Two days later, Merka traveled a long distance, endured harsh conditions, and used flight magic day and night to finally arrive at the tall tower of the Bone Hall in the central city on the morning of the third day.
Here, theoretically, the territory was managed by the chief's family in rotation, but due to Oedipus's lenient management policy, it had nearly become an autonomous region managed by the local mayor.
"The magical aura here is so strong, it's like freshly whipped cream."
"No matter how many times I come here, I am always amazed. How can there be such rich magical fluctuations in this world?"
"It's like the smell of wormwood."
Looking up from below the tower of the Bone Hall, Merka couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous creation of the divine.
"The smell of wormwood was actually a trick I used to amuse Eve."
"Every time I used chemical means to eliminate enemies – what you call magic – I would often kill many, many people and emit a strong smell of blood."
"Eve, being young and kind-hearted, doesn't like that bloody smell."
"So whenever I cast a spell, I would create the smell of wormwood in her mind to counteract that odor."
"Therefore, the closer you use magic that is closer to the source, the stronger the smell of wormwood."
With his arms crossed, the shadow stood next to Merka, and somewhat disruptively said, "Hehe... Thank you for telling me such a cruel fact."
Merka chuckled awkwardly, giving the shadow a wry look.
The shadow shrugged noncommittally.
"I won't tease you anymore."
"We're about to meet the true god of this world. Are you excited?"
The shadow walked to the front of the tower, seemingly sensing something, feeling along the wall, and reaching near a tile that seemed indistinguishable from the surroundings, pressing lightly.
"Aren't you the true god?"
"Is there even a difference between left brain and right brain?"
Merka looked at the busy shadow with a strange expression.
"There is a difference."
"I represent motherhood, he possesses fatherhood."
"And now I lack the power, so I can only hope that she still has the corresponding power."
As the shadow spoke, with a click, a large hole like a monstrous abyss opened in the wall, leading to the bottomless underground of the tall tower.
"Alright, found it."
"The magic here is the strongest. Let's go in."
The shadow turned around and said to Merka.
But when he turned around, the shadow saw Merka's terrified eyes.
"Go... go in there?"
"In its presence?"
Merka's hand trembled as she pointed behind the shadow.
"You finally brought your stupid lackey... the she-demon was right."
A terrifying beast with thousands of closely packed compound eyes on its face slowly emerged from the large gate opened by the shadow. It opened its gorgeously terrifying mouth, spitting out its long, soul-sucking tongue, like a dreamy curtain of mist.
Its body was broken like a rag, covered in dirty and unhealthy crimson, making you want to vomit upon seeing it - but you could easily see that it was roughly shaped like a fox.
An eerie atmosphere descended abruptly with its arrival, and a disturbingly sinister air grew with every step it took.
It was like a punctured, deflated balloon, the stench of death billowing out from its body in a overwhelming wave.
Invincible, incomprehensible, and unbelievable pressure rushed out from it one after another, harshly bearing down on Merka.
Merka was paralyzed with fear.
He had never felt such real terror, such bone-chilling horror before.
The immense impact nearly knocked him unconscious.
"Praise the true god, Kagtua!"
"You shall perish in great agony!"
The creature that resembled a fox moved, not roaring or growling, but the simple act of charging forward seemed to carry with it a twisted terror that distorted everything.
An indescribable surge of immense magical power swept towards Merka, instantly shattering his magical defenses and brutally smashing his mental world into countless pieces.
"Merka! Merka!"
"Merka!"
The shadow yelled desperately at Merka, but he seemed frozen in place, unable to move.
"Damn it, I should have known better! Whatever Merka can realize, there's no reason Oedipus wouldn't!"
"Though Oedipus can't act against the backdrop, she can station someone here!"
"But I never thought she would leave Beezelbub's avatar here! Isn’t she afraid of leaving her defenses vulnerable?"
The shadow's illusion began to waver, lifelike deep green plants burst forth from its body like umbilical cords and intestines.
Madness! Forgetfulness! The brutish green infant bursting from the shadow's body became the true killer of self-destructive vitality.
They multiplied wantonly, grew wantonly, withered wantonly, and tore open a new path on the former's corpse, until a towering green wall grew high enough to block the immense monster in front of them.
"No more holding back, at this rate... we will certainly be accused by Oedipus!"
"I will destroy you... Beezelbub!"
The shadow's navel was tied to eerie plants forming mounds around it. It slightly lifted its chin, staring down the giant before fiercely pointing a finger downward.
Dozens of thick green vines like water towers whipped through the air, attempting to impale Beezelbub's avatar to the ground.
Beezelbub's avatar hesitated for a moment, seemingly wary of the plants, but then it dragged its shattered body frenziedly towards Merka once more.
These plants were no ordinary ones, their name, Codechecker, wasn't given in vain. For thousands of years, as a back door left by angels to restrain their powers, aside didn't know how many out-of-control angels they had restrained.
But even with restraints, how could a cup of water save a cartload of burning firewood?
The handful of Codecheckers carried by the shadow were not enough to stop Beezelbub.
Beezelbub charged like a flaming bus, unrelenting even as its body was cut by the vines, solidly crashing into the green wall set up by the shadow.
A towering fire erupted, engulfing Merka and the shadow in a blaze akin to an apocalyptic inferno.
