CHAPTER 69: VICTORY?

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Asmodeus writhed in agony as its insides burned. Its teeth scraped together in anger, its slits trembling with fury.

I’m going to kill that bitch! I’m going to make sure to take things slow! Argh! Hot!

Its crystalline onyx-black scales began to emit an eerie shadowy smoke as its entire figure slowly morphed, constricting into something smaller. Its power became more contained, more fearsome, and due to the intense condensation, the lava was culled in the process.

Layla saw this and frowned, but regardless, glancing at the tall, robust armored figure by her side, she felt more reassured.

[Hero: The Indestructible Wall — Bo the Invincible Tank

Master: Lord Roy Vanders

Level: 25 (all hero summons reflect the level of their master)

Might (Mutated!): 150

Agility: 210

Invulnerability (Mutated!): 200

Intelligence: 80

Ether Unit: 160

Comprehensions:

Metal: 10.3%

Repel: 19.1%

Skills: Divine Wall (S), Skin Reinforce (A), Demon Rebound (S), Titan Vanguard (SS), Great Ocean Parting Cleave (SS), Eternal Body (SSS)]

The more she gazed at the summon’s info, the more reassured she became. With this guy serving as her shield, there was no way she was getting hurt, right?

Bone-creaking noises rang louder, bringing her attention back to the big problem before her.

Asmodeus had finished its transformation. Her pupils constricted at the sight.

A humanoid with glassy black-scaled skin and long dark flowing hair with emerald slits stood in the place of the behemoth.

Its presence was more terrifying, more dangerous, and several degrees more stifling...

The naked figure, with scales for armor, glanced at its hands and commented spitefully:

"Hateful or not, the greatest battle form is always the humanoid form..." It clenched and unclenched, feeling the raw condensed power pumping through its veins.

It then raised its head, its cold gaze matching Layla’s. "You managed to push a Finger of Gluttony into this state — even though this is just a fraction of my true form. Considering the fact that you’re a race from this backwater juvenile plane, I have to admit it is impressive."

Then it shook its head, its face relaying sincere pity. "Too bad you’ll have to serve as my meal today!" It declared, its voice leaving no room for doubt.

Layla’s pupils constricted.

Boom! She could barely register the clash that had just occurred. Asmodeus, who was a good distance away, suddenly appeared before her — fist clenched and hips pivoting to unleash a devastating punch.

Thankfully, the summon Bo by her side reacted equally fast. His unwavering shield raised, his skill Demon Rebound intertwined with his comprehension Repel, bloomed — returning the punch impact back to its source with double ferocity.

Her heart palliated, goosebumps rising as shockwaves crashed around her. Ear-blistering sounds clashed and boomed out as the two engaged so fast around her delicate, trembling frame.

This was the benefit of mutated stats — they weighed more than their value. So right now, Bo’s stats were actually worth double to triple their base value, arming him with the capability to engage a being of the Ninth Finger of Gluttony level.

Layla frowned, unresigned. She wouldn’t be a baggage in battle. She refused to be.

"Stand down!" It was an order — a dangerous one. But bound by instructions, Bo could only silently comply, his towering mass appearing right beside her still.

It was a mystery what hid beneath his heavy armor. Was it a human — or a corpse of one?

Asmodeus similarly landed backward, pausing his charge as he squinted at Layla warily.

Layla wasn’t a fool. She didn’t order Bo to stand down based on injured pride — no, it was a calculated move.

There was a function of her skill Divine Instructor that remained hidden. Even Roy hadn’t gleaned this part during his detailed inspection.

It was a function that allowed her to gain necessary strength to defeat her foes when her students were watching. After all, an instructor wasn’t allowed to lose — if they did, it would question their credibility.

And right now, from the vast distant scape, she could feel the worried gazes of her squad members watching her.

The flickering gold at the depths of her pupils sparked more brilliantly.

Asmodeus reacted to this, a heavy downpour of slimy drool cascading from his mouth. "Your divine energy keeps blooming... The scent is thick and my hunger is provoked. Ahh, I must dine!"

Eyes red, blinded by intense hunger, the scaly figure of Asmodeus had already appeared before her — maws apart with abnormally long, inhumane teeth. His arms moved — one clamping down on her head armor, the other clenching her shoulder — as his teeth sought to rip through her once and for all.

