Chapter 658: Flesh Ball? Ancient God's Appearance? Mental Meme Pollution?
"Brother Ren, what exactly is that?"
In the cold, silent expanse of space, Chito shrank behind Ren, her small hands clutching the back of his shirt tightly. Her eyes were wide with a terror that transcended mere physical danger; it was a primal fear of the unknown.
This was because a tentacle had emerged from the boundless, ruptured gap in front of them.
It wasn't just a limb; it was a geography of nightmares. What frightened Chito was that every part of the gigantic tentacle, large enough to stir galaxies, seemed like a living organism, with smaller fleshy tumor-like tentacles writhing upon its surface.
It was a fractal of gore. They grasped stars, either crushing them into cosmic dust or stuffing them into the countless mouths that opened and closed rhythmically on the tentacle. The sound of celestial bodies being devoured didn't travel through the vacuum, but the psychic scream was deafening.
Adding to that, there were countless bizarre eyes blinking. They rolled madly, fixating on everything and nothing, weeping fluids that hissed against the void.
The entire tentacle was a sanity-draining existence. Just looking at it felt like sandpaper rubbing against the brain.
"Hmm…"
Ren vigilantly watched the tentacle's movements, while also pondering the nature of this intrusion. His golden eyes glowed with a calm analysis that contrasted sharply with the chaotic scene before them.
He gently raised a hand, using the concept of 'Infinity' to isolate Esdeath and Chito's minds and souls from its range.
He did this because their expressions were not good. Chito was pale, trembling like a leaf, and even the indomitable Esdeath had a sheen of cold sweat on her forehead, her pupils dilated.
That was due to being affected by a strange power from the tentacle.
It was a cognitive hazard. That power invisibly polluted, eroded, and assimilated everything around it, including their minds and souls. It whispered madness directly into their consciousness, bypassing their physical defenses entirely.
With Ren's intervention, the invisible barrier of Infinity snapped into place. The whispering stopped. The pressure lifted. The two's condition improved immediately.
But Esdeath realized something had just happened and became extremely serious. She touched her forehead, her ice-blue eyes narrowing in a mixture of shock and frustration.
"Was I... just affected?"
She, who prided herself on having a will of steel, who could dominate entire armies with her presence alone, had nearly succumbed to madness just by looking at a monster. It was a blow to her pride.
"Be careful, 08. This thing poses some threat to you," Ren warned, his voice steady.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
This thing made him involuntarily think of characteristics similar to Outer Gods and Ancient Gods in Cthulhu mythos, like meme pollution. It was an entity that defied the laws of physics and biology, existing solely to corrupt and consume.
Regardless of whether this thing was Cthulhu or some other eldritch horror, its power was not simple.
It could affect Esdeath and Chito, who possessed the power of Infinite Angels. Their resistance was already far beyond that of mortals or even gods of their respective worlds, yet they were vulnerable.
At least it was 1v10, an existence beyond the universe.
Crack!
The sound of reality snapping echoed through the void. Space shattered again, twisting even time itself into knots.
An uncountable series of identical tentacles emerged from the further expanded fissure. They spilled out like entrails from a wound, filling the visual field with writhing flesh.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Amidst the universe's tremor, collapse and cosmic explosion occurred. The fabric of space-time could no longer hold the weight of the intruder.
One universe was thus forcibly burst open!
It was a spectacular, terrifying display of destruction. Galaxies dissolved, laws of physics unraveled, and light itself was extinguished.
Sacrificing one layer of the universe he had created.
The enemy's form finally revealed itself.
It was not a creature with limbs or a face. It was a boundless, chaotic fleshy mass covered in tentacles, a gigantic flesh ball encompassing countless star systems. It was a tumor on the face of existence, a cancer that had metastasized into godhood.
And Ren and the two others were now smaller than dust before this entity.
"So, so terrifying!"
Chito completely closed her eyes and hid behind Ren, unable to look at the monstrosity any longer.
Even Esdeath, who often spoke with arrogance about torturing and dominating her enemies, was silent at this moment. Her rapier remained sheathed; she knew instinctively that physical attacks would be meaningless against this scale.
She had never seen anything so indescribably terrifying.
'A Destroyer King's subordinate…' Ren thought, analyzing the data flowing into his mind.
This was the information Ren received.
This entity, with the appearance of an Ancient God, attempting to destroy the universe, was just a small subordinate of the Destroyer King.
It was merely a pawn. A foot soldier.
But Ren frowned.
Not because of fear of its power.
On the contrary.
The moment this guy squeezed in, Ren knew it was not his opponent. In terms of raw power, Ren surpassed it.
However.
The matter was far from that simple.
He sensed not only that its strength was weaker than his, but more importantly, this thing had no intelligence whatsoever. It radiated no strategy, no consciousness, only a mindless hunger.
This was a powerful, universe-destroying flesh ball with no conscious existence.
