Chapter 423

"Explain it in detail."

Kanzaki Rei tossed her severed arm back to her. At the same time, a stream of emerald-green liquid materialized and flowed into Rakuya’s body.

Her injuries were severe—but not fatal.

Now that she could speak properly, he didn’t mind patching her up first.

After all, her Divine Artifact was already in his possession. With her current combat ability, she posed no real threat to him.

Rakuya caught the severed arm.

She pressed it against the torn shoulder. From both ruptured ends, shadow seeped out, merging together like liquid silk. The arm gradually reattached itself.

Meanwhile, the gaping hole in her abdomen slowly closed under Kanzaki Rei’s treatment...

He might not be a healer—

but as an alchemist, preparing a few restorative concoctions was trivial.

Rakuya looked at him with a complicated expression.

Even though he had healed her, she could still tell—

this boy who had appeared out of nowhere was not someone easy to deal with.

...

[Abyssal Sea — Layer One]

Kumironi stared at the empty expanse where Kanzaki Rei had vanished completely.

He had... escaped her perception entirely?

Shhh—

Her divine sense swept outward in an overwhelming surge!

Nine hundred million kilometers upward.Nine hundred million kilometers downward.Nine hundred million kilometers across.

Every lifeform within that range—

from high-tier eighth-rank monsters to creatures so insignificant they could barely be called alive—

all appeared within her perception.

Except—

that boy.

"Now this is interesting..."

At the very last moment before Kanzaki Rei disappeared, Sofia had sensed another presence—

one she found particularly irritating.

"Ansu is helping that little brat as well?"

"Could it be... the one backing him is actually Ansu?"

Everyone who came to the Secret Sea had backing.

No one would enter blindly without support.

If no one had helped him—

Kanzaki Rei should already be dead.

As she pondered his origins—

a sudden tightness gripped her chest.

Kumironi clutched her heart, gritting her teeth.

"Still trying to break free?"

"You and I are already one, my dear Kumironi."

"I am you."

Yet the pain intensified.

The newly formed flesh within her body convulsed violently.

Because Kanzaki Rei had taken part of her soul,

Sofia had been forced to use an alternative method to replace Kumironi.

But this method had far greater drawbacks than seizing the soul—

and it left room for resistance.

Kumironi pressed one hand to her head.

When she spoke, her tone no longer matched Sofia’s.

"Sofia... you have to summon me into the Secret Sea before you can take my body..."

"You must have many restrictions, don’t you?"

Her heart pounded violently.

A layer of gem-like emerald began to form around it.

Kumironi was resisting Sofia’s invasion.

"Tch... stubborn to the end."

"Do you really think your power can oppose mine?"

"Don’t forget—your power comes from me. We share the same origin."

Hearing this—

one corner of Kumironi’s mouth curled into a faint smile.

"Heh... same origin?"

"Then I’ll just... make it different."

Boom!

In the next instant—

her jade-like heart exploded!

"You think you can succeed in killing yourself?"

Sofia’s voice echoed across heaven and earth.

"I told you—you are me. Do you really believe you can die before a god who governs life?"

Kumironi’s shattered heart—

regenerated instantly.

"I never... believed that."

"But—"

"What if... I’m not trying to die?"

"I learned from Kanzaki Rei the difference between gods and true Level 9 class holders. Lady Sofia... the path you walk is different from that of class users, isn’t it?"

Crack—

In an instant, Kumironi’s entire body split with fractures.

Yet the moment they appeared—

they healed completely.

Her level began to collapse.

Level 6 Healer.Level 5 Healer.Level 4 Healer....

Her level was falling—

yet her presence did not weaken in the slightest.

Sofia spoke with pity:

"You are attempting to oppose divine power."

Kumironi replied with difficulty:

"If you could fully use all your power... you wouldn’t need such roundabout methods."

Within her heart—

a point of emerald essence began to form.

Meanwhile, outside her body—

flesh grew wildly, blooming like grotesque flowers.

Hundreds of arms, legs, and heads sprouted—

each face different.

Each one capable of replacing the real Kumironi.

Each one... was Kumironi herself.

"Why do you persist in this futile resistance...? The path you’ve walked—I’ve already walked it all. Your understanding of life is laughably naive."

"The more you resist, the deeper you sink."

Kumironi knew it was true.

She could not compare to a true god of life.

But no matter what—

she would resist to the end.

She condensed her life into pure essence.

Within her heart, that emerald core solidified...

Then—

with immense difficulty—

she used her will to reach into her storage pouch.

A scroll unfurled!

Boom!

A blazing pillar of white light surged skyward—

piercing through the Abyssal Sea, shooting into the infinite heavens—

[Guiding Initiation Ritual]

This was the ritual Kanzaki Rei had deciphered back in Kronoa.

It had no other function—

just an overwhelmingly massive signal.

A beam of pure white light that pierced the sky.

"What’s the point of this?"

"Do you really think someone can save you? Your friend has already escaped!"

"Or are you hoping he’ll come back... to die?"

The flesh in Kumironi’s chest began to compress her heart violently.

Sofia continued seizing control.

Yet Kumironi’s understanding of life exceeded her expectations.

Flesh shifted and reformed—

she forcibly resisted the transformation.

The body that had already begun turning into Sofia’s—

was being reclaimed.

She was learning Sofia’s structure—

deciphering her life-creation techniques.

Even—

turning the increasingly divine flesh into nourishment for herself.

Using another’s life to strengthen her own.

My dear Kumironi... you learned that quickly, didn’t you?

"Origin of Life—bear witness to me!"

Crack—

In that instant—

Kumironi’s heart shattered once more.

