CHAPTER 739: THE MAW OF MADNESS

Ethan’s brow tightened as realization struck like a slap to the face. This thing—this grotesque monstrosity—was one of the forces he’d sensed the moment he first entered this world.

He hadn’t paid it much attention back then. A flicker of pressure, a whisper of something ancient. But now, standing face to face with it, he understood: it had been watching him all along. And worse, it probably wasn’t the only one.

"RUMBLE!"

A wave of raw, crushing power surged toward him. Ethan reacted instantly, sweeping his arms forward. A massive energy sphere bloomed in his palms, then launched like a comet straight at the creature.

It hit dead-on.

And did nothing.

The orb struck the monster’s flesh with a dull thud, rippling across its surface like a pebble dropped in a swamp. No damage. No recoil. Just a faint shimmer—and the thing kept coming.

Ethan’s pupils contracted. He stared, disgust curling in his gut.

The creature looked like a nightmare version of a caterpillar—its body a writhing mass of twisted, glistening flesh. But the worst part? One end of it was a gaping, oversized mouth, lined with jagged teeth. No eyes. No head. Just that maw, wide and wet and waiting.

"You can’t hurt me," the voice came again, cold and cruel, echoing from nowhere and everywhere. "That little power of yours? Useless. Be a good boy and surrender. Let me eat you."

Ethan’s jaw clenched. A chill crept down his spine.

He backed away, fast. This wasn’t just brute strength. That mouth—it radiated a gravitational pull, like a black hole. A vortex of energy that didn’t just consume matter—it devoured essence. It was a portal. A gateway to some other dimension.

And it wanted him inside.

"Master! Don’t worry—we’re here!"

A shout rang out, and from a fresh tear in the air, a squad of Emerald Castle warriors burst through. They weren’t many, but they moved with purpose, surrounding the creature in a loose formation.

Ethan’s eyes lit up. "You guys..."

He inhaled sharply, mind racing. Even with their help, this thing was a fortress. A walking apocalypse. But maybe—just maybe—he didn’t need to destroy it from the outside.

He shot into the air, wings of energy flaring behind him. With a sweep of his arms, a massive bow formed in his hands, its string humming with tension. He nocked an arrow, its tip glowing with condensed force, and aimed straight at the monster.

But just as he was about to fire, he felt it.

A shift.

The creature’s mouth wasn’t just a weapon—it was a door. A fully-formed dimensional pocket, a separate world sealed inside its body. Everything it consumed was funneled into that space, fueling it, feeding it.

If he wanted to kill it, he had to go in.

No hesitation.

Ethan adjusted his angle, locked onto the mouth—and dove.

"What’s this? Giving up already?" the creature cackled, voice thick with glee. "Smart choice! You’ll taste better that way!"

Its jaws yawned wide, a cavern of teeth and darkness, and Ethan vanished into it.

"Delicious," the monster hissed, shuddering with pleasure. "With power like his, I’ll evolve in no time. Soon, this world will be mine!"

It laughed—a deep, guttural sound that shook the air. Its body writhed, and from its mouth erupted a massive vortex, a swirling storm of suction that threatened to pull in everything around it.

The Emerald Castle warriors staggered, bracing themselves as the air was ripped from their lungs. The ground cracked. The sky warped. The entire battlefield bent toward that gaping maw.

And then—everything stopped.

The vortex froze mid-spin. The monster’s body went rigid, like it had been flash-frozen in place. No movement. No sound. Just stillness.

"What the hell?" one of the warriors muttered, eyes wide. "Why did it stop?"

No one had an answer. But they didn’t waste the opportunity.

In a heartbeat, they launched a barrage of attacks—blades, spells, arrows—all slamming into the creature’s unmoving form.

But nothing broke through.

A shimmering barrier coated its skin, hard as diamond, repelling every strike. The monster didn’t flinch. Didn’t react. It just hung there, frozen in midair, like a statue carved from nightmare.

Still, the warriors kept attacking. Because whatever was happening inside that thing—whatever Ethan was doing—they had to buy him time.

Meanwhile, Ethan had stepped into an entirely separate dimensional space.

It was nothing like the world outside. The air here was thick with raw energy, dense and electric, as if he’d entered a realm cut off from reality itself. Power swirled around him in invisible currents, pressing against his skin, seeping into his bones. It was overwhelming—heavy, but exhilarating.

"Vmmm..."

"RUMBLE... RUMBLE... RUMBLE..."

The moment he crossed the threshold, a surge of force slammed into him, rattling his body like a drumbeat from the heart of the world. Energy poured into him—fast, relentless. His strength spiked almost immediately, his Tier climbing with every breath.

Idra and Auri felt it too.

They darted from his side, wings shimmering as they began absorbing the ambient energy. Both of them were already high-tiered, but this place—this pocket dimension—was supercharged. The power here didn’t just enhance; it transformed.

Ethan watched them, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his face. "So I was right."

He rose into the air, hovering effortlessly, and drew in a deep breath. The energy here wasn’t just abundant—it was alive. It flowed into him like a tide, lifting him higher, pushing his limits further.

But then... something changed.

At first, it was subtle. A strange tingle in his limbs. A faint ache in his chest. Then it sharpened—like acid threading through his veins.

His eyes snapped open. "What the hell is this?"

The energy wasn’t pure. Hidden within it was something else—something darker. A foreign presence, oily and corrosive, had begun to creep into his body. It wasn’t just draining his stamina—it was trying to eat him from the inside out.

Corruption.

Not just energy, but a parasitic force designed to erode, to consume.

And then it clicked.

Of course. That thing—the worm-like monster—this was how it fed. It didn’t just swallow bodies. It absorbed everything: strength, essence, soul. This entire dimension was its digestive system, and they were already halfway digested.

If they stayed here, if they kept absorbing this tainted energy, they’d be broken down and absorbed like everything else.

Auri and Idra jolted, both of them suddenly aware of the same creeping decay. Their eyes snapped open, wings flaring as they tried to purge the corruption from their systems.

But Ethan remained calm. In fact, he almost looked amused.

He opened his system interface, scanning the space around him. Within seconds, he found it—a weak point. A hairline fracture in the dimensional shell.

"There," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "That’s the breach. If I hit it hard enough, it’ll take us straight to the stomach. From there, we hit it where it hurts."

No hesitation.

He gathered his power, condensed it into a single, brutal strike, and hurled it at the breach.

"BOOM!"

The impact cracked the air like a thunderclap. The void split open, jagged fissures spiderwebbing across the space.

Auri and Idra didn’t wait for instructions. They unleashed their full strength in tandem, their attacks slamming into the breach like twin bolts of lightning. The cracks widened, deepened, until the entire section of space began to buckle.

Everything was moving fast now—clean, precise, surgical.

...