I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 52: Silver Tail Attack: Gas Lord!
[RESURRECTION TIMER: 00:00]
Kurt’s eyes snapped open abruptly as his chest heaved, flooding air into his lungs, and the world slammed back into focus.
The metallic taste of blood lingered on his tongue, a grim reminder of death he had just escaped. Although the pain was already fading, it was quickly replaced by something far more potent.
Power.
[RESURRECTION COMPLETE]
[Death Count: 13]
[New Ability Unlocked: Toxin Tide - F Rank]
[- Manipulate and neutralize toxins]
[+7 Points Awarded (Rare Death)]
[Available Points: 52]
[WARNING]
[- Reaper Detection: DORMANT (3 days) → (1 day)]
[- Detection acceleration increasing with death frequency]
[Recommendation: Minimize deaths or prepare for imminent encounter!]
Almost simultaneously, a second notification flashed before him.
[WARNING: Toxin Tide rank insufficient for current threat level]
[RECOMMENDATION: Upgrade ability immediately]
As Kurt’s vision cleared fully, he spotted the massive bubble descending toward Lizzie and Sam. Its surface glowed pitch black with deadly intent, mere seconds from impact.
"Sod off you bloody system," Kurt muttered, a grin curling his lips, "I’ve got a better idea."
Without hesitation, he pulled up his stats, mentally navigating the translucent interface faster than thought itself. The ability, Gasakinesis was selected, and thirty points vanished from his pool in an instant.
[UPGRADE CONFIRMED]
[Gasakinesis → Gas Lord: C-Rank]
[Cost: 30 points]
[Notice: Gasakinesis has evolved to Gas Lord]
[SUB-QUEST COMPLETE: Upgrade two abilities to C-Rank: +10 points]
[Available Points: 32]
The change was immediate. Knowledge flooded his mind, and instincts he had never possessed before now felt natural.
The bubble continued its deadly descent and Kurt thrust his hand forward, unleashing a concentrated blast of fire that collided with it mid-air.
The explosion was deafening, sending a shockwave rippling outward and throwing everyone back. Lizzie hit the ground hard, instinctively shielding Sam with her body, while Rayner stumbled, his sanitizer bottle slipping from his grasp.
However, the explosion had consequences.
The colorless, odorless poison contained within Rayner’s bubbles now permeated the air, spreading rapidly throughout the guild.
Panicked shouts erupted from all directions as people began coughing violently, collapsing while their bodies struggled to process the invisible death filling their lungs.
Kurt sensed it immediately. His new Gas Lord ability granted him a sixth sense for gases, allowing him to feel the poison spreading like a cancer through the warehouse.
He spread his arms wide and exhaled slowly, and the air around him began to move, swirling inward like a vortex. Kurt’s essence flared as he concentrated, pulling every molecule of the poisonous gas toward himself.
Though it resisted fiercely at first, he forced it to obey, gathering the toxic gas into a concentrated sphere hovering above his palm.
Then, with deliberate focus, he converted it by breaking apart the poison’s molecular structure and reforming it into harmless oxygen.
The sphere glowed faintly green before dispersing, spreading clean air throughout the guild, and people gasped, breathing deeply as their coughing fits subsided.
Rayner’s eyes widened in disbelief. He grabbed another bottle from his pocket and rubbed sanitizer into his hands even harder, the bottle nearly empty now. "Impossible, impossible it is..."
Lizzie scrambled to her feet, pulling Sam up with her. When she saw Kurt standing there, alive, her face lit up with relief and joy. "KURT!" she exclaimed, practically tackling him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You’re okay! You’re not dead! Well, you were dead, but now you’re not!"
Sam stood frozen, tears still streaking her cheeks, and then she rushed forward and threw her arms around him too. "I thought... I thought..."
Kurt patted her head gently, his other arm around Lizzie. "Takes more than poison to keep me down, love."
More bubbles began to rise from the puddle beneath Rayner’s feet, iridescent and deadly. His expression shifting from confident to desperate as he rubbed his trembling hands together.
Kurt stepped forward, flames igniting around both fists as they met the bubbles shot toward him head-on, fire consuming each one before they could reach him. The heat intensified, and Rayner stumbled backward, sweat pouring down his face.
"You’re supposed to be a D-ranker," Rayner said, his voice strained. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, as if trying to convince himself this wasn’t real. "...and yet."
Kurt grinned, closing the distance between them with confident steps. Despite Rayner’s relentless bombardment of bubbles, Kurt pressed on, pushing both him and his assault back with his inferno.
"I see you did your homework on me," Kurt remarked calmly, flames roaring around his fists. "But here’s the thing, mate... homework doesn’t mean squat when the test goes sideways."
Glancing over his shoulder at Lizzie, he added, "A little help?"
