The wait was not in vain. After so long, Belial finally sensed a fairly sizable big fish slowly rising to the surface. Within the Void, a crimson abyss was torn open by Rend, and from it came an aura that was violently savage yet extremely deep, like a volcano erupting on the ocean floor while the surface remained calm.
A massive existence bared its fangs and directly appeared in one battlefield. With a single bite, it tore off an entire contested region of Divine Kingdom, which then collapsed in a chain reaction and immediately drew the attention of two other Crimson God. Once they realized who had arrived, tension and panic showed on their faces, as if the gap between individuals could never be erased.
Even among Crimson Gods, this difference existed. A roar erupted as a crimson Crimson God burst forth from the red Abyss. This ferocious beast openly displayed greed, hunger, and brutality, its ears standing tall and its face twisted into a literal image of savagery.
Its body was enormous, several times larger than the earlier Anguirus, like it carried a volcano on its back, spewing clouds of heat-like smoke beneath heavy armor. A single horn etched with patterns glowed with Gold Rank light, flashed briefly, and forcibly sliced apart the overlapping Divine Kingdom of two Crimson God, carving out territory for itself.
Red sand and dust rolled around it as crimson land filled with countless buried corpses emerged and spread outward. At the boundaries, black cliff-like fractures appeared, expanding and collapsing at the same time. Then came flames, surging flames filled with resentment, sweeping in like a vortex and instantly reaching the bodies of the two Crimson God, with the range still expanding.
In another battlefield, a pitch-black storm erupted between two close-combat Crimson God. An unbearable pain followed, striking nearly at the soul and even at Authority, far beyond what any normal being's nerves could endure. Looking closer, the black storm was not wind at all, but countless tiny black insects, shrunk to the molecular level, gnawing relentlessly.
No matter what substance or concept made up the target, even if it barely existed, it was eaten away bit by bit. Any defense was like paper before them, pierced with ease. The swarm, numbering in the trillions, engulfed the entire Divine Kingdom battlefield, devouring the gods' bodies, their essence, and even the land itself.
The sound of massive wings beating echoed out, moving at extreme speed, accompanied by the faint roar of a monstrous presence. As the consumption continued, every insect rapidly split using Rend, and their offspring continued splitting as well. In moments, their numbers exploded to a staggering level.
The swarm did not give the two gods any real chance to resist. Before their unified form could even fully take shape, two complete scythe-like blades were already formed, cleanly severing their heads. Waves of insects followed, shredding them into fragments, not killing them outright but constantly devouring their essence, souls, and even their Divine Kingdom, until complete consumption became only a matter of time.
There was yet another one, much smaller compared to those boundless giants, though only by comparison. Two massive Crimson God were exchanging blows when, in the center of the battlefield, a Gold Rank colored flash appeared through Blink, bouncing and folding back repeatedly. A sharp cry rang out as bright eyes and vibrating wings moved so fast that even light could not keep up.
It lingered at every spatial scale for an almost negligible time, accompanied by Lightning Magic, followed by an X-shaped flash. In an instant, a huge wound appeared on one Crimson God's chest, stacking countless times within a second and cutting the entire body into Shard pieces, which were then completely destroyed on a material level by Lightning Magic. The other had not even realized what happened before smooth holes appeared all over its body, reducing its mass by more than ninety percent, before it too was sliced into fragments.
What was that, a Gundam? No. In the brief moment it paused, one could see a gigantic humanoid monster clad in layered armor, wings spread behind it, with a demonic, insect-like face. The drill-like spikes on its hands contracted slightly, then erupted, piercing through the surface defenses of Divine Kingdom and the protections of Authority thousands of times in less than a second, revealing the truth of the attack.
These were clearly not ordinary entities. They were the stronger big fish that had survived until now in this hunt, hiding patiently for far too long. Whether it was their own kind or ordinary souls, once the hunt began, there had to be gains.
So they killed. Three distinct existences, after dealing with the prey in their grasp, turned their greedy gazes toward the remaining battlefields.
