NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1020
<1020 – Eastern Chronicle (19)>
The Dark Tentacle Bird, transformed from a super cowardly man into a masked high-ranking monster killer!
As the masked ones began to be swept away at a terrifying speed, the wizards behind them grew anxious.
“The absurdity of the Magical Territory is beyond imagination. I survived by sacrificing another inspection instead of complying with the unfair deal of the Dark Spirit, but was that not enough?”
“What a vile clan they are. Ignoring the spirit transactions means that those with negative energy have no choice but to disguise themselves as weird beings, but by masquerading as weird beings, they inevitably get caught in the summoning spells that gather all weird beings and hunted down.”
Wizards who carelessly revealed their existence and their followers all met their demise.
The Magical Territory was no longer a place where wizards could increase their magical knowledge and power.
It was nothing more than a death trap and a cage for every wizard that stepped into it.
“Get a grip! Are you planning to let everyone die like this? Give up your dreams. That way, a path to survival will open up.”
“Are you suggesting using the Soul Gem?!”
The wizards were engulfed in severe anguish.
“The Soul Gem is the mystical medium to open the Soulcaster Alliance’s secret, the Soul Paradise. If we use that, we will never achieve our dreams. Are we truly intent on committing such a crime?”
“If we are met with death, any dream would be meaningless.”
The only chance to create another Magical Territory in the Eastern Empire.
However, having personally experienced the dangers of the Magical Territory, the wizards’ spirits were crushed.
“Fine. I shall offer my Soul Gem.”
“I’ll lend a hand as well.”
“Count me in.”
Five wizards, who stubbornly survived even after the Gold Dragon Sorcerer’s death, pooled their strength.
Even one Soul Gem used by an Oknodie could open the Gate of Hell, but no matter how many five wizards gathered, they would pale in comparison to one of the Oknodie’s.
The Oknodie, who visited Hell in the flesh and memorized the coordinates of Hell, could open the Gate of Hell simply using coordinate magic; wizards had to call upon extensive ranges of coordinates based on vague rumors, traditions, and memories of weird beings.
The reason for the inevitable gap in efficiency.
Thus, rather than attempting to open the Gate of Hell with five Soul Gems, the wizards shifted their sights to another use.
“The Gate of Hell, specifically, we aim to open the most powerful Soul Paradise. We shall dedicate this Soul Gem to one weird being.”
“Let our combined strength and wisdom of the five wizards, along with the deaths and despair from five regions, merge into a singularity of death!”
“Arise. Being of the Netherworld. Evil Demon. <Heavenly Ancestor>‘s <Remains>!”
Once called the two great beings of the Eastern World, <Siddhartha> stood tall alongside the <Primordial Heavenly Ancestor>.
Summon the remains that aim to invade the remains of the old gods, containing the evil spirits within.
The energy reaction surpassed mere high-ranking demon levels to stand toe-to-toe with the ultra-high-ranking demon, the Dark Tentacle Bird.
The strong Titosso had become strong enough to terrify the Dark Tentacle Bird.
“Qiieeeeeek…?”
“What an extraordinary bird. Such power, truly a scion of darkness.”
One who amplifies strength by rotating the energy of five Soul Gems like cogs.
Long ago, he was a remnant of the former god, who lost divinity on this land and an ultra-high-ranking demon qualified to target godhood.
“Three thousand years ago, when the Netherworld first birthed and Hell was born to punish the wicked, countless beings were expelled from the East under a new order called good. When even the order of justice, led by the Heavenly Ancestor and Siddhartha, came to an end, beings closer to Hell like you and me could return to this land.”
“Qiieee?”
“Yet, how unfortunate.”
The ancient god, descended by the wizards’ summoning ritual, seized the tentacle bundle of the Dark Tentacle Bird with one hand.
The frightened Dark Tentacle Bird squealed in terror and jumped, but that hand would not let go.
“Without the Netherworld, everyone can grow infinitely strong, and the ancient and modern eras are no different. Since the rise of benevolent gods who sought to nourish only their own followers through the purification and circulation of power, our evil kind have been in constant regression.”
“Qiieek!!”
“Indeed. Just as we had to eat each other and follow the law of survival of the fittest. We too must consume and be consumed to survive in this perilous modern era. oh scion of darkness. Let us see who is more suitable to carry on the lineage of darkness! ”
The Heavenly Ancestor’s remains took the form of a sand giant.
A figure composed of particles filling the empty space of a body that had only bones left.
━━━
[Heavenly Ancestor’s Remains]
[Ancient Darkness]
[Evil God, Gegeobdo-in]
━━━
When Gegeobdo-in stretched out his enormous hand, the sand form began to disperse from the tip of that arm, carried away by the wind, and clung to the body of the Dark Tentacle Bird.
━━━
<Heavenly Ancestor’s Secret Technique, Vital Energy Transformation>
<Manifestation, Revived Form of Evil>
━━━
Hands generated right in front of it ripped at the tentacles, causing the Dark Tentacle Bird to emit a pitiful scream and flail wildly.
An attack that was bewildering for the Dark Tentacle Bird, which had relied solely on its massive size and numerous tendrils!
