Dev was drowning in unbearable pain as the injection given by the old man began spreading through his body, his veins burning, his heart pounding violently as if it would tear itself apart, and his mind slipping into emptiness while every inch of his body felt like it was being torn apart from within, the agony so intense that his screams echoed uncontrollably, until after what felt like endless suffering, the pain suddenly stopped, leaving his body trembling as he slowly opened his eyes.
The old man was already standing right in front of his face, watching him.
Outside, Ruby, who was fighting the old man's clone, suddenly grew anxious as she felt Dev's scream.
The old man briefly glanced outside the pillar and saw that Ruby was gaining the upper hand, the clone slowly being defeated, and not wanting to take any chances, he immediately moved toward a bookshelf, opened three books, and from them three versions of himself appeared, standing beside him, and with a cold command he ordered them to go outside and fight Ruby, then looked back at Dev and said with a faint smile that these were his last batch of clones.
Outside, Ruby burned the old man's clone with her fire and took a heavy breath, but before she could recover, three more clones stepped out, and her face turned into horror as she realized that even one clone was already a challenge for her, yet now three stood before her.
The three clones attacked together with their sticks, and although Ruby tried to defend herself with her hands, the combined force of all three pushed her down to her knees.
Kai, Chiru, Vaal, Karn, Sethr, and Rehx rushed in and attacked the clones, but their attacks did nothing, not even enough to make them flinch, and they were forced back, leaving Ruby struggling on the ground.
Kai helped Ruby up and said that all of them together could handle one clone and asked if she could take on two.
Ruby replied with difficulty that even one was on another level compared to them, that they were like ants before him, but after a moment she said she could handle two, even if it would be difficult.
Kai assured her they would manage.
Kai and Chiru attacked one clone together, but the old man showed no distraction, and then Chiru suddenly got an idea, called out loudly, and mocked him by calling him a failed scientist, and upon hearing that, Kai looked at Chiru with a proud expression.
The words enraged all three clones, and they immediately turned their focus toward Kai and Chiru, jumping toward them with overwhelming force, but before the attack could land, Ruby stepped in front and blocked two of them, while the third, still in the air, threw a stick that struck Kai and Chiru and sent both of them flying backward.
Vaal and Karn attacked from behind, but the old man sensed them instantly, caught both of them with his hands, and threw them away effortlessly, and before they could recover, Sethr and Rehx attacked with full force using their fists, but they too failed to even make him react, and with a single kick, he sent both of them crashing back toward Kai and Chiru.
The battle split into two fronts, Ruby fighting two clones while one clone completely dominated Kai, Chiru, Vaal, Karn, Sethr, and Rehx.
Inside the Pillar of the Infinite Library
The old man looked at Dev, whose body had gone strangely calm after the injection, and he examined him carefully, checking his eyes, touching his muscles through the white shirt, and after confirming everything, he smiled with satisfaction.
Dev slowly opened his eyes again and saw the old man holding a dagger coated with something, positioned exactly over his stomach while he himself was tied to a floating stretcher, forced upright.
The moment their eyes met, the old man stabbed the dagger straight into Dev's stomach.
Then he began chanting.
"Oh Raphael, I summon you with the coated blood of holo animals, the first dagger."
Dev's scream echoed violently through the entire pillar and beyond.
Outside, Ruby heard it while fighting, her state worsening as she was unable to do anything to save him, while Kai and the others were in the same desperate situation, barely able to stand against the overwhelming strength of the clone, yet still forcing themselves to rise again and again with the will to protect their king.
Inside, the old man took another dagger and chanted again.
"Oh Raphael, accept this second offering, the fragment world animal blood."
He stabbed it into Dev's liver.
The scream echoed again.
Then he continued the third chant, taking out a transparent dagger that looked like a fragment itself, forged using the blood of its owner, and without hesitation, he stabbed it into Dev's lungs, yet Dev remained alive, forced to endure every single moment of pain as if death itself was being denied to him.
The fourth chant followed.
