Chapter 1189: The Devourer Kahn and the group travelled fearlessly for the first time after entering the Abyss Forest. He and the others no longer felt like small prey hiding from the predators roaming around in the jungle. For the next 3 days, they travelled uninterrupted until the flying ship artifact overheated and needed time to cool down as Argos, Kahn, and Vildred did some maintenance on the Ancient Rank artifact. Kahn happily helped, knowing that if not for this ship, the travel would have lasted for months, and even he would not have been able to travel at such speed with all his abilities. And as the evening came, Argos summoned a small castle where all of them decided to take some rest and forget about the worries of the future. The following day... Swoosh! Swoosh! The journey resumed without any problems for another day, and now, it had been almost 25 days since they entered the Abyss Forest. A couple more days, and they would be out of this godforsaken place and carry on their future plans. However... just as everyone had finally become carefree and complacent... "Hmmm... We’re being chased!" exclaimed Argos. Over at least 800 kilometers away, something is tracking us." iterated the vampire king with a concerned face. "Is that the Godbeast Baihu again?" asked Kahn. "No, we already took a different route to avoid running into him. Besides, the aura is completely different. He felt like it was bereft of life. As if repulsing nature itself. This one feels like it’s trying to devour all life. And it thrives by feeding on everything, even the laws of reality." elaborated Argos. "What should we do? Wait for it to come or hide?" asked Morrigan. "Hide? That’s not an option. My possession of the statue would end if you enter the true dimension or put me into that relic of yours. Besides, didn’t I say that you do not have to worry with me around?" said the Envoy of Death. "Let it come, whatever it is." proclaimed Jeoseung Saja proudly. Crackle! Crackle! Soon, an ethereal dark barrier, spanning over 200 meters, surrounding the flying ship entirely, came to be. The crystalline rays of light shimmered around the barrier as if it were made of diamonds themselves. And a couple of minutes later... Crumble! The surrounding 30-kilometer radius started crumbling on its own as if nature itself was dying. The mountains turned into sand, which itself started disappearing into nothingness. The rivers evaporated, and even the steam itself disappeared before it reached a few hundred meters above the ground level. All the flora and fauna first dried up and then crumbled to dust before disappearing. This was similar to the effect when the Godbeast Baihu arrived. But at the same time, it was distinct because in the first case, at least the traces of the original environment were left. This time however, all of it disappeared as if an unknown force was engulfing it. And no, all the debris or the sand didn’t get swallowed by the true dimension either. Otherwise, Kahn would’ve noticed it with his Space Law abilities. This power was beyond their comprehension. [I know this. I’ve seen and survived this before.] said Rathnaar. "What? Who does this power belong to?" asked Kahn. But before the Peak Saint could respond... BOOMM!!! Suddenly, the air stopped, the time stopped, and the world itself forgot how to function as multiple cracks in reality formed. A titanic being as big as Baihu entered their sight. Its charcoal black fur, the terrifying red eyes, and the cracks leaking magma around the skin became clear to them. The gigantic chains around its body even added a sense of mystery to its terrifying appearance. While it was breathing fire from both the mouth and the eyes as multiple ancient runes glowed and floated around its dense fur all over the body. Although it stood 30 kilometers away, it felt like the ferocious being was staring directly into their souls and standing in front of them. "Found you... Hero of Darkness." spoke the godbeast. Right then, Rathnaar finally had the chance to finish as he introduced... "Godbeast Fenrir." ****************** The world around them had turned deadly silent. The ground started melting as rivers of magma spread around. The black fumes reached the sky, and the clouds turned dark. Rumble! The sky then started shooting red lightning bolts, razing the surroundings to smithereens as the one being called The Devourer had appeared in front of them. The world had given this title to Godbeast Fenrir for many reasons. And even beings like Elder Dragons and Archangels had problems facing this humongous beast on their own. There was already a famous story about how the Godbeast Fenrir of a few million years ago had gone on a rampage for some reason and most of the existing empires were established