Chapter 124: In the Black Mist (4) Confrontation

The giant insectoid looked at Dais, who stood poised in mid-air, and its massive mandibles parted to emit a chilling laugh.

"A hero of this generation? Hahahaha... how truly amusing..." As the giant insectoid laughed, it lowered its head to gaze at its own chest, its tone turning sinister. "Why did you wake me?"

"The final step is still missing..." The creature stared at its left breast. On its vast, perfectly streamlined body, there was a single hole less than a meter in diameter, from which black sludge oozed incessantly. Occasionally, iridescent light pulsed from within; the Heart of the Rainbow was clearly embedded inside. The question remained: why would it choose to house the Heart of the Rainbow within its own body? Was it coveting the power of the relic?

"I am not the one who awakened you," Dais replied, shaking his head. In a blink, his figure vanished and reappeared behind the giant. He raised his right hand and struck the creature's back with a single palm.

The giant insectoid, still hunched over, was propelled forward, head snapping back from the impact. A colossal palm print, over fifty meters long and half a meter deep, was branded into its back. The heavy carapace cracked under the pressure, and the terrifying force sent the six-hundred-meter-tall monster tumbling into the sea, more than ten kilometers away.

"The sanctuary is too close to this place. Let us change the battlefield," Dais said. His figure flickered, crossing the distance in an instant to reappear before the giant.

Despite its towering stature, the monster was incredibly agile. It performed a kip-up upon hitting the water, standing upright on the surface—a testament to its retained mastery over aquatic arts or spells.

"You are strong, boy!" the insectoid growled. "But you should not have provoked me..."

Dais merely swung his fist at it, his expression unchanging. His arms blurred, and in the next heartbeat, countless holes, each five meters in diameter, appeared across the creature's body. These holes featured spiral patterns—the hallmark of the Benevolent King’s Piercing Fist. By rotating his arm and fist during the strike, Dais focused the shockwaves, granting them armor-piercing lethality. Given that Dais’s strength and speed were far beyond conventional limits, these shockwaves were as potent as, if not more powerful than, aerial missiles. The fact that no excess shockwaves erupted from the exit wounds proved his superhuman control; his agility was clearly on par with his raw power.

"You..." The giant insectoid, now riddled with holes like a honeycomb, swayed unsteadily, on the verge of collapse, yet it still struggled to spit out a threat. Before it could, its head was obliterated. The body collapsed with a thunderous roar, dissolving into a massive pool of viscous black liquid that flowed into the sea.

Dais did not let his guard down. He could still feel the creature’s presence—a dense, suffocating aura that blanketed the surrounding space like a physical weight, threatening to fill the very world. After he shattered its body, that sensation only expanded. The ocean surface, stained by the black liquid, seemed to morph into a grotesque, giant face, laughing greedily at the world.

Dais took a deep breath and threw a punch directly at the sea. He used his full strength.

BOOM!

It was as if a nuclear warhead had detonated. The surrounding air was displaced by a violent shockwave; the sea surface for thousands of square meters sank by thousands of meters, and the very seabed was punched through. The ocean level for dozens of kilometers dropped, as if he had punched a hole through the world itself. The seabed fractured, tectonic plates shifted, and a massive trench was formed. Since this world was not a planet, there was no magma, and the geological shifts remained localized. Had this happened on Earth, human civilization would have been wiped out. Unlike the creature’s crude methods of tearing the earth, Dais’s strike was concentrated and precise—powerful enough to pierce the crust and mantle, potentially altering the rotation of the celestial body.

"That should be enough, right?" Dais did not strike again, fearing he might accidentally go too far and endanger the distant sanctuary. In reality, due to the strata construction, the impact on the refugees was minimal, far less than the tremors caused by the insectoid earlier.

The churning ocean surged, creating complex undertows and massive waves. The nearby coast, once a vacation paradise, collapsed and was scoured repeatedly by the tides, turning into a desolate field of jagged stone. The displaced air turned into howling gales, creating an apocalyptic scene.

Suddenly, several pitch-black figures darted out from the turbulent, dark currents, attacking Dais at incredible speeds. Dais didn't even move; he simply flicked his fingers, unleashing sharp shockwaves that shredded the silhouettes. As the fragments fell into the water, they revealed themselves to be bizarre, centipede-like limbs.

