Chapter 145: Homecoming

The enormous double doors looked exactly as Eden remembered them.

Their dark surfaces stretched high into the ceiling, covered in strange runes that seemed to shift whenever he tried to focus on them. The Runes appeared to have been grown into the doors themselves, as though something had forced its way through the material and left its mark behind.

Eden stopped a few meters away, his silver eyes tracing the familiar patterns.

[Master, something feels odd about this place.]

"Well, it is the resting place of a God, after all."

’Let’s just focus on what’s ahead of me.’

Eden raised his right hand.

Crimson Essence surged from his palm, gathering into a writhing mass of mouths and teeth. The mutated substance spread across the doors, devouring the strange material with the same insatiable hunger it had shown countless times before.

The runes flickered.

For a moment, the doors resisted. Something on the other side seemed to push back against Devour, sending faint tremors through the enormous structure.

Eden’s smile widened.

"Oh? Are you going to make me work for it this time?"

He increased the flow of Essence.

The crimson mass spread faster, devouring the runes one after another. A low groan reverberated through the chamber as the doors finally began to move.

They parted slowly, revealing the world beyond.

The same forest he had seen before.

Enormous trees rose hundreds of meters into the air, their trunks resembling colossal pillars that supported a ceiling of tangled branches far above. Their bark was so dark that it almost blended into the shadows, while faint veins of greenish light pulsed beneath its surface.

The ground was uneven, littered with enormous roots that twisted through the soil like the bodies of sleeping serpents. Strange plants grew between them, some bearing translucent leaves, others producing tiny lights that drifted through the air like fireflies.

Eden stepped through the doors.

’Weird.’

For several minutes, nothing happened.

’Where’s that giant centipede?’

Eden continued deeper into the forest, occasionally glancing at the enormous trees surrounding him.

Unfortunately, the silence did not last.

The ground trembled.

Eden stopped walking.

A second tremor followed, considerably stronger than the first. Loose stones jumped across the forest floor, and a flock of strange birds erupted from the distant canopy.

Then came the sound.

A deafening, rhythmic scraping, as though hundreds of enormous blades were dragging themselves across the earth.

Eden slowly lifted his gaze.

Something moved between the trees.

At first, he saw only a long, dark silhouette winding through the forest. Then the creature emerged from behind one of the colossal trunks, revealing a body so enormous that it seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

A centipede.

Its segmented body was several hundred meters long, each section protected by thick, black scales resembling overlapping plates of armor. Countless legs protruded from beneath its body, stabbing into the earth with every movement. Its mandibles clicked together, producing a horrible grinding sound that echoed through the forest.

Yet the centipede was not the most disturbing part.

Growing from its head was a massive humanoid figure.

Its upper body was black and vaguely human, with elongated arms hanging beside its torso. Its face was featureless, save for a narrow, vertical slit that glowed with a dim crimson light. The figure’s body merged seamlessly into the centipede’s head, as though the two had been fused together.

Eden stared at it.

’Ah.’

For a brief moment, he was reminded of the last time he had encountered this thing.

Back then, he had been forced to flee.

His attacks had barely scratched its armor, and every attempt to confront it directly had ended with him being driven further into the forest. Even with Ryuhei beside him, they had been unable to overcome the guardian.

Eden tilted his head, a wicked smile growing on his face.

"You know..."

"I’ve been thinking a lot about you after our last date."

The centipede’s crimson eye brightened in response.

Its body tensed.

Then it charged.

"You’re not taking the lead this time."

The earth shattered beneath yhe centipede’s countless legs. Trees bent under the force of its passing, and enormous roots were torn from the ground as the creature barreled toward him.

Eden didn’t move.

He simply slipped both hands into his pockets and smiled softly.

"Let’s see how much has changed."

A dark pressure erupted from his body.

[Malicious Spirit]

The atmosphere changed instantly.

The forest seemed to fall silent as an overwhelming spiritual force descended upon the guardian. The centipede’s charge faltered. Its front segments slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave through the surrounding earth, while the humanoid figure atop its head jerked violently.

Then the entire creature was forced downward.

Its armored body crashed against the forest floor with enough force to split the ground beneath it. Hundreds of legs scraped desperately against the earth, attempting to lift its enormous weight.

They failed.

