Chapter 144: I Will Have Order

The black mist peeled back on either side like a pair of filthy curtains, revealing the true horror within.

A colossal, grotesque demon, wreathed in the scorched breath of sulfur and destruction, manifested before their very eyes.

Its body was monstrously burly, standing five or six meters tall and encased in a hideous, dark-red carapace that looked like solidified magma. A malevolent, internal light pulsed beneath its skin, the hellfire of its being so intense that every breath it took visibly distorted the air.

As its pillar-like legs slammed down, the hard, rocky ground spiderwebbed with cracks under the immense weight. A dozen blade-like bone spurs erupted from its back, interlacing to form a tattered, unholy throne. Behind it, a thick, barbed tail lashed through the air, creating sharp, cracking whips of sound that echoed through the cavern.

But the most terrifying feature was its head.

The goblin’s face was gone.

In its place was a demonic visage of pure malice. Two massive, twisted horns curved back from its skull as if trying to gore the heavens. Its face was a featureless, hideous mask burning with hellfire, devoid of a mouth or nose. Beneath that mask, two pinpricks of crimson light were its only features—the Abyssal Demon Eyes, blazing with pure tyranny, greed, and hatred.

And there, starkly branded across its mountainous, muscular chest, was a face.

It was the face of Girousse, once carefully groomed with its handsome, middle-parted hair. Now, its features were frozen in a silent, agonized scream, creating a spectacle that was simultaneously comical and utterly horrific.

A terrifying pressure, more than ten times stronger than before, suddenly exploded outward! An aura thick with tyranny, destruction, and greed coalesced into physical hellfire, instantly sweeping through the entire cave.

“Ugh…”

Selene’s face went pale. She stumbled back a step, the hand holding her shield trembling uncontrollably. The form of this monster could no longer be described as merely ugly; it was a manifestation of power and malice so deep it could trigger the most primitive fears in any intelligent being.

“Holy crap…” Selene swallowed hard, her voice cracking. “So this is what you call a Final Boss! That goblin from before was just the welcoming mascot, wasn’t he?”

The corner of Celeste’s eye twitched.

‘Good grief,’ she thought. ‘So after all that, the guy I one-shot with a single spear was just the pilot, and now the main body has come out driving a Gundam? From a sleazy goblin to a budget version of Diablo? The art style changed way too damn fast!’

“So, the real core of this secret realm is this… thing, made of pure greed and malice?”

[Greed Aggregate · Secret Realm Core Lv.???]

Looking at the newly detected nameplate above the monster, Celeste was rendered completely speechless.

Great. All that fighting for nothing.

“All units, on alert!” Elaniel’s voice was hoarse as she suppressed the tremor that originated deep within her soul. Her face was even paler than when she had been struck by Girousse’s mental assault.

No one had expected this. Just when they thought victory was in their grasp, they were forced to confront a monster more terrifying than all the previous enemies combined. The relief that had just begun to settle in the hearts of the elven army was instantly snatched away, replaced by a suffocating dread that lodged in their throats.

They stared at the giant demon, its oppressive aura crushing their spirits. The joy of victory that had ignited in their eyes moments ago was extinguished, replaced by a surge of icy despair.

Could something like this… truly be defeated?

“ROAR—!!!”

The monster, the Greed Aggregate, finished adapting to its new body. Its two crimson demon eyes swept across the battlefield, finally locking onto Celeste with chilling precision. Reflected in those demonic pupils was the clear image of Celeste, still clad in her Dark Gold regalia.

Greed, anger, and even a faint, lingering trace of fear swirled and exploded within its gaze. It still retained Girousse’s memories. It remembered. It was this woman who had destroyed its “art,” who had blown its humanoid body to smithereens.

The monster’s burning mask suddenly split open, and it unleashed a roar that felt like it could tear the very soul apart.

The sound wave became an invisible siege hammer, saturated with the stench of sulfur, and slammed head-on into the elven front line. The Jade Shield Celeste had deployed earlier flickered violently, its surface instantly covered in a dense web of cracks. In less than two seconds, the shield let out an overwhelmed groan and shattered into a cascade of fading light.