Next, more shadows surged from the sea—hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands! At first, Dais could handle them with just his fingers, but soon, he was forced to use his fists. The centipede-like limbs multiplied, weaving a massive cage that blotted out the sky.

"You... you are the one who awakened me, aren't you?" The giant insectoid’s voice echoed again, and a human-sized version of the creature manifested on the water nearby.

"Just now, you were the only one who didn't strike here," the insectoid said, pointing to the hole in its left chest. "You avoided the Heart of the Rainbow."

"That is a treasure of the Association; naturally, it must not be damaged," Dais said, his tone calm. "However, judging by the situation, you will not die unless that object is destroyed."

"Oh? Is that so? Then you have truly gone to great lengths, but that thing is indestructible. Besides, do you know who I am now?" The creature’s tone turned delighted.

Dais suddenly appeared before it and reduced it to its molecular structure. He knew the creature possessed extreme regenerative abilities, but having dealt with similar entities, every strike he delivered contained the force and technique to destroy his opponent at a microscopic level.

"You are indeed strong, stronger than me, but raw power alone cannot destroy me," another insectoid emerged from the distant sea. "Don't tell me you have never dealt with Law-based domains..."

"I have already consumed this world. How do you intend to destroy me?" A third creature stepped forward.

"This is my ability—one of the domain powers of the 'Immortal Sea Emperor,' the supreme True King who once ruled the Endless Sea: 'World Borer'!" A creature that was rapidly swelling in size emerged from the sea, stirring up massive waves.

"This world is my body!" A creature with centipede-like lower limbs slowly materialized from the air.

"I see. So that is why that fellow sealed you—you, the otherworldly hero Abu Fan'er, who specializes in spatial magic," Dais remarked, watching the endless stream of insectoids appearing. He continued to destroy their bodies without a change in expression.

"Yes, that fellow was too arrogant, so I sealed his entire body within this space," Abu Fan'er said, laughing. "Do you know? Had I not been awakened prematurely, I could have completely devoured this 'World Borer' domain and the Heart of the Rainbow, and been reborn as a new 'True King'! I wonder what small-time thief committed such a wretched act!"

"Why did someone with the title of Savior Hero and heir to the Heart of the Rainbow become like this?" Dais paused, asking in confusion. "Shouldn't you be an otherworldly hero with a benevolent heart, just like me?"

"Heh..." Abu Fan'er laughed scornfully. "A benevolent heart? That depends on who you are dealing with. If it's a group of wretched bastards, crushing them is the only right thing to do, isn't it? As for the Heart of the Rainbow, heh... Hahahahaha!"

Abu Fan'er threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Fool! I was never the heir to the Heart of the Rainbow! I was just a test subject, a poor wretch bewitched by those people in the Association! The Heart of the Rainbow was nothing but a curse to me..." He sneered. "I was never acknowledged by the Heart of the Rainbow from the very beginning; I was merely a parasite feeding upon it, a pathetic artificial monster... That is why I seek revenge! I will prove that those people are nothing but trash from the old era! Monsters are the future! No, we are not monsters! We are the true masters of the earth!"

"They are the parasites! They are the trash abandoned by the world!"

"Everyone who attempts to maintain or protect the Holy Council is an enemy! A lackey! Trash!"

"They must all die!"

BOOM!

In an instant, countless grotesque insectoid bodies manifested in the sky and sea. Hundreds of millions of them appeared within a radius of dozens of kilometers, filling the entire space! The black mist that could erode living beings was merely a low-level, degraded byproduct of the 'World Borer' domain.

Facing this terrifying, sky-obscuring sea of monsters, Dais did not hesitate to throw a punch with his full strength.

***

In the ruins of St. Ross Port, two masked men were sprinting for their lives. They had luckily found a chance to escape while Abu Fan'er was sent flying by Dais. However, the explosion in the dungeon had been so powerful that their defensive barriers and magical protection were shattered, leaving them half-dead. Now, the masked man was carrying the other on his back, running wildly.