Lizzie lifted an eyebrow, then grinned. "Oh, I see what you’re putting down!"
She raised her hands, and yellow essence erupted around Kurt’s body, wrapping him in a glowing aura. His strength doubled, his movements sharpened, and the flames around his fists intensified, roaring with newfound fury.
Leaning in closer to Rayner, Kurt’s voice dropped to a whisper. "And for the final touch..."
Activating Gas Lord once more, he emitted pure methane into the air surrounding his flames, and the reaction was instantaneous. The fire exploded outward in a towering inferno, consuming everything in its path.
Rayner screamed as the flames consumed his attack, then engulfed him, his sanitizer bottle melting in his hand. When the fire finally died down, all that remained was a charred silhouette etched onto the concrete.
The system chimed with a +10 reward for defeating Rayner and Kurt exhaled slowly, the flames around his hands fading. "Bubble bloke’s done."
The result of using Gas Lord suddenly at this level was a skull piercing migraine that felt like coins were rattling in his head. ’I suppose experimenting so brashly was too soon.’ he thought to himself.
Turning back to Lizzie and Sam, his expression softened, putting on a brave face to hide his exhaustion and pain. "Are you alright?"
Lizzie bounced on her heels, still buzzing with adrenaline. "Are you kidding?! That was AMAZING! Did you see the way you just—WHOOSH—and he was all—AHHH—and then—BOOM!" She punctuated her excitement with exaggerated explosion noises.
Sam wiped her tears away, her voice small but steady. "I’m okay. Thank you, Kurt."
Kurt ruffled her hair gently. "Anytime."
Across the warehouse, Zaza stood in the shadows, still biting her nails absently and watching. Her purple eyes glowed faintly, and a slow grin spread across her face.
"Oohhh..." she murmured, touching her lips with a blank, fascinated expression. "He died. But now he’s not dead. His soul reconstituted from nothing?"
She tilted her head, chewing on her nail harder as her cheeks turned rosy. "I want to see it again."
***
While chaos still echoed through the warehouse, in the workshop, Joshua’s threads slashed through the air with surgical precision, and Rook’s stone coating shattered under the relentless assault.
He was sent crashing backward, his body slamming into a workbench hard enough to splinter the wood. But Rook had anticipated this.
As the threads retracted, Rook’s hand shot out and grabbed one, wrapping his fingers around the nearly invisible strand, and his eyes gleamed with triumph.
"Hm." Joshua’s expression shifted, his boredom replaced with mild surprise from watching someone act so reckless.
He wiggled a finger, ready to sever the hands clinging to his thread. However, Rook’s absorption quicker than Joshua anticipated.
With the thread absorbed, his stone form shifted. Replaced with thin black lines spread across his skin, and hardening into the same material as Joshua’s threads.
In an instant, he dashed forward, faster than before, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Joshua’s eyes widened slightly in response.
But then, Rook’s foot struck something invisible.
He lurched forward, off balance, as threads erupted from every direction. They had been there all along. Aweb so fine it had gone unseen, now wrapping around him like a cocoon.
His arms were pinned to his sides, his legs locked together, and the more he struggled, the tighter the threads became.
Joshua stepped closer, hands in his pockets, and his expression slipping back into boredom. "Almost had me there for a second."
Rook strained against the threads, muscles bulging with effort. Fortunately, the threads could only do so much as restrain him in his current state.
***
Meanwhile, Cassandra’s blade carved through the air, each swing sending arcs of ice trailing behind. Riley dodged them all, spinning and weaving with desperate agility, but exhaustion was catching up. Sweat dripped down her face, and her breathing grew ragged.
"You traitor!" Riley screamed. "I respected you." She threw another heated strike.
Cassandra’s expression didn’t change as she intercepted the strike with a pyramid construct, but her next words cut deeper than any blade. "You all left me to die."
Riley froze, caught off guard by her words.
The hesitation was brief, just a fraction of a second, but Cassandra didn’t miss it. She stepped forward and delivered a devastating side kick to Riley’s ribs.
The impact sent Riley crashing into a nearby support beam, which groaned under the force, and Riley slumped to the ground, gasping for air.
Slowly, Cassandra advanced, her blade still raised, ice spreading across the floor with each step.
Then, out of the smoke, Emma appeared. Her grey eyes locked onto Riley, and she cracked her knuckles. "Need a hand?"
Riley wiped blood from her chin, her gaze darting between Cassandra and Emma. A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Two against one? How’s that fighting fair?"
Before Emma could respond, a smooth, amused voice came from behind her.
"Then let’s rectify that, shall we?"
Eli stood directly behind Emma, a knife pressed against her throat, and his smile was polite, almost friendly.
Emma went rigid and Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. "Eli."
Tilting his head, Eli pressed the blade just hard enough to draw a thin line of blood. "Cassandra."
