"What... what is that?"
Nebilos flinched and backed away at the ominous sound that echoed from down the corridor.
When he first ascended to the Phenomenal World, he had thought of it as a buffet where all sorts of souls gathered defenselessly in clusters.
But after being caught by Zeke and spending time with him, he realized the opposite was true—there were far more bizarre entities here than anything heʼd ever heard of in the Demon Realm.
The thing that appeared now was likely something he hadnʼt anticipated at all.
Splash! Splash!
Along with the sound of something wet and full of moisture, a strange entity revealed itself in the corridor.
It was a mass of wriggling flesh, like a gigantic maggot.
At its underside, hundreds of limbs resembling human hands protruded, supporting its massive body as it moved.
Nebilos stared in horror at the grotesque monster that approached him.
"W-what the hell is that thing!"
Even Nebilos, a demon from the Demon Realm, felt an instinctive fear and revulsion toward this bizarre creature heʼd never seen before.
Grooooaaar—
The mass of flesh let out an eerie sound as it advanced toward Nebilos.
Then, part of the flesh stretched out like rubber, trying to snag him.
"Urk!"
Nebilos, the Inspector of the Abyss, quickly retreated, dodging the attack from the extending flesh.
"Damn it."
He tried to return to the Demon Realm right away, but the recall failed, forcing him to muster his mana once more.
Rumble—
From the floor, the undead he had summoned emerged.
Blue ghostfire flared in Nebilosʼs eyes.
"Attack it!"
The undead gripped their weapons and charged at the mass of flesh.
But surprisingly, long arms burst out from within the flesh, wrapping around the approaching undead and dragging them in.
Crunch—
Nebilos watched helplessly as the undead he had summoned were absorbed into the flesh as if sucked in.
"No way... what the hell is that..."
It was absurd, but the fact that it had absorbed his undead in an instant suggested it wasnʼt a simple creature.
Nebilos drew his staff and channeled his energy.
Sizzle—
Green smoke rose from his staff, spewing out a poisonous mist that spread throughout the space filled by the mass of flesh.
Any organic being made of blood and flesh would be vulnerable to poison.
Nebilosʼs assumption proved correct, as the mass of flesh exposed to the poisonous mist showed an abnormal reaction.
Gurgle!
It suddenly stopped advancing toward him and began twisting its massive body in place.
Seeing a response, Nebilos intensified the poison.
"You ugly, grotesque creature. Die quietly." Gurgle!
The writhing mass of flesh distorted wildly.
It crumpled and deformed like mud trampled and kneaded, unable to maintain its shape.
Grooooaaar!
A monstrous cry emanated from the distorted flesh.
At the same time, the flesh split open with a crack.
Splurt! Splurt!
From the fissures, black bodily fluid filled with foam and a foul stench began gushing out.
Nebilos had expected the flesh to vomit blood and collapse soon, but the unexpected reaction left him flustered.
"Damn, it has all sorts of tricks."
The mass of flesh, now spewing black fluid, had shrunk in size compared to before.
Then, long arms emerged from its body once more, reaching toward Nebilos.
Grooooaaar!
The dozens of elongated arms tried to seize him.
Nebilos fired mana bullets at it in panic while continuing to unleash the poisonous mist.
But the creature only kept spewing black fluid without halting its advance.
"Urk!"
As he retreated, Nebilos failed to dodge one of the arms flying from behind.
Squelch!
Wrapped in the arm, Nebilos instantly felt his mana being drained away.
"I canʼt move."
He now understood why his summoned undead had been helplessly pulled into the flesh without resistance.
Unable to even channel mana, he was dragged toward the mass of flesh dripping black fluid.
It was at that moment, as Nebilos was about to be buried in the flesh— Boom! Boom! Boom!
A green flash erupted from the opposite side.
It was Arataso, who had appeared behind him, thrusting his lance infused with green fighting spirit.
Splat!