"This dagger forged from the dust of the holo world, I present to you, Raphael."
He stabbed it into Dev's right hand.
At that moment, a voice echoed across the entire holo world, a single terrifying warning.
"Do not disturb it."
The voice was overwhelming, suffocating, as if the world itself was trembling.
The old man looked at Dev and calmly said that only three daggers were left.
He took the fifth dagger, black in color.
"Oh Raphael, I bring the coated black stone of the fragment world."
He stabbed it into Dev's left hand.
Then the sixth dagger.
"Oh Raphael, I offer true human blood."
He poured blood onto the dagger and stabbed it into Dev's shoulder.
Dev's entire body was shaking under continuous torment, yet he remained conscious, unable to move, unable to resist, only able to endure.
In his mind, one thought remained.
Ruby is still outside.
And another.
I will live, because I am the one who will open the path to godhood.
But then a darker thought surfaced.
Even if the body remains… the soul inside can change.
He waited for a miracle.
Then came the final chant.
"I offer the ashes of Raphael."
The dagger pierced straight into Dev's heart.
Dev vomited blood.
And then…
He died.
The Sky Breaks
The sky turned dark , the holo world reddish sky has gone dark and a massive crack appeared, large enough to swallow the entire holo world, spreading endlessly as darkness consumed the heavens, space itself fracturing.
From within that crack, a blinding figure emerged, descending slowly, its body glowing so brightly that its face could not be seen.
Everyone stopped.
Ruby, Kai, Chiru, the others, even the clones.
Including the Wolf Holo Clan, Ruby's clan, and all the other holo world animal clans, every single one of them was watching the sky as that terrifying phenomenon unfolded, their instincts trembling under the pressure of something far beyond their understanding, while Ruby, who had been standing in the middle of the battlefield, slowly lost the strength in her legs as her will began to collapse after witnessing that being descend from the sky, her eyes filled with shock and helplessness as she realized she could do nothing in front of such power.
The figure descended and landed inside the pillar, and as it did, the crack sealed, and the sky returned to normal reddish sky of holo world
The being stood there and spoke in a commanding, divine tone.
"You puny humans… why did you call me?"
The old man immediately knelt and said "Your Highness…" he wanted his soul returned in exchange for destroying the boy's path to godhood, explaining that if his soul entered Dev's body, the future would change.
The being grew enraged.
"You dare bargain with a god?"
With a single outburst, the entire pillar shattered into pieces.
The old man pressed his head to the ground, trembling, trying to calm him, asking what he desired instead.
"Your Highness…" the old man thought to himself, his mind racing in fear as he forced his body to remain bowed, knowing clearly that if he angered this being even slightly, he would not leave the will alive , his thoughts spiraling as he tried to calculate what he could offer, what he could sacrifice, anything that would satisfy the god before him, as long as the boy's body was left untouched, because the boy was already dead and that body was the only thing he needed after waiting for hundreds of years, and no matter what it took, he had to secure it.
The being replied coldly.
"What I want… you cannot give, but I can take."
The old man realized the danger but had no choice.
Then the being spoke.
"I want that body."
He laughed.
"The human who can open the path to godhood… with this body, I can return to the place of gods."
The old man was shocked, trying to protest that it was his body after waiting 800 years, but an immense pressure crushed him to the ground.
"A mere human dares to refuse me?"
The old man surrendered.
At that moment, Raphael moved toward the boy's body, his presence radiating authority as he began removing the daggers one by one, his voice filled with amusement as he spoke about the human who could open the path to godhood, laughing loudly as if he had already claimed victory, the joy in his tone growing as he imagined taking over such a body, but in the very next instant something impossible happened, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed the back of Raphael's neck, gripping it firmly, stopping him completely, and in that frozen moment a terrifying truth became clear.
A god's neck…
Was being held by someone.
He spoke slowly, his grip tightening around Raphael's neck as his presence suffocated the very air itself, and in a voice that carried neither anger nor emotion, only absolute dominance he said
The playtime is over .......