Chapter 48: Fear
High above the trembling rooftops of the Demon Blade grounds, the Demon God's Envoy let out a chilling laugh. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Garuda, who stood protectively in front of his younger brother, Bobaros. The air itself seemed to bow under the weight of his platinum-rank aura, wild and tyrannical like an uncontrollable inferno.
"What do you want from us?" Garuda demanded, blades already drawn, his voice steady despite the oppressive pressure.
The Envoy's laughter grew louder, laced with cruel amusement. "Want? You two have nothing I could possibly desire." He gave a light, almost playful giggle. "But I do enjoy watching strong things tremble like flies caught in a spider's web."
Platinum-rank energy erupted from his body like a blazing wildfire, scorching the sky and warping the surrounding space. From behind his back, he drew a small, unassuming black knife that pulsed with malevolent intent.
"Now, boys… show me what you're truly made of."
"Bobaros, be ready. We're going all out," Garuda sent through a mental link, flames already licking at his aura.
Bobaros nodded, swiftly unstrapping the ancient calabash from his back. He slammed it onto the roof with full force. In an instant, a torrential flood of spiritual water exploded outward, completely submerging the entire building. Strangely, not a single drop spilled beyond the structure's edges, the water obeyed Bobaros' will perfectly, turning the battlefield into his domain.
Garuda used the explosive pressure of his own flames to soar into the air, while Bobaros moved through the water with graceful fluidity, like a marine spirit born of the depths. Dual blades appeared in both their hands.
The Envoy clapped in genuine delight. "Yes! That's it! Show me everything you have!"
"Samsara Burst: Phase Two, Eclipse!"
Garuda charged like a blazing comet.
His blades traced carved arcs of flame and shadow as he struck heavily against the Envoy's small black knife. Each collision sounded like thunderous explosions, sending shockwaves rippling through the flooded building.
Yet the Envoy blocked every strike with casual ease, as though parrying the blows of children. His smile never faltered.
"My turn," he announced softly.
"Now, Bobaros!" Garuda shouted.
Bobaros reacted instantly. Water surged upward in thick, powerful tentacles, yanking Garuda away from danger while several more shot forward to entangle the Envoy's knife and arm.
"Octagon Hands: Freezing Point!"
The water instantly froze around the Envoy's hand and weapon, encasing them in unbreakable spiritual ice.
"Burning Blood!!!" Garuda roared. His hair transformed into living flames, his skin turning a deep crimson as his aura surged violently. "Bobaros, full defense mode!"
More tentacles erupted from the flooded depths.
The Envoy merely smiled, shattering the ice around his arm with raw power. "Yes… yes! This is true talent!" he laughed, weaving through the incoming tentacles with eerie grace. "You will not escape me."
Garuda burst forward like a flaming meteor, dagger descending like a judgment from the heavens. The Envoy's eyes sparkled with childish excitement as he effortlessly sidestepped the strike.
"Haha… you're still too young to touch someone like me," he taunted playfully.
Garuda and the chasing water tentacles suddenly found themselves unable to change trajectory mid-air. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Garuda panicked.
The Envoy paused gracefully in the sky and slashed his black knife multiple times with terrifying speed.
"Devil's Praise."
From each slash, haunting ghostly figures emerged, vengeful wraiths born of pure killing intent, surging toward Garuda with ear-piercing screams.
Bobaros immediately gave chase. His tentacles wrapped around Garuda's waist pulling him several meters away. The moment the ghosts entered the flooded building, Bobaros activated his hidden ability.
Ocean Heart, not only can he control water, but he can also trap techniques and spirits within it. Water's special attribute of Purification devours and seals malicious entities.
The ghosts were instantly suppressed and dissolved beneath the spiritual waters.
The Envoy dashed into the building without hesitation. The moment he entered, Bobaros reversed the flow, the entire flood froze solid in an instant, trapping both himself, Garuda, and the Envoy within a massive block of ice.
"Garuda, let's move!"
The ice around Garuda melted instantly while Bobaros reversed the water around himself into liquid form. The two brothers burst out through the opposite side of the now-frozen structure.
The Envoy writhed inside the ice, struggling. Every movement only caused the spiritual ice to tighten further, crushing him with purifying pressure.
"I see… one plays offense while the other plays defense. How harmonious," the Envoy muttered, taking a deep breath. "Not that it changes anything."
He unleashed a wild burst of platinum-rank strength. The entire ice building exploded into countless shards as he broke free from the rubble, eyes burning with sadistic hunger.
"Got you two now!" He stretched his hand out in a grasping motion, aura flaring wildly, clearly intent on capturing and tormenting the twins, not to kill them immediately, but to savor their fear and resistance like fine wine.
The Demon God's Envoy had come purely for entertainment: to find promising seeds, break their spirits, and watch them shatter beautifully.
Meanwhile, deep within the Tower of Babel, Liam's fists continued their relentless assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each strike grew stronger. The gates groaned and cracked under the weight of his fully corrupted abyssal aura.
"Yes… yes! I can feel it weakening!" Liam laughed, joy and madness intertwining in his voice. Having completely overtaken the Tower floor by floor, he now drew power directly from the structure itself. His aura had become a black vortex, hungrily devouring every ounce of energy the Tower once used to suppress him.
His fists hummed with the wails of countless absorbed ghosts and the raw power of stolen techniques. The fifth floor, now fully his domain, fed him without resistance.
"Break for me!!!" Liam roared in pure, unrestrained ecstasy.
CRAAAAASH!!!
The massive gates of the Tower of Babel exploded outward in a spectacular shower of ancient stone and corrupted runes. Sunlight, real, unfiltered sunlight, poured in for the first time in months, bathing Liam's bloodied, white-haired figure.
He stood at the threshold, chest heaving, long white hair whipping in the wind. Empty scarred sockets stared out into the world beyond with bottomless hunger and triumphant joy.
After fifty eight brutal nights of torture, after devouring the secrets of the Tower's guardian, after turning the very cage meant to break him into his own weapon…
He was finally free.
A wide, crazed grin split across Liam's face as he stepped out of the crumbling Tower of Babel. His laughter echoed across the Demon Blade grounds, rich, liberated, and filled with the promise of future carnage.
The Devourer had emerged from the abyss.
And the world outside would soon learn what it truly meant to be swallowed whole.