"I didn't expect that nine-level protection and a substitution spell couldn't withstand that explosion..." The masked shadow spat blood. Their mask cracked, revealing half a fair, delicate face, and their voice shifted in pitch. The mask-wearer’s true identity was a woman.

"It’s normal. If I didn't have my innate talent, I would have died instantly," the masked man comforted her. "By the way, you’re quite beautiful, aren't you?"

Suddenly, countless pitch-black figures appeared around them! Abu Fan'er had fully activated the World Borer domain.

"Damn it! An illusion?!" The masked man didn't hesitate to punch the insectoid blocking his path. But it wasn't an illusion; his fist landed solidly on the creature, the carapace so hard that it made his knuckles ache. Every entity born from the World Borer was constructed by the erosion of the world's structure, maintaining the same strength as the original—S+ pseudo-king level.

"Trash, get lost!" The Abu Fan'er clone he struck sneered and swatted him away with a casual wave of its hand, sending the man flying. Blood leaked from the edges of his mask, but he quickly pulled the woman on his back into his arms.

"Don't worry, I will get you out of here..." he whispered, his skin beginning to take on a metallic luster.

"Heh, you look quite sturdy, don't you?" An Abu Fan'er clone grabbed the man’s head and pressed him into the ground. No matter how he struggled, the clone remained unmoved.

"Annoying fool, you like dying for trash? You think you're righteous?" the clone growled. "Then leave your life here!"

Suddenly, a violent shockwave struck, sending the Abu Fan'er clones and the man flying together!

"Don't do useless things! That guy is too strong!" another clone roared impatiently at the one still holding the man.

"Ah, I know, I know. Just playing around," the clone said, tossing the man aside and rushing toward Dais with the rest of the swarm.

In the center of the battlefield, Dais remained calm, occasionally throwing a punch to repel the Abu Fan'er clones. But as the creature had said, raw power alone could not eliminate it.

"What's wrong?! That last punch seemed a bit weak! Are you tired?" the clones roared arrogantly.

"Yes, I am indeed tired," Dais nodded. "I have no desire to keep playing."

"Is that so? Then... try this."

As Abu Fan'er spoke, clear cracks appeared on Dais’s body.

"Level ten magic: Spatial Collapse. Is your body sturdier than space itself?" Abu Fan'er laughed triumphantly.

The spatial laws of this world were incredibly stable. Spatial compression and teleportation were manageable as they utilized existing laws, but magic like Spatial Collapse, which destructively twisted space, was difficult to achieve. Even basic spatial tearing was an eighth-level spell, a rare high-level single-target magic. A level ten spell like Spatial Collapse reached the limit of what magic could achieve.

The terrifying cracks spread rapidly across Dais’s body, becoming denser until a rectangular section of space centered on him was completely shattered. Within the pulverized space, Dais appeared to be torn apart.

But in the next moment, a foot stepped out of the broken chaos. Dais emerged, completely unscathed.

"Who decreed that a body cannot be sturdier than space?" Dais said calmly. "In my view, space is merely a container, and the world is no different."

Dais raised his hands and clenched them tightly! A clear spatial crack spread from his hands.

"Look, who says a fish cannot break its tank, or a bird cannot break its cage?" Dais smiled at the Abu Fan'er clones, who were frozen in shock. "And this world is just a slightly larger fish tank... isn't it?"

"What kind of joke is this... this is not something that can be done with raw power..." Abu Fan'er stammered. "Your body is your domain! Haha! Of course, normally, how could there be such terrifying individual power!"

"As long as you are strong enough, there is nothing you cannot do," Dais said to himself. "Look, the power I unleash only reaches the edges of this 'world'."

Abu Fan'er was stunned. He knew that the structure of this vast, endless world was not a single entity but divided into blocks. Some were vast, spanning millions of square kilometers; others were tiny, mere cubic centimeters. The World Borer domain could not truly consume the entire world, only assimilate specific blocks.

"You..." Abu Fan'er could no longer remain calm. He had thought Dais was just a brute who could be exhausted. Now, it seemed the man had seen through the essence of his domain.

"Do you know? The difference between now and a moment ago is that there are no living beings left in this world except for you and me," Dais said, smiling. His skin glowed slightly red; he had just finished his warm-up.

In the distance, the masked man stumbled forward, holding the woman in his arms.