Chapter 78: Sorry, We’re Equals Now
The explosions from the endlessly multiplying bone shards continued, wave after wave, their immense power engulfing the entire dream realm. This relentless and indiscriminate assault forced even Abyss to shield himself with magic from the residual energy of his own attack. The true extent of his destructive power, when unleashed, was finally revealed.
Leona now understood why Abyss always seemed so nonchalant and unconcerned—because there was truly no one on the entire continent who could make him nervous. His power, defying common sense, left him with few rivals. His adherence to his no-killing principle, his willingness to help others, his efforts to maintain stability—it wasn’t because he sought anything in return, but simply because he wanted to.
Because nothing in the world could truly challenge him, he sought to challenge the gods, seeking a thrill that was hard to come by. He was a true powerhouse, and in his dictionary, the phrase “I have to” didn’t exist. It was replaced by “I want to.”
Leona couldn’t imagine the devastation Abyss could unleash if he chose the path of evil. No one could stop him, not even her and Flora. She hadn’t forgotten that Abyss, as their master, could enslave them at any moment, forcing them to do his bidding.
Holding the bone sword, Leona waited patiently for the explosions to subside.
After nearly ten minutes of continuous detonations, the cacophony of explosions gradually faded, the blinding light from the magical flames dissipated, and the Lord of Submergence’s ravaged form was revealed.
The countless tendrils that had attacked them were gone, blasted into fragments that drifted aimlessly through the vast expanse.
“Enjoy the fireworks show?” Abyss asked, casually dusting off his hands, looking up at the Lord of Submergence.
“You have lost,” the Lord of Submergence said, his voice devoid of any frustration, simply stating a fact.
“Mortal attacks cannot harm me… The tendrils are merely manifestations of my power, not part of my true body. They can regenerate infinitely, but your mana cannot… I am the master of this realm… Your mana, without an external source, will soon be depleted.”
As he spoke, the Lord of Submergence began to regenerate. Countless new tendrils sprouted from his ravaged form, writhing and extending, hardening as they grew. Soon, his body was once again covered in tendrils, even denser than before.
“You can yield now… Submit to me… Further resistance is futile…”
The tendrils shifted their aim, targeting Abyss.
“Who told you I was trying to harm you with those explosions?”
Abyss grinned.
“…?”
The Lord of Submergence hesitated.
“Look around you. Do you see something familiar?”
Abyss didn’t know what constituted the creature’s visual organs, but the Lord of Submergence obediently looked around.
Drifting around him were countless severed tendrils. They should have been inert, mere space debris, having lost their connection to his body. But now, they were writhing like snakes in water, their broken forms converging towards him.
“What is this…” the Lord of Submergence uttered in confusion.
The severed tendrils accelerated, becoming projectiles that shot towards him.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Unlike Abyss’s explosive magic, these tendrils were numerous and fast. The Lord of Submergence couldn’t even raise his own tendrils to defend himself. They pierced his body, creating large holes that merged into gaping wounds. His form writhed, disappearing and reappearing in different locations, but the rebellious tendrils relentlessly pursued him, adjusting their trajectory.
The tendrils he tried to use for defense were also severed, their broken segments joining the enemy ranks, attacking their former master.
“You’re controlling my severed tendrils!” the Lord of Submergence exclaimed, his voice laced with panic, a stark contrast to his usually emotionless and sluggish demeanor. “Impossible!”
“You say it’s impossible because you’re a god and I’m just a mortal,” Abyss said, seemingly unburdened by controlling millions of severed limbs. He watched with amusement as the Lord of Submergence desperately dodged the tendrils’ relentless assault, using his teleportation ability. “Based on my understanding of gods, I, as a mere mortal, shouldn’t be able to control your severed limbs. Each one would require a tremendous cost. But we’re currently in my follower’s dream. I am her master, and my status is elevated accordingly. Now, my rank is equal to yours. Therefore, your severed limbs are now my servants.”
Manipulating severed limbs was one of the most basic skills taught in Necromancy 101. And Abyss, as the pinnacle of necromancy, could effortlessly convert millions of severed tendrils into his own minions, turning them against their former master!