A thunderous roar erupted as the Mountain Colossus burst from the crimson land, its entire body wrapped in fire. Thick limbs pulsed as it charged like an overloaded tank, turning its own mass into a weapon. The blazing heat was tightly bound to its surface, forming a strange kind of armor.
Where it passed, it was like a massive object tearing through fragile glass, brutally using Rend to rip open a blackened scorched path. The ground was split into fragments of Shard, the destruction cutting straight into the depths of Divine Kingdom. Mountains of red soil, packed with bones and underground magma, spread outward and crushed the opponent's Divine Kingdom The Realm, and the contest of rules and Authority was already decided.
It looked clumsy, yet its speed was enough to cross a planet in an instant. The blazing horn on its head pierced deeply into a fellow Crimson God, and the hastily formed defenses collapsed like paper. Not only the body failed, but even the victim's Divine Kingdom and rules shook violently, forcing out a shrill howl.
The wounded Crimson God tried to flee into the sky, but escape required the enemy's permission. The red giant clamped its jaws onto the fleeing body, its fanged mouth forming a cage that trapped the bird in midair. With a casual flick, it smashed the prey back down and opened its mouth wide, greeted by erupting blood, wailing souls, surging Dark Power, and the long-missed sound of souls breaking into Shard.
It reveled in the rare feast, its expression growing more savage as it ate without pause. Once the first bite was taken, stopping was no longer an option. As for the other one from earlier, that body had already been buried, saved for later, and roasting underground was fine too.
Just as it enjoyed the meal, a dense buzzing filled the air, mixed with sharp clashes from bladed limbs. The noise ruined the moment of pleasure. A far greedier Devourer had arrived.
The Ravenous Swarm, which had already devoured two others down to nothing, caught the scent of sweet crimson souls and swarmed in. Sensing that this diner was not an easy target, it released a threatening vibration of wings. Countless insects gathered, forming a massive body built from swarms at every scale, screaming with an ear-piercing hum the moment it appeared.
Crimson eyes glared from a twisted godlike head that barely resembled an insect. Layers of spiked, warped carapace stacked across its body, and two pairs of broken wings were dragged from its back. Each beat stirred miniature hurricanes, while tangled limbs beneath formed huge scythe-like claws packed with barbed, biting insects.
Dark red lines spread from its eyes across the gaps in its armor, tinged with dull gold, creeping down to the inverted tail hung with countless blade tips. Behind it, a black curtain of insects filled the sky, speckled with blood-red light. Every mouth opened wide, shrieking with hunger at everything in sight.
The clash began the instant they met. The red-armored beast exhaled scorching breath that burned through the swarm, vaporizing untold numbers in a single breath. Yet the insects devoured everything in return, including heat, momentum, and even the enemy's rules and Authority.
Both sides roared, each craving the other's essence. Old grudges had piled up over countless years, and no one here intended to back down. Less than five seconds passed before they fought in full, fiery shockwaves colliding with the endless Ravenous Swarm, crushing swarms into Shard dust at every level.
The insects even consumed attacks that could destroy themselves, while the red beast refused to give them time. It opened its jaws and released an extremely compressed, wave-like flame roar. The insect sky burned, blasted open with a vast hole, but the aggregated giant the Lord body remained calm and vanished in the next instant.
Two streams of molten blood sprayed out as deep gashes opened across the red beast's back. The greedy giant insect flashed past and began moving at extreme speed, not merely fast but appearing as countless identical bodies across improbable spatial chances. The red beast handled this old foe with ease, unleashing a wide-area assault that shook the Void without any medium.
Half of the insect giant was blown into Shard by Rend, only to reassemble into a Clone body. Its crimson eyes fixed coldly on the red beast. The battlefield was about to grow even louder.
Dense drill-like spear shadows rained down, completely sealing escape routes, mixed with countless strikes of Lightning Magic. Both combatants roared and used their Authority to absorb or redirect the attacks. As both sides rapidly healed, they turned toward the source of the assault.