Phil stared at the data with twitching eyes as it climbed to an unbelievable level, more than ten times stronger than before and still rising. The numbers alone were enough to leave anyone stunned.
"Boom!"
An entire cliff collapsed, millions of tons of mass scattering in all directions with the howling wind. Solid rock crumbled like fragile sand, shattering into Shard at the slightest contact.
Nefit, her body wrapped in black smoke, slowly lifted her foot. Beneath it lay an Abyss Cultists member whose head had been crushed completely, their body mangled beyond any human shape, though they had hardly looked human to begin with.
It took about fifteen seconds for Fei'er Li to reach the scene, while the massacre of over a hundred Abyss Cultists members had already ended three seconds earlier. The site looked as if a terrifying disaster had just occurred.
If it were merely a large crater, that would not be impressive, since Fei'er Li herself could do that easily. What disturbed her was the lingering force, whose mere aftershock made fear rise from deep within, causing every cell to tremble, like a small animal sensing the traces of a top predator.
The ground looked as if it had been dyed with something strange, turning into a slightly translucent black. The nearby cliff and ground had also sunk into a massive pit, its edges unnaturally neat like something carved by a shovel, while sharp ridges of earth jutted upward from the surface.
No matter how she tried to describe it, it did not look like damage caused by fists or sword techniques. Instead, it felt more like a gigantic giant had taken a bite out of the land, as casually as eating cake.
"...Um... chew..."
Yes. Watching Nefit walk out of the pit while puffing her cheeks and moving her jaw, Fei'er Li was sure of one thing. Something had been eaten.
Her expression quickly turned serious as she hugged her book, opened the skill page, and cautiously stared at the being before her. Without question, this was no longer the original Nefit.
Then what kind of existence was it? Something capable of this level of destruction and of affecting her book made Fei'er Li's heart sink. Was it a god, or perhaps the true Evil God behind the Abyss and even the Church of Holy Light they had just wiped out?
Damn it, she had underestimated things and paid the price. No matter what, she had to understand the situation and ensure Nefit's safety first, so she took a deep breath and slowly spoke.
"Um... respected sir, may I ask who you are?"
"If possible, please allow me to ask. Nefit... she..."
The black-haired girl before her looked far more unfamiliar now, staring over with an expressionless face. Her deep pupils reflected no light at all, carrying a heavy, oppressive feeling.
She tensed her face and slightly moved her wrist, a posture that made Fei'er Li swallow nervously. She quietly tried to locate Icelis through the Contract Sigil and call her over, only for her face to freeze in shock.
According to the mark, she was right nearby. With a subtle glance to the side, judging by the size of the rock and the strands of hair sticking out, she was indeed hiding there.
Why were you just standing there watching? Did you betray us too?
As she cursed this behavior in her heart, the other party still did not respond and only stared at her, making the atmosphere increasingly oppressive. Cold sweat began to form on her back.
"...You... handle... not good..."
"Over there... big..."
She spoke. Fei'er Li was instantly startled and hurriedly looked up, confirming that Nefit had indeed just opened her mouth.
The words came out broken and unclear, mixed with heavy noise that still made her shiver, carrying an eerie quality. Pure monsters might inspire fear through strength, but once something starts clumsily imitating human speech, it becomes far more unsettling.
What did those fragments mean? Fei'er Li could only catch pieces, that they could not handle it, that something was too big. Big where, and what exactly?
While Fei'er Li tried to analyze the meaning with all her knowledge, Belial finished chewing and swallowed the blood-red aura filled with resentment. Now he looked at her with some nervousness, unsure whether she could even understand what he was saying.
Mephist would swear first that hijacking someone else's body was not his main line of work. Especially since he had previously cracked down hard on such behavior, even if at first that ignorant fool had attacked him directly.
Belial did not care about that attack at all, since he had seen far bigger scenes before and this was nothing. With how much this body had been strengthened by his heart, this was just casual slaughter.
What truly caught his attention was the trace of power carried by the other side. It was filled with resentful souls and a familiar aura of dark power belonging to an old acquaintance.
It was very small, just a trace, but enough to put him on guard. He knew his limits well, and if even one of those big players showed up, it would be catastrophic for these weaklings.
The abilities involved were all strange beyond measure, and he even sensed a faint cone-shaped Magic Array resembling a field or domain nearby. It was extremely faint, but he was sure he had seen it.
There was no mistake. Only that bunch could produce such a mess with so many souls and resentments, and the fool in front of him was merely a tiny part of a massive ritual.
Realizing someone was planning something big, Belial had no choice but to take over directly. Using his usual method for dealing with this, he opened his mouth wide and took a bite, processing everything with the nature of his heart.
Only a few seconds later, the other side's backers arrived. What made Belial break into a cold sweat was that this remote control of a Clone was different from the earlier direct connection through that strange small space.
In other words, he could not activate the translation function of that space and was back to being illiterate. Still, since the other party had spoken, he could not stay completely silent.
"Hey, you hiding over there. We have used the same body before, so can you at least help me explain? Why are you crouching there shaking like that? What are you even afraid of?"
He glanced toward the person trembling behind the rock and threw a pleading look, but after getting no response, he could only steel himself and continue.
Fine, this place does not matter. I will rely on my unmatched wisdom.
Even though his language skills had not improved much since gaining the translation space, he believed his wisdom would be enough for this.
"Let me tell you, this is not something you can handle. I have to deal with it."
"Relax, the person is fine, but you need to pay attention. There is a big one over there that might act at any time, so you should be careful."
Belial kindly pointed in a certain direction as a warning, then finally could not hold on any longer and went offline with his the Lord. The scar-like mark on Nefit's forehead and the black lines on her face faded quickly, and the dragon-like traits on her body vanished.
She staggered in place for a few steps, then lifted her head and gave Fei'er Li a reassuring look. "Uh, what just happened, teacher?"
"Did I get too carried away and pass out?"
Fei'er Li looked conflicted, glanced around, then pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yes, you lost control a bit just now. Be more careful next time. You cannot act like that casually."
"Okay, I will focus more on training in that area next time."
She casually slid the Greatsword back onto her back. Only after Nefit had gone far on the way back to camp did Fei'er Li pull the trembling Icelis out from behind the rock.
"It is fine now, she is gone. What did you see to scare you like this?"
She asked helplessly, feeling it was almost enough to Rend her mind. Icelis usually only cursed when facing someone stronger than herself, never shaking like this, and she had never seen this Teddy Bear act afraid.
"...She ate everything around here."
"Not a single thing left."
She spoke with chattering teeth, recalling the scene she had witnessed. When she noticed Nefit was off, Icelis had planned to act immediately, but then black smoke burst from Nefit and she lunged like an extremely ferocious beast.
Everything around them vanished, the Abyss Cultists, the resentments clinging to them, the scattered Magic, rocks, weeds, even the flowing elements in the air. All of it disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
The sight triggered her trauma, leaving her only able to tremble on the side. Even after seeing Fei'er Li arrive, she had tried to gather her courage to help, only to be scared back by a single glance from Belial.
"Enough. Calm down first, sort your thoughts, and then tell me again."
Fei'er Li rarely saw her like this and could only sigh and comfort her, then frowned as she began thinking about what had just happened.