Now that all the materials were assembled, it was time to begin forging.
The moment he picked up the engraving tools, Meruem glanced at his Dark Cloth—shimmering with a unique luster like black pearls—and a flash of inspiration struck.
What would happen if he added this Dark Cloth to the materials?
Would it produce a mutation?
Well, might as well try.
And so another month passed.
On the last day of that month, something extraordinary occurred. A certain spot on the Jamir Plateau began to tremble violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake.
Through the cracks in the earth, scalding red magma could be seen churning.
But this was only a plateau—not volcanic territory. Why was there magma?
Though it was broad daylight, the sky had turned pitch black with clouds, and from that darkness came the constant rumble of thunder.
Blue lightning bolts struck the ground again and again, turning what little grass existed into black charcoal.
The scene was as terrifying as the end of the world. Strangely, though, this phenomenon appeared only near Jamir's death zone.
That already lifeless area became even more desolate—utterly silent.
"Master Mu, Master Mu—what's happening over there? And why can't I get close anymore? It's like there's an invisible wall blocking me," Kiki said, staring in terror at the scene that looked like divine punishment. "Even telekinesis doesn't work." To emphasize his point, Kiki added that last part.
Kiki had never encountered anything like this. He was frightened.
"I don't know." Mu's answer was brief, because he truly didn't know what was happening there.
He'd never heard of forging Saint Cloths causing such phenomena. But one thing was certain: this spectacle was absolutely connected to Meruem entering that place.
As for the "invisible wall" Kiki mentioned, that was just a sealing barrier Meruem had laid down beforehand.
Its purpose was to prevent the anomaly's range from expanding and drawing the gaze of other beings in this world.
Meruem wasn't afraid, but that would expose him to others' attention.
Meruem had used special techniques—not just Kiki, even Mu might not be able to break through.
If it were Shion here instead of Mu—Shion, who'd spent over two hundred years reading ancient texts in the Star Tower—he would surely know why. Such natural disasters only appeared when divine artifacts were born.
Like the Eternal Spear Loki forged in the New Asgard arc using the power of the twelve Gold Saints and the World Tree.
Only, judging by the scale of this disturbance, Meruem's was clearly more intense. That didn't necessarily mean what he forged was stronger than the Eternal Spear—the ultimate divine weapon of Asgard—though it wasn't weaker either.
At least, Meruem hadn't deployed it yet.
So what exactly had Meruem forged to cause such upheaval?
Saint Cloths.
That's right—just Saint Cloths. Though calling them God Cloths would be more accurate.
But not one—four.
Since ancient times, God Cloths had been the exclusive province of the Celestial gods. Meruem preferred to call them Saint Cloths, though they were no less than—perhaps even surpassed—the God Cloths worn by the gods themselves.
Four Saint Cloths radiating world-destroying energy floated before Meruem.
Four sculptures bearing different images. But regrettably, these four weren't the beloved Four Divine Beasts everyone hoped for.
Instead, they were four others from Chinese Federation mythology: Taotie, Hundun, Taowu, and Qiongqi.
Yes—the Four Ancient Evils. Each brimming with ominous portent.
Like black holes, they emanated a bone-chilling sense of foreboding. An ordinary person here would be trembling in terror from that malevolent aura.
Yet these four Cloths gave Meruem a different feeling: warmth.
That's right—a sense of kinship through blood connection.
Meruem's face was pale from blood loss, but more than that, he felt joy.
These four Cloths had cost him countless effort and blood. There was a huge element of chance involved—if he tried again, even draining every drop of blood wouldn't guarantee success.
As their forger, and since they were cast with his blood, in a sense Meruem was like their parent.
So no matter how ominous these Cloths appeared to outsiders, to Meruem they were like family.
Though not one of the Celestial gods, Meruem's strength far exceeded the gods in general. Even God-King Zeus might not best him. So his blood likewise possessed the power to evolve Saint Cloths.
His blood's energy might rival Athena's divine blood in boosting her Saints' Cloths.
Even so, forging these four Cloths had cost Meruem massive blood loss. Even his powerful body felt the strain—you can imagine how terrifying the energy within these four Cloths was.
Of course, the Taotie Cloth—one of the Four Evils—took the most time, as it was Meruem's personal Cloth.
The Hundun Cloth was forged for Pitou.
In care and effort, these two Cloths received the most attention.
The remaining Qiongqi and Taowu Cloths were relatively rougher—but only compared to the first two.
Meruem planned to give these to subordinates like Youpi and Pouf.
In any case, though forging the Cloths had severely drained Meruem, it was all worth it.
He could feel that wearing his Cloth would raise his combat power at least another tier. When he next faced the Celestial gods, he'd have another trump card.
The only pity was that the Jamir cavern—a relic of the Mu continent—and the surrounding area were now a true death zone.
Even after Meruem took the Four Evil Cloths, that place could never nurture life again.
Come to think of it, this was rather unfair to the Jamir clan who guarded this place.
Oh well—he'd look after them more in the future. Consider it compensation for obtaining four divine artifacts. Having learned the forging method and successfully obtained the Four Evil Cloths, Meruem left the Jamir Plateau—though not before informing Mu.
Meruem didn't explain much, and Mu was tactful enough not to ask. He was a wise man who understood some things could be asked and others couldn't.
After seeing the level of barrier Meruem deployed, Mu realized they weren't in the same class.
He also began to suspect Meruem's identity. As for the "King of the Chimera Ant race" claim, Mu didn't take it seriously.
Never heard of them—obviously a fake identity. His guess about Meruem's true identity was different: the reincarnation of a certain god.
And the god Mu suspected had both reason and name.
Behind the twelve temples of the Sanctuary and Athena's temple, legend said there was once a Sun Temple—the palace of Athena's older brother, former Sun God Abel.
It was abandoned for unknown reasons, and Abel's reincarnation hadn't appeared in many years.
Abel and Athena were close. If he knew Athena was in trouble, reincarnating to help her wasn't impossible.
Meruem had no idea Mu had pinned the label of "former Sun God Abel's reincarnation" on him.
After all, he'd been gone over two months, and forging the Cloths had drained vast amounts of blood and energy.
What Meruem needed now was rest to recover his strength. He returned to the organization he'd established in this world.
After checking on Wang Hu and Bado, still in training, Meruem began recuperating.
That recovery took ten full months. During those eight months, Meruem hadn't completely wasted time. Though he wouldn't expend massive effort forging powerful Cloths again, that didn't stop him from making ones below God Cloth level.
Not just Saint Cloths—since he had surplus materials, he even forged a few Scales and Surplices.
But the Surplices and Scales were less useful than the Saint Cloths equivalent to average Silver Cloths, so he casually gifted them to talented children he'd taken in around the world.
Of course, Wang Hu and Bado's Cloths were meticulously crafted. Though not as good as the Four Evil Cloths, they were quite impressive.
"It's been over a year since the six boys left. Ikki—time to visit Death Queen Island. I wonder what surprises the Dark Saints will bring me."
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