Chapter 512: Phase Two

In the Kingdom of Alestler, within the Spellbinder Wizard Tower, Lilia stood before the window, gazing out at the scene beyond with a look of desolation. Beside her stood Garcia, his eyes also fixed on the horizon; his hand was already gripped tight around the hilt of his longsword, his body encased in enchanted plate armor, fully prepared for the coming fray.

The concentration of the Void continues to rise. At this rate, the ordinary inhabitants of the continent will soon be consumed by its corruption, followed by the knights and mages below the legendary rank, then us, and finally, the legendary knights themselves.

Boom!

As Lilia spoke of the situation, her status as a wizard allowed her to perceive the state of the world clearly through her own senses and the instruments within the Spellbinder Tower. It was the same as when the first two nodes were forged; the Void concentration across the entire continent was climbing, which could only mean...

In the pauses between her words, the roar of explosions echoed from outside—the automated defensive arrays and sorceries of the tower were striking back, blasting the encroaching enemies into dust.

Yet, as time passed and the Void concentration surged, the number and strength of those enemies grew. The first line of defense had already been breached, and alchemical mechanical constructs and elemental servants were now locked in close-quarters combat with the invaders.

It seems the Utopia organization knows exactly where our wizard tower is located. Regardless, the final line of defense is us. We cannot simply resign ourselves to fate, can we?

Garcia responded to Lilia, his battle aura gradually rising. The third line of defense was the tower’s own personnel; once the next perimeter fell, it would be their turn to join the fray.

Alas, I...

Rumble!

Lilia, lost in her melancholy, started to speak, but a sudden disturbance outside forced her to shift her attention. The violent transformation occurring in the world beyond was simply too profound to ignore.

An earthquake, at a time like this?

Garcia lacked Lilia’s sensitivity to the Void; all he could feel was the earth shaking with frantic, irregular violence, the deafening roar of sound, and the sight of the ground crumbling and mountains collapsing before his eyes. In the absence of magical interference, only an earthquake could produce such topographical upheaval.

No, it is not an earthquake—at least, not just an earthquake. Garcia, the Void energy in the surrounding environment is rapidly receding. Something is stripping the Void away. No, that is impossible. The Void can only be weakened, but how could it be completely stripped away?!

Her expression filled with shock, Lilia pressed her body against the floor-to-ceiling glass, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the literal shattering of the heavens and the earth outside.

What is that thing?

Faintly, Garcia caught a glimpse of something in the distance. Beneath the still-collapsing earth, in the gaps between the rocks and hills falling into the deep, newly formed abyssal rifts, a massive, blood-red shadow flickered. It appeared in Garcia’s field of vision for a fleeting second before tearing through the earth at a terrifying speed.

I do not know. Is it an omen of destruction? Something like the Ossuary?

Lilia shook her head, still reeling from the shock of the Void being stripped away, let alone comprehending the nature of the behemoth that had fractured the world.

...

...

The two fell into a mutual silence. Outside, the noise had ceased. With the Void stripped away, the members of the Utopia organization—who seemed to be mere projections of power from some entity within the Void—lost their forms in an instant and vanished into nothingness.

Bang!

The earth shuddered violently once more. Through the window, they saw the distant ground explode as a mass of something indescribable crawled up from the depths. Its form was so incomprehensibly vast that even from ten kilometers away, they could not grasp its true shape.

Honestly, it does not seem like things could get any worse, does it?

Lilia shrugged, speaking with a touch of helplessness. This fatalistic mindset she had learned from someone else seemed quite useful at the moment.

True. But, don't you think that thing looks a bit like...

Wait, you mean... no way?

...

The Royal City of Alestler was currently besieged by an overwhelming sea of Utopia members. Enemies of every race clashed with the city’s defenders, who clung to the walls and fortifications. Fire bloomed everywhere from spells and alchemical grenades; wailing warriors tumbled from the ramparts, and buildings near the walls, along with the walls themselves, were collapsing one after another.

With the main combat forces deployed to the Ash Plains and receiving special attention from Utopia, the Kingdom of Alestler was at a severe disadvantage against the sheer numbers of the enemy. The constant loss of manpower made the fall of the city seem like a matter of time.

Had it not been for the occasional dragon soaring through the sky, clearing swathes of the enemy with wild breath, the city would have fallen long ago. The ever-rising Void concentration seemed to herald a hopeless end.

It was at this moment that the earth abruptly shook. The cause of this tremor arrived in the next instant, bursting from the soil. The entire city and all the people of Alestler witnessed the terrifying, gargantuan entity.

What an indescribable, colossal thing it was. Even with only a portion of its body having broken through the earth, it nearly covered half the royal city. The material that composed it was strange—a bright, fluid red that made it look like blood. But could something that maintained such a massive form and easily tore the earth apart truly be blood?

The giant erupted from the ground, showing no reaction to its surroundings. After merely revealing its head, it dove back into the earth at high speed, leaving behind a crater that served as a grim reminder of its immense scale.

Crash!

