"Huh?"
The vast majority of those present were utterly bewildered when they saw Phainon. It was no exaggeration to say that many had completely forgotten about this latecomer, this "outsider" who had joined their ranks.
Phainon's presence had been so inconspicuous throughout the entire conflict. He hadn't lifted a finger to help, simply observing the battle from the rear lines. Only now, with his sudden appearance, did the others recall, "Oh, right, we had another teammate?"
Why didn't he help earlier?
The natural line of thought would be: We all worked together, put in the effort, and combined our strengths to defeat the enemy. If Phainon had pitched in, sharing some of the burden, we wouldn't be in such dire straits now. Maybe we could even still fight!
Yet Phainon had remained idle, leaving the others exhausted and himself in peak condition. Could he possibly take on the Mother of Flesh alone?
The Child of Flesh began to struggle violently, its Shadow churning like boiling water. Yet Phainon's grip remained unyielding around its neck. After delivering those words to Aria, he strode purposefully toward the spatial rift.
Phainon strode forward and stepped directly into the rift.
"Wait—!" Aria's first instinct was to stop him. Initially, she had assumed that when Phainon said, "Leave it to me," he meant she should entrust the Child of Flesh to his care. But now it seemed he meant something else entirely.
Wasn't the Mother of Flesh's True Body on the other side of the spatial rift? The mere aura emanating from it was terrifying. How could Phainon simply walk in like that?!
But Cipher spoke up at that moment, "Don't worry. Trust him. After all, he is the... World-Bearing Demigod."
"Huh?" Douglas was the first to look utterly bewildered. "Wait, what's a 'World-Bearing Demigod' supposed to mean?"
It was like the God of War, the Goddess of Magic, the Goddess of Life, or even Half, the Northern Wolf God—their titles immediately revealed their divine Authority. The term "World-Bearing" wasn't difficult to understand, yet precisely because of this clarity, it was even more shocking.
Didn't it literally translate to "The God Who Bears the World?!"
Cipher didn't answer Douglas's question. Instead, she said, "If it's him, taking down the Mother of Flesh shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
Douglas stared blankly. Sis, what are you even talking about?
Just then, Feidric hurried over to join them. Having overheard Cipher's remark, he asked, "So... what exactly is the World-Bearing Authority?"
Cipher replied, "The World-Bearing Authority is omnipotence itself."
After all, Phainon possessed all the Coreflames, all the Chrysos Heirs, and the Authorities of all the Demigods. Wouldn't that make his Authority omnipotent?
Cipher paused, then added with a sigh, "He once bore the weight of the world, enduring countless cycles alone to prevent its destruction. Compared to the enemies he's faced before, the Mother of Flesh... is hardly a match."
Just as her words trailed off, everyone could clearly see that 'day had broken'. And it wasn't just the people in the Great Forest; across the entire world, every person who looked up could see the sky had turned a pure, blinding white.
The perspective shifted to Phainon's side. After carrying the Child of Flesh through the spatial rift, he found himself instantly in an utterly pitch-black void. He glanced back to see the bubble representing the Main World hovering nearby behind him.
Directly ahead, in the impenetrable darkness, loomed the faint outline of a colossal creature. With no light to illuminate its form, he could only discern its vague silhouette.
An indescribable, tsunami-like wave of malice emanated from this looming figure. Without a doubt, this was likely the Mother of Flesh herself.
A piercing, ear-splitting sound erupted. Had an ordinary person heard it, their head would have exploded instantly, their body collapsing into a twitching mass of flesh. But Phainon understood the meaning behind it, roughly: "I can't decide whether to commend your audacity or ridicule your folly. A mere whelp from a tiny world dares to breach the Barrier and confront me here."
After all, in the eyes of this Outer God, even the most powerful Greater Divine Power gods of the Main World were no match for Her. Killing such a god would be merely a tedious task, not genuinely difficult.
Don't think the Mother of Flesh has been solely focused on this world, pouring all Her efforts into corrupting the Sun God and influencing the Father of Oaks. That's not the case. She's casting a wide net, simultaneously influencing and attempting to devour multiple worlds. The world Phainon occupies is just one of them.
If the Mother of Flesh were to concentrate Her full power, even with the World Barrier in place, this world wouldn't last long. She refrains from doing so out of fear that other Outer Gods, Her rivals, might steal Her prey.
Phainon completely ignored the Mother of Flesh. Finding the surrounding darkness unbearable, he summoned light.
After all, he was now facing the Boss's True Body. There was no need for restraint; he immediately entered his Divine Phainon state. Two wings, one above and one below, unfurled behind him. The fiery aura incinerated his upper body clothing, and his skin transformed into a striking gold-purple color scheme.
A golden halo representing the Twelve Titans of Amphoreus appeared behind his head. The power accumulated through over thirty million cycles erupted without restraint.
In the pitch-black Cosmic Sea, it was as if a colossal Sun had materialized out of thin air, illuminating everything around it!
This realm operated under principles akin to the Dark Forest Theory, where every world sought to conceal itself. Should a predator lurking in the Darkness—an Outer God—discover a world, that world would face annihilation.
Phainon's sudden luminescence transformed him into a glaring beacon across the entire Cosmic Sea. Worlds capable of observing the Cosmic Sea, along with Outer Gods and other predators lurking in the shadows, immediately detected the light and turned their gaze toward it.
The Outer Gods couldn't help but express curiosity:
[What's happening? Why did it suddenly light up?]
[Eh, is that a world over there? Delicious!]
[Isn't that the Mother of Flesh next to it?]
[Who cares about Her? Now that I've found it, it's mine! I'm going to devour this place right now!]