In the dark red underground city, several giant hands made of flesh and bone were raised as if in pilgrimage, guarding a skeletal figure at the center.
Five black spheres floated around the skeletal figure, but their edges were a deep blood-red, as if decorated with fresh blood.
In the surrounding area, row upon row of Pale People were kneeling; these humans were deathly pale, incredibly thin, and lacked a single hair on their bodies.
At this moment, blood-red lines were floating out of these humans and merging into the black spheres, increasing their energy.
The bodies of the humans whose blood lines were absorbed gradually shattered and collapsed, yet their faces showed only calmness and relief, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
Just then, a black-haired figure with lavender skin, blood-red eyes, and wearing a blue short-sleeved suit rushed in.
Seeing the sacrificial ritual that seemed to be summoning an evil god, Xia Yu's expression changed, feeling somewhat annoyed.
He was too late after all; despite making so many preparations, was he still unable to prevent the other party's return?
"You are most welcome; He has been waiting for you for a long time," one of the already-shattering Pale People welcomed him expressionlessly.
"He says that you and He are the same, both having come to this world to respond to the prayers of the people," another Pale Person, who had not yet broken down as severely, added with hands clasped in prayer.
Hearing this, Xia Yu gripped the weapon in his hand; only he knew that he hadn't responded to any prayers, but had transmigrated.
"However, you responded to life, and He responded to death; that is to say, the two of you cannot coexist!"
This was actually correct; he and He indeed could not coexist, regardless of the reason he had come to this world.
After all, the other party had come to this world to destroy it; if this place were destroyed, where would he go? He couldn't leave, and besides, he couldn't just abandon everyone else and leave on his own.
"Therefore, I am sorry. Although you assisted Him in returning to the world, He will completely obliterate every meaning of your existence."
After the praying Pale Person finished these last words, the voices of the other Pale People suddenly echoed from all around.
"Life is a curse; existence is torment."
"All things eventually pass; all return to nothingness."
"I offer my heart, my flesh, my blood!"
"May we never be born into this world again!"
Low but dense whispers echoed around the altar as the praying Pale People all knelt on both knees, their clasped hands pressed to their foreheads.
Then, a large number of dark red blood lines suddenly emerged from their shattered bodies, converging and merging entirely into the black spheres in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, the bodies of those humans gradually collapsed and melted away on the spot, leaving no trace behind.
After absorbing all the blood lines, the five black spheres seemed to be guided as they suddenly rose into the air, merged, and were finally poured entirely into the skeletal figure's head.
All of this happened in just a few seconds; when the last bit of energy was absorbed, the surging energy erupted instantly. The bones on the skeletal figure turned from white to red, and a blood-red shockwave suddenly exploded, causing the bones on the figure to shatter piece by piece, revealing a solid interior.
A figure wearing a long robe and coat, emitting dark red blood-mist from all over, appeared. His head seemed to be composed of countless twisted hard horns, and in His hand, He held a mass of blood-red souls with countless human faces.
"Ahhh, You have returned, our savior! Only You can sever the painful cycle of mutual harm for us!"
"Let us never be born into this world again; let our souls return to nothingness!"
On that cluster of fused, shattered souls, every face shed tears of excitement and let out a cry from the soul.
The next moment.
Snap—!
He gripped lightly, and the blood-red mass of souls instantly exploded, the souls within being annihilated; however, before they completely dissipated, many voices of gratitude could be heard.
"Ahhhhh! Thank you! Thank you!"
Facing this figure that seemed to possess boundless pressure, Xia Yu grit his teeth and did not back down; since he had to face it sooner or later, it was better to adapt to the other party's pressure now.
But now was not the time for the final battle; not only was his combat power insufficient, but his weapon was not yet the ultimate weapon for the final confrontation.
The ultimate weapon could tear through space and attack enemies through spatial rifts.
As for why he didn't turn and run right now, it was because he knew it wasn't the time to flee yet; he was waiting for the correct moment to escape.
At the moment of the standoff, three Mercury Robots suddenly flowed out of the pipes and then solidified their forms, surrounding the figure emitting dark red blood-mist.
"Visual confirmation: Zombie is confronting the entity known as puchui. Mercury Units Two, Three, and Four have arrived for support."
A pale yellow light screen suddenly unfolded, and a girl with shoulder-length grayish-white hair and wearing headphones suddenly appeared in the light screen, speaking to the scene.
This was the artificial intelligence named naike; she managed the operations of the entire underground city and was connected to every area of the dungeon.
"With the Zombie's combat power and the assistance of the Mercury Squad, the probability of eliminating the enemy is 100%."