The thunderous sound jolted the stunned onlookers back to their senses. One of the city walls collapsed entirely due to the violent seismic shift, exposing the devastated city within. Yet, the people of Alestler had no use for the walls anymore, for in the brief moment that the "Blood Behemoth" had appeared, every single member of the Utopia organization had vanished.

Sharl, that thing couldn't be...

What do you mean "couldn't be"? Why the uncertainty? It is him. Who else do you think would conjure up something like this at a time like this? And it’s made of blood, too.

Fair point.

Edward, who had been assisting in the defense of a town outside the city, nudged Sharl—who was casting spells behind him—in the stomach with his elbow, gesturing toward the spot where the giant blood monster had appeared.

Sharl dropped his staff and sat down on the ground, answering plainly. The changes in the Void that the devil "One" had warned him about, combined with his own perception of the shifting environment, left him almost entirely certain of the answer.

It seems there is nothing left to do.

Edward found a spot to sit beside Sharl. The enemies in the vicinity had all disappeared; there truly was nothing left to do.

Return to the city to help the wounded, and then... wait, I suppose.

Sharl spread his hands.

Indeed.

Edward wiped his face, looking somewhat helpless, though the slight upturn of his lips revealed his true feelings.

...

Deep within the Void, the Outsider, integrated and controlled by the Utopia organization, mercilessly channeled its power into a violent torrent, blasting toward Avia as she fell from Wang Yu’s Void domain.

Facing an attack she could not resist with her own strength, the girl simply looked forward in a manner quite reminiscent of Wang Yu and raised her middle finger. The next moment, she was completely submerged by the infinite power, her fate seemingly no different from Wang Yu’s.

She is not dead. Something has blocked the power of the Outsider. No, that guy has not been dealt with. He is still alive.

Almost instantly, the integrated consciousness of Utopia sensed that something was wrong. Within the torrent of the Outsider’s power, the girl remained, completely ignoring the assault. The energy enveloping Avia made the situation clear to the Utopia consciousness.

A faint golden light completely encased Avia’s body. The power of the "Golden Body" shielded the girl, rendering her entirely immune to the Outsider’s strength. This power, derived from Wang Yu, remained utterly indestructible; no form of attack could pierce it. Only, this time, the power seemed exaggeratedly abundant—suddenly sufficient to fully envelop a person’s entire frame.

He is still alive. This is his power...

The voice of the Utopia organization’s integrated consciousness rang out as all observation points converged on the unscathed Avia amidst the torrent of the Outsider’s power.

You could say that. But have you heard a saying? This is more accurate: "Phase Two."

The girl responded to the Utopia consciousness, continuing her own task. She was now relying on the blood within her to fix Wang Yu’s position and, at the same time, open a door for him.

The power of the Chariot extended from the girl. This time, the strength capable of touching the Outsider displayed unprecedented intensity. The Chariot’s power, which should have been dispersed, gripped a mass of magic she had brought into the Void, unyielding and unaffected, and molded it amidst the Outsider’s onslaught into the spell she needed: a Phase Gate.

In the Void, a one-way portal was forcibly torn open. The frame crashed down, though it did not open—casting spells in the Void was unrealistic, especially spatial magic meant to pull someone from the material world. The girl relied on the unreasonable nature of the Chariot’s power to force a door into existence, even if it wasn't yet connected.

However, the next moment.

Crack!

From the other side of the door, something tore the magic-constructed frame apart without any rhyme or reason, charging from the distant material world into the Void where the girl stood.

The giant monster, composed of millions upon millions of drops of blood, withstood the Outsider’s power and swallowed Avia whole. Then, it crashed fully into the Void. The Chariot’s power, amplified ten thousand times, erupted from within the monster, instantly bringing a vast expanse of the Void under its control and merging it into its own domain.

Yes, this was Wang Yu—or rather, this was Wang Yu in his "Phase Two." It was a preparation he and Avia had made long ago, and now it was time for it to be put to use. The "state" Wang Yu had always spoken of referred to himself being thoroughly killed by the Outsider’s power. As for this...

Simply put, Wang Yu had stopped being human. He had fully unleashed the limits of his power, breaking through that layer of restriction. Even before, when his power reached a certain stage, he was only "like a human"; his heaven-defying regenerative abilities and bizarre powers were never things a human could achieve.

Now, he had merely liberated himself from his original shell. If his brain were destroyed and he lost consciousness, why not construct an organ with the same function? Or, if he replicated all his organs with blood, would he not be omnipresent?

Wang Yu was no philosopher, nor a scientist; he likely didn't even have a soul. He couldn't grasp the boundaries of life and death or theories like the Ship of Theseus, but he was willing to try. To the question, "Is he still him?" Wang Yu’s answer was: "If I think it is, then it is!"

Bang!

The blood-formed giant expanded its body. Wang Yu was still a bit unaccustomed to this shell, but this unprecedented, powerful strength, and the Chariot’s power surging from a familiar place, were undeniably real.

Wang Yu had just been slain, and now the Republic and the Outsider must face him in his second form.