The attack struck true on the mass of flesh, which had been focused on Nebilos and left vulnerable.
Grooooaaar!
The flesh let out a pained roar.
In that gap, Sion, who had appeared from the ceiling, used psychokinesis to forcibly pry open the hand gripping Nebilos.
"Urk!"
Freed from the grasp, Nebilos finally regained the ability to use his mana.
As Nebilos escaped the flesh, Arataso attacked from behind while Sion assaulted from the front.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mass of flesh, spewing black fluid, trembled violently under the onslaught from both sides, unable to endure.
Shrieeeek!
Suddenly, the flesh elongated its body like a long branch and slipped through a gap in the space.
Sizzle—
The elongated mass vanished in an instant, leaving no trace.
Arataso approached Nebilos from behind.
"I wondered where youʼd gone. Looks like that thing caught you."
In truth, he had been trying to flee back to the Demon Realm, but afraid of what retaliation Zeke might unleash if he admitted it, Nebilos quickly nodded in agreement with Aratasoʼs words.
"Y-yeah. That unidentified monster ambushed me from behind."
Boris and his group, emerging from the floor with Adol, looked at Arataso and Nebilos and said,
"It seems like an experimental subject created by the Narak bastards, but I donʼt know its identity. Itʼs something that snatches and devours anything... Anyway, once we blow this place up, itʼll be gone without a trace."
Arataso and Nebilos nodded at Borisʼs words.
At that moment, Shadia, standing beside Boris, spoke up.
"But did the lord really say to blow this place up first?" Arataso nodded at her question.
"Yeah. He said thatʼs what we need to do to capture the High Priest of Narak." Shadia realized Zeke intended to end things here.
Boris nodded and said,
"Itʼs best to follow the bossʼs orders. The bombs are all set, so letʼs get out. No point getting caught in the blast and dying pointlessly."
Arataso and Nebilos also nodded at Borisʼs words and headed upward toward the surface.
As they escaped the labyrinth, the fleeing mass of flesh searched for something to devour to sate its hunger once more.
And at some point, the mass of flesh detected a delicious scent from one side.
It had found something highly nutritious, enough to satisfy its hunger in one go and replenish the energy it needed.
The creatureʼs body swiftly headed that way.
*
Zeke looked at Harvey West and said,
"The Authority of Re-Creation, which recreates what once existed. Thatʼs the power possessed by the Arrogant Savior."
Summoning back legions that had already been annihilated, or using the power of artifacts that had vanished.
Even the entity that seemed on the verge of annihilation by the heart-sword returning to its original state.
All of it stemmed from the Re-Creation power of the Arrogant Saviorʼs Authority. Zeke looked at Harvey West again and said,
Hummm!
Chaos Field energy began to surge slightly from Laevatein in Zekeʼs hand.
Aiming the sword at Harvey West, he continued,
"But it seems your Authority has a weakness. It looks impossible to create something entirely new. Itʼs a restricted power that can only recreate what once existed." At Zekeʼs words, Harvey Westʼs eyebrow twitched.
"Stop your futile struggling and follow me, Zeke Draker. Otherwise, all thatʼs in store for you is eternal despair and annihilation."
"No matter how powerful an Authority is, if you canʼt use it, itʼs worthless."
Until now, Harvey West had been able to achieve full recovery in a different way from Zeke through the Arrogant Saviorʼs Authority.
This was because the Authority of Re-Creation could reconstruct even shattered souls.
Zeke realized that if the reason Harvey West didnʼt perish was the Arrogant Saviorʼs Authority, then attacking with Chaos Field would work.
He would lose his immortal body as well, but Harvey West would similarly lose access to his Authorityʼs power, making a direct confrontation possible.
The various contingencies prepared to deal with Zeke had all been neutralized.
This time, Chaos Field could finally unleash its full might.
Harvey West, who had been listening silently, slowly shook his head.
