Chapter 469 - 471: Close But Hidden

Lilith almost cursed when he said that.

She had been about to teleport them away—until she realized exactly why Damon muttered those words: "We’re screwed."

The creature’s eyes... hundreds of them. They had locked onto the two of them like searchlights in a dark field, and once it had you in its gaze, teleportation was restricted.

"Which means we really can’t outrun it..." she whispered.

As long as those many hateful eyes were fixed on them, long-range spatial movement was impossible.

What a dangerous creature.

She almost wanted to laugh—Damon had just gotten his shiny new teleportation skill, walking around like some demon king who ruled heaven and earth. And just when that planet-sized ego of his was about to blow?

Fate—or perhaps the Unknown God himself—had sent him a dose of humility.

If the monster’s fearsome aura wasn’t crushing her lungs, she really would’ve turned to him and laughed in his face.

Still, this abomination... it was no joke. A creature of the fourth rank.

One of its many long, hair-thin tendrils lashed out at her like a whip.

Lilith flickered away, teleporting a short distance with her First-Class skill.

Even with space locked, she was still the Priestess of the Void.

She was known to the Void.

And the void encompassed all things—things far beyond the grasp of her mortal comprehension.

She moved her hand slightly, and the air around her tore. Countless invisible blades carved through space, slicing with unseen precision.

The creature flinched.

It retaliated fast, its metal-like whips slashing at the parts of space where her attacks had distorted the air—but its body remained largely untouched. Only a few of its strands were severed, scattered like threads in the wind.

This was her Second-Class skill—one she’d awakened naturally upon ranking up. She hadn’t bought it. Hadn’t gained it through some scroll or relic.

No... a god had gifted her this.

After all, she was the favorite of one.

Her Third-Class skill was Void Scythe.

Though it sounded like a weapon, the skill wasn’t a scythe at all—it was death in the form of Void. It was a literal black hole, as far as her limited human imagination could perceive. A singularity.

But it could be anything.

A supernova. A quasar. Strange matter. Nothingness.

Death in its purest, most incomprehensible form. As long as it was related to the void.

The Void Scythe could become whatever could kill in the heavens. Anything in the void.

Still, using it came at a cost. Skills that could unmake reality required power no mortal should bear.

Maybe the Unknown God could toss it around like a toy, but for her... it was far too heavy to wield recklessly.

And all this—all of it—was before she even tapped into her stigmata.

The chamber rumbled. The floor cracked.

Lilith flickered from place to place, dodging the creature’s tendrils as they crashed through the stone like whips of divine punishment.

Winning against a Fourth-Class monster... it was difficult, even for her.

The gap between Third and Fourth Class was a wall.

One she could not leap over so easily.

’Or should I... use my trump card?’

Too risky. Not yet.

Damon sat crouched near the statue, his head pounding.

The bandage across his ruined eye still dripped with blood. It had been torn from Lilith’s uniform, and even now, faint traces of her scent remained... soaked into the fabric, mixed with his own blood and sweat.

But he wasn’t wasting time.

While Lilith bought them precious seconds, Damon had used Appraisal on the statue—despite the cost—and discovered something crucial.

The goddess statue was linked to the doors.

There was a mechanism.

He had no clue why Lazarak would build a tomb for the other lesser gods, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered was finding a way to activate the damn thing.

His fingers traced the statue’s base—until they found a small, hidden stone button.

He slammed his hand on it.

Click.

A soft light flashed across the chamber.

He stepped back.

When the light faded, Damon saw it a small altar had emerged from the floor, appearing beneath the incomplete mark of the Unknown God.

He rushed to it.

On its surface were lines—magic circuits and archaic seals carved into ancient stone. No runes. Of course not. Back in the Zero Epoch, runes weren’t widespread—maybe the Goddess used them, but certainly not the modern kinds.

This was old magic. Forgotten magic.

He had no idea how it worked, but at the center of the altar was a strange dial.

Behind him, the sounds of battle were growing more violent. The walls trembled. Stone cracked. That thing was almost through.

He had no more time.

Damon slammed his hand onto the dial.

And poured everything he had into it.

Mana surged from his body like a flood—drawn into the altar as if the entire tomb were a desert, and his power the first drop of rain.

A violet glow pulsed from the altar.

It spread outward—flowing through the hidden lines of the tomb, through the circuits etched deep into its bones, toward the giant open doors.

As the light reached them, the heavy doors began to groan and close.

The creature shrieked.

It tried to force its body through the narrowing gap—but Lilith, seeing the opportunity, went on the offensive. Her void attacks became sharper, more feral.

The monster slammed into the doorframe.

And the doors began to crush its limbs.

It screamed—an unearthly, mind-rending noise—as it pulled back, retreating into the darkness before it could be completely severed in two.

The doors slammed shut.

Silence fell.

Ding.

A quiet chime echoed in Damon’s head.

[You have claimed an Altar.]

Lilith dropped to her knees, chest heaving.

Damon sat on his rear, gasping.

That had been too close.

But now... something had changed. He could feel it.

A thread, stretching from his mind, linking him to the altar.

The entire area—from here all the way back to the earlier doors—was under his control.

Lilith stumbled over, hair tangled, face dirtied with dust and soothe.

She glared at him.

"What... just happened?"

He lifted his arm lazily. She grabbed it, pulling him up into her arms. Then, just as quickly, let go.

He leaned on her shoulder and gestured to the altar.

"This place... it’s got a mechanism. That’s why Chrome could hide here for so long. If you claim an altar, the whole region it’s in comes under your control. The doors keep monsters out."

Lilith narrowed her eyes.

"Which means if someone else claims your altar... you lose control?"

"Exactly. And if monsters invade... they can take it back too. I’m guessing if we push too far, they’ll retaliate."

She nodded.

"And if someone finds this place and conquers your altar... they can force us out."

"But if we take the main altar..." Damon smiled. "We rule all of it."

Lilith’s lips curled slightly.

She looked at the altar’s glowing map, showing the territory they had now claimed for themselves.

Then she turned to Damon, her voice low.

"Do you know what this means?"

He blinked.

She stepped closer, her expression fierce.

"We finally have a base of operations. Far removed from our enemies’ sphere of influence."

She smiled coldly.

"No—better yet... right under their noses."