Chapter 604: Power of Chaos, Polluted Sephiroth
Aetoris kneeling on the ground, and the Aetoris condensed on Laurence's shoulder with only his head left.
Both moved simultaneously, looking into the black fog.
There, an intense pressure radiated.
Laurence moved his feet. Flesh and blood had already pierced underground in the form of tentacles; he could escape through this method at any time.
But suddenly, his heart violently trembled, and then stopped beating.
That vitality, so intense it could directly crush ordinary humans to death, also abruptly stagnated.
In the next moment, he felt something inside his body rapidly draining away. That was a vitality so weak it was almost imperceptible to him.
He immediately noticed something and looked into the black fog.
"What did you do?!"
Hum!
The golden ripples behind Laurence began to shake uncontrollably, causing Laurence's body to sway as well.
That head of Aetoris piled up from flesh and blood swayed along with Laurence's body. His golden long hair danced like a lion.
Only a pity, in the flesh and blood beneath that long hair now, there was no longer that heart that would beat fiercely upon seeing Seraphina.
Tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps grew clearer from the black fog. A hand, as if brushing aside the black mist, reached out a step ahead.
Specks of golden luster flew from behind Laurence towards this hand like ribbons.
"What did I do?"
Kaito Shirogane's pitch rose. His dissatisfaction turned into a violent impact, smashing onto Laurence's body surface with a boom.
A layer of scarlet phantom enveloped Kaito Shirogane's body surface. The Omen of the Evil God had been activated. In this state, just a single glance sent Laurence flying backward.
At this very moment, Kaito Shirogane's [Gaze of Pride] contained the terrifying destructive power brought by his strength breaking a thousand.
Kaito Shirogane kept his hand extended. He was retracting his bestowal; he was taking back the power that belonged to him!
From the moment he first saw Laurence display those golden ripples spanning thousands of meters, he already knew his investment had failed...
That man who traded his heart and hot blood for the protection of the red-haired young girl was already dead, devoured by Laurence.
He didn't expect that at this moment, from Laurence's mouth, he would hear the other party's thoughts in his final moments... actually so weak...
Ultimately, a weak human.
Ultimately, an impure creature.
Just because he saw a corner of the [Observers], saw that above the miserable world, there were no compassionate gods and peaceful divine realms, and the creators had no tenderness towards their offspring.
Just this level of impact made that man's hot blood run cold, completely despairing.
This made Kaito Shirogane dissatisfied, even displeased.
He knew very well that in this displeasure, losing the opportunity to take back the other party's fiercely beating [Heart] along with the bestowed Ripple Qigong only accounted for a small part.
He was angry. Clearly possessing something he himself never had, yet still behaving so weakly.
Kaito Shirogane held his head high, his eyelids lowered, looking down at Laurence and Seraphina from an angle so arrogant it showed extreme disdain.
Even this world.
In his eyes, this world was filled with a sense of "pettiness," from top to bottom...
Whether it was those higher-dimensional existences projecting their grand wills into this tiny world, or these "seekers of the Dao" in this world.
From beginning to end, the greatest revenge they could think of seemed to be merely smelting the humans of a small continent together to form a sufficiently high-level lifeform, then flying to the starry sky and splashing blood on the other party to voice their grievances?
Absurd!
Kaito Shirogane would never explore stupid questions like what creators, or how he exactly came to be.
Even if there really were some creators, he had absolutely no interest in why the other party created him.
Kaito Shirogane had always, only cared about himself.
"I am already tired of you weak and stupid guys."
"Now, I will take back my bestowal, and then, leave with that Sephiroth."
The power of Authority truly radiated from Kaito Shirogane's body. In an instant, Laurence, who was sent flying by the Gaze of Pride, stiffened uncontrollably.
At this very moment, not only could he not activate the [Flesh Pasture] to affect the other party, he couldn't even manage to escape.
Some kind of power system that had already merged into his stairway was being uprooted and stripped away.
That was... the miraculous power inside Aetoris's body!
That special Qigong born from flesh and blood like the waveband power of sunlight; that special ability which, in his eyes, could further extend his own powerful vitality!
"Uh... ah!"
Laurence roared in pain. The golden ripples behind him carried flesh and blood, being pulled out of his body bit by bit.
A large amount of wriggling, almost solid blood followed that incomparably vibrant and powerful power of the Ripple, pulled out of Laurence's body together by Kaito Shirogane.
Kaito Shirogane remained indifferent, showing no joy or sorrow.
The speckles of light grew increasingly intense, finally turning into twisted ripples, abruptly submerging into Kaito Shirogane's palm.
[You took back the Bestowal · Ripple Qigong]
[Ability Ripple Qigong Lv9 has mutated. Current: Starry Sky Ripple Lv4 (A)]
[Starry Sky Ripple Lv4 — A special ripple forged by inscribing astrology with the principle of flesh and blood. Able to propagate in the void and acquire the nature of light, possessing the characteristics of extension, destruction, and strengthening]
[You obtained Blood of Vitality (World's Rare Treasure) — Blood and flesh possess vitality. Can autonomously control the transfer of vitality between flesh and blood, and selectively undergo regeneration]
[You came into contact with the Incomplete Stairway · Stairway of Life (9th Floor). Please proceed to the Space Tier Management Office to obtain more information]
As the ripples behind Laurence were drawn away, it was as if his spine was pulled out. He instantly fell to his knees.
