Chapter 130 The Devourer (Illustration)
Chapter 130 The Devourer
Bum. Bum. Bum.
The frozen heart beat.
Iryoku’s eyes snapped open. The air wasn’t as cold anymore—the magical devices keeping the chamber frozen had gone silent.
Laila must’ve done this, he thought, stepping slowly toward the remains.
The heart pulsed, now wrapped in a web of fleshy veins. The body had grown—a second leg bone had fully formed, the spine stretched outward, and a ribcage enclosed the heart completely. Two arm bones were beginning to take shape… but still, no head.
He lifted his hand, reaching toward it almost unconsciously—
Then froze mid-motion.
“Is that… really you?”
The sound grew louder.
Bum. Bum. Bum.
The heart beat faster, harder. Blood vessels swelled, spreading like wildfire across the remains. From the upper spine, nerves and veins coiled together, shaping a pulsing mass of flesh that grew, stretched, and finally cracked open into the outline of a cranium.
For a moment, it stopped—as if it had run out of strength.
Iryoku trembled.
“...Deborah?” he whispered.
He remembered the hidden chamber behind the waterfall in Deborah’s lair—
where the shiny skeleton lay resting… the presumed dead parent of Deborah.
But that skeleton had been normal-sized, lifeless, unmoving. Just shiny bones. They looked special, but that was it.
Or… had it simply run out of energy as well?
Then the skeleton moved.
The metallic frame holding it shattered with a screech. The creature rose—tall, towering, almost two meters high. It had no eyes, no mouth, no nose.
Suddenly, flesh burst outward—veins whipping in every direction, smashing tables and tools until several of them latched onto the monster parts scattered across the chamber.
One by one, the pieces were dragged closer—absorbed into the growing body. A faint glow pulsed through each limb as it was devoured, leaving only dust behind. The skeleton’s arms extended fully now, tendons knitting around the bone.
It staggered forward, swaying, hurling out more tendrils like desperate roots searching for food—each one sucking the life from whatever it touched.
Iryoku stumbled back, fear tightening his chest. He leapt out of the chamber just as a burst of tendrils struck the wall behind him, cracking the stone.
Crash!
Chunks of rock rained from the ceiling as the entire lab trembled with the creature’s awakening.
Then, suddenly, it turned its head toward him—like it had finally learned how to see.
“I-It’s me… Iryoku! Don’t you remember me?” he shouted, his lips trembling.
But the creature only glared—silent, unmoving.
A cold shiver ran down Iryoku’s spine.
He bolted.
Dashing through the corridors, he burst through the final gate and out of the prison. His body shook, sweat dripping down his face.
Cold air met him outside. Snow was already beginning to gather across the ground.
Then—a deafening crash from the city drew his attention.
The world below was chaos. Stone buildings lay in ruin, flames twisting into the night sky. Smoke and ash choked the air as screams of the dying mixed with the guttural roars of monsters. People ran in panic, desperate to escape the demons flooding the streets.
Another explosion echoed behind him.
He spun around—just in time to see the mountainside above the prison split apart. Rock crumbled and fell as a massive hole burst open, shaking the entire valley.
From it, the skeleton emerged into the open air, a faint steam spilling from its body. Its empty eye sockets flickered—then flared with a deep red glow.
It slowly turned its head toward the bridge, then down—its motion stiff, uncertain.
It gazed at Iryoku for a moment, then turned again—facing the city’s center, where the main horde of demons raged.
With a heavy, earth-shaking leap, it hurled itself off the mountain, landing with a crash that split the ground. Black energy rippled from its body, cracking through the stone like lightning.
People screamed, scattering in terror.
But the creature didn’t strike them. It simply kept walking—steady, deliberate, unstoppable—toward the burning heart of the city.
Iryoku felt a flood of fear, confusion… and hope. Still, he followed.
He leapt across rubble, landing atop a crumbling stone building that overlooked the chaos below.
A sudden flash lit the sky behind him—the direction of the bridge. He turned, tongue clicking in worry.
Something big was happening there… a clash strong enough to light up the night.
He looked back at the skeleton, now moving farther away, then again toward the bridge, torn between both.
Finally, Iryoku gritted his teeth and kept going—chasing the skeleton.
Hope burned in his chest, even as shimmering tears slipped down his face.
From another high point, he watched as the skeletal being reached one of the roaming demonic monsters tearing through the streets.
The monster growled, bracing for a fight—lifting its massive claw.
But then it stopped moving.
The skeleton shot forward like lightning, piercing the demon’s chest with its growing bone claws. Flesh stretched and crackled as black veins spread from the wound. Within seconds, the monster shriveled—its form collapsing into dust. A deep, rhythmic heartbeat echoed through the city, pulsing from the creature’s chest as it absorbed the fallen demon’s essence.
The skeleton stepped forward again—slow, methodical.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The screaming voice split the air.
Demonic Laila descended, landing with a thunderous crash in the middle of the center square, her body wreathed in dark magic. Dozens of knights hung impaled on the spikes of her chains.
With a wide smile, her chains snapped open, and the bodies tore apart—exploding into a rain of organs and blood.
Vadia dashed in, slashing with her claws toward a group of knights holding their position. Three of them raised their shields, summoning their leben to the limit, coating their defenses with shimmering light.
Thud!
They were thrown back, shields shattered, leben broken, blood oozing.
Magnus, grinning and baring his fangs, leapt into another squad of knights. His fist struck the ground with a heavy impact, his demonic chains coiling around it, triggering an explosion of dark energy that sent bodies flying.
“Keep going! I’m the master now—and you, my lowly servants, kill everyone! You worthless slaves!” Laila bellowed.
More of her minions charged forward, tearing through stone and flesh alike, destroying everything.
Laila smiled as she cornered a group of Executioners and mages who had formed a desperate magic barrier.
She opened her mouth.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” she sang.
A wave of magic erupted in a cone—washing over them. Their bodies convulsed, blood bursting from their veins before they finally exploded into a pool of crimson horror.
“Hahahahahaha!” Her laughter echoed through the ruined streets.
Then—Crash!
A heavy object landed nearby, shaking the ground.
The skeletal demon stood before them, its empty sockets blazing red.
Laila froze for a moment, then sneered. Her voice came out half-metallic, half-human.
“So… you finally revived, demon.” She smiled coldly. “Now you’ll follow my commands, just like the rest of them. Destroy everyone. Destroy everything.”
But the skeleton didn’t move. For a second, it only stared.
Then it began walking toward her and her army.
Laila’s tone sharpened into rage.
“What are you doing?! Why are you trying to take control of my chaos? It’s not time yet! I need to kill everyone first!”
At her command, her corrupted followers—Vadia and Magnus—let out guttural roars and charged. Their bodies glowed with demonic energy as they hurled themselves at the skeletal figure.
But then they stopped. Their glow dimmed.
Slowly, both of them fell to one knee before the skeleton.
“What—no!” Laila’s face twisted with fury.
She rose into the air on her demonic chains, dark energy gathering inside her mouth.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” she screamed.
Black magic cracked the air, shaking the city. Houses and towers collapsed. The ground split as the cone of power blasted straight into the skeletal demon.