"Zeke Draker, youʼve forgotten even how to see the truth amid all the distrust and lies." Zeke didnʼt respond and unleashed the Chaos Field energy from Laevatein.
Seeing this, Harvey West furrowed his brow.
He said to Zeke,
"Itʼs pointless. No matter what you do, my existence cannot be erased."
"Weʼll see about that."
At that moment, the homunculus in front of Harvey West moved again.
Whoosh—
The homunculus rushed at Zeke like the wind, deploying the Chamber of Water Power.
The sword surged toward Zeke like a wave.
Now somewhat accustomed to the homunculusʼs movements, Zeke countered with his own Chamber of Water Power, parrying the strike.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Elemental Swords clashed and canceled each other out.
Harvey West, standing behind, formed hand seals and invoked the Arrogant Saviorʼs Authority once more.
Rumble—
As he emanated his energy, the space began to change.
Zeke noticed that Harvey West was deploying his Unique Barrier to draw him into his domain.
"Heʼs avoiding being eroded by the Chaos Field." It was certainly a different situation from before.
Judging he had a chance, Zeke gritted his teeth and countered Harvey Westʼs Unique Barrier by deploying his own domain with the Chaos Field energy.
Hummm!
Zekeʼs domain clashed with Harvey Westʼs, each trying to pull the other in.
At the sharply colliding boundary of the domains, a dimensional storm raged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a risk that the dimensional boundary could tear open, causing the space itself to collapse.
But neither could yield. As the fierce domain struggle continued, something intervened between them.
Grooooaaar!
The aberrant creature that had leaped in search of nutritious prey pierced through the dimensional storm and revealed itself.
Zeke frowned at the sudden appearance of the grotesque entity.
"Is it an experimental subject from Narak?"
Expecting it to attack him, Zeke maintained the Chaos Field domain and prepared to summon shadows.
But surprisingly, the creature moved not toward Zeke, but the opposite direction.
The grotesque entity, with its long, branch-like body, swelled up in an instant and wrapped around Kaisirʼs homunculus in front of Harvey West.
Squelch!
Kaisirʼs homunculus couldnʼt evade the sudden assault and was absorbed entirely.
Seeing this, Harvey Westʼs expression turned peculiar.
"...A fragment of an angel? Why is that here now?"
It was an unexpected event for him too, as his face showed clear fluster.
The mass of flesh was extremely satisfied with what it had devoured.
It had swallowed numerous knights and mages, but none had provided the nutrients it needed.
But the being it just consumed possessed all the essential nutrients.
With this alone, it felt it could fulfill its desires.
Rumble!
Within the clashing domains and the raging dimensional storm, the mass of flesh that had devoured the homunculus began to transform.
Crunch! Crunch!
Arms and legs sprouted from what was merely a lump of flesh.
As the flesh gathered and took shape, massive wings unfurled from its back.
Grooooaaar!
Letting out a monstrous cry, a head began to grow from the transforming mass of flesh.
Harvey Westʼs eyes flashed with bewilderment as he watched.
"The fragment is awakening now?"
Though it was something he possessed, he had sealed away this unknown entity because he didnʼt know how to properly awaken it.
It had exerted power, but only in the grotesque manner of absorbing living beings.
All attempts to achieve proper awakening had failed, so he thought the divinity within had faded. He never imagined Kaisirʼs homunculus would be the key to its awakening.
Zeke, on the opposite side, furrowed his brow at the new entity that suddenly emerged and took form.
"He looks surprised too, so itʼs not something he prepared."
Zeke couldnʼt help but be shocked by the energy that emanated from the unknown entity gradually manifesting.
It was a being with a new energy, different from everything heʼd encountered so far.
But Zeke recalled an existence he had faced before—one with the energy most similar to this.
"Nephilim?"
The ancient beings created from a constellationʼs sacred blood.
Yet the unknown entity before him now radiated an even stronger constellation energy than a Nephilim.