Oboro's desire to conquer the Dark Continent would inevitably lead to conflict with all transcendent beings.
He wanted to stand at the very top!
This was his ambition and his desire.
The Demon King sensed this from his soul and confirmed it through his past experiences in the human world.
"You fear me?"
Oboro said, and terrifying soul black mist spread outwards from him like a tsunami, engulfing heaven and earth.
The guide, who was nearby, was instantly and severely wounded by the soul pressure, its eyes losing their light, and it collapsed to the ground.
The endless black mist spread madly like a virus. Wherever it passed, the transformed soul beings seemed to be injected with adrenaline, letting out roars towards the sky.
Furthermore, as the black mist swept across the vast land, countless spirits absorbed by Oboro appeared one by one, forming a massive army.
Among them were spirits absorbed from the human world, led by Meruem, Netero, and others, as well as many life forms that had perished at his hands over the years – all sorts of bizarre creatures, flying in the sky and running on the ground... From a high-altitude view, the entire surface was occupied by soul beings, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Like a sea of 'undead.'
And Oboro was at the very center, surrounded.
"We have chosen to accept you, and allowing you to build your home on this land is already our limit."
From above, that will remained unwavering.
"Really?"
Oboro's body transformed, and blazing soul fire burned his flesh, revealing Thresh's appearance.
In one hand, he held the chain of the Lantern of Ruin, and in the other, he gripped the axe blade at the end of the lantern.
"Since you know I can evolve infinitely... you wouldn't let me exist in the Dark Continent, you wouldn't give me enough time... So, you're trying to deceive me, right? To stall for time... waiting for the true overlords behind you to arrive and judge me?"
Oboro gently swung the chain, speaking calmly.
"Humans... are indeed uninteresting, low-level creatures."
As the wills clashed, thunderous lightning filled the sky, rumbling loudly.
One after another, red and black lightning bolts struck the earth, appearing solid, not flashing and disappearing.
Then, a colossal snake head gradually emerged from the sky, along with a pair of eyes the size of the sun and moon, emitting a murderous glow.
From the most vast and thickest lightning bolt, a figure slowly descended.
It was a life form resembling a demi-human magical beast.
At first glance, it looked identical to a human. The difference was that its lower body was human, but from the chest up, there was no neck or head. Instead, eight snake bodies had grown, and each of the eight snake heads had a human face, holding a weapon in each hand: a short sword and a spear.
"It seems that your evolution to this point is also due to human genes... Your intelligence is also because of humans."
Oboro and the true form of the opponent were still very far apart, and one was in the sky while the other was on the ground, yet both could clearly lock onto each other's gaze.
"The only value of humans is to provide the nourishment needed for evolution... However, at this point, they are no longer useful."
The snake-human said coldly, its forked tongue flicking continuously.
"Stop talking. Eat me, or... be eaten by me."
Oboro revealed a bloodthirsty smile.
He had waited so long, and finally... he saw one of the true overlords of this land.
"A stray from the spacetime rift... You don't belong here, and you don't understand your own abilities... We have existed on this continent for a long time, and our evolutionary sequence is far beyond what you can comprehend. Your desires are unconcealed, foreshadowing your end."
As the words fell, Oboro struck first.
Countless spirits shot up like a swarm of locusts, flying towards the snake-human standing on the lightning.
Boom boom!
Almost simultaneously, a sea of raging thunder surged, intertwining heaven and earth, annihilating all the souls.
But these spirits, turning into soul energy, did not completely dissipate. They quickly reformed and continued their assault.
Rules imposed, the game begins.
Oboro stared at the snake-human in the blinding light. Amidst the spreading energy, he mixed in rule-based power, attempting to alter the space and change the battlefield from multiple forms of energy.
His 'Spiritual Vision' could see through the snake-human's physical weaknesses, allowing for hits and critical strikes, and also provided an extraordinary attack range... The rules most compatible with these elements were still games.
Rule judgment: Failure!
However, Oboro did not succeed. The enemy also controlled rule-based power and could contend with him.
For rule-based power to take effect, there must be prerequisites. Only after the opponent fulfills them can the rule take effect. Otherwise... it's just a form of energy.
