The biggest difference between him and every other villain
was that he had three blood-red eyes.
His appearance fit Levos's "Demon Realm big bad" stereotype to the letter: a pair of razor-sharp black horns, pink skin plated with violet keratin armor, and barbed spikes on his fingers, toes, and the tip of his tail.
The tall, broad-shouldered demon grinned strangely.
"I have no need to answer you. In my eyes, you're nothing but prey… waiting to be eaten."
"You won't even reveal your real identity?" someone snapped.
The demon's expression turned arrogant. "After devouring an entire universe, I have countless identities. This isn't some cheap trick of changing my face. In a certain sense…"
"I can be anyone."
"After consuming gods, I became a god as well. No exaggeration my status now stands above all gods!"
He lifted a hand slightly. Instantly, violet miasma surged into the sky as an invisible force rippled outward.
Crack crack crack!
The entire palace began to tremble. Spiderweb fractures crawled from the ground, spreading across pillars and into the dome, as if the structure might collapse at any moment…
Only the barrier raised by the Grand Priest remained untouched.
Even so, Fuwa and the Old Kai couldn't endure it. They slumped to the floor, on the verge of blacking out.
A flicker of surprise crossed Levos's eyes.
The enemy's power had reached a level he couldn't judge at a glance anymore.
But one thing was certain: it was far beyond a God of Destruction.
The enemy stood right there, and yet Levos knew nothing about who he truly was.
"An enemy that doesn't exist in the official history… already?"
That was an alarm bell loud enough to split the heavens.
The most dangerous threat was always the unknown.
Did this thing possess an immortal body? Infinite lifespan? Endless power? Limitless techniques?
Could it manipulate time, space, rules, force itself?
In a battle like this, even the tiniest mistake could spiral into irreversible disaster.
The monster before him was the first villain Levos couldn't get a grip on at all.
And even the Grand Priest beside him seemed unable to fully see through the creature's origin.
At that moment, Chronoa watching everything from outside suddenly changed expression.
"This one… could it be…?"
Levos's heart stirred. Does Chronoa recognize him?
After confirming again and again, Chronoa gasped the name out loud.
" Ozotto!"
"What?" Levos's eyes narrowed in surprise.
If the Supreme Kai of Time recognized him, then this demon named Ozotto didn't exist only in this one timeline.
Levos drew a sharp breath and immediately questioned her.
"Then what's Ozotto's weakness? What abilities does he have? How do we kill him?"
Chronoa looked terrified. She shook her head again and again.
"No one has ever defeated him…"
"What?!" Levos couldn't understand it. "So you just… let him grow?!"
Chronoa looked wronged. "He's extremely cunning. When he's weak, he hides perfectly. He lies low until he's fully matured…"
Levos had no words.
A villain that patient one that shameless would give anyone a headache.
And once it finished growing, it would possess near-infinite clones.
By then, eradicating it at the root might be impossible.
In a way, this demon Ozotto was even harder to deal with than the Demon Realm's Supreme Kai, Mechikabura.
"I didn't do nothing," Chronoa protested. "My patrols have been hunting for his traces. And then I seal that timeline's history away, to keep him from contaminating other timelines…"
It sounded like decent damage control.
A sealed timeline's final fate was left to Zeno, and the ending was easy to imagine…
But to Levos, it was far too passive.
Isolate and abandon every timeline Ozotto corrupts leave them to wait for extinction in despair.
That kind of reality was cold enough to freeze the soul.
And it wasn't just this world's tragedy. It was the end that countless other timelines had already faced or would face someday.
Realizing that, Levos immediately sought confirmation from the Grand Priest.
"That's right," the Grand Priest said calmly. "It's precisely because you appeared that Lord Zeno delayed erasing this world so we could search for a solution to Ozotto."
So Zeno and the Grand Priest had plans already.
But what could Levos do?
Ozotto glanced at Goten and sneered. "Son Goten, you've reached the limit of your growth, haven't you? I'm only interested in gods…"
"But you'll do as a small appetizer."
As he spoke, he lunged toward the barrier.
Boom!
A massive gray fist collided with Ozotto head-on.
Space shook and shattered. Savage suction tore in from countless fractured dimensions, as if reality itself had become a maw.
Ripples spread across the barrier, canceling the aftermath.
Ozotto steadied himself in midair, staring at Levos with open surprise.
"This power… I don't recall anyone like you. Are you from another timeline?"
"Correct," Levos replied. "And you're not from this timeline either, are you?"
Ozotto licked his deep-violet lips. "Smart. And strong."
"Excellent! Finally another fresh delicacy to savor!"
Levos's gaze turned ice-cold. "So I'm on the menu now."
Greed flashed in Ozotto's eyes. His figure vanished.
"It's been a long time since I met an opponent this strong. My appetite's awake!"
A violent gale erupted as Ozotto swept toward Levos.
Levos didn't budge. He gathered power and met him head-on.
Bang!
A horrifying shockwave detonated. Endless shards of space blossomed between them, forming a gigantic black-hole vortex. Lightning arcs and scattered light were sucked into it like debris into a drain.
Inside the barrier, Zeno's entire palace began to crumble, growing more and more battered.
For the first time, emotion flickered on Zeno's usually blank face as his eyes landed on Levos.
"So strong…! Go, go!"
The Grand Priest spoke right after. "Mr. Levos, please hold out a little longer. I'm searching for a way to destroy him."
As the words fell, a power beyond words poured into Levos from afar.
"What is this?"
The force entered him like a mud ox sinking into the sea Levos couldn't sense it, couldn't grasp it, couldn't understand it at all.
"It is [Power of Light]," the Grand Priest said. "It can counter the forces of the Demon Realm, and it will protect your soul from being destroyed by demonic beings."
"Power of Light… I can't comprehend that kind of power yet."
But at least it removed his biggest worry.
"Then let's fight properly," Levos said, eyes hardening.
He shot out of the barrier, facing Ozotto in open space.
"You are strong," Ozotto admitted. "Too bad I don't take subordinates. I only devour."
"Fair," Levos said with a faint smile. "I used to think like you, so I won't judge that choice."
"But…"
"If you can't taste the joy of breaking your own limits, it's boring. And this road of yours is nothing but chasing someone else's footsteps."
"Even if you reach the end and stand at the summit, all you'll see is scenery others already saw long ago."
Ozotto threw back his head and roared with laughter, full of contempt.
"I've never heard anything so ridiculous. Genius? Prodigy? The moment I devour them, I become genius. I become gifted. I become more complete than they ever were and I reach even higher!"
"Hahaha…!"
"From upright-walking humans, to planets, to the entire universe, even to whole timelines I've devoured it all."
"My path is absolutely correct. If I ever fail to see 'unique scenery,' it's only because I haven't done enough."
"Just like now."
"To devour the Grand Priest, I infiltrated countless timelines!"
As his voice fell, space warped. Figures appeared from every direction countless silhouettes filling the void.
Then, one by one, their bodies exploded into pinkish dust, turning into a fine mist that wrapped around Zeno's entire palace like a shroud.
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