The Lord of Submergence had a unique defense mechanism against Abyss’s attacks, but he couldn’t defend against his own!
As his own tendrils pierced his body, the black cloud, previously impervious to external attacks, began to dissipate. The loss of a small portion of his vast form was insignificant, but the sheer number of tendrils was overwhelming. Each severed tendril could split into multiple segments, each becoming a suicide bomber!
Boom!
In agony, the Lord of Submergence even abandoned his attempts at mimicking speech, letting out a deafening roar of thunder. His massive form was riddled with holes.
As if enraged by Abyss’s attack, he launched a new assault!
He vanished, reappearing right where Abyss and the girls stood! Ignoring the tendrils still attacking him, he shifted his form, engulfing them like an amoeba consuming its prey!
His body, despite being riddled with wounds, was still vast enough to block any escape route.
“Trying to consume me?”
Abyss’s vision blurred as the Lord of Submergence’s massive form closed in, the starry sky fading into nothingness.
It wasn’t darkness, but a complete sensory deprivation, an “error report” sent to his mind as all his senses shut down. Within this nothingness, all perception ceased, even thought itself seemed to grind to a halt…
So the Lord of Submergence’s cloud-like form was actually a void of nothingness?
A smile touched Abyss’s lips. This unknown creature from another world had truly provided him with many new discoveries.
He snapped his fingers, although the sound was swallowed by the encroaching nothingness. He, Leona, and Flora were being consumed, their forms gradually dissolving. But the snap still had its effect.
Thousands of kilometers away, a cluster of bone shards, previously flying outwards at high speed, suddenly twisted and reformed, becoming three figures holding hands.
“You escaped?!” the Lord of Submergence exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and frustration, like a child losing a game. “Within my void… no spatial magic can function…”
“Sorry, but this isn’t spatial magic,” Abyss said, releasing the hands of the two girls beside him, who were still disoriented. He explained patiently, “This space isn’t just filled with your severed tendrils, but also the bone shards I released earlier. These aren’t simple magical constructs. Each shard is an extension of my being. The explosion was powerful enough to propel these shards far, far away. As long as I wish, I can transfer myself to any of them.”
The Lord of Submergence fell silent again.
Countless tendrils continued to assault his massive form, the holes in his body growing larger, his form becoming increasingly fragmented.
“Your rank… I yield…”
The Lord of Submergence’s voice finally echoed again.
“That’s it?” Leona asked, dumbfounded. “I thought we’d have to fight him until we were exhausted…”
The situation was quite different from what she had imagined. She had assumed the Lord of Submergence was simply a powerful monster that needed to be physically subdued. But it turned out he was immune to external attacks, and it was Abyss’s superior intellect that had defeated him.
“Alright, then swear allegiance to her,” Abyss said, patting Leona’s shoulder. “Offer your power to her, and I will provide you with the nourishment you need. Don’t worry, you won’t regret it.”
As he spoke, the tendrils he had been controlling stopped their assault, allowing the Lord of Submergence to slowly regenerate.
The Lord of Submergence writhed, his massive form contorting, and uttered words that should never come from a god’s mouth.
“I, Wrathful Bubos, pledge my allegiance to Leona Placidia Crepeus, transferring my power to her.”
As a god, his words carried weight. The moment he finished speaking, a surge of lightning erupted from Leona’s body, coursing through her before vanishing.
Leona immediately felt the change within her. An immense power filled her, ready to be unleashed as lightning at her command.
She raised a hand, and a lance, hundreds of meters long, materialized in her grasp. It was a weapon forged from her Dou Qi, but unlike ordinary Dou Qi weapons, it crackled with lightning, brimming with extraordinary power!
“Congratulations, we did it,” Abyss said, giving Leona a thumbs-up.
“You said you would provide him with nourishment. What are you going to give him?” Leona asked, not feeling celebratory. She grabbed Abyss by the collar. “Don’t tell me you’re…”
“Yes, I’m going to feed him my soul,” Abyss said with a carefree smile.
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