Simply put, to apply rule-based power in combat, both sides need to feign and set up traps in advance, waiting for the opponent to fall into them and participate.
Then, various restrictions can be imposed.
"If powerful rules cannot be deployed... then I can only pursue changes in small rules through details."
For example, calling out the opponent's name... or making them lose focus for half a minute, etc. However, such small prerequisites have very limited rule power that can be applied.
During their battle, it was also a contest of wits and observation.
He absolutely could not fall into a trap.
Once restricted by rules, he would be at a disadvantage and in great trouble.
Oboro raised his chain, and the artifact immediately pierced space, falling directly from above the snake-human's head, coiling around the target, loop after loop.
He was constantly evolving, and his abilities were always improving, not just Thresh's skills, but also Seina's and Eik's.
This spatial-breaking move was developed from his attack range.
Crack.
The next second, several of the snake-human's heads bit onto the chain. It seemed to be able to interact with the soul state of the artifact. Its sharp fangs not only broke the chain but its venom also melted the long chain.
The raging lightning continued to strike in all directions, and the dense ghosts couldn't even get close to the snake-human.
The snake-heads enlarged abruptly, spewing thick venom towards the sky. The potent poison spread across the battlefield with the strong wind, and in a short time, it began to rain heavily, all of which was its venom.
The snake heads rhythmically flicked their tongues, emitting a bell-like sound that echoed across the land.
All life forms that heard the sound, including plants, instantly withered and died.
Oboro's soul army also began to collapse. The energy he unleashed was even temporarily difficult to control under the interference of this sound wave.
"Lightning and sound, two extraordinary elemental powers, and venom as its innate talent... As expected, those who can evolve into overlords are not ordinary beings," Oboro said, gently swinging the lantern in his hand, moving it back and forth like the hand of a clock... Gradually, the flow of time in the entire battlefield slowed down.
Finally, it stopped, freezing in place.
Even the snake-human was frozen in a stiff posture and expression...
Controlling time was not a rule, but his ability.
It was also a skill developed from Eik's abilities.
Oboro suddenly vanished from his spot and appeared in the center of the lightning before the snake-human.
His eyes were cold, and the axe blade in his hand swung down towards its head.
Bang!
But to his surprise, the snake-human, which had been frozen in time, suddenly raised its short sword and blocked the fatal blow. The eyes on its eight snake heads rotated, and its limbs seemed to be slowly regaining mobility.
All abilities are transformations of energy and are downstream from rule-based power.
The existence of energy implies the possibility of confrontation; it doesn't necessarily mean absolute effectiveness.
Whether it's Oboro or the snake-human, at their level of evolution, it's essentially a battle of essence, not form.
It's about who has stronger life energy.
With his killing blow blocked, Oboro suddenly opened his mouth, and a blazing mass of soul fire flew onto the snake-human, igniting it with a roar.
"Ah!"
The snake-human let out a painful howl.
Oboro was also bitten on the shoulder by one of the snake heads.
The snake-human's body suddenly writhed and expanded, growing larger against the wind.
It transformed into a colossal being standing between heaven and earth, with eight heads and one tail, abandoning its human form... Many magical beasts and creatures could achieve this ability.
Oboro's body also grew. Thresh's form was gathered by Nen. If Menchi and the others were still there, they would likely be incredulous, because even Netero's Hundred-Type Guanyin would appear small as an ant before Oboro and the snake-human at this moment.
The next moment, the earth trembled violently.
Two colossal beings, like gods, began a primal battle.
For a time, heaven and earth were in chaos, and strong winds raged.
Souls of the dead drifted everywhere, and lightning crackled.
...
After an unknown period, the noisy, ruined, apocalyptic space finally returned to peace.
Thresh, standing tall, placed a foot on the snake corpse that had fallen to the ground and let out a soul-shattering roar.
The snake-human's endless soul energy poured into Oboro's body like a reversing river.
The first one!
This would be the prelude to his hunt for all the overlords of the Dark Continent!
Thresh's figure vanished, revealing Oboro's true form. Half of his body was corroded by venom... the injuries were not light.
Fortunately, he had stored immense life energy within his body, which could be gradually restored, but it would likely take a long time.
