Chapter 211 Three Ways Of Survival

(N..no way….)

Just as Eth was lost in his grieving the system window changed again.

[??? tells you to come closer]

"I cannot change anything, but that does not mean there is no way."

With trembling steps, he walked ahead. The tunnel felt long and unending but the events that were unfolding were of more concern. What did he mean by saying that it was impossible to save Nathan? Why was he going back on his word? What was the reason behind transmigrating Nathan, and why in his body?

(W-what do you mean?)

A dozen meters in front, Eth saw someone seated. The darkness was inhibiting him from making out the being's features but he could still see his two golden eyes shining brightly.

"There are three ways to save him"

Clank- Clank-

A small gap formed in the chains, through which the being pulled something.

A book.

Flipping the pages, the being continued.

"Firstly, do nothing. As the holder of the title [Pseudo Ego Weapon], he has already become an ego weapon, albeit partially." He explained in a calm and poised tone. "Ego weapons are weapons with artificial souls, they don't need a soul core. Chances aren't low that he can recover without outside intervention. However…"

Clank- Clank-

Putting the book back, he stood up and came toward Eth with slow steps.

"He might die any moment later. With him being only a partial ego weapon, no one knows what can happen next. This brings me to the other two methods."

Suddenly, the being's tone changed and he spoke, almost amused.

"Resonance. Become his soul core. Previously both of you were two separate entities so you could revert back from assimilating into each other. But with the absence of Nathan's soul core, the assimilating will become permanent. Of course, the control will go to Nathan and his psyche won't change. The only demerit is that 'you' will cease to exist."

As the being circled him, Eth's confusion turned into conviction. The being felt… familiar, but Eth shook his head, he could think of these things later.

(….What is the third way?)

"Oh, you don't want to lose your 'self'? Then the third method suits you the best."

The being crouched and whispered in his ears.

"Snatch the control from Nathan and devour his soul"

(W..what?)

Sitting back, the being crossed his legs and his golden eyes stared at Eth.

"Why are you shocked? With the absence of his soul core, only one of you can gain control with the other being devoured."

The being's tone as he walked back to his seat turned from arrogant and poised to enticing and tempting.

"Why are you shaking? Isn't this a good deal? You get a body that at Iota-rank is capable of fighting Enma-rankers. Besides, with his knowledge, you'll only grow even more."

(That isn't the answer I want.)

Eth gritted his teethes. The being in front was essentially saying either gamble with Nathan's life, sacrifice his own life, or sacrifice Nathan's life.

"Don't be sentimental. Nathan doesn't belong to this world, he has no goals except for living, and neither is he mentally stable. On the other hand, we have you, a dweller of this world. Someone who lived his life here, someone who has his goals to achieve, someone who wants to protect his family."

"There is no need to think about it. Isn't the 3rd option the best?"

***

-(Present || Location: Floor: 13)-

"What was… that shine…?"

Eyeing the grimoire that shined brightly for a few seconds earlier, the Abomination questioned.

Cough- Cough-

Lark couldn't answer as his body lay on the cold, rugged ground. He had stalled the Abomination for 1 hour before being defeated.

As much as strong as he was, even he couldn't contend against the Abomination with this fake body.

'Where is it?! Where is the [Fragment of Eternity]?!'

Unknown to the Abomination, a thin stream of mana was going underground, forming a huge network of mana channels. Throughout the battle, Lark had been trying to find the ore, but he had been unsuccessful so far.

'At least with the [Miracle] activating Leon won't die.'

The shine the monster had talked about was the activation of [Miracle], the inherent power stored in [Grimoire of Hope].

"Die…."

The Abomination's hand enlarged, turning into a giant hammer.

At that moment, Lark finally got a response from the mana network.

Bang-!

The hammer struck his defenseless body, blowing him away. His limbs had been shattered, his bones grounded to dust.

'Damn it! So close…'

But he couldn't change the outcome anymore, this was the end for Lark.