Dozens of elven knights in the front rank were struck squarely by the invisible force. They coughed up blood in unison as their bodies were thrown backward like ragdolls, their formation instantly dissolving into chaos.

A single roar had broken the group shield—a shield buffed by one percent of Rex Lapis’s divine power.

Despair flooded the hearts of the younger elven soldiers.

But these were battle-hardened elites. They did not collapse. Enduring the ringing in their ears and the sharp, tearing pain in their organs, they used their scabbards to prop themselves up, forcing their bodies to stand firm once more. Shock was written across their pale faces, but their hands gripped their weapons with renewed, desperate tightness. With sheer iron will, they suppressed the fear coiling in their guts and stared intently at the terrifying colossus.

However, in the midst of this dead silence shrouded by despair, a voice, so flat it bordered on disdainful, reached every ear.

“So noisy.”

Celeste frowned, casually picking at her ear. She looked at the giant demon flaunting its power, not a shred of fear in her eyes—only pure, unadulterated annoyance.

“It’s one thing to be ugly, but to have a scream that unpleasant? That’s just double the mental pollution.” She sighed. “I was originally going to play with you for a bit, see what new moves you had.”

Her gaze hardened. “But now it seems there’s no need for that. Better to purify you early so we can all go out and have dinner.”

She slowly raised her hand, palm facing upward. Her golden eyes, still dyed with the primordial light of Geo, looked toward the top of the cave as if her gaze could pierce through ten thousand feet of rock to see the deep, starry sky beyond.

“Sis! What are you trying to do?!”

Seeing that starting posture, Selene’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. An extremely ominous premonition surged through her. She was all too familiar with that expression on her sister’s face—the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her eyes calm and waveless, a composed look that screamed, ‘I’m about to start something big!’

“Sis! Don’t! I know that look! You’re going to do something devastating again, aren’t you?!”

“What big thing? It’s just a routine operation,” Celeste said, feigning ignorance.

“What do you mean, routine operation?!” Selene was so anxious she was practically bouncing on her feet. “To deal with this big guy… you’re not thinking of using some ultra-wide-range attack, are you?”

“Oh, you mean an area-of-effect skill,” Celeste nodded in realization. Then, in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone, she added, “Well, yeah. To deal with a boss of this size, of course you use an AoE. That’s just common sense.”

“This is a cave! It’ll collapse! We’ll be buried alive!” Selene was almost in tears.

“Don’t worry.” Celeste gave her a look that was meant to say ‘everything is under control.’ “It won’t collapse.”

When fighting Girousse earlier, it wasn’t necessary, but now… now it was time to unleash the ultimate. She was brimming with confidence in the ‘Zhongli Trial Card.’ The power of Rex Lapis? Holding up a mere cave was nothing. Theoretically, holding up the sky wouldn’t be impossible.

Although she only had a one-percent trial version, at this moment, she was the sole law of this world.

She cleared her throat, her voice calm and slow as she began to speak, as if stating the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.

“As a matter of general principle…”

As she spoke, fine golden patterns began to glow on the rock walls of the entire cave, as if ancient, binding contracts were manifesting from the stone itself.

“…before the contract is fulfilled, this world shall be made solid as bedrock.”

The moment her words fell, all the golden patterns flared with brilliant light. A heavy, absolute power completely locked the entire space, rendering it immutable.

Having finished her preparations, she paid no more attention to her dumbfounded sister and teammates, her gaze locking back onto the giant demon.

Her voice, deep and resonant with primordial power, echoed through the now-unbreakable cavern.

“I will have order.”

As her voice fell, the ceiling of the entire cave lit up without any warning.

It was not the glow of magic.

Nor was it the illumination of crystals.

It was a star.

A star so massive it completely obscured the cavern’s ceiling.

It shimmered with a dark golden light, a celestial body condensed from the purest Geo element, and it simply appeared out of thin air.

It ignored the physical obstruction of the thick rock layers above.

It pierced through the very boundary between reality and illusion.

And descended, bold and absolute, upon this underground world.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]