Unfortunately, in his frenzy state, he forgot about something — the very instrument that forced him to transform in the first place.

A hot metal muzzle pressed on his abdomen in return as Layla squeezed the trigger without any mercy.

BOOOOOOM!

The sound waves didn’t reverberate to the outside, but to Asmodeus’s ears, it might have been louder.

As Molten Penetration activated, bullets plunged into his scale-protected skin, releasing extreme degrees of heat — cooking him from the inside. If not for his insane capacity for corruption, it might have been worse — his blood evaporating.

His figure was hauled backward on impact.

As for Layla — her hair billowing in the wind, her eyes glinting with unnatural hue — something snapped into place deep in her soul. The pressure of imminent demise, plus the goading of her Divine Instructor skill, pushed her to comprehension.

The extremity of speed is bound by time and space, right? Well, what if I could accelerate time around me while compressing space with every step — wouldn’t that make my acceleration off the charts?

Divine energy bloomed, solidifying this comprehension — before immediately drying out. It would take a long time to accumulate once more, but for now... it had erased her Agility stat and replaced it with Acceleration.

And in her Comprehension section, two new laws had appeared: Time and Space.

Asmodeus had barely recovered his bearing and even landed when he felt a muzzle pressed straight to his skull.

Bang! The SMG spat out a Molten Penetration powered bullet.

Its slits constricted from the existential danger — Pop! Its head burst open, revealing it was a mere shed skin acting as a clone.

Layla didn’t hesitate in following up. The real body spat out a viscous, smelting green solution right at her figure.

"You can assist now!" she called out urgently.

From behind, red ember-like lights lit up from underneath Bo’s visor as his figure blurred.

A sizzling noise rang out as the green solution landed on the tank’s armor — trying to corrode it, only to fail and slide off, leaving it still polished.

And then the battle turned for the better for Layla — and for the worse for Asmodeus.

With the two besieging the poor Finger — one with speed and dangerously terrifying firepower, and the other with unshakable defense and unfathomable strength.

"Damnit! Just you wait, you bitch! I will return in my full body — not some pesky suppressed avatar — and then we’ll see who’s still laughing." Asmodeus cursed with a promise right at his moment of death.

Ocean Parting Cleave! Bo’s indomitable broadsword severed the head of the bitter Finger, in cold efficiency — ending the scourge right there and then... or did they?

[Congratulations! You have fulfilled your end of accomplishment: Defeat the Ninth Finger of Gluttony — Asmodeus.

The Territory Quest is one step closer to completion.]

...

"Fuck! Dio, do something!" Ethan screamed, terrified.

Dio retorted with gritted teeth, "Didn’t the Boss give you something to help us out? Use it — the damned thing is just too unfathomably strong!"

Ethan’s eyes lit up as he summoned a card. Before the war, his master gave him two things.

And this was one of them — the Legendary Tier: Hero Summon Coupon.

He inserted his mental wave into it, as the card burst into a brilliant divine flame. Five vague figures appeared...

[Carrying out master’s registered order...

Relocating summons to those in perilous situations...

Detected: Five!]

And with that, all five of their hopes vanished.

"Fuck!" Ethan pulled at his hair. Weren’t they in enough peril?

Meanwhile, Dio’s figure was flung backwards as an eerie voice — unpleasant and screeching — rang out.

"Is this all you have? I like to experience my meal before indulging, but this display is too pathetic!"

[Tenth Finger of Gluttony — Varyk!]

The declaration reverberated across the battlefield, chilling every soul within earshot.

Dio’s claws dug into the blackened earth as he forced himself upright, his frame trembling from the sheer oppressive aura pressing down on him. Ethan’s face paled, his lips quivering as the monstrous silhouette of Varyk emerged from the shadows — a towering, twisted amalgamation of limbs and gnashing maws, its body dripping with corruption that hissed as it touched the ground.

The air itself seemed to warp around the creature, its presence suffocating.

Ethan’s hands shook as he clutched the empty space where the Hero Summon card had dissolved. "Damn it... they were sent elsewhere... we’re on our own."

Varyk’s many mouths split into a grotesque grin, its voice overlapping in a chorus of whispers and screams. "Yes... on your own. And soon... in my belly."

The ground quaked as the Tenth Finger advanced, each step a promise of despair.