Chapter 374

The mage Rei Kanzaki had killed fell alone to the ground, his corpse lying in desolate silence.

Only after some time had passed did someone finally arrive to collect the body.

It was a man with yellow hair, dressed in a bright golden mage’s robe.

He crouched beside the corpse, his expression dazed and heavy.

"...Sigh. Old Rai."

"I told you—this personality of yours would get you into trouble with someone you shouldn’t provoke."

"Sigh... now that you’re dead, how am I supposed to face your fiancée? She’s still waiting for you."

"Your wedding was supposed to be on the 10th of next month, wasn’t it? Could you really bear to leave her alone like this?"

"...Couldn’t you have held back this one time?"

"You said that after getting married, you’d quit being an adventurer. If you’d retired to the countryside, with your personality, you’d have been much safer..."

The golden-robed mage sat down on a nearby rock, staring at the dead man’s unclosed eyes.

"...Sigh."

"There’s no way I can hide this from Messa."

"If I tell her the truth... she might spend the rest of her life consumed by the pain of avenging you."

"But even so, I don’t have a choice."

"Even if I hide the truth, it will eventually reach her ears."

The mage looked toward the distant entrance of the Tier 7 dungeon.

"I can’t let Messa face that terrifying monster. She’s just like you—stubborn and unyielding. She’d die at his hands."

"...Sigh."

"Brother... if possible, I really didn’t want to hear news of your death like this."

The golden-robed mage lifted Old Rai onto his back.

Step by step, he slowly walked away.

He had no intention of seeking out Rei Kanzaki.

He knew he was no match.

Someone who could kill Old Rai in an instant—

Was, at the very least, a Rank 7 powerhouse.

Far beyond his reach.

...

Whoosh—

Rei Kanzaki stepped out of the Tier 7 dungeon.

Behind him, the dungeon dissipated into nothingness.

Without pause, he began inscribing another ritual.

Once again, he summoned the Source of Calamity.

The monster tide surged again, rolling in from all directions toward him.

But this time—

Very few people came to watch.

Rei Kanzaki could sense several powerful presences observing him from afar.

But none of them made any moves.

Rank 7 class users were watching him.

On this island, there were probably only one or two Rank 7 individuals.

Rank 7—

Was exceedingly rare across the entire sea region.

At that level, one was typically among the strongest beings on an entire continent.

They were high-ranking figures within major churches or powerful factions.

Atlante City of Misseru—already a well-known city in the Moonsea—

Had an unusually high number of Rank 7s only because Saint One resided there, along with many followers and attendants.

But here, on a remote place like Falling Moon Isle—

Such numbers didn’t exist.

Rei Kanzaki ignored them.

He continued condensing another Tier 7 dungeon.

As expected—

Being powerful was a good thing.

It allowed him to disregard most rules.

What secrecy? What attention? What disturbances?

Heh.

As long as he was strong enough—

No one could stop him.

He could do whatever he wanted.

Casually, he generated three more Tier 7 dungeons.

As expected, the monster tide on Falling Moon Isle was far denser than elsewhere.

The first dungeon earlier had merely been a warm-up.

He hadn’t even performed a sacrifice.

Now that the warm-up was over—

It was time to properly farm.

Rei Kanzaki raised one hand, pointing toward the dungeon before him.

His soul surged outward, pouring into the dungeon.

The glow of the dungeon deepened in color.

「Soul Sacrifice: 100,000,000」

He sacrificed one hundred million souls in a single motion.

The dungeon before him—

Was the Nest of Aberration, the domain belonging to Lomo.

Rei Kanzaki stepped inside.

...

The sun of the Pure Month rose from the distant horizon—

Climbing to its zenith—

Then slowly descending westward, turning a deep crimson.

The evening sun sank.

Though this wasn’t Earth, it still followed the same cycle of sunrise and sunset.

Rei Kanzaki stepped out of the dungeon.

Today’s gains were... abundant.

At his current level, hunting Tier 7, Six-Transformation monsters did require some effort.

They felt, faintly—

Comparable to Lomo in strength.

If he hadn’t stacked his Ascension State for over ten minutes, he likely wouldn’t have been able to defeat them.

Today, he had slain four Nest Lords.

Among them, only two were at the Tier 7, Six-Transformation level.

Rei Kanzaki exited the dungeon once more.

Then, with a slight shift of thought—

Whoosh—

His consciousness sank beneath the entirety of Falling Moon Isle.

Beneath the vast island—

An immense network of red, cell-like structures extended outward, interconnected like living tissue.

It didn’t just cover the island—

It stretched deep into the ocean below,

And spread in a web-like radius of three million kilometers from the island’s center.

「Flesh Source: Metamorph Sovereign (Tier 7, Six Transformations)」

And this wasn’t even its largest form.

If fully expanded, it could easily envelop the entire continent of Misseru—

Destroying it would be as effortless as breathing.

Of course...

Even something like the Pure Pale Tree could achieve similar destruction.

Its regeneration, adaptability, and transformative capabilities were all top-tier among anything Rei Kanzaki had encountered.

The other entity—

Was "Aberration: Spinebrain."

Whoosh—

With another thought—

A grotesque form appeared in midair.

A long spinal column connected to a brain, writhing like a centipede, with extended "ribs" spreading out like wings, allowing it to float.

Crackle—

In an instant, flesh grew over the exposed spine and brain.

It transformed—

Into Rei Kanzaki’s own appearance.

But not entirely.

This version bore strange organs and additional limbs.

Its form shifted based on the lifeforms it had encountered.

A being constantly evolving toward "perfection."

Most intriguingly—

It was one of Lomo’s experimental creations.

When it fought and took on Rei Kanzaki’s form—

It was like witnessing his own evolutionary path toward perfection.

It even managed to imitate a fraction of the power of his God-Tier Talent.

Though it couldn’t fully replicate it—

During battle, Rei Kanzaki could feel something akin to his Ascension State activating within it, its strength increasing over time.

Unfortunately—

The growth was limited.

Whoosh—

With a thought, he recalled both undead entities back into his Lesser Underworld.

Today’s harvest wasn’t limited to just those two.

He had replenished a large number of Tier 7 undead,

Collected rare herbs from various dungeons,

And mined valuable alloys and natural enchantment materials.

...Mm.

Luluwi should be waking up soon.

That would be enough for today.

As for the man he had casually killed earlier—

Rei Kanzaki gave it no further thought.

The man had harbored killing intent toward him.

Had refused to listen, refused to distinguish right from wrong.

If someone wanted to kill him—

Then killing them in return was only natural.

What logic was there in showing mercy to someone who sought your life?

Following that line of reasoning—

There was nothing wrong.

After clearing out the remaining dungeons he had created, he turned—

And vanished from the spot.

Everything that had happened today—

Everything related to him—

Would become blurred in people’s memories.

They would remember that a Tier 7 monster tide had occurred—

But not who had caused it.

...

Whoosh—

Returning to the harbor of Falling Moon Isle, Rei Kanzaki could still feel the lingering tension in the air.

The aftermath of what Luluwi had done yesterday hadn’t fully faded.

After all—

Such a massive incident, including the deaths of several officials on the island—

Wasn’t something people could recover from so quickly.