The spiritual pressure only intensified.

Cracks spread across the black scales covering its body. The creature’s mandibles opened, releasing a shrill, distorted screech that seemed to vibrate through the trees themselves.

Eden watched with mild curiosity.

"...That’s it?"

He had expected resistance. Perhaps even a struggle.

He hadn’t expected the guardian to be completely pinned down by a single activation of Malicious Spirit.

Granted, he had grown considerably stronger since their last encounter. His Essence, his skills, his attributes... everything had changed.

But seeing the difference firsthand was still satisfying

Though Eden couldn’t help but to feel a hint of disappointment buried beneath all that satisfaction.

He had hoped for resistance. He had hoped for an actual battle.

A battle in which he could punish it for the humiliation he suffered in their first encounter.

"..."

"..."

"...C’mon."

The centipede attempted to rise again.

Its countless legs pushed against the ground, trembling under the strain. Several of its armored segments lifted a few meters before collapsing once more.

"At least it’s still moving."

He released a little more spiritual pressure.

The creature’s body slammed back into the earth.

This time, it didn’t even manage to lift its head.

Eden exhaled.

"Well, that settles that."

He withdrew one hand from his pocket and extended it toward the forest floor.

Dark Matter gathered beside him, forming the silhouette of a towering knight clad in black armor. Obsidian emerged from the darkness, his massive frame radiating a quiet, oppressive presence.

Eden glanced at the immobilized guardian.

"Obsidian, would you mind doing the honors?"

The Black Knight inclined his head.

He manifested his enormous Dark Matter blade.

For a brief moment, the weapon absorbed the faint green light filtering through the forest canopy. Then Obsidian stepped forward and swung.

The blade descended.

A dark arc cut through the air, striking the centipede’s body with overwhelming force.

The creature’s armored segments split apart.

Its enormous body was severed in half, the two sections collapsing onto the forest floor with a thunderous crash. Purple fluid seeped from the wound, hissing as it touched the soil.

Eden nodded approvingly.

"Good work."

Obsidian lowered his blade.

The guardian lay motionless.

Eden approached the corpse, already preparing to devour it.

He had barely taken three steps when he sensed something strange.

A sudden fluctuation of Essence.

His expression changed.

"...Oh?"

The humanoid figure atop the centipede’s head began to move.

Its elongated arms twitched.

Then, with a sound like tearing metal, it grabbed the edges of its own body and pulled.

The figure ripped itself free from the centipede.

Black matter sprayed across the forest floor as it tore away from the enormous carcass. The creature landed on its feet, crouched low, its long arms supporting its weight.

Then it began to grow.

Its torso expanded, muscles and dark plates forming beneath its skin. Two additional pairs of limbs emerged from its back, unfolding into four enormous wings that resembled those of a demon carved from black stone. Its fingers lengthened into curved claws, each one sharp enough to split a tree trunk.

Its lower body twisted and stretched, reinforcing it’s lower body into a pair of powerful legs.

Finally, its head tilted upward.

The crimson slit running down its face widened.

Eden stared.

"...Perhaps I judged you too soon."

The creature’s Essence surged.

The pressure alone was enough to make the surrounding vegetation bend away from it. The faint green light beneath the trees flickered, and the air grew heavy with a hostile presence.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

The guardian’s second form was far stronger than its centipede body had suggested.

Perhaps the enormous creature had merely been a shell. A vessel meant to protect whatever had been growing inside it.

Or perhaps the two forms had always been separate entities, sharing a single body until one of them was destroyed.

Either way, Eden had just discovered that the fight wasn’t over.

The creature’s wings spread.

It vanished.

Eden’s pupils contracted.

A claw descended toward his head.

He leaned aside, allowing the attack to pass within centimeters of his face. The creature’s claws struck the ground behind him, splitting the earth in a long, jagged line.

Eden glanced over his shoulder.

"It’s faster than before."

The creature twisted, immediately launching a second strike.

Eden raised his arm.

A black blade formed in his hand, its surface swallowing the light around it. He met the creature’s claws with a sharp metallic clash.

The impact sent a shockwave through the forest.

Eden slid backward several meters, his boots carving two shallow trenches into the earth.

He looked at the creature.

Then at the blade in his hand.

"...Okay. That’s actually pretty good."