"I... missed...."

Contrary to his words, the Abomination was smiling. The reason Lark was alive even after taking its last hit was that the Abomination was trying to throw him into the rift. Countless rifts had opened on Floor 13 due to Abomination [Space Devourer] trait.

"Don't worry…you'll still…die"

Bang-!

The Abomination brought his hammer down.

Bang-!

The ground cracked from the force of impact.

Bang-!

The air shook from the continuous beating.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

The Abomination took joy in killing Lark as painfully as possible. As a being from chaos, it was its inherent nature.

However, it suddenly stopped.

"You…you don't feel pain…do you?"

'Of course not. This is a puppet. Why would I feel pain?' Thinking like this, Lark continued to control the mana streams. He was about to die, and this was his last goal. 'Leon is already safe, but I'll leave this just in case for Susan.'

Bang-!

With one last attack, Lark exploded into the mud along with the grimoire.

"What was he….trying….to do?"

The Abomination questioned as it stared at the place where Lark's corpse rested a few moments prior.

But the monster did not find any anomalies and decided to leave. The monstrosity went toward the boss zone, ready to follow after Leon and kill him.

Standing in front of the black curtain, the Abomination abruptly stopped and turned around.

It curled its body and shrunk its figure then, with a snap, its figure opened back and hundreds of spikes grew out of it.

The spikes continued to grow endlessly, killing monsters, destroying the jungle, and laying waste to the terrain.

In a few short minutes, the Abomination annihilated the entire floor and reaped every life.

"No life….detected.."

With a snap, the spikes went back into the body, pulling the monsters along with it. Indeed, the monsters killed by Abomination did not disappear instead, their corpse remained. It looked at the corpses of monsters and muttered.

"Weaklings….you are shame….of beings of chaos…"

Absorbing hundreds of monsters, the Abominations figure turned more human-like.

Suddenly, as if a bulb lit up above its head, the Abomination manipulated its appearance carefully. A rainbow color flame spread from the center of its chest and covered its body.

With the colors appearing on its grey self and the monster fine controlling its appearance, it gained a very specific appearance.

"This will make killing the child of destiny more fun…or should I say killing my friend Leon?"

Swiping its bangs back, the 'human' smiled and his red eyes shone dangerously.

***

-(Present || Location:???)-

In an almost empty room, a girl was lying on a couch, watching the TV in front of her while munching food.

Suddenly, in the corner of the room, a portal formed and a figure entered.

"Why aren't you killing the Abomination? That kid is already dead!"

Lightning crackled around the figure as he spoke, enraged.

However, the girl paid him no heed and spoke only a single word.

"Shut-up"

The figure's mouth closed on its own as it was being made to do so by some invisible pressure. The figure could only helplessly wait until Administrator decided to let him speak.

Finally, after a few minutes of procrastinating, the Administrator turned to the figure.

"Why are coming here repeatedly, Raikou? Wasting your energy like this will become detrimental for you and it's bad for my ears, too."

"Why aren't you descending? The successor of the Devil has died at the hand of the Abomination. If you delay any longer, the lord will die too!"

Administrator shrugged as if saying it doesn't matter to her.

"Killing the Devil's successor is a higher priority than saving Leonidas. Even if Leonidas dies, he can reincarnate later, but if the devil's successor survives and grows, he will become a Code Black-level threat."

Raikou punched the wall in seething anger.

"Is how you will repay lord's grace? He loved you like his family and you are letting him die?"

"He never met me. Don't mistake me for 'System', the one he took care of is not me."

The pressure acting over Abomination increased by many times and he was almost brought to his knees. Clearly, he touched on a sensitive topic for Administrator.

"But saving lor-!!"

"!!!"

Raikou and Administrator suddenly felt an unknown presence that sent chills down their spines. Turning their heads, both of them stared at the TV with a horrified expression.

The one who they believed to have died....

"H..how?"

...was moving