His original plan naturally was to capture Seraphina, then convince her to activate the Furnace of Life with him, using the Sephiroth to sublimate the Stairway of Life.
But unexpectedly, Aetoris was discovered by him a step ahead. That miraculous power of the Ripple allowed him to use flesh and blood to birth higher-level power, therefore directly opening the Furnace of Life a step ahead.
Originally, in the Furnace of Life form, it was enough to sweep away all resistance, then forcefully suppress Seraphina, compelling her to merge, thus fulfilling his long-cherished wish.
He didn't expect a monster like Mercenary Tao to suddenly appear in this world, shattering all plans at this time.
Laurence gave up supporting himself, his body going limp. The immense despair made his heart feel heavier with every beat.
Pitch-black fog rose from his body.
Only then did Kaito Shirogane raise his head, looking straight at the ethereal fog.
In the sky, the fog grew thicker and thicker. This special space radiated an increasingly dangerous aura.
Kaito Shirogane flicked his finger. With a bang, a vacuum wave exploded on Laurence's body surface. The body of flesh and blood instantly burst open like a rotten watermelon.
But no kill prompt popped up.
Kaito Shirogane pondered slightly, his figure flashing, appearing in front of the red-haired young girl Seraphina as if teleporting.
He lifted the red-haired young girl, whose body was already starting to get hot, with one hand, clearly seeing the pitch-black fog in her eyes.
Sure enough, there were not many targets this hidden thing could choose. If not Laurence, then it was Seraphina.
Seraphina seemed unable to feel the oppressive force of being lifted by Kaito Shirogane. Instead, she opened her lips, and a melodious tune rang out.
This tune was similar to the one when she saved those beastified people, just that the melody of some syllables changed. The overall style went from uplifting and healing to gloomy and twisted.
Kaito Shirogane felt a peculiar power. A pitch-black starry sky appeared before his eyes. There were no stars present; the entire starry sky was a void of deathly stillness.
He had seen that place when the Limiter's first threshold was liberated. That was Chaos, that was the unobserved void...
Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened from the void. Kaito Shirogane froze in place, his eyes looking through Seraphina's eyes, meeting the gaze of that eye in the void.
In the other party's eyes, more pupils opened one by one. Subsequently, Kaito Shirogane's vision focused into the smaller pupils, cycling repeatedly like this.
Following that...
Bang!
Artoria was stunned, her whole body tensing instinctively, immediately appearing in front of her host. The other party's head had already shattered, blood soaring into the sky. The injury showed no sign of healing, and his whole person fell straight down.
Chirp!
Artoria raised her Holy Sword, slashing down without hesitation at the mutated Seraphina.
Pfft!
The pitch-black Holy Sword was grabbed by a hand. That arm completely ignored the sharpness of the Holy Sword, firmly fixing it in place.
Artoria frowned, seeing that it was exactly the host whose vitality she had just confirmed was lost, currently using his left hand to grab her sword, stopping her from slashing down.
"Ha~ To think there's such a thing..."
Lustrous white long hair fluttered. The successfully [Resurrected] Kaito Shirogane's hair behind his head had already turned lustrous white, constantly spreading towards the surroundings.
His eyes radiated sharp light, looking once again into Seraphina's eyes. The young girl's singing became increasingly gloomy, and outside the black fog, everything began to decay.
Bang!
In the exact same manner, Kaito Shirogane's head was blown open once again. [Twelve Labors] did not grant immunity to this kind of damage.
In other words, although the way he suffered damage was nearly identical, in reality, the form in which the other party attacked him was completely different from the last time.
Many images appeared in Kaito Shirogane's mind: the so-called Old Gods from the starry sky, and this unknown existence truly hiding in the chaos.
The truth of the world was about to be uncovered by him, but before that...
Pfft!
Kaito Shirogane thrust one hand into the young girl's chest, grasping that heart which felt soft and weak even when beating.
Blood spilled from Seraphina's mouth and nose, her face also turning sorrowful. But she was still singing. The blood in her oral cavity made her singing sound even stranger.
Pfft!
Kaito Shirogane completely pulled out that heart. Crimson light shone from the heart.
[Special Reincarnator EX051, you came into contact with Special Creation · Sephiroth (Polluted)]
[You may submit the Sephiroth after returning to the Space to obtain a super-high reward!]
Zzzt~
Electric light flashed. The heart, removed from the body, was electrocuted once and actually began to beat forcefully again. Subsequently, Kaito Shirogane cut his fingertip, and a drop of thick fresh blood fell onto the heart.
Thump!
Thump!
"Seraphina, I will help that guy make up for the beating of the heart!"
(End of Chapter)
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