Chapter 367

There hadn’t been even the slightest spatial fluctuation—

He had appeared in an instant.

Lottie refused to believe Kanzaki Rei’s speed could reach a level even she couldn’t perceive. In that fleeting moment just now, his velocity had approached infinity.

And infinite speed...

...was something most gods themselves could not achieve.

Unless it was Zhuya—the Sovereign of Light and Daybreak.

Tap—

Kanzaki Rei landed smoothly.

Behind him, the assassin whose body had been carved with countless marks began to fracture, flickering with bursts of splitting light.

From that brief instant of contact—

Kanzaki Rei had finally extracted the information he needed.

So that’s it...

The ritual is hidden beneath the skin of these four.

Even if I destroyed this entire island, I’d only be damaging auxiliary components of the ritual.

Still, disrupting those auxiliary structures to this extent was already a significant gain.

From the start, Lottie hadn’t expected Kanzaki Rei to completely dismantle Eltima’s plan.

After all, Eltima’s scheme had been laid out over centuries.

With four Level 8 advanced class users guarding it—

And the protection of these restrictions—

Even if Lottie herself had a Level 8 disciple, it would be difficult to sabotage the plan.

For Kanzaki Rei to reach this point—

He had already far exceeded her expectations.

To simultaneously contend with four Level 8 Skin Reavers—

No matter what methods he used, it was already beyond what anyone had anticipated.

Kanzaki Rei paced calmly among the four of them, hands clasped behind his back.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue attacking—

...but he had sensed their hesitation.

And his Final Perception hadn’t issued any warnings.

They actually have no intention of attacking...

Tap—

"Gentlemen."

"Have you... already forgotten who I am?"

Might as well bluff.

If anything went wrong—even if they chose to strike—

Kanzaki Rei would still react before they moved.

Because of Final Perception, no matter how fast they were, he would always respond first.

He would sense their intent before the action itself even began.

"You are...?"

Boom—

Suppressed by the grand array, the warrior suddenly dropped to one knee in Kanzaki Rei’s direction.

"Lady Eltima."

"But... weren’t you—"

Kanzaki Rei’s voice turned cold, cutting him off:

"The myriad skins of this world—naturally, I possess a thousand forms."

Oh~

So they really think I’m Eltima?

These restrictions... were indeed exclusive to Eltima.

And they couldn’t perceive any information about him—everything about him was shrouded in mystery.

Even a Level 8 arcane mage, using analytical magic, couldn’t decipher a single detail.

That alone made him seem like a god.

And combined with—

His undying, ever-regenerating body...

The [Bag of Ten Thousand Skins] at his waist...

The more they thought about it—

The more it fit.

Isn’t this exactly Eltima’s incarnate vessel?

It was said that Eltima had prepared vessels capable of housing her descent.

By donning the skins she had left behind in the mortal world—

One could become her incarnation.

Only...

Eltima had always appeared as a female.

Why was she a boy today?

Doubt still lingered.

Although Kanzaki Rei claimed to be Eltima, and all signs pointed toward it—

They couldn’t fully rule out the possibility that he was an imposter.

Just as they were about to probe further, to test his identity—

He spoke first.

"I ordered you to preside over the ritual on this island. To guard it."

"And yet—what exactly have you protected?"

Kanzaki Rei lowered his voice, issuing a cold accusation.

Boom—

The assassin had already been crushed fully against the ground, her entire "skin" flattened against it like fabric.

At this moment—

Kanzaki Rei truly carried the bearing of one delivering judgment.

"You failed to detect an intruder entering this island."

"The skin I wear now belongs merely to a talented advanced class user from the Secret Sea."

"The power I wield is nothing more than his."

"And yet you couldn’t even stop a Level 5 advanced class user."

"What use are you?"

Kanzaki Rei didn’t attempt to mimic Eltima’s usual seductive tone.

He spoke in his own natural voice.

After all, the Skin Reaver’s doctrine was to embody the role of the skin they wore.

I’m not the real Eltima...

If they analyze carefully, they’ll find flaws.

Before they expose me—

I need to maximize my advantage.

Kanzaki Rei stepped beside the assassin—

...and pressed his foot onto her back.

"What are you still resisting for?"

"Get out of that skin!"

"Everything you’ve achieved was granted by me!"

His voice thundered with fury.

The assassin clawed at the ground.

He was a Level 8 Skin Reaver...

Struggling, he raised his head to look toward the other three, who were still desperately resisting the restrictions.

After a moment of inner conflict—

They each gave a faint nod.

The assassin clenched his teeth—

...and abandoned resistance.

In the next moment—

He burst out from within the skin like a mass of writhing flesh, slithering onto the ground.

Kanzaki Rei fixed his gaze on the thing.

So that’s what it looks like...

It was a tangled mass of worm-like organisms, intertwined with one another—

Like a cluster of parasitic threads, forming a single unified entity.

Beneath the skin—

There wasn’t even a humanoid form.

To perfectly adapt to any skin they wore—

They had long since transformed their bodies into something monstrous.

Kanzaki Rei looked at the skin lying on the ground.

That glossy surface—

Was the skin of a legendary Level 8 Hall Assassin.

Inside the skin—

Eltima’s ritual was inscribed.

And it had undergone special treatment—

Even his earlier attacks hadn’t been able to cut or pierce it.

If he took this skin—

One quarter of the ritual would be destroyed.

Shua—

With a casual motion, Kanzaki Rei dispelled the restrictions on it—

And stored it within his [Bag of Ten Thousand Skins].

The moment the assassin’s skin vanished—

All four of them were shaken.

That skin bore Eltima’s exclusive restrictions.

Aside from Eltima herself—

And those specially consecrated through ritual—

No one else should have been able to store it in a spatial inventory.

Kanzaki Rei’s action—

Only further confirmed their belief.

He was Eltima—

Just appearing in a different form.

Then—

Kanzaki Rei turned his gaze toward the mage maintaining the barrier.

With just a single glance—

The arcane mage felt the spells within his body being stripped away.

The [Eighth-Tier Arcane Magic — Boundary] he had already mastered—

Was forgotten mid-cast.

Kanzaki Rei had learned the spell.

Unfortunately, as an eighth-tier magic—

Even if he learned it, he couldn’t cast it.

"And yet you’re still maintaining that barrier."

"Planning to resist me further?"

"Heh... I knew I couldn’t count on you useless trash."

"Take off your skins yourselves."

"I will personally preside over this ritual."