It was merely destroying everything by instinct. Like a bacterium consuming nutrients, it ate universes because that was simply what it did.
'Am I being underestimated?'
Ren couldn't help but suspect that the Destroyer King was underestimating them. Sending a mindless beast to deal with a candidate for the Lord of Myriad Worlds? It was an insult.
Well… He certainly had the right to look down; this was the privilege power granted him. The Destroyer King sat at the apex, looking down on all creation.
But it still felt inexplicably annoying.
"Hmph…"
He let out a breath.
Being underestimated was only because of his weakness; Ren was self-aware of this. He hadn't reached the pinnacle yet.
However, it was precisely this that ignited his desire to become stronger. The arrogance of the strong was fuel for his own ascent.
One day, he too would give the Destroyer King a contemptuous glance, just as he was doing now.
Calming his mind.
He opened the livestream interface.
[Ding! Group member Ren has started a livestream!]
[Kiana has entered the live stream!]
...
Instantly, many people flooded into the live stream. The notification pinged across dimensions, drawing in gods, warriors, and ordinary girls alike.
They were all anxiously awaiting news from Ren.
Seeing the live stream appear, they all immediately joined.
No one had even asked a question yet. The scene on their screens rendered them speechless.
Each and every one of them was awestruck by the scene unfolding before their eyes: countless tentacles ceaselessly waving, effortlessly destroying nebulae, and tearing apart the fabric of the universe. It was a spectacle of destruction on a scale they couldn't comprehend.
Especially upon seeing that boundless mass of flesh with its countless flailing tentacles, their sanity plummeted.
[Kiana: Eek!!! What is that? It's... it's both disgusting and terrifying!]
The Valkyrie, usually so brave, recoiled from the screen. It looked like a Honkai beast nightmare multiplied by infinity.
[Ainz: Hiss... How is it even more unsettling than the Dark Young I summon? Just one glance sends shivers down my spine... Oh, I'm a skeleton, I don't have goosebumps.]
Even the Overlord of Death found the creature repulsive. It lacked the elegance of necromancy; it was pure biological chaos.
[Reinhardt: Whew, is this an enemy? Facing such an enemy, one feels so powerless. bitter smile JPG]
The Sword Saint felt the gap in power keenly. His Divine Protections would mean nothing against a creature that ate stars.
[Ying Zheng: Hiss, this is beyond powerlessness. Such a world-destroying presence, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a god or demon, would it?]
[Tatsumaki: Tsk, are there really such terrifying things in the world?]
Tatsumaki only felt that the monsters she usually eliminated were utterly insignificant in front of this thing. The Dragon-level threats she effortlessly crushed seemed like dust motes.
Dragon-level?
Even a God-level threat would be nothing before this terrifying mass of flesh, right? This was a threat to existence itself.
Looking at her small hands.
Tatsumaki once again realized she was still too weak. Her psychic power, which could twist cities, would be like a breeze against a mountain.
If such a creature appeared in her world, let alone protecting Fubuki, she wouldn't even have the ability to protect herself.
[Aqua: Ren, hey, hey, why aren't you talking? You weren't eaten, were you?]
[Ren: Who are you cursing?]
[Aqua: Oh, he's still alive. Then it's fine.]
The useless goddess breathed a sigh of relief, reaching for her snacks. As long as Ren was there, surely it would be okay?
[Erza: Ren, what's the situation now? Can't even you stop it?]
[Bronya: Could it be... we can only watch it destroy the world?]
[Shiroyasha: Heh heh, look, he still has the leisure to live stream, so there's definitely nothing to worry about.]
The Problem Child of Hakoniwa saw through the situation. Ren's calmness was the ultimate assurance.
[Shiroyasha: Tell us, what have you discovered now?]
[Ren: Tsk, are you a mind reader? You understand me so well.]
[Shiroyasha: Don't compare me to that kind of thing.]
[Ren: Haha, this thing is a Destroyer King's subordinate, a fellow who destroyed a universe I created just by squeezing in from outside the world.]
[Saiki Kusuo: ...]
The psychic teenager, who usually had a poker face, felt a twitch in his eye. Creating a universe? Just to have it destroyed?
[Mikoto Suoh: It sounds fine, but to describe destroying a universe and creating a universe with such casual words... it truly makes one feel conflicted.]
[Sakata Gintoki: Hiss! Is this the power of a big shot? How terrifying!!!]
[Tokisaki Kurumi: Then why is the universe destroyed but still exists? Also, the other party doesn't seem to have any ill intent towards you.]
Ren smiled at the camera, though his eyes remained fixed on the writhing horror before him.
[Ren: I created thousands of stacked universes. Let it destroy them.]
[Durandal: ...]
Durandal's expression was stunned.
This was the first time she truly experienced the power of the people in the Chat Group. The scale of their operations—using entire universes as ablative armor—was something that redefined her concept of strength.
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