As a result, the Oknodie, who could have easily taken down the Dark Tentacle Bird by mere happenstance, felt uncomfortable seeing this scene, reminiscent of Titosso.
“Oh dear. If something originating from me is that weak, it hurts my pride!”
━━━
<Training Otori (5000)>
<Transference of Extremity>
━━━
━━━
<Three Powers of Siddhartha>
<First Power – Impermanence (諸行無常)>
<Transition of Realms>
━━━
The Oknodie unleashed connected techniques enhanced through a demi-god-level training boosted by the submission of monsters and the allegiance of Mini Hydras.
Through the impermanence of Siddhartha’s ancient power, one attack escalated to a higher level of authority, which was then transferred to the Dark Tentacle Bird via Transference of Extremity!
This was a timely support that allowed the Dark Tentacle Bird to manifest its potential for the future and navigate the crisis.
“Qiieeeek!!!”
Realizing the new possibilities overflowing within itself, the Dark Tentacle Bird executed a reinforced maneuver.
━━━
<Impermanence>
<Applying Function - Swimming>
━━━
…not for the purpose of attack, but to escape!
The Dark Tentacle Bird, freely darting in the water like a fish out of water, unintentionally placed one of the Heavenly Ancestor’s moves in a bit of trouble.
Because it was an entity born of bones and remains, the little hands that dissipated from the sand giant’s form, fundamentally weak, froze and melted due to drastic changes in pressure and temperature, bursting apart into a shower of sand.
Without malice, yet causing tremendous damage around, just like the cries of Titosso!
The Dark Tentacle Bird, clearly demonstrating the reason for its name, “Titosso Bird.”
“Indeed. Truly a scion of darkness.”
“Qiieeeek!!!!”
Actually, am I strong?
With a newfound confidence, the Dark Tentacle Bird opened its beak wide, displaying its serrated teeth.
“Then take this too.”
Gegeobdo-in brushed his surviving arm over what had vanished and called forth darkness, reshaping his arm once more; instead of the pale color of the ashes, a deep black representing darkness emerged.
That arm, imbued with ominousness, was the crystallization of ancient wickedness refined through Dark Mana!
The gaping beak of the Dark Tentacle Bird snapped shut involuntarily.
━━━
<Heavenly Ancestor’s Secret Technique, Supreme Primordial Unity>
<Manifestation, Unstoppable Grasping>
━━━
This was a technique closely linked to one of the techniques unleashed by the Oknodie maximizing his own skill.
From the countless energy of despair and death residing within the Soul Gem, a hand materializing the pain and despair of those who met their demise for the sole reason of “grasping.”
Such hands inherently carried strange properties of weird beings and the inexplicable law of overwhelming force!
Instilling fear.
Mental paralysis.
Compulsory binding.
Strengthening restraints.
The enormous form of the Dark Tentacle Bird, whose movements were entirely blocked, was forcibly gripped and tore to pieces, black hands clawing at it.
With a howl of the Dark Tentacle Bird, the dark energy flowed down from the skies, and the black rain caused fear among the nearby weird beings and people.
The fear exuded by primal beings claimed by the hand came back to Gegeobdo-in, sparking his wrath.
“How dare you drain the strength from the residents of my city! Not even paying taxes!”
It showed hard feelings learned from the capital education provided by Dark Merchant Jezel!
“Fight back in the growth form of the Dark Tentacle Bird!”
━━━
<Training Otori (5000)>
<Transference of Extremity>
━━━
━━━
<Three Powers of Siddhartha>
<Second Power – No-Self (諸法無我)>
<Growth Transition>
━━━
Using the second power of the Three Powers, the Oknodie further strengthened the power of the Dark Tentacle Bird.
The Mini Nodys could hardly believe their eyes seeing the Oknodie enhance the very creature they wanted to defeat.
“Older sister? What are you doing growing that thing?!”
“You’re strengthening the enemy of our youngest!”
“I hate you, sister!”
The Oknodie merely chuckled.
“The Growth Transition of No-Self cannot be attained again once borrowed. To block the Dark Tentacle Bird’s growth forever and with those opposing that form can also eat away its duration, so this is a good turn of events!”
In theory, it was a fitting investment by the Oknodie.
The unexpected, strong resistance of the wizards.
If the Dark Tentacle Bird fell, wouldn’t he have to face it himself next?
Yet, there was a flaw here.
From the silly shimmering level of the trivial lights, if the Titosso Bird were to break free and reach the light of ruin enveloping Heaven and Earth, the terrifying fate lay in the future if the Titosso were to grow beyond its current state!
━━━
<No-Self>
<Growth Form – Taehoram>
━━━
Unable to dare handle the overflowing weird power individually and merely blobbing it back out as tentacle forms, the Dark Tentacle Bird had no need to take a massive form anymore, the moment it learned to manage the power belonging to it.
Shrinking and shrinking again, the Dark Tentacle Bird, now awakened in the darkness, had become a petite sparrow.
“Tweet tweet.”
Just as compressing mana can reduce height, so too did the massive Dark Tentacle Bird shrink down to an adorable size.