Chapter 144: Against The Mother Of All Life’s Aberrant Child, Genesis-05!

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Riven narrowed his eyes sharply. "It seems you have fully assimilated Genesis Cells into your body. To think that damn serum contained them as well! But then I... no, I already ate them. It appears my Gluttony will not fully assimilate living cells while the host is still alive. It only absorbs their raw power... Regardless! Don’t look into that thing’s eye!"

"W-Why?! What’s going on— Oh no! The people!" Label cried out, tears streaming down her face as she watched the spreading flames completely consume the area where the experimental subjects had been kept.

Riven had no time left to save them. Noir remained by his side, running just as fast as he did. "I’m sorry."

RUMBLE!

Everything began to come undone. The ceiling crushed downward while flames and corrosive acid took over the laboratory. Dangerous quantities of concentrated Mana began consuming the entire area, crystalizing everything they touched.

"No...!" Label cried, staring down at the exploding facility. "E-Everyone...!"

Somehow she had found a kindred spirit among these experimented people who had been waiting so desperately for someone to save them. Riven deeply lamented their loss, yet he knew there was nothing more he could have done in time.

He quickly leaped upward toward higher ground and looked down at the complete destruction that had just occurred.

And then...

RUMBLE!

From the heart of the massive crater that had once been the laboratory, Genesis-5 rose.

"GROOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

It was no longer a formless mass of flesh trapped inside a tube. The creature now stood nearly forty meters tall — a grotesque and nightmarish fusion of black bone, iridescent scales, and pulsing red muscle. A single massive eyeball dominated the center of its chest, while a skull-like head crowned by twisting horns opened wide to reveal multiple rows of rotating, serrated teeth. Hundreds of smaller human faces pressed desperately against the surface of its body from the inside, their mouths frozen open in silent, eternal screams.

A single system notification appeared above Genesis-5.

[Fifth Child of The Precursor of the Stars – Genesis-05: B++ Rank (Growing)]

"B++ Rank?!"

Riven panicked for a brief moment. It was a level of power he might still be able to defeat, yet it was deeply shocking that the creature was continuously growing stronger in real time.

Then it hit him — that bastard Willheim had likely reached such a high personal rank himself by simply experimenting on his own body. By absorbing Genesis Cells and forcibly assimilating them with other organisms... he had turned himself into a true monster without ever bothering to step inside a single dungeon in his entire life.

RUMBLE!

"ROOOAAAARRRRRRR!"

Riven’s thoughts were violently interrupted as Genesis-5 answered with a roar so powerful it cracked the remaining fortress walls. A thick beam of pure corrosive energy lanced outward from the massive eye embedded in its chest.

Riven did not dodge.

He activated every relevant trait at the same time.

Great Dragon of Yomi Lineage: Mizuchi

Great Bone Titan: Gashadokuro

Legendary Oni King: Shuten-dōji

Death Mithril Hair: Izanami

Black scales erupted across every inch of his skin. A full suit of living abyssal bone armor formed over them like a second skeleton. Dual-colored oni flames wreathed both his horns and his fists. His hair lengthened into a cascading silver-white cloak of living Death Mithril that whipped around him with a life of its own.

Malevolent Dragon King of Yomi Embodiment layered itself on top of Tyrant’s Embodiment. His height rapidly ballooned past five meters. A long, black-scaled dragon tail slammed into the ground behind him for balance.

The corrosive beam struck him dead-on—

—and was partially absorbed by the Nether Scales while the remainder was redirected by the Bone Armor high into the air, carving a glowing, molten trench across the distant mountainside.

TRUUMMM!!!

RUMBLE!

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

Dozens of secondary explosions erupted in every direction. The entire world around them trembled violently. Even the distant Mana Reactor shook as its energy was suddenly redirected... somewhere unknown.

"You’re one tough son of a bitch, aren’t you?" Riven muttered, feeling the residual corrosive energy feed directly into his Titan Mana Heart. "My turn!"

He vanished instantly with Abyssal Shift, leaving Label safely under Noir’s protection.

In the same instant he reappeared high above the monster’s head. Both of his swords and twelve elongated claw-blades descended together in a single devastating arc.

His skills concentrated and fused with his synergy abilities into a refined technique.

First Form, Death Guillotine, evolved into a second, far more powerful step.

It was fueled by the pure rage he felt toward the cruelty his own family had inflicted upon these innocent people, and by the deep frustration that even with all the strength he now possessed he still could not stop Willheim.

He poured every ounce of that emotion into the attack.

Abyssal Assault – Second Form: Guillotine of the Abyss.

The combined slash tore cleanly through the creature’s left shoulder, shearing off an entire arm the size of a small building. Thick black blood that smelled of pure acid sprayed across the crater in violent arcs.

"GRYYYAAARRRGGHH!"

Genesis-5 staggered backward while screaming in utter agony. It immediately retaliated by spawning dozens of smaller, extremely fast-moving tendrils tipped with razor-sharp bone spears.

Riven’s newly enhanced Spiritual Selves answered the challenge without hesitation. Ten ethereal copies of himself materialized in a perfect circle around the monster, each one channeling a different elemental force. They intercepted the tendrils mid-air and detonated in coordinated explosions of ice, poison, shadow, and cursed fire.

However, the beast seemed almost completely unbothered. Its hardened bony armor and iridescent scales held firm as it suddenly struck Riven while he was still midair. It matched his incredible speed, caught him cleanly, and slammed him downward into the boiling pool of pure Mana liquid that had formed at the bottom of the crater.

"Nnnggh!"

Riven braced himself for the impact. A massive explosion erupted the moment his body struck the liquid, completely engulfing him in deadly mana fire that absorbed and destroyed everything it touched.

BOOOOMMM!!!

"!!!"

"?!"

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Outside the collapsing fortress, Kagehisa’s group had just finished dealing with the last of the berserk mutants when the entire mountain shook once again from the force of the explosion.

"What was that? Such a huge explosion...!" Kagehisa said in alarm. "Riven...! What did he even find in there? Huh...? That’s...!"

RUMBLE!

The remaining ceiling and outer walls of the fortress exploded outward, revealing a gigantic mass of fused flesh, muscle, bone, and scales. The creature roared with a massive skull-like face that dominated its upper body.

"GRYOOOOOHHHHHH!"

Its furious roar was so monstrous and mentally invasive that everyone nearby screamed in sudden pain as sharp headaches stabbed through their minds.

As an experiment created using a massive quantity of Genesis Cells, the creature had inherited its "mother’s" inherent psychic abilities.

The terrifying power of directly affecting the mind — scrambling thoughts, inducing confusion, or even creating life-like illusions capable of deceiving the senses completely.

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