Hearing this, Xia Yu really wanted to say, 'You, artificial idiot, have analyzed this incorrectly; the other party can insta-kill the Mercury Squad, including the current me!'
However, he was a zombie now, and a zombie that couldn't speak at that, so he could only silently retreat behind the Mercury Squad to prevent himself from being caught in the crossfire.
The next moment, three blood-red claws suddenly emerged from the void, aimed at the three Mercury Robots, and then gripped them fiercely.
Crack, crack, crack—!
With three crisp sounds, the Mercury Robots, composed of liquid metal and completely immune to physical attacks, exploded and collapsed on the spot.
The scattered metallic liquid flowed into the ground without causing a single ripple.
After dealing with the Mercury Robots, puchui remained floating in the air, having no intention of either taking action or speaking.
"Update: Suggestion. You cannot defeat the enemy. Fleeing from this entity is the only viable option."
After the Mercury Robots exploded, the pale yellow light screen unfolded again, and naike's calm voice came through.
"Magic Analyzer scan complete. puchui is covered by a Stability Field; any attempts to cause damage will be ineffective."
"Additionally, although Ximi does not want you to worry about extra issues, I have determined that I have an obligation to inform you of our current status."
"I have detected a large number of C-04 organisms moving from deep underground toward our location; we must prioritize the immediate crisis, and it will be difficult to continue providing support for you in the short term."
Hearing naike's report in the light screen, although Xia Yu couldn't see what was happening on the other side, he could imagine the danger there.
Even though he had made so many preparations, had the outcome still not changed much?
At this moment, the light screen flickered, and a girl with two horns on her head, lavender skin, and deep blue hair suddenly appeared.
"Let us speak, you smelly robot!" The girl, wearing a chef's hat, said forcefully, then she smiled and looked at Xia Yu in the field.
"Apprentice, there's no need to worry about us; do you know why? Because we are very strong."
"Every time Ximi says not to worry, it means the problem is huge, but I think we can still pull through." The light screen shifted, and another girl with two horns, but with normal skin and orange hair, appeared.
"Hey, Tangerine, don't interrupt me." The light screen shifted, and Ximi appeared again, though this time she looked solemn and serious.
"Apprentice, listen to me. You need to worry about your own safety first. It's normal to be unable to win against that monster, and running away is no..."
Before Ximi could finish, a blood-red claw brushed against the light screen. In an instant, the screen turned entirely blood-red, and the signal was interrupted.
puchui, who had been left aside, seemed to only now react, or perhaps He had allowed everything before because He needed to accumulate power.
But in any case, puchui was moving now.
The dark red blood-mist suddenly surged, the ground shook and the mountains swayed throughout the area, and countless blood-red, deformed claws erupted from the ground.
A Mountain of Flesh piled up from blood and tissue also crashed through the walls; the mountain was composed of arms made of deformed organs, and puchui floated in the center of the mountain, guiding it.
Those arms were like limbs extended from Him, twisting as they reached for Xia Yu, but Xia Yu had long been waiting for this moment. He immediately swung his Halberd, using the momentum to flee toward the outside of the dungeon while the Halberd sprayed boundless flames to block puchui's advance.
However, these flames that could incinerate most monsters could not stop puchui's pace at all.
That massive Mountain of Flesh devoured everything around it and spawned new flesh, which in turn formed new arms; everything seemed to be developing in an unfavorable direction.
However, Xia Yu, who had already experienced many battles, was fairly philosophical about this situation; after all, since the opponent's body was so massive, its speed certainly wouldn't be as fast as his.
And indeed, that was the case; the Mountain of Flesh could not catch up to the blue figure in front of it.
puchui didn't seem to be completely serious either; He was simply using the flesh tissue to devour everything around Him while casually pursuing Xia Yu.
In the pursuit and flight, Xia Yu soon put some distance between himself and puchui, but the next moment, a deep yellow light pillar suddenly covered Xia Yu's body, and a slightly noisy voice suddenly came through.
"Eh eh eh! The Emergency Escape Machine has arrived; firing Teleportation Beam!"
"It is normal if gray-white nasal discharge flows out during transmission; that is a harmless side effect of the old Teleportation Ray dissolving the brain."
Xia Yu: "..."
If he weren't already a zombie and unable to speak, he would definitely have cursed the guy who designed this Teleportation Ray; you're really something, a Teleportation Ray that dissolves the brain? This isn't a teleportation ray anymore; it's an energy weapon.
"Please hold the handrail tightly and stand within the yellow line grid."
The next moment, the deep yellow light suddenly intensified, a pulling force was felt, and Xia Yu's vision blurred as the scene before him changed.