cores now."

Good. Please don’t overdo it. Just one demonstration is enough.

The three groups of Wolves reassembled in front of Elian. The Flame Swallows that could be revived numbered over three thousand. All of them burned in silence. Perched among the wolves or on the ground, the heat from their presence cooked the air into a haze.

We can make do with what we have; he tried to reassure her.

"No. I want to do this. The more we raise, the more we will protect you. I bought a lot of high mana monster cores. I will let you know when I can go again."

Bianca.

"Please let me protect you, Elian. This is my freedom and my consequence."

Elian groaned. He didn’t want to let her, but he used the same excuse to be reckless. Inwardly, he began to get annoyed at Fralhame.

"Too late to regret that now," Bianca teased with a giggle.

I guess so. Fine, but you must stay hidden.

"Fair enough."

There was no reason to let everyone know that the resurrection needed both Elian and Bianca. To protect her, Elian aimed to make everyone believe it was his ability. Bianca observed the battle in the skies, hidden in her ghost form.

Abandoning the crusader body, she possessed allowed Bianca to use her full mana. But she returned to being ethereal, only capable of touching objects made from or having mana.

The Tyrant looked at the newly made golems. Their faces were warped in pain and confusion. Bodies made of Living Metal, insides morphed from Dominator, and eyes burning like flaming ores. They were no doubt part of his faction.

But Elian did not intend to show them mercy. He was too weak to do so. He raised his arm into the air and roared.

"Fight for me. Only then will I kill or revive you as I please."

It was cruel, tyrannical, and devoid of any compassion, but this was the path he had chosen.

More and more monsters from Virexar arrived. The large number of bubbles was nearly three times as much as the waves that Elian and his faction already put down. But the Tyrant didn’t worry.

[Talent: Adamant – activated. Elian Reed is now immune to fear and psychological effects so long as the Talent remains active.]

[Talent: Driven – activated. Elian Reed will never lose consciousness in the face of an enemy.]

When the bubbles began to pop. New invaders came to the field. They rampaged and screamed. In the air and on the ground. Thousands upon thousands. Yet the army made of metal did not retreat nor take a step back.

They only waited.

Sealing his faceplate, Elian braced his body and lowered the wheels on his legs. His thruster unit began to suck in oxygen and prepared for detonation.

"Butcher anything that isn’t a Weapon," Elian commanded with a grin.

And he charged.

AWOOOOO!!!!!!

"FOR THE FIRE! DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!"

Hundreds of wolves howled. The Flame Swallows soared. And the first waves of the Virexar armies joined them.

"When I saw newbs, I mean the Weapons from Virexar. Newbs! Focus on taking out as many of your fellow insects as possible. Fralhame, Averignis, support them but prepare to assault the knights. Bastion, Fluffy, pin them down if you can. Silent, find the Anchor."

"YES, TYRANT!" the Weapons answered.

Elian raced forward and attacked. He lowered his head and barreled through the invaders. The humanoid lobsters, small crabs, all were crushed or skewered by the Tyrant. Like a freight train, his immense bulk and weight broke anything in his way.

Two Foam Spider Crabs stood together. They shot webs to the ground and began to create a defensive wall of foam. But Elian licked his lips as his blood boiled. His turbines spun faster as he detonated Cinderglass, shooting him forward like a rocket!

Crash!

The Foam Spider Crabs had their carapaces caved in as they spewed out blood. But Elian did not stop. Flying Shrimp dived to attack him, but they were shot with spears by Fluffy’s unit or ripped apart by the Flying Shrimp from the Newbs.

"Good job!" Elian praised.

As he was using 360 vision from the Living Metal on the ground, he could see the battlefield. Although outnumbered, the Weapons dominated. Be it mana-based energy attacks or physical ones, the Weapons could tank them all.

And the Flame Swallows were having a field day nuking everything that was not black to oblivion. That was until four large bubbles came down. The mana signature they contained was far greater than anything that had come before.

The bubbles carrying them popped and exposed four gigantic, blue-skinned praying mantises.

"Scan."

___

Name: Atlantean Mantis (F)

Talent: Surgical (A)

World: Virexar

Species: Insect (Atlantean)

Class: Tidal Swarm Knight

Lvl: 47 (Peak Radiant)

HP: 215,000/215,000 | MP: 170,000/170,000

Strength: S | Intelligence: C | Agility: A

___

"Atlantean? Is that why you are all crustaceans?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Immediately, Elian’s faction sprang to attack. Flame Swallows bombarded the knights—but with a single cross of their scythes, blue mana shields flared over their upper bodies.

When the Flame Swallows grew ineffective, Fluffy and Bastion’s wolves threw themselves at them. Like dense hammers of steel, just body-slamming the Mantis Knights caused their thin legs to buckle.

The knights attacked, but the wolves were much too fast to be hit.

"Guess, it’s my turn now. But these guys are way too big."

The Atlantian Mantis were extremely tall. They looked as large as buildings, making even Bastion look small. Elian looked at his weapons and felt like they wouldn’t cut it. If it were before yesterday, he would have been hard-pressed to kill them.

But now?

He and the Weapons have already thought of ways to take them out.

Elian ignited Cinderglass and raced toward the four Knights. As he came closer, he could see the intense flashes of light. Loud clangs resounded as the Weapons parried the scythes with swords transformed from their tails.

One of the mantises kicked Fluffy in the gut when she tried to go for its throat. Fluffy crashed into the ground and rolled a bit. The Living Metal floor diverted most of the kinetic energy, but she was still thrown around.

"Whisper!"

"I’m all right! These bastards are tough!"

Fluffy skidded upright. She buried her tail and claws in the ground to regain her balance.

"Fluffy squad—pepper them with Cinderglass!"

"Bastion squad!" her father roared. "Ensure the Knights never reach them!"

The wolves began to box in the knights, with Fluffy’s group attacking their eyes and throat. Bastion group body-slammed the Mantises back when they tried to attack.

The knights might have the height advantage, but the Weapons were far heavier and denser. Like wrecking balls, they ensured the scythes never reached Fluffy’s group. They were forced into a defensive position.

However, the blue cones of energy stopped even the Cinderglass rounds. And although Bastion’s group pushed them back, the Knights didn’t seem hurt at all. Both sides were locked in a stalemate.

That was until Elian arrived.

"Fluffy! Time for a show!"

At his call, Fluffy turned around and smiled, "Are we doing it?"

The Tyrant nodded with a wide grin, "Yep!"

"Fluffy Squad, retreat! Give me a bridge! Send me flying!" she commanded to her group.

The mantises tried to attack as their wings opened! All of a sudden, their eyes glowed, as did their scythes. Bastion, who noticed, suddenly grew in size to match the Mantis. He threw himself forward, pinning the one with glowing eyes.

"I’ll keep them pinned!" Bastion cried.

It swung its blades and beheaded Bastion in one swoop. However, his body still pushed forward. Following his lead, the other Bastion Wolves also grew and stopped the Mantis Knights at whatever cost was needed.

Elian couldn’t stop smiling at what was to come. If the people wanted a show, it wasn’t going to get any better than this.