Chapter 151: ...Wow, What a Truly Massive Phantylia!
「 At the deepest core of the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, a lotus platform floated, within which a tiny wisp of spectral flame flickered.
"Oh? Hehe, could it be the General of the Luofu who graces us with his presence?"
Phantylia noticed their arrival, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"That witch! She was here waiting for us the whole time." March 7th fumed, shouting towards the distant spectral flame, "Show yourself, Phantylia!"
"My benefactor has arrived as well? Patience, patience, let me make myself presentable..." Phantylia's voice was languid and unconcerned, as if she held no regard for those before her. 」
「 .....」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
"Benefactor, benefactor, still benefactor! She's the one who… who did that to Miss Tingyun…"
Zenitsu gritted his teeth in fury, wishing he could charge forward and deliver a swift kick to Phantylia's backside. Of course, that was an impossible feat… so he placed all his hopes on Stelle, wishing she could whack Phantylia a few extra times on his behalf.
"Tch, I thought Phantylia was supposed to be someone formidable? Turns out she's just a ball of fire, doesn't look all that tough…"
Inosuke pouted, utterly bewildered as to why Jing Yuan remained rooted to the spot. Shouldn't he be charging in to extinguish her right now?
"You pig-headed oaf, please, for the love of all that is holy, use your brain! If Phantylia were that easy to deal with, would Jing Yuan even need to call in the Astral Express?"
Zenitsu shot Inosuke a disdainful glance.
"When powerhouses clash, you have to probe first!"
"Besides, I can't shake the feeling that this Phantylia is plotting something dreadful with the Ambrosial Arbor… She wouldn't connect herself to the Arbor like that, Abundant Ebon Deer, would she? Unkillable, unslayable?"
"If that were truly the case… then General Jing Yuan might be in grave danger."
Tanjiro vividly recalled the terrifying regenerative abilities of the Abundant Ebon Deer when Stelle and the others fought it.
The Demon Slayer Corps often compared the 『 Abundance 』's self-healing to the demons under Muzan, but in truth, everyone knew that the 『 Abundance 』's healing power far surpassed that of demons. No matter how difficult demons were to kill, they would eventually die. But once backed by the power of the 『 Abundance 』… that was true immortality.
—
「 Phantylia remained immersed in the newly acquired Ambrosial Arbor, her voice brimming with ecstasy: "Now I see why the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus hold themselves in such high regard... the Arbor's traces really do possess the power of metamorphosis and resurrection."
"Everyone, you must be cautious." Jing Yuan cast a wary gaze around, his eyes finally settling on Dan Heng, his trust as unwavering as it had been for years: "Dan Heng, I entrust my back to you."
Dan Heng nodded solemnly: "I understand."
"Phantylia… what is she doing?" Hearing Phantylia mention the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, March 7th felt a faint sense of foreboding.
As the group approached the lotus platform, the flickering flame suddenly descended upon it, erupting into a roaring blaze.
The dark lotus then shot skyward, parting the clouds above. In an instant, a woman of colossal stature, over a hundred zhang tall and as vast as a mountain, descended from the heavens, manifesting before them.
She appeared to be seated, yet due to her immense size, only her upper body was barely discernible through the swirling mists.
She gently fanned herself with a round fan, her skin a pallid grey. Though her face was beautiful, her dark green lips lent her an aura of pervasive darkness and eerie mystique. 」
「 .....」
〜Baki World〜
"This… this is the Lord Ravager…"
The moment his gaze met Phantylia's, Retsu Kaioh quickly averted his eyes.
For some inexplicable reason, in the instant his eyes locked with Phantylia's golden irises, Retsu Kaioh felt a peculiar sensation crawl up his spine, like a long centipede wriggling with countless delicate tendrils.
He suddenly felt the wound on his right leg, the one Pícaro had devoured, begin to itch.
W-what's happening…
Retsu Kaioh removed his prosthetic limb and unwrapped the bandages, but the sight before him sent a chill down his spine.
His skin, as if endowed with a life of its own, began to slowly undulate. He could feel his flesh and bone seemingly attempting to break through the healed skin, as if to regenerate anew.
"It's the power of 『 Abundance 』…"
Tokugawa stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before him.
"Could Retsu Kaioh's leg grow back?"
When the power of the Star God radiated through the screen into their world, even a minuscule fragment of it was enough to profoundly shock Tokugawa.
This was a Star God… At this moment, Tokugawa, the most powerful man in Japan, finally understood the reverence felt by the original pioneers of the Xianzhou upon witnessing the miracles of 『 Abundance 』.
This was, indeed, a temptation beyond human resistance.
—
〜OVERLORD World〜
Within the Great Tomb of Nazarick—
Ainz shifted his gaze from Phantylia's colossal, mountain-like form on the screen to Demiurge.
"—How fares the experiment, Demiurge?"
"Indeed, the injuries are continuously healing, though not at a rapid pace; it's akin to ordinary healing magic."
To demonstrate an immediate effect, Demiurge promptly sliced open a wound on his palm. True to his words, the cut edges of the wound visibly writhed as they began to close.
It looked somewhat grotesque… seemingly a rather weak manifestation of the 『 Abundance 』's power.
Ainz speculated that the screen filtered out the vast majority of the power, and only when the battles within the screen or the emanating power became exceedingly intense could it subtly affect their world.
Ainz recalled how, upon encountering the Star God of 『 Remembrance 』 in the Simulated Universe, he had uncontrollably fallen into a brief reverie—though only for a few fleeting seconds, the Star God in the Simulated Universe was not its true form… This had made him quite uneasy at the time.
The Stellaron had activated the Ambrosial Arbor, and Phantylia had stolen the Arbor's power, yet this was merely the power of an Emanator… Ainz could not imagine what this world would become when a true Star God made its appearance.
—
「 "Benefactors, behold this beautiful body..." Phantylia languidly propped her head with one hand: "…The miracles of 『 Abundance 』, truly well-deserved. Let's see if I can put it to good use."
She gently raised her left hand, and two lotus flowers emerged from the swirling mists. With a subtle tremor of their petals, Stelle and the others had barely registered a faint fragrance before their legs instantly buckled, and a significant portion of their stamina was drained away.
Phantylia seemed quite pleased by this, chuckling softly: "Excellent, the very power that brought the Xianzhou long life, I will use to bring it destruction!"
"Everyone, be wary! Phantylia has seized the power of the Ambrosial Arbor for her own ends." Jing Yuan's battle blade materialized in his hand, shielding the group. "You all focus on eradicating these phantom flowers, while I shall shatter her physical form." 」
「 .....」