Chapter 317

Why... did it appear so suddenly?

Kanzaki Rei felt his entire body trembling.

This was not fear that could be suppressed—it was a shudder rising from the very soul.

Even as his mind told him to stay calm...Even as he forced himself to reject fear...Even as every ounce of his will resisted it—

Every instinct screamed the same truth:

The existence before him... was something he could never defeat.

Bang!

Rei’s perception snapped backward.

Behind him, Rhein’s body exploded—instantly dissolving into a puddle of liquid!

Turning again, he saw Kumironi’s body collapsing as well—

Only to rapidly regenerate within a soft, emerald-green glow!

It was only then that Rei realized—

His own body was undergoing the same fate.

Like a vampire exposed to sunlight, his flesh was burning, melting, disintegrating at terrifying speed!

If not for his current regeneration—pushed to an absurd, near-limitless extreme—

He would have been erased in an instant.

"Ansu!"

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Rei roared inwardly!

Ansu’s perception was synchronized with his—and Rei could feel the shock within Ansu just as clearly.

"Why does it still exist?"

"Could it be... the one released from the seal was not the Lord of the Ocean... but it..."

"Kid, this is worse than we imagined!"

"If the one that awakened were the Lord of the Ocean, the Secret Sea—being part of its body—would still leave other seas a chance to survive. But if it’s this thing..."

"From this moment on, the world will know no peace!"

"It must be stopped from descending!"

"Kid—activate the Pure White Descent Ritual, now!"

Rei’s heart turned cold.

From Ansu’s thoughts, he grasped the truth.

This entity... was called the Origin Sea.

The beginning of all oceans and all water.

Something even more primordial than the Lord of the Ocean.

The Lord of the Ocean was the ruler of all marine monsters—the sovereign of nests, the dominator of creatures.

But the Origin Sea...

In the beginning, all oceans were one.

The Origin Sea split into countless seas across the world—forming the Secret Sea, the Turbid Sea, the Moon Sea, the Illusory Sea, the Sky Sea...

If the Origin Sea were to fully awaken—

All land would vanish.

The entire world would become nothing but ocean.

That was the catastrophe Ansu foresaw.

And yet—

Ansu was telling him to activate the Pure White Descent Ritual.

This thing... was so dangerous that even Ansu, who desired souls above all else, was willing to abandon the chance to obtain one—

Just to have Rei destroy it.

Just how dangerous was it?

At the very least—

Rei could feel it clearly.

This thing... was beyond terrifying.

He turned to look at Kumironi.

Worry flashed through his eyes.

"Forget about that woman!"

"It hasn’t noticed us yet—move, now!"

Hasn’t noticed us?

Rei felt his entire body breaking apart.

Even when fighting the Golden Dragon, he had never suffered such overwhelming damage.

An ordinary person... would have turned to dust in less than a second.

Whoosh—

A faint green glow wrapped around Rei’s body.

Kumironi was struggling—

Healing both herself and him.

Though Ansu had just told him to abandon her, seeing Kumironi’s performance now—

Even Ansu couldn’t hide a trace of shock.

This woman named Kumironi...

She was still alive?

Rei glanced toward the distance.

Nearby, there was a planet.

A barren world—one he had already inscribed with the Pure White Descent Ritual.

Now, with that massive pupil looming overhead—

Though living beings were disintegrating, everything else in the abyss remained eerily still.

Silent.

Dead.

Only living things...

Rei could feel it—

His body was dissolving, fluids seeping backward, dispersing into space.

But instead of turning into seawater—

It became some kind of bizarre, unknown liquid.

This disintegration targeted only living beings.

No time to waste!

Whoosh!

Rei transformed into a streak of light, rushing toward the planet.

"Rei!"

Kumironi saw it—

Along the path Rei traveled, a horrific trail of blood mist erupted.

Even as he moved, his body continued to break apart into droplets.

It was as if the very path he carved through space—

Was paved with his own flesh.

A scarlet trail dragged across the void.

"What is that thing?!"

Rei responded through thought:

"It’s... something that could destroy the world."

"Kumironi."

"I have to activate the Pure White Descent Ritual—now."

A faint doubt flickered in his mind.

Could Ansu be lying?

But...

Ansu’s thoughts were constantly exposed to him.

And the terror emanating from that existence—

It made Rei’s bones turn cold.

No matter how long he stacked [Ascension to the Pinnacle]—

He knew—

He could never stand against it.

Could the Pure White Descent Ritual even work?

Rei had no certainty.

What could he actually do?

"Ansu."

"If I activate the ritual... can it really fight that thing?"

"Among those you can summon right now... it’s the only option."

"You can’t handle it yourself?"

"Heh... of course I can."

"...But it counters me."

Though Ansu said this aloud, his true thoughts were entirely different.

Even at my peak, I would have to avoid its edge... and you expect me to fight it? That would damage my very essence.

"As for whether it can fight it... heh, that’s not a problem."

"Don’t worry. The side effects of the Pure White Descent Ritual—your authority of Sophia is more than enough to bear them."

"Even if you sacrifice your life afterward, you can still return to the Moon Sea."

"What are you hesitating for? If you don’t decide now, you won’t get another chance."

Buzz—

Time froze.

Rei’s thoughts raced.

Earth...

He hadn’t gone back yet.

He hadn’t even explored a way to turn humans back from monsters with Kumironi.

The Secret Sea... still held countless unresolved matters.

Only his parents—transformed into two slimes—

Remained stored within the Ten-Thousand Skin Bag, inside the biological storage bracelet.

A space within a space.

Because of its highest-grade quality, it was where Rei kept everything valuable.

Should he trust Ansu?

...There was no better option.

He couldn’t allow that thing to exist.

Its mere presence threatened all life.

"Ansu..."

"If you’re lying to me..."

"I’ll drag you down with me."

Time resumed.

Rei’s voice was ice-cold.

Ansu could feel it—

Rei meant every word.

Whoosh!

Countless souls surged forth!

One hundred billion souls erupted from Rei’s body—

Pouring into the barren planet beneath his feet, where the ritual array had been carved in full.

Then—

So be it.

Pure White Descent Ritual.