And with it—

her Healer class vanished.

She had destroyed her own class.

Such a method existed—

but no one in the world would ever use it.

It brought nothing but harm.

It was equivalent to abandoning one’s entire path.

Yet even as her class collapsed—

the life essence within her did not dissipate.

Instead, it grew denser.

At the moment her heart shattered—

flesh compressed inward—

Pff!

Her entire body became solid—

no cavities remained.

Only flesh.

Pure flesh.

Grotesque, writhing flesh.

Then—

that flesh began to reorganize.

Organs formed.

Human structures reappeared—

alongside things no human should possess.

Kumironi opened her eyes again.

Her expression was no longer one of pain—

but of compassion.

Of divinity.

She gazed gently at the emerald fragment floating before her.

It was her life crystal.

Proof she had existed.

The culmination of her life as a healer.

Her source of magic—

her heart.

If Sofia wished—

she could use that fragment to fully restore Kumironi.

But...

why would she?

Kumironi grasped the green crystal.

"Kumironi... my dear Kumironi... my loyal, adorable believer..."

"What is it you’re trying to prove in the end?"

"What are you resisting?"

Suddenly—

Kumironi looked up.

The sky had turned emerald.

The Origin of Life shone down.

This was an Ascension Ritual.

Even at the brink of death—

she had triggered it.

But what was the point?

"Leave."

Kumironi’s voice was both cold and sorrowful as she addressed the sky.

The emerald glow trembled—

but did not disperse.

She snorted softly.

No longer speaking.

No—

she was no longer Kumironi.

From this moment onward—

she was Sofia.

Kumironi no longer existed.

As for what Kumironi had done in the end?

Heh.

What did it matter?

To Sofia—

it was nothing more than the futile struggle of a weak, ignorant insect.

Grasping at straws.

If shattering one’s class and calling out once could grant the power to oppose a god—

then gods would be worthless.

Not to mention—

there was a vast gap even between Moon Sovereigns and ordinary gods.

Trying to play the game of destruction followed by rebirth?

A pity...

rebirth was not something you could claim so easily.

"You’ve delayed me long enough."

Sofia looked toward the depths of the Abyssal Sea.

"It’s time to prepare for acceptance."

"Otherwise, even if I obtain this vessel, the weakening connection will leave it nothing more than an empty shell."

If she could use Kumironi’s body freely—

she would have done so long ago.

...

Boom!!!

A colossal pillar of light shot skyward—

piercing through the Abyssal Sea and bursting onto the surface!

The pure radiance struck the heavens!

Kanzaki Rei’s perception stirred violently.

He saw it instantly.

The Guiding Initiation Ritual.

Back when he was attacked by Eltimis—

he had used this very ritual to send a signal, allowing Izparut and the others in Kronoa to see it.

Kumironi—

was calling for help?

Calling him?

Had she broken free?

Kanzaki Rei glanced at Rakuya—

then toward the pillar of light.

Snap—

A seal struck Rakuya’s body.

Sixteen pillars pierced through her—

pinning her in place.

One of Kanzaki Rei’s sealing techniques.

Enough to suppress even a Level 7 class holder.

Combined with his sixth-tier transcendent sealing magic—

unless aided by a Level 8, she could not break free.

The next instant—

he vanished, leaving behind only a radiant "Core."

And then—

he reappeared within the Abyssal Sea.

Hu—

He gazed into the depths—

toward the rising pillar of light.

The ritual’s most peculiar trait—

was that no matter how far away you were—

it remained visible.

"Kumironi..."

Too far.

When he escaped earlier—

he hadn’t left a Core there.

Because if Sofia traced it—

he’d be exposed.

Now—

if he wanted to return—

he would have to travel a vast distance.

Buzz—

But then—

an overwhelming surge of life energy spread outward.

In an instant, the entire Abyss felt alive.

The Origin of Life manifested in the sky—

a vast, algae-like emerald structure with endless branching.

"Kumironi..."

Too late.

That was what his intuition told him.

Should I not have run?

Could I have saved her?

But I treated this as nothing more than a replay of the past—

and made no attempt...

No.

That was the correct decision.

If I had died fighting Sofia—

I would have truly entered reincarnation.

I can’t let emotions cloud judgment.

"Kumironi... I’m sorry. If this were the real world, I would have saved you."

Kanzaki Rei shook his head.

Then turned—

and swapped positions with his Core.

Through a Core, countless operations were possible.

Even reconstructing his body from it—

was a form of positional exchange.

No spatial magic required.

Even basic regeneration could achieve the same result.

Shhh—

Rakuya watched as the Core vanished—

and the boy reappeared before her.

Kanzaki Rei had returned.

Confusion filled her eyes.

He casually removed the seal, pulled out the spikes, and continued:

"So—you’re saying..."

"The Dark Church’s war against the Swarm is already collapsing, and soon the hive will fully descend into this world..."

"And you must take this..."

"A hybrid egg—between monster and human."

Monsters and humans could not reproduce.

Even if physical union were possible—

offspring was not.

Like reproductive isolation on Earth.

Beastmen and humans could produce half-breeds.

Elves and humans could produce half-elves.

But monsters and humans—

never.

Even the most heretical experiments had never succeeded.

Rakuya nodded.

"This is a crucial sample."

Kanzaki Rei nodded thoughtfully.

Then asked:

"Will you turn into a monster?"

Rakuya tilted her head, confused.

"Turn into a monster? Why would I become a monster?"

There was no trace of deception.

And at that moment—

another surge of life energy swept across the sea!

Kanzaki Rei sighed.

"...Will it never end?"