Chapter 103: Offering Oneself to the DemonWithin the Pantheon, which had remained silent for tens of thousands of years, a strange hum suddenly reverberated.

    The , sitting at the edge of the steps, seemed to sense something and instinctively raised her head.

    The once-magnificent Pantheon, with its countless threads of hanging down, appeared to be undergoing some inexplicable change. One after another, the chains began to tremble in unison!

    Her gaze swept over the chains, forged from divine law and power, with a hint of puzzlement.

    To her astonishment, she noticed that cracks, faintly glowing, had appeared on the surface of the previously indestructible .

    Under some unseen force, these cracks spread across the uneven surfaces of the chains!

    A mournful sound of impending breakage echoed from one of the , its source unclear.

    As though the first crack were a signal, a chain reaction ensued. The majority of the chains began to fracture in rapid succession!

    The statues of the gods, once steadfast and imposing, started to tremble as if unable to bear the pressure of the breaking chains.

    Then, in an ineffable moment—

    A sharp, resonant sound shattered the silence of the vast hall as the chains exploded into countless fragments of light, cascading like rain to the ground!

    The Pantheon seemed to be caught in a multicolored downpour, breathtakingly beautiful.

    The stood up from the steps at some point, gazing at the now mostly broken chains on her body and the dreamlike spectacle around her.

    Her once-calm, icy eyes were now filled with shock and confusion.

    Just as the thought surfaced, an overwhelming tide of memories abruptly surged into her mind.

    The stood motionless, as if absorbing the cataclysmic events of the past hundred millennia.

    Until a certain moment—

    The book she held slipped from her hands, falling to the ground.

    The instant Lynn gripped the Sealed Artifact’s core trait, a torrent of malice and mental corruption surged violently into his mind.

    Though he had steeled himself for this, his brain buzzed as unrelenting pain engulfed him. Blood trickled slowly from his seven orifices.

    Lynn’s mind roiled with a storm of negative emotions.

    He placed all the blame squarely on the true culprit behind everything: .

    At this moment, the man was added to Lynn’s list of must-kills.

    The sharp voice echoed throughout the underground ruins, its tone filled with fury at having its plans disrupted once again.

    Lynn, struggling, fell to one knee. Despite the overwhelming pain, a mocking grin spread across his blood-streaked face.

    His words dripped with defiance, but his current state was anything but confident.

    The moment Lynn’s body came into contact with the core trait, the corrosive power of the higher-dimensional demon began ravaging him instantly.

    Piercing wails and layers upon layers of maddening whispers echoed incessantly in his ears.

    For a low-ranking Extraordinary, merely facing a Level 0 Sealed Artifact was tantamount to suicide; many were left scarred for life by even brief contact. ???Оβ??

    Yet Lynn’s actions went far beyond mere recklessness—he amplified that suicidal gamble a thousandfold.

    Naturally, he paid the price.

    A burst of blood erupted from his back, leaving a gaping hole.

    Not only that, but his entire body seemed to melt, merging with the encroaching black sludge from all directions.

    Eyes and mouths sprouted chaotically across his face, while slimy, writhing tentacles began to grow from his chest.

    This was the ultimate fate of those contaminated by a Sealed Artifact: irreversible, monstrous mutations!

    Though his form still vaguely resembled a human, he now looked more like a creature born of nightmares.

    Lynn’s face twisted in agony as he struggled to focus his mind, desperately attempting to stop his body from deteriorating further.

    But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the rampaging cells within his body transmitted waves of searing pain to his brain, as if invisible needles were simultaneously piercing every cell in his body.

    Sweat drenched Lynn’s face as his features contorted in torment.

    Watching his wretched state, the burst into mocking laughter:

    Even a brief encounter with the core trait of a Sealed Artifact spelled near-certain death for 99% of Extraordinary individuals.

    And to touch it directly at such close range?

    This fool’s fate was already sealed.

    With that thought, the demon began exerting its control, attempting to wrest the core trait from Lynn’s grasp.

    A hoarse voice rang out as the deformed, monstrous youth fixed the demon with a cold, unwavering gaze.

    In the next moment, Lynn suddenly clenched the core trait tightly—and swallowed it whole!

    The froze, stunned by the audacity of his actions. While the purpose of his move was unclear, it filled the demon with a rare sense of dread.

    Materializing a seductive, shapely figure from the black sludge, the demon stared at the boy now curled on the ground clutching his stomach, her expression a mixture of astonishment and disbelief.

    He was trying to forcibly fuse the Sealed Artifact’s core into his own body!

    The core trait, once separated from its vessel, could not remain exposed to the air for long; its power would weaken over time.

    This was why the demon had been so desperate to enter Yveste’s body and wrest control from her.

    But Lynn’s bold move once again thwarted the demon’s plans.

