Chapter 146: [Bonus Chapter] The Grand Design Collapses

Jareth could not believe his eyes.

His jaw hung slightly open as he watched the battle unfold between the two towering figures within the collapsing chamber.

Dust and debris swirled through the air, illuminated by the faint glow of pulsing runes and burning soul fire.

Each impact shook the mountain to its foundations, yet he barely registered the tremors.

His mind was in turmoil.

Why had they gone so far as to conduct inhuman experiments on awakeners?

Why had they abandoned their original duties and devoted themselves entirely to this research?

Why had they formed an alliance with a criminal and depraved guild?

For this.

For the greater good.

That had always been his answer.

In the face of humanity’s extinction, sacrifices were meant to be made.

That was his belief.

If sacrificing a few human awakeners could grant the entire human race a chance to survive the abyss…

Why not?

This conviction had anchored him for months.

He had not hesitated to pursue it.

Along the way, he had crossed moral boundaries he once swore he would never approach. He had approved operations that haunted his dreams.

He had overseen experiments that stripped away the last remnants of his humanity.

There had been sleepless nights.

There had been moments of doubt.

But whenever his conscience clawed at him, he would steady himself with the same mantra.

Everything will be worth it in the end.

When they see what we achieve… no one will question the sacrifices.

That belief had carried him forward.

But now…

Before his eyes…

The creature that was meant to dominate the entire first floor…

The creature that was meant to be invincible…

The creature that was supposed to make every human and beast tremble in despair…

Was being utterly overwhelmed by an undead servant.

“How…?” he whispered hoarsely.

This was impossible.

It had to be.

The Federation’s grand design had been flawless in theory.

Any awakener who reached Level 20 would have to ascend to the second floor. That natural law made it impossible to maintain absolute control over the first floor.

No matter how powerful an individual became, they would eventually be removed.

Resources would be squandered.

Authority would reset.

But what if they created something different?

What if they engineered a being that could not ascend?

A creature powerful enough to dominate every human and beast on the first floor, yet permanently anchored to it.

Such a creation would ensure total control.

And once that was achieved, they would move to the next phase.

To create a being capable of traversing between the abyss and Earth.

Everything had been meticulously planned.

Every sacrifice had been calculated.

They only needed this experiment to succeed.

And everything would fall into place.

But now….

Bang! Bang!

Jareth watched in horror as the humanoid Storm Tyrant Crocodile drove the abomination deeper into the mountain wall with merciless strikes.

The impact shattered stone and sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber.

Years of research.

Years of blood.

Years of secrecy.

Reduced to this.

His gaze shifted to the severed arm twitching on the ground. The runes etched into its flesh flickered faintly, struggling to maintain their function.

It was supposed to be indestructible.

Yet…

His thoughts spiraled into chaos.

His vision blurred.

Thick veins bulged across his forehead as his eyes turned bloodshot.

This must be a hallucination, he told himself desperately.

“This can’t be real…”

“NOOOOOOO!” he screamed.

But his voice was swallowed by the deafening cacophony of battle.

The abomination roared in fury and agony. It lashed out wildly with its remaining arm, attempting to push back against the Storm Tyrant.

Its massive fist smashed into stone, sending fragments flying.

But it was futile.

Though Thoren had once subdued the Storm Tyrant with overwhelming undead forces, that did not make it weak.

On the contrary.

When alive, it had been a terrifying apex predator.

Now, as an undead creature, it had become something even more dreadful, a relentless engine of destruction.

Its punches crashed into the abomination’s grotesque body without pause.

There was no finesse.

No refined technique.

No measured calculation.

Only brutality.

Only annihilation.

Each strike landed like a jackhammer, shaking the entire chamber. Both the mountain and the abomination bore the full force of the assault.

The abomination did not appear to feel pain. Its stitched flesh was unnaturally resilient, reinforced by runic energy that pulsed on its surface.

Its body was as sturdy as forged steel.

But the Storm Tyrant did not care.

It was undead.

It did not feel fatigue.

It did not know exhaustion.

It did not hesitate.

The barrage continued unabated.

Then, through the haze of dust and debris, the undead Royalty Stonewall emerged.

Its hollow eyes burned with a madness that mirrored the Storm Tyrant’s fury.

In its grip, the Black Ember Blade gleamed with terrifying sharpness, its edge shimmering with lethal intent.

Whoosh!

The blade sliced through the air and struck the abomination’s chest.

For the first time, resistance became impossible.

The reinforced flesh split open.

A deep gash carved across the creature’s torso.

Blood erupted outward like a ruptured dam, splattering across the fractured stone floor.

Several runes etched along its chest flickered violently before going dark.

Jareth staggered back.

“No… no…”

Thoren’s eyes sharpened as he observed the damage.

There was no such thing as an unkillable creature.

There were only weapons that were not sharp enough.

And if killing something once was insufficient.

Then you killed it twice.

If twice was not enough.

Then a hundred times and if a hundred was insufficient.

Then a thousand.

A million.

Eventually, everything would fall.

And this abomination had not reached that threshold.

With the Black Ember Blade in play, Thoren doubted any material on the first floor could withstand its edge.

Sensing genuine danger for the first time, the abomination struggled frantically. Its movements grew erratic as it attempted to escape the coordinated assault.

But the two undead were engineered for destruction.

The Storm Tyrant hammered it relentlessly from the front.

The Royalty Stonewall cut it apart with surgical precision.

The struggle was meaningless.

Within less than thirty seconds, the abomination’s massive frame was carved with hundreds of wounds.

Its remaining arm was severed cleanly.

Its chest was split wide open.

Inside, the grotesque fusion of human and beast organs was exposed, stitched together in a nightmarish parody of life.

Lungs of mismatched sizes.

A heart reinforced with rune-inscribed plates. Veins interwoven like crude stitching.

Everything about it was unnatural.

Everything about it was wrong.

The undead felt no disgust.

They felt no hesitation.

With no arms left to defend itself, the abomination was reduced to a helpless carcass.

It let out one final, anguished howl.

Then, the Black Ember Blade flashed.

Its head separated cleanly from its body.

The colossal corpse collapsed, shaking the chamber one last time.

The Royalty Stonewall stepped forward and planted its foot upon the creature’s chest. Its hollow gaze remained fixed on the headless body without blinking.

Beside it, the Storm Tyrant finally ceased its assault, its massive fists lowering slowly.

For a brief moment, silence descended upon the shattered chamber.

Dust drifted through the air.

Blood pooled across broken stone.

Just then, both undead turned their heads in unison toward the same direction.

Their hollow gazes locked onto a distant figure concealed within the shadows.

Without a word.

Without hesitation.

They began to move.

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[AN: Thank you all for your support and gifts. This Chapter is sponsored by Daemoncles]

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