Absorb Trihexa!? That's suicide—wait. He said he utilized Rose's barrier. Which means—
Noticing my realization, Asem nodded. "Precisely. Absorbing Trihexa normally would be impossible. But if its movements are bound and its consciousness is occupied by a seal, it's a completely different story."
Asem reached for his Demon Lord armor and tore it open from chest to stomach, revealing a complex, glowing magic circle carved onto his flesh.
"Now, come to me—Beast of the Apocalypse!"
Instantly—
ROAAAAAAAAAAAR!!
Trihexa shrieked in agony! Through the connected threads of light, the massive bodies of the beast were sucked toward Asem! Trihexa thrashed furiously to resist, but bound by Rose's barrier, it couldn't exert its full power.
Still, absorbing Trihexa was pure suicide. No mortal body could endure that much concentrated destruction. Asem was no exception.
"Guh… GAAAAAHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The sheer power raged inside him, bursting his blood vessels. Blood sprayed from every inch of his skin, pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
It was a gruesome sight that hurt just to watch. I screamed out, "Stop it! Your body can't handle any more! Give it up! Our fight… our battle is already over!"
The outcome had been decided! Why was he mutilating himself just to keep fighting!?
Why… why are you doing this…!? We were already—
Asem coughed up a lungful of blood, but he forced a wild smile.
"Indeed, our match is over. The fight between you and me has ended. But… I cannot stop yet. I have not yet heard… the voice of the world…!"
"Even if it costs your life!?"
At my question, Asem laughed maniacally through the blood dripping down his face.
"Hahaha… Forcing pain onto you while risking nothing myself wouldn't be fair, would it? If we are to change the world, this level of pain is nothing! Besides—"
Staggering to his feet, Asem threw his arms wide and shouted to the sky.
"There is no life left for me to preserve anyway. A life like that—I threw it away a long time ago!"
"…!"
The radiant light around Asem flared to blinding intensity. The pull grew overwhelming, forcibly dragging the remaining energy of Trihexa straight into him.
Asem gave a cold, mocking laugh at the struggling beast. "To resist this much while completely immobilized… As expected of the strongest beast, equal even to Great Red, the Guardian of Dimensions. But your struggle ends here. Beast—obey me!"
He glared at Trihexa with a terrifying gaze. Though he wasn't looking at me, the pressure made me feel completely paralyzed. Under that overwhelming aura, the massive form of Trihexa shuddered—and was completely consumed. Its physical body vanished, sucked directly into the jewel on Asem's black gauntlet.
THUMP!
A violent pulse echoed from Asem's body as his form began to mutate.
His skin turned an ashen grey, cracking like dried earth. His white hair grew down past his waist, and his eyes burned a deep, crimson red. Two jagged horns tore through his forehead.
It wasn't a total monster form like the doped-up Rizevim, but more like a humanoid demon. The most prominent change was his enlarged left gauntlet—its claws were sharp enough to tear through space itself, extending all the way up his shoulder to corrupt the entire left side of his body with dark energy.
Asem looked down at his mutated hands. "I see… so this is the form it takes. Considering how much it resembles old Rizevim, I suppose I was no different from him in the end. If I were to name it like you do… I'd call it 'Imperial Beast Transformation.' A bit simple, perhaps, but this is my new power after absorbing the Beast of Apocalypse."
Imperial Beast Transformation…! He actually absorbed that nightmare!
Worse, the massive damage I had dealt him earlier was completely healed!
Meanwhile, my Dragon God Transformation had canceled out, and I wasn't even in my Innovator form anymore. I had zero strength left to fight him!
Even Ddraig sounded panicked.
'This is the worst possible scenario…! Both you and I are completely drained, Issei. We can't even run!'
Forget running; I couldn't even stand.
Helpless, I could only glare up at the transformed Asem, who looked down on me coldly. Gathering dark aura into his right hand, he forged a pitch-black sword out of thin air.
"I'll be taking my leave now—to join the others who are still fighting. Once I eliminate them, I'll step directly into the divine realms of each mythology."
Asem stepped slowly toward me with relaxed precision.
"You can't move anymore, right? Though knowing you, you'll probably force your broken body to chase after me anyway… Well, that's fine too. Now then, what about you—"
Before Asem could finish his sentence—
A terrifying wave of energy blasted from behind me, surging straight toward Asem! Taken by surprise, Asem crossed his arms to block, but the sheer impact blew him backward across the field.
Even Asem looked visibly shocked. "Wh-What was that…!?"
Reinfocements!? At a time like this!? Who the hell—
I turned my head toward the source, but before I could spot them, two figures materialized silently right in front of me.
"We barely made it in time… though 'in time' might be a stretch. Regardless, you seem to be breathing, Issei."
"You fought well to hold out this long. Rest now, Sekiryuutei Boy. We'll take it from here."
There stood two men. I knew they had entered this realm, but I never imagined they would show up like this—
"Master Morris!? And Old Man Strada!?"
…You've gotta be kidding me.
[Afterword Mini-Story]
Diarmuid: "Big brother… I tried putting this on…"
Issei: "Th-That's… a cat-ear onesie!"
Miu: "Yep! I thought it'd look super cute on him, so I made him wear it! Isn't it the best?!"
Issei: "It's the BEST…! Ahh… tears and blood are streaming from my face at the sheer beauty of it… Miu in cat ears is cute, Alice in cat ears is cute, and even Diar-chan… Alright, it's settled! From now on, cat-ear onesies are the official pajamas for the Sekiryuutei peerage! Beautiful girls in cat ears! The moe is off the charts! Big brother is truly ascending!"
Morris: "Huh? Tsk, fine, if that's the rule, I guess I'll wear one too."
Issei: "WHY ARE YOU TRASHING MY DREAM?! It's obviously for girls only! Who in their right mind wants to see an old man in a cat-ear onesie?!"
Morris: "Hey, I'm technically part of the peerage too. Besides, who knows? Maybe there's a market for old men in cat ears."
Issei: "THERE IS DEFINITELY NOT!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"