As the tentacle was completely severed, Hysilens ascended to a great height, unleashing a massive surge of divine power. A colossal torrent of crystal-clear seawater poured down like a celestial waterfall, crashing against the side of the severed limb.
"%¥#...#&"
The incomprehensible shriek grew even more piercing, but under the relentless force of the water, the tentacle began to slowly tilt.
Vast quantities of seawater evaporated instantly, blanketing the battlefield in billowing white steam. Yet as Hysilens intensified her divine power output, the deluge only grew stronger, pouring down in ever-increasing volumes.
Demon Axe, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but goggle in disbelief. Sister! Is she really trying to knock over this tentacle with water?
Knowing this territory intimately, Demon Axe understood just how absurd this strategy was. It was like pouring water into the Sun itself!
And what was even more unbelievable? Hysilens was actually making it work! To put it mildly, Demon Axe had never witnessed such an immense quantity of water in his entire life.
"It's going down! Fall back!"
From a distance, the tentacle's descent didn't appear particularly rapid due to its immense size. This was merely an illusion, however, and the impact of such a colossal mass crashing into the ground would undoubtedly unleash devastating force.
The moment Hysilens finished speaking, the three of them began retreating. After reaching a safe distance, Hysilens raised her hand, and a thin, shimmering water membrane materialized before them, enveloping them like a giant bubble.
Demon Axe stared at the scene with a peculiar expression. "Wait, what...?"
Earlier, from a greater distance, he hadn't been able to sense the true nature of the massive body of water. He had assumed it had been transported from the Material World using a method similar to teleportation, perhaps through the Century Gate.
But now, up close, good heavens! It had all been converted from divine power? What was the difference between using space-based weapons to swat a mosquito and crushing an enemy to death with a mountain of gold?
Demon Axe desperately wanted to shout, "Big Sister, with all that divine power, you could do anything! Why waste it on water-based skills in my territory?"
In a way, Demon Axe felt humiliated, but then he thought, So what if I'm humiliated? What does it matter?
In the past, he would have flown into a rage and charged into battle, but now he'd begun to give up, thinking, Whatever happens, happens.
As Demon Axe's mind raced, the colossal, heaven-piercing tentacles had completely collapsed. Arthur declared grimly, "Prepare for impact!"
BOOM!!!
The sheer mass and volume of the tentacle hitting the ground unleashed a force comparable to an ICBM explosion. The earth first trembled violently—so violently that Hysilens and the other two were lifted into the air. Immediately after, a terrifying, visible shockwave slammed into the water membrane Hysilens had erected.
Yet the seemingly thin membrane merely rippled, like a pebble tossed into the sea, causing barely a ripple.
After the aftershocks subsided, Hysilens retracted the water membrane. She looked up at the sky. With the tentacles severed, no new monsters could emerge, and the remaining creatures were quickly annihilated by the demons overhead.
Arthur asked, "Would you say we succeeded?"
Hysilens wasn't entirely sure. "Perhaps?"
As she spoke, she returned to the spot where the tentacle had been severed. Like a felled tree, only a cross-section remained. Looking down, she saw only a pitch-black plane, devoid of blood, vessels, or muscle tissue—it resembled a pool of ink.
Then, as Hysilens observed, the inky plane began to melt and spread slowly across the ground.
After a moment's consideration, Demon Axe understood what was happening. "This creature was trying to root itself downward, attempting to pierce the Plane and reach the Material World. But since we killed it, it lost its life force. And because Layer Eighty is extremely hot—the temperature is scorching..."
In other words, the tentacle could withstand the intense heat while alive, but now that it was dead, it had spontaneously combusted on the spot.
Hysilens pondered for a moment before remarking, "Then it seems we arrived just in time."
Or, more accurately, had they been any later, they might have allowed the Mother of Flesh to succeed. The Demon Axe had only just sensed the intrusion into Layer Eighty of the Abyss, and they had rushed here immediately, yet the tentacle's movements had been shockingly swift.
As she spoke, Hysilens glanced at the severed tentacle trunk lying nearby. Since it wasn't underground, the flesh hadn't melted much, only showing faint signs of catching fire.
She wondered if this tentacle was genuinely connected to the Mother of Flesh's True Body. If so, could she take a sample back for Melly? After all, the locator Ding Lang had invented required flesh from the Mother of Flesh's True Body. With this, might they finally be able to pinpoint its location?
Acting on her impulse, Hysilens strode over and sliced off a chunk with her longsword. Meanwhile, Tribios began preparing for retrieval. Given the tentacle's tainted nature, it couldn't be casually transported; proper preservation was essential.
After the Century Gate opened and sucked away the small piece of tentacle flesh, Hysilens finally turned around. The root of the tentacle had completely melted beyond recognition, but it had dyed the surrounding lava pool black. The Demon Axe was incessantly cursing and wailing, "Damn you, Mother of Flesh! I'll fuck you! My pool!"
But these were minor concerns. Hysilens said, "We might have to stay here for a while."
She didn't believe the Mother of Flesh would give up after a single failure. The next likely scenario was a relentless series of attacks, attempts to seize this place and continue its entrenchment.
The Demon Axe immediately chimed in, "Hey, this is my home! Stay as long as you want! It's just that this dump of mine doesn't have much to offer for hospitality. If I took you for a lava bath, I doubt you could even get in."
Hysilens clarified, "No, I mean we might need to garrison this place for a while."
As soon as she finished speaking, some pitch-black monsters appeared on the horizon, flying straight toward the trio.
Hysilens sighed softly. "It seems their move is even faster than I anticipated."