    By now, a significant amount of time had passed since the core trait had left its original vessel.

    Sensing the increasingly unstable core trait, the felt an unsettling phenomenon: its power was beginning to merge with this mere First-Rank "ant" in front of it!

    As a demon, it couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind Lynn’s actions.

    But amidst his low growls of agony, the demon noticed a faintly peculiar atmosphere.

    Lynn gritted his teeth, forcing out broken sentences.

    The frowned deeply, a sudden realization flashing in its mind.

    Thinking carefully, this youth—compared to that woman—didn’t seem to possess the strength necessary to truly threaten its power.

    Moreover, his abilities were unquestionably weak.

    If it chose to take over this body, the cost would clearly be far less than it would have been with Yveste.

    Furthermore, the demon could faintly sense a powerful aura from the boy, one strangely similar to what it had felt within Yveste.

    With this thought, the fell silent for a moment before letting out a cold snort.

    The demon extended its five fingers, manipulating the surrounding black sludge, ready to engulf Lynn completely.

    The pitch-black shadows converged, threatening to smother everything in their path.

    Once the sludge dissipated, the demon would rise anew.

    But just then, the boy’s hoarse voice broke through the tension.

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    Lynn slowly raised his head.

    Though his face was twisted in pain and his expression grotesque, a mad grin suddenly curved his lips.

    A sense of foreboding surged through the .

    The next second, Lynn abruptly raised his hand and smashed the magical stone he had been clutching onto the ground!

    With a burst of light, intricate and chaotic magical patterns appeared across the floor—an already-prepared .

    At its central node was a vividly depicted demonic face, contorted with rage and malice, as though roaring against the world.

    This was the ritual array Lynn had commissioned Milanie to create before his venture.

    By shattering the magical stone, the array could be activated instantly, without the need for incantations or additional setup.

    Of course, to successfully communicate with such powerful and unspeakable entities, Lynn had to offer a sufficient sacrifice—a crucial anchor to link everything together, placed at the array’s core.

    And at this moment, occupying the central node...

    Was Lynn himself.

    The glared at him, its expression ice-cold and filled with suspicion.

    Lynn suddenly opened his mouth and used his tongue to push out a finger-sized, transparent crystal from inside his cheek.

    At the center of the crystal, a droplet of purple blood pulsed faintly.

    The so-called "risk hedging" was a simple, if insane, idea: when one demon tries to possess your body, summon another to fight it out inside you.

    Of course, what happened afterward was anyone’s guess.

    Because no one had ever attempted something so utterly deranged.

    Under the horrified gaze, Lynn gave a crazed smile and bit down on the crystal, shattering it with force!

    In an instant, the centered on Lynn erupted in a dazzling, radiant light!

    The purple blood, released from its crystalline prison, flowed into Lynn’s mouth.

    As a sickening series of cracking and snapping sounds filled the air, his body began to grow taller, and dense, hard black scales emerged across his skin, accelerating his monstrous transformation.

    At the same time, an ancient and overpowering aura crossed the infinite distances of space and focused its gaze on this location.

    The , Kushustain.

    Sensing the presence of its own blood, will descended.

    The , now at a fraction of her former strength, was overcome with both shock and fury.

    She had never imagined this lunatic would pull such an unprecedented and reckless stunt.

    The next moment, endless black sludge surged forward, engulfing Lynn''s body entirely.

    She intended to seize control of this body before the fully arrived.

    It was her only chance at survival!

    Yet, just as the critical moment approached, something entirely unexpected occurred.

    The will of the , having briefly gazed upon this place, seemed to have only a passing interest.

    It appeared that merely wanted to see who had used blood to summon .

    Upon realizing it was nothing more than a lowly First Rank insect, promptly lost all interest.

    Moments later, the oppressive aura that had been bearing down on the area receded like a tide, vanishing rapidly.

    It was clear that, to the , there was no reason to assist a random human ant whom didn’t even recognize.

    Even the was momentarily stunned by what had transpired.

    After a brief silence, she clutched her ample chest and burst into laughter:

    Looking at the boy now entirely submerged in black sludge, the demon’s mood was unexpectedly jovial.

    Yet the unfolding situation didn’t seem to catch Lynn off guard.

    As he felt the icy, malevolent black sludge engulfing him, he mustered the last of his strength and pulled his right hand free from the mire.

    Judging by the name alone, the entity he had summoned was unlikely to be a benevolent or forgiving being.

    For reasons even he couldn’t explain, Lynn called out the name.

    Then, with deliberate slowness, he raised his middle finger.

    ** you."*

    Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

    In the next instant, a cataclysmic surge of demonic power descended from above, roaring with rage and ferocity!

    The overwhelming force tore through the darkness, its fury palpable and unrestrained.