on what remained. Each empire was as big as a continent on its own, but apart from the Dragon Empire, all of them were destroyed by this world disaster, creating new borders and landscapes that became the foundation of the current global topography. The matters were so dire that an Elder Dragon and two other Archangels had to combine their forces just to barely manage and kill it at last. And the Godbeast Fenrir of the current era, a successor who possessed the same powers and might, now stood just 30 kilometers away from them. Even Blackwall in his mythical primordial titan form would look like a small pup in front of this godly beast. "How dare you enter the Abyss Forest despite knowing that all of us were sealed here? Did you think that you could just come here, awaken your divine key, and leave without any price to pay?" asked the godbeast, its terrifying, eerie, and grim voice sending shivers down their bodies. "Just like your predecessor... You must be brimming with overconfidence. The last time it worked because he had so much help from all those divine weapons and the hero cores to make it happen. This time... you shall pay for this act of defiance against the natural order and become our escape from this dreadful land." proclaimed the majestic beast, with fury burning in its eyes. "For the love of G.O.D.! Settle your issues with him. Stop hunting me! I had nothing to do with it. Why do I have to pay for his actions?!" shouted Kahn back. "This has become a theatre routine now. People keep hunting me, threatening me, trying to kill me, and giving me lectures on why I should die because of something my predecessor did. This is getting both annoying and cliché now." said Kahn, rolling his eyes. His disgruntled face confused the godbeast as it spoke... "Do you think you’re in the presence of some wild beast here? KNEEL!!" shouted Fenrir and exerted all of its insurmountable aura. BOOM!! Crackle! The land below sank 2 kilometers, but the entire 30-kilometer radius did not turn into a massive, inescapable crater. If a city were ever established there... they wouldn’t get sunlight other than the peak afternoon hours. And the land was reformed to this degree just by the aura of this terrifying Godbeast. Sniff! Sniff! The Godbeast suddenly stopped in its steps and smelled something that raised its curiosity. "The Royal Dragon... why a direct blood descendant of that lizard Saalazaar here? Didn’t Baltaraaz warn you not to enter these lands? Has he broken his oath?" questioned the godbeast. "I was sealed somewhere for over a millennium. I do not know of the pact or oath that you had with the great Elder Dragon. But I have a question..." replied Vildred and asked instead. "How do you know my great-great-grandfather?" questioned the former dragon emperor. "How old do you think I am, child?" asked the godbeast instead. "Close to a hundred thousand years?" guessed Vildred. "Hah! Looks like you’re using the Dragon Empire’s logic here. Every Godbeast still living in this world... is more than 2 million years old." revealed Fenrir. "What?! How is that possible? Even an Elder Dragon or Archangel can’t live past a few hundred thousand years. Even the current leader of the Archangels is less than 250 thousand years old. Aren’t you basically immortal?" asked Vildred. "How that works... I have no reason to explain it to you. As for how I knew your ancestor..." said Fenrir, and soon his tone turned vengeful. "The archaic runes and glyphs surrounding my body... that was his doing. He said it would help ease my pain and satiate my unending hunger. But he lied and disappeared, breaking our pact." revealed the godbeast. "I do not know if you are aware... the Elder Dragon Salazaar died more than 50 thousand years ago." responded Kahn. Shock! The Godbeast was shocked for some reason. "How?! He should be an unkillable and undying being, just like us Godbests. Out of all the Elder Dragons... his power was beyond anything possible to the dragon species after he achieved the 5th-Enlightenment in the Space Law." iterated Godbeast Fenrir, his tone filled with bewilderment. "First, this mark of betrayal reminds me of my foolishness in trusting a dragon. And now, the most humiliating part, where I was shackled here by a brat brought from one of those lowly worlds... I shan’t accept it!" bellowed the godbeast as his fury reached its peak. "You all should just die! Only then will I be able to quell my rage." declared Fenrir. His aura surged to the point that the time itself stopped again. But it was right then... BOOMM!!! His aura and the mystical power shattered as a world-shaking voice resounded from Kahn’s entourage. "Junior..." a sinister voice echoed as Jeoseung Saja released his grim and deadly aura. "Are you courting death?!"