Oboro looked up at the sky. He prepared to fly up, leap over the gate, and see what the 'ecosystem' of the snake-human's territory was like.
But before he could move, he seemed to sense something.
He suddenly frowned.
Looking behind him.
Whoosh!
Something emitting a terrifying energy fluctuation shot towards him at astonishing speed.
It landed on the desolate, ravaged battlefield.
The newcomer was also about human size, but its entire body was shrouded in a soul mist.
Oboro narrowed his eyes. The malevolence from just having slain the snake-human had not yet dissipated. His powerful soul pressure immediately struck the creature's body, dispersing the soul mist around it and revealing its true form.
It had two horns on its head, a mouth full of sharp teeth, dark skin, and slender limbs... It also wore several ring-shaped metal ornaments on its ears.
The Demon King!
Oboro's heart stirred.
In the memories of the skeleton fragments, he couldn't even glimpse the Demon King's true appearance. Now... he could easily see its true form!
Oboro didn't know how many Demon Kings existed in the Dark Continent, but this one before him was the one who had previously seen him and passed on his information to other overlords!
He was too familiar with this kind of soul fluctuation.
The other party hadn't just arrived now; it had been there all along, just hiding farther away.
"Hehehehe... Human, you actually managed to kill Cambius."
The Demon King's voice was harsh, with a cunning and treacherous tone, completely different from the impression it gave Oboro before.
It seemed that in the soul memories, the Demon King had intentionally altered its demeanor and aura to appear more like the 'Demon King' in human perception, in order to entice him.
Now, this was its true form.
Cambius, the snake-human's name.
Having a name implied that the civilizations and origins established by humans, or rather, intelligent beings, on the Dark Continent were far more complex than initially speculated.
The Demon King's appearance and expression made Oboro understand everything at once.
The snake-human was merely a sacrifice, used to determine his level of danger.
An original human, disrupting the long-standing order of the Dark Continent, was a provocation to the higher beings.
Not just overlord-level life forms, but even higher existences, would not allow it.
Oboro had not yet replied.
Above, the sky shimmered with golden light.
A creature with three pairs of pure white wings descended slowly.
Its aura was incredibly sacred.
Each wing was like a cloud reaching the heavens, but hanging from the center of each wing was a human flesh and blood body covered in maggots, with a human face growing from its abdomen, not on its neck.
Oboro merely glanced at it and turned his gaze to another direction.
This time, it was a giant bear galloping from the horizon. What was peculiar was that the bear's body was not composed of flesh and blood but rather resembled a viscous substance.
These three creatures posed a threat to Oboro that was no less than that of the snake-human.
Clearly, they were all overlord-level life forms.
"Are they planning to take advantage of my injury to strike?"
Oboro's expression was impassive.
Since they were intelligent beings, it was only natural to employ some tactics.
However, Oboro had no intention of fleeing. He had just absorbed Cambius's soul...
But these three creatures didn't seem to intend to fight him. Under Oboro's gaze, the Demon King suddenly knelt on one knee, lowering its head in a submissive posture.
The angel-like creature also folded its wings.
The giant bear prostrated itself on the ground.
The stance of the three clearly indicated that they were not directed at him.
Oboro's eyelids twitched, and he looked up at the sky again.
"Above the overlord-level Demon King... are there gods?"
Oboro's pupils shrank to the size of needles.
The system's display, judging his food chain position, had already hinted at something.
Furthermore, the murals of the Gyudondond tribe and the books of the Kurta tribe, as well as some images showing human tribes inhabiting different regions of the Dark Continent, all depicted the habit of worshiring some kind of god... The Demon King's existence on the Dark Continent already explained the issue.
"There really are..."
When he saw the sky, which had always been dark like an abyss, with black and red hues, begin to ripple like clouds parting to reveal the sun... Oboro's heart trembled.
He wasn't surprised by the existence of gods, but rather by the fact that the life energy nurtured by the Dark Continent, including the exchange and evolution of genes, could truly reach the point of creating gods.
These gods were definitely not the supreme beings recognized in his past life or in the human world of this life.
But... simply through hunting, fighting, or even climbing from the very bottom of some food chain, over the endless river of history and time, they had become 'gods.'
Evolved to the realm of 'godhood.'
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